Apr 20 2021

What Will We Do With Children This Summer?

What Will We Do with Children This Summer?

It is spring and our children are getting excited about summer camps and activities. Many communities are now scheduling children for summer camps with an alternative plan of online activities if communities are forced to reenter lockdowns due to new COVID outbreaks. Activities that remain flexible include:

Sports camps that reinforce independent skill development drills in sports like soccer and karate
Snow skiing and outdoor sports camps while social distancing with others
Park play, nature hiking, and beachcombing
Swim lessons in a private pool without other students and masked instructors
Cultural camps offered remotely
Outdoors camping and backpacking trips
Computer literacy camps
Entrepreneur online camps
Sewing camps with individualized learning options
Music camps with individualized learning options

[Read more…]

Joyce Iwasaki, Early Parenting

Joyce Iwasaki has over thirty years of educational experience working with diverse students in grades from preschool through high school. Joyce’s extensive background includes teaching elementary school, serving on early childhood advisory boards, and advocating for educational initiatives as a legislative aide. During her tenure as a legislative aide, she helped create legislation that allowed incarcerated mothers to keep their newborn babies with them while in prison. Additional legislation was enacted to allow incarcerated pregnant mothers to remain unshackled during labor and delivery. Ms. Iwasaki established and served as the president of an educational scholarship foundation for fifteen years. Her foundation awarded college scholarships to emerging student leaders who provided service to their schools and communities. Joyce is active in performing arts and cultural organizations. She also provides ongoing support to her daughter and family by raising her grandson in her home.

Jul 21 2020

Responding to Your Kids’ Challenging Behaviors at Home

Our children’s misbehaviors can be addressed through preventive strategies, modifying the environment, and by teaching them alternative behaviors. When trying to resolve a child’s challenging behavior, parents can try the following approach:

Identify the problem and agree on what behavior is going to be addressed.
Brainstorm solutions to understand what function the behavior is serving.
Make a plan involving an acceptable solution that allows the child to achieve the function being served by the challenging behavior. That is, if the function is also acceptable.
Implement the plan consistently and across settings.
Evaluate the outcome to determine next steps.
Develop alternative solutions for various family members or situations.

[Read more…]

Ruth Cook, Special Education

Ruth E. Cook, Ph.D. is a professor emeritus and was director of special education at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, California. Formerly, she was a professor director of two inclusive campus preschool programs at Mount Saint Mary’s University in Los Angeles and at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville. These experiences prompted her to be the lead author of Adapting Early Childhood Curricula for Children with Disabilities and Special Needs, now in its 10^th edition. In addition, she is the lead author of strategies for Including Children with Special Needs in Early Childhood Settings and The Art and Practice of Home Visiting. While theoretically retired, she is busily involved in advocating for the inclusion of all children no matter their differences.

Aug 27 2019

Yikes! Brandon’s Twin Sisters Turn Four

The twins are turning four and their passion for life’s many adventures continue to inspire me and challenge my energy. We just had our twin granddaughters stay with us for four days. I have always dreamed what it would be like to have twins party all night. I finally had the opportunity to watch this lively celebration. Our first night together was spent at a beach motel with the twins sharing a double bed. They loved the adventure so much that they would not relax and just kept playing. After 30 minutes of fun, I finally informed them that I would lay down between them to help them focus on sleep. Thankfully, Anna fell asleep immediately. Maria continued to wiggle another 30 minutes and then dozed off. All was well until 1:30 a.m. when both requested a cup of water. One cup of water was dropped on one side of the bed. I quickly plopped down a towel and reassured the twins the bed would be fine for sleeping. Thankfully, all was dry in the morning [Read more…]

Mary Ann Burke, Digital Education Expert

Mary Ann Burke, Ed.D., Digital Education Expert, is a substitute distance learning teacher for Oak Grove School District in San Jose, California and the author of STUDENT-ENGAGED ASSESSMENT: Strategies to Empower All Learners (Rowman & Littlefield: 2020). Dr. Burke creates digital language arts and substitute teaching K – 12 activities for teachers and parents. She is the Cofounder of the Genparenting.com blog. Burke is the former Director II of Categorical & Special Projects for the Santa Clara County Office of Education that supports 31 school districts serving 272,321 students in Santa Clara County. She is also a previous Director – State & Federal Compliance for Oakland Unified School District, the former Director – Grantwriter for the Compton Unified School District, and was the initial VISTA Director for the Community Partnership Coalition in southern California. Much of her work focuses on creating innovative digital trainings and partnership programs for teachers and families to support students’ learning. These programs were featured as a best practice at a National Title I Conference, California’s Title I Conferences, AERA Conferences, an ASCD Conference, the NASSP Conference, and statewide educator conferences.

Jan 22 2019

Overcoming the Winter School Day Blahs

School is back in session. The mornings are dark and the evenings are even darker. It is cold, windy, and snowing outside. How do we keep our energy up and our kids focused at school? Here are suggestions shared by parents at a recent workshop:

Have children wake up to an alarm clock playing happy music each morning.
Teach children how to breathe deeply each morning as we engage them in some morning stretching and yoga types of exercise.
Allow enough time for kids to get dressed, make their beds, and eat a nutritious breakfast.
Sing songs as we walk or drive our kids to school.
Help them pack a nutritional lunch and snacks for school.
Plan for outside play each day after school.
Balance the afternoon play with a nutritional snack.
Make time for homework in an organized workspace with limited distractions.
Engage your family in nightly family discussions during dinner.
Schedule quality time with each child and read to them at bedtime each night.

[Read more…]

Mary Ann Burke, Digital Education Expert

Dec 18 2018

Tips for Managing Holiday Stress

It is that busy time of year! All of us struggle with maintaining a sense of balance and calm in our daily lives. During this time of year, I struggle with juggling a demanding work schedule and maintaining my serenity with more demands for childcare and holiday celebrations. [Read more…]

Mary Ann Burke, Digital Education Expert