The Pica Perspective

Celebrate Earth Day!

It probably won't surprise you to learn that, according to reports, fewer than 10% of U.S. children currently learn about nature from being outside. Instead, one-third of them learn about it at school, and more than one-half of them learn about it via such electronic devices as computers and television!

Surely you don't need me to convince you that books and electronics offer no substitute for the real thing. Being outdoors is an experiences of the senses (which is how much of young children's learning takes place). Outside there are myriad amazing things to see: creatures in the clouds, hummingbirds hovering, and four-leaf clovers. To hear: birdsong, leaves rustling in the breeze, brooks babbling. To smell: lilacs, the rain-soaked ground, and Concord grapes (a favorite scent from my childhood; every time I smell it I'm transported back in time). To touch: the velvety softness of a petal, the fuzziness of a pussy willow, a fallen feather, the bark of a tree, or mud puddles. There are even things to taste, like a freshly picked blueberry or, in the winter, freshly fallen snow.

Do you remember how even the simplest foods taste better outside? Somehow, a peanut butter sandwich is just a sandwich when it's eaten in the kitchen. But make it part of a picnic, and suddenly it's special!

If T-ball and soccer are among your child's activities, you may believe she is indeed spending plenty of time outdoors. And while it's true she may be getting fresh air and sunshine (both important!), such organized activities don't allow for the appreciation of nature that outdoor experiences are meant to provide. When free to explore the outdoors on her own, she can lie on her back and absorb the feel of the grass against her skin, or track a caterpillar's progress. Heaven forbid she be doing either of those things during an organized game!

How about taking a "senses walk" on this Earth Day? Whether you walk around the backyard or around the block, you and your child can discover how many things you can hear, smell, or touch. How many red things can you see? How many natural things? An activity like this serves so many purposes! It stimulates the senses, provides physical activity, heightens awareness of the surrounding beauty, offers science lessons, and fosters a love of nature. Choose one sense to focus on today and then tomorrow, when it's no longer Earth Day, go outside and choose another to explore!

Time Just to Be

The stories I hear from parents never cease to amaze me. Like the one from the mom who was feeling pressured to enroll her two-and-a-half-year-old in the local soccer program -- the local, competitive soccer program!

"Our town," she said, "is very much into pushing children to compete and succeed. And I know other parents are looking at me as though I'm failing my child, but I'm not going to give in to the pressure. I'm not enrolling her in all these programs at age two."

Good for her! Whether it's a fear that their children won't get into the college of their choice, fear that they'll never find their passions, or fear that a child who isn't constantly engaged in organized activities will become lazy and unmotivated -- too many of today's parents are responsible for their children being overscheduled, with no time just to be.

What happens when a child's time is scheduled and programmed -- directed by someone else -- from morning 'til night, day after day? As one mother wrote to me: "If the parents work a full day and the children are in a traditional school, the child goes to care before school at around 7:30 AM, then goes to school, then goes to after-school care until around 5:30 PM. Then they have two hours of homework. If you add in one sport per season, they have two hours of practice/games once or twice a week. So the child's 'workday' is more than twelve hours!"

In addition to the stress is causes, an overscheduled, overprogrammed life at an early age assures that the child will never be able to entertain herself. Will never be able to live inside her own head. To deal with solitude or quiet time. She may not get much of it as an adult, but for her sake I hope there will be some. And when there is, it would be awfully sad if she felt panicked at the idea of having to keep herself amused. If she felt she absolutely had to be in the company of others.

If parents want their children to grow up to be resourceful, they have to make sure their kids start practicing now. That means they have to ensure their children have plenty of unstructured time -- preferably in big, uninterrupted chunks.

Rebecca Isbell, early childhood educator and author, says that the chunks of time children need for uninterrupted play will vary according to their level of development. Toddlers, she maintains, require a minimum of 30 minutes to remain in play activities that interest them. Preschoolers need 45 to 60 minutes. And early elementary children who are focused on their play may need an hour or more to bring their work to a conclusion.

