MSI Press Blog

Back Story  of  365 Teachers Secrets for Parents: Fun Ways to Help Your Elementary Child Succeed in School  by Cindy McKinley Alder & Patti Trombly Nearly 30 years ago, I met Patti in the back row of a grad school classroom at Eastern Michigan University.  Our professor had us begin the class by writing out a “Bliss List”: all the things that made us happy.  When we compared lists, we were shocked to see they were almost identical! We were both due to have our first babies in a few months, both elementary school teachers, both working on a Masters in Reading, and both had a weakness for soft pretzels. We didn’t know it at the time, but that day sparked a decades-long friendship. Throughout the years, Patti taught upper elementary, and I taught the lower grades.  We met weekly with our four kids and, of course, always ended up talking about teaching and how eager the parents were to find ways to help their kids at home.  I eventually decided to stay home with my kids more and became

Exceptional teachers Cindy McKinley and Patti Trombly have put together a book that can help any parent through this extended period of sheltering in place. Packed with home activities for learning, readers can pick any number that appeal to them or fit their personal family circumstances. Here is one example that is bound to make the time spent in lockdown more fun: #144 Steal the Beat From a very young age, parents and teachers use song and rhyme to teach children information. From teaching the different sounds animals make in “Old McDonald” to learning the letters of the alphabet in the “Alphabet Song,” children grasp concepts and information easier when it’s presented in rhyme or song or both! Keep that in mind when you see your child struggling with a difficult task or concept. Try brainstorming with your child a rhyme that might help her spell a certain word or remember a definition.  It is usually easiest to utilize a song that everyone is familiar with. Songs su

Exceptional teachers Cindy McKinley and Patti Trombly have put together a book that can help any parent through this extended period of sheltering in place. Packed with home activities for learning, readers can pick any number that appeal to them or fit their personal family circumstances. Here is one example that is bound to make the time spent in lockdown more fun: #231 What’s the Matter? Matter is everywhere, but what exactly is it, anyway? Matter is something that is observable with some of our five senses. Matter has weight and takes up space. It is all around us. To help your child understand the concept of matter, as well as its various phases, here are some facts to share and activities you can try: (1) Discuss what is and is not matter. (For instance rocks, milk, and air are matter; ideas, words, and feelings are not.)  (2) Make a chart of what you come up with. Look around your home, even take a walk or a drive to find examples around you.  (3) Further

  We cannot tell the back story of 10 Quick Homework Tips without telling the story of is sister book, 365 Teacher Secrets for Parents . So, here is the link to that back story , which we shared last Sunday Back Story of  10 Quick Homework Tips by Cindy McKinley Alder & Patti Trombly [Please do read the back story for 365 Teacher Secrets for Parents to learn how Cindy and Patti met.] A few years ago, after listening to the frustrations of parents trying to find time for everything as well as struggling to work with their kids at home more during the pandemic, Patti and I decided to create a “quick tip” book to help. It seemed homework issues were especially overwhelming and challenging for busy parents.   So, we worked together again and wrote a short book on   easy ways parents could help ease the frustrations of homework battles.   10 Quick Homework Tips was not as time-consuming, but just as fun for us to write.   It feels great to share so many decades of our practical, h

  Books on discount through Kindle (Kindle Countdown) Books on discount through Kindle (Kindle Countdown) Creative Aging   (Vassiliadis & Romer) USA Best Books Awards finalist 11/6 - 11/13 El Poder de lo Transpersonal  (Ustman) 11/7 - 11/14 Healing from Incest  (Henderson & Emerton) Book of the Year Award finalist 11/9 - 11/15 How to Live from Your Heart  (Hucknall) Book of the Year Award finalist 11/10 - 11/17 Books on discount at  MSI Press webstore /books available while supplies last: 10 Quick Homework Tips  (McKinley-Alder & Trombly) 365 Teacher Secrets for Parents: Fun Ways to Help Your Child Succeed in Elementary School  (McKinley-Alder & Trombly) $5 book sale at  MSI Press webstore /books available while supplies last 100 Tips and Tools for Managing Chroni c Illness (Charnas) 108 Yoga and Self-Care Practices for Busy Mamas  (Gentile) For posts on any of these books or their authors, type in the name in the search bar; you will have plenty to read! Sign up for th

  Books on discount through Kindle (Kindle Countdown) Books on discount through Kindle (Kindle Countdown) Creative Aging (Vassiliadis & Romer) USA Best Books Awards finalist 11/6 - 11/13 El Poder de lo Transpersonal (Ustman) 11/7 - 11/14 Healing from Incest (Henderson & Emerton) Book of the Year Award finalist 11/9 - 11/15 How to Live from Your Heart (Hucknall) Book of the Year Award finalist 11/10 - 11/17 Books on discount at  MSI Press webstore /books available while supplies last 10 Quick Homework Tips  (McKinley-Alder & Trombly) 365 Teacher Secrets for Parents: Fun Ways to Help Your Child Succeed in Elementary School  (McKinley-Alder & Trombly) $5 book sale at  MSI Press webstore /books available while supplies last 100 Tips and Tools for Managing Chroni c Illness (Charnas) 108 Yoga and Self-Care Practices for Busy Mamas  (Gentile) For posts on any of these books or their authors, type in the name in the search bar; you will have plenty to read! Sign up for 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 interesting word for it like loquacious . Put the word and its meaning

  Patti Trombly has a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education and a Master’s Degree in the Teaching of Reading.  Even after 20 years of teaching in elementary school, middle school and college, she still looks for teachable moments in everyday life and for new ways to help children learn. She is a parent of two, a teacher and a business owner.  With Cindy McKinley Alder, she co-authored two books:         365 Teacher Secrets for Parents: Fun Ways to Help Your Child Succeed in Elementary School . 10 Quick Homework Tips  (one of the books in our pandemic series) Check out the 365 Teacher Secrets  website  for more "fun ways" to help learners -- and get a workbook that goes with it. For more posts about Patti and her books, click  HERE .

Exceptional teachers Cindy McKinley and Patti Trombly have put together a book that can help any parent through this extended period of sheltering in place during the current covid 19 pandemic. Packed with home activities for learning, readers can pick any number that appeal to them or fit their personal family circumstances. Here is one example: #203  Bug Off!  (Game for +, −, ×, ÷) Materials: a new fly swatter; flashcards, or note cards. 1. Hand your child the fly swatter and tell her she’s going to practice math. Already she’s interested and ready to enjoy this game to help improve basic math facts in addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division. 2. Place cards with the answers to math facts she is working on in school or struggling with, face up, spreading them fairly far apart. Then, simply ask a question such as, “What is 3x4?” and have her slap the fly swatter on the index card with the correct answer. Variations: • Use another fly swatter and play the

  So appropriate for a week of honoring teachers.... Excerpt from 365 Teacher Secrets for Parents (McKinley & Trombly) -  #364 The Most Important Lessons   The key is taking responsibility and initiative, deciding what your life is about and prioritizing your life around the most important things. ~ Stephen Covey               In this book, we have talked about 363 ways that you can help enhance what your child learns in the classroom, but we also hope that you have learned that inside the school walls is definitely not the only place where learning takes place. Here are a few things we hope you see a little differently now: ●        that there are teachable moments everywhere when you know what to look for; ●        that often it is the questions that matter more than the answers; ●        that practicing can be fun; ●        that setting a good example is an easy (and possibly the most effective way) to get your points across; ●        that having a plan and being organized can