She Gave Me The World

Awww. I love Friday work time!!

We sing:

Tell me the continents, tell me the continents, tell me the continents if you can!

North America
South America
Europe
Asia
Africa

Don't forget Antarctica, don't forget Australia!

(I know 3 versions of this, but I like this best because its left to right if you look at a map.)

iPad Camera Connection

This is a three in one Camera Connection device that read straight from your camera, your SD Card or even your Micro SD card. These are being sold online for $29.95 $US

http://store.micgadget.com/accessories/233-3-in-1-ipad-camera-connection-kit.html

A Bonus Week Off

We took another week of vacation from the materials.  I plan on doing a bonus week after each regular school vacation so that I can get back into the swing of going to school and managing our little environment.  We have boxes of new materials to set up.  Plus, play is so vital to their development.  I need to be sure they have the opportunity to get creative with toys.

We have kept busy in many ways.  The number one thing:  POTTY TRAINING TWINS!  Sorry to e-yell, but it's a big deal here.  I must have read the No Cry Potty Training Solution 100 times, and we are ready.  So far, so good- and it's getting better.  There is no rush, we are playing it light.  This is our families 2nd training, it was easy with big sis.  She is a big help now!

Through the process of training, I came across some great sites that I'd like to share here:

• http://www.montessorimom.com/montessori-potty-training/
• http://www.dailymontessori.com/montessori-articles/toilet-learning-vs-toilet-training/ 
• http://montessoriconfessions.blogspot.com/2010/03/potty-training-using-cotton-underwear.html 

hers & hers, complete with books!

Big sister is deep into art lately.  It's almost the only thing she wants to do, so we are going with it!  I set up a simple little 'art studio' in her bedroom.  She likes to have privacy in her creation.

colored pencils, crayon wallet, art journal (and her hand-painted birdhouse)

modeling clay

After trying out many spots, Bean picked a location within our house for our nature table.  She chose the dining table!  On this glass platter, I'm happy with how lovely it is.  It can stay there until we gather more, a reflection of the seasons.  I love looking at it while we eat, color, and talk.  It reminds me of our nature walk.

nature tray, our dining room centerpiece     flame-less candles for light

Nomad Brush

This is a new form of stylus for the iPad. This stylus has been designed to work and create like a traditional paintbrush. Not yet on the market, it is set for release in Feburary 2011. Check out the website and sign up for email notifications.

http://www.nomadbrush.com/

iMarker from Crayola

The iMarker digital stylus brings the app to life.

Like a marker, crayon, pen, and paintbrush in one, iMarker creates favorite Crayola colors within the ColorStudio HD App. iMarker safely interacts with iPad's Multi-Touch display, allowing the ColorStudio HD app to differentiate between the child’s input (fingers, swipes, etc.) and the iMarker automatically. This allows intuitive, creative play that brings the accuracy and ease of a stylus but, for the first time, allows the user to both manipulate the creative space and color, without having to toggle the app between modes.

http://www.griffintechnology.com/crayola-colorstudiohd

Teacher, I Mean, Teaching Quality Series: Introduction

Teacher quality as key to K-12 students’ success is the central component of the new education reformer’s platform. For example, their manifesto, published in The Washington Post last September stated that:

". . . the single most important factor determining whether students succeed in school is not the color of their skin or their ZIP code or even their parents' income--it is the quality of their teacher. . . A 7-year-old girl won't make it to college someday because her teacher has two decades of experience or a master's degree--she will make it to college if her teacher is effective and engaging and compels her to reach for success. By contrast, a poorly performing teacher can hold back hundreds, maybe thousands, of students over the course of a career."

I agree that a seven-year-old girl's having a teacher with two decades of experience or a master's degree does not automatically mean that she'll make it to college. Conversely, I don't agree that she'll definitely make it if her teachers are "effective, engaging, and compel her to reach for success." (And what exactly does it mean to "compel someone to reach for success"? While we’re at it, can we please, please, please reform the use of meaningless education sloganese?) 

Having such teachers will certainly increase her chances of making it to college, but as the more wonky work of New Teacher Center Education Policy Director Liam Goldrick, Shanker Institute researcher Mathew Di Carlo, and Economic Policy Institute  virtuoso Richard Rothstein demonstrate, so will many other factors.

Those factors aside, I do agree that as a school-based success factor, the quality of teaching is a huge one. I think it’s fair to say that if the quality of teachers’ teaching improves than the quality and quantity of student learning will increase. So, how then, do we improve the quality of teaching what makes a teacher effective? What qualifies as effective teaching? What qualifies as meaningful learning?

In this series, I will attempt to answer these questions.

Post Snow Nature Walk

Today the snow stated to melt, and Bean and I went for a nature walk in the woods just off of our property. We noticed all types of foot prints, and saw yellow snow (we giggled about that, too). She loves tracking animals, my Dad taught me that as a kid- passing it on! She chose some beautiful items to collect for our nature table. She adored her table at Montessori School, she requests one here. More on that later. Happy 2011!!!