Kids Need Daily Recess Time

Recess Time

NWF Advocates for Policy Changes to Bring Back Daily Recess

Most adults remember daily recess as a time they were able to let off steam, exercise their bodies and refresh their minds. Today however, as many as nine million children (approximately thirty percent of elementary schools) get far less recess time according to a 2011 study by researchers at the University of Illinois.  Worse still is the fact that schools with predominately non-white student populations are least likely to have sufficient recess periods.

The National Wildlife Federation (NWF) is tackling this problem head on by launching their “Ranger Rick Restores Recess Campaign”. Ranger Rick of course is the beloved mascot of NWF’s award-winning children’s magazines Ranger Rick and Ranger Rick Jr.

Teaching Reading Comprehension Skills at Home

Reading Comprehension

How to Promote Reading Comprehension for the Struggling Reader at Home

By Kumar Sathy

Your child is struggling with reading comprehension, reading like a robot, or just unwilling to voluntarily pick up a book and read. You’ve tried everything and exhausted every reward you could possibly dangle in front of your child, and still, you can’t get your child to voluntarily pick up a book and read.  What’s the answer? It’s strikingly simple, ridiculously rewarding and equally controversial.

As an experienced educator, former school administrator, tutor, and author of educational materials, I am going to catch a lot of flak for this, but I firmly believe that the best thing a parent can do is resist the temptation to intervene, interrupt, and interrogate while a child is reading.

Book Review: Molly Kite’s Big Dream

tam veilleux

by Minette Riordan

I recently received a review copy of Molly Kite’s Big Dream by Tam Veilleux. This is a very charming story about dreaming big and having faith that our dreams will come true. The main character, Molly, wants to be a potter but she doesn’t have any idea how to make that happen. She is joined in the story by her special doll, Faith, her brother and a bird. The illustrations in the book are gorgeous and will capture your child’s attention.

One of the things I admired most about Molly is her resilience and her trust that her dream will come true. Veilleux does a wonderful job of showing us how to nurture a child’s imagination and remind our children that we have to believe that our dreams will come true and take the right actions to make that happen.

In the introduction, Veilleux shares this about her book: