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February 2020

Passive vs. Active Listening

February 21, 2020

You’ve heard English teachers talk about passive and active voice, but people don’t often pay the same attention to passive and active listening. As humans, we each experience passive and active listening every day, and both play important roles in our lives. People often assume that passive listening is a bad thing, but it’s not, and it occurs often. Whether you’re humming along absentmindedly to music while driving, or zoning out while smiling and nodding at an acquaintance who’s telling a long-winded tale, there will always be moments of passive listening in your day. Everyone is a...Read more

A Foundation for Success: Play-Based Learning and Its Role in the Rossman Curriculum

February 18, 2020

“Play-based learning” is a term that you likely heard while investigating preschool options for your child. But what does it really mean? Here is a run-down of this essential approach, what it looks like in practice and how it supports the learning of young children. 

What is play-based learning?

Play-based learning is a child-centered, child-directed approach where teachers act as facilitators in the learning process. Play is the context for learning. This contrasts with academic programs which are more didactic in nature and typically driven by...Read more

Strategies for Improving Executive Functioning

February 13, 2020

Rossman faculty have been taking extra steps to learn about executive functioning throughout this school year. We began our year learning from an outside professional, who is a licensed professional counselor, about different areas of executive functioning. Recently, many teachers stayed after school to view a webinar from Dr. Peg Dawson, who is one of the authors of Smart but Scattered. As the learning consultant for Rossman, and in my other professional role as a trained school psychologist who conducts...Read more

Is Early Math as Important as Early Reading? ...Yep!

February 6, 2020

Young children love to count out loud and will happily recite a string of numbers. While reciting the sequence of numbers is a significant accomplishment, it does not indicate a true understanding of mathematical concepts. Counting by rote is a skill that comes quite naturally to most children, as it doesn't require direct instruction to learn the skills needed to count.

In Junior Kindergarten, we provide situations in the classroom to help children quantify objects in ways that make sense to them, such as counting napkins for snack time, chairs for peers, and how many...Read more

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