When teachers familiarize themselves with students’ reading lives and histories, they may uncover reading trauma — moments when students had a negative experience with a peer, teacher or librarian that turned them off of reading. Students with reading trauma associate reading with painful feelings of shame or stress and doubt their reading abilities, said Boston-based educator Kimberly Parker in a recent webinar organized by the Texas A&M Collaborative for Teacher Education. Take reading logs, for…
It’s normal for teenagers to be moody at times. But when are an adolescent’s mood swings a sign of something more like mental illness? Mental illness is more common in teens than you think, but many types of mental illness are treatable, and it’s just a matter of pinpointing the diagnosis. Teen mental health is often something that cannot be addressed without a parent’s help. Here are 6 facts about mental illness in teens that…
You try to fake it, but it limps out of your mouth, barely alive: “How was school?” You might use a slight variation like, “What’d you learn in school today?” but in a single sentence, all that is wrong with ‘school.’ First, the detachment–you literally have no idea what they’re learning or why. You leave that up to school because that’s what school’s for, right? Which means you know very little about what your children…
There’s no ironclad proof that sports build character. The results of a meta-analysis on the connection between athletics and character development make that clear: “Forty years of research, conducted by more than 20 researchers studying tens of thousands of athletes and non- athletes from youth, high schools, collegiate and Olympic levels, simply does not support the notion of sport as a character-building activity, particularly as it applies to sportsmanship behaviors and moral reasoning ability.” It’s…
They say playing is the work of children—and it’s true! Play is how children learn about the world, themselves and each other. It’s as much a part of healthy development as eating vegetables, reading books together and getting a good night’s sleep. Even the United Nations lists play as one of the basic rights of every child. There is no right or wrong way to play. It’s anything from sticking a hand in mashed potatoes to…
There’s no doubt that grammar can be a challenging topic for kids to get excited about. But with the right tools and techniques, it’s possible to make learning grammar fun and engaging for kids. In this blog post, we’ll share some tips on how to get kids interested in grammar. By following these simple tips, you can help your child develop a strong understanding of the principles and improve their writing skills. 1. Start with…
If your child has ADHD, you’re probably already aware that organization and other executive functioning skills may be more of a challenge for them. Organization is key to success in school, however, especially as students get older. A good planner could make all the difference. Here are some planner tips written up with ADHD students in mind. 1. Pick the right planner. The best school planner (paper) will be thin, with a spiral binding to…
If you’ve recently learned that your child has or might have autism, you’re probably wondering and worrying about what comes next. No parent is ever prepared to hear that a child is anything other than happy and healthy, and an ASD (autism spectrum disorder) diagnosis can be particularly frightening. You may be unsure about how to best help your child, or confused by conflicting treatment advice. There are many things you can do to help…
Before a child can learn to read, they need to have a good, well-rounded understanding of basic words and what they mean, and while that may sound a bit overwhelming, it doesn’t have to be. There are very easy ways that you can build a preschooler’s vocabulary and introduce early reading concepts. In fact, you probably do some of these vocabulary tips already without even noticing it. From reading aloud to your preschooler to simply…
Voting is one of the primary ways we participate in our democracy, but it can be hard to know how to talk to kids about voting, especially during a contentious election season. Election Day is a great opportunity to help your kids understand how our country works—and to talk about the values you believe in (no matter who you’re casting your ballot for). Wondering how to get started? Try these seven tips for kicking off…
