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Drinking Water--Some Troubling News
2008-03-10 20:51:00
Most of the families whom I meet in the course of my work are knowledgeable about health issues and concerned about what their children are encountering in the course of daily life. A new report from the Associated Press is an example of why their concerns are justified. It found that a vast array of pharmaceuticals ? including antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones ? are in the drinking water supplies of at least 41 million Americans. Fortunately, the concentrations of the pharmaceuticals are tiny, and far below the levels of a medical dose. But the presence of so many prescription drugs ? and over-the-counter medicines like acetaminophen and ibuprofen ? in so much of our drinking water is heightening worries among scientists of long-term consequences to human health.
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Hold On--The College Frenzy Is Going to Pass
2008-03-08 21:05:00
If you have a child, or know of a child, who is awaiting the "verdicts" on college applications, you know the pressure and anxiety that accompanies the process. Each year, for the past several years, the tension has been increasing. But all that is likely to ease--though not in time to help out this year's contingent. Specifically, the demographics are changing. After a 15 year period of steady growth, the annual number of high school graduates in the United States will peak at about 2.9 million. The number is then expected to decline until about 2015. Most universities expect this to translate into fewer applications and with that, less selectivity. As a result, most students are like to find it easier to get into college.
More About: News , College , Pass , Frenzy , Hold

Is There Genius in Autism?
2008-02-22 14:06:00
A leading psychiatrist from Trinity College in Dublin, Michael Fitzgerald, has put forth the idea that many leading figures in the fields of science, politics and the arts achieved success because they had a form of autism known as Asperger's syndrome. Included in his list are such towering figures as Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein, George Orwell, H G Wells and Ludwig van Beethoven.
More About: News , Autism , Genius

An Ambassador for Children's Reading
2008-02-18 03:11:00
As parents know only too well, America's children aren't reading very much or very well these days. Concerns about the situation keep growing as scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress have shown little improvement in the past 15 years. In an effort to turn matters around, the Library of Congress and the Children's Book Council, a trade group, announced the appointment of the USA's first "ambassador for young people's literature," a sort of poet laureate for the Harry Potter set. As the inaugural ambassador, they named Jon Scieszka--a renowned author of 30 books.
More About: News , Reading , Ambassador

Paying Students to Learn? Good Idea?
2008-02-13 04:00:00
At a number of schools in the poorer sections of New York City, students are being paid to do well on citywide exams in reading and math. Seventh-graders earn up to $750 and fourth-graders up to $250. This is all part of the Spark Program--part of Mayor Bloomberg's ant-poverty initiative. As you might imagine, the idea is generating lots of discussion---and controversy.
More About: News , Students , Idea , Good , Learn

Homework: Questions about its Value
2008-02-10 03:20:00
The many families who struggle with the nightly homework ritual might will be interested in a new Canadian study involving almost 1000 families. It reports that, at least at the elementary school level, homework offers a double whammy. It's of little value to the children while leading to burn out in the children and their parents. At the older grades, things were different with benefits shown for students in grades 7 and 8 and high school. Significantly, the findings do not include reading. Indeed, reading with, or to, children every day has been shown to be a key factor in boosting academic success.
More About: News , Questions , Homework

Know of Someone Who Might Want to Enter a Contest?
2008-02-07 23:32:00
One of the remarkable advances in the last several decades has been the growing understanding and acceptance of individuals with learning disabilities. As we know from major figures such as Paul Orfalea, the founder of Kinko's and Charles Schwab, the investment banker along with many others, individuals with learning disabilities can be enormously talented and make phenomenal contributions. As part of the growing acceptance that has been taking place, The National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD) holds a "Portraits of LD" competition. The grand prize winner will win a trip to New York City along with other treats. In addition, two runners-up will be chosen to receive a cash prize of $200 each, while selected submissions will be showcased on the LD.org Web site and showcased at the annual benefit dinner of the society. The competition is open to all children, teens and adults with LD. But there is not a lot of time left to enter. The deadline is February 8th. So if you...
More About: News , Contest , Enter

Is College in Your Child's Future?
2008-01-30 16:59:00
As parents know only too well, higher education in our country is expensive and becoming more expensive each year. At the same time, modern nations know that if they are to have a productive population, they need to have a highly educated citizenry. That is why Ireland, over a decade ago, abolished tuition fees for all citizens in the European Union. This has been one of the key factors in the phenomenal economic transformation that has taken place in that country. But back to the USA.
More About: News , College , Future

Spelling: A Mirror into Reading
2008-01-28 19:05:00
Years ago, spelling held a place of importance in literacy. As Thomas Jefferson wrote to one of his daughters, ?Take care that you never spell a word wrong. Always before you write a word, consider how it is spelled, and, if you do not remember, turn to a dictionary. It produces great praise to a lady to spell well.? For lots of reasons, that has changed. But if you want to get some insights your child?s reading, you would do well to take a look at his or her spelling.
More About: Reading , Mirror , Spelling

