Most days, Jen Lamott would describe her daughter, Katie, as cheerful and kind. Lately, though, the 7-year-old has been acting moody and sometimes grunting instead of talking. “It’s like we have a teenager suddenly,” Lamott said. But while teenagers’ attitudes are usually chalked up to puberty, Lamott knows that something else is at play in her house: exhaustion. Katie has been having trouble falling asleep, expressing greater sleep anxiety and starting to take naps to…
Student loan payoff can often be a financial nightmare. The system is loaded with confusing loan payoff and payment plan options, bad information, and pitfalls to avoid, and one wrong move can cost you thousands of dollars. Meanwhile, COVID-19 has added even more confusion with federal student loan payments being suspended temporarily, but even if your loans are on hold for now, you’ll likely need to start making payments eventually. If you know how to…
In a year full of challenges, figuring out how to implement outdoor learning may feel like a tall task for teachers. It’s too hot in Arizona. Too muggy in Mississippi. Too snowy in Maine. And in cities everywhere, “too dangerous.” Kass Minor has heard many of those objections in recent months. It’s a similar response that comes with “anything that’s outside people’s experience,” she said, but like her husband, Minor took her students outside regularly…
High school students face many of the same relationships dynamics as elementary and middle school students, yet relationships operate in distinct ways in these later adolescent years. The buffering effect friends provided in earlier childhood, for example, seems to disappear. “Not only did the presence of friends not reduce stress,” writes Lydia Denworth in the 2020 book Friendship: “It made things worse. Cortisol levels went up.” By the time students reach high school, relationships become more stable. “In middle…
As protests against racial injustice spread to communities large and small in this year, many educators have been pushed to examine how systemic racism harms students. Some have publicly proclaimed the steps they will take to create anti-racist schools, including diversifying classroom and library bookshelves. That task may be easier than ever, thanks to six years of advocacy by the We Need Diverse Books campaign. “There’s no excuse for the books in your classroom and…
Carole Clancy, who supervises special education for the Lancaster, Pennsylvania city schools had a serious problem: she couldn’t hold on to her teachers. The students in special ed classes were distracted and disruptive. “They had the reputation of being unmanageable and out of control,” she says. But that was before they started learning mindfulness in the classroom. When Wynne Kinder, lead instructor for the mindfulness program “Wellness Works in Schools,” walks into Kristina Suter’s special…
Some people were born to be leaders, and our lives are better for it. Where would we be without the brave women who step forward into the spotlight to help light the way? From historical heroes to present-day pioneers, kids should know these women’s names as well as their incredible stories. While this is certainly not an exhaustive list, here are 25 diverse, famous women in history to share with kids. 1. Anne Frank. Along…
No one can deny the concrete and long-lasting effect the Harry Potter series has had on the world of children’s literature. Last summer marked the 25th anniversary of the release of the famous books in the United States. The first book of the series was released in England in June 1997 under the title “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone,” and on Sept. 1, 1998, Scholastic published the first book in the U.S., renamed “Harry…
There are many fun activities for families to enjoy in the Boston area in August 2023. Check out our list of August activities and events happening around Boston and have a wonderful month! August Adventures with Highland Street Foundation When: daily throughout the month of August Where: various locations Age: kids, teens, adults Cost: free August Adventures returns! During the month of August 2023, we are excited to partner with special Massachusetts cultural institutions to…
Think about how crushed young teens can feel when a formerly close friend becomes distant or the shame that can follow disclosure of sensitive information to a mere acquaintance. Knowing what studies show—for example, that humans tend to have frenemies and we often confide intimacies in people we aren’t that close to—can assuage adolescents’ fear of being abnormal. Frank discussions about middle school friendships like these are important to have at school, since parents of…
