September 1999 Issue

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An Online Educational Community

A newsletter that educates parents, teachers, and
students.

September 1999 Issue #3
Tracey Powell, Editor, mailto:editor@innovamultimedia.com
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Welcome to your third issue of "An Online Educational
Community". Check out our website at
http://www.innovamultimedia.com

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newsletter, pass it along in whole or in part.

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Each month we will focus on a different educational
theme and base our feature article and learning tips
around that particular theme.

It's that time of year again when parents and teachers are
hustling and bustling, getting ready for school. And so I've
devoted this issue to just that: "Getting ready for school."

Our feature article,"Ready or not...Preparing Young Children
for the Classroom", offers suggestions to parents and schools on
how they can help ready young children for school. Our section,
"Learning Tips", offers tips to parents and teachers so that
they can better help children adjust to school.

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IN THIS ISSUE
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=> What's New at innovamultimedia.com
=> Feature Article
=> Lesson Plans
=> Education Sites
=> New Releases
=> Upcoming Products
=> Learning Tips
=> Whale Stuff
=> Feedback

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What's New at innovamultimedia.com
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Here are some of the new things that are up and on the go on our
website:

First, we have completed our newest version of "LessonBuilder",
where you can choose between any number of different lessons
and combine them together to design your very own lesson plan.
It is 100% free! Start downloading at
http://www.innovamultimedia.com/lbuilder.htm

Secondly, we have just finished a new free lesson,"Levels and
Slopes", from our "Surf into Science 1" course. Try it out and
let us know what you think about it. This new lesson, as well
as the previous one, can be found at
http://www.innovamultimedia.com/lbuilder.htm

Parents and teachers, we have recently incorporated a new
"Newsletter Archive" section on our website. Here you can catch
up on past newsletter issues. These issues can be viewed at
http://www.innovamultimedia.com/archive.html

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FEATURE ARTICLE - READY OR NOT...PREPARING
YOUNG CHILDREN
FOR THE CLASSROOM

Author - National Association for the Education of Young
Children (1997) - at
http://readyweb.crc.uiuc.edu/library/1997/readynot.html
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Just when you’ve settled into the routine of the school year,
it’s time to think ahead to next year. With many preschools and
kindergartens now taking applications for next fall, parents may
find themselves asking: Will my child be ready? Will he measure
up?

There is no one quality or skill that children need to do well
in school--a combination of factors contribute to school success.
These include physical well-being, social and emotional maturity,
language skills, an ability to solve problems and think
creatively, and general knowledge about the world. School success
also depends upon the "match" between children’s skills and
knowledge and the school’s expectations. More children succeed
when these expectations reflect knowledge of child development
and early learning.

Here are some suggestions of how parents and schools can
promote a good match for every child.

Parents can:

Take advantage of learning opportunities in every day activities.
These will make a big difference in preparing young children for
the classroom.

1. Promote good health and physical well-being. Children
obviously need nutritious food, enough sleep, safe places
to play, and regular medical care. In addition to medical
and dental checkups and immunizations, preschoolers need
opportunities to exercise and develop physical coordination.
Throwing balls, running, jumping, climbing, dancing to music
--all of these activities will enhance coordination and help
children learn important concepts such as up, down, inside,
outside, over, and under.

2. Support your child’s social and emotional development.
Children who are kind, helpful, patient, and loving generally
do better in school, and feeling good about oneself is an
important aspect of developing desirable social skills. Tell
your child how glad you are to be his parent. Set a good
example for your preschooler by showing what it means to get
along with others and to be respectful. Give children chances
to learn about sharing and caring, for example letting them
feed hungry birds, or helping them make cookies to welcome a
new neighbor.

3. Build your child’s language and general knowledge. There are
many things you can do to help your child learn to
communicate, and develop an understanding of the world. Don’t
underestimate the value of play! Play allows children to
explore, be creative, and develop social skills. It also
paves the way for academic learning. For example, children
learn key concepts important in geometry while stacking
blocks, and playing with others helps with negotiation skills.

4. Talk to your children. Everyday activities, such as eating
lunch, cleaning up toys, or taking a bath, provide
opportunities to talk. Listening and responding to a child
is the best way to learn what’s on her mind, to discover what
she knows and doesn’t know, and how she thinks and learns.
Listening also shows children that their feelings and ideas
are valuable. Finally, read together frequently. Fostering
your child’s love of books is a gift that will last a
lifetime!

5. Do not assume a child with a late birth date should be held
out of school. Research shows that children receive little,
if any, advantage when held out of school because of late
birth dates. And, the practice may have a negative impact on
other children by encouraging school expectations better
suited to older children.

