In a country as big as ours, it’s hard to establish a consistent norm at the grassroots level, and truthfully, the only way children will learn healthy habits is from their families and their community. As any parent or teacher knows, its even harder to get kids to eat anything that looks remotely healthy. My mother has to put a little sugar on spinach in order for my 7-year-old sister to even pick up the fork. It’s a stress in any location, but the trick is to teach these habits early on so it doesn’t become such a battle in the future.

School lunches typically consist of frozen hamburgers, pizzas, and deli sandwiches. Cafeteria cookies are almost always a hit and chocolate milk was a staple. Tight budgets called for these quick, readily made meals and only now are we seeing the effects; between high calorie intake and limited time spent participating in physical activity, school lunches have allowed for the steady increase in obesity. As Let’s Move notes, we have to combat obesity with a double edged sword.  Schools need to provide suitable meals and increase physical education emphasis, and perhaps place more emphasis on nutrition in Health classes, which normally just teach Sex Ed.

It’s not impossible to change school menus, it just takes a bit of trial and error, as we’ve seen with Revolution Foods, a company which visits school districts to make nutritious and appetizing school lunches. Seems kids will eat anything with a side of ranch dressing or if the color is just right. Further, Let’s Move will help provide schools with resources to make the necessary changes. Sample wellness plans, menus, and programs are available now. Local education administrators are not alone.

Now that summer is here, take the time to take your kids to the local farmer’s market to show them all kinds of local produce and spend some time outside, riding a bike, going for a walk, or playing frisbee. If your family does any other kind of regular physical activity together, please feel free to share it with us.

For more information on Let’s Move!, please visit: www.letsmove.gov

PS 22 Chorus \"Lisztomania\" on YouTube

I may be a bit behind, but the kids still deserve some credit. I can’t wait to see who else they cover!

For more information, check out their blog at: http://ps22chorus.blogspot.com/

Though curriculum and lesson plans have a lot of other requirements, it’s important to remind today’s kids of just how precious our environment truly is. Water and energy consumption in developed countries is astronomical, particularly in the U.S. Over 1.1 billion people in the world have inadequate access to clean water, for personal hygiene and consumption. As Americans, we often forget just how fortunate we are to have virtually limitless access, save for the drought periods that sporadically affect communities. Ask your kids, or students, to consider how much water they use. Ask them if they let the shower run for a bit longer or if they turn the faucet off while brushing their teeth. Every little action adds up.

Energy awareness is equally as important. How much time does your child spend on their computer or in their room with the lights on? In terms of personal economics, parents could benefit from encouraging their children to spend more time outside playing than sitting indoors watching T.V. or playing video games. Spend a day outdoors with them and show them just how much they can accomplish. For parents with teenagers, remind them that carpooling is normally more cost efficient and helps reduce carbon emissions. Though one car won’t make a difference, their suggestion may be influential on their friends and the community as a whole. Recycling is still key and should be practiced in the home and classroom. If it takes bribery, tell your kids or students that for every bottle or can they collect, they have an opportunity to earn a little – ok, admittedly, very little - cash on the side.

There are tons of nature and environment centers around the States, even for New Yorkers. Encourage parents to go to the local nature center and spend some time there with their kids. We all have to set an example for the future generations, and EE Week is a great place to start.

For more information and resources on National Environmental Education Week, check out the official website at : http://www.eeweek.org/

Lately, the conversation has shifted.  Now, teachers must be given rewards and greater incentive for job performance, to increase student success rates.  The new law is equally as controversial as N.C.L.B., as critics consider it too ambitious and utopian.

Obama plans to keep some parts of N.C.L.B., such as annual testing, but will consider things such as attendance and graduation rates, instead of determining success by a numbers game. The new tests will measure that there was a demonstrated academic growth rather than an achieved proficiency level, because it is unlikely that all students are starting on the same proficiency level to begin with. The Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, explains, “NCLB says that fifth-grade teacher who helps a student reading at a second-grade level reach a fourth-grade level, within one year, has this missed their goal. In fact, that teacher is an excellent teacher and should be applauded.”

Teachers will be evaluated based on their performance in schools, in relation to these standards and will not be penalized for results if these results demonstrate academic growth. The idea, it seems, is to have children catch up at their own pace. The N.C.L.B. proficiency tests demanded the gaps be closed much more rapidly, whereas the new proposal would permit time. Further, it considers individual progress, which may be a better indicator for if the new standards are helping the students.

The administration hopes to greatly reduce drop out rates and hopes to develop a system that would make it so every high school student graduates ready for college and/or a career. Unlike N.C.L.B., states will have to assume federally proposed academic standard, which may do wonders in some states, but states like Massachusetts, that have excellent and rigorous standards, are afraid that those approved federally may not even meet their current system.  Though the program focuses on reading and math, states will be able to develop their own standards for other subjects and those can also be considered when schools are up for review.

What seems to be stressed the most is the effort and the willingness to reform. There is no formula behind a great teacher, nor is there a formula to a great education. What is most important is that no child is left behind, and that somehow one of the reforms proposed prevents that. What will be the impacts on teachers and school administrators? Hopefully that answer is not too far delayed.

The Blueprint, which is very much just that, can be found here: http://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/blueprint/blueprint.pdf

Now, a new article in the Health section of the NY Times points out that scheduling playtime immediately before lunch (instead of after) might result in less food waste, less upset stomachs, and more focused students when they get back into class.

So simple it just might make sense?

When you’re not out tricking or treating this Halloween, there’s plenty to do at Speakaboos:

Watch one of our spooky stories, like our brand-new storybook video Frankenstein, or the now-classic Billy and the Witch.

Then, scare your brain silly with the online Halloween Word Search Game, and print-out instructions for some creepy arts and crafts:  make your own Witch Hat and Monster Ooze (PDF printouts).

Happy haunting!

Encourage your young ones to read this summer with Speakaboos storybook videos—use our handy summer reading list to make sure you get the most out of the summer hours!

Family activities (PDF file downloads):
•    Arts and Crafts: Build a Birdhouse, Make Your Own Guitar, Cotton Ball Hare
•    Recipes: Mediterranean Fruit Kebobs, Banana Hot Dogs, Chicken Fingers
•    Coloring Pages: Jack and the Beanstalk, The Ugly Duckling, Cinderella
•    And much more at our Activities Page

The Top 10 Tech Skills Your Teen Needs Now – Education.com.

The article discusses how a school librarian Christy Payne and teacher Kristine Colazzo recently put on a “Boys and Books Conference” to promote reading among middle school boys. The conference featured reading sessions with male role models such as dads, football players, and costumed characters like Darth Vader (since “traditionally” it is mothers, not fathers and evil galactic rulers, who read to children), and aimed to encourage reading using non-traditional texts like graphic novels and non-fiction books about sports.

The best quote? “I have moms come to me and say, ‘He’s not reading. I can’t get his head out of Sports Illustrated,’ “Payne said. “But that is reading.”

Maybe we don’t have very much to worry about after all. Except for boys thinking that they have to like sports to be “normal”…

How young children use the internet, and how to keep them safe. By Camille Sweeney for Babble.com.

If only it were as simple as Mircrosoft says: