For Parents

As your child prepares to transition from second to third grade, it’s important to remember that there are many things that you can do at home to set them up for success in math. While many skills will be taught explicitly by your child’s teacher during the school year, there are important prerequisite skills that will give them a step up to starting third grade.

Entering kindergarten is an exciting milestone for both families and kids. Because it is seen as the first official year of formal schooling, the transition may seem a bit daunting. Even for children who attended preschool, kindergarten will feel different due to an increased focus on academics rather than just exploration and play. While preschoolers generally prepare through songs, read-alouds, and learning basic soft skills to manage behavior, there are specific early literacy skills they can strengthen to help them feel more confident and prepared.

Elementary teacher Alison Carter gives advice on choosing the best summer camp for your child. It includes tips on camp types, costs, duration, inclusivity, activities, and other features to consider for an optimal combination of your child's leasure, learning and development during summertime.

As your child prepares to enter kindergarten, it’s important to remember that there are many things that you can do at home to set them up for success in math. While many skills will be taught explicitly by your child’s teacher during the school year, there are important prerequisite skills that will give them a step up to starting kindergarten.

In this article, we’re covering all the math skills your child can master to be 100% ready for school. You’ll also find links to free learning resources that will help you in preparing your child for kindergarten math.

Syllable awareness is a foundational early literacy skill that directly relates to a child’s later ability to decode words and build reading fluency. Think of syllable recognition as a way to learn the sound structure of words so they can one day read new words quickly, even if they don’t know what they mean. Once fluent in reading, older readers use more advanced skills, like using context clues, to learn even more sophisticated words. As you can see, syllable awareness is just one of the first critical steps in the long journey towards reading like an adult!

By the end of first grade, students should be able to determine an unknown whole number in an addition or subtraction equation relating three whole numbers. As students begin understanding addition as part plus part equals total and subtraction as total minus part equals part, they can begin to see patterns emerge in the relationships between numbers in equations. While an explicit naming of inverse operations does not occur until later grades, students begin to see that using a subtraction fact to determine the missing number in an addition problem (and vice versa) is an effective problem-solving strategy.

One of the challenges for those living with ADHD is processing and managing stimuli, which can often lead to overstimulation. According to the UK organisation ADHDZone, those with ADHD can experience overstimulation as a flooding sensation due to specific sensory input. This can be from a variety of noises, lighting, too many people, fatigue, different emotions or mental overload. 

This article will dive a little deeper into the causes of overstimulation in children with ADHD, and explore key techniques to reduce it during home life. 

Operational Properties are used in mathematical fields to describe fundamental rules for operations such as addition, subtraction, and multiplication. Understanding that we can generalize the way that numbers and operations “behave” empowers students to see patterns and apply what they know to unfamiliar problems.

There are three major addition properties: the Commutative Property, the Identity Property, and the Associative Property.

This spring, we have curated a selection of six excellent books that teach kids about ecological awareness. They make great reading for a whole family and will help you foster your child’s love and appreciation for nature. All the stories are age-appropriate for readers in preschool and elementary grades and can be read both at home and in classroom!

If you’ve ever wondered why the Cadbury bunny lays eggs, you’ve come to the right place! Easter is a fascinating holiday that combines an important religious feast day with springtime lore with ancient roots. Here’s an article to delight you and your child with interesting facts about Easter, as your family prepares for this fun-filled holiday.