The end of this week I’m honored to be presenting two sessions to para educators in the Edmonds School district during their fall in-service day. It will be a chance to talk about ways to engage students in their own learning. We’ll discuss hooks and pocket activities, ways to focus students, the use of hand… Read More »
I have a friend who’s seven year-old son has the most incredible vocabulary. In his case, he loves words. But, all kids need to be encouraged to own a great vocabulary through our use of strong and/or specific words, regardless of their age. Since words reflect concepts and content, it’s important to the rounded development… Read More »
Every month of the year TeacherCreatedResources.com provides a free calendar of “days” that someone decided needed to be celebrated. Here’s October’s offering (plus a few others I located.) 1 Frugal Fun Day 2 Guardian Angels Day 3 Child Health Day, Techie Day 4 National Taco Day, 10-4 Day 5 National Kale Day, World Teacher’s Day… Read More »
We love our kids no matter if they are 2, 13, or 32 (or older!). When they live at home and are on summer break, our days are busy beyond our expectations. Even if we are working parents, we have more tasks to do when our kids are around all summer. Now that most students… Read More »
These days we have so many choices of activities that sometimes school and homework gets crowded out of our kids lives. Finding a balance is difficult, but their education needs to come first after family. That means that school, homework, and projects should be a priority. When families depend on before or afterschool care, their… Read More »
I’ve seen athletes on TV treated for concussions. I’ve heard about the dangers of them. But until recently, I’ve never been around someone who had a severe head trauma. It truly is the invisible illness many talk about. There are no outward signs like bleeding or broken bones to be cast. But over 3,800,000 athletes… Read More »
I wrote this last year and felt it was worth repeating. If you’re out and wandering through the back-to-school sales, consider making additional purchases. Toss extra ‘somethings’ into your basket that you can give to a school or a shelter for a deserving student. Here are a few ideas: a beginning kit for a budding… Read More »
Just a reminder: You can read or download my Educating America newsletters and the accompanying downloads for free from this very site. Look to the top of this blog. Scan across and click on: Return to Educating America. Whether you are an educator, a para educator, a parent, or a community volunteer, you will find… Read More »
Nothing. It’s an easy thing to do. It requires no action, no getting yourself out the door at a specific time, not even a need to get dressed. But doing nothing is truly costly. Doing nothing means that hour you could have used to help a young child read or an older child make corrections… Read More »
Motivation is important at home, at school, and at work. So what steps help encourage individuals to actively engage? Clear objectives. Share the overview of your expectations. Brainstorm ideas on how to reach your goal. Provide resources to help reach that goal. Allow individuals to make choices within the project. If people are interested and… Read More »