Enter the title of your project, participant names, and conduct your work and discussions at thie site.

-- Anonymous, October 01, 1998

Answers

I am working with Sandy Wallgren, Barb Farrell, and Sarah Madden. We have done an extensive literature search on emergent literacy, specifically looking at children, birth to 5 years of age. We are looking for ways, other than reading, that promote literacy. From the information we gather, we will be putting together parent-friendly, age-specific pamphlets that will explain to parents what emergent literacy is and will give parents ideas on how they can promote literacy in ways other than reading to their children. We may also consider putting together a resource for teachers in the field of early childhood education.

-- Anonymous, October 18, 1998

For our thesis I am working with Melaine Driscol and Wade Backlun. We are teaching students a breathing and check-in technique that will help them become aware of their emotions and their bodies. By creating an awareness of emotions and learning and practicing a breating technique that will relax them,we hope to help students be able to function better at school.To raise their performance level at school to PEAK performance,by helping them focus all of their attention and energy on themselves, school and the moment. More and more students come to school with the problems of home and their neighborhood foremost in their minds. Inorder to do their own individual best in school, these children must have a way of leaving those problems behind them for the school day. By doing our mood check in and breathing technique first thing each morning,we are trying to help the students shift focus to themselves. To relax them. To help them focus not on those problems, but on this moment, this day in school. The present that they can control. Athletes have long used the mind, body connection.They know that to perform at your best you must be focused and relaxed. We also know that childrens emotions get in the way of success in school. We are trying to intigrate some of the mind, body connections into our classrooms to see if we can have a positive impact on how children perform in school. The more we do this practicing the more we are able to see ways that it might impact a child. Our collection of data so far however, seems to not measure the specific things that we think this technique could really benefit. We are trying to get data on how a childs relaxation is impacted. We have done before and after writting samples,and art/ drawing samples. Used our check in charts to record mood changes, but we still need more. We aren't sure what we will find...but we are really enjoying this!

-- Anonymous, December 09, 1998