Summer Learning: 5 Tips to Prevent Reading and Math Summer Slide

Summer break is starting to wind down, back to school items are on store shelves, our kids haven't seen the inside of a classroom in weeks, and those of us who haven't maintained bedtime routines have to get back on schedule.  While our schedules may be off a bit, one thing that doesn't have to turn off or shut down is LEARNING. Recently, I wrote about modifying the school calendar to prevent summer learning loss, commonly known as summer slide. As a parent and former middle school teacher, the term summer slide was foreign to me until I taught elementary and learn how the summer months negatively impacted our population of students. While the summer can have a negative effect on some students' ability to retain information, the matter is not hopeless.

Good News

It's never too late to learn.

End Learning Loss: Rethinking Summer Break and the School Calendar

School's out for summer. School's out forever. Those are the infamous lines from Alice Cooper's song "School's Out" popularized in the 90s movie "Dazed and Confused." 

For millions of children, forever is only 10-12 weeks. Then in the immortal words of the Four Tops, "You gotta go back, back, back to school again."

Somewhere between the time the last bell sounds for the school year and the alarm clock rings signaling the first day of school, the knowledge acquired over the past nine months begins to seep out of children's brains.

Recap: Since I've Been Gone

I'm baaaack!!! It's been quite a few months since my last blog, and I've missed writing so much. I'm going to provide highlights, and hopefully, set the stage for future blog posts.

News Made Simple for Kids with Newsela

Most kids don't keep up with the news. Face it. Only a few households receive daily newspapers, and discussing current events with your child isn't particularly the easiest thing to do. Well, there's a news website that's targeted to youth in grades 2-12.

Preparing for Kindergarten: Making Alphabet Cards with Your Little One

A few weeks ago, I had this bright idea of creating this learning area in the media room for my daughter. This room served as my son's playroom from the time he was 10 months - 3 years old. Then I decided to make the play area an adult space, and I moved all of the educational things to a guest bedroom and that became his playroom. By the time my son was six, my brother was living with me and I was pregnant with my daughter. Once again, the rooms shifted and I came to realize that the adult zone that I wanted would not be.

My son's room grew into this mishmash of infant, toddler, preteen STUFF. It seemed that each wall represented a different stage of his life from art projects to little league to educational items. Just STUFF EVERYWHERE!

It's Official...I'm Running for Crowley ISD

Well, it's official! Yesterday, I filed as a candidate for Crowley ISD's school board. I am a first-time candidate and having my children accompany me made this moment much more special. Although my daughter was slightly disappointed that we didn't "run" anywhere after I told my kids that I was going to run for school board.

Who Will Cry

Who will cry for the little boy, lost and all alone?

Who will cry for the little boy, abandoned without his own?

Who will cry for the little boy? He cried himself to sleep.

Who will cry for the little boy? He never had for keeps.

Who will cry for the little boy? He walked the burning sand

Who will cry for the little boy? The boy inside the man.

Who will cry for the little boy? Who knows well hurt and pain

Who will cry for the little boy? He died again and again.

Who will cry for the little boy? A good boy he tried to be

Who will cry for the little boy? Who cries inside of me

--Antwone Fisher from Who Will Cry for the Little Boy?

On Wednesday, December 21, 2016, a seven-year-old boy lost part of his innocence forever. Forever changed by a neighbor choking him. Forever changed by a police officer’s excessive force against his family. Forever changed by his mother and siblings being arrested and jailed.