Are you conflicted over choosing the correct level in a reading series for your younger child? Uncomfortable with simply choosing a grade based on his or her age and hoping it will work out? Don’t want to simply “guess and go,” (the popular trial and error approach)? You’re not alone. While all reading series are…
In last week’s Tip of the Week, I suggested that improvement in writing is often “caught” by continuous exposure to good writers. However, at a basic level you may be asking, can a student’s grammar be improved through direct teaching? I would answer yes, but not as a result of the common methods you find in…
My wife and I are native Californians. As young adults and new Christians, we grew up in Orange County, a densely-populated part of the state filled with mega churches and a continuous stream of end-time teachings and rapture frenzy. We wanted to re-locate. We wanted to find a simpler and slower pace of life. We…
Spring testing is here! Perhaps you’re in a state that requires achievement testing. Or, you test regardless of state requirements in order to gain the valuable information it yields. Either way, your student’s attitude toward and during this important activity is a vital key to doing well and showing what he or she knows and…
Twice in the last four months I’ve gotten text messages from my carrier that I’m about to exceed my data limit. Twice I paid overage fees. The warning didn’t work. Maybe I should have listened to that Sprint commercial that told me “I have the right to be unlimited” and changed plans. Our culture is…
Here’s something to try at home with your elementary age children. Ask them this question: “If you could receive one million dollars right now or a penny doubled every day for 30 days, which one would you choose?” Some will take the “million dollars right now.” Others may sense this is a trick question. Regardless…
I don’t know about you, but by Sunday night I’d had my fill of media coverage of the last three days of “events.” And you, like me, probably have some strong feelings one way or another over what’s taken place. The thoughts below are not an invite to debate; they’re simply my reflection and serve…
I’ve been thinking about what it was like when we were home schooling our children back in the 90’s. Back then, distinctions beyond simply being part of a group that had decided to teach their children at home began to emerge. In other words, sub-groups began forming. Members or advocates of these groups would say…
When you think about it, the time just after Christmas and the start of the new year naturally lends itself to re-thinking our values, goals, and commitments- in other words, the whole New Year’s resolutions thing. The buzz, which has largely died down, was all about “what are you going to start doing or what…
When children are frustrated, they often throw tantrums, at least that’s the way it was when my children were growing up. Sometimes to bring order and calm, we’d say, “Use your words!” Sometimes it worked, and sometimes other means like “time out” were necessary. So the election didn’t work out the way you wanted? It…