“Our once great western Christian civilization is dying. If this matters to followers of Jesus Christ, then we must set aside our denominational differences and work together to strengthen the things that remain and reclaim what has been lost. Evangelicals and Catholics must stand together to re-establish that former Christian culture and moral consensus. We have the numbers and the organization but the question is this: Do we have the will to win this present spiritual battle for Jesus Christ against secularism? Will we prayerfully and cooperatively work toward a new Christian spiritual revival ― or will we choose to hunker down in our churches and denominationalisms and watch everything sink into the spiritual and moral abyss of a New Dark Age?” - Mark Davis Pickup

Thursday, December 5, 2013

SESAME STREET"

Children's education has always been an interest for me. Being a
father and now a grandfather, I guess it's natural. The first ten years in a child's life establish the foundations of learning for the rest of their lives. We must never downplay the importance of these formative years.

PBS' Sesame Street has broken ground in educational approaches since its beginnings 44 years ago. They made learning for young children fun. The creators of Sesame Street used every creative tool at their disposal including puppets, animation and music. If repetition or memorization was required they did it with humour, silliness and a spirit of engaging playfulness. Sesame Street was part of my own children's early education experience from 1978-1985.

Now, decades later, Sesame Street still creatively introduces very young children to counting, arithmetic, the alphabet, the natural world, etc. An example is the short segment below about the letter N. It is simple creative brilliance. (The voice accompanying the animation is that of my grandson).

  

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