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Showing posts matching the search for Cindy McKinley Alder

Five Tips to Help Parents and Children Survive Time off from School and at Home (guest post by Cindy McKinley Alder)

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🌟   5 Tips for Surviving This Time off of School and in the House!  🌟 To be sure, this is an unprecedented time, and an unusual break from school. Your  kids might feel frustrated they aren’t getting to go to school, see their friends, and engage in their favorite sports and activities right now.   But every time your family chooses to stay home, help your kids see that they are actually being brave and helpful. You can help your kids think of this time not like a punishment, but rather like they are giving their community a great gift. Staying home, as many are, is a true act of solidarity. It’s a sacrifice they can give so that nurses, doctors, and all those for whom it is not possible to stay home and protected (from first responders to grocery store personnel, and many, many others) can continue to do their jobs and keep the rest of us safe and keep our lives as normal as possible. Here are a few ideas from an article I wrote about stopping Summer Slide and from my boo

The Story behind the Book: 10 Quick Homework Tip

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  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

The Story behind the Book: 365 Teacher Secrets for Parents

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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

Author in the News: Cindy McKinley Alder Interviewed by Authority Magazine on "The 5 Things Parents Can Do to Help Their Children Thrive and Excel in School"

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   Almost missed this one! It came out a few months ago, but as long as children go to school, the information is valuable. Find out what these five things are HERE . Cindy is the co-author of two award-winning books, along with Patti Trombly, of which MSI Press is proud. Check them out: Read details HERE . Purchase from Amazon HERE . Get 25% discount with coupon code FF25 at www.msipress.com/shop. Read details HERE . Purchase from Amazon HERE . Get 25% discount with coupon code FF25 at www.msipress.com/shop. Read more posts about Cindy McKinley Alder HERE .  Read more posts about Patti Trombly HERE . Sign up for the MSI Press LLC newsletter.

Cindy McKinley Alder & Patti Trombly: Kops-Fetherling International Book Awards/Gold Medal

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  Congratulations to Cindy McKinley Alder & Patti Trombly on their book, 10 Quick Homework Tips , being selected as the Kops-Fetherling International Book Awards gold medal winner in the category of education.   For more information on this book, click HERE . For more posts on Cindy and Patti and their books, click HERE .

Ah, Thursday! Time to Share Book Endorsements -- for 10 Quick Homework Tips

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  Want to know if 10 Quick Homework Tips  by Cindy McKinley Alder and Patti Trombly is worth reading? Since we published it, certainly we believe it is. However, as evidence, take a look at the endorsements of others. GOLD WINNER for EDUCATION KOPS-FETHERLING INTERNATIONAL BOOK AWARDS Reader's Favorite evaluation: Cindy McKinley Alder and Patti Trombly's 10 Quick Homework Tips is an excellent manual for all parents to help them deal with homework and use the Homework Agreement so that pressure can be taken off the family. The tips are simple and easy to apply so that an organized atmosphere conducive to learning can be created at home. It is a good way to work towards building a space that is just right for the child to finish the homework and produce quality work. The approach to the topic is excellent and makes it easy for both parents and children to deal with homework better so that it is manageable and the ambiance at home is healthy and positive.   Purchase: Kindle versio

Author in the News: Cindy McKinley Alder Contributes to Article in Twinkl

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  It's h..e..r..e! Summer vacation. Now, how do you prevent your kids from forgetting everything they learned in school this year before returning in the fall? Cindy Alder has some suggestions in a Twinkl article, " How Can Parents and Carers Prevent Summer Learning Loss? " Read more posts about Cindy and her books  HERE . Sign up for the MSI Press LLC newsletter.

Author in the News: Cindy McKinley Alder Contributes to Niche.Com Article

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It may hard to imagine it, but summer vacation for schoolkids is just around the corner. With that in mind, take a look at an article to which MSI Press author, Cindy Alder, contributed, " How to Keep Kids' Skills Sharp over the Summer. " Read more posts about Cindy and her books  HERE . Sign up for the MSI Press LLC newsletter.

Author in the News: Cindy McKinley Alder Contributes to an Article on Tutors in Romper

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  Are you facing the need to get a tutor for a child? Any idea what is a fair price? This article in Romper, to which Cindy Alder contributed, should take care of your questions: " Here's How Much You're Actually Supposed to Pay a Tutor ." Read more posts about Cindy and her books  HERE . Sign up for the MSI Press LLC newsletter.

