Schoolfamily.com blog entries

Good listening skills are essential for school success. If your child’s listening skills could use sharpening try these three easy, quick, and fun activities. These games can be played in a 10-20 minute period of time and will help your young child become a better listener! ...

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Every time I scan the news I see another article about cutting the arts from education. It saddens me. Deeply. I know that budget cuts are very real and that there are no easy decisions or answers. Here's the thing: to me, the timing could not be...

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Here is a great activity for eye-hand coordination, as well as strengthening finger muscles. Make your own lacing cards to help strengthen your child’s finger muscles. You will need: Poster board A hole puncher Some packages of new, long shoelaces Directions: Cut some eight...

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Pleased to introduce a guest blogger this week: Janis Daly. Janis is our director of sponsorship sales, and mom to 2 teen boys. Her oldest is nearing the end of his college admissions process. Janis has some insight, that they gained during the college application journey, to share with families that are...

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Homework. Amazing how one word can enduce so much stress for parents and kids alike, isn't it?  We get many questions from parents on the topic of homework. How do I get my child to do their homework without tears?  My son won't let me quiz him on his spelling...

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Fine Motor Skills require the use of the smaller muscle groups like the hands, fingers, toes, and lips. Young children need to develop these skills for school success. Cutting, printing, coloring, pasting, writing stories, and speaking clearly are necessary to complete grade level work. Your child should be...

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We're excited to tell you about a give-away that we are doing on Twitter. We are partnering with SpellQuizzer to give away 6 SpellQuizzer software licenses -- two a week for three weeks.  We think that this spelling software is pretty neat. It's a simple spelling program that helps kids learn their spelling and vocabulary...

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Gross motor skills impact bigger muscle groups, like the arms, legs, feet, and torso. They are the first motor skills a child develops.Mastering gross motor skills helps your child develop a sense of balance and spatial awareness. Good gross motor skills nourish the mind/body connection needed for learning.  Between ages...

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In honor of National Engineers Week (this week), thought I'd pass along some articles, resources, and sites that focus on making math and science fun for your kids.  Articles:Loved this article that talks about teachers using every-day situations to teach math concepts.How to make math concepts stick. < Read more......

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National news programs recently reported that the amount of time American children spend watching TV, playing video games, using small electronic devices, or surfing on the computer has increased to almost 8 hours a day! I certainly support and use technology to enhance teaching. (For example, during our...

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Recently, I found a resource called Fishful Thinking (sponsored by Pepperidge Farm Goldfish, thus the name) that does a great job of teaching kids the skills they need to deal with set backs,  overcome challenges, and reach their full potential. Hint: it's all about a positive attitude. I particularly liked...

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We often hear from parents of children with high academic talent how difficult it is to advocate for their children and find the best gifted and talented resources.  That's why the latest news of President Obama's proposal to  eliminate the only federal program for gifted education is disconcerting. Tough economic times call...

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“Roll for a Card” is a fun game that I have played with my own children and students to sharpen early learning skills. It's fun, easy, and takes about 15-20 minutes to play. Items Needed: One die from a pair of dice, and a deck of playing cards....

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In my last post I shared some simple activities that can help your young child improve cutting skills. Today's games are very effective in improving your child's drawing and handwriting skills. Fill a shirt-sized cardboard box top with sand or salt. (Don’t use sugar because...

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Just came across this blog called "Fed-up: School Lunch Project" and was very intrigued. I've read with great interest countless articles about what parents are doing to reform school lunches, and how to have healthy school kids, but thought that this blog was unique. For starters, it's written by a teacher. &n Read more......

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Early school success is often based on the mechanics of a young child’s fine motor skills. These skills are needed for cutting, coloring, pasting and printing.In these next few weeks I’ll share some tips and activities that can help your child develop and streamline the fine motor skills needed to...

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Math facts + word problems + graphing ... does this add up to math anxiety for you and your child or does it equal fun? If you said anxiety you are not alone. I must confess that I was once in that camp as well. Math was never my favorite...

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 Research confirms the importance of grandparents in a child’s life.  The time that grandparents spend, their patience, and their full-life experiences are invaluable to grandchildren. Grandparents are a wonderful resource of knowledge and unconditional love. The recent loss of my mother-in-law, Read more......

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 "Everyone can be great because anyone can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't even have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve... You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love..."  ~ Dr. Martin Luther King,...

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A homework time vignette: Mom (through the bedroom door): "Where is your cell phone and itouch?"Tween or teen: "I have them right here. I need to check my Facebook to see if Matty got back to me about our group project and Sean is texting me about math."Mom:  "I want you...

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