Take new smartphone use study with a hefty dose of empathy for parents

A new study documenting the ubiquitous use of smartphones by parents at fast food restaurants with their young children is getting a lot of media attention. From Time magazine there is this headline: " Don't Text While Parenting- It Will Make You Cranky." "Put Down that Cellphone" from NBC. "Parents on Smartphone Ignore Their Kids," from ABC News.

I doubt that anyone is surprised by the findings of this study. People everywhere are on their smartphones all the time. In the arena of parenting, it is important to call attention to the impact of this behavior. There is extensive evidence that face-to-face interaction is critical for healthy emotional development. Mealtime offers an important opportunity for this type of interaction, especially in today's fast-paced culture.

However, I worry about the parent blaming tone of these headlines. Rather than saying, "This is bad, don't do it," perhaps we should be curious about why parents are using smartphones in this way.

One answer lies the increasing recognition of the addictive nature of these devices. Everyone, not just parents in fast food restaurants, is using smartphones all the time. The other may lie in the fact that parents, especially parents of young children, often feel alone, stressed and overwhelmed. Putting these two together and the allure of the screen becomes understandable.

The American Academy of Pediatrics press release states:

The study raises several questions for future research, including ...what are the long-term effects on child development from caregivers who frequently become absorbed with a device while spending time with their children.

I think we already know the answer to this question. I wonder if another important question might read: "How do we support parents in being more fully present with their young children, given the combination of high stress and an easy available, socially acceptable addictive device?"

Social responsibility to support new parents must follow demise of Isis Parenting

"Where I live (Paris) women are very lonely when having a baby. Is it the same in the US?"

A French journalist posed this question to me in an email interview two days ago. My verbatim response:

"Social isolation and often along with that postpartum depression are problems here in the US for new mothers.
There are mother- baby groups to try to address this issue, but not nearly enough."

Now, in our Boston communities and other places in the US, there are a lot fewer.

The economics of the sudden demise of Isis Parenting, a private retail company,is described in the Globe article today. But as my colleague at the Freedman Center at MSPP (Massachusetts School For Professional Psychology) that also runs mother-baby groups, said in reaction to the announcement by Isis, "you cant make money running mother-baby groups." 

A harsh tweet derides the company for catering to the wealthy with high end products. But in the absence of a system of social support of new parents, what choice is there? 

Isis offered what D.W. Winnicott termed a "holding environment" for new parents. Not just a physical space, but a community of relationships. This fact is reflected in a collection of tweets about Nancy Holtzman, vice president of clinical content and e-learning, at #thingsnancytaughtme.

Another way to describe what Isis offered is a "secure base:" In my book Keeping Your Child in Mind ( that was just released in France, thus the interview with the French journalist) I describe the extensive research evidence for the role of this secure base, both for parent and child, in healthy emotional development. 

John Bowlby, describing the essential role of attachment relationships in survival, spoke of a child’s need for what he called a “secure base” from which to explore the world and grow into a separate person. He also recognized the need for a mother to have a secure base of her own in order to provide this security for her child

In our culture extended families, that in past times might have offered that "holding environment" or "secure base," are often fragmented by distance and/or divorce. If one parent, usually the father, works very long hours, a new mother may feel very much alone. Isis parenting helped these parents not to feel alone. 

The United States lags behind significantly in support of new parents, as represented by a highly restrictive parental leave policy. A recent BBC article described an alternative approach in Finland: 

For 75 years, Finland's expectant mothers have been given a box by the state. It's like a starter kit of clothes, sheets and toys that can even be used as a bed. And some say it helped Finland achieve one of the world's lowest infant mortality rates.

Not only does this gift offer material help, but also an official recognition by the government that new parents have an important role to play and deserve to be valued and supported.

President Obama has recognized the need to invest resources in early childhood, and developed an Early Childhood Initiative. This is an important step in the right direction. 

But this will not help the families in the Boston area, who are now on their own with the loss of Isis. What can we do on the local level? It is my hope that government agencies, foundations and others who are in a position to support the kind of services Isis offered, that almost by definition do not make money, will step up to the plate to help fill the void. It will be an important investment in children, families and our future.

