SEEC’s Executive Director, Meredith McMahon’s latest Director blog:

In the last few months there’s been quite a bit of discussion about early childhood teachers, what kind of training is necessary, how to support them once they enter the classroom, how to compensate them in a way that keeps them working in early childhood classrooms and not higher paying public or private schools.  Here in DC a debate continues about what level of credentialing the Office of the State Superintendent of Education should require for lead teachers.  The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) currently has an initiative, Power to the Profession, meant to seek unity around qualifications, competencies, and qualifications. These many considerations point to that greater question, who do we want our early childhood educators to be?  How can an early childhood educator know what we want when we, as a field, don’t yet know or agree?

At SEEC we have a pretty strong sense of what we want in our educators. We embrace the notion of the well-educated teacher, and we look for that in all of our educators, not just our preschool and kindergarten teachers. When some might question the need for an infant or toddler teacher to have formal education course work we see it as essential. Without a strong understanding of child development how can you purposefully plan rich experiences that maximize the incredible brain development that we know is happening in these first years? At SEEC these teachers choose toys, objects, and books that push our youngest learners to reach just a little beyond where they are, always guided with love, support, and rich language. Would they create the same learning opportunities if they did not have that clear understanding of what’s happening developmentally? Combined with their natural talent and joy for working with the youngest children, our infant teachers design classroom and community experiences that truly enrich the days of these little ones. And the same thing is happening across all of our classrooms and programs.

At SEEC we know it’s not just about the formal learning our teachers have experienced themselves that has such a positive impact on the classroom, it’s also the creativity and flexibility they bring to their work that combines to create incredible learning opportunities for the children at SEEC. We look for those educators who embrace the idea of children as capable learners who are ready for concepts often dismissed as too complex for young children. We ask our faculty to push themselves as educators, drawing on the current interests of their students, rather than relying on tried and true lessons from years past. And we ask them to regularly put new ideas into context for the children, using community resources, which we’re so fortunate to have in the form of our many museums and gardens. What we ask of them is not easy – they become quasi-experts in new topics regularly [think lemurs, ancient civilizations, farm to table] and they do so willingly.

SEEC educators embody the idea of life-long learning that we hope to instill in our children by continuing to push themselves to constantly hone their teaching practice. Our faculty embrace the idea of professional growth, seeking out constructive feedback and ways to push themselves. They soak up creative ideas for their classrooms at every opportunity, and they support each other as a community of educators, sharing resources and classroom strategies. We purposefully look for educators with a growth mindset, who believe they’re always learning and have the capacity to better their teaching. That mindset as part of our culture, gives us such strength, and I find myself constantly in awe of their dedication to themselves, SEEC, and the ECE field.

So at SEEC we have a clear vision of who we want as educators and why, but we, too, struggle with the same concerns early childhood schools everywhere face. We ask our educators to take on a role with such great consequences without adequately compensating them for the vital role they play and the immense value they bring to our community. We know the importance of these earliest years, and we also know the impact that high quality learning experiences can have on future learning and life itself. Yet we still struggle to compensate our early childhood educators for the incredibly important work that they do. A recent New York Times story pointed to the many challenges of teachers in the early childhood field and highlighted the issues we already know we need to solve, and much of it hit very close to home.  At SEEC we continue to work towards salaries that are comparable to public or private schools, commensurate with the education & experience we expect our educators to have, but we still have work to do.  We look to elevate the importance of our faculty’s work whenever we have a platform to do so. We offer them autonomy over their own classrooms, from the curriculum right down to the paint color, knowing that they are well-trained and capable of crafting exceptional experiences for the children in their classrooms. We look for opportunities for our faculty to share their own work with other educators, stretching beyond the bounds of their own classrooms. Beyond SEEC we’ll continue to look for ways to lend our voice to this important discussion, knowing that our work, and our focus – the youngest children – is too important not to.

These containers full of tactile materials serve as a wonderful way to explore, refine fine motor skills, and contain mess! They are an especially great indoor activity during these cold winter months. There are specifically manufactured “sensory bins”, but you can easily use a storage tub of any size to achieve the same goal. When you Google or search on Pinterest for “sensory bin” you will encounter an overwhelming number of options. How does one possibly choose? We are here to help! Our teachers have tested quite a few and the options listed below are some of our favorites. Many of these ideas can be modified for older or younger children.

