Many schools have the entire President's Week off, while others have just two days. How will you and your children spend the vacation?  Our last winter vacation gets me thinking about summer - ALREADY!  There has been great debate about lengthening the school year, getting rid of summer vacation, and opting for shorter breathing time, like this February break.  What do you think?  Would your children benefit or suffer with no summer vacation?  Would you benefit or suffer from no summer vacation?
Let us know where you are in the debate and then check out the arguments on this website....http://debatepedia.idebate.org/en/index.php/Debate:_Year-round_school 

     As a Mama, I get it.  There is a point...where all your patience has been depleted and the frustration level has been met.  Your voice raises a level (or two), your breathing starts to race, and your done...you have nothing left.  I've been there...I get it.  
    But, as a teacher...I cannot accept it.  I've heard moms talk about their childrens' teachers as screamers or non-screamers.  I think about my own soft-spoken, easily spooked 5 year old, being a pupil in the midst of a screamer.  I cannot imagine it.     
    And what are they screaming about?  Behavior?  Assignments?  How do the students react?  Do they fear their teacher?  How do your own children react and does it change their outlook on school?  
    

In homeschool settings, the phrase "unschooling" is discussed often.  This action refers to the idea of educating through a child's life experiences, rather than at the mercy of curriculum and benchmarks.  As a teacher, I refer to it as "teachable moments."  Only the moments are not actually moments, but instead are constant and unorganized and fast...very fast.  Michael, my second child, aged 3, lives every second on the verge of a teachable moment. His eyes are open to the letters on a STOP sign, a butterfly laying sideways in the grass, and the squeaking sound his wet sneakers make across the wood floor.  He asks questions within a question and does not wait for my answer to move onto the next question.  Watching his mind work faster than his lips move is outstanding.  I have yet to sit with him, paper and pencil in hand to teach him letters, numbers, or colors.  But already, he gets what learning is all about.  Our school has no boundaries, no worksheets, and no state assessments.  To us, this is the most natural learning!

                              "What we want to see is the child in pursuit of knowledge,
                                              not knowledge in pursuit of the child."

                                                        - George Bernard Shaw

Wave goodbye to No Child Left Behind, New Jersey!  But what will come in its place?  Put the job back in our teachers' hands!  They have the answers - let's listen and allow them to do what they know works.  They are the professionals - believe in them!

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/education/new-jersey-gains-waiver-from-federal-no-child-left-behind/article_4acdf0d6-538a-11e1-b140-001871e3ce6c.html 

Today I spoke with a mother on the topic of preschool and her search for a more academic setting.  I thought of my own children attending preschool and what I search for in those first steps towards education.  I want my children to laugh and sing and make friends.  I want them to learn to cut and use glue and find their names.  Most importantly, I want them to love school and love learning.  Preschool is where the foundations of this love affair are embedded.