February 29, 2016

"OH, THE PLACES YOU'LL GO!

THERE IS FUN TO BE DONE! THERE ARE

POINTS TO BE SCORED. THERE ARE GAMES TO BE WON."

From: Oh, The Places You'll Go!

Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known to the world as the beloved Dr. Seuss, was born in 1904 on Howard Street in Springfield, Massachusetts. 

Ted's father, Theodor Robert, and grandfather were brew masters in the city. His mother, Henrietta Seuss Geisel, often soothed her children to sleep by "chanting" rhymes remembered from her youth. 

Ted credited his mother with both his ability and desire to create the rhymes for which he became so well known.

Best,

Nora Sierra

Early Childhood Assistant Principal

Discovery School

Feb. 22, 2016

Critical thinking is a term that is given much discussion without much action.  K-12 educators and administrators are pushed to teach the necessities as dictated by the standardized assessments in order to catch up the students to students of other countries.  In this push for better test scores, many students are leaving the K-12 education system lacking the critical thinking skills that are necessary to succeed in higher education or in the workplace.

There are several reasons that critical thinking is not being focused on, and the need to have better scores on assessments is just one of them.  Issues such as how to define critical thinking, how to teach critical thinking, and whether critical thinking should be taught or learned through social interaction plague educators who think about enhancing the critical thinking skills of their students.

“In order to engage students in critical thinking, the educator needs to act as a facilitator to allow for discussion and encourage a freer thought process … “

Critical thinking can be infused in lessons throughout all disciplines by utilizing in depth questioning and evaluation of both data and sources.  Having students track patterns in information forces them to look at the information as a process instead of simply information to be memorized and helps them develop skills of recognition and prediction.  

Enjoy,

Ms. Nora Sierra

EC Assistant Principal

Discovery School

Feb. 8, 2016

The term "cognitive style" refers to the way a person processes information in his/her head in a way that is distinctive to that individual. A person is set in a particular cognitive style from birth. In contrast, learning style is a manner in which a learner interacts with and responds to the learning material or environment. A person's cultural background may influence his learning style. The student may also use a different learning strategy depending on the task.

Teachers can tailor learning experiences to differentiate among the individual needs of students in the classroom. There are many learning styles, yet some of the most common are: visual, auditory and kinesthetic.

Cognitive Learning Styles of Children describes the characteristics of these learners as well as the types of activities in which they best thrive, with the caveat that it is only learning styles being described, to be distinguished from cognitive styles (holistic, analytic, field-dependent, etc.). Cognitive styles and learning styles are important concepts in the study of education. For a time, people used the two terms interchangeably, but experts today study both types of styles individually to determine the best methods for educating children in the classroom who may learn or process information differently from their peers.

Teachers can also differentiate by matching assignments to readiness levels, offering appropriate intervention or extension activities as required. Allowing children to select activities based on areas of interest is another great way to differentiate. Offering choices is an excellent motivator for kids.

Small-group work is one of the most effective ways to meet the needs of diverse learners in large class settings.

Enjoy,

Ms. Nora Sierra

Early Childhood Assistant Principal

Discovery School

February 1, 2016

The Value of Art for the Preschool Child

Art is basic. Of course, every subject area is important, but no program for young children could succeed without emphasizing art. Through making, looking at, and talking about their own artwork and the art of others, three-, four-, and five-year-old children are doing the following:

1. Expressing their feelings and emotions in a safe way. They learn to control their emotions and recognize that they can express and handle negative as well as joyous feelings through positive action.
2. Practicing and gaining fine muscle control and strengthening eye-hand motor coordination. By holding paintbrushes and learning how to control paint, crayons, scissors, and other art tools, children gain the skills necessary for later writing activities as well as a feeling of control over themselves and their world.
3.  Developing perceptual abilities. Awareness of colors, shapes, forms, lines, and textures result as children observe these and try to replicate them through art.
4.  Being given the opportunity to make choices and solve problems. How do you get the legs to stick on a clay figure? What color should I use? Making art offers children a multitude of choices and many decisions to make.
5. Seeing that others have differing points of view and ways of expressing these than they do. Comparing children’s drawings, paintings, or models gives children concrete, dramatic examples of how different people express the same thing in different ways. While learning that their way is not the only way, they learn to value diversity.
6.  Becoming aware of the idea that, through art, culture is transmitted. Becoming acquainted with the art of the past, children are involved in learning something of their origins and themselves.
7.  Experiencing success. Because art leaves the end open to the creator, all children experience a measure of success. This is why art activities are appropriate for children with special needs. Regardless of the physical or mental need of the child, there is some art media and activity through which he or she can experience success.
8. Making connections between the visual arts and other disciplines. Art integrates the curriculum. Content from every subject matter can find form through art.

