The Write Stuff

Long before a child learns to form letters with a pencil or marker, she has taken many steps toward learning to write. Children must have many opportunities to use their hands to do various things before they can successfully print letters. Molding with clay, using large and small Legos, picking up beads, and playing with

Learning with Blocks

Blocks are open-ended materials that stimulate young imaginations, provide choices for discovery and invention, and promote the development of problem-solving skills. One day a block may be an airplane. The next day that same block in the hands of the same child can be a sofa for the house he is building. Building with blocks

The Artful Classroom

A child becomes totally engrossed, immersed in the process of making a work of art. The sensation of feeling the smooth thick paint sliding onto the easel paper calms the child and brings pleasure in the creation. When the child grapples with the challenge of representing an object or person on the page, she is

  • Lets Pretend

Let’s Pretend!

Make-believe play is not only one of the great joys of childhood; it also offers abundant opportunities for children's development. Children develop interpersonal skills, particularly cooperation and conflict resolution, and improve their language and problem-solving abilities in pretend (dramatic) play. Around the age of 2, children begin to pretend to cry, sleep, and eat. They

  • Pembroke17

More Than One Kind of Smart

"He has a low IQ." "She's very intelligent." Sometimes we talk as though intelligence were a single commodity that people have in greater or lesser supply. Yet we see all around us adults and children who are very smart in math but not at all good with words, musically gifted but klutzy on the athletic