Here are some questions excerpted from my book, A Running Start:

• If children begin living like adults in childhood, what will they have to look forward to?
• What's to ensure they won't be burned out from all the pushing and pressure before they've even reached puberty?
• If we've caused them to miss the magic of childhood, what will kids later draw upon to cope with the trials and tribulations of adulthood?
• What will become of the childlike nature adults call on when they need reminding of the delight found in simple things -- when they need to bring out the playfulness that makes life worth living?
• What joy will our children find as adults if striving to "succeed" becomes life's sole purpose?

Withholding Recess as Punishment

How many of you have children in schools where recess is withheld as punishment -- or as a way to catch up on school- or homework?

Last week I came across an article written by a superintendent in South Dakota. It was called "Recess Restriction Is a Useful Tool that Shall Remain in the Toolbox." (I'd send you there, but if you want to see an article that's more than 7 days old in The Daily Republic, you have to pay for it!) And as you can tell from the title, this guy is in favor of withholding recess when teachers felt it was necessary. He feels it's one of the few resources teachers have when it comes to managing the children, and he made it clear that he believes it works.

I could feel my hair get whiter as I read it! It was another one of those times when I wondered why we have so much excellent research if no one is going to pay attention to it -- particularly the people who should be paying attention, like educators and educational administrators?!

The research is quite clear on the benefits of recess. Studies as far back as 1885 and 1901 and up to the present have shown that individuals (but especially children) produce more when their efforts are distributed (breaks are included) than when concentrated (work is conducted in longer periods). Moreover, Dr. Olga Jarrett and her colleagues conducted a study that determined 15 minutes of recess resulted in the children being 5% more on-task and 9% less fidgety, which translated into 20 minutes saved during the day.

Hello. Is anybody listening?

Even if we didn't have a childhood obesity crisis on our hands (and we most certainly do), recess and the outdoor light would be essential to children's academic success. And since that's so obviously what matters most in our society, it's truly unbelievable that this particular research is being ignored -- or, at the very least, unheeded.

And here's another pertinent bit of information: Experimental studies and anecdotal evidence indicate that the same children tend to miss all or part of recess every day. Translation: The threat of missing recess is an ineffective "tool in the toolbox."

On Thursday I'll be interviewing the CEO of the National PTA for Body, Mind and Child. I'll be talking to her specifically about the PTA's support of recess and PE and want to explore the issue of what happens when parents and teachers don't see eye to eye (e.g., when parents want their children to have recess no matter what and teachers disagree). If there are questions you'd like me to ask -- or if you just want to contribute your thoughts to this conversation -- post your comments here or e-mail me at raepica@movingandlearning.com.

Providing Feedback to the Little Ones - Part 2

As promised in Tuesday's blog (March 11th), here are some suggestions for offering feedback in developmentally appropriate ways -- ways that will be most helpful to young children:

