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Brain exercises help children focus by Doreen Nagle in The Asbury Park Press

"Brain Gym" developed by Dr Carla Hannaford are exercises to keep your child focused and remain on task. Focus is critical for comprehending reading,writing , math and all learning
She claims these exercises work well with ADD, hyperactivity and other learning
concerns

She lists three:

Brian Buttons
Cross Crawl
Hook Ups

Andrew I thought of your kids in school.

Reflection- Thank You

I found Dr. Luongo's class to be outstanding!!!.I never missed a day. Class was so exciting and all of the activities, text and handouts were engaging.I would have liked this class to be longer and held during the regular semester because there is so much more to learn.
Since Dr. Luongo was a first grade teacher she was able to give us real life examples of situations she encountered.I felt the projects were useful because I need to learn more about doing lesson plans. Her feedback was always welcomed. She gave her comments in such a positive way making you feel good about your accomplishments.
I found it hard to keep up responding to my fellow bloggers- Time was the factor since I am also taking the Computer class.
I loved the Reading time we had. Our group was terrifc and I felt very comfortable in class. I definitely enjoyed all the laughs. Steve was so funny( in a good way)
My Access was amazing! I will be purchasing that program for my son. He is in the top ten % of his Junior class but writing does not come easily for him.
I enjoyed the movie " Making A Difference" because I know a student whose will be entering his freshman year in the same high school my son is in and he has lost both parents and is being raised by his grandmoter. I am very active in the school's Booster Club and I want to help Michael because he doesn't know anyone and is coming from the grade school I work in. My son and his group are involved in a program giving out energy saving light bulbs to the needy and raising money. I want to see if he can become a part of this group. Checkout www.HelplighNJ.com if you know of groups in your school that can benefit from this program
Anyway, I have some work to do for my Computer assignment due tonight so I just want to wish everyone the best.Have a wonderful summer and relax.

Article- Scholastic Report:Kids still read for fun- Teens Less so

For more information Check out www.ednews.org/articles published June 12,2008 by John A. Sellers

Interesting statistics from Scholastic on the 2006 findings on children's reading habits. Just some highlights

Pleasure reading declines at age 8 and into the teen years

82% ages 5-8 love or like to read

55% ages 15-17 love or like to read


24% of parents said they read frequently and feel that reading is one of the three most important skills for children to have
82% of parents wished their kids read for fun

Article "Casting a spell on their students"

Great article on Spelling in the Asbury Park Press. In Oceanport, the district plans to introduce Latin in the first through third grade curriculum next year to give students a better understanding of word roots and the foundation for learning a second language.
I think this is a terrific idea because I had two years of Latin in high school and it still helps me today with figuring out the meaning of words. Also helps with Spanish, Italian and French.

Any thoughts?

My Access

I enjoyed working on the My Access writing assignment last night. It is a wonderful tool for students to help improve their writing. I was able to increase my score after I made a few changes. I will definitely investigate it further. I liked the idea of having the SAT words for students to include in their writing.

In today's Star Ledger there is an article " SAT's writing exam a good gauge of college success, studies say." Since the new 45 minute writing section
was added three years ago, many colleges did not put that much weight on the writing section. However, in the fall Rutgers will use the writing as a factor for admissions.

This program will definitely benefit all students. It's excellent!

Highlights High Five

Highlights has a new magazine for children ages 2-6. It is called Highlights High Five. According to the website it has a read aloud fiction stories and also stories that introduce the Spanish language. It will include poems and simple nonfiction.

Sounds great! www.highlights.com

Young Publishers bring books to life

This is my favorite!

Students in K-6 have the opportunity to write their stories and have their books bound in hardcover. The books are written and illustrated by hand and are sent to Studentreasures- a national program to motivate students to learn through publishing. It is a free program with a minimum of 100 students.

Check out www.studentreasures.com for more information.

Article- 'If Oprah can do it, I can do it' Bergen Record

Now, a 14 year old girl Marcia Gailes Of Teaneck is the founder of the 4 G's Book Club when she was 8 years old. The club has 500 members across Nj and groups in Honduras and Zambia. The club was born when her school cut out quiet Reading time. She saw Oprah with her book club and decided one day that she could do this.

I will bring in the article for everyone

Offering students choice to learn

I just read an interesting article about the Mother Theresa Regional School(MTRS) in Atlantic Highlands. The principle has decided not to give a required summer reading list. Instead the students are encouraged to select a book and complete one of several projects based on the book they choose. In September they may present their project at Back to School night.

The faculty attended a workshop on differentiated instruction and thought this would be a good idea to offer choices for each of the major subjects.

The principal is also going to complete several of the assignments for herself as she travels cross country with her own children this summer.

Any ideas about his.? I will bring in the article on Monday

Article on NCLB June 9th

I found an interesting article on NCLB from Education Week entitled Candidates are at odds over K-12 . But McCain and Obama both back NCLB Goals.

Senator McCain and Senator Obama support NCLB goals and use of testing . Obama says the goals and higher standards are right.

McCain says the law is a good beginning but needs to improve for Special Ed and ESL students.

Just like we heard mentioned in the movie in class the Goal of NCLB is 100% proficiency. This is unrealistic because you can't guarantee it .

A political scientist mentioned that this could be a big issue in the upcoming Presidential election.

Check out www.edweek.org for complete article. What does everyone think about this?

Let Them Blog

After reading this article ,I was surprised that 53% of blogs were created by teenagers 13- 19 years of age. I feel that blogging could serve as an educational tool in the curriculum but it must be teacher directed and monitored for content. Blogs allow students and teachers to discuss ideas and work collaboratively. They make students feel that they are part of a group and want to share their thoughts with members of their class.
One of the projects that a teacher could introduce would be a monthly class newsletter. Have each student brainstorm and report on events going on in their class. There are so many creative assignments that can be provided for students and can be used in all disciplines.
Using a blog gives the students an opportunity to improve their writing skills as well as receiving constructive feedback from their peers. Blogging can begin in the elementary level and continue through high school.
Blogs are also a good communication tool for parents and teachers. They can feel included in their child's education The best part is that it is free to use and since the students are using blogs outside the classroom it makes sense to include this technology in the classroom. Whatever will "hook" a student is worth trying.