learning/our-schools/etz-chaim-learning-center/keris-korner

Why Reading On A Screen Is Bad For Critical Thinking

"Think fast!"

As kids, that's what we used to say at school recess when tossing the ball around. Is "Think fast!" what we're now saying when we read?

Historically, thinking and reading have gone hand-in-hand. Eric Havelock argued years back that development of alphabetic writing in Greece enabled a level of analysis not earlier possible. Havelock may have...Read more...

What Is Mindful Parenting?
By: Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D. 
Author, 'Mindfulness for Beginners: Reclaiming the Present Moment -- and Your Life'

Mindful parenting involves keeping in mind what is truly important as we go about the activities of daily living with our children. Much of the time, we may find we need to remind ourselves of what that is, or even admit that we may have no idea at the moment, for the thread of...Read more...

We Tell Kids to ‘Go to Sleep!' We Need to Teach Them Why.

By Anne Murphy Paul

Some of us can sleep anytime.
Credit: KJ Dell'Antonia

We tell children why it's important to eat their vegetables. We tell them why they need to get outside and run around. But how often do we parents tell children why it's important to sleep? “Time for bed!” is usually the end of it, or maybe...Read more...

No Time Outs

November 26, 2014

My oldest daughter is the kind of kid that is interested in color theory, other people's emotions and the point of our existence. She'll sit in front of a sheet of math problems while happily tapping her toes through each formulation. She is so much fun and so much depth. She is also still so much 5 year old; her imaginary games are rich and usually feature time travel, assumed scientific...Read more...

How Play Wires Kids' Brains For Social and Academic Success

By Jon Hamilton

When it comes to brain development, time in the classroom may be less important than time on the playground.

“The experience of play changes the connections of the neurons at the front end of your brain,” says Sergio Pellis, a researcher at the University of Lethbridge in Alberta, Canada. “And without play experience, those neurons...Read more...