Screen Time and Children

 Iphones, Ipads, Kindles, TVs, laptops...Digital screens are pervasive in our children's world. What is a parent to do? What makes sense and is reasonable? What do we do in this time of distance learning and Zoom meetups?

First, we need to consider the research. Most experts in child development suggest limiting screen time to zero for children under two and less than one hour for children two - five years old. School age children may not need a hard and fast rule, but remember less is usually better.

A NIH study of 11,00 students age nine to ten set out to determine what, if any, effect screen time had on children's brain development. After studying the data, scientists came away with two important take aways. First, MRI scans of children who spend a significant amount of time using digital devices (seven hours or more) show remarkable differences in the brains. Secondly, children who spent a mere two hours or more on screens exhibited lower scores on thinking and language tests. 

A second study completed by the University of Calgary drew concluded that "Excessive screen time is linked to preschool learning delays." Excessive screen time in children five and less is more than one hour a day. In addition these young children showed delayed gross motor development.  

When children are using screens we tend to think of the benefits - increased learning, reading, eye-hand coordination, building background knowledge, etc. All positive things no doubt. However, we also need to think of what our children are losing when they overuse digital devices. They lose the opportunity for real time interaction with adults and peers, the ability to read social cues, interaction with the natural world, and learning how to self calm and deal with emotions.

So, to revisit our initial question, what is a parent to do. 

1.  Limit screen time. make "Less is more" your mantra. Zero screen time for children less than two, and less than one hour for children 2-5
2.  Be purposeful in your family screen time. Develop a plan for how much screen time works for your family taking into account the above guidelines
3.  Realize that you are the model for your children. Be aware of having a TV on for background noise. Try to limit your screen time when children are around
4.  When children are using screen media sit with them and participate.
   

Finally, work to counteract the negatives associated with screen time. Interact with your children in myriad language based ways. Read aloud from multiple genres of text. Sing and learn rhymes together. Ask questions and encourage your child to do the same. Get outdoors often explore the natural world.

What strategies have worked in your families? What challenges do you still face? Share your successes and challenges so we can help each other. 

Sources for further reading:

https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000355.htm

https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/childrens-health/in-depth/screen-time/art-20047952

We Can...We Did...We Will

Every year Cold Spring Elementary has a theme - a phrase - to guide us all year long. Some recent themes have been "More than just okay", "I Am...", and "UB4Me." Little did we know back in August how prescient this year's theme would be ~ We Can.

Using the song We Can by Jesse Ruben, we introduced students to the power of setting goals and believing in one's ability to reach those goals. Jesse speaks about wanting to run a marathon and being told he couldn't, but believing that he could. His lyrics talk about how there are things going on right now that we can fix. Our plan was to use We Can as the springboard for some community service projects in addition to personal goal setting. We are still doing this. However, an event on Wednesday, February 13 added a new, intense perspective to our theme.

FIRE! Our elementary school had a fire. A real actual fire, with flames and smoke in a classroom!

First things first. Everyone is okay! It truly is all that matters. Every child got out of the building safely. There were no injuries to students, staff, or the myriad selfless first responders. What an amazing blessing to be sure! And do you know what? The drills work! Our students were calm and unafraid. They evacuated the building quickly and followed directions without hesitation.

With human nature being what it is; we often focus first and most strongly on the negative. In this situation that is relatively impossible. Our community has shown such a tremendous outpouring of love and support.

On that cold and snowy day our neighbor church opened their doors to over 600 cold, frightened, and hungry children and adults. They could not have been more welcoming! Msgr. Gentilli and his staff did everything they could to help. Never once did they bat an eye at the hundreds of children eating lunch and drinking chocolate milk in the pews. I think we could have asked for the moon and the stars and they would have tried to get them! Thank you to Our Lady of Guadalupe!

Our parents. Wow! The hugs, the tears, oh the tears. The offers of books, tissues, whatever we need. The countless times we heard, "Thank you for keeping my child safe." Thank you for trusting us with your babies. They mean the world to us as well.

Our school district. Central Bucks. Leading the way. I have always been CB Proud, but they have outdone even themselves. From the superintendents, to the facilities department, to all the teachers and staff, and all the students. Countless hours of people making a difference. A difference to us and in the lives of our children. We have received emergency supplies, a delicious breakfast, endless words of support, and even replacement Valentines. 💗
Thank you to all my wonderful colleagues and the amazing students of Central Bucks! #ForeverCBProud

The temporary classrooms have been arranged. The teachers and staff have many long hours to get ready for our kids. Tomorrow we will be ready to welcome our students back to their Cold Spring home.

 Cold Spring - We Can.....We Did.....We Will ~ TOGETHER!

