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Fun, language-enrichment and learning activities for those days at home this month!

Virtual Field Trips Over 30 Virtual Field Trips with Links (Click on colored text for links. Safe Travels!) San Diego Zoo The San Diego Zoo has a website just for kids with amazing videos, activities, and games. Enjoy the tour! Yellowstone National Park Virtual Field Trip Mud Volcano, Mammoth Hot S...

Let’s look at the types of questions children are asked when reading and how they impact not only the child’s understanding, but how the child further develops the complexity of their language. Here is some research about how to scaffold questioning when reading to even preschoolers.

Preschool teachers ask children too many simple questions When preschool teachers read books in their classrooms, the questions they ask play a key role in how much children learn, research has shown. But a new study that involved observing teachers during class story times found that they asked few questions – and those that they did ask were usually to...

Read to your children!

A “million word gap” for children who aren’t read to at home Young children whose parents read them five books a day enter kindergarten having heard about 1.4 million more words than kids who were never read to, a new study found. This “million word gap” could be one key in explaining differences in vocabulary and reading development, said Jessica Logan, ...

Great news! Marvel showing diversity in superheroes!

Marvel Has Cast Lauren Ridloff as Its First Deaf Superhero The Tony nominee is set to star in The Eternals in 2020.

Mattel releases first deck of UNO in Braille Middle schoolers at the Idaho School for the Deaf and the Blind are getting their hands on the first official braille UNO deck.

Recently, a team of researchers decided to take action and gain some clarity on the question whether “ experiences promote and ”.

The team, led by Ming Kuo, performed a thorough review of a wide array of studies. They covered topics ranging from nature in the inner city, to the study of nature's effects on Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder ( ) or the impact greenness has on test scores. They found nature can provide a calmer, quieter, safer, warmer, more cooperative setting for learning. They found evidence that nature has a restoring effect on attention; improves self-discipline; reduces stress; increases physical activity and fitness and promotes motivation for and engagement in learning. All of these effects have been shown to improve learning. Even small doses of nature can have surprisingly large effects. The key to the puzzle lies in how these effects work together.

The researchers identified eight distinct pathways through which experiences with nature benefit students:

🌳 Better Attention—
It perks up mentally fatigued adults and children and helps kids concentrate. Whether just a view from the classroom of a field trip, nature has a proven rejuvenating effect on attention.

🌳 Stress Relief—
Nature is undoubtably a great stress reliever. You don't need a trip to Yosemite. Just a window view of greenery from reduced heart rate and self-reported stress in students.

🌳 Boost to Self-Discipline—
Greater self-discipline in children with ADHD, learning disabilities or neurotypical children is commonly cited in the scientific literature.

🌳 Motivated Students—
Studies show that learning in nature may improve motivation most in those students who are least motivated in traditional classrooms. Experts believe these effects are due to nature's reliably positive effects on mood and lead to a general increased interest in school and reduced absenteeism.

🌳 Fitter Kids—
Children tend to be more physically active in nature-based learning and particularly nature . This can improve fitness, control weight and possibly reduce risk of chronic diseases related to being overweight. Simply greening school grounds can counter children's trend toward decreasing physical activity as they approach adolescence.

🌳 Build Better Relationships—
Greener environments are calmer and quieter and foster warmer relationships. Add in "loose parts" and relative autonomy for a true learning boost.

🌳 Calmer, Quieter, Safer Places for Learning—
The calmness and peace of a natural environment have been tied to greater student engagement and academic success Nature also reduces disruptive or aggressive behaviors, many of the behaviors that lead to kids missing outdoor time ironically.

🌳 Foster Warmer, More Cooperative Relations—
Maybe its because it's less restrictive and freer, but learning in nature brings out cooperation and comfort between students and teachers.

🌳 More Autonomy and Creativity—
Children's play becomes more creative, physical, and more social when you add in loose parts like sticks & stones.

The science is confirming what parental instincts have told us all along. Nature is good for kids and helps them learn.

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00305/full

https://childhoodbynature.com/8-ways-nature-helps-kids-learn/