(Source: www.mentoringboys.com )
Frequently, parents ask me to recommend a good school for their son to attend. This month’s article features a middle school that is achieving success with all students but has a special interest in reaching out to underachieving boys.
“These teachers don’t just go the extra mile-they run marathons with our students, and they definitely GET reluctant boys.”
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The Early Years Conference 2012, which occured February 2nd – 4th, in Vancouver, was a wonderful gathering of expertise and resources. Presentations (PDF) from many of the speakers are now available at this link: http://www.interprofessional.ubc.ca/EarlyYears/Presentations.asp
Play and parenting resource sheets in fourteen languages: Arabic, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Farsi (Persian),Hindi, Portuguese, Punjabi, Russian, Somali, Spanish, Tagalog, Tamil, Traditional Chinese, Urdu and Vietnamese. To download, click on the PDF symbol for the resource sheet and language you desire.
http://www.welcomehere.ca/index.cfm?fuseaction=page.viewpage&pageid=673&stopRedirect=1
(Source: http://www.parentsmatter.ca/index.cfm)
Two former teachers, Frances Warner and Vi Hughes, have a simple plan for encouraging preschool literacy: Place words in public spaces visited by children and watch as their natural curiosity leads them to learn.
For example, print the words “up” and “down” on the stairs at recreation centres, write “slide” and “swing” on playground equipment, place “totem” alongside the Stanley Park totem poles, erect a sign with a simple poem and bright pictures at eye level for children taking the SkyTrain or put numbers on the floor for counting.
This edition of the ANCIE Bulletin “Early Childhood Education” explores the importance of the early years for newcomer children, the concept of readiness, and strategies on how to develop a culturally safe curriculum.
Child Safety Online: Global Strategies and Challenges is a new report from UNICEF’s Innocenti Research Centre. It examines children’s online behaviour, risks and vulnerability to harm. The report states:
The responsibility to protect children in the online environment should not be borne only by parents and children. Policymakers, professionals such as teachers and social workers, law enforcement agencies and the private sector all have a role in creating a safe external environment that allows children and young people to benefit from the use of modern technologies without experiencing harm.
Download the report here.
Source: www.firstcallbc.org
Pink Shirt Day is coming up—February 29th! More information here: http://www.pinkshirtday.ca/
It’s fast becoming one of the biggest cliches of 21st century parenting: parents worried that their kids spend too much time online. We hear about it a lot, but that’s because for many parents texting, online chatting and other social media activities are huge concerns. How much time online is too much? Are social media activities healthy for kids’ emotional and social development? Does it prevent them from establishing face-to-face relationships successfully?
For adults worried about the effects of online activities on teens, a recent study published by the American Psychological Association may help. Researchers found that blogging may have psychological benefits for teens suffering from social anxiety, improving their self-esteem and helping them relate better to their friends.
Previous research has shown that young people can benefit from writing which involves an element of emotional venting and problem solving. Writing a journal, or other forms of creative writing, offers the writer a chance to release emotional distress. Blogging and other on-line activities can add to this effect by allowing the users to establish a social connection where their feelings and thoughts can be acknowledged by others.
In the study, teens with an identified level of social anxiety or distress were asked to blog about their feelings twice a week for ten weeks, while others were asked to keep private diaries, or to do nothing. The researchers assessed the teens’ self-esteem, everyday social activities and behaviors before, immediately after and two months after the 10-week experiment. Read More…
Source: http://www.bccf.ca/
A fantastic magazine with information and resources about Newcomer children and Youth, from AMSSA…CulturesWestWinter2011-12
Starting strong III: A quality toolbox for early childhood education and care
Major new publication from OECD focuses on quality issues; aims to define quality and outlines five policy levers that can enhance it in ECEC.
(Source: http://www.nacy.ca/)