All too often I hear my boys and their friends say recess was taken away as punishment for things such as poor behavior or for not finishing homework. Although theses acts should not be rewarded, I would like to see our school administration and staff value recess as necessary for healthy child development and find alternative ways to discipline kids or hold them accountable for their actions, or lack of action, in some instances.
I haven’t been this excited about a board book since—ever. Hippopposites is the international literary debut of French designer Janik Coat, and brings heretofore unseen sophistication and graphic punch to that esteemed genre: opposites books.
Using one red, square-ish, cankled hippo to illustrate pair after pair of opposites, Coat has created a book that’s enchanting for the eyes and fun to read.
In my business we spend a lot of time thinking and talking about loose parts. (We spend a lot of time picking them up, too.) Loose parts play has certainly been around for as long as childhood, but the term was coined in the early seventies by British architect Simon Nicholson.
On Thursday, May 31, 2012 AT 5:30PM, Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), in partnership with the Providence Children’s Film Festival, will present two exclusive screenings of Studio Ghibli films, as well as a very special conversation with producer Toshio Suzuki. Spirited Away and Only Yesterday will be screened in the RISD Auditorium in their original Japanese, with English subtitles. The event is free and open to the public; tickets are available through EventBrite. Spirited Away (suitable for children ages 10 and up) will kick the evening off from 5:30 to 7:30PM, followed by the Q&A with Suzuki from 7:30 to 8:30PM. Only Yesterday (suitable for children ages 14 and up) will play from 9:00 to 11:00PM.
As the springtime sun is shining, warming up the ground and helping plant life bloom all around us, it is so much fun to connect with the season by planting something of your own and watching it grow!
Families with the space and the inclination to go big may enjoy planning and planting a vegetable garden together. Each family member can choose what they’d like to plant, and everyone works together on garden design, construction, planting and caring for the young plants.
But, perhaps you don’t feel very knowledgeable, or have the space for a large-scale garden….consider gardening anyway!
