Frankie’s Travel Games – Keep the Kids Entertained!

It never fails. Exactly 12 minutes into your multi-hour car (or plane) ride, a chorus of “I’m bored” echoes up from the back seat. Luckily for your sanity, you can leave boredom at home this holiday season by using this list of fun-filled travel games!
Note: If you have motion sickness-prone kids, we recommend the [...]

Standardized Tests: Credible or Completely Unfair?

To test or not to test? In many states this is no longer the question as standardized tests have become the norm for holding schools, teachers, and students accountable for their learning. Now the real question becomes: Are mandatory standardized tests credible or completely unfair? We want to know what you think!
The History
For [...]

Kids in the Kitchen – Kooky Cookies

Cook up some tasty treats and sweet memories in the kitchen this holiday season with easy recipes you and your kids can prepare together. We’ve rustled up some seasonal favorites that will leave your belly humming holiday harmonies.
Garland Goodies
You won’t be biting off more than you can chew when you let your kids loose [...]

Ask a Teacher: Computer Time and Eye Protection

Question:
My 4 year old daughter loves to play computer games (educational). She sometimes spends more than 2 hours playing every day after school. What is the appropriate time spent on the computer as far as the eyes are concerned? We have a laptop but should we buy a special screen to protect her eyes? Thanks [...]

Balancing Work and Home: Professional Juggler Wanted!

For working parents, it’s easy for every day to be packed to the brim with activities, deadlines and play dates. If the “problem areas” below look familiar, you are not alone! These issues plague working parents across the country, but we’ve got a few suggestions to help ease the stress and keep your days and [...]

Multiplying Multiple Intelligences

Theory-etically Normal
Does it drive you out of your mind when your kids give up on something before they even really give it a fair try? When this happens, take a breath, relax, and realize that this is a common phenomenon. Your kids are just helping prove Dr. Howard Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligence.
According to Gardner, [...]

Ask a Teacher: Smart but Young

Question: My son is doing well academically in kindergarten but is the youngest in class by at least 4 months. His teacher reports that he is quiet and shy in class and on the playground. I wonder if this is because he is the youngest and smallest in his class. What can I do?

Answer: There [...]

Ask a Teacher: Trouble with Math?

Question:
What is the best way to teach a 7 yr old how to handle reading problems using subtraction and addition?

Answer:
When solving a story problem, have your child look for clue words.

Some clue words for addition are:

Add

Sum

Total

In all

All together

Some clue words for subtraction are:

Subtract

Difference

Less than

Have left

How much more

Take away

These words tell you the kind of [...]

Ask a Teacher: Too Much Curiosity?

Question:
My twin 5 year old daughters are very book smart. They could sing there ABC’s at the age of two, they knew all their shapes and colors and at least 50 different kid songs. The problem is that they have a hard time understanding simple every day things and it gets very frustrating at times [...]

Ask a Teacher: Vocabulary Help

Question:
My son is going into 4th grade and has the vocabulary of a 2nd grader according to some tests that were done at the end of his third grade year. I know he is delayed, how can I increase this vocabulary/comprehension. I’m thinking of some daily work we can do, maybe 10-15 min. a day. [...]