Schools can:

1. Be prepared to respond to a diverse range of abilities
within any group of young children. Small group sizes with
enough teachers who are skilled in early childhood education
make it easier to provide the individualized attention every
child deserves.

2. Offer a curriculum and teaching practices that reflect
principles of child development and learning and provide many
active, meaningful learning opportunities that build upon
children’s existing knowledge and abilities.

3. Make sure expectations of children are reasonable and
age-appropriate. Even children who have received every
advantage prior to school struggle when demands are too
great, experiencing stress and having their confidence as
learners undermined.

4. Do not use tests as the primary measure for entry decisions.
Developmental screening to detect a health problem or
developmental disability is important to ensure early
diagnosis and treatment, but tests should not be used to
determine school entry for at least three reasons:

(1) Children are not good test takers, especially with
strangers in unfamiliar settings.

(2) Young children are growing and learning rapidly; test
results may change greatly in six months.

(3) Tests too often ignore language and culture variations
and may not give a true picture of a child’s skills and
knowledge.

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Lesson Plans
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Teachers, check out free "A Whale of a Tale" lesson plans on
our website at
http://www.innovamultimedia.com/lesson1.html

Surf into Science 2 - "Sequencing the Food Chain" at
http://www.innovamultimedia.com/sci2c.html
allows students to research and demonstrate the food chain of a
selected mammal or fish.

Leap into Language 1 - "Writing with Classroom Friends" at
http://www.innovamultimedia.com/lang1a.html
encourages students to work together to write their own version
of the song "The Bear Went Over the Mountain."

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Education Sites
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Check out some of these INNOVA recommended resource sites:

Students, visit Kodak Picture Playground at
http://alts1.kodak.com/US/en/corp/playground/index.shtml
This is a great site for kids of all ages -- including moms,
dads, and teachers -- to explore and have fun making changes
to digital images.

While you're at it check out The ePLAY Learning Centre at
http://www.eplay.com/home.adp
where you will find a safe Internet community to play, learn and
connect with other students. Here you will learn about the world
and each other through ePLAY's characters, stories, games, and
activities.

Parents, check out Crayola familyplay at
http://www.familyplay.com/index.html
where you will find projects, games and bedtimes stories for the
kids; a chance to chat with other parents; parenting advice; and
resources, parenting tools, and party ideas. A wealth of information
for today's parent!

Teachers, visit tech Learning at
http://www.techlearning.com/
a site devoted to serving educators with ideas, tools, and
resources for integrating technology into the K-12 school,
classroom and curriculum.

Check out Can Teach at
http://persweb.direct.ca/ikhan/index.html
Here you will find an excellent teacher's resource that's full of
lesson plans, teaching ideas, links, and discussion lists.

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New Releases - LessonBuilder
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LessonBuilder, a freeware product developed by INNOVA
Multimedia, is a new approach to the teaching of educational
curriculum in a multimedia environment. Unlike traditional
computer-based education - which serves up the same material,
in the same order, each time you use it - LessonBuilder puts
control over the educational experience in the hands of
teachers, parents, and students.

LessonBuilder allows the user to build custom multimedia courses
from the 250 lessons in INNOVA's "A Whale of a Tale Series".
The lessons can be arranged in whatever configuration is
necessary to fulfill a student's learning needs. Cross-disciplinary
courses can be designed that span such subject areas as Math,
Language, Science, and Social Studies.

There is also no limit to the number of custom courses that can
be made using LessonBuilder. A teacher might create a separate
course for each student in her class, for instance, or a series
of courses that take a student through incrementally difficult
excercises in one subject area.

Now available in its second release (Version 1.03 Beta,
Aug. 9, 1999), LessonBuilder is a FREE download on our web
site at
http://www.innovamultimedia.com/lbuilder.htm

The new version includes:

· an enhanced user interface

· cross-platform capability: versions for Standard Mac and
Power Mac are now available, in addition to Window 3.1 and
Windows 95/98 versions

· an additional FREE lesson from our "A Whale of a Tale" series
of courses.

The LessonBuilder download comes with TWO FREE LESSONS
from our
"A Whale of a Tale" series of courses:

· "Add a Beginning", a lesson from our "Leap into Language 1"
course, shows how adding various letters to the beginning of
a word can produce completely different words with different
meanings.

· "Levels and Slopes", a lesson from our "Surf into Science 1"
course, teaches the concept of a slope - how the steeper an
incline is, the faster an object will roll down that incline.
A quiz at the end reinforces the student's understanding of
the material.

