GenParenting - Parenting resources for all who love and care for children

Jan 19 2021

One Word Challenge

Recently, I’ve received a challenge to select one word to sum up how I’m feeling or to choose one word as my focus for the new year. This challenge was new to me and honestly, it’s a bit intriguing, too. Hmm…just one word, huh? When we reflect on 2020, there were many new words and phrases introduced, wasn’t there? Bear with me a bit while I list through some words that have frequently surfaced in news headlines or social media posts.

Pandemic.

Unprecedented. Over-abundance of caution. Social Distancing. Mask. Work from home. Toilet paper shortage. Hand sanitizer. Essential worker. COVID-19. Hoax. Chinese-virus. Vaccine.Public Health.

Frontline doctors and nurses. PPE. Flatten the curve. Quarantine. Stay at home. Shelter in place, lockdown, curfew, mental health, social bubble. [Read more…]

Jan 12 2021

Student Grading Considerations with COVID-19 School Modifications

COVID-19 pandemic surges continue to keep schools closed or programs modified. How will K-12 teachers support students, when they have limited time to work with them in class or through distance learning programs? What standardized testing programs have been altered or eliminated this year and how will it impact many college acceptances? [Read more…]

Jan 05 2021

Inclusion Collaborative Warmline

Established in 2006, the Inclusion Collaborative Warmline is a free resource that provides both phone and email support for families, teachers, and community agencies. Services are provided in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, and Mandarin. The services are managed by the Inclusion Collaborative, a department at the Santa Clara County Office of Education. This excellent resource is staffed by former teachers and parents of children with disabilities. The Warmline personnel understand both sides of parenting and education issues. [Read more…]

Dec 29 2020

The Middle School Distance Learning Experiment

A three-part reflection series on parenting middle schoolers during the pandemic on the home front, facing political realities with pre-teens, and practical considerations regarding school re-opening.

My youngest daughter entered 6^th grade with the distance learning model in the Fall of 2020 and I am now the parent of two daughters in middle school. Having been a middle school classroom teacher for ten years, I’m well aware of the typical middle school experience for adolescents. Granted, middle school is already a life-changing experience for students in and of itself, but having to experience it during a pandemic is uncharted territory for everyone – parents and students alike. Talk about a paradigm shift! Indeed, this is the great middle school distance learning experiment! [Read more…]

Dec 22 2020

Winter Break Activities that Reinforce Kids’ Learning at Home

What can parents do with their kids during winter break this year with persistent COVID-19 pandemic recreational challenges? The teaching strategies featured in Student-Engaged Assessment (Rowman & Littlefield: 2020) can be adapted to reinforce learning at home during the pandemic winter break.

Parents can support their children’s learning with relevant and engaging family play and household projects. Parents can help their kids (1) define an academic goal when organizing a family activity, and (2) show their learning through games, family projects, writing, illustrations, videos, performing arts activities, and pictures of completed projects. Children can reflect on what they learned while completing an activity and share their project with parents and teachers. [Read more…]