The start of the new school year is fast approaching. The US Department of Education has created I Have a Question…What Parents and Caregivers Can Ask and Do to Help Children Thrive at School: A Parent Checklistto help you fulfill an important part of your child’s education—engaging with your child’s school in a way that … Continue reading Key Questions to Ask at Your Child’s School
10 School Planning Tips for a Child with Food Allergies
If your child has food allergies, it is important to form a partnership with your child’s school to support them. Kids with Food Allergies (KFA), a division of the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, has ten tips to help parents prepare for the school year with their child with food allergies. Communicate with the … Continue reading 10 School Planning Tips for a Child with Food Allergies
A Parent’s Guide to Dealing with Fortnite
If you have a video gamer in your house, chances are you’ve heard of Fortnite, the game that is dominating the gaming world with its recent Season 5 release and even showing up in major league baseball outfield celebrations. Even when they’re not playing it, kids are often talking about it with their friends, watching … Continue reading A Parent’s Guide to Dealing with Fortnite
Teaching Your Child How to Use 911
As parents, we’re constantly on the lookout for our children’s health and safety. But what if something should happen to you or happen when you are not around. Do your children know how and when to use 911? An article from Kids Health, available in both Englishand Spanish, walks you through the process. The article … Continue reading Teaching Your Child How to Use 911
6 Ways to Keep Your Couch Potatoes from Sprouting This Summer
Summertime is a chance for kids to relax a bit, but you don’t want them turning into couch potatoes. To help keep your kids from spending all day in their PJs watching Netflix and playing video games, iMom has six ideas to help you out. Maintain normal hours. Set aside some tasks for the break. … Continue reading 6 Ways to Keep Your Couch Potatoes from Sprouting This Summer
Identifying and Treating Heat-Related Illnesses
Summer’s here and the weather is already getting hot. As we spend more time outdoors, heat-related illnesses become a concern. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has a helpful list of how to identify the symptoms of various heat-related illnesses and what to do when you or a loved one shows those signs. … Continue reading Identifying and Treating Heat-Related Illnesses
Understanding Childhood Trauma
Childhood trauma is a scary term for a parent, and when many parents hear the term, they think of exposure to violence in the community or abuse in the home. But childhood trauma is much more than just those experiences, and research shows that 20% to 25% of all children in the United States will … Continue reading Understanding Childhood Trauma
Keeping Your Family Safe Outdoors
Summertime means more time outside, and that’s a good thing for both kids and adults. It also means making sure your family is safe from concerns that aren’t a problem other times of the year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have tips to keep your family safe outdoors dealing with: Sun Safety … Continue reading Keeping Your Family Safe Outdoors
Helping Your Kid Cope
Being a parent is stressful. Increasingly, being a child is as well. One of the skills we need to teach our children is how to cope—with setbacks, with disappointment, with feeling overwhelmed, and more. Coping skills are an essential part of becoming a resilient person who can deal with life’s ups and downs. To help … Continue reading Helping Your Kid Cope
10 Keys to Raising a Great Teenager
It can be difficult having a teenager in the house. At times, it seems like your kid has become a giant toddler, with every request from you met with “Why?” or “No.” And it’s not nearly as cute as it was then when they stamp their foot and pout. But this turmoil is also an … Continue reading 10 Keys to Raising a Great Teenager
Teacher Gifts That Go Beyond the Coffee Mug
Last week was Teacher Appreciation Week, and the end of school is coming up fast. Are you at a loss for a gift for your child’s teacher? You know that another #1 Teacher mug is not the answer, but what is? Both National PTA’s Our Childrenmagazine and Great Schools! have suggestions for great teacher gifts. … Continue reading Teacher Gifts That Go Beyond the Coffee Mug
Five Ways to Teach Coding Without Technology
Coding and computational thinking are increasingly becoming part of our children’s education. For adults, though, coding may still be a mystifying skill. A recent article describes five ways to teach coding without using a screen or technology. Whether you are a parent or teacher, comfortable with programming or not, you can use these approaches to … Continue reading Five Ways to Teach Coding Without Technology
Nurture a Love of Nature and Health with These Resources
Earth Day is coming up on April 22nd, and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences has a website to help nurture your child’s interest in the environment, science, and health. The site, Kids Environment Kids Health, provides resources for parents, teachers, and kids to explore these topics. Among the topics covered on the site … Continue reading Nurture a Love of Nature and Health with These Resources
28 Skills Students Need to Be Really Ready for Life After High School
A little over a year ago, Getting Smart partnered with Apex Learning to study what skills students need to truly be ready to face life after high school, whether in college, career, or just living as an independent adult. The resulting report identified 28 skills, which are summarized below. Critical Thinking Communication Growth Mindset Self-Directed … Continue reading 28 Skills Students Need to Be Really Ready for Life After High School
What to Expect at Your Child’s Checkup
You might have obsessively read the What to Expect When You’re Expectingbook when your first child was on the way. Perhaps you’ve used PTA’s Parents’ Guides to Student Successto be informed about what your child will be learning each year and what questions you should ask your child’s teacher. As your child grows, having an … Continue reading What to Expect at Your Child’s Checkup
Illinois Student Advisory Council Launches Student Voices Microsite with ISBE
The Student Advisory Council (SAC), which provides feedback and insights to the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), launched a new Student Voices microsite at http://www.isbe.net/studentvoices to create space for students statewide to ask and answer questions about preparing for their futures. The microsite links to resources such as the Illinois Reality Check personal budgeting … Continue reading Illinois Student Advisory Council Launches Student Voices Microsite with ISBE
Essential Life Skills for Teens Before They Leave Home
We all hope our kids move out of our house at some point, whether off to college or a career. Great Schools has a list of 14 must-have life skills that teenagers need before they head off on their own. The time to teach them these skills is during those middle and high school years, … Continue reading Essential Life Skills for Teens Before They Leave Home
Helping Your Child When They’re Excluded
It’s a powerless feeling as a parent—your child is being excluded from a group at school, often a group they’ve been friends with for years. That exclusion is a form of bullying known as relational aggression, and can occur online and in person. It can include gossiping, spreading rumors, public humiliation, alliance building, and social … Continue reading Helping Your Child When They’re Excluded
Understanding Financial Aid Award Letters
If you have a college-bound senior, you might be dealing with one of the more confusing parts of helping your child decide which college admission to accept—figuring out what the financial aid award letter means and how those offers from different colleges compare. The SLM Corporation, known as Sallie Mae, the federal banking partner that … Continue reading Understanding Financial Aid Award Letters
Talking to Kids About Violence
As the nation deals with yet another school shooting, many parents may be struggling about how to talk about violence with their children. Parents can no longer just keep the TV news off and assume their kids won’t see or hear much about an event, as the latest shooting had students sharing videos and pictures … Continue reading Talking to Kids About Violence
One Voice Illinois 