“If I do just one thing this summer to help my child stay on track, what should it be?” As a teacher, this is the question I am asked most this time of year. It is a logical question too, as summer learning loss is a serious concern. No one wants their child to work hard all school year, and then lose those gains over the eight to ten weeks off from school.

I think long and hard about my response. I find research to support my answer. I read professional literature and pull the highest quality materials to share with parents. I look for something that crosses all subjects and grade levels. Though I could charge a fee, I never do. Would you like to have this valuable, research-based advice, too? Here you go……..

READ!

Grab your child (doesn’t matter what age) and head to the library! Have your child choose books by interest and by reading level. Don’t know your child’s reading level? Ask the teacher! Choose informational stories as well as make believe. Choose favorite characters and a chapter book you can share. Readers need a variety!

Rainy days or too hot days are perfect for play dates at the library, too! Call a few friends and head to the library.  Books are even more fun when shared with friends!

Don’t know where to begin? Check out this site for Children’s Books  for recommended reading lists by grade level and age. I love a good list!

Is your child a computer kind of kid? Check out Teacher Web online, free resources for reading.

Mother’s Day is fast approaching and I wonder every year what to purchase/make/pretend I made/etc for my mom, sister, and grandmother. All three of these women are amazing and deserve diamonds and gold and days at the spa! However, I am on a teacher’s budget, not a basketball star’s, so here I am. On my daily visit to Pinterest, (http://pinterest.com/search/?q=mother%27s+day) I found 4,567 crafts, cards, and projects, but none were just right for me. Is it my family? Are they too difficult? I am starting to think so!

My sweet Granny is in her 90s and still picks on my sister and I. She is seriously a hot mess! She shares parenting tips, cooking tips, and tells us to read the Bible. She is one of a kind. She is a little sneaky too and I hope I can be just like her one day!

My sister is a single mom to the most beautiful daughter in the whole universe. She is so pretty and smart, works hard everyday, reads with my niece, and visits our Granny on the weekend. She is a great sister and is always there when I need her.

My mom is the best! She has taken care of four wild and crazy children, cheered us on through victory and defeat, held our hands when we were scared, and made way too sacrifices for us. She is one in a million. She loves her grandchildren and spoils them beyond rotten. My mom is helpful and kind. She can be pretty silly, too!

So what will it be? Flowers? NOPE! Handmade card? NO WAY! Photo Album? TOO OBVIOUS! Chocolates? NO! Gift card? BEEN THERE, DONE THAT!

My special moms are receiving this. (Well, actually my sister will have to read it to my Granny. She thinks computers are from outer space.) I think words are a powerful gift and all three of these amazing women will probably agree.

What will you be giving the special mother’s in your life?

We’ve featured the Shot@Life campaign once already but I could do a featured every day and never cover all the great work that’s being done by the United Nations and the Shot@Life volunteers.  Here’s a short introduction to a post that one of the volunteers wrote.  See what you think and let me know if you want to get more involved…..and I really don’t know how you could not want to get more involved……but let me know what you think…

From Jen DeFranco from Advocate Momma

1 in 5 children do not have access to life-saving vaccines in developing countries.  Imagine if nearly half the children enrolling in kindergarten this year in the United States were to die of diseases that can be prevented by a vaccine.  That’s how many children die each year in developing countries because they don’t get the immunizations they need.  This is real.

You can read more on her site A Mirage of Milestones

And, another from Jen starts out like this…

My husband and I just returned from a wonderful vacation to celebrate our upcoming 15^th Anniversary.  We enjoyed the company of great friends, amazing food, the Caribbean sunshine and a week of true relaxation.

continues with this:

So, while on our anniversary vacation, I participated in a trip to a local early childhood school to help promote literacy and learning with 8 other guests.  We all boarded a bus for a 10-minute drive through the Jamaican countryside via a pothole-infested road to a facility that seemed hardly fit for 3-5 year old children.  As we pulled up to a property surrounded by chain link fence with 2 buildings, an  outdoor “classroom” and a play yard with nothing more than 1 or 2 soccer balls, I was immediately drawn in.  These children have so little to help them succeed (or at least in terms of what we feel, as U.S. parents, is needed to succeed in U.S. schools) and yet they are still happy, confident and willing to learn.  How can that be?

So, when I tell you that the Shot@Life volunteers take their challenges seriously, you can see here just how serious Jen is about making changes.  How many of you would have taken part of your anniversary getaway to go visit a school and volunteer in a classroom in the Caribbean?

It’s time to think, to act, to make a move….can you do that?

 

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Inspired by Pinterest

Today officially marks my one year anniversary on Pinterest! Like everyone, I have pinned dozens, if not hundreds of decor ideas, organization tips, crafts and recipes! But I’m also happy to say that I have actually used many of the things I’ve found or learned on Pinterest for my own life.

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Myrdin Thompson from Roots and Wings Library wrote:

Today may not be the day for you to enact change. It might not be tomorrow either. But that’s okay. I know 44 other incredible champions who decided that because of the work that theUnited Nations FoundationShot@Life is doing, that yesterday was their day to change the world. All I ask is that when you decide that today will be your day, you will give that day, that change everything you’ve got. Not for yourself, but for those who you are helping. Because although we were called “champions” we all know that a champion is someone who “defends, advocates, upholds, protects” in essence, someone who does something because they know that something is the right thing to do.

If you aren’t familiar with what the United Nations is trying to do, you need to check out their site Shot@Life and in the meantime, read the various articles written by supporters of the Shot@Life Cause.

The supporters aren’t extreme in numbers but the benefits loom large and not only that, the number of supporters grows each and every day.  Here’s a look at just a few of the posts from around the internet regarding the Shot@Life Campaign.

From Myrdin on Roots and Wings Library

Time to give a Shot@Life for Global Immunization Week  

How do you change the world?

You don’t need a power suit to advocate

A Mom’s To Do List and a Shot@Life Cause

Guest blog by Felisa Hilbert “How to Give Children a Shot@Life, and a Future”

Top 10: Best Old Fashioned Children’s Books and Their Modern Day Equivalents

I had some old posts on old fashioned conflict free children’s books and Top 10 Classic Children’s Books Not Popular Now. During some past blog meltdowns, I just discovered that a popular post on Beloved Old Fashioned Children’s Books just disappeared from my blog. That kind of stuff happens to me all the time!

via: www.pragmaticmom.com