[Article] Plan for a Great Parent-Teacher Conference
Kindergarten through high school, effective communication with your child’s teachers can contribute to school success. A shared view of your child’s strengths and challenges, goals for progress, and a workable plan, can pave the way for a great school year. Yet, the anticipation of a parent-teacher conference can make some parents apprehensive. We have…
[Article] Tips for Getting the Most Out of Your Child’s Progress Report
The end of the marking period is a time for parents to assess their child’s progress—to make sure they’re on track, improving in subjects, or to see if they need help. This is the time to note any areas of difficulty. It’s important to look carefully at each area of your child’s progress report—how are…
Understanding Your Child’s School Performance
The end of the marking period is a time for parents to assess their child’s progress—to make sure they’re on track, improving in subjects, or to see if they need help. But how do you decipher your child’s progress based on a simple letter grade? Does a B mean she truly understands History, or is…
Working with Your Child’s Teacher: Tips for a Great New School Year
Between the stacks of sheets to sign and return and the back-to-school night presentations, all the new school year information can become overwhelming. But get beyond the dress codes, hot lunch orders, and school supply lists and you can find valuable information about how to forge a great working relationship with your child’s teacher—open lines…
[Article] The Imagery-Language Connection for Memory: Tips for Teachers
Nearly all the volumes written on memory include references to imagery. Memory is often referred to as a mental impression. When we remember something, we access a mental representation of it. -Nanci Bell, Visualizing and Verbalizing for Language Comprehension and Thinking Students are expected to learn new information, in topic areas they may or…
Tips for Coaching Youth Sports: The Imagery-Language Connection for Sports
Did you recently volunteer for a coaching position? Have you coached before? Are you tired of yelling at your team but don’t know how to get them to follow directions? Do you want this year to be a more positive experience for you and your players? If you answered yes to any of these questions,…
Imagine Better School-Day Mornings: Tips for Back-to-School
Perhaps your kids just spent the summer at camp. Or they spent long hours in the pool or at the beach. Maybe lazy days were spent reconnecting with friends and family. Regardless, the back-to-school transition may be a big change for your family. Why not take this opportunity to establish new habits that contribute…
Ready or Not, Here Comes School: Tips for Your Young Learner
A generation ago, kindergarten days were filled with activities like finger painting, “Hide-and-Go-Seek”, making friends and learning to be peaceful at nap time. And, while reading and spelling may have been introduced in first grade, there was nothing like today’s pressure for students to be performing according to grade-level standards. Sure, there is still…
Tips for Parents of Kids with a Comprehension Weakness: The Imagery-Language Connection at Home
When a student has an identified comprehension weakness, parents might pursue help for their academics. Unfortunately, language comprehension troubles can affect family life, too. A primary cause of language comprehension problems is difficulty creating an imagined gestalt. This is called weak concept imagery. This weakness causes individuals to get only “parts” of information they…
I Hate Reading!: Tips for Helping Your (very) Reluctant Reader
Do you have a child who would rather wash the dishes or help with the laundry than read a book? Do you have to beg and plead with them to sit down and read, whether it’s for school or fun? Maybe they even say they “hate reading.” It’s hard to know how to…