1. Polar Sensory Bin

Embrace the cold! There is something extra magical about bringing snow inside! Your children will watch with wonder as this solid becomes a liquid. Provide snow gloves to prolong the play. No snow? You could also fill the bin with water and add floating icebergs which can be easily created by freezing water in small containers. If available, you could also add small polar animals. Want to take it one step further? Conduct a quick experiment on the benefits of blubber as an insulator by placing a large amount of vegetable shortening, lard, or butter in a bag and molding it around your child’s hand (Pro-tip: use a second bag or rubber glove to protect your child’s hand from grease before molding it with “blubber.” This will reduce the mess!).

2. Gelatin Bin

The tactile experience of gelatin is very satisfying! It is also safe to taste so it provides excellent sensory material for infants. While it will always be sticky, you can purchase the unscented/unflavored variety so there is less of an appeal to eat it. You can hide all kinds of items for your child to discover in this goopy material.

3. Fire Extinguisher Bin

Have a future firefighter in the house? Create flames with construction paper and then either laminate or place them in water tight bags. Then provide your child with a squirt bottle full of water to “put out” the flames. Enhance the experience by allowing your child to dress up as a fireman or woman.

4. Bubble Bin

There are few things better than bubbles! By using some dish or hand soap create a car or toy wash. This is a fun way to involve your child in chores. Be sure to closely monitor this activity since many soaps are not child safe.

5. Gardening Bin

Gardening can easily be brought indoors with a sensory bin. Fill the container with organic soil and bring inside some of your child-safe tools (small dull trowel, watering can, pots, buckets, etc.). You could also include plastic vegetables or flowers for your child to plant or harvest! Ready to get messy? Add some water to your bin and watch together as the dirt quickly turns to mud!

6. Colored Spaghetti Bin

Spaghetti is an especially great sensory material for toddlers who want to put everything in their mouths. Jazz it up by boiling it in colored water! With younger children you can even allow them to sit and stand in the material. To extend the play with older children provide them with safety scissors to practice cutting.

7. Archaeology/Paleontology Bin

Children of all ages love digging up treasures! Fill the tub with child safe sand and hide dinosaurs, plastic bones, or even mummies. Use the same tools as real excavators such as toothbrushes, paint brushes, sifters, buckets, and trowels to uncover the hidden items.

8. Leaf Bin

Just raked your yard? Fill your sensory bin with leaves! You can also include acorns (for older children), pine cones, and even small sticks. Enhance play by providing your child with tongs and a magnifying glass.

9. Bioluminescence Bin

Bioluminescence is the light created and emitted by a living organism. This big scientific word can easily be explored in your sensory bin. Fill the tub with water and black washable paint (Pro-tip: do not use food coloring! It will dye your child’s hands) until the water becomes murky and opaque. Then throw in some glow sticks and allow your child to go “fishing” for bioluminescent organisms. Include some non-glowing “fish” to extend the fun.

10. Sensory Panels

We are breaking the rules a little with this “bin” since,  in fact, it is not a bin at all. Create sensory panels by removing the glass or plastic from a variety of frames and fill them with tactile materials. You can use anything that you think your child would be interested in (safely) touching (our favorite is a piece of a high pile bath mat). These framed sensory materials are great because they can be placed on the floor for infants to explore during tummy time or hung for toddlers to touch while stretching their legs! The hanging aspect also allows for easy storage and can even provide a fun decoration for your child’s room.

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If you’ve ever driven or walked down Constitution Avenue in Washington DC, you probably have seen the larger than life Albert Einstein sculpture lounging on a bench.  But have you ever been in the building behind Einstein?  That building is home to the National Academy of Sciences, a non-profit organization of the country’s leading scientists.  Not only is it a place for the members to gather, but through the Cultural Programs of the National Academy of Sciences, the site also hosts rotating art exhibits that explore the intersection of culture and science that are open to the public.

Greenland Sea by Diane Tuft

Diane Tuft’s The Arctic Melt: Images of a Disappearing Landscape is one such exhibit that is currently on display at the National Academy of Sciences.  A recent Washington Post article describes her Arctic landscape photographs as vivid in color, yet also notes that, “these glimpses of an unfrozen North, some of them shot from an airplane or a helicopter, are also ominous. Discharged from glaciers, icebergs and ice sheets, that picturesque water is headed this way.”

