2022-01-10 20:38
Hello! I hope you enjoy the many articles I've written on this blog. I am starting 2022 with a new blog on the website for my How Preschool Teachers Do It podcast. I i… Read More
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Helping Kids And Families Achieve With Cynthia Ter Blog
cindyterebush.blogspot.com
A blog about parenting and excellence in education.
2020-08-13 17:51
Over the past couple of weeks, I cannot tell you how many times I've heard people in the education world use the phrase "New Normal" to describe the return to school."The staff needs help wi… Read More
2020-06-23 19:52
The regulations and recommendations for early childhood settings are daunting. In some places, physically distancing children is mandated and in others recommended. Where it is recommended e… Read More
2020-06-08 13:20
2020-05-31 16:19
When my children were young, 9-11 happened. We were scared for them. We worried what sort of world they would experience in the years ahead. We were sad that they wouldn&rsquo&hell…Read More
2020-05-23 23:18
2020-05-20 19:30
2020-05-17 17:02
It's been a while since I wrote in this blog. I have shared episodes of my podcast, but I haven't written. I tried. I sat down many times intending to post a blog article a… Read More
2020-05-14 17:00
2020-05-12 22:05
2020-05-07 21:46
2020-05-04 20:07
2020-04-23 16:07
2020-04-21 22:39
2020-04-17 01:13
2020-04-13 23:12
2020-04-12 21:20
2020-04-06 20:45
2020-04-04 20:32
Is there a perception that teachers who are scrambling to provide distance learning from home are mostly doing nothing? There couldn’t be anything further from the truth. In… Read More
2020-04-04 15:30
2020-04-01 00:55
2020-03-26 14:52
2020-03-18 23:25
2020-02-27 21:05
It is important to have expectations for all of the children we teach or raise. I have the expectation that all children can learn, succeed and become the next version of themselves. … Read More
2020-01-25 20:57
“We aren’t going to start until everyone is sitting crisscross applesauce.”I hear this sentence nearly every day. “We can’t start the book until you are… Read More
2020-01-02 18:12
On my social media today, I read Lake Superior State University’s "List of Words Banished from the Queen's English for Misuse, Overuse and General Uselessness” (Banished Words… Read More
2019-12-01 20:20
One of the primary skills a child should learn in the early childhood years is teamwork. At home, children need to learn how to be part of their family team. In school, they need… Read More
2019-11-17 15:56
Imagine this:Your employer has set a goal and you’ve worked hard to achieved it. Your employer is so pleased with your performance that you receive a bonus check. You are s… Read More
2019-11-07 00:20
2019-10-13 21:20
Parent shaming is an epidemic. We feel insecure about our parenting abilities, so we point fingers at others to build up our egos. We hear about other families' and other cultu… Read More
2019-09-14 14:39
“What goals are you focusing on for your students?” I ask. “This student has an IEP. We focus on IEP goals for children with special needs,” I am ofte… Read More
2019-08-15 00:39
When children are sent away from you, isolated in their environment and put in charge of their own emotions, they are in time out. Time out is emotionally unhealthy for children… Read More
2019-08-02 00:59
I am an introvert.I enjoy being alone. My enjoyment of alone time has served me well in as someone who often travels for work. I prefer staying home when given the choice of a soc… Read More
2019-07-10 16:28
“I don’t have time for small group learning. We had two specials today.”“Free play time doesn’t fit in my schedule with all of the other lessons that… Read More
2019-06-30 17:25
Why do we make up nonsensical ways to speak to young children? They can understand real phrases. In fact, they need to learn real ways of communicating. It i… Read More
2019-05-19 15:54
Thank you for photo permission.Cornerstone School, Summit, NJ.For way too many years, we have made tables the focus of the preschool classroom. They have taken up 1/3 to 1/2 of the room.&nbs&hell…Read More
2019-04-29 21:05
In the past week, the same theme seems to be showing up in my life. I keep running into the notion that when we are young children, we are our true selves and life basically beats… Read More
2019-04-19 15:56
When preparing to record podcast episodes recently, my co-host Alison Kentos and I got into a discussion about respect for our profession. Early childhood educators often bemoan t… Read More
2019-03-19 00:51
I was in a classroom during a recent consulting visit and read A Chair for My Mother to a group of children. In this book, a family loses everything in a fire. They miss… Read More
2019-02-10 19:14
I was talking with a friend who directs a school about the comments she is editing on progress reports. Teachers are writing comments like, “She is a quiet girl” and … Read More
2019-01-24 18:04
On a recent episode of the podcast “How Preschool Teachers Do It,”my co-host Alison Kentos and I talked about knowing when someone is actually an expert about parenting, tea… Read More
2018-12-11 00:44
“We have to do the worksheets. The parents want it.”“We have to make pre-cut crafts. The parents want it.”I have worked with parents who wanted their child… Read More
2018-11-29 23:00
I recently wrote a blog article entitled “Not Every Teacher Belongs with Early Learners – Preschool to 3rdGrade Should Not Be a Dumping Ground.” That article expressed… Read More
2018-11-19 22:13
