Author: brunk

A teacher invited the children to sit down for circle time.  Holding up a box of band-aids, she asked the children to pretend with her as they began a discussion on fairness.  Turning to the closest child in the circle, she asked him to show her where he had a pretend boo-boo.  He pointed to […]

Nurturing self-directed learning is a combination of allowing for free and loosely-guided play and activities. Cultivating curiosity and independence in your child are the first steps to helping them become self-directed learners. Self-directed learners know how to use resources to find answers to questions or to learn to solve problems. At Stepping Stone School, child-led […]

Over the last several weeks, I have been working with my children to instill a sense of responsibility and independence in preparation for the birth of their baby sister.  We have focused on establishing morning routines to help us get out the door each day. This morning, my three-year-old came to get me, “Come and […]

  This month at Stepping Stone School, we are focusing on the development of Empathy as a part of our Communities of Character™ curriculum.  Empathy is a key aspect of emotional intelligence through which individuals imagine what another is experiencing as if feeling it themselves. Empathy is a complex skill to develop.  First, a child […]

Astounding new research estimates that young children who have been read to multiple times a day from infancy until they reach school age have heard an average of 1.4 million more words than their peers who have never been read to.  Even if a child has only heard one book a day, she has still […]

Fred Rogers, the host of Mister Rogers Neighborhood, testified before the Senate in 1969 discussing the need for the continued support of public broadcasting. Towards the end of his testimony, Rogers quotes the words to his song, What Do You Do with the Mad that You Feel? His statements before the Senate describing the need for […]

For a new parent, it can be frustrating not knowing what your infant’s wants and needs are. What does a loud screeching cry mean? Does it mean that he is hungry or hurt? What about a soft cry? Aside from the crying, what do her body signals mean, such as arching her back, rubbing her […]

This month, Stepping Stone School will focus on the character development trait of trustworthiness.  A trustworthy person is honest, follows the rules, keeps a promise, is not unkind, and does not take things that do not belong to him.  Developing an attitude of trust, being trustworthy, and building trust with one another takes time, but […]

My school-age children came home with report cards not that long ago and I noticed a section describing respectful attitudes towards school property and treatment of others.  The idea of grading one’s development of this character trait seems a bit strange to me, but as I read further their report cards described respect as PR […]

In anticipation of accepting a new child into our classroom, I had my prekindergarten children create a welcome card.  They spent quite some time writing their names, thinking about the colors they thought this child may like and drawing pictures for her. Finally, the day had arrived, this child walked into our classroom holding tightly […]