LessonBuilder is regularly upgraded with new features that make
it more powerful and user-friendly. We encourage you to try
LessonBuilder and send us your comments at
http://www.innovamultimedia.com/feedback.htm
so we can make it an even better tool for educating students.

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Upcoming Products - Swim into Social Studies 2
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"A Whale of a Tale: Swim into Social Studies 2" is designed to
help students, ages six through eight, learn basic social
studies skills.

The program is based around the following concepts: community,
country, world, and maps.

A more detailed description of this product will follow in the
"New Releases" section of the next issue.

Call our toll free number, 1-877-8INNOVA or 1-877-846-6682,
if interested in ordering this or any other product.

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Learning Tips: Back to School Time - Tips to Help Children
Adjust

Author - National Association for the Education of Young
Children (1996) - at
http://readyweb.crc.uiuc.edu/library/1996/bck2schl.html
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Back to school time often means changes for children and
families: the first day of kindergarten or first grade; new
preschools or child care settings; new classrooms and new
teachers. Making smooth transitions between home, programs and
schools can help children feel good about themselves and teach
them to trust other adults and children. Helping children adapt
to new situations can ease parents’ minds and give them a chance
to become involved in theirchildren's education.

Transitions are exciting opportunities for children to learn and
grow. Parents and early childhood professionals share a role in
making children feel safe and secure as they move to new
educational settings. Of course, such milestones in children's
lives can cause anxiety, too. Strengthening the ties between
programs and families will help create smooth transitions for
adults and children both.

How parents can help:

1. Be enthusiastic about the upcoming change. If you are excited
and confident, your child will be, too.

2. Prepare yourself. Take note of how your child reacts to
separation. If possible, visit the new setting with your
child. Introduce your child to the new teacher or early
childhood professional in advance.

3. Arrange a playdate with another child from the program,
preferably one-on-one, so that your child will see a familiar
face when she walks in.

4. Start daily routines that will add to continuity. Let your
child become involved with packing lunch or laying out
clothes. Also, begin an earlier bedtime several weeks before.

5. Put aside extra time, particularly on the first day, for
chatting and commuting together. But remember not to prolong
the good-bye. If the child whines or clings, staying will
only make it harder.

6. Always say good-bye to your child. Be firm, but friendly
about separating. Never ridicule a child for crying. Instead,
make supportive statements like, "it's hard to say good-bye."

7. At the end of the work day, put aside your concerns and focus
on being a parent.

How teachers or early childhood professionals can help:

1. Make sure activities are developmentally appropriate for
children. Interesting and challenging, but doable, activities
will help children feel comfortable in their new setting.

2. Make an effort to get to know each individual child as
quickly as possible. Parents can provide information about
children's likes, dislikes, and special interests.

3. Welcome suggestions from families, particularly those of
children with special needs. Parents can offer specific
suggestions they have found useful for their own child, and
advise on classroom set-up and modifications.

4. Hold an orientation for children and parents. Small groups
will make it easier for children to get to know each other.

5. Show children around the new school or program, introducing
to other adults who are there to help them become acclimated.

6. Create partnerships between pre-schools and elementary schools
in the community. Meetings may focus on the sharing of ideas
and concerns.

7. Set up an area for photos of parents and family members that
children may "visit" throughout the day. Also include items
that reflect the cultural experience of all children to help
promote a sense of mutual respect and understanding. Children,
just like adults, need time to adjust to new people and
situations. Experience can make transition a bit easier, but
even with experience, change can still be stressful. Patience
and understanding on the part of parents and teachers or
caregivers will help children learn how to approach new
situations with confidence -- a skill that will help them make
successful transitions all through life.

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Whale Stuff
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Check out these INNOVA recommended whale sites!

Take a look at Zoom Whales from EnchantedLearning.com at
http://www.EnchantedLearning.com/subjects/whales/
Here you will find out all you've ever wanted to know about
whales. A great resource site!

Students and teachers visit
http://www.webcom.com/~iwcwww/teachers_kit/tksix.html
where you will find tons of engaging whale activities from the
Whales of the World Educational Program.

Whale Trivia:

Baleen whales can be found in all oceans worldwide, from polar
seas to temperate and tropical zones.

As a whale increases in size, its ability to retain body heat
also increases.

Barnacles and whale lice give a gray whale its characteristic
light gray color.

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Feedback
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If you have comments or suggestions concerning our online
newsletter or website, please direct them to
mailto:editor@innovamultimedia.com

Your comments and suggestions will be published in the feedback
section of future issues.

Online issues can be found at
http://www.innovamultimedia.com/archive.htm

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