We all struggle. We all have strengths and weaknesses. When we work hard and make the best decisions we can at the time, we hope to be recognized for our contributions… Read More
2018-10-31 23:54
With Thanksgiving on the way and the December holidays not far behind, I am often asked about crafts for the holidays. As you may know, crafts are not included in any research and evidence-b… Read More
2018-10-30 15:07
How do we expect children to learn to make decisions if we never give them decisions to make? How do we expect children to learn self-regulation if we do all of the regulating?All… Read More
2018-09-24 21:36
It starts so young. I hear preschool children say, “You can’t play with us” or “You can’t come to my birthday party” or a plethora of statement… Read More
2018-09-05 21:44
Last weekend, I was standing in line at a public event. Two people in the line behind me were having this conversation:“What class did you get assigned to? Is it true t… Read More
2018-08-28 21:48
I recently saw a photograph of multicultural crayons. They represented many different skin tones. Every crayon of every skin tone was labeled “Flesh.” I tho… Read More
2018-07-29 01:52
For a long time, families would tour early childhood centers and directors would proudly talk about the curriculum that they wrote for their preschool. It still happens. &nbs&hell…Read More
2018-07-06 17:30
Since the release of an episode about separation anxiety on my podcast, I’ve received several emails and messages asking about kindergarten readiness. Though they come… Read More
2018-06-22 16:36
As a parent, I tried to raise my children to know the difference between a need and a want. They wanted particular toys but needed new shoes that fit. They wanted to go… Read More
2018-06-05 18:25
Not me but definitely my expression when I encounter the "No, thank you" approach to behavior.I was in a preschool classroom recently when one child shoved another child. The teacher said, … Read More
2018-05-07 21:49
I am a stickler about words because they help us to conceptualize our actions. Three of the most confused and misused words in early childhood classrooms are art, craft and projec… Read More
2018-04-19 17:54
Have you heard people say things like, “I am not doing that politically correct thing” or “Politically correct stuff drives me crazy” and (then there is typically an… Read More
2018-03-26 23:21
Me dressed as meWhen I first started speaking in front of larger audiences, particularly in bigger cities such as New York, I was very worried about how I should look. I went to hairst… Read More
2018-03-14 19:17
In my home state of New Jersey, our new governor has budgeted $ 83 million dollars for public PreK expansion to take place over four years. It is long overdue as New Jersey actually pa… Read More
2018-02-28 17:58
For about a week or so, I have debated writing about the wave of gun violence in our schools. It is both upsetting and politically charged. I try to keep my messages about best p… Read More
2018-02-25 21:22
Have you stood in a room full of young children and said to one child something like, “What a beautiful shirt you have on!” Do you notice what happens? Six other chil… Read More
2018-02-01 21:50
We have a great deal more knowledge today about how young children learn best and deeply than we had even five years ago. We all did letter-of-the-week. We all hung up those well… Read More
2018-01-17 19:03
I was clicking through the many channels on my cable television and happened upon one of my favorites – “The Miracle Worker.” I have always been fascinated by this st… Read More
2017-12-29 22:13
We have become a fearful and, therefore, over-protective society. I remember when I was a young girl going to a store and having my parents tell us to “Go over to the toy section… Read More
2017-11-29 00:02
I don’t share everything. I don’t share my laptop, my car or my smartphone. I would be a tad uncomfortable if someone walked into my home, opened my glass display cas… Read More
2017-11-02 23:09
This is the time of year when I walk into early childhood classrooms to find teachers frustrated that their young students are not paying attention to the Thanksgiving book they selected.&nb&hell…Read More
2017-10-24 04:02
2017-10-16 00:37
Recorded at my presentation at the ChildCare Connection Conference.In each generation, we shift to do better for our children based on what we know now. We have to continue to do that as we… Read More
2017-10-09 17:01
Appearances are not everything and in this social media world, we sometimes forget and focus on the wrong things. We are so used to pictures and appearance everywhere that we forget that wha… Read More
2017-10-03 21:26
We send frighteningly mixed messages to children about the autonomy of their own bodies. Touch. Don’t touch. Kiss this person. Don’t kiss that person. I&r&hell…Read More
2017-08-31 01:04
I find myself commenting too often for comfort on social media sites intended for parents but obviously not run by people who know about child development and how children learn. It is… Read More
2017-08-23 21:57
I recently needed to make a decision and found myself debating many things: How would my decision be perceived? Would my decision make a statement about my feelings that was inac… Read More
2017-08-18 21:31
In every group of young children, there is a reporter. The reporter runs to adults to tell what has happened. The report may or may not be accurate but it rarely matters. T… Read More
2017-08-03 20:31
If I were to write an FAQ list for parents of young children, the first question would be “When should you talk about school starting with your young child?” When I was a t… Read More
