How to Get into Your Child’s Classroom

The year Lori’s oldest son Max was in my first grade classroom, she often came to work one on one with children, assist in projects, or partner read. Since she had an infant, she would bring a car seat with her little one strapped in to sleep while she helped out or just spent time in the room. Max loved school that year and blossomed in every way. A few weeks into Max’s second grade year, Lori stopped by after school one day to ask me a question. There at the classroom door, her eyes filled with tears as she …

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Hidden Danger & Get OVERWHELMED & BEGIN A M.O.M. INITIATIVE MENTOR GROUP & MONDAY LINK UP

THIS IS THE WEEK! We’ve got some GREAT STUFF going on at The M.O.M. Initiative! Starting today…Get OVERWHELMED ~ 31 STORIES FROM M.O.M. FREE! It’s our gift to you! SUBSCRIBE, COMMENT or LINK UP to win one of today’s great giveaway… Prayers of My Heart prayer journal by Debbie Taylor Williams, so moms can start the year off journaling their prayers for their kids. AND The Christian Mama’s Guide to Having a Baby by Erin MacPherson And don’t forget to SIGN UP to begin a M.O.M. Initiative Mentor Group in your area!   Now, here’s today’s post by Tara Dovenbarger:  LOOKS SAFE Six legs …

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Mentoring thru the School Year

         Subscribe today for your FREE copy of… FACING YOUR FEARS – 31 STORIES FROM M.O.M.     By now many schooling families have written or received their first progress reports. Areas of weakness emerge, the lunch menu sounds dull, and new pencils have broken tips. Moms who have a mentoring mindset will succeed, even when school year challenges stack up against us. How can mentoring give you a Grade A school year? Teacher to Student Whether the parent wears the hat of “academic teacher” or shares it with another adult, teachers have the potential to mentor …

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Parents and Teachers

Proverbs 31 for School Parents

Subscribe today and receive your FREE copy of… FACING OUR FEARS – 31 STORIES FROM M.O.M.     Would you like to be the parent every teacher hopes for? No matter the setting where your child receives education (traditional, co-op, library time, home), teachers appreciate parents with”partner hearts.” When I recall the many parents who were gifts to my classrooms, names like “Connie, Mayisa, Barb, Kathy, and Bill” come to mind. They made me a better teacher, and they made my classroom more effective. Their children loved having them there, and they were imprinted on my teacher-heart. It’s worth it …

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Teacher Trouble & Day 5 Giveaways

Today’s Great Giveaways! The Plan A MOM in a Plan B World By Debbie Taylor Williams Do you ever feel like throwing your hands in the air and saying, “I can’t do this”?  Being a mom is hard and life is filled with Plan Bs.  Whether your Plan B is a strong willed child, a rebellious teen, being a single mom, a chronically ill child, or a tot’s tantrums, God doesn’t want you to live in Plan B despair.  Join Debbie, mom to two adult children and Mimi to three grandchildren, as she walks you through 18 parenting land mines …

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Summer Reader Guarantee

It doesn’t matter the age of your child; every mom hopes her child will spend more of the summer reading than channel surfing. On the same day school ended in our city, an email arrived from the Superintendent of schools. “Please remember that reading is a great way to keep engaged and learning over the summer.  I encourage you to sign up for a Summer Reading Program at one of our local branch libraries – it’s free and for all ages.  I invite our students to read consistently each day, and for our parents of younger children to make sure …

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How Parents Support (and Sabotage) Student Success (Part II)

  As parents, we want to help our children succeed in school. In my twenty-two years as a classroom teacher (twenty-one as a parent), I’ve seen parent strategies that pay big dividends. I’ve also seen well-intentioned efforts that actually cost the kids. Today is Part 2 of a series in which we explore one support strategy and one form of sabotage. (You can find Part 1 here.)   Support 2:  Expand your child’s listening vocabulary.  A child who starts school with an enriched listening vocabulary has a huge advantage over a child who does not. Sure, when they’re both learning basic …

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How Parents Support (and Sabotage) Student Success (Part I)

As parents, we want to help our children succeed in school. In my twenty-two years as a classroom teacher (twenty-one as a parent), I’ve seen parent strategies that pay big dividends. I’ve also seen well-intentioned efforts that actually cost the kids. Today, I’m going to start a series in which we explore one support strategy and one form of sabotage. Support 1:  Help your child learn their multiplication tables.  Through the 20s. As soon as possible. I’m not suggesting “super baby” tactics. But do take advantage of edutainment software programs that will drill your child over and over again. Make …

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Help!

Do you have a nagging feeling that your child’s development is not quite right?  Does your doctor see areas of concern?  You may know you want help, but have no idea where to turn.  Today my goal is to give you some information to help you get started! The very first place to begin is with Child Find, www.childfindidea.org.  This website will help you obtain the contact information for your specific state. By law, each state is required to locate and evaluate every child between birth and age 21 who may need special education or early intervention services.  This evaluation …

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“Teacher Trouble: P.T.A. Assignment”

They take backpacks filled with folders, pencils, and hopes for a great year. When conversations begin creating a picture of your child’s school year, you may discover you’re assigned something you didn’t request. You may be scheduled for “teacher trouble.”  “How could anyone be unkind to my child?” we wonder. “Why are they so harsh?” we ask.  And “That didn’t seem like a professional way to handle that,” we mutter. We try to think positively, be understanding, and let the year get started. But once underway, parents may find they have, indeed, been signed up for “teacher trouble”. How do …

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