Tuft’s Arctic Landscape exhibit will be the focal point of an upcoming family day that SEEC is leading at the National Academy of Sciences on February 10th. We are excited about facilitating this topic despite the fact that some might say the concept of global warming is too complex, depressing, and scary to explore with young children. After all, they are topics that can be difficult for adults to fully comprehend.  So why create a family day around this exhibit and topic? While we do not expect to put a stop to global warming in just one day, we believe that exploring the Arctic landscape, climate change, and conservation with young children will foster a sense of environmentalism among the next generation.

Melt Water by Diane Tuft

During the family day, children will be able to explore the landscape of the Arctic through literacy, art, dramatic play, sensory experiences, and experimentation.  By interacting with the Arctic environment, children will foster an understanding and love for the Arctic environment and those creatures living in it.  Research has shown that the more time a child spends in nature or exploring a natural landscape, the more empathetic they are towards that habitat and its inhabitants.  Developing this empathy for the natural world and its creatures leads to a strong interest in conservation that lasts through adulthood.

The family day will also feature an experiment that illustrates the consequences of climate change in the Arctic.  Through the demonstration children will begin to form an understanding of climate change, and how it effects are world.  While we want to educate children on climate change, we will also be focusing on conservation, so that children leave the family day feeling empowered to help make a positive change in the world. As Jane Goodall said, “You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” We aim for children to feel a sense of control that they too impact the world, and can make that impact positive.  After exploring the Arctic habitat and learning about climate change, we will have an activity that encourages families to think together about what steps they can take, large or small, to positively impact our world.

Empower your young conservationists by coming to the National Academy of Sciences on February 10th!  Get more information and register here!

This week’s Teacher Feature highlights a three-year-old class’ exploration of wrecking balls at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden.  The teachers, Amy Schoolcraft and Connie Giles, noticed a strong interest among the children in construction, so decided to start with demolition.  This lesson included play, art, observation, connection to objects, literacy, and problem solving.  Below you will find images from the lesson, as well as reflections from the teachers. 

We noticed that our class was often playing games such as building with blocks, digging mounds of dirt, and finding inventive ways to create structures on the playground. So when thinking about what our next topic of study should be, it was an easy decision to explore construction. We hope that through this unit our class will have a deeper understanding of construction and demolition, including the various jobs, tools, and equipment needed. We also hope this unit will provide great opportunities to learn about safety, teamwork, and problem solving.

There is no better way to engage with a topic than to have first-hand experience with it. We were lucky to come across some big machines and workers on our way to our museum visit, and it was a great opportunity to get us thinking about construction vehicles. By taking the time to notice construction tools and machines on our walk, the kids were able to build context and gain a greater understanding of large machines as they observed how they move, who uses them, and for what kind of jobs big machines can be used.

The kids really enjoyed using a familiar story, “The Three Little Pigs”, to learn about construction materials in a previous lesson. By connecting our demolition lesson to the Big Bad Wolf, we hoped to capitalize on their love of the story as we built upon their understanding of construction while also creating a mental image of what demolition is.

As an introduction to demolition, I wanted them to understand how strong buildings are and why a large machine is necessary to knock a building down. What better way to gain a more concrete (pardon the pun) understanding of these concepts than to use our muscles and experiment in knocking a building down ourselves? This activity was an opportunity to work together, problem solve, have a little fun, and give them a chance to get extra energy out in a purposeful way.

I wanted the class to be looking for a sculpture that looked like a wrecking crane’s boom. Boom was a new term for them and by exploring the parts of a toy, they were able to identify and label a boom in a very tangible way.

I chose this sculpture because of its resemblance to a wrecking ball boom. Its size and shape helped to build the perspective of how large a wrecking ball crane is.  Also its safe and open location gave us an opportunity to explore the sculpture from different perspectives.

I wanted the kids to think critically about how the wrecking ball would work. By posing the problem of how to attach the wrecking ball to the boom, they began to generate ideas from using a string, to jump ropes, and eventually a chain.

As a way to apply what we learned about the parts of a wrecking ball crane, we took turns acting out the parts of a wrecking ball working together to knock down a “building”. However, it felt like the activity was getting a bit chaotic and they appeared to be missing the idea that the ball needed to hit the building instead of their hands or feet. In hind sight, shortening the chain, simplifying each kid’s role, and adding a demonstration would have been helpful.

I chose this book because the rhythm and rhyme make it a fun and easy read but also because it had clear illustrations of the different parts of a wrecking ball and its job. The video we watched helped our class to see and hear a wrecking ball at work. It inspired a great discussion about some of the draw backs of using a wrecking ball, such as the noise and dust, which are two reasons why they are now rarely used on construction sites. In our classroom, we use technology to help bring a topic to life. Although I feel that teachers need to careful not to use technology as a substitute for hands-on experiences, it can be a great resource for exploring new ideas, initiating discussions, and building observations and insights about a topic.

