| By: Committee for Children The Word Around the Water Cooler: SEL and Bullying Prevention The Program Development and Research Department here at Committee for Children is (as always) hard at work, and their current focus is the relationship between social-emotional learning (SEL) and bullying. It’s a concept that fascinates us, so we asked some of our colleagues and friends about the relationship from their unique perspectives. Here’s what they had to say. The Research Scientist “We know that bullying and…Read More
| By: Committee for Children The Sandusky Sentencing: Lest We Forget As the trial and sentencing of Jerry Sandusky come to an end, I can honestly say that I am relieved. I feel ready to move on. But in good conscience, I can’t do that.Read More
| By: Committee for Children Book Review: Deliver Us from Evie by M. E. KerrReading Level: Middle school and older Eighteen-year-old Evie Burrman is an excellent farmhand. Skilled at mechanics and farming, strong, smart, and comfortable with farm talk, she is the apple of her father’s eye. She is also a lesbian. In her family’s rural Missouri community, that is the salient fact about Evie, regardless of how good she is at repairing combines. Her quietly observant…Read More
| By: Committee for Children Book Review: Meet the Barkers: Morgan and Moffat Go to School by Tomie dePaola Reading Level: Preschool–Grade 2 The first week of school for the Barker twins is very exciting. Moffie earns a lot of gold stars for knowing all the right answers. And Morgie makes two new friends with a common interest in dinosaurs. By the end of the week, though, their teacher has a little talk with Moffie about giving other people a chance to speak in class. When…Read More
| By: Committee for Children Helping Early Learners Transition to Kindergarten The beginning of a new school year creates much anticipation for children. This exciting time of year is especially tumultuous for early learners transitioning to kindergarten. Some brand-new kindergartners will experience their first longer school day, and all will enter a new classroom environment with new rules and expectations. Committee for Children’s Second…Read More
| By: Committee for Children Book Review: My Princess Boy by Cheryl Kilodavis Illustrated by Suzanne DeSimone Reading Level: Preschool–Grade 2 Read More
| By: Committee for Children Using Children’s Literature to Build Social-Emotional Skills By Trudy Ludwig, children’s advocate and best-selling author As a children's author, I don't just write stories. I build bridges with my words to connect young readers to the characters in my stories, to themselves, and to other readers. I carefully construct dialogue for children to gain insight into others' thoughts, feelings, and actions, as well as their own. My objective, after all, is quite…Read More
| By: Committee for Children What Would CFC Read? We here at Committee for Children spend a lot of time thinking and talking about social-emotional skills—even when we're reading! So in honor of Get Caught Reading Month, we asked our staff members to recommend books with social-emotional themes that they…Read More
| By: Committee for Children Book Review: Where the Wild Things Are By Maurice Sendak Ah, Max, you wild thing. Maurice Sendak's eternally impish little boy has struck a chord in children and parents for half a century and shows no sign of…Read More
| By: Committee for Children Book Review: Sam’s Story By Molly Anderson A Committee for Children Production Reading Level: Preschool–Grade 1 Using the simplest of narratives, Sam's Story demonstrates to children, parents, and educators that personal safety… Read More