Anxiety, Depression, and Anger Oh My

More and more, our students are having to deal with adult sized feelings and emotions. Divorce, over-scheduling, seeing too much too soon, and a host of other issues have contributed to our younger students trying to learn with less than ideal emotions. What can educators do? Don't we already have enough on our plates?  We have always taught reading, writing, math, science, and social studies. In recent years character education, drug and alcohol awareness, nutrition, and personal safety have been added to our ever-increasing load. How can we even consider adding one more thing? What can we do about their emotional well-being? Isn't being nurturing enough?

I understand the push back and the concerns about time. However, what if the students' emotional well-being is what everything else is placed upon? If our students are not in a learning zone, does it really mean anything if we cover all the assigned curriculum? Will the students have any chance of learning it?

Dealing with an ever-increasing incidence of student anxiety, fears, and lack of emotional self-control has sent me searching for answers. Something new I am trying (and really liking) this year is Zones of Regulation.

​LIFE IS 10% WHAT HAPPENS TO US AND 90% HOW WE REACT TO IT. 
​  -CHARLES SWINDOLL

Students usually have little to no control over what happens to them. I certainly can't control what is causing them to feel emotionally on edge. Using the Zones of Regulation though we are beginning to identify which zone we are in. Once we identify our current zone, we can then take steps to move into the learning zone.

Per the program, there are four main zones:blue, yellow, red, and green.

The Blue Zone is one where one feels sick, sad, mopey, or down.

The Yellow Zone is more alert, but somewhat anxious, agitated, or silly.

The Red Zone is one of strong, extreme emotions such as rage or elation.

The Green Zone is where one is appropriately alert, calm, and receptive.

Neuroimaging and brain-based learning research has provided a scientific basis for not only the importance, but the absolute necessity, of adding student emotional control to our plates.
I contend that we must FIRST support our students' emotions and then, and only then, can we set to teaching the academics.

Students' stressors today are most likely to be caused by emotional feelings.Unfortunately our brain is unable to differentiate between the anxiety of a math test and the anxiety of being stalked by a tiger. This maladaptive response leads to a release of cortisol, aka the stress hormone. Chronic high cortisol levels can eventually destroy neurons associated with learning and memory. (Vincent 1990)

Helping our students move to a positive learning zone has to be a priority. That's why last week we discussed ways of calming down before a math test. We laughed about the fact that no one was ever killed by a math test and we did not need to prime our muscles, hearts, and lungs for flight. Instead we did some deep breathing, calmed our nerves, and got into the zone.

In 2, 3, 4...Out 2, 3, 4,5,6,7,8.

Autism Awareness - Puzzle Me This

As most people know, autism occurs in epidemic numbers. Some agencies report a 1 in 68 chance of a child being diagnosed with autism. Just last year, the CDC reported that 1 in 45 children have autism, based on an annual door-to-door survey. Alarming as that may be; it does not tell the whole story. Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder of degrees. People affected with autism are often said to be on "the spectrum." That is because autism presents in as many different ways as the people effected by it.

One symbol for autism is the brightly colored puzzle piece. This logo was originally selected because autism was a "puzzling" collection of symptoms and the puzzle piece was unique. While not everyone favors the puzzle piece, it does seem to be the most commonly used symbol.

Our school,like most others, has many students both diagnosed and non-diagnosed with autism and or on the autism spectrum. This impacts the students in so many ways. They often have difficulty reading social cues, handling frustration appropriately and myriad other daily challenges. Teachers, staff, and others students are also impacted. Together we are learning how to live and grow with autism.

Being challenged is the best way to grow. The challenge of autism in our school has challenged us all to learn to be more inclusive, more understanding, and more resilient.

April is autism awareness month. We take time this month to be aware that we all need help, respect, and care from one another. So, this month, let's celebrate the differences that make us unique, that make us one small piece in a gigantic, world-wide puzzle. Let's become aware of what we all need from one another. And most importantly, let's become aware of what we all can give one another.

March Book Madness

March Madness, a famous college basketball tournament celebrated around the world. It's that time of year when office pools pop-up and the daily water cooler chat is about the amazing basket, foul, lack thereof, or game the previous night. Both die-hard and casual fans celebrate the excitement that is college basketball. During the month of March, throughout our schools, there is another, lesser known, March Madness. This March Madness may not have has much hype and fanfare, but it still rocks with excitement. I'm talking about March BOOK Madness. For many years now, my students have participated in one form or another of March Book Madness.


The first few years our March Book Madness was a small, self-contained operation. I would collect all the books - both picture and chapter - we had read during the year. We would set up a bracket challenge and then my class would vote until we selected our champion. This was fun, but lacking a connection with other readers.


This year, we participated in a wonderful world-wide March Book Madness organized by Tony Keefer (@tonykeefer) and Scott Jones (@ escott818.) My fourth grade students were in charge of running the tournament for our K-6 school. To include every one of our 600 plus regular education, life skill, and autistic support students, we opted to participate in the picture book division. We introduced the tournament to the entire school at our February Town Hall meeting. Students presented the competing book titles and we set up a school bracket.