I hadn’t planned to let the kids explore the artwork on their own. I typically walk around the sculpture with the kids to point things out and encourage observation. However, with such an open and safe space, it was a perfect opportunity to allow them to experience the artwork in their own way. Before I knew it, they were pointing out the shapes, materials, and experimenting by finding new ways to look at the sculpture. It all happened very organically and the kids had a great time in the process. Our kids are comfortable around artwork and are aware of the rules, such as no wandering away or touching the art, so I did not worry about reviewing the rules with them before setting them loose. While they did a pretty good job, it would have been a good idea to review the rules anyway.

I was excited about this art activity. I hadn’t tried it before but I found it on Pinterest and thought it would be a great way to make some “wrecking ball” art and experiment with the way a wrecking ball moves. We used a plastic water bottle with a squeeze glue lid and filed it with paint. We attached the bottle to a table using string and had the kids swing the bottle over a paper to create a design. Unfortunately, this project did not work as well as it had on Pinterest. The paint was too thick and instead of leaving a stream of paint creating a design, dots of paint ended up scattered on the page instead. All in all, the kids had a lot of fun and were still able to experiment in swinging the “wrecking ball”. A colleague suggested that a variation to try in the future would be attaching a paintbrush to swing back and forth instead. I am looking forward to giving it a try.

After learning more about demolition, the class continued their exploration of construction by exploring building materials, safety equipment, planning, tools, and more!  For more ideas, see our construction Pinterest board!

Looking for holiday inspiration? Want to give a unique present and need help thinking outside the box? We’ve got you covered. Here are few gift ideas inspired by kid favorites in our classrooms. There are a variety of price points and some of these gifts can easily be picked up during your routine errands.

1. Library Card

Most public libraries will allow you to open a card in your child’s name. Providing your child with their own card will create a sense of pride and ownership. Bonus: it will also help remind children to take good care of their books.

2. Train Ride

Have a transportation obsessed child? Why not take them on a short (or long) ride on a real train!

3. Locks and Latches Board

These DIY boards are a great way for your child to get some fine motor practice, keep them occupied for hours, and allow them to safely play with latches and switches without risk of harm.

4. Cooking Tools

Cooking tools that you would find in your own kitchen are often fast favorites for children. These items are particularly popular and safe for kids: spatulas, metal bowls, sifters, whisks, and pans. Keep these in a lower kitchen cabinet so that your child can easily pull them out to “help” you cook dinner!

5. Linking Blocks

Blocks are wonderful! They allow for all types of gross motor, fine motor, and problem solving skills to develop. Our teachers especially love ones that connect, either by snapping together or sticking together with magnets.

6. Slime/Playdough

This easy DIY item is always a favorite in any classroom. Children love the sensory experience and teachers love the endless possibilities of this fine motor activity.

7. Tunnels

Fun for all ages, tunnels are a great indoor, gross motor play activity. Having trouble making transitions? Use a tunnel as a physical reminder that you are changing from one activity to the next.

8. Scooter Boards

These flat boards with four wheels can be purchased at a toy store or even a hardware store (they are listed as furniture movers). They require both arm and leg coordination and can be a great inside option for movement.

9. Drawing Implements

There is nothing quite like a new box of crayons, pencils, or markers to inspire creativity in a young (or old) child.

10. Water Toys

Make bath time more fun with water “toys” that can be found at the local grocery or hardware store. Some of our favorites include large sponges, funnels, turkey basters and buckets.

11. Exercise Trampolines

Looking for more big movement activities for indoor play? This is your answer! There are small trampolines made specifically for children that include a bar or you can also use an exercise trampoline. Exercise trampolines usually have covers over the springs but do need some extra adult supervision.

12. Scarves

Scarves are a wonderful gift that can transform into so many different things for all ages. Have a child that loves to pull wipes or tissues out of the box? Transform an old wipe container by filling it with scarves. Want to spice up your changing table? Hang colorful scarves from the ceiling to keep your child mesmerized through the process. Jazz up a song by including movement with scarves.

13. Disposable Cameras

In a world of instant gratification this gift will teach your child patience and the art of film photography! It will also provide you with a look at the world through their eyes.

14. Puppet Stages

There are few children who can resist a stage. Promote dramatic play by providing your child with a platform for their performances.

