This week in the Toolbox of the Dad Spotlight podcast we are bringing you Allison McDonald, Founder and editor of No Time For Flash Cards.

Allison McDonald has been teaching children in various capacities since 1993, so you can imagine she has done her fair share of crafts, songs, and circle times. Allison McDonald started as a day camp leader at a local recreation center while in high school. She taught various preschool age and after-school programs through university and worked as a reading tutor while pursuing a second degree in elementary education. After graduating with honors she set out to teach, ended up as a director of a large childcare center and preschool and returned to the classroom after a year realizing pretty quickly that she belonged in a classroom, not an office.  Allison McDonald son’s birth brought me home and my love of teaching and helping other parents sparked the idea for No Time For Flash Cards. Last fall she returned to the classroom teaching 2-3-year-olds. Now she uses ideas she shared with her own kids with her own students.

Allison McDonald has been working to educate kids in many ways for many years and after being told over and over again that she should take what she was teaching online into a blog. The name of the blog, No Time For Flashcards is a nod towards the fact that Einstein never used flash cards.

Don had met Allison McDonald at the Type A conference. Allison said that she is not the type of person that takes things at face value. She has a Bachelors degree in elementary education and one in history and is currently working on a Masters degree in early childhood education. She moved to get the Masters degree because she wanted to have the credentials that people have thought she has had for many years.

One of the things that writing has done for Allison McDonald is to identify the disconnect in education and jargon and to help the parent that may not understand.

Allison McDonald wrote a book entitled, [amazon text=Raising a rockstar reader&asin=0545806178]. She mentioned that many times parents think that kids hit first grade and they should read. However, what she found was that parents really start to read to their kids from very early on. One of the best tips that she shares is to make sure that you set aside time to read with your child at least at bedtime. Allison McDonald also mentioned that reading is not something that you learn and you are done. Just like sports, with reading you have to practice reading to get better at it. You also have to understand that you have to give your child choices and not expecting that they will love certain types of books. Finally, she mentioned that older kids still want you to read to them. Being able to share reading is not only good for kids but it is good for adults too.

Allison McDonald recently returned from being at the Scholastic America conference. She mentioned that she loves to teach others and she feels that she has just enough information to share that can help people to become better parents and to be more engaged with their kids and to  show them that they are loved.

The future for No Time For Flash Cards is to move to be a better resource for teachers as well as continuing to be a great resource for parents too.

Allison talked about a new program called Camp Learn and Play which is a free program that she offers!

Today the co-host to the show at the beginning and end of the show was my Chris’ daughter Juliana. We talk about the Movie and Book Hidden Figures as well as the EmpowHER conference in East Lansin...