There has been plenty of fear lately among policy makers that American students are lagging behind students in many eastern world nations. I was recently sent an article from the New York Times written by Yong Zhao, an authority on Chinese and American education that addresses this. What was astonishing to me was the author’s viewpoint that traditional Chinese education actually harms students. He believes it ignores children’s unique gifts, talents and interests and places tremendous stress on them to compete academically, thereby damaging self confidence and lowering self-esteem...

There is a new buzz word on the Early Childhood Campus these days and as parents, I think it is important to know it and tap into its power!

The word is BUCKET-FILLER… and the question that is posed on a daily basis is: HAVE YOU FILLED A BUCKET TODAY?

This new lingo sprang up from Carol McCloud’s book; Have you Filled a Bucket Today? In her book she explains that everyone in the whole world walks around carrying an invisible bucket. Each person’s bucket has only one purpose. Its purpose is to hold YOUR GOOD THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS ABOUT YOURSELF. We all feel very happy and good when our bucket is full. We all feel very sad and lonely when our bucket is empty.

What is the best way to ease someone’s pain and suffering? How can you really be there for another person? In this beautifully animated RSA Short, Dr Brené Brown reminds us that we can only create a genuine empathic connection if we are brave enough to get in touch with our own fragilities.

What is Self-Regulation?
Self regulation is pretty synonymous with self-control but with some added depth and breadth. It includes self-efficacy, responsibility & accountability, moderating behavior, maintaining balance both within and without, responding appropriately, being proactive vs. reactive, and a combination of self-confidence and empowerment.. In a nutshell, self-regulation is learning to regulate one’s own physical, emotional, and cognitive processes in healthy, pro-active ways in order to be successful across several domains of life. It is critical for both success and happiness.

Positive discipline strategies can help your child understand the consequences of misbehavior while encouraging sympathy and empathy.

In an effort to keep drop off and pick up running safely and smoothly, and earlier email did go out requesting that cell phones not be used during those times. Since then we became aware of an NPR piece regarding texting and driving that is very impactful. It is never too early to start influencing the driving behavior of our children. They will be 16 with driver permit in hand before we know it.