Babbyone Blog

The following is a repost from July of last year.  Also, don’t forget to enter the Literacy Beginnings giveaway. Entries end Tuesday at 11:59pm MST. Have you ever overheard someone talking to an infant, and they use that high, sing-songy voice? That’s called “parentese” and it’s been shown in research to support language development in infants…. continue reading

Today I’m over at my friend Steph’s place, Modern Parents Messy Kids, sharing some fun and easy ways to create your own puppet show theaters.  Here’s a taste: The invitation to put on a puppet show always promises plenty of fun for children .  But as another form of dramatic play (something Steph wrote about here) it’s also a powerful… continue reading

I received this stats graphic recently and found it very interesting.  If there’s one thing that I learned from grad school, it was to ask questions, and stats like these bring all kinds of questions to my mind.  Questions about the sample, about correlation vs causation, about significance and the almighty “if so, then what” question. … continue reading

Thank you for your thoughtful comments on the State of Education stats graphic.   You brought up great points, questioned conclusions, and looked at the issue from many different perspectives.  It’s clear that  education has many areas that could use some rethinking and some reworking.  It’s a complicated topic and it’s easy to feel like the problem is bigger… continue reading

Two great questions this month: How to use positive guidance without being permissive, and how to talk with administrators about standardized testing in KINDERGARTEN.  (You can also view this video here.)  Positive Guidance: Punishment or Consequences? Roots and Wings: Giving Choices and Setting Boundaries Time as a Natural and Logical Consequence Panel Discussion: Rewards, Positive… continue reading

The following is a guest post from Rachel Speal.  Rachel is an educational therapist who has over 20 years experience working with kids and adults of all ages. Her specialty is disabilities on the autistic spectrum, and language delays. You can find more hands on learning games at her site Teaching the Future.  It’s not always… continue reading

My friend, Mandi Ehman, is running a great Back to School series over at Life…Your Way, and I’m flattered to have been invited to contribute.  Check out my post as well as all the other great resources she’s sharing.  You can get a taste of it here: Change can be hard.  And yet as the… continue reading

As I work on some projects for the future, here’s a post from the past, originally posted in March of 2009. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote, “Music is the universal language of mankind.”  It is a transcendent medium, one that takes on a variety of forms to meet the intrinsic needs of each person.  It is… continue reading

There are a lot of people reading this blog these days, and I thank every one of you.  But there is one reader who took me a bit by surprise. Apparently my older brother, Bryan is an avid reader.  He likes to pull out comments about my blog now and then at family gatherings, leaving… continue reading

I read once that you have to be willing to write something now and then that makes you nervous, otherwise you aren’t writing anything really interesting. Well, I think I can check that off my list today because I’m addressing something that makes me nervous to write about.  Religion. I am a religious person, and… continue reading