Of course children benefit from positive feedback. But praise and rewards are not the only methods of reinforcement. More emphasisshould be place on appreciation--reinforcement related explicitly and directly to the content of the child's interest and efforts.

Communicative skills develop when there's something meaningful for children to communicate about-when they are taking an active role.

Children involved in project work are encouraged to serve the group needs and share responsibility for what's accomplished.

As you consider whether to move a child into formal academic training, remember that we want our children to do more than just learn how to read and write; we want them to learn in such a way that they become lifelong readers and writers. If we push our children to start learning these skills too far ahead of their own spontaneous interest and their capacity, we may sacrifice the long-range goal of having them enjoy such pursuits.

When a teacher tries to teach something to the entire class at the same time, chances are, one-third of the kids already know it; one-third will get it; and the remaining third won’t. So two-thirds of the children are wasting their time.

We are doing earlier and earlier to children what we shouldn't do later.

In cooperative learning, you have a purposeful, meaningful, and authentic context in which children can sharpen their communicative skills.