Towards a new (or return to an old) paradigm of finding meaning

I am fortunate that my father is my greatest fan, although, perhaps because his original language was German, it has taken me years of patient listening and translation to recognize this fact. Recently, after receiving a biography of Charles Darwin for his 89th birthday, he has taken to comparing me to Darwin.

 I would certainly be more modest, recognizing that the ideas I write about draw on the work of great thinkers and researchers, together with my own clinical experience.   One of these great minds is Sigmund Freud. His discovery of the unconscious, his greatest contribution, is so much a part of the way we think and behave that is difficult to appreciate the revolutionary nature of this idea.  Even before he used the term unconscious, in his work as a neurologist, his original discovery was that symptoms have meaning.

Freud did not write very much about development under age three, perhaps because there was only so much he could do. However we do know that when he was a toddler his younger brother died. I wonder how much this early experience, and his mother's concurrent grief over the loss of her child, influenced the development of Freud's theories, though perhaps in a way that he himself was not conscious of.

Fortunately the next wave of researchers, including such great minds as John Bowlby, Peter Fonagy and Ed Tronick, and many others in the growing discipline of infant mental health, have focused on early development, showing that not only does behavior have meaning, but also how that meaning is co-created in relationships.

Here is an example. I have written on this blog about my growing recognition of the significance of sensory processing challenges in development.  While such a trait may originate in the child, it immediately takes on meaning within relationships. A newborn that is not cuddly and does not like to be held may evoke feelings of shame and even depression in a mother. A father who himself had sensory processing challenges but was physically abused because of his difficulties may be overwhelmed with anxiety in the face of his child's similar problems. The child's behavior takes on meaning in the context of the parent-child relationship. When a child is a newborn, it may be relatively easy to identify the relational nature of these problems. But when a child is older, there are layers of complexities, such as learning difficulties and concurrent self esteem issues that may accompany sensory processing challenges, or marital conflict that may occur in the face of a child who is struggling.  These complexities are usually out of a parent's awareness, or, returning to Freud's term, unconscious.

 As a society we have come far from this idea of looking for the meaning of behavior. Instead we treat only the symptom. Thus a child who has sensory processing challenges, unless he is working with an occupational therapist trained in infant mental health, may be treated by brushing, or listening to tapes designed to "re-program" his brain. Many parents have told me that they are actively discouraged from participating in the therapy. Yet if parent and child are separated in this way, the meaning of a symptom within the context of relationships is never discovered.

In mental health care, this shift away from the search for meaning is due at least in part to the birth of "biological psychiatry" and the hope that complex emotional struggles have a simple chemical explanation that can be solved with a drug.

On the list serve of the American Psychoanalytic Association there is currently an active discussion about the issue of CPT codes. In order for a service to be covered by insurance, a clinician must provide both a diagnostic code and a code for the type of service. An underlying problem is that our system of diagnosis, largely based on the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual)  is organized by symptoms, not by meaning. Clinicians who are used to helping people to discover meaning are restricted by a system that reduces these complex meanings to a number that corresponds to a list of behaviors. It is a deeply entrenched issue related to the whole structure of the health insurance industry and of our health care system. It is further complicated by the rise of electronic medical records and concurrent implications for confidentiality. Helping people to discover meaning that may be unconscious often involves intimate and private conversations.

This brings me full circle to my father's flattering comparison. It is indeed true that I am motivated not only to help the individual children and families I work with, but also to promote a paradigm shift in how we as a society understand human development, and, in turn, support newborns, young children and families.

Though my father is a magazine publisher, he is not a big fan of social media. He told me that Darwin kept his discoveries to himself, partly in fear of upsetting the mainstream thinking, until he had it all written down in the Origin of Species. My father suggested that I concentrate my efforts on producing my own analogous work.

He has a point. However, I choose to embrace the age of social media, and so aim to move our thinking one blog post at a time (although another book will also be forthcoming.)

The made-up reality of psychiatrys new DSM 5

A member of the American Psychoanalytic Association posted the following on an internal email list, and I am reproducing it with permission. It captures the kind of circular reasoning behind the current paradigm of psychiatry as represented by DSM 5. As in "we define the disease by these symptoms, therefore if you have these symptoms, you have the disease."