MSI Press Authors and Their Cats

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In honor of Caturday, we are sharing photos of the cats who own MSI Press authors, starting with Sula, pictured above, who is herself an MSI Press author. Click HERE  to see Sula's works. Simon is owned by Joanna Charnas, author of chronic illness support books and A Movie Lover's Search for  Romance , who says he is her "foster failure." Click HERE to see Joanna's works. Jeremy Feig was owned by Shelly. He wrote a book about her, How My Cat Made Me a Better Man , that won a book of the year award. Click HERE   to read about Shelly, including excerpts from the book. Carl and Betty Lou Leaver are owned by Intrepid about whom they wrote a book, stuffed with illustrations, and five other cats. Click HERE to see Intrepid . In the picture, Happy (black & white) and Murjan (red & white) share a cat bed. Cindy McKinley Alder is owned by Watson, shown here wrapped in a ribbon. So cute! Click HERE to see Cindy's contributions to the field of teaching, parenting

Daily Excerpts: Excerpt from 10 Quick Homework Tip - Homework Agreements

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  Today's excerpt comes from 10 Quick Homework Tips by authors Cindy McKinley Alder and Patti Trombly: TIP # 2 TYPE UP AN OFFICIAL HOMEWORK AGREEMENT     Like anything worth doing in life, happiness takes time and patience and consistency. ~Mark Manson   Why is this Important?  That idea of heading off stress by being proactive about homework is perhaps best used in the creation of a Homework Agreement.  Quite simply, this is an agreement your family makes that states when, where, and how homework is expected to be done. Having a plan before school starts in the fall allows you to avoid that “you against them” feeling that so often is attached to homework.  If the year has already begun, though, there is still no time like the present to make a great change for the better! What You Can Do: Have you ever realized that it is easier to get out of something if you can "blame something else"?  “Sorry we can’t come to your son’s piano recital; we have a family reunion that d

14 MSI Press Authors Earn Book Awards in the Kops-Fetherling International Book Awards Competition

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  Congratulations to MSI Press's many talented authors for a strong showing in the 2020 Kops-Fetherling International Book Awards competition . The books and their awards are listed below. We will present each individual over the next couple of weeks so that readers can get to know the books and their authors. Definitely, each book is deserving (in our admittedly partially biased opinion) of its standing in the competition. Here are the 14 MSI books that placed in the competition. Phoenix Award Best New Voice Health and Fitness: Women, We're Only Old Once by Bertha Cooper. Gold Medal, Education: 10 Quick Homework Tips by Cindy McKinley Alder and Patti Trombly. Silver Medal, Science: Rainstorm of Tomorrow by Renyuan Dong Honorable Mention, Children's Picture Book: Noah's New Puppy by Vincent Rice with Geri Henderson Honorable Mention, Inspiration/Motivation: Weekly Soul by Dr. Frederic Craigie Honorable Mention, Mind, Body, & Spirit: How to Stay Calm in Chaos b

Book Alert: 10 Quick Homework Tips

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Released today: 10 Quick Homework Tips . with special advise for activities during a quarantine. Written by two teachers with 40 years of combined experience: Cindy McKinley Alder and Patti Trombly.   Check out their other book that also has many activities that can be done during a pandemic: 365 Teacher Secrets for Parents . And here is another source of hood activities to help during quarantine from Black Parenting Magazine: click here .

Introducing Patti Trombly, MSI Press Author

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  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 .

Helping Children at Home: Thinking Out Loud as a Teaching Technique (book excerpt from 365 Teacher Secrets for Parents)

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Given a growing number of states with stay-home orders, many parents find themselves home with their children whose schools have been closed and searching for ways to both entertain and education them. Here is one easy-to-use at home tip from 365 Teacher Secrets for Parents . #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

The Story behind the Book: Communicative Focus (Shekhtman & Kupchanka)

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  Communicative Focus  was written through collaboration of Boris Shekhtman, who had left the Foreign Service Institute to open his own highly successful private school, using language teaching techniques that were quite unique but extremely effective, and Dina Kupchanka, a young teacher who taught for him.  The realization of the principles introduced in  Communicative Focus  had appeared earlier as actual classroom exercises in several publications, a book published by Cambridge University Press ( Developing Professional-Level Foreign Language Proficiency ),  How to Improve Your Foreign Language Immediately  (an immensely popular book published by MSI Press), and articles in the Journal for Distinguished Language Studies. The theory behind these activities had never been spelled quite so explicitly before (lack of room in the previous publications to include theory). Further, it took some time before the profession was ready to move on from teaching language as linguistics and teachi