Ever feel like an ogre when you get kids up for school? Ever feel like time is slipping away and that you’re nagging them? Chances are that if you don’t start your morning routine the night before, you might be an unintentional ogre. Here are a few ideas to help you breeze through your mornings.… 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 »
At home, school, church, or a club or group, consider including these five ideas when working with young children. Read aloud to promote imagination and word skills. Rhyme (plus talk, sing, and play together) to develop language skills. Routines develop independence and help kids be part of the family, school classrooms and beyond. Recognition not… 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 »
I saved an article from last spring by Jamie Littlefield entitled, Promote Reading: Share Books. Here are a few of her suggestions that bear repeating. The bad news: 21,000,000 Americans can’t read… 45,000,000 Americans are marginally illiterate… Fewer than 1/2 of Americans read literature… In some libraries, the copyright date on non fiction books is… 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 »
For most teachers and educational assistants it’s time for a summer break; a time to kick back and relax after a busy year. Now’s the time to checkout summer reading related to schools and education. Here are a couple of interesting ones I’ve found. How to Teach Thinking Skills Within the Common Core: 7 Key… Read More »
Today I’m looking ahead to the fall and a new school year, I’ve created a new product for educators and assistants. It’s my flipbook, deconstructed! My web person has taken 18 student pages of the flipbook and made each into 8.5 x 11 mini-posters. Each can be used as reminders on our student expectations in… Read More »
As summer approaches, students need to work on skills to propel them through life toward success. Consider how you might help them work through these 6 R’s every day, all year, for as many years as possible. They’ll provide a fantastic payoff!! Resiliency Help students cope with stress and to develop empathy. Suggestions: work on… Read More »