• Make one correction at a time. Young children can't absorb multiple pieces of information.
• Use words you're sure a child can understand. "Go a little faster" makes a lot more sense to a preschooler than "Pick up the pace a bit."
• Correct the behavior, not the child. "See if you can try it with all of your toes touching the floor," as opposed to "You're walking wrong."
• A "sandwich" approach helps cushion the criticism. An example of this approach is: "That jump was really high. Make sure you bend your knees a lot when you come down. But you swung your arms to get really high with that jump." You'll notice that the constructive criticism is "sandwiched" between two positive remarks.
• Make your statements in the positive. For example, "Bend your knees a lot when you come down" is preferable to "Don't come down with straight legs." The reasoning has more to do with a child's developmental stage than with promoting self-esteem: young children often fail to hear the "don't" part of an instruction. In the example here, the child will most likely hear the "straight legs" part and do the opposite of what you suggested.
• When possible, use demonstration in combination with your words. The more senses used in the learning process, the more children retain. So if you demonstrate landing with bent knees as you explain it, the child has a better chance of understanding what you mean.
• Don't compare a child with anyone else! This serves no purpose except to create alienation between your child and whoever you're comparing him to.
• Remember, you're also modeling playfulness, and in true play there are no mistakes. That doesn't imply mistakes aren't made. Rather, it means that if a child doesn't get something right the first time, she gets a "do-over" -- but only if she wants one! (Remember do-overs -- and how freeing they can be?) Most likely, she's going to want to accomplish whatever you've shown her, and she will try over and over again -- sometimes while you're watching and sometimes when you're not. But she'll try because she wants to -- not because someone insists she should. (You may be relieved to know that in youth sports the most skilled players are typically those who initiate practice themselves and not those who are externally motivated by parents or coaches.)
• Use neutral, as opposed to judgmental, wording. Education experts say to avoid "moralizing" or judging when providing feedback. For example, a jump isn't "good" or "bad." A jump is either light or heavy, or high or low. If we use the former, we haven't told the child anything helpful. If we use the latter, however, we've provided both vocabulary for what the child did and useful specifics.

Finally, it's been said that coaches should use a four-to-one ratio of positive to negative remarks. That may be so, but I need to make it clear that "positive remarks" does not mean praise, praise, false praise, and more praise. If you really want to help a child improve skills, make sure praise is both deserved and specific. Together with your instructive feedback, your praise should provide information she can use to improve her skills.

Providing Feedback to the Little Ones

It's hard to watch a child -- especially your own child -- do something incorrectly and resist the urge to "fix" it. Often, our solution is to offer constructive criticism, a practice we see as both helpful and harmless. Unfortunately, what we say may be neither.

Young children possess two means of acquiring information about their abilities. The first is through exploration and discovery. A child sees someone else do a forward roll and becomes excited about the possibility that he could do it, too. So in the yard, in the living room, and wherever else he has the chance, he practices this move. The first couple of times, he can't get past the top of his head, so he eventually figures out he should tuck his chin to his chest. That helps, but once he does get over he ends up flat on his back, so he learns to make his whole body rounder. If he wants to do more than one in a row, he finally determines that if he bends his knees, keeps them bent, and finishes with his feet flat on the ground, it's much easier to launch into a second roll. That's self-feedback.

The second way children acquire information about themselves is through feedback from parents and other important adults in their lives. Such feedback is significant to them. They have a strong innate desire to feel competent and a compelling need to please the important adults in their lives. This makes for a powerful one-two punch and means we, as adults, have a responsibility to handle their feelings with care.

Now, you know that I'm not all about inappropriate praise or "giving" children self-esteem; but I feel strongly that constructive criticism has to be doled out in ways that are conducive with what we know about child development. With that in mind, the first thing to realize about constructive criticism is that to children it's just criticism. Furthermore, they don't always understand that our words are related to a behavior (their failure to bend their knees upon landing from a jump, for instance) and not to them as people.

Of course, if your child frequently lands her jumps with straight legs, or walks with her feet rolling in, or throws "like a girl," you're going to want to help her. And if the corrections appear to be something she can't discover on her own -- through self-feedback -- you should help her. You simply want to approach such assistance in the best way possible. So, in Friday's blog, I'll offer plenty of suggestions for how you can do that! Stay tuned...

Music to My Ears

We haven't talked yet about music in this blog. It's not because I think music is unimportant in early childhood. On the contrary, I'm a huge proponent of the need for music in children's lives and education. I can't imagine how anyone can live a fully satisfying life without music in it, but for children it's absolutely critical!

In my presentations, I tell audiences that music:

• is vital to the development of language and listening skills;
• helps improve attention span and memory;
• expands vocabulary;
• alters moods -- to soothe or energize, as needed;
• increases motivation to communicate with the world; and
• heightens one's sensitivity to aesthetics!

You can read what a stay-at-home dad has to say about it in his blog, "A Family Runs Through It." There's also some great information in this piece:"Language Development and Music: Music Can Help Children Learn to Talk and Communicate".

