Do you provide a routine for your kids?

Pilots famously have them. Surgeons do, too. So do engineers, technicians, nurses, and most other professionals and service providers. I’m talking about simple checklists, quick, simple lists of behaviors and duties that remind us of the basics and guide us toward success. If all those professionals find checklists helpful, why shouldn’t students and their families?

Yes, checklists are general and simple (some say simplistic), but isn’t that exactly their advantage? They’re meant to be a helpful reminder to those of us who are rushed, busy, spread too thinly, and battling absent-mindedness because of our hectic lives. If that describes you and your family at times, click on the heading above for a journey to the Dr. Rick Checklist for Academic Success!

Tips for promoting math for kids of all ages

Math is in the news again. The White House is promoting math education with superstars like Sesame Street’s Elmo, and in Maryland, the state where I live, the University System is developing new math requirements for students headed to state colleges and universities. Those new requirements include four years of math studies in high school instead of the current three. Other states are no doubt doing the same.

Many students complete three years’ math study by the end of their junior year and don’t bother with math in their senior year. That’s a one-year hiatus until college. You can forget a lot in one year.

Four years of math study will better prepare students for university or work in our increasingly science-technology-engineering-math oriented economy. Do we do enough to get kids interested in math at an early age? Probably not.

Read Dr. Rick's blog page for some thoughts and tips!

A HOT time to practice writing skills

Regular Practice Creates Better Writers

Summer is a Hot Time to Practice Writing Skills

With summer just around the corner, children are enjoying the warm weather, fun activities with friends and vacation time. But, summer can also be an enjoyable learning experience. The summer break provides many memorable moments, and writing about them is a good way to record those memories and practice writing skills at the same time.

Parents tend to focus on their children's reading and math skills, overlooking that writing is an education fundamental. It's fast becoming the forgotten ‘R’. This is unfortunate, as writing is an important part of every facet of education, not just in English class. Writing proficiency can have a major impact on other subject areas too.

Summer vacation provides an excellent opportunity for children to explore their creative writing skills. Dr. Richard E. Bavaria, Ph.D. and senior vice president for education outreach for Sylvan Learning, has developed tips to help parents encourage their children to write over the summer.

Continue reading this article http://www.drrickblog.com/page/Regular-Practice-Creates-Better-Writers.aspx

Confessions of Classroom Texters

Just how clueless are you? It's worse than you think.

Cell phones, once billed as a “necessity for student emergencies,” have now evolved into a major player in the game of "cat and mouse” between many students and their classroom teachers. I asked my university students to share school and classroom texting strategies crafted to fool some clueless educators.

I will never look at a hooded sweatshirt the same way again.

Continue reading this article at http://www.hotchalk.com/mydesk/index.php/editorial/121-classroom-best-practices/605-confessions-of-classroom-texters

Facebook for Parents

This is a great article from the "New York Times" about parents understanding kids using Facebook:

I went to pick up my dog from his haircut last week and the groomer took me aside for “an important question.” I was expecting him to ask what the heck Riley had been rolling in lately, or why I thought the pooch was compulsively licking his paws, but what Joey had on his mind was Facebook. His children are in elementary school, and he has twins on the way, so he is thinking he’d better start figuring this mystery out now.I’d written about it on my blog, he said. What advice did I have? (I told him that by the time his kids were old enough to use Facebook there would be something new for him to worry about.)

The next day I got an e-mail message from the local PTA. Would I mind teaching a class at the upcoming community education night about “Parents on Facebook”? (Sure, I said, but shouldn’t my children be teaching it instead?)

Read the remainder of this article in the New York Times:

http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/20/facebook-for-parents/?ref=technology