Enjoy,

Nora Sierra

Early Childhood Assistant Principal

Discovery School

(504)221-7790

(504)221-7791(fax)

(504)9500-1720(school cell)

(504)9985-0732(mobile)

nsierra@discoveryschool.edu.hn

Jan. 20, 2016

The Importance of Parent-Teacher  Communication

There’s plenty of evidence that shows positive communication between parents and teachers helps improve academic performance.

As your child’s greatest teacher and role model, it’s vital that you get involved in their schooling, rather than sitting back and letting the teacher handle it all. Your child need to see the importance that you, as their parent, put on their education, though make sure this doesn’t translate as an emphasis on always having to come first or being top of the class.

While teachers are experts in teaching, you’re the expert on your child. You know what stimulates, bores and interests them, what they’re good at and what they struggle with. You know your child’s learning style and you also know if there are any other issues going on that might be affecting their learning at school. So ongoing communication with your child’s teacher is essential to make sure they can tailor their approach to your child while in class.

Parent-teacher interviews are a great opportunity to communicate with your child’s teacher and hear how your child is tracking academically and socially relative to their classmates. However, they are also a great way to discuss any troubles or questions you may have regarding your child. With many parent-teacher interviews coming up, it is important that you take the time to think about the things you would like to discuss with your child’s teacher – to ensure you make the most of your allocated time.

In saying this, communicating with your child’s teacher isn’t just about attending parent-teacher interviews and conferences; there are lots of other ways to stay in touch and to create a positive two-way relationship, including email, volunteering in the classroom or by adding comments to a homework book. At drop off or pick up time, teachers are usually very busy so it might be best to schedule an appointment for when it’s more convenient.

Above all, remember that it’s a three-way relationship between you, your child and their teacher and that only by working together positively can you help your child achieve their full potential.

Best,

Nora Sierra

Early Childhood Assistant Principal

Discovery School

(504)221-7790

(504)221-7791(fax)

(504)9500-1720(school cell)

(504)9985-0732(mobile)

nsierra@discoveryschool.edu.hn

Teaching Children How to Think

Teaching Children How to Think

To function and create change in this modern world, individuals need critical thinking skills – the ability to think about ideas or situations in order to fully understand their implications so as to be able to make an informed judgment or decision.  Critical thinking includes skills such as questioning, predicting, investigating, hypothesizing, analyzing, reflecting, revising, comparing, evaluating and forming opinions.  It involves an inquiry process of exploring issues that may not be clearly defined and for which there are no clear-cut answers. Critical thinking also includes metacognition – the process of thinking that enables us to reflect on our own learning as we develop knowledge and skills.

According to Tony Wagner in his book, The Global Achievement Gap, mastery of the basic skills of reading, writing and math is no longer enough. Instead, work, learning and citizenship in the 21st century demand that we all know how to think – to reason, analyze, weigh evidence and problem solve. He goes on to say that children will need seven basic survival skills to succeed in the world that awaits them:

·         Critical Thinking and Problem Solving

·         Collaboration across Networks and Leading by Influence

·         Agility and Adaptability

·         Initiative and Entrepreneurialism

·         Effective Oral and Written Communication

·         Accessing and Analyzing Information

·         Curiosity and Imagination

Robert Fisher, a leading expert in developing children’s thinking skills, says that thinking is not a natural function like sleeping, walking and talking. Thinking, he stresses, is a skill that needs to be developed, and people do not necessarily become wiser as they become older. Children learn to think when adults take them seriously, engage them in meaningful conversations, inspire their imaginations and ask them questions that get them to think. This is exactly the approach that we need to incorporate into the classroom.

According to many experts, to develop these basic skills, we need to re-define the role of the teacher and the student. Teachers need to move from primarily being the information keeper and information dispenser to being an orchestrator of learning where knowledge is co-constructed with the student.  Teachers will become facilitators, guides, mentors, sources and resources who make use of spontaneous teachable moments to scaffold children’s learning.   The 21st century will require knowledge generation, not just information delivery, and schools will need to create a “culture of inquiry” that is shared equally by teachers and students.

