Just in time for Christmas, Speakaboos has released the classic poem “The Night Before Christmas” written by Clement Clarke Moore.  Get into the holiday spirit with this story read by Sean Patrick Thomas, the star of “Save the Last Dance”.

Enjoy this story as well as several other classic Christmas tales like “A Christmas Carol” and “12 Days of Christmas“. All of these stories are complete with great Christmas-related games and activities.

Mini Christmas Tree – Arts and Crafts

Angel Ornament – Arts and Crafts

Christmas Trivia Game

Gingerbread House - Recipes

The article boldly states, “A study of 11,000 seven-year-old children found that those with parents in professional and managerial jobs were at least eight months ahead of pupils from the most socially disadvantaged homes, where parents were often unemployed”

These findings collected University of London’s Institute of Education come just three months after British Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, spoke at the Hugo Young Lecture of 2010 about the Labour Party’s commitment to ending poverty in UK  before sheepishly suggested that ” good parenting could make a bigger difference than class to the destiny of a child.”

Clearly the UK, like the rest of the world has serious “class issues” that undoubtedly effect the progress of children. But to say that parenting has no effect on the success of one’s children? Without knowing the specifics of how the University of London conducted its study, it’s hard to say whether this data is really statistically significant (and the Guardian neglects to provide its readers with any such information). But it seems like data is being presented for political, rather scientific means here. What do you think?

“During the baby visits, the children sit around the baby and mother (sometimes it’s a father) on a green blanket (which represents new life and nature) and they try to understand the baby’s feelings. The instructor helps by labeling them…Children learn strategies for comforting a crying baby. They learn that one must never shake a baby. They discover that everyone comes into the world with a different temperament, including themselves and their classmates. They see how hard it can be to be a parent, which helps them empathize with their own mothers and fathers. And they marvel at how capacity develops. Each month, the baby does something that it couldn’t do during its last visit: roll over, crawl, sit up, maybe even begin walking. Witnessing the baby’s triumphs – even something as small as picking up a rattle for the first time — the children will often cheer.”

The goal of Roots is to  increase human biological capabilities for compassion by helping to teach kindness. “…We are beginning to understand how to nurture this biological potential. It seems that it’s not only possible to make people kinder, it’s possible to do it systematically at scale – at least with school children,” says Bornstein. He has observed Roots’ work in several Toronto schools and has seen first hand how bringing a baby into the classroom setting changes social dynamics,”What I find most fascinating is how the baby actually changes the children’s behavior. Teachers have confirmed my impressions: tough kids smile, disruptive kids focus, shy kids open up. In a seventh grade class, I found 12-year-olds unabashedly singing nursery rhymes.”

“Detroit Council President Pro Tem Gary Brown applauded Worthy’s idea, saying he would support legislation, ‘It’s child abuse when your child is failing in school and you’re not involved, because you are strapping that child to a life of poverty.’ “

Although, even advocates as enthusiastic as Brown are quick to point out that a jail sentence may be too harsh, suggesting that perhaps a fine might be equally effective considering the limited prison resources available in Detroit’s prison budget.The proposal excludes parents with complicated health issues, parents of children with especially excellent grades, and parents who can prove they’ve already established a connection with their child’s teacher.  Worthy was also quick to point out that parents convicted of conference abandonment would have ample time to delay sentencing and reschedule appointments in order to have charges dropped.The measure then, seems more of a way to get parents attention than to penalize. However, school board members are still skeptical,

“You can’t legislate parental involvement. I think this proposal is purely political and a real neat way to get your name in the paper,” Daniel Lessard, a member of the Livonia Public Schools board, said.

Giving parents incentive to stay involved doesn’t seem like a bad idea in itself, but one has to wonder if getting them into the classroom is really enough to salvage the  eroding Detroit school system.What are your thoughts?

• Brand new site design and navigation
• 140 storybook videos, 40 interactive games and hundreds of worksheets
• New videos, games and content added every week
• Mobile access, iPhone/iPad compatibility, and brand-new mobile apps and videos
• A revamped Speakaboos Blog

After the site is re-launched, full access to all of our new premium content will require a subscription fee…we decided this was better than plastering the site full of advertisements to pay the bills. There will still be plenty to see and do at Speakaboos for free, and subscriptions will start at just $4.99 per month.We realize this might be a burden to those who are used to the current format, so next week existing Speakaboos members will receive a special introductory offer by e-mail. If you haven’t already signed up to receive our newsletter, please do so here, and watch your inbox next week (also be sure to add newsletter@speakaboos.com to your contacts list so we don’t end up in your junk folder).Thank you so much for being a part of Speakaboos and helping us continue to grow. Your support and feedback mean everything to us, and we hope that you’ll like the new site as much as we do.Thanks again, and happy reading!