What can we do as parents to help our child's literacy development? 

We all want to help our children become better readers, but we know better than forcing flashcards on a one-year-old or making a 10-year-old read a list of 200 books. So what can we do—and what are we already doing—that helps a child's literacy development?

Sarah Frenette is a veteran educator who is currently the Director of Early Childhood and Elementary Teacher Licensure at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, MA.  Not only has she taught young children in a school setting, but she works tirelessly teaching and supporting college students as they work towards their first classrooms. 

Sarah will share with us:

• What we are doing that we can already celebrate as parents,
• How we can help our kids develop stronger literacy skills at home,
• Ideas for easy activities we can do at home to grow our children as readers and writers.

And there are resources, folks! Please check out:

• This To The Core Podcast: What Do I Do If My Child Doesn't Like To Read?
• Five Signs Your Child Might Need Help With Reading: https://thecommunityclassroom.com/reading-tips/does-my-child-need-reading-help/
• Games to Improve Word-Solving Skills at https://thecommunityclassroom.com/reading-tips/games-to-improve-word-solving-skills/ 
• 5 Signs Your Child Needs Help With Reading at https://thecommunityclassroom.com/reading-tips/does-my-child-need-reading-help/

If there is a way that we can serve you through our academic coaching, virtual or in-person (western Massachusetts) tutoring, or parent services at The Community Classroom, please visit www.thecommunityclassroom.com or email info@thecommunityclasssroom. 

Ever wonder about independent, private, or charter school options? We have too, and we got our questions answered by an educator who knows them as both a parent and an administrator.  We'll talk to Kim Evelti Polin, the Director of Curriculum at The Williston Northampton School, and we'll tease back the layers around school choice.

Kim will share with us:

• Why we might want to consider independent, private, or charter schools,
• Why they were the right fit for her kids,
• The process of getting information and applying,
• The ins and outs of boarding school, 
• Whether or not we should be afraid of the costs,
• How we should tackle feeling guilty about looking at school options.

If there is a way that we can serve you through our academic coaching, math tutoring, or parent services at The Community Classroom, please visit www.thecommunityclassroom.com or email [email protected]

Math joy may seem like an oxymoron but trust us. It's so important for our children!  In this episode, we'll get to the core of math joy by exploring math play, learning how we can integrate it into our family life at home. We'll talk to Jay Bright Shovar, a Mount Holyoke College alumna, a veteran educator from Alberta, Canada, and a Community Classroom tutor.  Jay is the host of Math Play with Jay, a Twitter-based professional development series for teachers.

Jay will share with us:

• Ways to engage in math joy,
• What we might be doing at home already that is "mathy,"
• Great games to make sure you have on hand to support math play and beef up your family game nights,
• Other math tips for learning at home.

And there are resources, folks! Please check out:

• This Community Classroom list of Math Games for Learning At Home: https://thecommunityclassroom.com/at-home-learning-tips/math-games-for-learning-at-home/ 
• This Community Classroom list of 7 Math For Learning Outside: https://thecommunityclassroom.com/math-activities/7-outdoor-math-games-for-your-kids/ 
• This Community Classroom article on how NOT to give your daughter math anxiety: https://thecommunityclassroom.com/math-tips/dont-give-your-daughter-math-anxiety/
• A link to Jay on Twitter: https://twitter.com/numberflex 

If there is a way that we can serve you through our academic coaching, math tutoring, or parent services at The Community Classroom, please visit www.thecommunityclassroom.com or email info@thecommunityclasssroom. 

What do our kids need to know before they start  Kindergarten? And should we worry if they don't know the alphabet or their letters yet? These are some of the questions we'll tackle today with our guest, early childhood educator Danielle Goua.

Dani is a teacher in DC Public Schools who has worked with prekindergarten, Head Start, Kindergarten, and first-grade students. She is a passionate educator who loves young kids and shares some heartfelt and practical advice for parents!

Dani will share with us:

• What we should do if our kids are "behind,"
• The value of play and fun in learning,
• How to build literacy skills with our young children at home.

And there are resources, folks! Please check out:

• An example of an early literacy calendar for October: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/459085755761774448/ 
• Games to Improve Word-Solving Skills at https://thecommunityclassroom.com/reading-tips/games-to-improve-word-solving-skills/ 
• 5 Signs Your Child Needs Help With Reading at https://thecommunityclassroom.com/reading-tips/does-my-child-need-reading-help/

If there is a way that we can serve you through our academic coaching, virtual or in-person (western Massachusetts) tutoring, or parent services at The Community Classroom, please visit www.thecommunityclassroom.com or email info@thecommunityclasssroom. 

What exactly is  fluency and why should we care as parents? 

You may have seen it in an elementary school report card or heard about it in a parent-teacher conference, but what does it mean for reading at home? These are some of the questions we'll tackle today with our guest, veteran educator Christina Webster.

Christina Webster is a veteran educator with a deep passion for early childhood literacy. She has taught in Holyoke, MA, and the Pioneer Valley of western Massachusetts and tutors at The Community Classroom. She is brilliant, she knows reading, and she's going to share some of that reading brilliance with us.

Christina will share with us:

• What fluency actually is and why should matter to us,
• How we can help our kids develop stronger fluency at home,
• How we can model fluency as parents.

And there are resources, folks! Please check out:

• This article from We Are Teachers titled "What are Sight Words"
• This article on sight words from Understood.org
• Games to Improve Word-Solving Skills at https://thecommunityclassroom.com/reading-tips/games-to-improve-word-solving-skills/ 
• 5 Signs Your Child Needs Help With Reading at https://thecommunityclassroom.com/reading-tips/does-my-child-need-reading-help/

If there is a way that we can serve you through our academic coaching, virtual or in-person (western Massachusetts) tutoring, or parent services at The Community Classroom, please visit www.thecommunityclassroom.com or email info@thecommunityclasssroom. 

