Fun Healthy Learning

Free Rice!!

I just found this website and it's become my new favorite procrastination site brain exercise.  Go to Free Rice and you can start learning new words -- and donating rice to needy folks around the world.  Ever wonder what froward or embrangle mean?  You'll learn!  And as you click on your choice, you'll see a little rice bowl fill up!  The site works by selling advertising at the bottom of the screen, but in my hours of playing research I've never been bothered by the ads-- and I'm usually, ahem, bothered by ads (I have been known to turn off a movie when  the product placement reaches critical mass).
By the way, embrangle means "to confuse".  I earned twenty grains of rice for learning that!

Visualize a happy new year!

There has been a lot of media attention lately about the power of visualization.  It's amazing to me to see how many people dismiss this concept out of hand as if it were some kind of ESP or new age mumbo jumbo.  When I started thinking about it, I realized that many of us use visualization ALL  the time!  Think about it-- you're walking to your favorite restaurant and thinking about the dinner you're going to order.  You imagine the dessert menu and your mouth starts to water. You've just had a real physical reaction to the picture in your head! 
Or remember the last time you were stuck in traffic-- your mind may have wandered to the meeting you were heading towards, and you imagined the person you were meeting with being angry or upset with you.  You walk into the meeting expecting to be greeted coldly, so you set down your papers gruffly-- your visualization has just set the meeting off on a bad foot! 
So visualization is not as far-fetched as we sometimes think, and has real physical and relational results in the real world!
But what does this have to do with Fun, Healthy Learning?  Well, we believe that children who can imagine themselves to be successful and happy often ARE successful and happy!  Children who are SURE that they are going to fail their math tests usually do, but the kid who wins the Science Fair has often already practiced her "trophy smile".  Of course we know that it's not that simple-- the Science Fair winner has done a lot more than smile into the mirror-- she's also put in a lot of thought and hard work into her project.  And the child who fails the math test also struggles with concepts and study habits.  But we really believe that visualization is part of it.

Here are three easy steps to practice visualization by yourself or with your child:
1. Visualize: picture the result of your goal.  Imagine the sights and smells, make it as real as possible.  Spend some time creating this picture and then revisit it often. 
2. Verbalize: tell someone, even if it's yourself.  Hear your voice verbalizing your goal-- this will make it real to your conscious mind (saying it) and your unconscious mind (hearing it).
3. Share: maybe your friends or family aren't supportive of your goal, or your too shy to share it with them.  That's fine!  Put your goal in writing as a message in a bottle, or a note on a community billboard.  Send an email to an old friend or a celebrity-- share your goal with SOMEONE -- who knows?  Maybe they'll have an idea how to help you reach it!

Why Read? (Part 3 of 3-- The Do's!)

This is the third part in our reading trifecta-- we've looked at the benefits and the don'ts, but now we're going to outline some of the best ways to encourage reading.

The first one is really easy-- just HAVE a lot of books.  Several studies, like the ones cited in Motoko Rich's New York Times article and the book Freakonomics, have outlined the correlation between high test scores and a household with a lot of books in it.  Sure, people who have a lot of books tend to be of a higher socio-economic status and education level, but even people without high incomes or advanced degrees who have a lot of books in their house tend to raise higher-achieving kids.  AND people with advanced degrees that don't own a lot of books? Well, their kids tend to test lower.  So head to your local garage or library sale and load up-- on books of all types and shapes and sizes and subjects.  I know a kid who learned about math and fractions because he LOVED cookbooks-- and another who learned fractions from reading sheet music!  There's learning in every book!

The next is a little harder but so much fun--make reading part of your family ritual.  I know a child who wakes up grumpy in the morning-- so his parents give him some milk and take him into the "Big Bed" for two books.  By the time the milk and the books are done, boy and family are ready to start the day!  In my own family, I learned to read after dinner-- my mother would clean the kitchen and dad and I would retreat to the den for our lessons.  I thought they were super-secret and I loved the time alone with my dad, working together on something that so clearly delighted him.  I'm sure mom was glad to have some time alone, too!