Jokes: Fun and Learrning in One Package
2008-01-26 20:31:00
It's great to see kids' faces light up when they hear or tell a Joke. And because of the word play that jokes offer, at the same time, their language skills are enhanced. When you have a chance, you might try these out. Q: What do you call a sleeping bull? A: A bull-dozer. Q: What did the farmer call the cow that had no milk? A: An udder failure. Q: What do you get from a pampered cow? A: Spoiled milk. Q: Why are teddy bears never hungry? A: They are always stuffed!
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In Praise of Immaturity
2008-01-19 18:26:00
For lots of good reasons, we all take children's development very seriously and do everything we can to help them mature in the best way possible. But with our eyes always geared to the future, we sometimes overlook the fun and value in being immature. Fortunately, the editors of Klutz are around to get us see things a bit differently. Their efforts which are aimed at "never growing up" started in 1977. It was then that they published their first book--Juggling for the Complete Klutz®. It showed that anyone and everyone can learn the totally non-essential, but fun-filled, activity of juggling. Now they've written what they describe as the ultimate how-not-to guide for ages 8 and up. It is The Encyclopedia of Immaturity and it contains more than 300 entries such as How to Skip a Stone, How to Do a Wheelie, How to Hang a Spoon from Your Nose, How to Really Annoy Your Older Sibling. They are presented with lots of full-color photographs, illustrations and diagrams that can ena...
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Word Families: Is It Time to Disown Them?
2008-01-17 15:48:00
If youve had contact with a child in the early primary grades doing "reading homework," you're bound to have seen what are typically referred to as "word families." Those are the words that end with the same sets of letters--such as fat, cat, sat, mat or sand, hand, land or fall, tall, call. In many reading programs, these word families occupy a central place --since the groupings are thought to help children learn to identify (i.e., read or decode) words more easily. But is that really what happens?
More About: Reading , Time , Word , Families

Toys: The Right Choice
2008-01-05 17:29:00
Parents and other family members often wonder about the best toys to give. Now there is a website that offers some valuable advice. It was set up by teachers and is called TRUCE--an acronym for Teachers Resisting Unhealthy Children's Environment. The goal is to help adults make informed choices about toys--both inclusion (that is, by highlighting the ones that are most productive to play and thinking) and exclusion (that is, by eliminating those that encourage violence and overstimulation). For more information, you can go to http://www.truceteachers.org/toyguides/T_ Guide_web_07.pdf
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Resource Guide for Children with Disabilities
2008-01-03 03:30:00
For the vast majority of children with reading difficulties, the problems are confined to reading. Their struggles are a tragic result of the limited and inadequate systems used for teaching reading. But for some children, the problems go well beyond reading. Typically the youngsters are termed "children with special needs." As those familiar with the children know well, the families face many challenges. They benefit greatly from knowing the resources that are available and how to access those resources. One site that provides invaluable information is www.eparent.com. Among their offerings is a yearly resource guide. The 2008 is on its way. It offers comprehensive national directory of service organizations, associations, federally funded programs, parent and training information groups, and many other resources for the special needs community. Those who want that material now can turn to the 2007 edition http://www.eplibrary.com/reference1resour ce1anddirectories/
More About: Children , Tips , Guide , Resource , Disabilities

Outsourcing Mary's Little Lamb with Dogs
2007-12-27 19:54:00
If you recall some of your nursery rhymes, you'll remember how Mary brought her lamb to school one day--or at least, the lamb followed her there. Now, in Ohio, a school is using this idea in a new way. It has introduced a dog, a chocolate-colored Labrador, into the classroom to help children with reading problems. The dog, oddly named Bear, sits next to the children as they face the rigors of reading that prove to be so difficult for them.
More About: Dogs , Outsourcing , Lamb

Playing Around with Christmas
2007-12-17 17:57:00
The range of topics one can jest about is vast and Christmas offers no exception. So here are some question-answer jokes about the holiday that you can enjoy with your children--while offering them the chance for some interesting word play Q: What do you call a bunch of grandmasters of chess bragging about their games in a hotel lobby? A: Chess nuts boasting in an open foyer! Q: What do elves learn in school? A: The Elf-abet! Q: If Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus had a child, what would he be called? A: A subordinate claus.

