Skip to Content
Capital Region BOCES
Early Learners
Shorter days and longer nights are the norm in the Northeast this time of year. Instead of begrudging the diminished daylight, use the coming December solstice as an opportunity to help your child learn some science. The winter solstice is considered the start of winter in the Northern Hemisphere – or at least the astronomical […]
The suggestion that we “do something different” this Thanksgiving was met by a long silence. “Why would we do something different?” asked our daughter, her tone incredulous. The start of college this past August has meant a time of significant adjustment for our oldest child. She and our two other children have only ever known […]
Thanksgiving and Pilgrims usually go together. For most people, the holiday conjures up images of black and white garb with buckles on the hats and shoes*. At this time of year, we ponder a primitive feast 400 years in our past shared between a handful of English settlers and their Wampanoag neighbors. But, Thanksgiving isn’t […]
They’ve been called master architects and engineers, but they’ve never spent a day in an actual classroom. Instead, they perfect their innate talent by watching and doing. They’re beavers, an animal we became curious about when we noticed several trees down alongside a small pond near our house. They leave in their wake a telltale […]
Research supports the idea that gratitude is good for us. It helps us form, sustain and strengthen supportive relationships, and contributes to the feeling that we’re connected to a caring community. This is true regardless of our age. According to researchers at The Greater Good Science Center at the University of California, Berkeley, “Evidence from […]
If someone next to you were to suddenly fall to the ground and stop breathing, would you know what to do? Would your children or your neighbor’s children know what to do? Most Americans would answer no. Less than a third of Americans say they know how to perform cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) – a simple […]
Students of all ages are acquiring a language that will serve them well in the future: They’re learning computer code. Educators say learning code exposes students to more than technical skills; they’re gaining critical thinking and problem solving skills that will serve them well in any future job. “Learning to program opens up a new […]
You’ve visited your child’s classroom for back-to-school night, met his/her teacher and scheduled your parent-teacher conference. Now what? Staying connected during the school year is an important step in your child’s education. More than 500 studies have shown the positive benefits that result when parents get involved in their children’s education, including improved grades and […]