Dear Parents:
Calling All Neurons!

Since it is November with the holidays upon us all, a nod to cooking seemed appropriate to me.  What does cooking have to do with literacy development?  What can YOU do to ‘whip up’ successful literacy instruction whether you are a parent or a teacher or a teacher of teachers? Let’s start with this… Created by Lori Josephson I read this poem to each and every teacher I taught throughout my long tenure as a trainer of teachers once it was placed in my hands. Why? IT ALL ‘BOILS DOWN’ TO ‘FIDELITY OF IMPLEMENTATION’ What is ‘fidelity of implementation’…

IT WAS JUST ANOTHER BIKE RIDE, AND…. On a relatively cool Sunday morning in August, I set out to complete a 50 mile bike ride to benefit our local Ohio and Erie Towpath Coalition. Between my husband and me, we raised several thousand dollars as per the support of our family and friends. I hadn’t completed one of these ‘rides’ in several years and honestly, I was pretty nervous about finishing the ride–and finishing in an appropriate time frame so as to avoid totally embarrassing myself!  I RODE WITH A PEDIATRICIAN, AND… To my surprise, I ended up meeting…

“My mum used to feed me alphabet soup when I was a kid. She insisted on me telling everyone that I loved it. I didn’t really, she was just putting words in my mouth!”

This month, I ‘teamed up’ with my colleague and friend, Dr. Kelly Moran. We share our thoughts on what parents can do to foster their children’s literacy development by likening the approach to a coach’s involvement in each individual athlete, as well as the team. DO SHARE with other parents, as well as teachers, school administrative personnel, board members, and even pediatricians. Be a revered ‘Coach’ and read on so that you can follow the ‘Playbook’. PARENTS AS “COACHES” Win.  Excel.  Beat a personal best.  These intentions comprise the mindsets of athletes.  Even those who are not athletes know…

SO MUCH BETTER for students to have the ability to say, “I’m not sure” instead of “I don’t know”!!  Let’s aim for a growth mindset by teaching kids and remembering to say “I’m not sure” in place of “I don’t know” or “I dunno”–that’s even worse! I cannot tell you how many students (and teachers) sat in front of me either for assessment, a lesson, or a professional development class over the course of my multi-decade career in education who continuously said, “I don’t know.”  Let’s just say the number is likely in triple or even quadruple digits. WHAT…

INFLATION HITS THE LITERACY WORLD Has anyone reading this article NOT noticed the unprecedented rates of INFLATION hitting the nation? Highest levels since 1981! Everything from food to gas to airline prices to the housing market..and yes, to even discussions about how young readers should be taught. Is it best to teach the letters of the English alphabet first OR is it the sounds of our English language first??? According to Investopedia, “inflation is a decrease in the purchasing power of money, reflected in a general increase in the prices of goods and services in an economy.” The only…