Some Kids Are Not Attending School

Some parents have noticed that their child, pre-teen or teenager have been avoiding going back to school. NPR posted an article titled: “3 years since the pandemic wrecked attendance, kids still aren’t showing up to school”. In other words, there are many parents out there who have kids that are unable to attend school.  According to NPR, Hedy Chang, the executive director of Attendance Works, says she hasn’t seen the kind of recovery she’d hoped for. “I think people had been a little bit under the false impression that when COVID became more endemic, that that would result in a … Continue reading

California Offers Free Meals to Students

California is the first state to offer all public school students access to free nutritious meals this school year, thanks to the statewide Universal Meals Program. Good Morning America reported that the program comes at a crucial time, with food costs rising, inflation and an overall increase in children facing hunger since the pandemic.  The Universal Meals Program is designed to build on the foundations of the federal National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and School Breakfast Program (BSP) and ensures all students are offered breakfast and lunch at school. The Universal Meals Program will cover all 6 million public school … Continue reading

Prepare Your Kids For Going Back To School

Are your kids looking forward to going back to school? Are they nervous about what the new school year will bring? Here are some tips parents can use to help prepare their child for going back to school. Here are some Back to School tips from HealthyChildren.org: Find another child in the neighborhood your child can walk to school or ride with on the bus. Children are generally ready to start walking to school at 9 to 11 years of age. Make sure your child’s walk to school is a safe route with well-trained adult crossing guards at every intersection.  … Continue reading

“Zooters” and Homeschool Pods

The new school year is starting, and it comes with incredibly difficulty choices for parents. Should you send your children to school, and potentially put them at risk for catching COVID-19? Do you have the means to become an unpaid teacher’s aide and guide your elementary school children through a virtual school day? Some parents are solving these problems with “Zooters” and homeschool pods. What is a “Zooter”? It is a word created by Elyssa Katz, who lives in Santa Monica, California. She is in the process of trademarking the word. She is also a mother of three, who understands … Continue reading

How School Dress Codes Can Harm Your Daughter’s Education

Does the school your children attend have a dress code? Many of them do. Some schools opt for a specific, very limited, dress code. Others are a little less stringent. While a dress code might annoy your son, school dress codes can harm your daughter’s education. Here are some things for parents to watch out for. Ideally, a school dress code is designed to equalize students. Everyone has to wear the same type of uniform, with limited variations. (Typical variations include skirts for girls and pants for boys). Schools might choose to only allow clothing of specific colors. The goal … Continue reading

Don’t Do Your Child’s Homework for Them

One of the biggest complaints of students of all ages is the amount of homework they are assigned. This is true for kindergarteners, college students, and everyone in between. Teachers expect that the students will do their own homework, perhaps with a little help from their parents. You don’t do your children’s homework for them, though, right? An article in The Telegraph reveals some surprising things about who is really doing the homework that teachers assign. The information comes from a poll of 2,000 parents who had children between the ages of 5 and 15. The research showed that in … Continue reading

Pushing for Publicly-Funded Preschool

If you missed President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address five months ago, you may be wondering why his recent trip to Illinois attracted so many leaders in the world of early education. Obama spent much of his trip to Fort Knox College on Wednesday reiterating the importance of his proposal to give American children a publicly-funded preschool education. The president unveiled his goal of providing quality early education for 4 year olds in his State of the Union address earlier this year and he is not backing down on his commitment. “If you think education is expensive, wait … Continue reading

Toolbox for Education

My son goes to a Memphis City school, but it is a special school in that it is part of the University of Memphis.  It is the teaching school for the university, so while it does get city funding, they also need to do fundraisers to get more money. I cannot tell you how tired of fundraisers that I am!  I became a member of GoodSearch, which donates a penny for every search made and suggest to the PTO president and vice president that everyone join (most of the parents work at the University of Memphis and undoubtedly have access … Continue reading

Going to School with Kids

I have been asked several times over the last year how I could possibly manage to continue going to school with a child all while parenting alone. “How do you have time to do homework?” “Who watches your son for you?” “How do you find time to study?” “How do you keep your grades up?” All questions that have continued to come up time and time again. For the record, it hasn’t been an easy task, but here are some things that may help you attempt the college journey as a single mother. First off, don’t forget to check out … Continue reading

How to Set Up a Homework Space

There will be many changes for your child to adjust to once the new school year is underway. The one thing that you can pretty much count on is that your child will end up with homework to do. This means you need to set up a good homework space for him or her to work in. Children who have special needs tend to thrive when they know that there is a routine to follow. They can predict what will happen next, and this can make transitioning from one activity to another a little bit easier. This means that it … Continue reading