The following two questions were published in a recent (June 8) issue of Psychiatric News and also distributed by APA in an email message, apparently as part of a PR quiz program to popularize the DSM-5.  However, I'm posting them here to convey an idea of what many of us feel has gone wrong in American Psychiatry in the last decades.  Each of these clinical vignettes describes a patient with some kind of mental disorder.  Each vignette ends with a quiz question. Fair enough.

However, I have changed to UPPER CASE some words in the two questions to which I'd like to call your attention.  Note in both cases, the question is phrased in such a way that the task is to decide which of the listed DSM-5 entities CAUSED the patient's symptoms and clinical "picture" described in the vignette.  However, the real task is to try to guess which set of symptoms listed in the DSM-5 most closely matches the patient's symptoms.

Framing the questions as they are indicates a mind set that these DSM-5 "disorders" are "real" things which are somehow present in the patient (like a bacteria) and which then CAUSE the patient's symptoms.  In actual fact, because there are no such entities other than in the DSM-5's attempt to classify the myriad variations of human mental disorders into convenient slots, the actual meaning of psychiatric diagnoses in the current state of our knowledge is being turned on its head in the minds of contemporary (biologically based) psychiatric thinking. As you know, in the DSM-5 all "disorders" supposedly reflect an "underlying psychobiological dysfunction" which then leads to the conclusion that all one has to do is to discern the biological mechanism underlying the disorder, find the right pill, and voila!  Cured! What a great doctor!  What a great specialty!!

He then quotes the two quiz cases.

 A 65-year-old woman reports being housebound despite feeling physically healthy. She reports falling while shopping several years ago; although she sustained no injuries, the situation was so distressing to her that she becomes extremely nervous when she has to leave her house unaccompanied. She has no children and few friends. She is very distressed by the fact that she has few opportunities to venture outside her home. Which of the following disorders BEST ACCOUNTS FOR her disability?

a) specific phobia*situational subtype

b) social anxiety disorder

c) posttraumatic stress disorder

d) agoraphobia

e) adjustment disorder

 A 35-year-old man is in danger of losing his job; the job requires frequent long-range traveling, and for the past year he has avoided flying. Two years prior, he traveled on a particularly turbulent flight, and although he was not in any real danger, he was convinced that the pilot minimized the risk and that the plane almost crashed. He flew again one month later, and although he experienced a smooth flight, the anticipation of turbulence was so distressing that he experienced a panic attack during the flight. He has not flown since. Which of the following disorders IS THE MOST LIKELY CAUSE of his anxiety?

a) agoraphobia

b) acute stress disorder

c) specific phobia*situational type

d) social anxiety disorder

e) panic disorder

He references a commentary in the very same issue of Psychiatry News entitled New Evidence Said to Challenge Psychiatry's Basic Paradigms that calls attention to the lost state of the discipline.

Psychiatry is at a crossroads, according to Patrick Bracken, M.D., Ph.D., clinical director of the West Cork Mental Health Service in Ireland, at APA’s annual meeting in San Francisco in May.

“Accumulating evidence challenges the current paradigm underlying psychiatric thinking and practice,” said Bracken. The problem lies deeper than just “too many drugs....”

Psychiatry is not like cardiology, he said. The mind is not simply another organ of the body, but encompasses relationships, values, and meaning.

Clearly a new paradigm is needed.  

New study asks; what happens to the dysregulated infant?

When I see children in my behavioral pediatrics practice, whether they are 2, 5 or 15 it is very common to hear from parents that as a baby their child "cried all the time" never slept" had "terrible feeding problems" or some variation of this. Therefore I was not surprised by the findings of a large longitudinal study published this week in Pediatrics: Long-term Outcomes of  Infant Behavioral Dysregulation. The researchers in Australia had information about over 5000 babies starting at 6 months, and found that when mother's reported symptoms of "dysregulation" at this age, they were significantly more likely to report of behavior problems at age 5 and age 14. This association was affected by such things as mother's level of education, marital status and presence of anxiety and/or depression. The authors conclude that:

By facilitating early referral to appropriate professionals, such as public health nurses, family therapists, psychologists, and social workers, clinicians may aim to improve not only behavioral out- comes in childhood and adolescence, but also parents’ perceptions of their children and the needs of the parents themselves.

