Hands-On, Interactive Science Programs Help Your Child Develop Critical Life Skills

Periodically, I welcome a guest to join me on my blog. This week, Andy Allan, the Science Wiz and Director of Curriculum Development for Champions Science Adventures™ is joining us to discuss Science Chicago and LabFest!

Chicago is famous for deep dish pizza, the “Blues”, the Sears Tower, and the White Sox, but many don’t know it is also home to the largest and oldest science museum in the Western Hemisphere: the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry. For the last year, this amazing institution has been bringing science to the forefront by convening the world’s largest science celebration ever – Science Chicago: Life’s a Lab.

Science Chicago’s mission and aspiration to showcase the importance, relevance and joy of science are perfectly aligned with those of Champions Science Adventures. As this year marks our first as a major provider of science enrichment programs in the Chicago area, it made perfect sense for us to become a key part of the grand finale for Science Chicago’s year: LabFest!

LabFest! is a traveling science festival comprised of the region’s most popular museums, institutions and educational organizations and is designed to capture the “wow” of science by having children of all ages explore the fun and creativity of doing hands-on science. LabFest! travels to15 different Chicago-area locations this summer to provide the more than 30,000 participants with interactive experiments that encourage children – young and old – to get involved in science.

The festival provides a great opportunity to showcase not only how much fun science can be, but how relevant and important science is in our modern lives. The intent is to take the public perception of science from a white-coated scientist alone in a sterile lab and present it as it is today: collaborative, dynamic, creative and encompassing a wide range of opportunities.

Over the years, research has shown that children who enjoy science develop strong analytical and problem-solving skills – skills that will serve them well throughout their lives.  In fact, having children participate in hands-on science activities plays an integral role in helping them learn to work together, share ideas and information freely with each other, and extend their intellectual capabilities. 

It is with this principle in mind that events like LabFest work to go beyond simply teaching the facts of science. It’s working to show that science is important. Today, it has seeped into every aspect of our lives. From buying genetically modified corn to voting, science is a key part of being a citizen of the Internet age and it is a key part of maintaining innovation.

In my next post, I will share with you one of the fun experiments that we are conducting at Labfest! – Bubbleology – and how you can do fun experiments at home with your children this summer. Until then, I encourage you to take your children to your local science museum to start their education in science. To continue their learning, consider enrolling them in a science camp this summer where they can explore science in a fun, interactive way.

About Andy Allan, the Science Wiz and Director of Curriculum Development for Science Adventures™
Andy Allan, scientist and educator with Science Adventures™, is passionate about inspiring a world of learners through hands-on science fun.  As a teacher, Andy is familiar with the sense of wonder and natural curiosity younger children have for science. He believes it is important to nourish that interest.

Andy’s passion for science developed as he learned more about the world’s greatest scientists and their hard earned discoveries.  From Newton’s laws of motion to Faraday’s work with electric motors, Andy’s fascination was with the work and experimentation that went into the uncovering of new information about the universe.

Through the Science Adventures programs, Andy develops lessons and experiments that keep children on the cutting edge of discovery by introducing them to the relevant research being studied and developed today.  This year’s Powerful Planet summer camp, for example, will teach the importance of energy efficiency and the need to manage our natural resources from wildlife to oil.

Andy has been with Science Adventures for the last 16 years. In his current position as Director of Curriculum Development, Andy works at creating hands-on inquiry based programs that inspire a joy in science through fun, innovation, and creativity.  Andy holds a B.S. in Physics and Microelectronics as well as a secondary teaching degree.  He is based in Littleton, Colorado.

Learning How We Can All Make A Difference In The Life of A Child

What an amazing week this has been! I have just returned from Belfast, Northern Ireland, where I attended the World Forum on Early Care and Education, an international conference bringing together approximately 600 representatives from over 70 nations around the world to discuss children’s issues. The topics ranged from local efforts to support orphans and displaced children from AIDS in Africa to a insightful keynote on the essential elements of great teachers by Dr. Lilian Katz, one of the most influential leaders in early childhood education and teacher education, to a rousing call to action on behalf of children around the world by the President of Ireland, Mary McAleese.