Enjoy,

Ms. Nora Sierra

SONG FEST

 Please do not forget that this Friday, December 11 we will hold our Songfest. This year, the theme is the AWESOME 80’s, and our students have been working very hard in preparing their presentations for our school community. The show will begin promptly at 6:30 p.m. Since traffic tends to be very hectic at this time of the year, and especially on Fridays, we recommend you try to be here early. We are inviting you to come at 5:00 p.m. and enjoy the delicious food that will be sold by the DPTO, the drinks sold by the seniors, and the tasty pastries sold by the Community Service, and do a little bit of Christmas shopping with selected vendors from the Xmas Bazaar.

Best,

Nora Sierra

Early Childhood Assistant Principal

Discovery School

(504)221-7790

(504)221-7791(fax)

(504)9500-1720(school cell)

(504)9985-0732(mobile)

nsierra@discoveryschool.edu.hn

November 30, 2015

Nuestro Pequeños Hermanos (NPH)

Nuestro Pequeños Hermanos (NPH) is an international organization that takes in abandoned and orphaned children, providing a home and education.  Here in Honduras, the NPH organization provides for over 500 children in at large ranch near La Venta and home in Tegucigalpa for severely handicapped children.   While many children at the ranch have aunts, uncles, or grandparents that come to visit them and can provide some Christmas gifts, some children at a ranch have no family to visit.  It is these children, whom we would like to provide for this Christmas.   A paper tree will be sent home that has a child’s information about his/her size for shoes or socks.  Purchase the new item and return it to Mrs. Agurcia’s Room (Rm. 7) by Tuesday, December 8th, with the tree tag taped to it.  Thank you for giving this Christmas!

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYC2A5njQTk

Best,

Nora Sierra

Early Childhood Assistant Principal

Discovery School

(504)221-7790

(504)221-7791(fax)

(504)9500-1720(school cell)

(504)9985-0732(mobile)

nsierra@discoveryschool.edu.hn

What Are Fine Motor Skills?

What Are Fine Motor Skills?

Fine motor skills are achieved when children learn to use their smaller muscles, like muscles in the hands, fingers, and wrists. Children use their fine motor skills when writing, holding small items, buttoning clothing, turning pages, eating, cutting with scissors, and using computer keyboards. Mastery of fine motor skills requires precision and coordination.

Fine motor skills develop after gross motor skills, which control actions like throwing and kicking balls, as well as walking and jumping. Gross motor skills utilize larger muscle groups and require less precision.

How Do We Help Children Develop Fine Motor Skills?

Practice,  practice, practice. In most cases of fine motor skill development, practice does, in fact, make perfect. Some ways to develop these skills are having children do the following activities:

·        

•     Pop bubbles on bubble wrap with just the index finger and thumb.
•      Use an eyedropper to add food coloring to batter with just the index finger and thumb.
•     Finger painting
•     Puzzles
•     Video games
•     Trace shapes or letters
•      Legos or building blocks

These activities focus on smaller muscle groups. Using the same muscles can help children develop muscle memory, which is when repetition of one action allows that action to be performed almost automatically without much effort. For example, pressing the correct buttons on video game controllers can be difficult the first few tries. But after playing the game a few times, we tend to master the buttons on the controller. Whether or not we can master the video game itself is a different story, but it does become second nature to press certain buttons to run or jump in the game.

Notable Accomplishments in Fine Motor Skill Development

Two popular terms that come up with learning about fine motor skills in children are fist grip and pincer grip. An example of a fist grip is when children use their whole hand and wrap it around a pencil to write their names. A pincer grip refers to the pinching muscles. Eventually, most children learn to use a pencil with their thumb and one or two fingers, which indicates that they have developed the pincer grip. When it comes to terminology for this lesson, grip and grasp are interchangeable.