Some Amazing Images of Families Fare Around the World
2007-12-13 23:50:00
We've been told a lot about the problems stemming from the American diet. But, as always, a picture is worth a thousand words. Through these beautiful images, we can see in brilliant color, how far we've come in relying on processed foods and how spectacularly attractive natural fresh food is. Of course, none of this should affect the feasts you are going to have during the holiday season. But perhaps these images will lead you to actions that will expand food supplies to those in need--in our nation and abroad. And once the holidays are past, perhaps you'll turn back to these photos and let them lead you to some New Year's resolutions about revamping the family fare. (The photos you will be seeing are the work of Peter Menzel and Faith D'Aluisio. I encourage you to visit their site to check out their other great photography and photo projects - http://www.menzelphoto.com/
More About: News , World , Images , Around the world , Amazing

Growing Your Vocabulary While Feeding Those in Need
2007-12-13 18:40:00
If you would like to help your child achieve masterful scores on the SAT vocabulary, you can now do so via an interesting setup. You can go to the website www.freerice.com. There, your youngster will learn some interesting, esoteric words. But in addition, right answers lead to grains of rice being sent to the hungry of the world. So along with the fun of the word-game, players get an extra jolt of "feel good" joy:
More About: Tips , Vocabulary , Growing , Feeding

Is There a Ray of Light in Rethinking about Early Schooling?
2007-12-13 15:17:00
A recent headline in the British press read, "Primary schools have lost their sense of fun and play." What is being referred to is the emphasis in classrooms, not confined to the U.K. but present in our country as well, to teach traditional academic subjects as early as possible. The inevitable result has been an elimination of the relaxed, play-like exploratory activities associated with early schooling. In their place have come the drills and tests associated with new academic standards. For example, in many classrooms today, recess has all but been dropped from the school day. This is a disastrous development--particularly in an age where so many children show attentional problems and opportunities for physical activity are of enormous benefit. Now, at least in England, there is a move to return to a more balanced approach. There, a national inquiry, recommends scrapping end-of-term national curriculum tests.
More About: Achievement , Light , Early

Seeing Christmas in a New Light
2007-12-09 04:16:00
Christmas is a beloved holiday--one associated with a solid set of traditions from the brightly lit trees to the well-known carols to the stockings on the mantelpiece. So we almost never think of it as including a treasure trove of ideas that most of us have never heard about. Now Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of President John Kennedy, has shown us a lot of what we have been missing. Her new anthology, A Family Christmas, is a collection of poetry, prose, lyrics and scripture about the season that lets us see the many aspects of Christmas that are rarely discussed. For example, among the tidbits she offers are the following:: In 1659, the Puritans of Massachusetts banned the celebration of Christmas, "which had become known for public drunkenness, licentious sex, and gambling." The American vision of Santa Claus was created by Clement Clarke Moore in his 1822 poem that starts "'Twas the night before Christmas" and was later exported to the world largely via Coca-Cola ads.
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Einstein Was Right Again
2007-12-07 16:14:00
When Albert Einstein was asked to account for his incredible insights, he was reputed to have said, "It's because I never stopped asking the questions that children ask." So people in England should have been prepared for the recent developments that have the country all abuzz. As the Guardian newspaper put it, "Everywhere you look, people are talking about teaching philosophy to children."
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U.S. 4th-graders losing ground on literacy
2007-12-03 20:54:00
Those of us who are concerned about literacy standards in our nation received little in the way of comfort this week when the results came out on the Progress in International Reading Literacy test. It showed that our fourth-graders have lost ground in reading ability compared with children around the world.
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Music Education Linked to Academic and Income Success
2007-11-17 18:55:00
Parents who consult with me are generally focused on helping their children with language and reading skills. Often though, in the course of conversation, they say something like, "By the way, my son, or daughter, is quite good at music but wants to stop the lessons. What should I do?" As with all questions of teaching and learning, the answers are not simple. Still, all other things being equal, my advice is generally to have the lessons continue. One of my deeply held beliefs is that the development of skills--in all areas--has enormous payoff for a person over the course of his or her life. Many times, students have come back to me to tell me how pleased they are that they did continue--because as adults, they find great pleasure in music and in the competence they have in this realm. Now, via a recent Harris Poll of 2,565 adults, there is evidence to support what I have been encouraging. The study showed that whether it's chorus, band or violin lessons, music impacts Ameri...
More About: Education , Music , Academic , Tips , Success

"It's Time to Go to School"
2007-11-16 18:35:00
School is a powerful force that can overwhelm both children and parents. Like everything else, it becomes a bit more manageable when you can laugh about it. Here are some jokes to help you achieve that goal: One morning a mother was trying to wake up her son. "Wake up now! It's time to go to school." "I don't want to go to school," the son replied. His mother said, "Give me two reasons why you don't want to go to school." "Okay. One, all the children hate me. Two, all the teachers hate me." "Not good enough," the mother replied. "Fine," the son said. "Then you give me two good reasons why I SHOULD go to school." "One, you're 50 years old. Two, you're the principal of the school." Little Johnny's teacher asks, "What is the chemical formula for water?" Little Johnny replies, "HIJKLMNO"!! The teacher, puzzled, asks, "What on Earth are you talking about?" Little Johnny replies, "Yesterday you said it was H to O!"
More About: Time , School

