Social Media in Early Childood Education

Should social media be allowed in the classroom? If so, at what age?

We recently discussed technology in the classroom, and while this subject is still up for debate, some educators have taken technology in the classroom to the next level by introducing social media in the classroom.

However, with social media, comes the issue of safety, especially when the students are so young, as in early childhood education. While some schools and even universities have banned social media, others are making it an important part of the classroom.

Some educators are using social media, such as Twitter, in their classrooms in order to to show younger children that there is an entire world, filled with other children just like them! For safety purposes, the kindergarten class shares a private Twitter account, which the teacher monitors and enters responses based on class feedback. The kids seem to really like it, as the follow and are followed by other kindergarten classrooms throughout the world.

Do you think social media should be used in early childhood education? Take our poll, or share your thoughts on our Facebook or twitter pages.

Obama on Early Childhood Education

Investing in early childhood education is crucial to America’s future.

Four years ago, President Obama said, “If we invest in early childhood education, we can make sure that every child in America has the opportunity to learn, and the opportunity to go to college, and the opportunity to succeed.”

During his recent State of the Union, he urged every state to require students to stay in high school until they graduate, or turn 18. Shortly after, he reiterated the importance of early childhood education and his commitment to it.

Despite Obama’s commitment to childhood early education, the achievement gap between affluent and low-income kids on standardized reading tests has grown by 40 percent since 1940. Since poverty is at an all time high, we need to start investing in education, particularly in the early childhood years.

So, how is Obama going to help improve early childhood education? In addition to increasing investments, some states were excused from the No Child Left Behind Act, which required schools to reach 100 percent achievement in reader for all students by 2014. While ambitious, this goal was unrealistic and would have caused schools to shut down. These decisions and investments in early childhood education will hopefully improve the achievement gap and decrease poverty in America.

In your mind, what’s the one thing that stands out that can be done to help close the achievement gap in America? Share your thoughts by commenting on our Facebook or twitter pages.

Getting Supply Lists to Parents: Please Bring from Tadpoles

How do childcare providers and early childhood educators let parents know what supplies their child should bring in? The new "Please Bring" feature from Tadpoles!

Getting young children to bring in the necessary supplies to daycare or school can be a daunting task—the odds that a supply list will even make it home are slim. Now, for daycare providers and early childhood educators using the Tadpoles app, this task becomes much easier.

Tadpoles recently launched the “Please Bring” store, powered by Amazon. Now, childcare providers and early childhood educators can easily communicate with parents to let them know what to bring. Items are categorized, such as “meal time” and “art supplies,” so parents can easily find what’s needed. The items also show up as links in daily reports, making it even easier to see everything you need in one place.

Since most working parents are extremely busy, and the Please Bring store is powered by Amazon, parents can easily order supplies online through the shopping cart feature.

Still don’t have the Tadpoles app? What are you waiting for! Get the free app, Childcare by Tadpoles.

Homeschooling in Early Childhood Education

Is homeschooling the right decision for early childhood education?

Homeschooling has become increasingly popular over the past few years—as private schools become more expensive, and public schools near home aren’t a good option, it makes sense. But what about homeschooling for early childhood education. Is it detrimental to childhood development?

The obvious benefits include a 1:1 student teacher ratio, with parents being able to focus on their child, rather than being in a sometimes over crowded classroom where child’s needs aren’t always recognized right away. In addition, homeschooling also makes for more opportunities for creativity, as a school's curriculum can be quite regimented. The most obvious benefit is the flexible schedule, but is that really what your child needs to prepare them for the future?

Homeschooling during early childhood education offers many benefits, but with those, come many challenges. Since pre-school and kindergarten years are the ones that matter most from a developmental standpoint, it’s a critical time for a positive education experience. The experiences throughout early childhood will set the stage for the rest of a child’s life.

While even preschool is optional, it helps children develop both mentally and sociallyhttp://www.child-development-guide.com/child-social-development.html. If homeschooling is the question, there’s no right or wrong answer, but it depends heavily on commitment from parents.

If you’ve homeschooled any of your children, or are considering it, or perhaps don’t believe in it, share your thoughts by commenting below, or on our Facebook or twitter pages.

XO-3 at CES: Are Tablets for Kids the Future of Education?

Are tablets for kids going to be the biggest thing for education in 2012?

While there are a lot of great iPad apps for kids available, let’s be honest--the iPad is a bit pricey for most parents to justify getting one just for their child. And sharing can be difficult, especially if your personal iPad is also used for business.

Luckily, at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), One Laptop per Child, a non-profit organization, debuted the XO-3--a rugged tablet for children that will cost around $100.

While it’s still in the prototype phase, the XO-3 seems to revolutionize tablet computing, making them even easier to use for kids, and most of all, more affordable for parents and organizations. In the next few years, tablets are speculated to become a huge part of education.

Rather than having to carry around enormous loads of books, everything could be stored on one device. But then again, there are those that still believe traditional methods of education are better.

Do you think tablets will play a big role in schools within the next few years, or are they just a soon to be dead fad, like netbooks. Share your thoughts by commenting below, or on our Facebook or twitter pages.

See the tablet prototype in action at CES:

Community Joins Forces to Focus on Early Childhood Education

The community of Danville, VA realizes the importance of early childhood education, especially the transition from daycare and preschool to kindergarten.

In Danville, VA, parents and community members gathered with educators earlier this week to discuss the importance of transitioning children from daycare or preschool into kindergarten. The event, “Building Bridges to Kindergarten,” attracted over 200 people, of which included Jason Downer, an associate professor and school readiness expert at the University of Virginia.

