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Aug 04 2026

Avoiding the Summer Learning Slump

Avoiding the Summer Learning Slump

My brothers and I recently went to breakfast during a week when we all visited my father in our home town. As we usually do when we visit home, we reminisced about our childhood, fun events, and experiences we have reminisced many times. Since we were visiting during the summer months, we talked about summer street fairs, days spent biking around the neighborhood, playing street hockey and basketball at the local park, and cookouts in our backyard. We also discussed my mom and how she organized our summer experience.  We didn’t realize it then, but the experience she gave us is one that I have shared with countless families in my role as a school principal, as it ensured a strong balance of fun, responsibility, and learning.

How Parents Can Structure Time

One of the pitfalls of the summer is the abundance of free time kids have. As parents, we must be intentional about helping kids fill that time when they are young so they build the life habits they need to lead productive lives as teens and adults. My mom had the perfect approach that kept my brothers and me productive, but allowed us to have a healthy balance of fun. She made sure that we had daily tasks or chores to complete. We had limited screen time and we always had time and resources for reading. [Read more…]

Kevin Myers

Dr. Kevin Myers is an Executive Administrator for YPI Charter Schools and the Principal at Bert Corona Charter School. He has served the Los Angeles community as a teacher, administrator, and grant director for over 20 years. He has a passion for developing teachers and educational leaders to engage in the challenging work of bringing equity to our schools and our communities. Dr. Myers has developed an expertise in supporting underserved communities, building effective and cohesive school leadership teams, and engaging parents to uplift their communities through engagement at their children’s schools. He wrote his dissertation on teacher self-efficacy and job satisfaction and is a strong advocate for supporting and working with teachers to build a strong and successful school community. In addition to his work at YPI Charter Schools, Dr. Myers is also a faculty member at Cal State Fresno and works with student teacher candidates to earn their credentials as they work through the CalState TEACH program.

www.GenParenting.com

Written by Kevin Myers · Categorized: Academic Support and Play Activities, Elementary School Parenting, middle school parenting · Tagged: academic success, balancing summer breaks for kids, Educating children, learning slump, parents as teachers, Student Success, summer boundaries for kids, Summer learning for kids, teachable moments

Jul 14 2026

Collaborating with Teachers

Collaborating with Teachers

As a new teacher, I believe collaborating with other teachers and leaning on veteran colleagues is crucial to surviving your first year as a teacher or your first year at a new school.

Be Curious About Your Environment

  • Approach everything with humility.
  • Absorb as much as possible about the school culture, especially the language they use for students schoolwide (follow the ABCs, follow the 4C’s).
  • Get to know your neighboring teachers.
  • Get to know your grade level team. Ask how they work together and understand their collaboration style. Are they open to meeting anytime? Do they prefer to plan on their own and only meet together to discuss assessments?

[Read more…]

Michelle Huang
Michelle is a new educator who recently began her primary grade teaching profession in the San Francisco Bay Area. As a passionate educator, Michelle supports diverse student needs and fosters collaborative family engagement at the school. She engages whole child learning for students to become proactive members of our global community.  As Michelle continues her journey as a younger teacher, she will reflect on her educational experiences working in public school classrooms in various communities.

Written by Michelle Huang · Categorized: Academic Support and Play Activities, learning support options, new teacher reflections · Tagged: academic success, Educating children, teachable moments, teacher collaborations

Jul 07 2026

First Year of Teaching 4th Grade

First Year of Teaching 4th Grade

As the summer break begins and my first year of teaching in the classroom closes, I am reflecting on all the experiences I’ve had and the opportunities I’ve gained in the past year. With a goal of a healthy school environment in mind, I have implemented a lot of strategies in order to ensure the most nurturing and structured classroom that I could provide. Summarized below are some of my greatest successes during my first year as a 4th grade teacher. [Read more…]

Michelle Huang
Michelle is a new educator who recently began her primary grade teaching profession in the San Francisco Bay Area. As a passionate educator, Michelle supports diverse student needs and fosters collaborative family engagement at the school. She engages whole child learning for students to become proactive members of our global community.  As Michelle continues her journey as a younger teacher, she will reflect on her educational experiences working in public school classrooms in various communities.

Written by Michelle Huang · Categorized: Academic Support and Play Activities, differentiated instruction, learning support options, new teacher reflections, new teacher reflections, Teaching strategies, Teaching successful students · Tagged: 4th grade teacher, academic success, Educating children, Education, first year teaching, Student Success, teachable moments, teacher classroom reflections

Jun 23 2026

Grandparenting Summer Play with Our Tween Twins

Grandparenting Summer Play with Our Tween Twins

Summer is a wonderful time to spend extended quality time with our tween twin granddaughters. In previous years, our days were filled with planned outings, free-play games, and art projects. Now that the girls are shifting their focus toward friends, we are adapting by inviting their peers along for the ride. Thankfully, our car is large enough to play “chauffeur” for the whole crew!

Summer Activities and Outings

Below is a summary of our plans for a summer full of growth and adventure: [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.

Written by Mary Ann Burke, Digital Education Expert · Categorized: Elementary School Parenting, Grandparenting, Grandparenting tweens, Special Needs Parenting, Uncategorized · Tagged: #grandparenting, balancing summer breaks for kids, cheap summer activities for kids, children with special needs, family values, grandparenting tweens, Grandparents' Influences, parenting elementary kids, select summer programs for kids, teachable moments

May 26 2026

Kids Learn to Express Themselves Through Writing

Kids Learn to Express Themselves Through Writing

During the last weeks of school, our primary grade students learned about various types of soil and mud when planting flowers, studying the uses of mud, and learning how to use computers for research in 10-page reports.

What the Students Researched

  1. Learning how to write an introduction to the report
  2. Writing about descriptions and uses for clay soil, loamy soil, and sandy soil
  3. Planting a flower and writing about the type of soil used for planting
  4. Listing the steps completed to make mud and plant a flower
  5. Learning how to calculate how much water is needed for making mud in different quantities
  6. Completing a soil and mud research checklist for added research in books and on the computer
  7. Writing a book report on mud and soil uses
  8. Writing a computer report on mud and soil uses
  9. Completing a reflection questionnaire of what was learned
  10. Creating a glossary of new vocabulary words used in the report

[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.

Written by Mary Ann Burke, Digital Education Expert · Categorized: Academic Support and Play Activities, differentiated instruction, Elementary School Parenting, English Learners, learning support options, Special Needs Parenting, struggling students, stuggling students, Teaching strategies · Tagged: #struggling students, academic success, Educating children, elementary writing, kids writing, kids writing strategies, making writing fun, Reading, Special Needs Parenting, Student Success, teachable moments

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