While I am pleased that this conclusion is reached in a prestigious journal, what is lacking in this study, is understanding of how infant dysregulation and later behavior problems are linked, and so in how to treat these problems. Here are three points that speak to this issue.

1) This model places the "dysregulation" squarely in the baby. However, any new mother (I refer to mothers because that is what the study does- see below for thoughts about fathers) will tell you that the baby's behavior has a huge influence on a mother's behavior and emotional wellbeing.  The mother and baby regulate and dysregulate each other. For example, if a baby has difficulty settling to sleep, a parent will likely be severely sleep deprived. This in turn may affect her ability to respond to her baby's cues. If she is struggling with postpartum depression, the sleep deprivation likely will worsen her symptoms. When a mother is herself struggling in this way, it may lead to further symptoms of "dysregulation" in the baby. But conversely, if a baby is dysregulated and the mother gets help,  in the form of such things as a mother-baby group, yoga and/or therapy, and she is able to be calmer, she will be better able to help her baby manage his symptoms of dysregulation. In turn, as her baby becomes more calm, she will feel more competent and better about herself as a parent.

2) Fathers have a critical role to play. A study published last year in Pediatrics showed a significant link between paternal depressive symptoms and later child behavior problems. Again, looking at the positive side of this, when a father's emotional wellbeing is supported, he can be more emotionally available for both his partner (this study does identify stability of partner relationships as well as marital status as an important factor) and his child.

3) Symptoms of dysregulation are usually present before 6 months of age. For example babies born prematurely are very likely to be behaviorally dysregulated. One particularly vulnerable population is what is referred to as the "late preterm." When babies are born at 35-37 weeks, they are often in the regular nursery and parents have an expectation that they are "normal." However, these babies may be difficult to feed, have difficulty settling to sleep as well as increased sensitivity to sensory input. When there is this kind of mismatch between the parent's expectations and experience, significant feelings of inadequacy may emerge. In turn, these feelings, together with sleep deprivation may lead to symptoms of depression in a parent. This is another example of mutual dysregulation.

I was motivated to develop the Early Childhood Social Emotional Health program at Newton Wellesley hospital exactly because of the findings that this study calls attention to. I wanted to help families before their child was 5, 10 or 16 and being diagnosed with ADHD. Recognizing that the roots of these problems are usually present very early, it made sense to  devote resources to helping families of young children.

The risk of this study however, is that "infant dysregulation" becomes the new "ADHD," placing the problem squarely in the child, and failing to recognize that the problem occurs in relationships.   As it stand now, the study adds to the rapidly growing body of literature offering evidence that devoting resources to early childhood is important. But it is only by focusing on interventions that promote healthy relationships, and for vulnerable parent-child pairs starting these interventions at or close to birth, that this research can have a positive and meaningful impact.

New website goes up tonight!

A new start for active labor, a new question for progress

Encouragement to a new Baby Spinner

Eliminate shame and blame from parenting: new study sheds light

In my behavioral pediatrics practice, it is not  uncommon for parents to go to great lengths to put up a good front. They feel terrible shame about moments of out-of-control behavior, and also fear that I will blame them for their child's troubles. They focus primarily on "what to do" about their child's difficult behavior. However with time, and the realization that I am interested in understanding, not shaming or blaming, they begin to open up about their own life and the enormous stress they experience in their parenting role. They acknowledge that this stress has often led them to yell at their kids or even remove themselves emotionally.

An important new study published in the current journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry provides evidence that a parent's early life stress, such as abuse, emotional neglect, or emotional abandonment, lives in the parent's body. The reactions mothers (the study is just about mothers, though fathers certainly face similar challenges) may have in the face of a child's aggressive or clingy behavior are biologically based. It is not simply that they are hitting because they were hit. The authors of the study draw on extensive animal research showing biological mechanisms for transmission of parenting behavior.