Downer believes that, “when children start off behind, the gap widens overtime.” In addition, he knows that both parents and teachers need to be involved in early childhood development in order for children to be ready for kindergarten. According to the findings at Smart Beginnings, 85 percent of a child’s critical thinking skills are developed by age 5.

Since 75 percent of children in Danville have working parents, what’s learned in daycare can be critical to their future. However, the transition from daycare to kindergarten can be difficult. With increased academic demands, changing social environments and less time with family, children can have trouble adjusting.

Even if both parents do work full-time, making a concerted effort to visit your child in school and talking with their teachers after school can make a significant impact. In addition, teachers can ease the transition by suggesting after-school activities that they think the child would like.

“What we are asking folks to do is change and to collaborate at higher levels,” said Ann Stratton, Smart Beginnings executive director. It’s easy for people who don’t have young children to feel like early childhood education doesn’t have anything to do with them, but early education is the future of every community and has long-term economic benefits.

Danville, VA should be viewed as a model community for others to follow in their footsteps. Being proactive about early childhood education and exploring different options about improving the transition from daycare/preschool to kindergarten can truly have an effect on our youth that could make or break their future success.

How has your community addressed early childhood education, or what do you think should be done to improve? Share your thoughts by commenting below, or on our Facebook or twitter pages.

New Year's Eve Activities for Kids

Looking for something to do this New Year’s Eve? Rather than finding a sitter for your kids, consider spending it with them! Here’s some tips to make the most of your evening, while keeping it kid-friendly.

Change Time Zones
First and foremost, if your child is too young to stay up until midnight, switch time zones! For example, if you live on the west coast, watch the ball drop in New York at 9 p.m. You’ll keep your kids from staying up too much past their bed times, while still getting to celebrate with them. Afterward, score some alone time and celebrate at midnight! Already on the east coast? Go international and check out Rio de Janeiro’s (two hours ahead) or London’s (five hours ahead) celebration.

Make it Rain—Balloons!
Whatever time you decide to celebrate, make it special with a balloon drop! Get a tablecloth or sheet and tape it to the ceiling on three sides, allowing the center to hang and attaching a cord or yarn to the open side. Stuff with balloons and metallic confetti (paper confetti could get wet and leave you with a mess) and tape up the last side of the cloth. When it comes time for the celebration, pull the cord and allow the balloons and confetti to fall from the sky for all to enjoy!

Resolve to Keep Resolutions
Rather than making a resolution and forgetting about it a few weeks later, teach your kids the value of a resolution by writing it down on a slip of paper and stuffing it in their stockings before decorations are stored away. Later that year, when decorations come out, they can check to see if they were able to stick to their resolutions—this is great for parents too!

Need some more activities? Print this coloring page of Tad ringing in the New Year for your kids and we’ll post it to our Facebook page! Just scan their masterpiece and send it to us at: tadpoles@tadpoles.com.

Share other NYE ideas by commenting below, or on our Facebook or twitter pages.

Teaching Your Child the True Meaning of Christmas

Teach your child the true meaning of Christmas through stories, involvement and home-made gift giving.

With Christmas only a few days away, make sure your toddler or young child knows about its true meaning. But how can something so complex be explained to someone so young? Here’s some tips on explaining the true meaning of Christmas to your child.

Get Excited
Between work, kids, keeping up with chores and holiday shopping, if you’re like most people, your probably exhausted. Make it a habit to get excited for story time and get into character, telling stories from classic Christmas books and gauge your childs’ reaction. If your child sees you getting excited about something, they will realize it’s important. And the repetition of the stories will reinforce the true meaning of Christmas.

Get Involved
Show your children how you understand the meaning of Christmas by getting them involved. Since Christmas is about giving, have them help hand out cookies or Christmas cards to neighbors. If you do make cookies, let your child help—handing something out that they’ve made will be truly rewarding.

Get Hand-Made
In the spirit of giving, have your child make hand-made gifts for loved ones such as a time capsule ornament, candles, or any artwork.

Need something for your child to color? Check out our free printable colorings of Tad wishing everyone a Happy Holiday, Merry Chirstmas, or Happy Chanukah. Once your child chooses one, (or all three), send it us and we’ll post their art on our Facebook page.

New Features from Tadpoles!

You asked, and we listened—Tadpoles will be adding new features, making it even easier for parents to connect with their childcare provider or preschool.

Before the end of the year, Tadpoles will be making exciting changes to better serve parents’ needs. Parents currently connected with their childcare providers or preschool using the “Childcare by Tadpoles” or “Preschool by Tadpoles” app will now have the option to receive updates directly to their email. Now, you can see the latest news through both the app and your email! In addition, parents will be able to view videos of their children from any common web browser and as always, will continue to have access to information on our Tadpoles.com website.

Coming Soon: Tadpoles for Android
Android users, get excited. Tadpoles will be available for Android devices before the end of the year! We’ll keep you updated on an exact launch date, but be ready to take a trip to the marketplace and get what you’ve been waiting for! Until the release, you’ll be able to receive updates through your email client, which is also possible with blackberry and windows mobile devices.

Tadpoles Goes Social
Soon enough, you’ll be able to integrate photos from your Tadpoles app directly to your Facebook albums, making sharing photos with friends easy and exciting. Since Tad is such a social creature, don’t forget to friend him on Facebook and follow him on twitter.

Suggestions
We’re excited to be able to provide these new features to make your Tadpoles experience as rewarding as possible. If you have any comments or other suggestions, let us know!