I had the opportunity to moderate a panel on ways to enhance parental involvement in early childhood centers and the development of improved parenting skills, particularly of families living in poverty. The panel described programs from Hong Kong, Ireland, Ghana, the United States, and an international outreach program for parents, Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters, which is currently used in approximately a dozen countries and 25 states throughout the United States.

I would like to thank my colleagues, Dr. Pam Boulton, University of Madison-Wisconsin;, Marvin Schwartz, Executive Director of HIPPY, USA; Noel Kelly, Preparing for Life, Northside Partnership; and Karen Ferris Cole, Sunshine House, Hong Kong, for sharing their insights and experiences with me and conference participants.

While it is impossible to summarize the content of the approximately 300 speakers in over 100 sessions, there were some strong messages that were heralded throughout the conference.

• Children are the most vulnerable citizens and they depend on adults to develop the skills and dispositions to become positive participants in our ever more complex world.
• There are universal challenges that children face including hunger, disease, the devastating effects of HIV/AIDs, poverty, abuse, and abandonment—and these problems are found to different degrees in most, if not all, nations in the world.
• Despite the magnitude of these issues and the sometimes irreversible damage that can be done if not addressed at the earliest stages of life, there is an amazing network of passionate and committed individuals as well as private and public agencies, who work tirelessly in support of improving the lives of children. And there are many successful models that have been shown to have a significant positive impact in children’s development in both the long and short run.
• There is a profound need to better recognize, train, support, and compensate those who dedicate their lives to our children. The world is facing a severe shortage of qualified teachers of children of all ages, and we must enhance our efforts to provide those who are committed to improving the lives of children with the skills and training they need to be effective in their varying roles.
• Although there have been improvements in some areas in the status of children as reported in the United Nations 2008 status report of The Millennium Development Goals discussed in an earlier posting on the Week of the Young Child. There was also discussion of The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which is an international convention that lays out the rights of children and requires reporting on the status of child rights in each ratifying country. Interestingly, although this convention has been ratified by nearly 200 countries, the United States is one of only two nations in the United Nations that has not ratified this convention. Somalia is the other nation.
• Not only does our country have an obligation to lead the world in supporting the growth and development of our children, as has been previously discussed in a May posting, investments in education produce significant and unmatched financial returns and benefits to society. One would be hard pressed to identify any other opportunity where social, moral, and economic benefits are so closely aligned.

This week was a remarkable opportunity to learn and share and to see old friends and make new ones. While at times it was disheartening to confront the magnitude of the challenges facing children around the world, that was more than offset by the passion and relentless efforts of those who will not rest until these issues are addressed.

I am ever more confident that we have it within our power to improve the lives of children around the world. But to do so we must respect, honor, and work tirelessly on behalf of all children and those who have committed their lives as parents or professionals to making a positive difference in the life of a child.

So I return to work refueled, renewed, and grateful to have shared a wonderful week with some of the most inspirational and profoundly dedicated individuals I have ever met.

California Joins Other States In Evaluating Child Care Quality

Some very important work is currently underway in California that could impact the child care providers (including both centers and family day care homes). SB 1629, the Early Learning Quality Improvement Act, established an Advisory Committee to evaluate and recommend a statewide Early Learning Quality Improvement System (EL QIS).

Last Tuesday, I attended the second meeting of the Advisory Committee at the Yolo County of Office of Education, just outside Sacramento. The goal of the Committee is to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the current delivery system, including among countless other components, licensing and regulatory issues, teacher qualifications and professional development, family communication and community outreach, and the financial support models.

This information will be considered along with the best practices of the approximately 20 states that already have Quality Improvement Systems in place (including North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Oklahoma to name just a few) as outlined on the National Child Care Information and Technical Assistance Center (NCCI) website.

In addition, this Committee will be using research into factors that promote positive child outcomes across all domains–cognitive, social/emotional, and physical. This is a huge undertaking, and one that could truly restructure the way early care and education is delivered throughout the state.

For those of you who live in California, I strongly encourage you to go to the NCCI website to learn more about this effort and to get directly involved in any way you can. There will be meetings of each of five subcommittees that address a different component of this undertaking to be held around the state on dates and in places that are yet to be determined. All meetings are open to the public, and the process would be greatly benefited by hearing from the very people the system is designed to serve—parents of young children throughout the state who struggle everyday to find safe, stimulating, affordable, high-quality environments for their children when they cannot care for them themselves.

