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. #46 Other Problems   Difficulties are meant to rouse, not discourage. The human spirit is to grow strong by conflict. ~William Ellery Channing   There are various reasons why some children struggle in school, but not all of the reasons are related to academics.             Situations and problems at home can greatly affect your child’s academic success. A sensitive child may not be able to focus or concentrate because of a change in family structure such as separation or divorce, a death of a loved one, or even feelings of guilt due to harsh words exchanged.             Your family’s life is personal, as it should be. However, if there is a serious situation occurring at home that you feel is or could be affecting y...

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. #185 Estimating   No great discovery was ever made without a bold guess. ~Sir Isaac Newton   You can help your child estimate in math by finding real life situations where estimating can be fun. Our ability to estimate well improves with experience so helping younger children learn this skill in interesting and exciting ways now can benefit them in many ways later. For all children, estimating the answer to a problem before solving it allows them, afterward, to answer the question, "Does the answer make sense?" If their answer is way off the estimation, they know to go back and recheck the addition, subtraction, etc. Here are some ways to work on estimation with her (and your whole family!) in your everyday life:   ●       How many bites do you think it will take to finish your bowl of cereal?...