9 mins read

Ways to Engage Babies and Toddlers in Reading

The beginning years: The importance of the first 5 years Do you have a little one at home and have you thought about how you can challenge your baby and toddler on learning and staying engaged in reading? Babies’ brains continue to form after they are born. They are forming for physical development, and  also…

4 mins read

Five Best Practices for School Success

“You don’t have to make it perfect, but you can make it great.” – Alessio, my 5-year old son, advising his frustrated little sister on why her squiggly lines are okay in her first attempts at writing the alphabet

It’s back-to-school time again.  In families across America the homework showdowns have already begun.   Parents struggle with homework almost as much as kids do.  After a full day at school, it’s hard to get …

3 mins read

The Effects of Academic Parental Pressure on Kids

As a parent, there are few pleasures greater than your child succeeding at school. However, if you put too much academic parental pressure on kids to do well, it can backfire severely and end up affecting them negatively in a number of different ways. Albert Einstein once said, "Education is what remains after one has…

2 mins read

Graduation is upon us…. but so is the pandemic!

Regardless of where you live, the pandemic is continuing to have an impact. Last year at this time, two of my six kids were impacted by graduation ceremonies being canceled. One child was finishing high school, another was wrapping up life as an elementary school student. In our house, it meant no ceremonies, no proms,…