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GHS StratEDgies Blog

Lingual and Musical Minds: Giving our Kids the Joy and Power of Language and Music

Visitors to Green Hedges often are a bit surprised, and curious, to know why we teach French starting with our youngest students in Montessori. Our founders, the Kilmers, wanted to ensure that foreign languages started at an early age, along with the arts including music instruction and poetry.  The choice of French was because they had very meaningful ties to France—Frances Kilmer was the daughter of prominent Impressionist painter Frederick Frieseke and spent her childhood in France, immersed in the study of music, literature, art and language. The Kilmers met in France for the first time in 1934.

This early introduction of French is the foundation for our world language curriculum.  French instruction begins with our Montessori students at age 3 and continues through Grade 8. Why start early? Younger children are still honing their first language by mimicking what they hear and making sense of speech patterns. Therefore, they are well positioned to exercise those same skills to acquire a second language. And, unlike adults, they aren’t embarrassed when they make a mistake.

In Grade 5, our students have the opportunity to continue their instruction in French or switch to Spanish.  Regardless of their choice, we add Latin instruction in Grade 6 for all students to provide additional depth. On average, our students move on to high school having attained the equivalent of two years of high school foreign language credit.

Just as we introduce world languages at an early age, we do the same with music for much the same reason. “Research has found that learning music facilitates learning other subjects and enhances skills that children inevitably use in other areas,” according to an article on pbs.org.

Music also helps in language development and is similar to learning another language.  Music has its own vocabulary (the notes), syntax (the staff and measures), and grammar rules (time signatures, key notations, etc.). At Green Hedges, our students begin music class at age 3 and our French teachers often enhance the learning of the language in Montessori through the use of songs and music.

In Grade 3, each student learns to read music and play in a group setting through our recorder program. At the end of their Grade 3 year, with guidance from the Band Director, each student chooses an instrument for concert band instruction in subsequent years. All students participate in concert band through Grade 8, and many of our Middle School students also join the GHS Jazz Band whose performances are a staple at numerous Vienna community events.

Seventy five years ago, the Kilmers made a conscious effort to make the languages, music and the arts an important part of their curriculum. They intuitively realized what has been proven by recent research: there is strong overlap between these areas that benefits learning in each of them. There are long-term benefits of unifying the arts and academics to create well-rounded students and we continue to carry out these principles today.

5 Tips for Talking to Your Child About Cyber Safety

There is always a hot, new app which pops up and starts trending. What if your tween’s device suddenly has that app? Or an unfamiliar app?  What are the important steps to be a responsible parent in these cases?

Last week, our StratEdgies blog post focused on what parents can do to help raise wise digital kids. Earlier this week, Green Hedges welcomed Iris Beckwith, President of connectED4safety LLC, to campus to share tips for parents on navigating the ever-changing cyber world in which we, and our children, live. She also presented to our tweens in Grades 4 and 5 and our Middle School teens.

While each presentation was geared towards very different audiences, the one common theme was the importance of being proactive, when it comes to cyber safety.

Here are 5 takeaways from Iris’ presentation to parents:

  1. Be the owner of your family’s electronic devices and set parameters. Set limits early on and emphasize that access to apps, messaging, video games and social media are privileges and not rights. Regular check-ins, especially with teenagers, allows for a conversation about what is working and what isn’t.
  1. Periodically check the browser history on all your family devices. It sounds intuitive, but periodically checking the browsing history of computers, laptops and iPads can help you see where your child has been online and allow you to remind them about appropriate sites based on your family rules. Seeing a cleared browsing history? Well, that may signal the need for a conversation as well. Also, you should not only know all of your kid’s passwords, but check them regularly to see if any of them have changed.
  1. Sharenting. The “term used to describe the overuse of social media by parents to share content based on their children. It is related to the concept of ‘too much information’.” While no one wants to tell you not to post photos of your adorable kids online, it may be helpful to stop and think about the digital footprint of your child it is leaving behind. Always make sure your privacy settings are what you want them to be before posting on social media. Here’s a helpful link on navigating privacy settings on Facebook.
  1. Always ask yourself and ask your kids “who has access to this?” Again, be aware of what your privacy and location settings are and how to turn them off. There can often be hidden data available when you post online, so just be aware of who is seeing what and how much information they can ascertain from one post of yours. Learn about privacy settings on social media here.
  1. Conversations around cyber safety should start early and continue on a regular basis. While supervision of online activity is certainly an important factor in keeping our kids safe, we also want them to be equipped with the right information and tools to know what is safe and unsafe at an early age. It only takes a few minutes to share something you shouldn’t online, but could takes months to years to recover from it.