For example, when a child behaves aggressively in a way that is developmentally normal (though limits must be set) a parent with a history of early life trauma may have a surge of stress hormones that affect the functioning of his or her brain. Thinking is impaired. He or she may have a kind of fight-or-flight reaction, which may lead to aggression in return.  Another alternative is to shut down, or in psychological language to "dissociate." This leads to that sense of being emotionally disconnected. Neither are good for a child.

This study has major implications for understanding as well as treatment.  If a parent is frequently out-of-control, and is yelling at or hitting a child, or emotionally removing him or herself, it must be addressed. Focusing exclusively on the child's behavior will accomplish little in this situation. Repeated exposure to an angry, out-of-control or emotionally removed parent has significant impact on development.

If  parents can recognize that early life trauma has led to this kind of biological reaction, it may eliminate some of the guilt and shame. It may encourage them to acknowledge and address the problem. When children are young, there is ample opportunity to turn things in a better direction.

Second, if the problem is in the parents' body,  treatment needs to involve working with the parents body. Psychotherapy can be important as a way to develop insight into the impact early life experience. But this kind of work can take time. A more immediate intervention involves helping a parent to recognize the stress reaction and then to develop tools to combat it.

I am not talking about medication. While medication may calm a parent down, and may be necessary in  some cases, the hope is to identify the way a child's behavior provokes a parent, and develop strategies for remaining calm  in the moment. The mindfulness movement has much to offer in this regard. Deep breathing, yoga or simply a short walk can help to calm the body down. Music or art will work better for others.

When parents come to my office asking what to do about their child's "problem behavior," I don't think they expect that my answer will be "go for a walk." I am pleased that this current study will support me when in fact I do say something like that.

Psychiatric Medication For Children? Important New Book Gives Pause

Two things most stood out for me in Kaitlin Bell Barnett's new book Dosed: The Medication Generation Grows Up. The first is the stories of women struggling to get off of SSRI's (selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors), started in early adolescence, when they decide to get pregnant. The second is Bell Barnett's review of the literature regarding sexual dysfunction as a side effect of SSRIs in adolescence.

The book as a whole has much to say that is very important. As I write in my blurb for the cover:

Dosed is a fascinating, well-researched, and very important book. After reading it, I hope that no parent, pediatrician or psychiatrist will give psychiatric medication to a child or adolescent without very careful consideration of the potential long-term consequences. Bell Barnett shows that these medications are often not a ‘quick fix,’ but rather have deep, lasting impact, not only on physical and emotional health, but also on a person’s core sense of self.

Bell Barnett is a journalist who was herself started on SSRIs as a teenager. Her book intertwines in depth interviews with people who were started on psychiatric medication in childhood and are now young adults, with a journalistic study of the history of psychiatric medication use in children. I could probably write several posts covering all the important issues she addresses, but have chosen to focus on these two.

I first learned of the emerging evidence that SSRIs may cause long term sexual dysfunction last fall when I attended a talk by Robert Whitaker, author of the controversial book about psychiatric illness and medication Anatomy of an Epidemic. I was so alarmed about this data that I wanted to immediately write a blog post about it. But shortly after that talk I received the galleys of Bell Barnett's book. I discovered that she has a through review of the rather scant literature on the subject along with some very poignant stories, so I decided to wait until her book came out. I recommend that anyone who is concerned about this issue (as anyone who takes or prescribes these drugs should be) read her book. The subject is covered in the chapter entitled "Side Effects." Here are a few sample quotes.

A comprehensive review of the literature conducted in 2004 found just one clinical trial that reported erectile dysfunction in a teenager; most clinical guidelines and reviews of SSRIs didn't mention sexual side effects at all.

This is pretty shocking since, as the authors of the study cited above noted, anywhere from 30-40 percent of adults experience some kind of SSRI induced problems with libido, arousal, or orgasm.

And this important point:

Despite the lack of formal studies involving young people, anecdotal evidence suggests that drugs causing decreased libido and sexual dysfunction do sometimes pose a real problem, psychologically and socially, both for teenagers who are in the process of developing a sexual identity and for young adults testing out long-term intimate relationships.