Model good reading habits-- even if you've long ago left the pleasure novel behind, show your child that reading is a way to get information, to learn new things, and to gain perspectives.  While there is (arguably) no inherent value in having read Melville or Austen, the benefits of reading (the ability to sort out relevant information, empathy and conscientiousness, flexible thinking and reasoning, and on and on) accrue no matter what you're reading!
personalized children's book
And, sheepishly, I add this one.  It may seem a little self-serving (because we do make personalized children's books of our own, but these books have been shown to increase reading pleasure (and therefore, reading).  Studies have shown that personalized books increase self-esteem and a sense of accomplishment-- early readers will be thrilled to recognize at least one word on every page.  And when they realize that this collection of letters ("S-t-e-f") means ME, then they will also realize that other collections of letters mean other things ("m-o-m-m-y" is YOU, "d-o-g" is our beloved pet) and the concept of reading becomes less scary.  Of course, many creative types have written their own stories-- buy a big drawing pad from the dollar store and write the story of your child-- add in pictures (photographs or drawings) for more interactive fun.

Thanks for sticking with all three parts of this-- and please send us the reading ideas of your own!

Why Read? (Part 2 of 3-- The Don'ts)

According to the National Institute for Literacy, 40% of American children have difficulty reading or learning to read.
So how can we help?  Or, maybe more importantly, what are we doing to hinder?

The top 3 things you must NOT do when trying to get your kids to read.

DON’T make reading a chore: One of the most effective ways of getting kids to enjoy reading is to model a joyful reading attitude yourself!  Make reading a reward for yourself : “Now that I’ve finished the dishes, I’m going to read myself a book!  Would you like to join me?”

DON’T limit the subject matter: Some kids enter reading through a compelling interest in one subject.  Encourage this—no matter how sick of dinosaurs or horses you might get, your child is gaining the valuable experience of using reading to learn, and enjoying it!

DON’T push or punish: Children’s brains develop at different rates—some children don’t learn to read because their brains have not yet developed the capacity to do so.  Still, make books friendly and inviting; read together or look at picture books together, encourage your non-reading child to tell you the story of the book, look at magazines an even newspapers!  This way, once they develop the capacity to read, they’ll already have the habit!

Reading Fact: The average kindergardener has watched 5,000 hours of TV before s/he gets to school That's more time than it takes to earn a Bachelor's degree!

Why Read? (Part 1 of 3)

We all know that reading is important to children, but why?  This is the first in a three-parter about reading-- the do's and don'ts, the benefits and the strategies.

Here are some of the long-term benefits of early reading!

Avid readers are more flexible in their thinking and more open to new ideas: readers are accustomed to “seeing” themselves in new situations and are thus better equipped to deal with changes in real life.

Early readers are better at sifting out relevant information and to understand how unrelated facts can fit into a whole: practice with simple and complex plot development in stories helps kids to understand the “big picture” in other areas of study—including math and science!

Readers are more empathetic and conscientious: we get used to seeing ourselves in characters in books, and so can more easily see where others are coming from.  Readers have better social skills and interpersonal understanding.

The High/Scope Perry Preschool Project is perhaps the best-known study of the long-term effects of a high-quality prekindergarten education.  These students were followed from pre-K until age 26—and the children who were read to as pre-K kids were earning at LEAST $2,000 a month more than the control group!

In a recent New York Times article, Motoko Rich outlines the correlation between reading and early test scores, and bemoans the drop in "pleasure reading".  Some of these findings are worth quoting at length (the bold face is my emphasis):

In examining the average 2005 math scores of 12th graders who lived in homes with fewer than 10 books, an analysis of federal Education Department statistics found that those students scored much lower than those who lived in homes with more than 100 books. Although some of those results could be attributed to income gaps, Mr. Iyengar noted that students who lived in homes with more than 100 books but whose parents only completed high school scored higher on math tests than those students whose parents held college degrees (and were therefore likely to earn higher incomes) but who lived in homes with fewer than 10 books.

So simply HAVING books will help kids do better on math, science, and, of course, reading tests. 
Next week, we'll talk more about the DO's and DON'Ts of early reading, and give some tips for making reading a JOY!

