5 Secrets for Back to School Success

5 Secrets for Back to School Success
It's August, which means it's time to get ready to go back to school. When I was growing up, getting ready to go back to school meant shopping for school clothes, going to bed earlier, getting up earlier and of course new school supplies. There was always excitement in the air as I met my friends at the bus stop and we talked about our summers and wondered if we would have the same teacher in class that year. The beginning of the new school year ...
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10 Tips for Teaching Body Safety

10 Tips for Teaching Body Safety
We teach our children about stranger danger, stop drop and roll, and fire safety; but do we teach our kids about keeping their bodies safe? Think back to your childhood--did you have the aunt who plopped a slimy kiss on your cheek or an uncle who gave a rib-cracking hug? Were you told it was rude to say no, so you bore the awfulness until you could escape and go play with your cousins? I know I did. We hated this experience, so why are we teachin...
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Guest Blogger: 3 Skills Every Child Needs to Become a Successful Learner

Guest Blogger: 3 Skills Every Child Needs to Become a Successful Learner
I have had the opportunity to teach struggling readers in grades 1 – 3 for the last 8 years in a public school setting. We are a Title 1 school and have a fairly large percentage of students that come from poverty and generational poverty. Because of that, I see students who struggle with reading and learning in general. I believe that much of that struggle is the result of parents who were not taught the skills needed to be successful with learn...
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​Is it Ever too Early to Start Reading to Your Child?

​Is it Ever too Early to Start Reading to Your Child?
Some parents may be wondering when to start reading to their child. Both of my parents are educators – under their guidance, I learned the value of reading from an early age. Simply put, it is never too early to read to your child. In fact, studies have shown that introducing books beginning at 4 months increases the chance that parents will continue to read to their children throughout their childhood. There are ample benefits to reading early. ...
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Diversify Your Bookshelves: 10 Children's Books That Celebrate Diversity

Diversify Your Bookshelves: 10 Children's Books That Celebrate Diversity
Growing up reading was my escape. Through reading I was able to travel to faraway places, learn about different cultures, and imagine living in different eras. I was allowed to be mischievous and go on adventures that would have been impossible otherwise. However, I always felt like a guest in the author's adventure, a "fly on the wall" per se. I never felt like I could be a supporting character let alone the protagonist of the story. I immigrate...
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8 Tips for Delivering Trauma-Informed Feedback to Your Child

8 Tips for Delivering Trauma-Informed Feedback to Your Child
Children who have experienced trauma often react to both positive and negative feedback a bit differently than other children. Brookes Publishing discusses some ideas for teacher-student interactions on how to give both positive and corrective feedback. These ideas can also translate to how you respond in the home. For positive feedback, make it: Low-key and private . Use nonverbal signals like giving a thumbs-up, a hug or, jotting a few words on...
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Guest Post: Screen time and toddlers: What is transfer deficit?

Guest Post: Screen time and toddlers: What is transfer deficit?
With the COVID-19 pandemic, we've all been using screens more, and overall, that's OK. Screen time is less about the hours than the content. Screens can connect and educate, and keep us all safe indoors. However, research shows that for our youngest children, under age three, we need to be more careful and deliberate with devices. A study out of the Journal of Experimental Child Psychology in 2015 illustrates the limitations of digital learning w...
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Guest Post: How to Get Ready for the School Year with the Pandemic in Mind

Guest Post: How to Get Ready for the School Year with the Pandemic in Mind
With many areas in a reopening phase, you may need to prepare for your children's school to open back up for the new academic year as well. Some schools may return to in-person classes, while others may offer online learning opportunities or a combination of both. Below, find out how your family can get ready for either situation and discover how to get your kids set up for success this year. Getting Ready for Digital Learning Depending on your s...
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5 Tips for Developing Financial Wellness In Your Kids

5 Tips for Developing Financial Wellness In Your Kids
As a parent, worrying about your finances every now and then is probably second nature, however, it is also something that you probably never want your child to experience. If you're hoping to instill financial wellness in your child at a young age, there are plenty of places for you to start. Consider the five tips below as you navigate raising your kids to be smart with their money. Educate Them Firstly, educating your kids on the topic of fina...
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How to Break the Cycle of Gender Stereotyping

How to Break the Cycle of Gender Stereotyping
  Have you ever heard the saying "boys will be boys"? Or "girls are so emotional"? These may seem like harmless phrases that explain our parenting experiences, but they may actually be limiting our children's potential. Gender Differences We are always hearing about another new finding on the "many" differences between boys and girls - whether that's in how they learn, who's better at math, who's more aggressive, etc. Researcher Christia Spe...
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Simple Ways to Help Your Child's Intrinsic Motivation Flourish