And this from Elizabeth, who started taking SSRIs in 9th grade:

I am not sure I can [over]state the extent to which it impacted things. I didn't grow up with a normal sex drive, and that was obviously due to a combination of factors, but being on and off antidepressants whose impact I really couldn't understand back when I didn't have any real understanding of my sex drive or sex in relationships to begin with means I basically went through adolescence without experiencing anything in that realm in a "normal' way.

There's more, but the bottom line is that this issue is not well studied and yet of major significance in adolescent development.

Bell-Barnett poignantly captures the challenges faced by her interviewees who were started on SSRIs in childhood and now want to have children. Aware of the potential effects on the developing fetus, they try to get off the medication, but rebound with debilitating symptoms of depression. SSRIs are one of the most common medications prescribed in pregnancy. Yet we really do not know what the effects are on the developing fetus. A policy statement put out by the American Academy of Pediatrics earlier this year points to evidence that SSRI use in the third trimester is linked to a constellation of neonatal signs and symptoms. We do know that maternal depression itself can have a negative impact on the developing fetus. So if a woman is already on SSRIs and develops symptoms of depression without them, it may be best to stay on them during pregnancy.

The take home point of Bell Barnett's book, however, is that this issue needs to be considered by parents and clinicians when girls are prescribed these medications in childhood and adolescence well before having children is on their minds. These medications have a great allure as they may very quickly resolve symptoms. But one thing that Bell Barnett makes clear, and that is also supported by the literature, is that getting off these medications is very difficult.

Certainly these children and teenager should get help if they are struggling with depression. But other forms of intervention, including psychodynamic psychotherapy combined with self-regulating activities such as yoga, offer an alternative to medication. There is a severe shortage of quality mental health services due in part to the influence of the health insurance industry. It is a complex issue that must be addressed at the level of health care policy.

Large-scale use of these medications has major life-long impact on identity and sense of self of the current generation, referred to as "Generation Rx." Considering the complex issue of SSRIs in pregnancy, there is also potential for significant impact on the next generation. The time to pay attention to this problem is now. Reading Bell Barnett's book is a good place to start.

New Years Wrap Up & Black History Month Fun!

Boy, am I seriously adjusting to being back in school after a two week break! I find myself yearning for my 1pm nap time...lol! I hope you've all adjusted back better than I have :)

Since returning from the break, we've been working on Winter, New Year's, and Black History Month activities all rolled into one! We've since wrapped up our New Year's Unit and we'll be moving on to Chinese New Year next week. Last year my kids had a blast with that theme, I can't wait to do it again!

Here are some pictures from my New Year's Pack that we've worked on:

New Year's Emergent Reader

Inside pages:

New Year's Kids Glyph- We did this over a two day period. The kids had fun with this :)

And let's not forget the boys...this sweetie was the only one done!

We also worked on a few things from my Black History Month Pack

We wrote various sentences inside

Inside:

Here's more....sorry I couldn't resist :)

Inside:

"We're all in this Together" Peace Wreath (I used Pacon Multicultural Construction Paper)

Rosa Parks

Whew! Check out the picture for a closer look.

 We'll be working on the rest of the crafts in this packet this week. I'll come back & post more. 

Also, keep your eye on the look out for some freebies!! :)

New Years Activities Galore & More!! {Freebies}

Hi friends! I hope your new year is off to a great start! I've been a little M.I.A because I've been overhauling my house, going room to room and getting rid of everything that we haven't used in a while, or no longer have a need for. It's a new year's tradition of mine that I've done for years! It feels so good to have a clutter free home- but wait- let's see how long it lasts! ;)

 I return to work on Monday and I wanted to share some of the activities I've prepared to use next week. I made this glyph with my kids last year but just recently posted it.

Here are some pictures of the glyph:

and few activities from the packet:

 

A closer look: 

I've also updated my New Year's Themed Pack & nearly doubled it in size. This was my second tpt item ever listed and it was in dire need of a makeover!! So if you've previously purchased it make sure to download the updated version for the added goodies :)

 Here are some items included in this packet:

AB, ABB, ABC Pattern Activities- great for differentiating instruction!

