It’s spring break time for many Illinois schools, and with it comes the “I’m bored” comments from your kids. While the old parental adage that boredom is a choice, not a condition probably won’t eliminate those comments, here are some sources of worksheets, activities, and ideas to provide some of those choices. Great Kids has … Continue reading Spring Break Activities to Fight “Mom, I’m Bored” Syndrome
7 Questions to Ask a Summer Camp
The weather is warming up, and the school year is beginning to wind down. You may be starting to think about summer camp for your child. Whether it is a sleep-away camp or a day camp, summer camp provides a great opportunity for kids to spend time in nature, meet new people, try new things, … Continue reading 7 Questions to Ask a Summer Camp
New College Scorecard Helps Families Make Informed Choices
For many high school seniors in Illinois, it’s a nervous time of waiting to hear which colleges and universities they’ve been accepted into. While they may be logging into websites or checking their e-mail rather than looking for that “fat envelope” that their parents did, making the final choice of where to go can still … Continue reading New College Scorecard Helps Families Make Informed Choices
On My Way to Parent-Teacher Conferences: Recalculating
Parent-Teacher conferences are coming up for many schools. Judy Hutchinson is a Family Consumer Specialist with the Illinois Department of Human Services (DHS), Division of Mental Health (DMH) Child & Adolescent Services who has been a guest blogger for One Voice Illinois before. Today she shares a personal tale about the importance of parents and … Continue reading On My Way to Parent-Teacher Conferences: Recalculating
Parent Cue Cards to Help Deal with Discipline
Have you ever wished that your kid came with an instruction manual? Do things like homework hassles, sibling issues, and shutting down the screen when asked leave your nerves frayed? Great Kids has a new resource to help you with what to do when issues arise: Parenting Cue Cards. The cue cards were developed in … Continue reading Parent Cue Cards to Help Deal with Discipline
Preparing Students with Autism for the Transition to College
For high school seniors, now is an anxious time. College applications are in, and the acceptances and rejections are starting to be sent out. It’s an anxious time for parents as well, whether is the first child to head off or the last. For parents of children on the autism spectrum, the anxieties can be … Continue reading Preparing Students with Autism for the Transition to College
Computer Science for All—Families and PTAs Have a Role, Too
In his weekly address on January 30, 2016, President Obama launched an initiative called Computer Science for All. As the President noted in his address, computer science (CS) is now a basic skill. It is something that nine out of ten parents want taught in their children’s schools, but only about a quarter of our … Continue reading Computer Science for All—Families and PTAs Have a Role, Too
Destination: Family-Driven Care
Today we feature a guest blog post from the Family Consumer Specialists of the Illinois Department of Human Services (DHS), Division of Mental Health (DMH) Child & Adolescent Services, on family-driven care. At the end of the article is a list of Parent Empowerment Calls offered free to all parents in Illinois who have a … Continue reading Destination: Family-Driven Care
Overcoming the “I’m Bad at Math” Myth
I’m bad at math. I’m not a math person. I just don’t have the “math gene.” Long before Barbie complained that “math class is tough,” students have bought into the idea that they can’t do math. A survey of Americans found that three in ten report that they are not good in math. Over half … Continue reading Overcoming the “I’m Bad at Math” Myth
4 Videos to Help You Understand Why and How Math Has Changed
You have probably seen it in social media, heard about it from friends, and maybe even felt it yourself—parents are finding themselves at a loss with the math homework their child is bringing home. Why does it look so different? Why don’t they do it the way that we learned? (Actually, they still do.) Here … Continue reading 4 Videos to Help You Understand Why and How Math Has Changed
10 Common Mistakes Parents Make During the IEP Process
When you begin the process to get your child an Individualized Education Program (IEP), it can be an overwhelming, emotional, confusing, stressful, and frustrating time. While Illinois does provide a guide to help parents navigate special education services, you still may feel lost while everyone else involved has been through the process many times and … Continue reading 10 Common Mistakes Parents Make During the IEP Process
Seven Ways to Increase Your Child’s Early Literacy
There is plenty of research that shows that a child’s economic status is a key indicator of how they will do in school. Many students are already behind national literacy benchmarks on their first day of kindergarten. But a landmark study identified a key cause of early literacy problems for low-income children—words. When we think … Continue reading Seven Ways to Increase Your Child’s Early Literacy
The Secret Apps that Parents Need to Know About
We covered teen sexting after the Cañon City, Colorado case. One of the questions asked during that case was how hundreds of students could have hidden nude photos on their phones with no parent finding a single one for so long. The answer is photo vaults, which are also known as ghost apps. Photo Vaults/Ghost … Continue reading The Secret Apps that Parents Need to Know About
New Free Guide on Puberty for Parents of Children with Autism
Puberty. It’s a word that can worry parents about how to discuss physical changes and intimate topics with their child. Parents of pre-teens on the autism spectrum may find themselves even more lost about how to address this transition with their child. The Autism Speaks Autism Treatment Network (ATN) and the Autism Intervention Research Network … Continue reading New Free Guide on Puberty for Parents of Children with Autism
Understanding Your Child’s PARCC Score Report
Illinois will be releasing the final results of the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) assessment shortly. As part of this release, families will be receiving a report on their student’s individual results. There has been a long delay in releasing results this year due to the need to determine what … Continue reading Understanding Your Child’s PARCC Score Report
How to Talk to Your Child About Sexting
Last month, parents in Cañon City, Colorado were shocked to learn that hundreds of students were being investigated for taking, possessing, or sharing nude photographs of themselves or a classmate, also known as sexting (sending sexually-explicit pictures via text, e-mail, or other apps). The potential consequences for these students include child pornography charges and having … Continue reading How to Talk to Your Child About Sexting
Helping Your Child Deal with Stress
Children are often stressed about school, whether it is an upcoming test, not understanding a homework assignment, or something mean that a friend said to them the day before. For students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) or other learning disorders (LD), stress can often make school issues worse. The magazine ADDitude has published an article … Continue reading Helping Your Child Deal with Stress
Reading to Young Children is More Important than You Thought
From the Illinois Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics’ Fall, 2015, Child Development Newsletter The journal Pediatrics recently published a study using functional magnetic resonance imaging to study brain activity in children between the ages of three and five as they listened to age-appropriate stories. Researchers found differences in brain activation according to how much the … Continue reading Reading to Young Children is More Important than You Thought
The Teen Brain: Still Under Construction
From the National Institute of Mental Health Introduction One of the ways that scientists have searched for the causes of mental illness is by studying the development of the brain from birth to adulthood. Powerful new technologies have enabled them to track the growth of the brain and to investigate the connections between brain function, … Continue reading The Teen Brain: Still Under Construction
Navigating the Illinois School Report Card
Last week, the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) released the 2014-2015 version of the Illinois Report Card. This online, interactive version of the report card was launched last year and provides significantly more information for parents about their child’s school than the old paper report card you might have seen a few years ago. … Continue reading Navigating the Illinois School Report Card
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