MSI Press Blog

🌟   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 Summ...

  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 man...

   Today's tip for parents from two talented teachers comes from  365 Teacher Secrets for Parents  by Cindy McKinley Alder and Patti Trombly. #28 Learning Is Child's Play   Play is children's work. ~Maria Montessori   We often transfer our hurried lives onto our children. We think they should always be busy with something and it had better be productive. Often, we do not allow them just to be . Just to play . You remember that children learn best by doing . They are active learners. Young children learn more by their experiences than through words alone. That is why it is especially important for parents to provide a variety of experiences for their children. In this book, you will read about many ways to work with your child, but, please, do not forget about the importance of play ! Through play, cognitive, social, and emotional growth is accomplished. Through play and using their imagination, children learn about their world in ways no gr...

    Today's tip for parents from two talented teachers comes from  365 Teacher Secrets for Parents  by Cindy McKinley Alder and Patti Trombly.   #61 Time Out!   There is more to life than increasing its speed. ~Gandhi               Many children participate in extra-curricular activities. Here are two very important things to keep in mind if it seems your child hardly ever slows down.             The first is to think about whether all of the extra things she is doing are taking away from her education. Many activities that children are involved in after school and on weekends (such as music, dance, and especially sports) are very time consuming. Children too often are coming to school tired, saying they just couldn’t finish their homework because their soccer game wasn’t until after dinner and they didn’t get home until late. O...

  Today's tip for parents from two talented teachers comes from  365 Teacher Secrets for Parents  by Cindy McKinley Alder and Patti Trombly. #80 Top Ten Lists   To get your family involved in creating personal lists  try 1,400 Things To Be Happy About by Ann Kipfer. Your child can write his own unique ideas right in the book!   If you asked a room full of children the same age the title of their three favorite books, chances are there would be a variety of different books chosen as the “best.” Ask adults the same question, and you would definitely construct a list of many different books. Children often read one type of book, such as Diary of a Wimpy Kid (Junie B. Jones) or Harry Potter (J. K. Rawlings) and enjoy it so much they want to read the whole set. There is certainly nothing wrong with this! However, when your child sees a list of other books that people consider the best, it helps open his eyes to the many different books available...