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.   #75 Every Day’s a Holiday!   To show a child what once delighted you, to find the child’s delight added to your own, this is happiness.  ~J.B. Priestley   Holidays offer many ways to practice various reading skills in fun, motivating (and sometimes yummy!) ways. Try some of these ideas for some (or all!) holidays:   ●       Check out a book or two at the library about the holiday, then write out words associated with that holiday and play a special game of “Hidden Treasure!” with your child (Idea #20); ●       use those words to sort by features or put in alphabetical order; ●       write out the name of the holiday (or choose a large word associated with the holiday and see how many smaller words your family can come up with using...

  Many thanks to Cindy McKinley Alder, co-author with Patti Trombly  of 365 Teacher Secrets for Parents and 10 Quick Homework Tips ,  for this guest post Preventing Summer Slide Cindy McKinley Alder     Summer Break is long and, often, when kids go back to school in the fall, they have lost a bit of learning.   This is called “Summer Slide”.   While the amount of time out of school is not likely to change, you can absolutely cut down the amount of learning loss over the summer months.   The key is to make things fun and authentic.   Handing out workbooks might be fun for some kids.   But if you think your kids would just roll their eyes and protest, try to find some real-life (and fun!) ways to get them practicing their skills.   For most kids, having some READING time every day during the summer is an excellent way to keep skills current over the months without school.   You can read to them if they are young or the...

Today's daily excerpt comes from 365 Teacher Secrets for Parents by veteran teachers Cindy Alder and Patti Trombly Tip  #362 Build Vocabulary   The most important thing is to read as much as you can, like I did. It will give you an understanding of what makes good writing and it will enlarge your vocabulary. ~J. K. Rowling   Parents are their children’s first role model for vocabulary. So, it is important for you to create an environment which enriches your child’s vocabulary. Below are some ways to help increase vocabulary at home. ●        Post your child’s spelling words at the message center, and challenge the family to try to use as many of them as possible during the week. ●        Start a Word of the Week activity. Each family member can take a turn choosing a word for the week. Try to make it one you may actually use in conversation. Think of a common word like talkative and find a more ...

  Congratulations to Colette McNeil on her book,  Understanding the Challenge of "No" for Children with Autism , being selected as the  Kops-Fetherling International Book Awards  legacy award in the category of education.   “The author invites you on a journey in unfolding small layers of awareness,  illuminating how thoughtfully chosen vocabulary can greatly enhance your relationship with a child with autism. The pages within are filled with teachable tales exploring the communication, emotional regulation and relationship difficulties that common habitual language may trigger when engaging children with autism. Each tale absorbs the reader in a typical life scenario related to specific usage of the word, no, creating an engaging, informative, and personally relatable experience. Discussions following embed autism education and psychology theories to promote conceptualization and offer suggestions for enriched interactions.” Read more posts about Cole...

  Congratulations to Colette McNeil, whose book, Choice and Structure for Children with Autism  has been selected as a Gold Medalist for the 2020 Reader Views Literary Awards in the education category. It was also selected for a silver award in the parenting category. This is the second of Colette's books to be selected for this distinction.  Understanding the Challenge of "No" for Children with Autism   earned a silver medal in the adult classics - nonfiction category.  To read more posts about Colette and her books, click  HERE .