MSI Press Blog

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. Song...

  Excerpt from 365 Teacher Secrets for Parents by Cindy Alder-McKinley & Patti Trombly.  Introduction How To Make This Book Work for Your Family: Congratulations! You have just taken the first step in helping your child improve not only his academics in elementary school but also his attitude toward school this year and for years to come. 365 Teacher Secrets for Parents is jam-packed with fun ways to work with and help your child. No longer does school have to be tough. Who says practicing things at home can’t be fun? We have written this book after years of teaching elementary school and many more years working closely with individual ele mentary-aged children. We’ve spent over ten years collecting 365 of the very best ideas and the most helpful activities that we have ever used successfully to help remediate and/ or enrich young children’s learning experiences, and now we are sharing them with you. We’ve spent over ten years collecting 365 of the very best ideas, the m...

  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). #11 Thinking Out Loud   Enthusiasm is contagious. Start an epidemic.  ~Unknown   Did you know that talking to yourself not only helps you organize your thoughts but also helps your child? When you are working through a problem, make it a point to say what you are thinking out loud. Look for opportunities to do this. For example:   "I need to make 100 cupcakes for the bake sale. If each muffin tin makes 12 cupcakes and I have 2 muffin tins I can make 24 at a time. So, let’s see… how many batches will I need to bake? I will divide 100 by 24…."   Your child will realize that adults, like children, must go through a series of steps to conquer a problem. If you're enthusiastic about learning and are willing to take the time to really think something ...

What is a  book jewel ? A sometimes-overlooked book with remarkable insight and potential significance. Each month, we share near-daily, or as often as possible, reviews of the monthly book jewel - short, succinct reviews that can be read in 1-2 minutes with links to the reviewer by reviewers whose words are worthy of being heard and whose opinions are worthy of being considered. Sometimes a couple of minutes contains more impressive thought than ten times that many. We will let you decide that. This month's book jewel is  365 Teacher Secrets for Parents  by Alder & Trombly.  Description: This reference book, written by two experienced and successful (and, frankly, brilliant and talented) elementary school teachers, provides a day-by-day set of practical ideas and activities that parents can do at home with their elementary school-age children to help them become better students while also having fun. Review by Jessie on Amazon: Great for homeschoolers, too! I wa...

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). #9 I Don’t Know. Let’s Find Out!   Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it. ~Michael Jordan   Yes, it is easy and enjoyable to tell your child about things in real-life situations, but what happens when the discussion continues further than your knowledge on that particular subject? It’s actually quite simple. Tell your child you just don’t know! This may shock him at first if he has never heard you say that before because children tend to think their teachers and parents know everything. However, we all know we don’t know it all. Teach your children that smart people don’t have all the answers, they just know how and where to find them. Finish your “I don’t know” with “but…” ...