Girls and science. Something happens to girls in upper elementary school and middle school where they start losing their fascination and love of science! Our guest in this episode helps us unpack that complex relationship. Carly Baldwin is a National Board Certified Teacher, a chemistry teacher in Ashland, Kentucky, a virtual tutor at The Community Classroom, and a Presidential Award Winner in Math and Science Teaching.

Carly will share with us:

• How representation matters in science,
• How the language we use impacts our girls,
• How access and environment can impact girls and science.

And there are resources, folks! Please check out:

• Skype-A-Scientist
• Chemistry Fluxx

Find Carly on Twitter at @GingeraffeBald1. 

If there is a way that we can serve you through our academic coaching, virtual or in-person (western Massachusetts) tutoring, or parent services at The Community Classroom, please visit www.thecommunityclassroom.com or email info@thecommunityclasssroom. 

Ever been frustrated with your child's math homework? We feel you! In this episode, we'll get to the heart of what is causing that frustration and what we can do about it. We'll talk to Dr. Mike Flynn, the 2008 Massachusetts Teacher of the Year, author of Beyond Answers, and the Director of Math Leadership Programs at Mount Holyoke College. 

Dr. Flynn (who is also Megan's husband!) will share with us:

• Strategies to support our children in math,
• Tips for staying out of the way,
• Questions to ask to help them,
• Other math tips for learning at home.

And there are resources, folks! Please check out:

• This Community Classroom list of Math Games for Learning At Home: https://thecommunityclassroom.com/at-home-learning-tips/math-games-for-learning-at-home/ 
• This Community Classroom list of 7 Math For Learning Outside: https://thecommunityclassroom.com/math-activities/7-outdoor-math-games-for-your-kids/ 
• This Community Classroom article on how NOT to give your daughter math anxiety: https://thecommunityclassroom.com/math-tips/dont-give-your-daughter-math-anxiety/
• Mike's virtual  base-10 blocks: https://bit.ly/virtualbase10blocks
• The link to Mike's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/MikeFlynn55
• The link for Mike on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MikeFlynn55
• The link to Mike's website: mathleadership.org

If there is a way that we can serve you through our academic coaching, math tutoring, or parent services at The Community Classroom, please visit www.thecommunityclassroom.com or email info@thecommunityclasssroom. 

If our children don't like to read, can they still "do" life successfully? 

Is this normal?

What can we do as parents to help our kids like reading a bit more?

If you've ever wondered about these questions, this episode will bring you some much-needed peace of mind. We talk to literacy expert and educator Mary Phillips, a veteran educator of over 20 years who works to direct systemic and wide-scale change in reading and writing. But we get micro in this conversation and talk about what we can do one child at a time.

Mary will walk us through:

• How to reframe our thinking about what reading is and isn't
• How to talk to our children about this
• Strategies to help develop readers!

Have a question you'd like us to tackle on To The Core? Submit it at https://thecommunityclassroom.com/podcast/.

For information on tutoring, academic coaching, or parent support services The Community Classroom offers, please visit www.thecommunityclassroom.com.

To learn more about developing stronger readers at home, please find:

• Five Signs Your Child Might Need Help With Reading: https://thecommunityclassroom.com/reading-tips/does-my-child-need-reading-help/
• How to Keep Your Child Reading This Summer (though it applies year-round!): https://thecommunityclassroom.com/video-blog/how-do-you-keep-your-child-reading-this-summer/ 
• Four Games to Improve Word-Solving Skills: https://thecommunityclassroom.com/reading-tips/games-to-improve-word-solving-skills/

"My child doesn't like to write. What can I do?"

We hear this question frequently at The Community Classroom, so we decided to ask one of the best teachers we know: Christine Paglia Baker. Christine is local to the Pioneer Valley of western Massachusetts, a tutor at The Community Classroom, and an educator of many years. This thoughtful and brilliant educator shares with our parent and caregiver audience:

• Why kids might feel that way,
• How to help them around barriers,
• And how to work with children so they have a better relationship with writing.

Folks, you won't want to miss this episode! There are so many juicy education nuggets for parents that will help us all support our children so they have an easier time in school (and we have an easier time helping with their homework).

Have a question you'd like us to tackle on To The Core? Submit it here.

For information on tutoring, academic coaching, or parent support services offered by The Community Classroom, please visit www.thecommunityclassroom.com. 

Does it hurt children to measure pandemic learning loss? Are we going to stigmatize an entire generation of kids? And WHAT do we do as parents about standardized tests and this upcoming school year?

In this episode of To The Core, we get to the core of these questions with Dr. Jemelleh Nurse Coes, the 2014 Georgia Teacher of the Year and the Director of Teacher Leadership Programs at Mount Holyoke College. We'll tackle this issue in a way that helps give us some much-needed peace of mind as parents and caregivers. The best advice you'll receive from Dr. Coes? As parents, just focus on making your child feel invincible. The rest will come.

You can read the New York Times article that inspired this conversation here.

Other resources:

• 6 Tips for Parents Who Fear Their Kids Are Falling Behind
• Worried About The Effects of the Pandemic on Teen Mental Health?
• Trends I've Seen With Kids And Learning in the Pandemic

You can connect with Dr. Jemelleh Nurse Coes at @JemellehCoes on social media platforms. She's there!

Have a question you'd like us to tackle on To The Core? Submit it here.

For information on tutoring, academic coaching, or parent support services offered by The Community Classroom, please visit www.thecommunityclassroom.com.