It’s hard to be a teacher nowadays, but it’s also a great joy to spend quality time with kids of all ages. If you have a teacher in your child’s life who has made a meaningful impact on their education, self confidence, and day-to-day happiness, please don’t miss the opportunity to send a heartfelt thank…
Kindergarten certainly isn’t what it used to be. In decades past, kindergarten was mostly about socialization and learning through play. Now, we see learning through play happening mostly in pre-k. Today’s public school kindergarteners are expected to be fluently reading sentences and short paragraphs by the end of the school year. But what exactly is…
For my entire teaching career, I have worked in title 1 schools, so I know quite a bit about the nuts and bolts of what that experience is like in the communities where I have worked. Still, I find that most parents have no idea what a title 1 school really means from a practical…
I am a former classroom teacher, current literacy interventionist, and a mom of three young kids who will NOT be having accidents in their classrooms. There’s a lot of outrage over potty policies in American public schools, and parents are worried because their child’s teacher won’t let kids go to the bathroom. There was even…
It is not normal for a 4 year old to teach themselves how to read, but it’s not super rare, either. Reading is like any other area of giftedness; some kids seem to just magically “get it.” But most children require explicit, systematic phonics instruction. I’ll never forget the moment I watched in amazement as…
If you’re wondering how to switch teachers in elementary school, you should know that it’s not always easy in a public school setting, and for good reason! Occasionally, there are compelling reasons to move a child to a different class. This post will help parents understand why administrators are reluctant to honor parent requests for a teacher…