15. Dress Up Clothes

Let your child’s imagination run wild with dress up clothes. We especially love including clothes from all different professions. When a child acts out scenarios in pretend play they are developing important social and problem solving skills.

16. Books

Continue to foster your child’s love of reading by giving them new books. Even at a very young age a child is developing pre-reading skills and should be exposed regularly to text even before they are able to read it themselves.

17. Tricycles

There is always a mad dash on the playground for tricycles and bicycles. Teachers love them because they require coordination and gross motor strength from the child.

18. Steps

These could lead to nowhere and still be endless fun for a young, active child. Especially in their toddler years, they are always on the move! This is a great gift to help them safely explore and practice stairs.

19. Magnifying Glasses

Encourage close looking with this gift! It will give children a new perspective on things they encounter in their everyday lives.

20. Seeds

Have a picky eater? A great way to get your child excited about trying their vegetables is to get them started at the beginning of the process. Provide them with some seeds and a small space to garden and see the wonder in their eyes as their plants appear!

Did we forget something? Share your idea in the comments!

This post was originally published on July 20, 2017.

Making dinner or lunch? Why not include your child in the process! Cooking with your child is a fun way to work on math, fine motor, and gross motor skills. It also allows them to invest in the meal they are about to eat. Here are a few ways to make the experience extra child friendly:

1. Re-write the Recipe: Go over the recipe you are going to make with your child. If possible, add images/drawings of the ingredients needed. Give your child a chance to “write” their own version of the recipe on a separate sheet. Going through this process helps your child build on their understanding of sequencing. Use “first….then…” phrases.
2. Measure: This is an excellent way to work on math skills. Working with more than one child? Divide up measurements to smaller units to allow for more participation.
3. Pour: This is a big milestone in a child’s development and requires a lot of practice. If you are worried about a big mess, place a plastic bin lid or plastic table cloth on the floor to create a pouring station.
4. Mix: Mixing is a great gross motor activity. Sing a song or count while mixing! If items are spilling out of the bowl, transfer a small portion to another bowl for your child to mix.
5. Cut: Provide your child with a very blunt knife or a spoon to cut up soft items such as butter or bananas. While not all recipes include a child friendly item to cut, consider providing them with an item to cut that can be served as a side dish/appetizer. They will enjoy mimicking the way that you cut the tougher items.
6. Cook: Baking, boiling, toasting, grilling, etc. is the magical transformation and the scientific part of cooking. While these steps of the process are the most dangerous for your child, they are also some of the most exciting. Allow your child to observe and “check on food” from a safe distance.
7. Serve: Serving the food is a great way to practice their balance and to develop upper arm strength!
8. Share: Children are working hard on practicing this important social skill. Having them share the food over which they feel ownership provides great practice!
9. Talk about Nutrition: Sometimes this conversation gets lost in the shuffle and excitement of the cooking process. Take a little extra time to explain to your child why we need different ingredients to make a nutritious and well balanced meal. Work with your child to sort each item on their plate into the different food pyramid categories (grains, fruits, veggies, proteins, etc.)
10. Wash/Clean up: Ask your child to help clear the table and help with the dishes. Washing the dishes is a fun water play activity! Not ready to have them work at the sink with breakables? Fill a small tub with soapy water for them to wash a selected set of dishes!

Have fun cooking traditions or tips to share? We would love to hear them!

In the past year SEEC began a book club to enhance our practice through discussions about books relevant to our field.  As educators (and parents for some of us), it can be hard to find time to read books of interest, but having a dedicated time and place to discuss amongst colleagues has proved to be a valuable incentive. Our most recent meeting was about Einstein Never Used Flash Cards  and our conversation centered around the pressure parents often feel related to parenting and how educators can help to alleviate that pressure.  

Parenting Pressure

For October’s book club, we chose Einstein Never Used Flash Cards by Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, Roberta Michnick Golikoff and Diane Eyer. The book focuses on the pressures that caretakers and educators increasingly feel in regards to young children and achievement.  In the first chapter the authors state, “as parenting itself becomes more competitive, many moms and dads worry that their children could be left behind if they don’t take advantage of every available opportunity” (p. 7).  The book points out that many toy and media companies have capitalized on this fear by producing numerous educational toys that will “give your kids an edge.”  In this day and age, many parents feel anxious to “make the most of these early, finite years.”  During our book club we talked about some of these pressures, and how we can share SEEC’s philosophy and educational experience with caregivers and other educators to help ease these anxieties.