Happy Holidays from Drew and Stef 

Why we're here

How I got into this-- from Drew

So who am I, you might ask?  First of all, I don't consider myself an expert in education.  I don't have any specific degrees in these areas.  The truth is, I started this blog because I wanted to find a forum like this, and amazingly such a thing didn't yet exist. 

All of that said, I've always considered myself a teacher, and have gravitated into that role no matter what I've done.  In college I taught tennis and coached basketball at summer camps.  At HP I became the head of training for my division.  In subsequent jobs I did lots of informal mentoring and coaching, and more recently I started a company that creates a line of kids' books.

But here's what REALLY got me going down this path...

I'll never forget how alarmed I was ten years ago when I realized that my nine year old stepson, who had recently come into my life, despised the word 'learning'. He associated learning with pain, and he literally grimaced when I asked him if he enjoyed learning.  I remember how he looked walking off to school.  Trudging slowly, shoulders slumped as if he had been sentenced to break rocks all day at a work camp.  I also quickly discovered that kids in his school who cared about learning were ridiculed and considered extremely uncool.  And these weren't just the classic nerds, mind you!  These were just kids who paid attention, did their homework, and did OK on their tests.  Get an 'A' or 'B' on your math test, and you had some 'splaining to do to your friends!

I remember shaking my head.  How could learning get such a bad name? The fact is you can't keep a kid from learning even if you try.  Kids are sponges.  Ask any new parent how their kid is doing, and you're likely to get an earful of the miraculous progress little Johnny or Janie made in the last few weeks learning words, learning to walk, creatively solving some problem, etc. 

Even though my stepson Keith was tuned-out in school, he was still learning at an incredible pace.  His skateboarding and surfing skills were on the upswing, and he couldn't wait to learn new moves from his friends.  He memorized all the lines from his favorite TV shows and movies, and practiced doing impressions of the main characters, keeping all of us highly entertained at dinner.  He thought it would be cool to learn how to break dance, and he diligently practiced, learning all kinds of impressive moves and getting even more strong and fit in the process.  When he was 15 he taught himself how to play the guitar and became incredibly good incredibly quickly. When he got interested in acting at school, his reading suddenly improved, since he needed to read when auditioning for parts and learning his lines. Still, if you asked him if he liked learning, he would say 'no'. However, he burned to learn - he just didn't think of it as learning!

To contrast this experience, I was at a friend's house the other day, and he was informally helping his 1st grade son study for his spelling test.  As his son walked by the breakfast table, he asked various spelling words, that his son nailed.

Dad - How do you spell 'cement' ?
1st Grader - "C-E-M-E-N-T"

Dad - Spell 'except'.
1st Grader - "E-X-C-E-P-T" 

To me, this was extraordinary!  I know some adults who would get these words wrong.  So, I can see for a fact that education can work. Terry's parents have worked with him diligently and have sent him to innovative schools in the area, and the results show.

Let's share ideas on how to make learning fun

OK - so it's your turn!  If anyone finds this blog at this early stage, please let me know what you're seeing in the world that is educationally innovative and meets the fun healthy learning criteria.

Thanks for visiting!

Get the Lead Out!

We've been seeing a lot of gift guides out there, and thought that we'd be remiss if we didn't toss out a few of our favorites. 

We're proposing several criteria for activities and products:
    •    Engages  imagination and creative thinking
    •    Teaches an important life or learning skill
    •    Appeals to different styles of learning
    •    Helps to connect to family and friends in positive ways
    •    No violence, gender or racial stereotypes, or commercial tie-ins

We took a tour through the top toy websites and typed in "educational toys" to see what we came up with.  We're going to review just a few of them on our criteria and see what we come up with.

Colorforms:
It was a blast from the past to see these plastic shapes reappear on my search: this toy is open-ended, creative and  expressive.  Not every child will love these toys, as they are 100% self-directed: there are no instructions to follow or goals to achieve, but are great for inspired, creative kids (or those who are helping to develop those skills).
4.5 out of 5 on the FHL scale!