Early childhood music specialists say that children should experience music through listening, singing, moving, playing, and creating. "Playing" can be as simple as banging on pots and pans. And "creating" covers a wide range: everything from creating movements to go with the music to making up lyrics to humming an "original song."

Plato, it seems, was a huge music fan. He said: "Music is a moral law. It gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, a charm to sadness, gaiety and life to everything. It is the essence of order and leads to all that is good, just, and beautiful, of which it is the invisible, but nevertheless dazzling, passionate and eternal form."

Sensory Integration

Yesterday I interviewed Christy Isbell for Body, Mind and Child. Christy's a pediatric occupational therapist and co-author of a book called Sensory Integration: A Guide for Preschool Teachers. Although sensory integration is certainly a hot topic in education these days, I must admit that I didn't know as much about it as I should -- especially considering I'm a movement person, and movement is involved on so many levels when there are problems with sensory integration.

Let me start at the beginning. Sensory integration occurs in the central nervous system as the body gathers information through the ears, eyes, nose, mouth, skin, muscles, and joints. Christy explains that although we're taught all through school that there are five senses, there are actually seven. The other two are "hidden." They're the vestibular sense, which has to do with movement and balance sensation, and the proprioceptive sense, which alerts us to our body's position in space.

When there are problems using the information that comes in via the seven senses, it's called Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD). Children with SPD fall into three categories: sensory avoiders (the most common), sensory seekers, and sensory under-responders.

Although there are a variety of ways in which these problems manifest themselves, according to Christy they all have "an enormous impact on children's overall development." SPD in its many forms also has a tremendous influence on a child's ability to learn. Among the symptoms are poor attention span, difficulty focusing, poor handwriting, and low self-esteem. I was particularly fascinated by Christy's description of sensory seekers who are in constant motion and often misdiagnosed as having ADHD. For such children, she said, drugs like Ritalin won't have any effect.

Because SPD is still not commonly understood and too often results in the children who suffer from it being misunderstood, it's an important topic for both educators and parents. Watch for Christy's interview to go live on BAM Radio. In the meantime, I highly recommend her wonderful book on the subject!

Your Feedback Needed!

As some of you already know, I'm hosting a new radio program focused on current issues for today's children! The program will allow you to eavesdrop on the conversations I have with leading parenting and early childhood development experts. By sharing these discussions, I'm hoping to give you access to the best guidance and insights into preparing our children's bodies and minds for life.

We're about to launch, and I would really appreciate your honest critique of the program and the website before we go public.

If you'll go to Body, Mind and Child right now you can listen to: "Should You Try to Boost Your Child's Brain Power?" with Kathy Hirsh-Pasek (co-author of Einstein Never Used Flash Cards); "Giving Your Child the Very Best Head Start," with Dr. David Elkind; "Helping Your Child to Read Well," with Dr. Jane Healy; and others! These interviews sort through the myths and the hype, getting to the heart of what really matters in a child's first eight years.

Each program is available on demand -- for listening on the computer or downloaded to an MP3 player for listening during a commute, a workout, or a wait in line!

To visit the site, click here! Take a look -- and a listen -- and then send me your feedback! Oh, and if you like what you hear, please subscribe to automatically receive new shows as they're updated weekly! It's easy and it's free. (On the radio tab, click "Subscribe" just to the left of the baby's picture. If you already have iTunes on your computer, you won't have to do anything else. If you don't, you'll need to first download iTunes; but that's also free and easy!)

I look forward to hearing your thoughts! You can post them here or e-mail me directly at  raepica@movingandlearning.com. Thanks!

Sleep, Stand, & Play!

Reports on three different studies have recently crossed my desk (computer screen?), all of which are relevant to The Pica Perspective...

