Oh Baby!

Today's post will be the last for a little while, because we are anxiously awaiting the arrival of my first child! It's been a very exciting time and I can't wait to meet them (no, we don't know if it's a boy or girl!). So in that vein I thought I'd share some interesting things I've found while getting ready for the baby.

I've recently picked up a book called NutureShock: New Thinking About Children by Po Bronson. I'm pretty traditional in my views about raising children, but am always interested in new theories and such. This book is not about that, this book is about research. What does the research say about things like praise (we my overdo it), sleep (kids aren't getting enough), lying (all kids do it, especially teenagers), and sibling rivalry (Freud got it wrong). I've not finished the book, but really think it is something that every teacher, parent, or grandparent should read.

My best friend, writer, and stay-at-home dad started writing a blog - The Children are Revolting. Joe is actually my wife's friend from high school, but I've stolen him! He's been home raising his 2 boys for a little over 4 years now, and these boys are wonderful. He decided to chronicle a few of the more interesting things that have happened, please take a moment to check out his blog.

I will be back sometime this summer, once I've gotten a little sleep!

Patrick


Photo courtesy of Flickr Creative Commons: fofurasfelinas


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Moms with Apps

I'm always on the lookout for sites which review iPhone/iPod/iPad Touch apps.  As we all know there are now over 150,000 apps, and not all of them are good!  Lately I've been reading Moms with Apps.  It's a great review site with lots of info on fun and useful apps for moms on the go!  They also take the time to review educational apps too!  Recently they've featured Arithmaroo's Instant Counting, and Eric Sailer's iPad app ArtikPix.  Every Friday they feature an app, and usually have free copies available!  Make sure to add Moms with Apps to your reader!


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#AppMonday - PicPocket Books

While I'm still eagerly awaiting the release of the Blio ereader, until then let's check out PicPocket Books.  They have a great line of book apps for your iPhone or iPod Touch & will probably work on the iPad, although I haven't seen any information on them being optimized for it yet.  There are 27 titles and they even have some in Spanish. All the titles include Text-to-Speech, text highlighting as it is read, and some even have interactive features.  The books are fun to read, and PicPocket Books has a mix of original books to classics.  They are quite reasonable at $.99-$3.99 per book.  Check some out today!

Patrick

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Blogging Against Disablism - #BADD2010

I have amazing students! I know this is a strange way to start a post about Disablism, but it's the truth.  My students are constantly learning, for good or for worse, and I love it.  Some days I'm amazed by what they can read or maybe what they remember when communicating.  They amaze me with things I never thought they paid attention too and some days they amaze me with how they communicate.  Why is this amazing, because it tells me they can and are learning on a regular basis.  They know that if I don't respond one way, maybe I'll respond when they do it differently.

All this means to me, is that ALL students learn.  It may be something tiny, but they can and do learn.  Unfortunately, that is not always the case in schools.  I have seen to many cases of students shipped off because no one knew what to do with them, or just left alone because "it's just easier"!  Too many times have I been told that this student can't learn, they don't make progress, and it just kills me.  All students can learn, and they want to learn, sometimes it takes a little digging to find it!  We have to continue to dig and push all students.  I am and will continue to be an advocate for all children!

I will continue to be amazed by my students, even on those days when I feel that nothing I do is getting through, because I know, one day very soon, they will amaze me again!

Patrick


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