As every parent knows, the whole child goes to school. Every boo-boo, band-aid, bad dream, forgotten homework, lunch, band instrument, sneakers. Children come to school every day full of hopes and dreams, a remembered list of spelling words, equations, places and dates, ideas for class projects and skits.Children check in about these things and last night’s TV programs, video games, and who likes or hates who on the school bus or the walk to school or in the car pool ride long before any formal check in with an adult at school.

As parents, we are not always sure what is best for our children and we get very little opportunity to ask people who have spent their lives working with them at different ages except for a once or twice a year visit to the pediatrician and a once or twice a year parent-teacher conference at school.

As teachers, we are constantly bombarded with new expectations from our schools, and state and federal governments to learn and deliver new curriculum material in reading, math, science, social studies, technology and other subjects to our students. Each curriculum come with explicit instructions and teacher guides at each grade level, specific pre- and post-test requirements, but almost no information about how the children at given ages in our grade might respond cognitively, socially, emotionally or physically to the increasingly difficult demands being placed on them.

I have spent thirty-five years in the field of education as a teacher, principal, school-change facilitator, and teacher educator. My work and writing is focused on paying attention to knowledge and theory about child development as we do our work in school. My hope is that this blog will not only continue to provide and refer people to information that is helpful, but that it might also link parents and teachers and other professionals working with children with each other.