Academics vs. Context Learning

Our book club participants ranged from infant to kindergarten educators and each of them shared that they had observed this parenting pressure. They noted that parents’ concerns ranged from academic skills to overall school readiness. One educator noted,

“It makes sense they’re concerned with academics.  It’s human nature to want what’s best for your child, and it’s ingrained in society that you need good test scores and to participate in numerous activities, or you’ll get left behind.”

Thinking about the book and the group’s personal experiences, we began to realize that both caretakers and educators ultimately want what is best for the child. The difference seems to stem from HOW we achieve those results.  The authors of the book observed that many caretakers view worksheets, flashcards, and drills as the means through which children will achieve academically. Many times, caregivers don’t recognize that learning occurs naturally via play.  Adults often don’t understand that when learning is coupled with play (at SEEC, we recognize that there are many types of play), the results are more powerful and long lasting. The group concurred with the book’s notion that learning should be fun and “…unleash the child’s natural curiosity and creativity” (p. 257).

We’ve witnessed this combination of play, creativity and curiosity in our own classrooms.  We view play as a vehicle to teach content and build developmental skills. For example, a few years ago one of our four-year-old classes was interested in digging.  The educators noticed this and they embarked on a three month exploration of the underground world.  The class experimented with pipes, understood mining through play, gardened, learned about animals that dig, and even spent some time talking about ancient civilizations and the clues about them that are hidden underground.  Academic learning was integrated throughout the unit as they learned new vocabulary, drew or wrote about their experiences, counted pipes, read literature, and more.  Instead of learning academic skills in a vacuum, we make learning meaningful and memorable by focusing on what is important and immediate in their lives.

Active Learners

Some parents, understandably, feel that they are solely responsible for their child’s learning and development,  but where does that leave the child? We believe that children are active learners and while adults do have a a role in a child’s learning, the onus isn’t all on them.  The role of an adult, “is to see our children as active learners, to see the world as a virtual school year of interesting lessons, and to find a happy medium that allows us both to teach children and to retain the unprogrammed benefits of childhood” (p. 251).  During our meeting we discussed how we, at SEEC, strive to strike a balance between structured learning opportunities, and unstructured play time.  We want children to leave our doors with a sense of wonder and a love of learning that will motivate them to work hard even when learning becomes difficult.

The authors also provide some perspective stating, “millions of years of evolution have created children who love to learn on their own-it’s how nature has ensured our survival” (p. 21).

Being Present 

The book also explored specific ways in which this pressure impacted caregiver/child interactions.  One of the participants echoed the book’s sentiment that parents are often not “in the moment.” She shared that she’s witnessed parents focus solely on the intended outcome of an activity so that the child gets it “right.” It felt, to her, like parents aren’t always able to enjoy the experience. This was echoed in the book as well, “families are apparently so busy stimulating their children, they increasingly have little time just to enjoy one another” (p. 5).  We would also suggest that there is value in the process and that by slowing down and allowing a child to direct the course of their play, they learn valuable skills like problem-solving and perseverance.

The group also discussed how important it is to be present so that adults can learn ABOUT their children. The book remarks that it is worthwhile to take the time to be “be good observers to find out what our children are interested in and … build from there” (p. 130).   Learning experiences are more meaningful and memorable for both the adult and child when it stems from the child and not the adult.

General Thoughts on the Book 

During our discussion, we acknowledged that early childhood is a critical time in a child’s life, but we agreed with the book that it is not the time to fit EVERYTHING in.  Instead, it’s a time to foster a love of learning and a sense of wonder that will benefit them throughout their entire lives.

Our only complaint was that tone of the book was heavy handed at times. Ironically, we felt that it might leave parents feeling more pressure, rather than less. At SEEC, we believe that parenting is hard work and we do our best not to be judgmental. While we feel that it is important to educate our parent community, we want to do so in a way that makes them feel comfortable and supported.  Overall though, we  agreed that the research presented was helpful and understandable. The suggestions for parents at the end of each chapter brought these concepts into real life, and provided accessible ideas for all families.  We’ll definitely keep this book handy as a reference down the road.

Read along with us!  Our next book will be Free to Learn by Peter Gray, and see what we’ve read in the past on our Pinterest board.

References:

Hirsh-Pasek, K., Golinkoff, R. M, & Eyer, D. (2003). Einstein never used flash cards: How our children really learn- and why they need to play more and memorize less. New York, NY: Rodale Books.