Maze activities for counting by 2's, 5's, & 10's. I've also included answer keys for each sheet.

Counting down to the New Year!

There is also a sheet with traceable numbers for kids who need the added practice.

Celebration Time!

I've included matching cards to go along with this activity sheet.

Here's the whole sha-bang!

If you're still with me, I have a freebie just for you: 

{Click image to download}

 There are 10 sequencing activities to choose from. Colored images as well as black/white images are provided. I hope it's something you can use with your little ones. 

Here's a sample of one we did last year:

If you're looking for more New Year's activities, you must check out this pinboard:

It's brought to you by some of the most fabulous people I know! There are tons of DIY projects for your classroom, kid tested and approved products, arts & crafts, math and literacy centers & activities, tips for organizing, and the list goes on!! There are also links to many teaching strategies in action, video clips, and professional articles and books.

The contributors of the pinboard also have a blog!! Click on the image to check it out! 

And if you want even more freebies, then you definitely have to hop on over to my friend Shuna's blog at Pocket Full of Kinders. Shuna along with 16 other bloggers have teamed up to bring you a super fun facebook blog fans scavenger hunt!! There are a TON of freebies to be won so head on over there for all the details. 

 

Thanks for sticking with me friends ~ I'm off to savor every last second of my break! :)

New Years Resolution: Technology Linky

Another day, another linky! lol! Today I am linking up with Kathleen from Growing Kinders to bring you my technology resolutions.

I've been hopping from blog to blog reading about all the cool things everyone does in their class and I must say, I am one of the unfortunate ones. BOO! No smartboards or class sets of ipads here. I would definitely love to try and write a grant if someone could steer me in the right direction (wink). A few years ago each one of us received three computers for our classrooms- but there was no money left for maintenance. Crazy huh?! So, needless to say how many years later almost half of those computers are now sitting in a storage room broken or left with no anti-virus. Out of my three, only one is still alive today. I do have an old laptop that I let my kids use and on Friday's I bring in my ipad as an incentive, but one ipad and 19 little 5 year-olds sometimes creates more chaos then fun :(

I have a multimedia projector that I use to showcase short stories and fun songs from youtube and teachertube.com. I also recently projected images of polar bears from nationalgeographickids.com and my kids just had the most fun. I think they just like it when the lights turn off. They say they feel like they're at the movies...lol! 

my videos are taking forever to upload so here are the links:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUubMSfIs-U
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0icbq
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-V4zzXzpT8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPWZu4LDmQM

Two of my favorite sites filled with a plethora of technology information, as well as TONS of other information are:

 

and

{click images to go to websites}

These websites offer a lot of articles on recommended apps, websites, technology trends, educational social networds (twiducate...have you heard of that?), using apps to create study guides, & MORE! There is even an article on edudemic on how to know if you're correctly integrating technology! Click here to read more.

Have you heard of this website? It's similar to pinterest but for educators!!

You must check it out!

A few of my favorite websites & apps for my kiddos are:

Starfall.com

I spy fun from scholastic.com

madlibs.com

  

Flow Free- a fun app where you have to connect matching colors with a pipe creating a "flow". Pipes break if they overlap or cross so be careful! 

 

Harper Collins for tons of games & printable pages

crayola.com (great ideas/ lesson plans for teachers too)

Banana Math App (Drill Math Word Problems)

More Images

 

Online Storytime by Barnes & Noble

There are 16 popular children's books posted so far- my kids absolutely love this! 

Whew! If you're still with me, here are my resolutions:

1. To be more consistent

2. To have a better plan/ schedule for my kids to use the one ipad that I have.

3. To show my kids how to type their name using Word.

I'm not sure if I can call the third one a resolution since one of our standards is to teach students the parts of a computer as well as get them acquainted with the keyboard. They don't have to know where specific keys are but they need to understand that if I press a key a letter/number/object will be projected onto the screen. I always have fun teaching this because my little ones that aren't exposed to computers are always so fascinated.

Okay, enough of my ramblings...head on over to Kathleen's blog & join the fun!