PBS has done it again! A new site, called PBS Teachers, has activities, resources, webinars, discussions, etc. etc. etc. for teachers (and parents who teach!) of kids from pre-K to grade 12! Check it out and enjoy! – Heather

FREE for 7 – 13 year olds – Peak Experiences is putting up the 350′ zipline over the quarry at the West End of Belle Isle tomorrow (Sat.) between 9 and 2 – kids must be with a parent or guardian! (The xterra race series is this weekend; this is part of the expo.) Get [...]

I love this. It has all the elements of a great learning experience: “Advanced science students at Zionsville High School extracted and analyzed dolphin DNA this month in an ongoing collaboration with the Indianapolis Zoo, the University of Indianapolis and other research facilities.” IndyStar.com  Purpose – check. Relevance – check. Inquiry – check. Intrinsically motivating [...]

PBS has launched PBS Read – a site where kids, parents, caregivers can work together on reading! PBS already has some great reading and writing resources available for kids and adults, and it was great to see that they merged the two audiences with this website. In my mind it encourages families to take a [...]

When I took Latin in high school, I just loved it (ok, I’m a Latin geek) because it was like a wonderful puzzle that allowed me to chip away at the English language. With each new piece of vocabulary, I was gaining a key to the kingdom, so to speak, for my own language. Each [...]

Whether you send your child to public school, private school, or whether you home school, your community no doubt has some treasures – museums, historical societies, science centers, or parks. Here in Virginia, the communities are rich with such treasures, but very few take advantage of these opportunities to learn. When I conduct presentations for [...]

I just finished reading a book by Judy Willis entitled Teaching the Brain to Read: Strategies for Improving Fluency, Vocabulary, and Comprehension. I highly recommend it for teachers and parents interested in how reading is learned and how we build meaning and gain comprehension. Find out more at ASCD.org.

In a competetive world economy, where the ever-quickening pace of change in technology and job requirements blur traditional standards, it is hard for educators and parents to know just how to prepare children for their future. But one thing is certain, no matter what the world comes up with, students with excellent critical thinking skills, analytical [...]