Decision-Making for School Placement
About a year ago, my daughter and son-in-law were getting ready to choose a preschool for their daughter, who was not even three at the time. There were several alternatives, as well as pressure to get into a preschool before all were fully enrolled. One school even required that my granddaughter come and visit the school without her parents to see if it would be a good fit for one of the two remaining spots. This was hard to believe given her age. [Read more…]
Karen Salzer has over thirty years’ experience as a resource teacher in the Palo Alto public schools. She earned a doctorate in education from Stanford University. Her areas of expertise involve working with culturally diverse students with special needs including autism, emotional disturbances, learning disabilities, and health issues. As a special educator, Ms. Salzer served as a liaison between parents of special needs students and school staff. She guided parents and staff in identifying an appropriate education for each student in the public school setting. Additionally, she aided students and parents in navigating the educational requirements for graduation, test-taking and in finding support services within the community. Through her leadership, Ms. Salzer encouraged collaborative problem-solving between parents and school staff – such as accommodations for test taking, extended time and use of technology. She loves to follow-up with her students when they become adults and to highlight their many successes in education and careers. Ms. Salzer uses these success testimonials to reassure parents of other children and to encourage them to help their children pursue their full potential. Ms. Salzer is the mother of four adult children and helps care for her five grandchildren
Two primary themes were shared by readers this past week. When considering random acts of kindness, validated parents felt more confident in their parenting roles. Parents also stated that they felt a sense of pride when others commented about how cute their child was or how cooperative their child was when socializing in public. Parents also confirmed that they felt overwhelmed when their child misbehaved in public. Due to the demands of managing a home and working outside the home, most parents have little time to reflect on life and the daily challenges of raising their children. 
Welcome to our first blog. Our sisterhood of grandma educators created this blog to share successful parenting strategies with families, grandparents, and friends that can make an incredible impact on the lives of children in their healthy growth, cognitive and academic development, and overall happiness. We are active grandmas who regularly babysit and play with our grandchildren and help in schools and community programs. I play with my six year old granddaughter and nine year old grandson several days a month in addition to providing weekly care for my two six month old twin granddaughters and a three year old grandson. My life is rewardingly full as I am able to care and contribute to the healthy growth of my cherished grandchildren.