MarbleRun Vortis:

I found this on Educational Toys Planet  and immediately wanted one.  This toy stimulates reasoning and mobility skills, helps teach important scientific principles and has MARBLES!  The different "runs" demonstrate various principles of physics without any textbook or formula.  This is a great toy for a child who can play by him or her-self, as there is little opportunity for more than parallel play (you try, now I try).
4 out of 5 on the FHL scale!

Leapfrog--My First LeapPad
No discussion of children's toys is complete without a mention of the learning giant Leapfrog.  These toys are so popular because they are so effective-- in teaching reading, math and reasoning skills (as well as computer-comfort, a life skill many of us need).  Our only sticking point with these products is the ease with which they are commerically bound-- Elmo and Disney and Spongebob all have Leapfrog deals, and frankly, the kids we know think about Elmo quite enough without any more encouragement.  With a little diligence, you can find a full complement of LeapFrog products that do not feature any licensed characters, but the most prominent and easy-to-find products are commercial.
3.5 out of 5 on the FHL scale!

Teach-me-Toddler Doll
I was delighted to find this doll (for boys and girls) on the FatBrain Toys  website-- this toy teaches important social interaction skills as well as motor and language skills.  Your child is encouraged to reach important milestones (brushing teeth and going potty) as well as motor skills (tying shoes and buttoning buttons)-- building self-esteem, independence, and a growing feeling of self-efficacy ("I can do it!").  This "friend" can be shared with real friends and family, and is perfect for many different kinds of learners.
5 out of 5 on the FHL scale!

GettaLetter
http://www.amazon.com/Winning-Moves-1107-Getta-Letter/
This game from Winning Moves combines the best of game-playing-- fun competition (teaching social skills of winning and losing) while encouraging learning the letters and words.  This is a fast-paced flipping game (flip the letters that you get) which combines cognitive and motor skills.  A great game for the whole family to play!
5 out of 5 on the FHL scale!

Send us your reviews and ideas!

Making Learning Fun and Healthy For Your Kids

This blog is a resource for parents and teachers who prefer their kids' learning is on the fun and healthy side. As a coach, corporate trainer and creator of kids' books I've seen first-hand the difference a little fun can make in getting kids and adults to learn AND want to come back for more. Simply put, we're all drawn to things that are fun, and we quickly lose interest in things that are not. 

Fortunately, there are some really exciting things going on with innovations in learning.  More and more teachers, parents, and businesses are stepping up with techniques, programs, and products that make learning fun, healthy and effective. In this blog we're going to explore:

• Innovative schools and teachers and how they're changing the way kids are taught
• Tips from experts on how to create a fun, healthy learning environment in your home
• Educational products that get the 'Fun And Healthy' stamp of approval
• Shared tips and experiences from readers

How Do You Define Fun Healthy Learning?

In my opinion these are the key ingredients :

1. Interactivity and participation. Let's face it.  Things are more fun when you get to engage with a subject rather than just listening to someone talk about it.  Interactivity activates all of the senses, bringing things from 'theoretical' to 'tangible', fires-up the imagination, and is just plain more fun.

2. Teaches an important and healthy skill. What's better than something that ratchets up one's ability to live life more effectively and self-actualize?

3. No commercial tie-ins. The average kindergartner has watched around 5,000 hours of TV already.  That's more time than it takes to earn a Bachelor's degree!  There's a case to be made that TV is the primary teacher in most kids' lives. Thousands of educational toys and products have commercial tie-ins  featuring media-based characters.  Although having a book or game with Batman or some other media character in it may sound benign, getting kids hooked on these characters just reinforces their desire to watch TV and ask for you to buy the character-based products. 

4. No violence. If you're like me, you're appalled by the growing level of violence in TV, cartoons, movies, comic books, video games, etc.  This blog has zero tolerance for violence in any product or curriculum  On the flip side, we love any product that stresses non-violence and win-win creative solutions to problems.

5. Connections with family and friends. Learning is especially powerful when done with others, and reading and learning together reinforces bonds and develops communication skills. 

Your turn!

I'd love to hear your ideas and experiences.  Also, please let me know if there are any particular areas you'd like this blog to cover.  Visit again soon to see our first topic, 'Fun and Healthy Educational Products'.