With the summer in full swing, we hope you are relaxing and reflecting. In case you were busy working and parenting the last ten months, you might have missed some of the year’s most important K12 education trends. We identified our favorite reads by topic. We suggest printing them out now and putting them in your bag. Pull them out when you have some free time while sipping your morning coffee, relaxing on the beach, or enjoying an after-dinner glass of wine. 1. Focus, Organization & Planning, Oh My! Teachers and parents are realizing the need to become resident experts on the key executive functions of focusing, organizing and planning. A lack of these skills often explains why bright students underperform. Problems with these skills might… Read More

No, social media is not giving your kid ADHD, but it might be giving your kid ADHD symptoms. There is no clear link between screen time and ADHD in adolescents.* ADHD is a brain-based biological condition. It’s not something that you “get” because of something you did. However, most students aren’t diagnosed with ADHD until grade school, the same time social media usage is on the rise. So it could feel like screens are causing ADHD. However, screen time could be affecting your child’s sleep, which looks a lot like ADHD symptoms. It is true that parents are reporting an increase in ADHD-like behaviors. It’s also true that students are spending a lot more time on social media, and it’s indisputable that screen time interferes with sleep. So while it’s unclear… Read More

by Nancy Weinstein Is there anyone not feeling news fatigue? It’s hard to watch and yet you must. If you are a parent or teacher the challenges are compounded. Quite simply, you can’t hide kids from the news. And lest we forget, kids are not little adults. In most cases, they are not socially, emotionally and intellectually ready to process the drama, trauma, and full implications of what they are hearing, seeing and reading. Our solution: business news. Yes, business news. The networks like CNBC, Bloomberg TV, and Fox Business that cover the daily markets. While their programming of charts, graphs, and, let’s face it, [mostly] men in suits might not garner the same enthusiasm of general news, you can rely on them for factual, bi-partisan information across… Read More

Re-engaging after a long summer vacation can be tough. So tough that students often need to spend the first month of school reviewing the last two months of the previous school year. Adults are no different. So, today we share with you the most important things that your summer brain might have missed or forgotten. These reads will get you ready to make this the best school year yet. A Parent’s Guide to the First Six Weeks  A primer for parents to ensure a good transition. How to Crush School  Review of new book for middle and high school students by teacher Oskar Cymermann. Teaches teens to develop study skills for school and life success. The Forgetting Curve Learning is a different skill from remembering,… Read More

This is one of many exclusive Mindprint guides found in the FREE Parent & Teacher Resources section of the Mindprint website. We hope it makes your app selection choices much more successful. If you’re looking for an app to improve academic, cognitive, or social-emotional skills, sign-up for a free Toolbox with detailed reviews of over 2,000 learning strategies, apps, websites and games.                  

By Sarah Maraniss Vander Schaaff It was only four months ago that we, as a country, and as parents, were stopped cold, left to wonder how to make some sort of sense out of the events unfolding. While it is too early to know much about the bombings in Boston, we thought the best use of the blog this week was to provide links for parents that might be of use if and when they speak to their children about the tragedy. It was a Bedford, New Hampshire Patch site that lead us to the link on the Boston Children’s Hospital Pediatric Health Blog. There are some good points there, as well as links, including one at PBS KIDS, called,… Read More

By Sarah Vander Schaaff Eight years ago, when I first started teaching drama at a small private high school, I introduced a routine I learned from my own high school drama teacher back in Austin, Texas decades before. Before class, or a rehearsal, you ask your group to lie down. If the class is being held in a theatre, it’s easy enough to dim the lights and play calming or classical music softly through the speakers. The idea is to foster relaxation, to let go of the tension and worries of the day, and come to a more neutral place. After a few minutes, the music stops and the lights come to full, and you transition into a vocal warm-up… Read More