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Tag: parenting

Last-minute gifts that don’t have to cost anything

Last-minute gifts that don’t have to cost anything

December 1, 2015 | Posted in: Early Learners, Elementary, High School, Middle Years

For once, I’d like our tree-selection process to look like a scene from a Hallmark Christmas special. In my movie version, we all pile into the car for the short drive to a tree farm. A few light flurries swirl around us as we traipse through the snow, bundled in our colorful scarves and winter […]

Kids express thankfulness…for school [Video]

November 24, 2015 | Posted in: Early Learners, Elementary, High School, Middle Years

It’s interesting to hear children talk. When asked what they are thankful for, many of them include their teachers, their school and the opportunities that exist there. This short video allows us be thankful too, for the opportunities we have to help children learn and grow. Happy Thanksgiving from Parent Today.  

Students casting wide nets in college search

November 22, 2015 | Posted in: Early Learners, Elementary, High School, Middle Years

How many is too many? The same question that can creep up on us late at night while staring into a bag of cookies is one that high school seniors and their families grapple with more and more when it comes to college applications. These days, it is not unusual to hear a college-bound senior […]

Parents’ role important throughout the school years

October 19, 2015 | Posted in: High School, Middle Years

Children’s need for parental involvement in their lives doesn’t diminish with age. Yet, as children get older and shoulder more responsibility on their own – or their work gets harder for us to figure out – we may tend to back off from our role as coach and instead become a rather silent cheerleader. As […]

Empty nest is full of opportunity

October 19, 2015 | Posted in: Early Learners, Elementary, High School, Middle Years

My nest is empty and, for the first time in oh, about 30 years, my house is pretty darn clean. In the weeks that followed the August departure of my youngest son to a college several hours away, I indulged myself in the good life: impromptu getaways with my husband, late dinners in nearby restaurants, […]

If you’re not in school, you’re not learning

If you’re not in school, you’re not learning

September 18, 2015 | Posted in: Early Learners, Elementary, High School, Middle Years

My oldest son just started third grade. About once a week, he asks if he can stay home. Sometimes his stomach hurts. Sometimes he’s tired. Other times he says he just needs a break, and he lists the many friends whose parents let them stay home whenever they want, according to my son. I almost […]

Getting the most out of Open House

September 18, 2015 | Posted in: Early Learners, Elementary, High School, Middle Years

School has been in session only a few weeks, and now it’s time for Open House. For many parents, the experience is one of shuffling around crowded hallways and classrooms with only a vague understanding of what it’s all about. However, Open House can be an important event for parents, teachers and children. Here’s how […]

Firefighters are community helpers

September 18, 2015 | Posted in: Early Learners, Elementary, High School, Middle Years

They came through our living room like astronauts from a dark planet: not saying a word, dressed in olive green Kevlar, wearing gas masks and carrying pick axes. They were there to help of course, but I didn’t care. It was a terrifying sight for eight-year-old me. The images of those first responders, firefighters searching […]

Don’t infect your kids with your back-to-school stress

Don’t infect your kids with your back-to-school stress

September 1, 2015 | Posted in: Early Learners, Elementary, High School, Middle Years

With only three weeks until the start of another school year, my two sons are relaxing on the couch, basking in the air-conditioning and watching television. Having just returned from swimming, there is not a thought in their heads about boarding the bus and going back to school in less than a month. I, on […]

Nurturing the joy of learning

Nurturing the joy of learning

June 30, 2015 | Posted in: Early Learners, Elementary, High School, Middle Years

As parents, we want to instill in our children the joy of learning. Yet, we can make a mistake by allowing their world to be carved into “school” and anything “not school.” Artificial barriers that segregate “learning time” from other parts of our children’s lives can squelch their natural curiosity. Kids are born curious. They […]