Learning Experiences

From the desk of Carol C… Maybe it was because I didn’t have younger siblings to show me the way.  Maybe it was because I was shortsighted.  Maybe…well the maybes don’t matter.  The bottom line is that when I first started teaching, I didn’t understand what went on in the minds of children. One of…

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Communicating with Parents

From the desk of Carol C… Recently I’ve seen some good relationships become strained due to miscommunication or a complete lack of communicating.  One friend didn’t understand the decisions of the other friend and lashed out at her.  A couple I know had some heated moments between the two of them because they didn’t communicate…

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Parent Involvement in the Middle School

From the desk of Carol C… Have you ever had a conversation with your teenager that went something like this? What did you do at school today? Nothing. You must have done something. We did a bunch of stuff.  It was boring.  I gotta big history test tomorrow. Have you studied? Yeah, some.  I’ll study…

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Reading Wide

From the desk of Carol C… Most of us have our favorite reading genre and stick pretty much to it.  Some prefer realistic fiction or graphic novels or informational text or biography…the list goes on.  It’s fine to have a favorite type of book; however, children who have read or have been read to from…

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Literacy Lessons from the List

From the desk of Christie… I am fortunate to have a little one that is bursting with eagerness to learn to read.  Although like his mother, he is not so eager when it comes to cleaning.  We have found that lists work beautifully for this chore.  For a while I have welcomed his help in…

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5 Ways Middle Schoolers are Just Like Preschoolers

As parents, we are prepared for the terrible twos, the fearsome fours, and the possible trauma of starting kindergarten.  We talk about our youngest kids incessently, read books and articles and painstakingly get advice from others.  We calm our parenting fears and we catch our breath when they are well into elementary school.  Then one…

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The Power Struggle

For anyone who has spent an extended amount of time with a child aged 1-18, you are most likely familiar with struggling for power.  “The Power Struggle” as I call it usually starts with a simple request from the adult and much to our chagrin, the child refuses.  As soon as the child refuses, the…

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Learn from the Learner

From the desk of Amanda… The State Employees Credit Union where I bank has a play area for kids.  Genius, right?  But what I ‘m writing about is what I learned about my role as a parent and teacher by watching my daughter play there this week. I was in one of the nearby offices…

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The Power of a Postcard

On our recent trip to the beach, I grabbed a few postcards in the checkout line so we could send them to some family that didn’t make the trip. Taking time to write postcards is a quick and easy way to ease your preschooler into writing and increase their “literary sense.”  I set aside some…

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A Simple Math Conversation

Today’s blog is really written for my parent friends who are not exactly big math fans.  And it is also written for my Aunt/Uncle/Grandparent friends who may not be math experts.  Basically if you come in contact with a child who is still learning math and you are not necessarily a teacher, this blog is…

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