Write Away

September 22, 2015

The Best Way to Teach Your Child to Read

Let’s imagine that you studied the clarinet as a child. You attended a weekly lesson, thirty minutes long. In between lessons, you practiced at home to make progress before the next lesson. Your amount of home practice determined what kind of progress you made after each clarinet lesson. This is the best way to teach Continue reading

Family, Reading

learning environment, library books, Reading at home, reading instruction, teach child
September 14, 2015

Piano Month and Chopin: Developing the Mind

September is National Piano Month and taking lessons is a great opportunity to help your child to develop her mind—think problem solving, listening, analyzing, focus, grit. I studied the piano for years and tenacity was one of the biggest skills I learned. The first months, even years, of learning the piano is fun. The pieces are easy Continue reading

Music, Speaking and listening, Teaching and Learning

grit, practicing piano, tenacity
September 8, 2015

10 Parent Tips for Back to School Night

Want to hear from a teacher, principal, and parent about the secrets of Back to School Night? Feel free to print out this list. 10 Parent Tips for Back to School Night 1. Attend. Make the effort to attend this critical gathering of teachers and parents. Every child should have a family representative present. 2. Bring Continue reading

Teaching and Learning

classroom, meet teacher, student
September 1, 2015

School Dress Code Wars

Back to school and new beginnings feel exciting, except for one thing—the dress code wars! I wonder if parents know how much time teachers and administrators invest in enforcing these rules. We want our children to dress safely and “appropriately,” a word that has different meanings for many. I hold two perspectives. When principal of a K-8 Continue reading

Social and emotional development, Speaking and listening, Teaching and Learning, Teenagers

school uniforms, teach thinking
August 26, 2015

Military Family Stories

Veterans of World War II rarely speak of their service. In the case of my father, humility is part of the reason. “Everybody did it,” he shrugged, referring to his peers in the 1940s. He is one of a handful of remaining WWII veterans in his town. Read his story, published this week in the Continue reading

Family, History and Social Science, Social and emotional development, Speaking and listening, Storytelling, Teaching and Learning

B25, Greatest Generation, Rhode Island Red, veterans, World War II

The Best Way to Teach Your Child to Read

Piano Month and Chopin: Developing the Mind

10 Parent Tips for Back to School Night

School Dress Code Wars

Military Family Stories