Enjoy,

Nora Sierra

Early Childhood Assistant Principal

Discovery School

(504)221-7790

(504)221-7791(fax)

(504)9500-1720(school cell)

(504)9985-0732(mobile)

nsierra@discoveryschool.edu.hn

November 9, 2015

6 Ways to Encourage Writing in Preschool

There are many different ways to encourage writing skills with preschool aged children.  Today I’m going to share with you some of the ways we encourage beginning writing in our preschool classroom…

The first thing I suggest is to make the “writing process” fun!  Put away the workbooks until the time comes when the child is interested in them, and instead incorporate writing activities into their daily play…

1. Start with their name

When introducing writing to your children or students, you want to make it relevant to them.  What is more relevant than their name?  Begin by pointing out the letters in their name when you see them in environmental print.

2. Use your fingers

You can begin the writing process with the tools you were born with–your fingers!   Writing doesn’t have to take place with pencils or crayons.  In fact, using your fingers helps to develop the strength that is needed to eventually be able to grasp a pencil or crayon later on.

3. Offer interesting tools

If you have students that do not enjoy finger painting or having messy hands, then you can certainly offer other tools to use in their paint trays or salt trays. 

4. Offer unique writing experiences

Make writing fun by offering unique writing experiences.  Writing in shaving cream is a blast and one that children won’t soon forget.

5.  Keep a journal

Journaling is a great way for children to practice writing.  It can also be a fun way for children to express themselves creatively.  Invite children to journal about an enjoyable experience that they’ve had either at school or at home.

6.  Set up a writing station

If you have room in your home or classroom, a writing station is a perfect place to invite children to write.  A writing station consists of different types of paper or cards, stickers, writing tools, scissors, and glue.  Varying the materials that you offer in your writing center will keep children interested in coming back.

Enjoy,

Nora Sierra

Early Childhood Assistant Principal

Discovery School

(504)221-7790

(504)221-7791(fax)

(504)9500-1720(school cell)

(504)9985-0732(mobile)

nsierra@discoveryschool.edu.hn

Learning Vocabulary: An Essential Skill

Word knowledge is linked strongly to academic success. Students who possess large vocabularies can express their ideas better and understand new concepts more quickly than students with limited vocabularies.

Today students are being tasked much more often to tackle complex text. However, if there are gaps in their vocabulary knowledge, these students struggle to comprehend.

Many students, including ESE and ESL students, lack the fundamental vocabulary for success in learning content-area subjects and reading academic texts. Vocabulary development builds reading comprehension. Without explicit, focused instruction, a student's vocabulary gap may widen with each passing year.

The use of computers in vocabulary instruction was found to be more effective than some traditional methods. It is clearly emerging as a potentially valuable aid to classroom teachers in the area of vocabulary instruction.

Vocabulary Spelling City is an invaluable tool that provides an effective and enjoyable way to expand and retain new vocabulary. The interactive vocabulary games contain auditory and visual support that ensures information is presented in a variety of ways.

Enjoy,

Nora Sierra

Early Childhood Assistant Principal

Discovery School

(504)221-7790

(504)221-7791(fax)

(504)9500-1720(school cell)

(504)9985-0732(mobile)

nsierra@discoveryschool.edu.hn

5 WAYS TO SHARE YOUR PASSION FOR LEARNING

Many teachers would verify that they entered the field of teaching because they love it. Not only do they love teaching others, but the subject material they teach thrills them. Stories abound of would-be teachers switching out of college majors to pursue the career they love. In other cases, teachers work with their subject material – whether it is English, Math, Science, or whatever – in arenas beyond just their classroom. They gravitate towards those venues. They feel complete when they work with and talk about what they love.

The truth is that teachers regularly love whatever it is they may be teaching. The question is, “How can passionate teachers get their students to be passionate, too?” After all, unless students have some degree of interest in the topic, they are not going to be motivated to excel.

Regularly apply your passion, and tell your students. Be an example. If you were thinking about something, working on a project, or just walking along and found something interest that relates to class, tell you students about the experience. What you and your students talk about doesn’t have to be isolated to your classroom. Let them see how what you’re teaching applies to the world beyond the classroom.

Passion is cool. Set goals and reward improvement. When students set a goal for their own academic growth, half the battle is already won. Now they have an internal motivating factor that will help propel them to that next level of success. And lavishly reward students who make any improvements. With the right enthusiastic atmosphere, students might just realize that learning can be really, really cool.

Be cool!

Nora Sierra

Early Childhood Assistant Principal

Discovery School

(504)221-7790

(504)221-7791(fax)

(504)9500-1720(school cell)

(504)9985-0732(mobile)

nsierra@discoveryschool.edu.hn

October 12, 2015