As with many topics in parenting, open lines of communication are critical. Talk with your kids and listen to their worries, concerns and questions so you know where they need your support and guidance.

Raising Wise Digital Kids

“Well, as you know, I’m not on SnapFace and all that …”

—Bill Belichick, New England Patriots Head Coach commenting on social media.

It’s hard to keep up with social media in today’s cyber world, as the above quote illustrates.

We begin teaching our children behavioral expectations at a very young age, teaching them to say “please”, “thank you”, and look people in the eye.  Raising wise digital citizens requires you provide the same sort of instruction, guidance, oversight, and support (in age-appropriate ways) as they learn how to interact appropriately in digital settings.  This is important because there are considerations related to safety, digital footprints, and etiquette where missteps by young users can be difficult to deal with after the fact.

Here are some useful suggestions for children no matter their age:

  1. Think before you type – it can seem easy to post things that may be hurtful to others or simply too blunt when you are looking at a screen and not a person. Some websites suggest a “WWGS” (What Would Grandma Say?) rule to illustrate this to tweens.  If you wouldn’t say it in front of your grandma, don’t type it to another person.
  1. Don’t talk to strangers – Children need to be taught that everyone online is a stranger. Profiles are not always lined up with who that person is in reality, which may be a surprise to tweens.  Messaging during online gaming, chat rooms and social media apps can create a feeling of shared experiences leading a child to “speak” with strangers in a way they would never do in real life.  It should be emphasized that it is never okay to share information about their address, family, school, friends, etc. with someone online.
  1. Privacy is not guaranteed – Children need to understand that nothing online is ever as private as it may seem, and posts and photos can live on forever. Even on apps which tout that their messages or photos are only available for a short time, a screenshot of the live post can easily defeat that expectation.

On Tuesday, February 28, Iris Beckwith, President of connectED4safety LLC, will be at Green Hedges. All parents are invited to her presentation at 8:30 a.m. designed to help you find concrete options for understanding, managing and talking to your children about their online lives, as well as helpful hints and guidelines useful for monitoring your tween/teens digital activities. Presentations to students in Grades 4-8 will follow.

Keeping up with what is new and trendy while setting appropriate limits and instilling good behavior and habits can seem like a daunting job, but resources like Iris Beckwith’s presentation can help. More information on this topic can also be found at:

13 Tips for Monitoring Kids’ Social Media

How to Raise Respectful Digital Citizens

5 Social Media Rules for Teens and Tweens

Books that Celebrate Diversity

Author Paula Young Shelton at Green Hedges School

As we celebrate Black History Month at Green Hedges, we are recognizing the achievements of African-Americans in many areas including science, mathematics, engineering, medicine, sports, the arts and literature.

Our Librarian, Mrs. Nancy Provenzano, has curated a list of books that celebrate African-American authors and prominent African-Americans past and present, and an array of authors who represent the diversity of America, both in their own heritage and through the characters in their books. Included in this list are books written by Newbery Award winning author, Kwame Alexander. This week we were fortunate to welcome Kwame to Green Hedges to share his books and inspire our students. He is just one of many authors we welcome to the school year round who encourage our students to explore the world around them through reading.

All of the books listed below can be found at the Green Hedges Library.  When asked about her approach to choosing books for the School’s collection, Mrs. Provenzano states “I’d like every child to see themselves represented in all aspects of literature and to ultimately realize the range of possibilities available to them.”

