Wherever we are, we’d all like to think our children’s classrooms and schools are intellectually active places, but what does that actually mean? What makes an effective learning environment? Please let us know your ideas in the comments and read on for ours. The students ask the questions—good questions The role of curiosity has been studied (and perhaps under-studied and under-appreciated), but suffice to say that if a learner enters any learning activity with little…
While we may wish our kids could be happy all the time, as it turns out, they wouldn’t be healthy if they were. Studies show that those who experience emodiversity, a range and abundance of both positive and more difficult emotions, are happier and healthier than those who remain numb or tend to fixate on any one emotion for a long period of time. Additionally, in environments that place a premium on expressing positive emotions…
When it comes to teaching elementary school during Black History Month, there’s a lot that teachers do right. Then again, there are a lot of things that go wrong — we’ve all seen the news reports over the years of schools advertising problematic Black History Month meals or inappropriate assignments handed out to students. So how do you strike just the right tone with activities that aren’t just appropriate, but also truly meaningful and reflective…
What are the latest emerging and popular trends and teaching ideas in education? As trends tend to do, they change by the year. Consider how quiet iPads in the classroom have been recently, especially considering three years ago they were going to replace teachers and were compared to magic. While mobile devices like the iPad can indeed parallel a kind of magic in the learning process, it obviously has to fit into a progressive and…
For many parents, the idea of kids and cats together is an absolute natural. For other parents though, it’s a scary thought that may get the family cat a one-way ticket to the local shelter. As with any companion animal in the family, it’s crucial to use common sense, set up safeguards, and create an environment that provides security for everyone. The key is to prepare in advance and then continue to monitor and educate.…
For some students, it’s not so easy to find a club that reflects their interests and passions. Environmental science, for example, is a nuanced field that doesn’t correlate to an abundance of obvious extracurriculars. If you’re looking for ways to show your commitment to environmental science through your extracurriculars, this post is for you. Here, we’ll outline five impressive green extracurricular options for the environmental scientists of tomorrow. 1. Including a service element like volunteering…
There are many fun activities for families to enjoy in the Boston area over February vacation. Check out our list of activities and events happening in the Boston area in February 2024. Have a great break! Lunar New Year Celebration at Pao Arts Center When: Sunday 2/18/24, 11:00 A.M. to 3:00 P.M. Where: Pao Arts Center, 99 Albany Street, Boston, MA Age: all ages Cost: free Celebrate the Year of the Rabbit with Us! Our…
With a fresh year just beginning, this is an opportune time to help children set a respectful and kind tone for the year ahead. Many offices and schools will be closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday, January 15, making the nationally recognized holiday a great chance for teachers and parents to teach children about civil rights and American history. While older children are likely to have a better grasp on the civil…
We usually think of technology as a progressive thing in education, but any technology dates itself immediately through its form. Electricity, the wheel, paper, the printing press, metalworking, mass transportation, masonry, and more are all forms of technology. Technology isn’t a ‘leading edge’ but a tool of human practice. On a day-to-day basis, human processes are based on prevailing local technology. That is, we usually use what’s available to us to express our collective humanity…
Deciding what’s “trending” is an important part of digital publishing and social media interaction. Facebook articles, Google News, Apple News, trending hashtags on twitter, and even our own websites all depend heavily on statistics. It’s easy to have a problem with this concept philosophically–namely, the most popular isn’t always the most effective or the best. So what are the most popular educational trends? Here are 5 of the most common educational trends from the past…
