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STEM education is a relatively new phenomenon for American kids. The term, which stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, has birthed a technical subgenre of children’s activities and products. There are after-school STEM programs, STEM summer camps, and a steadily growing market of STEM toys, all of which seem to share a common goal: promote the skills necessary for academic success and subsequent access to better-paid jobs. Unfortunately, though this goal is accepted as virtuous by parents anxious about their children’s economic future, there remains no real proof that STEM toys are effective and (perhaps ironically) there’s little data-backed...

Had the spring of 2020 gone as planned, a day in the life of an average child would have meant actual classrooms, baseball games, middle-school plays, and birthday parties where kids ate too much cake instead of waving from the back seat as a parent drove them past their friend’s house, honking the horn. There would have been jokes and whispers in hallways, cafeterias, gyms, and school buses. As he finished his junior year of high school, my 17-year-old son, Alex, didn’t just miss engineering projects; he missed walking to school with Charlie, grabbing lunch with Johnny or Callan, perfecting...

About Bluebee Pals Techie Rangers Are you looking for some ideas for your teletherapy sessions? Do you have students using AAC communication systems?  Check out this free e-book titled Bluebee Pals Techie Rangers that was written by myself and Laura Jiencke, President of Bluebee Pals.  When Andy gets separated from his class on a field trip, he needs to be rescued. Who comes to the rescue? The Bluebee Pals Techie Rangers! Join Andy and his Bluebee Pal friends on an adventure to return back to the Rainbow School. This book, which helps target language and learning tips, is an excellent...

A bout of head lice can be a minor nightmare for a family, spreading to every member in days, and often quite difficult to treat. Common among children aged three to 10 years, head lice are six-legged insects – about the size of a sesame seed – that live on the scalp and neck, feeding on human blood. While head lice are kind of gross (and spotting a tiny, moving speck on a child’s head is enough to send any parent into a panic!), they don’t pose any significant threat to your child’s health. However, they’re highly contagious and, like...

Bring the sun and sand to circle time with this preschool song and literacy activity.  Gather the students to sing and play with beginning sounds and matching the sounds they hear to the corresponding letters in text. Plus, you can even turn the game over into a literacy center after you play during circle time. Circle Time Summer Preschool Song and Activity Full Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. Bucket, Bucket, Full of Sand Song and Activity One of the most popular resources on Growing Book by Book is our Circle Time Songs and Chants.  Singing is such a great way...