The first study determined that children who don't get enough sleep may be at increased risk for childhood obesity. Dr. Julie C. Lumeng, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Michigan and lead author of the study, says the reason for the connection between the two is unclear and that some unmeasured variables could have influenced the results. For example, parents may use food to pacify sleep-deprived children, or sleep-deprived children may request and receive food more often. Still, Dr. Lumeng posed two other explanations:

1. Children who don't get enough sleep are more likely to be tired the next day and therefore less likely to take part in physical activity.
2. A disrupted sleep cycle may interfere with how the body stores calories.

According to WebMD, children 1 to 3 years old need 12 to 14 hours of sleep a day, with children ages 3 to 6 requiring 10-3/4 to 12 hours a day. Children 7 to 12, they say, need 10 to 11 hours a day. I suspect that there are few children who actually get these amounts of sleep per day, but this certainly provides rationale for why public preschools and kindergartens should not be doing away with naptime!

Results from the second study show that sitting may increase the risk of disease! Researchers at the University of Missouri-Columbia found that sitting in chairs, using computers, reading, and watching TV had negative effects on fat and cholesterol metabolism -- and that exercising, even for an hour a day, wasn't enough to reverse these effects. These researchers recommend standing whenever possible -- for example, while on the phone -- as it burns double the number of calories! They say it's a misconception that actively exercising is the only way to make a difference in an otherwise sedentary lifestyle. Rather, they point out, standing and other non-exercise activities burn calories even in individuals who get no other exercise.

Finally, new research from the Medical College of Georgia shows that children who play vigorously for 20 to 40 minutes a day do better at the cognitive functions schools have had the hardest time improving. Among them are planning and organizing their work, staying focused, resisting stray impulses, correcting their own behavior, and using strategies to achieve their goals. And the children who played for 40 minutes made twice the gains of those who exercised for 20 minutes!

I must admit it bothers me when the mind takes precedence over the body -- in other words, when people think so little of the body that we have to show them the benefits to the brain that come from using the body. But...I'm glad for whatever information I can use to get people -- children, specifically -- physically active! And with each new piece of information that comes along comes renewed hope that the schools -- and those who set school policy -- will start to see the light!

Federal Legislation re: Education

This week I'm attending -- and presenting at -- the annual conference of the National Association for the Education of Young Children. So I'm "borrowing" information sent to me by Amy Lux of the Coalition for Children's Health for this post.

Here's some federal legislation that's been introduced recently and that is relevant to our cause here. If there's something here you feel strongly about and your senator or representative isn't listed as a sponsor, contact him or her and ask for their support. You can find contact information at www.congress.org.

S 651 PLAY Every Day Act 2/15/07

 To help promote the national recommendation of physical activity to kids, families, and communities across the United States. The Secretary of Education, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, shall provide grants to State health departments to enable the State health departments to work in partnership with eligible community-based coalitions to plan and implement model communities of play. They shall use grant funds in partnership with community coalitions to carry out a community action plan and promote a model community of play, by enabling the maximum use of, or the creation of, spaces and places for physical activity for children, families, and communities before, during, and after school or work. This may include increasing the number of schools serving the community that provide recess, physical education, and physical activity for children and youth.

Sponsors: Harken, Clinton

Co-sponsors: Bingaman, Hagel, Landrieu, Mikulski, Sanders, Boxer, Durbin, Inouye, Menendez, Nelson

Referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

 

HR 2045 PLAY Every Day Act 4/27/07

House version.

 Sponsors: Udall, Granger, Boswell, McIntyre, Cummings

 Co-sponsors: Abercrombie, Allen, Blumenauer, Alexander, Bishop, Bordallo, Boucher, Brady, Braley, Capps, Carson, Castor, Chandler, Christensen, Cohen, Delahunt, Doyle, Duncan, English, Etheridge, Filner, Fortuno, Frank, Gerlach, Gillibrand, Gonzalez, Gordon, Green, Hastings, Hinchey, Hinojosa, Israel, Jefferson, Kind, LaHood, Lewis, Maloney, Markey, Marshall, McGovern, McNulty, Miller, Moran, Musgrave, Myrick, Napolitano, Norton, Olver, Pastor, Payne, Price, Ramstad, Renzi, Rothman, Salazar, Schakowsky, Snyder, Souder, Towns, Weiner

Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

HR 3257 Fitness Integrated with Teaching Act (Fit Kids Act) 7/31/07

To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to improve standards for physical education, asking states to show demonstrated progress toward meeting the national goal for required physical education, which is 150 minutes per week for all students in elementary schools and 225 minutes per week for all students in middle and high schools.

