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.                                                              #121 Holidays   He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool forever.  ~Chinese Proverb   So many children complain about not having anything to write about. The trick is to offer them real reasons to write, and then it will most likely be fun and easy for them to do. Holidays are perfect days to try this. From major holidays like Christmas and Hanukkah to fun ones like April Fool’s Day, special days provide special opportunities for writing. Try the ideas below to get your child writing today for all the fun reasons!   ●       N...

  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...

  The Christmas season has become a mixed set of emotions for us. My grandson was born Christmas Day 20 years ago -- extra annual joy! The brother of a young man we took for 6 years died Christmas eve this year of covid. This is the first year that our family is observing the holidays without our patriarch, Carl , and Murjan , our beloved cat. So, for sure, grief has wrapped itself around our holiday activities. Here, then, is an excerpt from Julie Potter's book, Harnessing the Power of Grief , that we have found insightful... Beginning to adjust You are not a stranger to this process. There are many times during your life when you have to adjust to and make your way in a new world: the first day of school, going away to college, getting a new job, marrying, moving to a new neighborhood, retiring and living in a new world with no colleagues and no 9-to-5 schedule, becoming ill or disabled at any age and living in a slower world with people surging on ahead of you, emigrating to a n...