Being "Normal" : The Hidden Side
2007-11-13 15:44:00
A lot of my work is focused on helping children with learning problems. One of the things that continually impresses me is the energy, time and devotion the parents give to helping their youngsters. It is awe inspiring. At the same time, there is often another component in the situation that tends to receive far less attention. It concerns the other siblings in the family. As one child told me, "I lose because I am normal. My sister gets all the attention and I get almost none of it." Fortunately, the situation often leads to some wonderful things. For example, the sibs commonly become more mature and caring than other "normal" children. As you might imagine, those traits serve them, and others, well. The issues in this very understudied area are incredibly intricate. As with so much of life, there are no easy answers. But there is a lot to be gained by starting to think and talk about the complexities. So jf you, or someone you know, is in this situation, you might find it help...
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"I'm Listening, But I Don't Understand" (1)
2007-11-11 18:34:00
A dedicated teacher had set aside some invaluable, individual tutoring time with one of her junior high students who was struggling with social studies. She structured the session by presenting relatively short segments of information and then immediately checking by asking the student some questions aimed at seeing if he understood what she had said. The teenager always responded but his answers were variable. At times, they were correct; at other times, they were totally off the mark. Finally, the teacher said, "You have to listen!" At that point, the student looked up and plaintively said, "I'm listening but I don't understand." With those seven words, this youngster summed up the days and lives of so many, many students. They are not resisting the system; they are trying the best they know how --only to find their efforts resulting in total confusion. What can we do to help?
More About: Achievement , Understand , Listening

Developing the Vital, But Neglected Precursor Skills for Reading
2007-11-04 17:21:00
A parent recently wrote to me with the following query: I would like to use your Phonics Plus Five program for my daughter who is seven and has some serious developmental delays. She can recognize shapes but she has difficulty with sequencing and also with orientation when she "writes.". Can you advise me on what I can do to help her with these skills? Thanks, R L. The issues that the parent has raised are extremely important. Visual sequencing and letter orientation are vital skills that, whenever possible, should be developed before a child learns to read. Phonics Plus Five has been set up to develop them via the Sequences in Sight and Letters to Write components of the program. For some children, these components can seem to be beyond their capabilities. Fortunately, it is relatively simple to modify each so that it achieves the goals for which it was designed.. Let's start with Sequences in Sight.
More About: Reading , Questions , Parents , Vital , Skills

Making Bedtime Reading Even Better
2007-11-01 19:49:00
A favorite pastime for parents and children is bedtime reading. It's a true win-win situation. Not only is it enjoyable to sit back and experience a good tale, but it can be a major help in expanding a child's language and reading. In my experience, most children and parents select stories as the books of choice. By that I mean, fiction as opposed to fact. There are many benefits to this type of reading and it, in no way, should be discouraged. At the same time, there is no reason to restrict the choices to these types of books. There are tremendous benefits to be had by expanding the selection. There is, of course, the old adage, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." Since bedtime reading seems so great, you might be wondering why the suggestion for any modifications at all? The answer rests with something parents and children are very concerned about--namely, school achievement.
More About: Reading , Tips

Comprehension Problems: A Neglected But Vital Issue
2007-10-26 00:27:00
A parent recently wrote to me with the following question: My 9 yr old son has been tested by a psychologist and I have been told he has some huge comprehension problems which are affecting him socially. I have your phonics kit. What do you suggest to help him ? In response, I said that the question was an excellent one since comprehension problems are widespread in children who have reading problems and it is very important that they be addressed. At the same time, they do not receive nearly the attention they deserve. The bulk of the teaching effort goes into decoding (that is, teaching children how to analyze letters and turn them into words) with the result that comprehension problems are shunted into the background. The issue of comprehension is, of course, vast and a range of diverse activities is required if children are to develop the skills they need. However, there are some techniques that are relatively easy to try and well-worth attempting when a child needs help in t...
More About: Problems , Vital , Issue

Knowledge Can Be Upsetting--But It Can Also Be Empowering
2007-10-22 20:12:00
A major issue in modern day life is the growing number of serious health problems besieging children and their families. Asthma, autism, attention deficit disorder are only a few of the worrisome syndromes that are on the rise. Health professionals and environmentalists are trying to determine the reasons for the increase. One area that is increasingly in the spotlight involves industrial chemicals. They include chemicals used in clothing, cleaning products, furniture--to name just a few. These substances are so inextricably woven into our lives that we are generally not aware of them. But, in line with a recent CNN headline, it is clear that we ought to be. The headline read Tests reveal high chemical levels in kids' bodies It showed not simply that the chemicals are accumulating in our bodies. It also showed that children often have chemical exposure levels that are massively higher than those of their parents. This news is particularly disturbing since children up to six ye...
More About: News , Knowledge , Upset , Erin