By Dr. Shawna Della Cerra, Ed.D The summer season is known to cause a pronounced dip – or ‘slide’ – in children’s reading skills. With an abundance of distractions and a shake‑up of routine, getting children to read over the summer season can be a significant challenge. With a bit of thought and preparation, summertime can be the perfect time to enjoy fun and meaningful …
Top 10 Summer Reads – An Ocean of Possibilities! Read More »
Automaton kits make it easy for families to create robots and learn mechanics! By Dani Camarena What is an automaton? It’s a mechanical object that self-operates once set into motion. Think of the automaton in the book, The Invention of Hugo Cabret. This machine could write on paper, which Hugo wanted to repair and get back into motion. Or how about those Transformers? Those are …
Let’s take a Deep Dive Into the World of Chocolate By Keri McWhorter Yes, that’s right, chocolate! I’m not a chocolatier, confectioner, or professional chocolate taster. I haven’t traveled the world in search of the best; I just simply LOVE chocolate. And because of my obsession, I have tried a lot of different kinds. As a young child, I lived out in the farmlands of …
Educating Our Children to Honor Differences with Respect and Kindness By Fynisa Engler A Story of Understanding When my daughter was in third grade, a boy named Tyler was in her class. Tyler was on the autism spectrum. He was sweet and extremely bright but struggled with social cues and some repetitive behaviors. Through the years, my daughter had Tyler in several of her classes. …
It’s time to get outside and see what you can see! By Emily Brunner Kids are natural-born scientists, and no one investigates the world quite like they do! Everything is so new, so interesting, and so in need of exploring. Bird watching (or birding, if you’re in the know) is a perfect opportunity to encourage this curiosity and teach a multitude of new skills. And …
Books open our eyes to things that are real even if we haven’t seen them yet. By William Hart Last year, my husband and two sons were watching a cartoon about animal conservation while I cleaned up after dinner. This episode was about ocean animals and the creature they were featuring/highlighting was a narwhal. A narwhal is a medium-sized whale that has an enlarged tooth …
Having fun as a family without the screens By Stephanie Wildman Screens are everywhere in modern life. From television to smart phones to computers, children see us engaging with screens. Naturally, children want to know what screens are about and want to watch, too. Screens are everywhere in modern life. From television to smart phones to computers, children see us engaging with screens. Naturally, children …
Cuddle up with your little ones and enjoy these books full of love. By Dr. Shawna Della Cerra Love isn’t just romantic: it comes in many different forms, all of which deserve to be celebrated! So, I’ve gathered together the TOP 10 BOOKS to celebrate all kinds of LOVE. This is a selection of love-themed reads that are perfect for gifting on Valentine’s Day and …
Saving a little bit of money at a time will add up in big ways! By Brookelynn Winters Hi! I’m Brookelynn Winters. I’m a wife, mother of two, and work in pension administration. Working with people’s retirement funds, I see first hand how saving is important. Here are a few ways to get started. Saving For Your Children’s Futures a Little at a Time This …
Goals, Vision Boards, and Manifesting By Amber Larsen You’ve just rung in the New Year! Now what? Those goals you made (or didn’t make… yet) need to reside somewhere so that you can see them daily. How about turning those goals into a vision board? A visual reminder of the things you want to attain, the goals you set. Before we jump into the nitty …