Preschool- Grade 3

Fiction

Acoustic Rooster and His Barnyard Band – Kwame Alexander

And Tango Makes Three  –  Pete Parnell

Baseball Saved Us – Ken Mochizuki

Be Who You Are – Todd Parr

Bee-Bim-Bop – Linda Sue Park

Firebird – Misty Copeland

Grandfather’s Journey – Allen Say

The Grey Lady and the Strawberry Snatcher – Molly Bang

King & King – Linda de Haan

Mango, Abuela & Me – Meg Medina

More More More Said the Baby – Vera B. Williams

My Princess Boy – Cheryl Kilodavis

Nino Wrestles the World – Yuyi Morales

The Other Side – Jacqueline Woodson

Tar Beach – Faith Ringgold

Thunder Boy Jr. – Sherman Alexie

Twenty Yawns – Jane Smiley

Whistle for Willie – Ezra Jack Keats

Folktales

Bruh Rabbit and the Tar Baby Girl – Virginia Hamilton

The Dragon Prince: A Chinese Beauty & the Beast Tale – Laurence Yep

Gluskabe and the Four Wishes – Joseph Bruchac

Little Roja Riding Hood – Susan Middleton Elya

Lon Po Po: A Red-Riding Hood Story from China – Ed Young

Petite Rouge: A Cajun Red Riding Hood – Mike Artell

The Twelve Dancing Princesses – Rachel Isadora

Nonfiction

A Splash of Red: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin — Jen Bryant

Alicia Alonso: Prima Ballerina — Carmen T. Bernier-Grand

When the Beat Was Born:  DJ Kool Herc and the Creation of Hip Hop – Laban Carrick Hill

Young Jim Thorpe: Bright Path — Don Brown

Grades 4 – 6

Fiction

As Brave as You – Jason Reynolds

Birchbark House (series)  – Louise Erdrich

Blossoming Universe of Violet Diamond — Brenda Woods

Crossover and Booked – Kwame Alexander

Esperanza Rising – Pam Munoz Ryan

Flying Lessons & other Stories – Edited by Ellen Oh

George — Alex Gino

Inside Out & Back Again – Thanhha Lai

Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy – Gary D. Schmidt

Locomotion and Peace, Locomotion – Jacqueline Woodson

Millicent Min, Girl Genius and Stanford Wong Flunks Big Time (series)  — Lisa Yee

One Crazy Summer (trilogy)– Rita Williams Garcia

President of the Whole Fifth Grade — Sherri Winston

The Thing About Luck – Cynthia Kadohata

Watsons Go to Birmingham – Christopher Paul Curtis

Nonfiction

El Deafo  – Cece Bell (graphic novel biography)

March, Book One  – John Lewis (graphic novel biography)

We are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball  – Kadir Nelson

Grades 7 – 8

Fiction

Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang (graphic novel)

Chains (trilogy) –  Laurie Halse Anderson

The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child – Francisco Jimenez

The Code Talker – Joseph Bruchac

Crossing the Wire – Will Hobbs

Dragonwings (series) – Laurence Yep

Elijah of Buxton and Madman of Piney Woods  –  Christopher Paul Curtis

Fallen Angels  –  Walter Dean Myers

The Glory Field  – Walter Dean Myers

Fiction in Verse

Red Pencil by Andrea Davis Pinkney

Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate

Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai

All the Broken Pieces by Ann E. Burg (also Serafina’s Promise and Unbound)

Nonfiction

Harriet Tubman, Secret Agent – Thomas B. Allen

Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans  –  Kadir Nelson

Rhythm Ride: A Road Trip Through the Motown Sound – Andrea Davis Pinkney

Autobiographies in Verse

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

Enchanted Air: Two Cultures, Two Wings: A Memoir by Margarita Engle

How I Discovered Poetry by Marilyn Nelson

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GHS StratEDgies Blog

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Green Hedges School

415 Windover Avenue, N.W.
Vienna, Virginia 22180
United States (US)
Phone: (703) 938-8323
Email: admissions@greenhedges.org

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