This work will not just impact the cost of care, it will directly impact the nature and quality of the services that are provided. Your voice must be heard. For those of you who do not live in California, please continue to be a relentless advocate for whatever is best for your child. You can follow the latest developments and sign up for alerts and newsletters that will keep you informed of the issues that impact early childhood education at The Early Care and Education Consortium (ECEC) website.

Your child’s education is too important to be left in the hands of others. It is the best investment that you will ever make and the most rewarding one as well.

Celebrating Graduation with My Son

This weekend my youngest son graduated high school. It’s a day I had been anticipating for years, a ceremonial farewell to raising teenage boys.  It was a day of tears, joy, pride, and a great deal of reminiscing about the past and how quickly the years have raced by. The old cliché about how it was only yesterday that he was a little boy is all too true, and this little boy will be headed to Zimbabwe next year as an intern with an amazing organization, the International Child Resource Institute, that is dedicated to helping children and families world-wide. He will be working there in support of community projects to help orphaned and displaced children. And while this is not the path I had envisioned for him, it is the one he chose for himself.

I have found that watching your children grow is a constant process of learning how and when to let go and of hoping they have developed the skills and judgment to make good choices, whatever that means, because all too soon the choices are theirs. And then as parents the best we can hope to do is provide opinion and advice. Children grow up overnight.

Despite all my years of training and experience in education and psychology, nothing truly prepares you for the incredible responsibility of parenting. There is no magic formula for shaping a child’s heart and mind. There is no rule book that dictates the right balance of protecting them from harm and supporting their need for independence. There is no clear path to helping a child learn compassion and responsibility. And there is no recipe that tells you when to push hard and when to back off.

But while there is no magic bullet, the foundation of parenting is the same as that of teaching—respecting each child as a unique individual with their own interests, abilities, needs, and experiences. And as I dried my tears and beamed with pride, I could only hope that somehow through the trials and tribulations of growing up, that my son had acquired the gifts of confidence, competence, and compassion to help guide him as he enters adulthood in ever changing world full of peril, promise, and possibility.

If you have a moment, please share your personal reflections on raising your children with me and our readers. It may take a village, but it starts with us.

Going Dutch: Comparing Early Childhood Education With The Netherlands

Last week I had the opportunity to host a delegation of 18 visitors from the Netherlands, representing nearly 10 different child care organizations throughout the country as well as some agency representatives. We took our visitors to The Children’s House, a beautiful early childhood education center that is operated by CCLC for the Housing and Urban Development agency in Washington, D.C.

This was not my first exposure to early childhood education in the Netherlands, as I had visited two programs there earlier this year. Nonetheless, it was fascinating to spend time with our visitors and to understand through their eyes some of the differences between early childhood education in our country and theirs.

One of the most significant differences that I observed between early childhood education in the United States and the Netherlands is the specific focus we have at all of our KinderCare, Knowledge Beginnings and CCLC early childhood programs on promoting cognitive development across a variety of areas including early literacy, language and communication, mathematics and science.

While our programs clearly address social/emotional and physical/motor development as well, we believe that early, intentional experiences that promote cognitive skills in a developmentally appropriate manner (through play and discovery) are critical to a child’s school readiness and future success.

Whereas our programs and those of many others in the United States are built around specific learning objectives with the expectation that evidence of learning is well represented throughout the classroom, programs in the Netherlands typically do not reflect as comprehensive a framework. On the other hand, what I did see in the Netherlands were high quality teachers who were responsive to children’s needs and interests and who interacted with the children in warm, caring ways.

As I mentioned in a previous blog entry, although the single most important factor in determining the quality of an educational program is the teacher, that alone is not sufficient. Like any other skilled professional, teachers need access to appropriate materials, supplies and equipment. 

Even in early childhood education, the program should include goals and intended outcomes that serve as a guide for classroom activities, while ensuring flexibility and responsiveness to the individual needs and interests of the children of any age. There should also be varied and appropriate materials and equipment that stimulate and challenge children and promote discovery and exploration.

Great teaching doesn’t just happen—it happens when a dedicated and skilled teacher has the tools and resources to provide an engaging, challenging, nurturing environment for children. I was delighted that our guests from the Netherlands had the opportunity to see all that in action.