MSI Press Blog

Today's tip for parents (from two talented teachers) comes from  365 Teacher Secrets for Parents  by Cindy McKinley Alder and Patti Trombly (yes, those are the two talented teachers). #20 “Hidden Treasure!”   An accomplishment sticks to a person. ~Japenese proverb   Learn how to play Hidden Treasure! In a never-ending effort to make learning fun, we have created this game to be used with just about any area of the curriculum to help kids learn reading words, spelling words, definitions, and more. We haven't met a kid yet who didn't like to play (and beat us at) it!   Basic play consists of theses few steps: 1. Gather some note cards, a box, and two different kinds of counters (pennies and dimes work great!). 2. Write all words to be learned on index cards. Also create a few that say "Treasure!" 3. Place all cards in a box, mixed up, upside down. Take turns drawing a card and reading/spelling/defining it. 4. If the person gets it right, she earns a counter worth ...

  Today's tip for parents from two talented teachers comes from  365 Teacher Secrets for Parents  by Cindy McKinley Alder and Patti Trombly. #45 If Your Child is Bored   A good teacher is one-fourth preparation and three-fourths theater. ~ Gail Godwin               A teacher is responsible for all of the children in her class. Just as she is responsible for providing remedial lessons and materials for students having trouble, she is also there to be sure every child is challenged if the material being covered has already been mastered.             If your child repeatedly talks about being bored in class, the first thing to do is to find out why. There are two very common reasons for this. The first is that your child is having a tough time paying attention or keeping up with the pace and academics of the class. It’s easy to tune out something you contin...

  Today's tip for parents from two talented teachers comes from  365 Teacher Secrets for Parents  by Cindy McKinley Alder and Patti Trombly. #33 Review that Homework Policy   It isn't that they can't see the solution. It's that they can't see the problem. ~G.K. Chesterton               Homework often becomes the dreaded “H” word around homes with school-aged children. Perhaps you know the feeling. You struggle with your child to get her to sit down and complete it, become frustrated trying to help her when she says, “That’s not how my teacher said to do it!,” or become stressed because your child can’t even remember what she’s supposed to do and you have no idea, either! So, begins another year of frustration for your whole family.             Or does it? The goal of homework should be to practice skills learned at school, help develop st...