Recent Articles
'Child-centered' learning key to school readiness
Think back to your fifth-grade classroom. Chances are, your experience was more Ferris Bueller than Summerhill School. You sat at your desk and tried to stay attentive while your teacher droned on (and on) about places and dates you didn't remember two weeks later. "Very few people actually learn t
Read More »AVID program reclaims forgotten students
Our schools are filled with them: kids who show up, hand in most assignments and drift through the day without making waves or turning heads. This "forgotten middle," found in all regional, ethnic and economic groups, seldom advancing to higher education, was largely ignored until 1980, when San
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Math and Science SMART!
When ParentMap’s education expert Linda Morgan agreed to let us reprint part of her forthcoming book, Beyond Smart: Boosting Your Child’s Social, Emotional, and Academic Potential, we jumped at the chance. After all, Morgan — when she’s not raking in awards for journalistic excellence — spends her d
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Tater tots: New ideas for picky eaters
You’d think that we’d have it down by now. After all, we’ve been in the business of feeding our kids for a long time. But the same tired old questions keep cropping up: Why can’t we get our kids to eat vegetables? How bad are chips and pop, anyway? Is chicken soup really good for the soul? When I
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A talk with the 'Happiest Baby' doc
He’s been dubbed the new millennium’s Dr. Spock — and sure enough, Dr. Harvey Karp’s best-selling books, The Happiest Baby on the Block and The Happiest Toddler on the Block, line the bookshelves of thousands of today’s parents. Karp, a nationally renowned pediatrician, child development speciali
Read More »The Importance of Preschool
I loved preschool: puzzles, paints and plenty of play. We adored musical chairs, were crazy for crackers, and at rest time, dutifully rolled out blankets and teddy bears. I have no idea whether Miss Mimi — our practically perfect preschool teacher — followed any sort of standardized curriculum. I d
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Taming test anxiety
Your child is taking a test tomorrow and he’s a bundle of raw nerves. He can’t sleep. His stomach hurts and he knows — just knows — that he’ll blank on every fact he ever learned in history. Or math or English or even “life skills,” which is really code for sex ed. In fact, it doesn’t matter whic
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What to do when your child cheats
Think back to third grade. It’s spelling-test day, and the word is “money.” Would that be “m-o-n-i-e”? Maybe, if you just peeked a bit over your friend’s shoulder and took a look . . . he’s writing the word now … there it is! “Monny!” OK, you never copied someone else’s paper. But maybe your best
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