Bennett Day School News

The Three "Teachers" in the Reggio Emilia Approach

We recognize parents/guardians as the first teacher, classroom teachers as the second, and the environment as the third.

How Project-Based Learning (PBL) Prepares Kids for Life After School

We geniunely believe that students must be invested in what they are learning and the curriculum must be relevant to students’ lives.

What is Growth Mindset?

Research shows that our ability to achieve our goals has much more to do with the mindset with which we approach them than the actual goals themselves. That's why students and faculty at Bennett Day School subscribe to the "growth mindset," which...

Summer Academics: Guest Blog by Senior Kindergarten Co-Lead Teachers, Katie Gertler and Julia DaSilva

Now that it's summer, it's important to ensure that your child is still receiving some type of academic consistency while on break. By no means does it need to be intensive or the main focus of the summer, but it is necessary to prevent what...

What in the World is Executive Functioning? Why Should Parents and Teachers Care?

Here's one for the messy kid who can never find two matching socks. The kid who says "nothing" when asked what they have to do tonight; who forgets what you asked them to do five seconds ago. The kid whose backpack is stuffed to the gills with...

Mentors Make All the Difference: A Reflection on Student-Teacher Relationships at High Tech High & Bennett Day Upper School

Bennett Day School is the only school in Illinois to receive the New School Creation Fellowship from High Tech High, the progressive, project-based school featured in the documentary "Most Likely to Succeed."

Representatives from Bennett Day Upper...

Resolutions That Stick: Embracing a Growth Mindset

Every time the New Year rolls around, most of us dedicate or even re-dedicate ourselves to personal resolution(s). More often than not, these resolutions are based on what we believe to be failures from our pasts—lack of exercise, unhealthy eating,...

The Power of "Quiet": Thoughts by Cameron Smith on Tomie dePaula's Latest Picture Book

Quiet by Tomie dePaolaSimon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

I recently heard the NPR Author Interview about Tomie dePaola’s latest book, Quiet.  I listened to the three-minute interview around 5:45 am on my way to the gym.  

And I turned off the...

What Does it Mean to Have Purpose? Upper School Students Find Their Paths With Stanford's Project Wayfinder

Educators around the world have seen both scientific and anecdotal classroom evidence confirming the importance of social-emotional learning (SEL) for children. The world of K-8 education is already intimately familiar with the Responsive Classroom...

What is Social-Emotional Learning?

Today’s classrooms are full of students from a variety of backgrounds, and the goal is always to accommodate each student as an individual. One way in which educators strive to promote a safe, positive learning environment is through a method called