Authentic Assessment is defined as the process of documenting and evaluating growth and development in real-life situations over time. It shows what children can do, what they know, and what they understand. Rather than attempting to explain a child’s performance based on one test, this type of assessment focuses on the progress and growth of a child over time. Authentic assessment helps to paint a more accurate picture of who the child is and how the child is growing and learning. The term assessment, when used in the context of early childhood education, is sometimes interchanged with the term observation. Observation is one method of assessing student growth and development and is probably the best-known, most widely used way that teachers evaluate the progress of the young children they teach.

Teachers may wonder what to assess when working with young children. Using multiple forms of assessment allows a teacher to reveal an accurate picture of the child. Early childhood includes children from birth to age eight and is a very difficult period to assess because the rate of growth is so rapid. Also, growth is highly influenced by nurturing parents, quality of care, and the learning environment. Parents want to be assured that their child is ready for school. In addition, teachers and administrators want to know if they are offering effective programs. Therefore, assessment information is critical to the child, the parent, and the success of the program.

Assessment is a hot topic in the field of early childhood education as accountability becomes more important for teachers and schools. As educators, we must find ways to show we are teaching and that children are learning. It is imperative to find methods that illustrate growth and development over time, allowing children to be evaluated in real-life, everyday settings. It is the teacher’s responsibility to find methods of documentation that report success of children.

By understanding the basic developmental areas of the children you teach, assessment can be made simple. Easy-to-learn methods of assessment will help you document the developmental growth of young children over time. Learn more about assessment tools for the classroom. Visit ChildCare Education Institute to discover over 100 online child care training courses that meet the continuing education requirements of the child care industry.

First impressions are very important for children. In much the same way that they first learn that they should stay away from fire by getting scalded by something hot, children, too, create impressions about studying depending on their first experiences. If the parent presents the idea that to learn English for kids is a responsibility, then the child may view it as such and may shun it in favor of more enjoyable things like playing, for example. However, if the parent or the teacher presents fun English for kids learning as something fun and enjoyable from the very start, then the child is more likely to have a positive attitude towards it. And if the child has a positive attitude towards learning English for kids, he will be more receptive towards new information and more willing to learn new things, thus, contributing to his own development and helping him reach his true potential. Also, if you try to notice, things that interest you usually stay in your head longer than things that you find boring. If a child has a negative attitude towards learning, then anything that’s presented to him for studying would automatically be classified as ‘boring’ or ‘tedious’. However, if learning is presented to him as something ‘fun’, then he is more likely to find something he’s really interested in because he won’t be close-minded about the subjects being taught. Hence, there are games for learning English that parents and teachers can use. There are also English songs for kids as well as English dictionary for kids that can help as well. How to learn English for kids should be fun so as to help them grasp the language better.

Another aspect which limits child education in the public school system, is the unfairness of the teacher hiring process. You would think that your school would want to hire the most qualified teachers, but that is often not what happens. The way our schools are set up, it is possible for an individual to control who gets hired and who does not. And many times has a vested interest in the outcome as well.

Suppose there is a middle income family with two children. Husband and wife both work and make contributions to their respective 401K plans. Their goal is to begin saving for the college education of their two lovely daughters. One of the daughters is quite smart; the other is very athletic and is good at every sport she attempts. Father recently got a raise in compensation at work and is thinking of what to do with the extra money. The family does have some savings outside of the retirement plan but would like to have more in case of an emergency. What would be your advice to this family in order for their financial goals to be met?

The first order of business is to identify all of the issues at hand. This family is saving for retirement for the parents, it is taking care of children, it is building a portfolio outside of the retirement plan (more attention should be given to this area), and the family is deciding how best to provide for the education of its children. Does this study case sound familiar to anyone? Before I get started on the solution to this situation, I would like to first mention life insurance. Is there enough protection against one ore both of the parents passing away? There should be enough insurance to provide for income replacement if both parents pass. This could mean having each parent purchase significant life insurance to protect family assets. A rule of thumb might be to assume a 6% return on investments and then calculate how much insurance will be needed to generate the same income provided by each working parent. For example, if one parent makes $120,000 per year, $2,000,000 in coverage will be needed to provide for income replacement. This insurance, in my view, can be obtained through a term policy that would expire at some point after the kids are projected to graduate college, say at age 24. Remember, life insurance is a hedge against living and there is coverage that is needed. We do not want to get more coverage than we actually need. Enough said on this portion of the discussion.

Let’s get back to our case study involving this family’s desire to provide for a college education. I will bet that many of you are already saying that the solution is simple, just get a 529 plan. I am going to stop you here and ask that you think of this investment strategy. Putting money into a 529 plan will be similar to you putting money into a retirement plan. The investment strategy will be the same. The contributions made will have a given purpose and will be invested with a strategy that will protect this interest. Doesn’t this sound like the 401K? It sure does to me. Let’s remember that this family wants to build on its emergency funds. In addition, it’s important to consider that the kids may not want to go to school, could get a scholarship of some sort, or could make some other arrangement to fund college. Mom and Dad should consider building the emergency funds needed and building a portfolio outside of the retirement plan. Tax exempt bonds and large cap stocks can be used in addition to savings to build the emergency fund and increase the portfolio. The argument many will make is that the 529 plan grow tax free. This is true. I will submit to you that a portfolio can grow outside of the 529 on a tax free basis if one knows how to master capital gains and losses netting (see my article on capital gains and losses as well as portfolio management). If this is done effectively, the portfolio can be built to accommodate all needs. It can build for education, it can provide for retirement, and it can be used for most anything. A variety of investments will be available outside of the 529 plan. These investments will take advantage of income tax attributes available to one’s portfolio (capital losses, suspended passive losses) and if managed properly, can gain similar tax free growth like the 529 plan.

