Tag Archives: daycare

How to Have a Smarter Baby

Today, a replay of How to Have a Smarter Baby. Still true. Although today, the first advice would be not to destroy their brain with medical grade bio-weapons! I am sure you have heard enough about that. If not, connect with me on X.com (formerly Twitter) and you will see a couple of years of posts of scientific data.

However, you can have a smarter baby by better nutrition, basic safety and an enriched environment.

An enriched environment means an attentive mother giving the child brain stimulating, interesting things to play with.

Many young women today misquote *It Takes a Village* in which H. Clinton says that if you take a baby from the worst environment and put them in the very best childcare center, then the IQ may be raised as much as 18 point. This may be true. She does not give citations. However, this scenario never happens. Poor children tend to go to poor daycares. Rich mothers think they MUST send their children to group care because group care is necessarily better. It is not. This claim never even said that. Now, on the contrary, Prof. Abraham of University of Chicago had a study some time just before 1983 that showed that middle class children tended to do better academically and otherwise if they stayed home with an educated mother. I have tried and cannot find that citation. But I did have that study. I remember having it in my hand and discussing it in 1983 with my ECD professor at Red Deer College. Studies since then consistently show that children in daycares are stressed out. Further, other studies consistently show that stress reduces learning and harms brains. So daycare is NOT the means to smarter babies!!!!!

We need to also talk about how to be smarter. How to stay smart. I see such a need for this. It breaks my heart. However, my daughter tells me that people are not walking around asking how they can be smarter. The intimation is that I am wasting my time trying to teach that. Is there no market? Maybe not; I see such bad judgement all around me. Complaining, and then blocking the very information that would be relief. Misjudgement about real authority. On and on. If you are one of the few, willing to swim against the stream, and want information on how to be smarter as an adult or senior citizen, let me know at info@greatshalom.org

The Government is Not a Village by Sharon Sarles: an orderly rebuttal of H. Clinton’s disorderly, ill-concieved book, It Takes a Village The retort, “No, it takes parents” is cute and makes people feel superior, but it doesn’t help a great deal. It certainly helps neither societal problems nor struggling parents.

Contact me for Help Starting a School

Contact me for help starting a school. I have been doing teacher training and administrator coaching and owner consulting for more than 20 years. I was the one who wrote the book on starting a licensed childcare center as a mission. I have now a new book on re-founding education. I can help you.

Do you have a group, like maybe a congregation, that wants to start a school? Call me so I can advise y ou in process. Maybe you are a homeschool grandmother and have a large living room. Call me to find out about microschools. Maybe you want a conversation or maybe you want your hand held for a year. Maybe you have a little school and you need board and staff training.

My consulting website is www.orgstrat.net   

For a course in starting a licensed childcare center, go to www.teachachildchangeanation.org

Please share with your better friends, and talk this up at your church — if it is a healthy one.

 

Be the Village

One side says, “It takes a Village to Raise a Child.” The other side said, “NO! It takes 2 parents!” Well, here is the truth about rearing children. Leaders know that we need to help children and help parents rear children. However, all out efforts are resulting in worsening statistics. So maybe we need a new plan. Let’s first get some correct, scientific facts. Then let’s consult some time-tested wisdom. If we keep wandering around in “left field” or “gridlock” our kids will continue to falter. There is a way through the wilderness to the Promised Land. I’ll give you a map in less than 30 minutes.

Also, if you like, you may sign up for a free ebook on how to start a full time preschool — as mission. I know of no other mission that can change the world so dramatically or so quickly. I know of no other mission that can pay for itself. Please consider this and please pass the ebook around!

Early Brain Development

http://braininsights.blogspot.com/2010/08/brain-fact-early-childhood-programs.html

Thanks for alerting us to this blog:

Teach_Preschool Early Childhood
Children’s brain needs support! http://ow.ly/3Ch6C #ece #preschool #teachpreschool via @braininsights

It is worthy of looking at in more depth. Just let me say 1) YES we need to understand early childhood brain development. and 2) but also bit units are not as likely to encourage that as real live care givers, primarily mothers.

So yes, more understanding of early childhood brain development. When I was in a poor country, and saw most children growing up in a dusty road with maybe a stick to play with, I connected that with the fact that there was a shortage of people who were competent enough to be managers or traveling salespeople. Early childhood brain development is a Development issue. Therefore we have visioned teachers’ colleges.

And yes, as this site has recognized, big unit (whether government or corporate) responses to improved academic achievment are often completely wrongheaded. Unfortunately some progressive, some open&free programs have also been poor.

So how do you foster early brain development? Really it is no mystery. You encourage the child to safely explore reality through their senses, and you foster rich and healthy social interactions.

An intelligent and attentive mother is the key. Failing that, a replacement caregiver.

What is difficult is how to make sure that happens. What happens if the mother is inattentive? Is so poor that her own environment is far from enriched? Some education might work, but how quality is that? Really, it is not hard. a set of pots and pans can substitute for a Montessori didactic apparatus. They can stack. They can teach in and out. They can surely be used as instruments.

What happens when the group care has rotating staff? Pressured staff? or worst of all, worksheets to meet imposed standards?

Mandates are well-meant, but often fail in execution. Let’s do build the teacher, let’s do include the parent.

I know you are working on it. Go with God’s blessing. Let’s pray daily for a widespread “enlightening of understanding.” (Yes, I mean really. I pray this daily from Ephesians 1). Love and blessings!