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. #211 Roll of the Dice   Just play. Have fun. Enjoy the game. ~ Michael Jordan   Materials: two dice, paper, pencil, calculator (for younger children)   Objective: to be the first to reach 100 points (or other agreed upon number) by rolling the dice.   Sometimes the best part of playing a game, for children, is rolling the dice or spinning the spinner. Use your child's love of dice to play this game that helps practice addition and subtraction. Here's how to play:   1.      Everyone playing picks a number from 1 to 6. That number will be his or her unlucky number. 2.      The first person rolls the dice. If her unlucky number does not show up, she adds the dice together and writes the sum down on paper. 3.      Now, she h...

Today's tip for parents from two talented teachers comes from  365 Teacher Secrets for Parents  by Cindy McKinley Alder and Patti Trombly.   #172 “Write" Across the Curriculum If you think you can, you can. And if you think you can't, you're right. ~Marykay Ash   In classrooms all across the country, informational writing in the  academic  areas is coming to the forefront. Writing across the entire curriculum has been shown to increase comprehension of the material as well as help children become proficient writers. There are various ways to provide opportunities for your child to write across the curriculum. Start by making (or purchasing) a journal to write in. She could use the journal for any subject. Below are just a few suggestions: ●        Math Journal : When your child conquers addition, have her use  words  to describe how to solve a simple addition problem. She can imagine herself explaining how to solve th...