 Sponsors: Kind, Wamp, Inslee

 Co-sponsors: Sanford, Carson, Braley, Clay, Costa, Filner, Gordon, Hare, Johnson, Kagen, Lipinski, Lofgren, Maloney, McIntyre, McNerney, Moran, Norton, Ryan, Sarbanes, Smith

 
Referred to the Committee on Education and Labor

 

S 2173 Fitness Integrated with Teaching Act (Fit Kids Act) 10/17/07

Senate version

Sponsor: Harkin

Referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

HR 1224 'Strengthening Physical Education Act of 2007' 2/28/07

 
To amend section 1111 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 regarding challenging academic content standards for physical education. The Secretary of Education may award grants on a competitive basis to State education agencies to establish and revise state standards for physical education. Grants may be used to develop, revise, or improve physical education curriculum to meet minimum content and performance standards established by the Secretary, to purchase content materials and equipment to implement physical education curriculum, to assist in the implementation of physical education model programs; and provide for staff and teacher training and education.

Sponsors: Wamp, Kind, Inslee

Co-sponsors: Abercrombie, Bishop, Filner, Fortuno, Gordon, Hare, Holden, Jackson-Lee, Lofgren, Moran, Norton, Payne, Rahall, Rothman, Ryan, Shays, Walsh, Wicker

Referred to the Committee on Education and Labor, and the Committee on Energy and Commerce

 

S 2066 'Back to School: Improving Standards for Nutrition and Physical Education in Schools Act of 2007' 9/18/07

To establish nutrition and physical education standards for schools.

Sponsor: Obama

Referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

HR 3606 Access to Complete Education Act 9/19/07

 
To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to provide grants for core curriculum development. Support systemic, comprehensive education reform by strengthening the instruction of music and arts, foreign languages, civics and government, economics, history, geography, and physical education and health as an integral part of the elementary and secondary school curriculum.

 Sponsors: Woolsey, Hare, Loebsack, Sarbanes,

Jefferson

 Referred to the Committee on Education and Labor

HR 3642 Expanded Learning Time Demonstration Act 9/24/07

 Amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to provide support through competitive grants to local education agencies and State education agencies to to expand learning time in the form of longer school days.

 Sponsor: Payne

 Referred to the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education

HR 1702 Common Sense Budget Act of 2007 3/26/07

 
To reallocate funds toward sensible priorities such as improved children's education, increased children's access to health care, expanded job training, and increased energy efficiency and conservation through a reduction of wasteful defense spending, and for other purposes. $10,000,000,000 shall be made available to carry out the modernization of school facilities under section 8007(b) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965

Sponsors: Woolsey, Lee, Kucinich, Jackson-Lee, Kilpatrick, Schakowsky, Grijalva, Serrano, Stark, Becerra, Carson, Christensen, Ellison, Filner, Gutierrez, Hinchey, Honda, Kaptur, McDermott, McGovern, Rush, Solis, Watson

Co-sponsors: Clarke, Clay, Cleaver, Cohen, Conyers, Cummings, Farr, Fattah, Hare, Jackson, Jones, Lewis, McDermott, McGovern, Meeks, Moore, Norton, Olver, Payne, Thompson, Velazquez, Watt, Welch, Wynn

Referred to the Committee on Armed Services, and the Committees on Energy and Commerce, Education and Labor, Homeland Security, Foreign Affairs, and Veterans' Affairs