Jul 02 2019

Nurturing Our Children’s Independence

Summer break is here and the kids are excited to explore and achieve new levels of independence. The grandkids will be staying with us for extended days of play and travels. We struggle each year in deciding how to provide each child with new milestone achievements and freedoms. Here are some of our proposed solutions for this summer of adventures: [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.

Jun 11 2019

Grandma’s Space for Work Provides Added Time for Family

Four months ago, I decided to rent office space outside of our family home to allow me to separate my work from my home life. Since that time, I have learned to balance each day at home with increased time for my family. I have also found that: [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.

May 28 2019

How to Care for Children with a Broken Foot

How to Care for Children with a Broken Foot!

I have been fortunate. In all of the years of being a parent, I was never challenged with mobility issues until I became a grandparent several years ago. The first time I was in a walking boot, my grandchild was a baby. I could hold and cuddle him for hours which worked well for all. The second time I was in a walking boot, I hobbled around with small grandkids that were easy to manage. This time, however, I am in an ortho shoe with orders to not walk. Today, I realized I was in trouble when considering my mobility challenges with three young grandkids that can outrun me in seconds. [Read more…]

Mary Ann Burke, Digital Education Expert

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

Jan 15 2019

Is Your Child Reading Below Grade-Level?

At your last parent teacher conference did you discover your child was performing at below grade-level in reading? I know it’s January, but don’t despair. Hello, my name is Danielle Gentry and I’m a second- grade teacher in South San Jose. I’d like to give you some sound advice about what you can do at home to help your child and questions you can ask their teacher.

Questions to Ask the Teacher

First, let’s talk about valuable questions. How does my child read? What is my child’s reading level? Get specific answers. Most, if not all primary teachers have some kind of reading assessment that will inform the teacher of their student’s fluency, prosody, and comprehension. A deeper understanding of your child’s specific reading struggles can help you have a more directed reading experience with them at home. [Read more…]

Danielle Gentry

Danielle’s first step in education did not begin with education at all. It began with her first love for science. She received a B.S. in Biological Science, with a concentration in Molecular Biology. Her five years of experience as a chemist in the biotech industry at SYVA and Dade Behring Diagnostics include both areas of quality control and research and development. Her contributions were qualifying products for release to sell to the diagnostic market as well as developing new diagnostic technology for immunoassay detection. Danielle’s subtle transition to discovering her passion for education was through the birth of her daughter. She became a stay at home mom. Her uber volunteerism at her daughter’s elementary school gained her access to her path of education. She now holds a multiple subject teaching credential and M.A. in Education from National University. She has over ten years of experience at Sakamoto Elementary School as an educator in kindergarten, sixth grade, second grade, and a 2/3 combination class. Her teaching is rooted in a constructivist model while fostering independence and accountability in the classroom.