The way you measure a society’s soul is by the way that it treats its children.
Nelson Mandela
Issue No. 105 – 12th May 2011
Welcome to Kidz Newz especially to all new subscribers. Kidz Newz is a regular newsletter with information and teaching tips for anyone involved with young children. You are receiving this because you have attended one of my workshops, purchased a book, or you have requested to be on the mailing list. Thank you. Please forward this to anyone you feel it may be of interest to. Feedback is welcome.
PD Update
ECCPA Conference (Early Childhood Conference of Performing Arts), Genazzano FCJ College, Kew, Melbourne August 20-21, 2011
Glasses in Classes
You may suspect a child or children in your care are not seeing or visually processing as well as they should. This article can help you identify those at risk. Also, here are some exercises that are not intended just for children you suspect have movement dysfunction or learning difficulties that are related to vision in some way. They are fun to do and will benefit all children. The information is from a recent edition of David Evian’s Visual Therapy Newsletter (thanks Berri for sending this). Follow the links to the website for more specific information or contact Berri or David directly if you think you need some general advice about a child in your care. As the articles are quite long it might be better to click here to read the whole thing.
Employment Opportunity
Looking for a part-time teaching opportunity? Love working with children? Love teaching music and movement? I am looking for people to train to run Kidz-Fiz-Biz classes. I have had 25 years in this industry (23 specifically with children) and want to start up more classes again due to ongoing demand. Good income and lots of fun. If this is something of interest to you now or in the future, please contact me at info@kidzfizbiz.com or phone 0410 642 781. I am especially looking for someone in the Northern Suburbs of Perth for the Ocean Reef class – ideally early childhood trained.
Quotes of the Week
“There are none so blind as those who will not see.” ~ Unknown
“No person has ever gone blind from looking at the bright side of life.” ~ Unknown
“It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.” ~ Trina Panormo
Entertainment
This excerpt if from Jackie Hosking’s Pass it On Newsletter and reviews a very unusual book.
The Black Book of Colours – By Menena Cottin | Illustrated by Rosana Faria | Walker Books Picture Book, September 2009
A stunning and unforgettable black book … about colour.
Our eyes tell us about colour. But what if you are blind? Can you still know colours? Using simple language and beautiful textured art, this book shows you how to see without your eyes. From out of the blackness, a beautiful rainbow of colours emerges!
Braille letters accompany the illustrations on every page and a full Braille alphabet offers sighted readers help in deciphering the text with their fingers, and sharing an experience usually known by blind readers alone.
“Fascinating, challenging and lovely.” Kirkus Reviews
Winner of the prestigious Bologna Ragazzi ‘New Horizons’ prize in 2007.
October 8th is World Sight Day. Menena Cottin is a graphic designer and illustrator from Caracas, Venezuela. Rosana Faria was also born in Caracas. She studied graphic design at the Neumann Design Institute and now works as a children’s book illustration and graphic designer.
Publication date: September 2009 | AU$19.95 | ISBN: 9781406322187
Feedback
This comment is in response to the last newsletter (#103) about Philosophy for Children. You can access the newsletter, in case you missed it, by clicking here.
“Hi Marlene,
I might need to see this movie. It’s good to see a teacher who is prepared to extend children’s thinking at such a young age. As a teacher I like to ask children questions that don’t only have right or wrong answers, but also ones that make them think and give an opinion with some sort of explanation. Unfortunately not too many kids like to answer questions because they feel they will be ridiculed. It takes me all year to build up their confidence, but eventually over half the class end up having a go as I encourage them to voice their thoughts and they know they won’t be put down by the other kids. If I knew more about ‘philosophy’ I would give it a go.
Thanks for the great article and brilliant jokes.
Regards,
Bob Perhavec”
About The Author
Marlene Rattigan B.A., Dip. Ed. (ECS), CELTA
Marlene Rattigan is an Early Childhood teacher, a teacher of English as a Second Language, and from 1987-2000 was a nationally accredited fitness leader. Her background is in music education. A keen interest in motor development in children led to the creation of Kidz-Fiz-Biz which she taught successfully for 13 years. Marlene also conducts workshops for children, teachers and parents at schools, in the community and at festivals. She has produced teaching manuals complete with audio CDs which are an extension of her ‘Kidz-Fiz-Biz’ program.
Kidz-Fiz-Biz
PO Box 6894, East Perth WA 6892, Australia
T: +61 8 9325 1204 M: +61 (0) 410 64 2781 E: info@kidzfizbiz.com
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Until next time … continue being a legend in your classroom.
Marlene Rattigan, Editor
Kidz Newz
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