Simple Ways to Help Your Child's Intrinsic Motivation Flourish
I was reading an article the other day that talked about studies in favor of toddlers sincerely enjoying and wanting opportunities to help those around them. After finishing the article, I wondered, "where does all that 'helping spirit' go when they get older?" And why is it that some older children are more willing to help than others-- why do some children have more intrinsic motivation? The Deets on Motivation Motivation is generally categoriz...
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Teaching Your Children About the Dangers of Sexual Assault

Teaching Your Children About the Dangers of Sexual Assault
All a parent wants is to see their child grow up healthy, happy, and safe. There are many things that pose a threat to the safety of our children, and as parents, we do our best to warn and protect our children against these dangers. We teach our children to stay safe by looking both ways before crossing the street. We teach them to walk carefully when they are holding scissors and much more. A threat that is more sensitive and serious is the thr...
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Tips for Making Homework Time Easier

Tips for Making Homework Time Easier
School is back in session and with that comes homework. Homework can be stressful for a variety of reasons and there are days where it may seem like the fight to get homework done just is not worth it. No parent wants to expend all their efforts and energy on getting their children to do homework. One of the first things parents can do is show their children that they believe learning is important. A parent's attitude about homework and school ca...
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How To Keep Your Child From Falling Behind During Summer Break

How To Keep Your Child From Falling Behind During Summer Break
Summer break is one of the most exciting times to be a kid; a time to forget about the most demanding part of life-- school. But does a summer break without learning really help children in the long run? A report pointed out that, on average, children forget the last month of learning from the previous school year, with some areas reporting a greater loss of 25-30% of the learning of that same year! The greatest loss of learning was measured to b...
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The 20 Minute Challenge: How Reading Just 20 Minutes a Day Can Help your Child's Learning

The 20 Minute Challenge: How Reading Just 20 Minutes a Day Can Help your Child's Learning
Growing up, I had a very difficult time with reading and writing. My mild dyslexia and difficulties with reading comprehension made picking up a book a dreadful chore. Thankfully, when I was starting to fall behind with my literacy skills, my dedicated mother and teachers challenged me to read at least 20 minutes a night. For 10-year-old me, I thought 20 minutes of reading was a steal compared to the hour I was doing before. However, you'd be sur...
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Type 1: A New Diagnosis

Type 1: A New Diagnosis
"When I was four years old, I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. It was a huge struggle for my family, as it was early in the technology of Diabetic care and everyone in my family (parents, five older siblings, and a twin) had to learn how to take care of me. My siblings have never forgotten practicing with syringes on oranges. As we became more educated, it became easier to care for my diabetes. About four years after my diagnosis, my twin brot...
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Asthma: Triggers and Treatments

Asthma: Triggers and Treatments
By the time I was 2 years old, I had been to the Emergency Room no less than 8 times for breathing troubles. My first visit was at just 6 weeks old. A few months before my third birthday, I would be diagnosed with severe persistent asthma . Today, my asthma is so well-controlled that you would never know that for most of my childhood, I spent days at a time struggling to breathe, and the moments between these flare-ups being terrified that I migh...
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The Road to Bilingualism

The Road to Bilingualism
The percentage of bilingual children in the United States has risen steadily for the past decade, causing families to wonder if it really is worth it to have their child learn another language or if the process is too lengthy and costly. This blog is to inform and help families navigate their way to having their child become bilingual, so families can decide if it is truly worth the effort. Pros and ConsLike all abilities, bilingualism also inclu...
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Speaking to Your Young Children About the LGBTQ Community

Speaking to Your Young Children About the LGBTQ Community
As a parent, you are always concerned about our children and we tend to ask ourselves an abundance of questions. For instance: "Is my child doing well in school?" "Why is my child so picky?" "How can I tell if my child's speech is normal?" These are questions parents can usually answer or seek out resources to obtain answers for. But what answers do parents have when the question is "how do I explain the LGBTQ community to my child?" It can be a ...
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How do I know if my child has a food allergy?

How do I know if my child has a food allergy?
Allergies are among the most common chronic childhood diseases. Allergies affect about 50 million children! Oh my! Unfortunately, many symptoms and illnesses are often confused with food allergies. So don't you as a caregiver want to know the symptoms of food allergies and how to recognize and treat the symptoms? Well that's what we're here for. The following is information from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) about food allergies. A foo...
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