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NEW! Being Careless and Not Being Prepared Not Knowing How To Take a Test Not Managing Information Correctly Attention Issues We are beginning a new series today, similar to the common test taking mistakes younger kids make, but this time it is from another vantage point: older children.  And with it comes new challenges and […]

Back to School Checklist: Yes, it’s that time again! In our house, we are a month out from the first day of school! I can’t tell you how many parents I’ve talked to who failed to get their child ready for the beginning of the school year. Proper back-to-school preparations are about much more than buying […]

This mom asks a great question regarding her daughter’s speech development–while she is ahead in some things, she has fallen behind here.  Here are some great tools if your child, too, is experiencing some speech development delays. Question from a Concerned Mom My daughter just turned 3 and seems to be bright as she has […]

Maren Schmidt shares her practical, put-it-into-action advice and insight about children and drawing with them. Training the Eye to See Betty Edwards in her book, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, explains that around age ten our logical “left-brain” style of thinking begins to dominate and overrides our creative “right-brain” type of thinking. Drawing with Children Our […]

Summer Slide Around this time every year, parents begin worrying about the dreaded “summer slide.” This term defines the learning loss kids experience over the summer due to the fact that they aren’t going to school every day and engaging their minds in reading, thinking and problem solving. Keep the Momentum Going Many parents scoff […]

Aware and Prepared Parents are all aware of brain drain and want to prevent summer slide. “Research over 100 years has shown us – students not engaged in some kind of educational activity over the summertime typically loses about one to three months of learning.  And the decline is more detrimental for math than it […]

Keep Their Minds Active This summer and all year long – work with your child to keep her mind active.  Here are five easy ways to ensure that your child doesn’t lose any ground this summer – even if you are traveling with your family. 5 Tips for Teaching on the Go Institute a 30-minute […]

Distracted Cycle It seems there’s always so much to do, and with so much stimuli around us in our multi-tasking mentality, it seems we are constantly distracted. It’s getting harder and harder to focus on anything for any substantial amount of time. Focus for Preschoolers Kathleen Kannass, Ph.D., associate professor of developmental psychology at Loyola […]

Stand Out Child Have you seen this highly entertaining, super cute and laugh-out-loud funny television show called Little Big Shots? As the title proclaims, it’s about little kids with big talents, each one a stand out child.  It’s like a cross between America’s Got Talent mixed with a big helping of Kids Say the Darndest Things […]

It’s always refreshing to hear someone speak a foreign language. Whether it’s the mysteriousness of it or its unique pronunciation- speaking a foreign language truly unlocks another door into our diverse world. Learning a foreign language can be hard, especially at an older age. Human brains stop developing around the age of 25, so it’s […]