As always, it is important to be flexible when managing a portfolio inside and outside of the retirement plan. The 529 can make perfect sense in the right set of facts and circumstances. If one is very wealthy, or the grandparents want to get involved in saving for college, the 529 plan could be the perfect venue. Match a financial strategy with the facts and circumstances that you have.

As technology becomes so advanced, the childhood experienced 10 to 15 years ago as compared to now is completely different. Those once familiar childhood games such as Pepsi Cola, five stones, hop scotch, zero point, police and thief, throwing marbles now seems so foreign to children nowadays. Nowadays, their childhood is probably filled with PSP, PS3, XBOX and other computer gaming. Their only favorite physical activities perhaps are fingers, eyes and mouth exercises (computer gaming and eating snacks while watching television). While in certain context, gaming does have its own benefits in training of the human reflex and reaction; children should not be spending too much of their time on computer gaming.

This is particularly worrying as children would have lost the opportunity to develop their fundamental and locomotive skills such as running, leaping, hopping, catching, throwing etc……which will hinder their physical literacy during their growth and developmental phase. Without these fundamental and locomotive skills, they would find difficulty when they engage in other sport games such as baseball or basketball and will feel inferior when their classmates are able to strike and dribble properly while they can’t. This might have a long term effect where the poor child lost interest in that particular sport when they grew up.

Both fundamental and locomotive skills do not develop automatically, it need to be given the opportunity and time to practice. Taking running for instance, children often like to run around more than walking when they were young, as compared to more specific locomotive skills such as striking, balancing, throwing, receiving which needs to be given time and opportunity to practice and develop.

With the lack of children physical activities, there has seen an increasing trend in child obesity over the past few years and the government had also expressed their concern by implementing more awareness to the schools and public on educating how to manage obesity, especially in young children. One such campaign is the – 2nd SHF-NIE National Seminar 2007 “Managing Obesity in Schools” (http://www.myheart.org.sg/nie_seminar/) jointly organized by MOE and the Singapore Heart Foundation.

The “Managing Obesity in Schools” series of annual seminars are organized so as to raise community awareness of obesity related health and educational issues in schools among teachers, parents and the public at large

Parents are strongly encouraged to allow children to spend more time on physical activities and playing, other than studies so as to prevent many of the long term health issues which is linked to obesity. Along with increased risk of heart disease, diabetes and other medical disorders, obese people can develop potential musculoskeletal problems which are caused by their increased in body weight. We all know that excess weight will adds additional stress on the major weight-bearing joints, such as the hips, knees, spine and ankles. Over prolong period, this can lead to soft tissue injuries, arthritis, and other painful joint disorders, which can be prevented.

Sports and exercise provides a very good platform for the children to explore their physical potential and capabilities which also helps to greatly enforce their self esteem, confidence and discipline. Team sports such as basketball, soccer, hockey allows children to learn valuable qualities such as team building which cannot be obtained from reading textbooks alone. Close skilled sports such as Wushu, Taichi, Gymnastic, Archery allows children to learn focusing and concentration technique. Of course, there are still many other benefits and qualities which can be obtained from Sports that is not listed.

Looking at more specifically, taking for instance, children who practice Wushu or Taichi tend to have better concentration and focus during study and also are more discipline, due to the nature of the sports and training environment. The slow and calming movements in Taichi, enables children to explore their more innate self and be aware and thus able to handle their own stress and anxiety level much better compared to those who did not exercise at all. It also provides them with an opportunity to slow down their pace of movement occasionally to train on their concentration & focus. Besides that, it also helps to ensure proper posture alignment which is especially important during their growing up stage.

Like all parents, being a coach and physical educator, we hope to provide the best environment to nurture our next generation with a holistic physical and mental environment. As if the above is not convincing why children should engage more in different form of physical and sporting activities, below is a list of why exercise is good for children.

1. Children who exercise and engage in sporting activities regularly are more likely to continue exercising even as an adult.

2. Exercise helps children achieve and maintain a healthy body weight.

3. Regular physical activity helps build and maintain strong, healthy muscles, bones and joints.

4. Exercise aids in the development of important interpersonal skills such as team building – this is especially true for participation in team sports.

5. Exercise helps improves the quantity and quality of sleep.

6. Research had shown that exercise promotes improved school attendance and also enhances academic performance.

7. Children who exercise regularly tends to have greater self-esteem, confidence and better self-images.

8. Participating in regular physical activity prevents or delays the development of many chronic diseases (e.g., heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and hypertension) and promotes health.

9. Children who are active report fewer symptoms of anxiety and depression better mental control.

10. Exercise helps improve motor coordination and enhances the development of various motor performance skills.

On this very special Children Day, besides the usual gifts of sweets and chocolate bars which the kids definitely love to have, perhaps we could offer them even more, to spend more time and play with them, which will not only increase their physical activities level as well as promote stronger bonding relationships between the children and you.