My students worked in groups of two-three to become experts on two books. If a teacher wanted a book talk, they knew who to contact. The summaries were hung near the brackets, so students could review as they considered their vote. As my students  summarized  books, delivered book talks to some of our younger students, and created book trailers, they practiced 21st century skills of critical thinking, collaboration, communication and creativity.


Digital tools made March Book Madness come alive for all our students. From an Office 365 One Note with embedded video trailers and voting forms, to Twitter, QR codes and photography, students used digital tools in authentic meaningful ways.



The March Book Madness experience this year enriched much more than my students' reading and writing skills. It allowed them to present their books to peers and students both older and younger. They had to overcome shyness and anxiety of speaking in front of groups. It gave them authentic reasons to read, write, and present. Wow! Aren't we all looking for those opportunities for our students?


All month we updated the bracket board outside the cafeteria. As students of all ages passed I often overheard how "their" book was still in it, or had been unfairly eliminated. Each morning I entered school and was asked ,"Who is winning?" "Do we have this week's winners yet?" The excitement was palpable throughout the school.

Finally, it came down to two books. As with basketball March Madness, it seems a shame that only one team, or in this case one book, can win. The Friday before the last vote our school had its monthly Town Hall Meeting. On the agenda was a pep rally for the two remaining  books, Ivan and Gaston. It seemed that our student body was evenly split. Students encouraged one another to vote for the "best" book.

The voting ended and Gaston was selected as the winner. Morning announcement of the winner was greeted with many cheers and more than a few disappointed groans. Later in the day, I found a simple letter on my desk. A student who had rooted for Ivan was deeply disappointed. In his letter he explained that Ivan had "gone through so much in his life," and to have not won March Madness was just not fair.  I would say the March Book madness made an impact.
Until next year, happy reading!

Together Again, Naturally

Each school year I get a brand new class of eager-to-learn 4th graders. I love this age. They are still young enough to be amazed and in awe of the world around us, yet they are beginning to "get" it. Yesterday my class had the second Mystery Skype of the year. I had the opportunity to reconnect with a colleague whom I met many years ago at a Discovery Education Summer Institute. (By the way the people I met and the things I learned through the DEN influence me in a positive way every day!)

Mystery Skype is a 20 questions game experienced with video and audio on Skype. Two teachers connect and set a date and time. Once the connection is made, the fun and learning begins.

The students quickly learn to create questions that eliminate a great deal of states. Such as, "Are you east of the Mississippi?" Our two or three speakers are responsible for talking to the other class. Two more students keep track of the states already eliminated. Another two students keep track of the questions already asked. A few students are using globes and Google Earth. Meanwhile the rest of the class has their atlas and blank map trying to identify "Where in the USA", or world the other class is.

In 20 minutes my students have fun and work on their US geography skills. They are quickly getting a sense of where major rivers, coastlines, and mountain ranges are. And without them even realizing it the "geography" lesson has so much more!

In the words of my students, "Our class gets to work together as a team." Mystery Skype - marrying fun with collaboration, critical analysis, and communication.

If you would like to participate in a Mystery Skype session contact me at mgriffin@cbsd.org or fill out my sign-up form.

Students as Authors

Every year my students write and publish a book using Bare Books. They are these great hardback books with lots of white pages. Students print and paste their work in the books.  Typically it has been a collection of personal narratives titled "Tales of a Fourth Grade Something" with apologies to Judy Blume. This year so much of our reading and writing has become focused on non-fiction. Informational writing, non-fiction text features, biography, expository...This is the language of  fourth grade readers and writers.
     This year students selected a world biome to learn about. Through research in the library and on the web, they learned about the biome's climate, precipitation, flora and fauna, and what impact humans have had on it. Using their knowledge of non-fiction text features, they created glossaries, graphs, tables, and diagrams. They also added a section of poems. Cinquains, haikus, The Important Thing About _______ were among the types of poems.
     While searching for appropriate and useful research sites, I discovered a fifth grade class in Illinois who had already studied and created reports on the biomes.Through the power of the web I was able to contact the teacher via email and set up a SKYPE session so her students could share their knowledge with my students.
     My students were thrilled to share what they had already learned as well as ask questions like, "What sites did you find useful?" and " Where did you find information on plants? I am having trouble." Realizing that they were talking to students that neither they nor their teacher knew was mind opening. If their teacher had found these students online and they were now sharing their knowledge, then it was not too far a reach that the same could happen to them. Suddenly their research and writing became a little more authentic.
     Books were finished, covers were illustrated, and About the Authors were written. All that remained was the celebration. The last week of school we had a publication party with parents and other students in the school. The new authors were proud as punch!