2017-07-13 19:45
When my children were young, we had certain expectations of them. They were expected to be cooperative, to be good family members who were respectful & helpful and to do their best… Read More
2017-06-26 20:07
Two years ago, I wrote the article “When #lovewins So Do Future Generations.” The US Supreme Court had ruled that the Constitution guarantees the right of same-sex couples… Read More
2017-06-21 17:40
More and more often, I notice articles, social media posts and television hosts asking the question “Should your early learner be playing or learning?” The question might b… Read More
2017-05-27 01:52
Do you want young children to stretch their thinking? You don’t need elaborate toys, tablets or endless worksheets. In fact, those items can impede deeper learning. Y… Read More
2017-05-19 02:46
Two preschool age children are playing together. There is a noise on the other side of the room so you instinctively turn your head. Before you can turn back around, one of the t… Read More
2017-04-15 01:55
From the time children are very young, they look to others for reactions to their endeavors. They giggle and look to see if we are giggling, too. They toss an object and wait for… Read More
2017-03-29 21:34
Learning to read and write is a process. Your children will not write before they are developmentally ready. They have to develop fine motor skills, language acquisition skills… Read More
2017-02-09 18:18
Every early learning activity builds the foundation for later learning. Early learners spread paint with their fingers, imitate sound, observe the world and use taste to build upon the… Read More
2017-01-29 21:22
“Should this child repeat the Pre-K year before moving on to kindergarten?” It is a question that sometimes is asked by early childhood teachers and other times by parents… Read More
2017-01-20 23:30
I have strong feelings about the current political situation in the United States and I am grateful to live in a nation where I can express them. There is Freedom of Speech. It needs to be p… Read More
2017-01-16 02:47
“No!” is a favorite word of early learners. They declare, “No!” as soon as they are able. They don’t even need to say it with words to communicate i… Read More
2016-12-20 21:08
Everything in an early childhood setting should promote the development of skills. The items in your classroom centers – the blocks, dramatic play props, books, manipulatives &nd&hell…Read More
2016-12-15 18:16
Imagine – you are in a study group and you accidentally mispronounce a word or use the wrong word in your sentence. The group facilitator thinks your mispronunciation is kind of… Read More
2016-11-27 01:52
Don’t be misled by the phrase “Arts and Crafts.” The two words are not synonymous. They do not represent the same activity. The materials used for art and… Read More
2016-11-09 23:01
“What do we tell our students who are talking about their parents’ reactions to the election?”“What do you suggest I say to my children about the outcome of the elect… Read More
2016-10-24 02:46
Dear Parents:You are your child’s most important adult. You are your child’s primary teacher. Yes, I am charged with teaching your child but I cannot do it without yo… Read More
2016-09-25 23:21
I travel from school to school as a consultant and nearly everywhere there is some version of the Days of the Week Song. Parents often ask if we are teaching very young children &ndash&hell…Read More
2016-08-29 21:24
My social media post upon learning of the death of Gene Wilder.Today, actor Gene Wilder died. He portrayed Willy Wonka in the classic film “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory… Read More
2016-08-19 21:54
It’s back-to-school season. The stores are filled with fall clothes, backpacks and lunchboxes. Parents are busy gathering all of the things their children will need. … Read More
2016-08-09 01:02
There are so many lessons that children can learn from the Olympics. From a young age in today’s world, children understand producing a product. Toddlers are asked to show off th… Read More
2016-07-28 20:21
Dear HBO & “Sesame Street Producers:Is it true? Did you really fire long-time beloved people – Bob, Gordon & Luis – from the cast? I read the article &l&hell…Read More
2016-07-28 14:53
Display at the Lackawanna Coal MineI love doing touristy things and I enjoy re-doing them now that my children are grown. I loved taking my boys to learn about different places and now… Read More
2016-07-14 01:09
“Augmented Reality” – there’s a phrase I certainly didn’t grow up knowing. In fact, if I would have heard it before this week, I would have assumed it was… Read More
2016-07-08 21:53
Has there ever been a better time to teach children about kindness? It seems to be so sorely lacking in the world these days. You cannot fight hate with hate and, sadly, it is ac… Read More
2016-06-27 21:04
“They don’t listen to us,” many a staff has told me when we discuss conversations with parents. It is a constant refrain among early childhood center directors. … Read More
2016-06-21 16:16
2016-06-17 02:06
Parenting is not a competitive sport. It isn’t about beating the team next door or across the street. It isn’t about having today’s most impressive brag status… Read More
2016-06-12 20:46
My 19-year-old son is an artist. Before he paints, he dips his fingers in the paint. He explained to a friend, “If I start with paint on my hands, then I don’t worry… Read More
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