How to Set Up a Homework Station

The new school year is upon us. Your kids are likely to have at least a little bit of homework to do after school. Many parents find it difficult to convince their children to sit down and do their homework. One thing that can make the situation a little less stressful, and more productive, is to set up a homework space. How to Setup a Homework Area It is easy to see why kids and teens don’t enjoy doing their homework. They just spent their whole day at school trying to learn things that are new to them, working on … Continue reading →

Going to Class

People often ask me why I do so well in school. I’ve never hated school but I wasn’t always particularly fond of it either. Nevertheless I always did well in school. All the way from grade school through my current Ph.D. program. At this point in my life I’ve even become an instructor for various types and sizes of classes. I have never received an “F” in a course but I have given them out. At the beginning of each semester I tell my students a series of “secrets” designed to help them succeed in school. These are applicable to … Continue reading →

A Student’s Ball and Chain

How far would you go to get your child to complete his homework? Would you consider chaining your kid to a 20-pound ball in order for him to finish a school project? A Spanish company is hoping you (and millions of other frustrated parents) will embrace their “Study Ball,” for the low, low price of just $90. According to the company, your hard earned cash will get you “the results you desire.” Seriously. The gadget (the company refers to it as a “study aid”) is designed to mirror a prison-style ball and chain. However, unlike the traditional device used on … Continue reading →

Quick Tips For The New School Year

The first few weeks of the new school year are always very hectic for all parties involved, from the teacher, to the student and home again to the parent. There are forms to fill out, supplies to get and events to attend. Here are a few quick tips to make your first few weeks of school much easier. Everything Needs a Place Clutter is almost a guarantee as the school year begins and papers start coming home. Setting up a homework station that is stocked with sharpened pencils, pens and erasers, paper and other supplies is a great way to … Continue reading →

Introducing Your Child to a New Word

I can remember as a student myself taking home list of words that I was supposed to be able to read by a specified date. My sister also has these list sent home with her girls. Once a list is mastered, the student moves on to a harder list. In addition, at the beginning of each nine weeks, I send home a list of words that the students are responsible for knowing. The words that teachers send home have various names. Some teachers call them sight words or high frequency words. In my classroom I call them popcorn words because … Continue reading →

All About Bookadventure.org

This month, I had said I was going to devote blogs to literacy. . .and then new stories happened, and movies about great educators came up, and well. . .I forgot. But I was recently reminded to pick it up again and so I decided to devote my first blog on literacy to my favorite incentive offering reading site: bookadventure.org How It Works Your child’s teacher (or you) sign up for an account and then children sign up for their own accounts under their teacher’s (or your name). They read books and take quizzes. They have to get a certain … Continue reading →

Education A to Z: Y for Your Child and Brain Based Learning

We are almost to the end of my blog series, Education A to Z. I am up the letter Y in my long series of education blogs. My focus in this blog will be your child and brain based learning. First, let’s define what brain based learning is for those of you who may not know exactly what it is that I am talking about. Much research was done over the years that focus on the brain and how it interacts with the learning someone does. Researchers came to a conclusion that the brain is always seeking meaning in things, … Continue reading →

Education A to Z: H for Homework, How Much is Too Much?

If you have been following my blog series on education you will know that I have reached the letter H after writing on education topics from A to G, I am now to H. I want to focus on a topic that I am passionate about in education and it also happens to start with the letter H. Homework. The dreaded word so many students dislike. What I want to bring up is this, how much is too much when it comes to homework and children? First, let me emphatically say that I am all for homework, I think it … Continue reading →

What Your Eighth Grader Needs To Learn

Today is the last posting in this “What Your (fill in appropriate grade)Grader Needs To Learn series. I hope you have found some useful information that will be helpful for both you and your student. The following is a brief list of subjects that your eighth grader should learn by the end of the school year. Unfortunately, the series titled “What Your _ Grader Needs To Know by the Core Knowledge Foundation only goes through sixth grade. The organization also has a teacher/school resource titled “Core Knowledge K-8 Sequence” that gives detailed information about what to include in the curriculum … Continue reading →

What Your Seventh Grader Needs To Learn

Your average Twelve year old has a lot of energy and creativity, but is able to sit still for longer periods of time and have some self-control. This is a transition year as your child will grow into adolescence, and be attending a middle school possibly for the first time if your district keeps sixth graders with the elementary school. Your seventh grader will develop more interpersonal or social skills while becoming more self-reliant. The following is a short listing of core subjects that your seventh grader should learn by the end of the school year. Unfortunately, the books that … Continue reading →