My hunch is that Montessori rocks.

9-12 months

Socialize with waving hi/bye

peekaboo

rolling a ball song: roll, roll, roll the ball...

hide a toy

"the purpose of the place mat is to show the child where and when to pay attention. the place mat is a visible, concrete cue that you want your child to pay attention to the work(it's play) that you are doing together. Consistently using the mat eventually teaches a young child how to direct his attention

cherrios on a cherrio book

scoop game- model scooping. say watch.

take cherrios and scoop them into different containers

hand over spoon encourage attempts to scoop

"I'm gonna getcha" (children calculate, predict the next movement you will make, awesome)

read a photo album of faces you want the baby to be comfortable around

discuss details of the faces, stories associated with each person

put down place mat. take six to eight colored links, mix say "watch"

slowly, quietly deliberately match links by color

mix and say "your turn"

coach, help repeat

personalize nursery rimes

"little "name of child" lost her/his sheep..."

reading no more than 5 minutes at a time, give interaction, ask questions, point to words or vocabulary, be expressive

use real objects for dramatic play.

ex. use pots and pans to pretend to cook

Jill Stamm Bright from the Start

William Martha Robert James Sears Baby Book

*teach child to take off other people's hats

*start to teach them to do laundry

always talk through actions, describe surroundings

A book review I read just lined up with the death of Bin Laden.

Wendy Elisheva Somerson writes about the book "Misframing Men: The Polotics of Contemporary Masculinities" by Michael Kimmel

"And in Profiling School Shooters and Shooters' Schools" Kimmel employs the brilliant term "aggrieved entitlement" to describe how many young men feel deserving of vengeance when they get hurt. He connects it to school shootings, like the one at Columbine High, that explode out of a climate that "combined brutal harassment, sanctimonious superiority, traditional gender norms, and a belief in violence as restorative."

The phrase "violence as restorative" is why regular people having nothing to do directly with Bin Laden get so giddy at his death.

I was at a bar in Joliet when Saddam was captured. The room fell into a joy akin to winning the lottery.

What do you think caused your heterosexuality? When and how did you decide to become heterosexual? Is it possible that your heterosexuality is just a phase you may grow out of? Have you disclosed your heterosexual tendencies to anyone?Why do so many heterosexuals seem compelled to seduce others into their heterosexual lifestyle? If you’ve never slept with someone of the same sex, how do you know you wouldn’t prefer it? Is it possible that you just need a good gay experience? Why are so many heterosexuals so blatant, always making a spectacle of themselves? Why can’t they just be who they are and not flaunt their sexuality by kissing in public and wearing wedding rings? Heterosexual marriages have total societal support, yet over half of marriages end in divorce. Why are there so few lasting heterosexual relationships? Given the problems heterosexuals face, would you want your child to be heterosexual? Why do heterosexuals place so much emphasis on sex? A lot of heterosexuals seem to be very unhappy. Would you consider some type of therapy to help you change? Most child molesters are heterosexual men. Do you consider it safe to expose your child to heterosexual males? Heterosexual male teachers in particular? *SOURCE: Sexual Minority Youth Assistance League, www.smyal.org

To discover your child's strengths:

-record observations preferences, quirks, choices

-stimulate imagination via creative play

-create rich memories by tradition and ritual

-model positive attitudes , approaches to life

Strength defined as something that makes one feel empowered, not necessary what one is good at

Helping children pursue interests is not about pushing them to be the best at something or jumping into something you think they are a natural fit for. It is about observing the things they are drawn to and letting them explore without interference.

things awry -discover what went wrong, accept responsisbility

MAKE IT KNOWN interested more in personal development rather than punishment

to read: Out of our MInds Ken Robinson

It doesn't matter if you win or loose it's how you play the game

The report entitled "A Nation at Risk" created anxiety and standardized testing in America. Gone individuality

"We cheat our students out of real opporutities for growth and insight when we fail to connect their learning experiences to what they already know about themselves adn thier lives. Wehn this connection is not made, students see the entire process as a game they are forced to play." 45

to read: Teaching Mathmatics Meaningfully Allsopp Kyger, Lovin

what would you do if money, prestige, and responsibility were not important

activity strenght: feet

relationship strenght: heart

learning strenght: head

Gestalt- Students invovled in underlying principals before application Adolescents drawn to figuring out a big picture first

to read: Dr. Mel Levine, Raising Cain, Queen Bees and Wannabees

teens in particular want people to understand them not to immediately fix them

write as if writing to a freind

After two weeks in mid January of almost non stop socializing it has been nice to recharge. Which mostly invovles substituting by day then reading and writing by night. I am on my second finance book which has got me reflecting on looooooooooong term goals. Overall, the world is a damn fun place so it is difficult to narrow the vision. When I'm not nerding it up, I dance some. This song could actually be a narrative for me right now.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=129kuDCQtHs



The Will County clerk has an improved web site for voting statistics. It is awesome! Yes, transparency- it breaks down how many votes each canidate got per precinct. Thus far only 21% of the public voted. Maybe the other 79% will be slow and steady absentee ballots shuffling through conveyor belts in the post office trying to find their way to the Clerk's building. (today i taught personification, funny shit)

My favorite part:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k92SerxLWtc

Though many parts made me cringe. The America has to be number one hype which is why I voted for the right canidate Ralph Nader.

This it a guide for writing a solid political letter:

www.ifge.org/Article230.phtml

I have written a few but lazily done the premade emails more often. My attempts to do the gay marriage letters have fallen short of greatness.

Then, I think about who I am addressing it to. This has probably been done before but my idea is to pester people who specialize in (insert poltical issue) instead of writing directly to letter desensitized legislators. The idea that legislators will take professional advocacy more seriously. There is probably a study on this somewhere.