At nearly 39 months, Sam works hard to expand his vocabulary. He takes in words around him and attempts to use them in his daily interactions with people and in his play. In the example in the video, Sam casually uses the word “hooking” to explain what he is doing to the truck. He uses […]
“The limits of a child’s language means the limits of his world.” —Ludwig Wittgenstein, philosopher Wittgenstein’s quote speaks volumes to me. I found the quote many years ago and placed it prominently on the cover of my brochure for my private practice that I owned in Norfolk, VA, before moving to the DC area last […]
Obama’s Pre-K Proposal Stresses Birth through Five Curriculum The above-linked article discusses new details from President Obama’s recent State of the Union Address. During the Address, the President called on Congress to expand high-quality early learning opportunities to low- and moderate-income children. Later in the week, Obama sketched more of the plan’s details by including […]
“Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape.” — Michael McGriffy, MD As much as I want to blog every day, I know I must remain flexible with the concept. It is not my bread-and-butter. It doesn’t help me be a better parent. I want to share my ideas daily […]
Being able to ask questions is a crucial school readiness skill. Interestingly, one of the first language skills that an infant develops is the ability to detect changes in intonation, or how a voice changes to express meaning beyond what the words are saying. Long before an infant can understand what words mean, he can […]
Today’s standard is: Computes numbers with fluency and makes reasonable estimates. This kindergarten standard is taken from Fairfax County Public Schools. Fairfax County is located just outside Washington, DC in northern VA. This standard only has 2 benchmarks associated with it, and for today I will discuss the one that states that the child should […]
In this video, 36-month old Sam uses vocabulary and language to get help in solving a problem he is having. The vocabulary he chooses, such as “problems” and “not working very well,” will serve him well in the school setting later on, when he is asked to problem-solve, express ideas, and explain why he is […]
I awoke at about 5 AM this morning with the thought that one day a week of blogging on ways to prepare 0-36 month old children for school could/should not be contained to one day a week (I call those moments my “wake-up epiphanies”…when I am literally jarred awake by a thought. I could have […]
Baby and Toddler Land 