• Join our Mailing List!

    Get access to free study tips, learning strategies, and other valuable resources for your child or student.
Monthly Archives: May 2014

The Summer that Changed Your Life

May 31, 2014

By Sarah Vander Schaaff I hope you’ll add your own memories or comment to this post I did last year about the summers that shaped us….   As a kid, there was always something wonderful about summer and having nothing to do except finding a friend and some ice cream, or a new bike route to a crowded pool. And was I the only one who considered “The Price is Right” a good break from the heat outside? But when it comes to memories of formative experiences, television, as you might expect, does not make the cut. Instead, for many of us, it was the times that we headed to places far away, where we sometimes felt alone, that we look… Read More

Leave a Comment

Meet My Italian Teacher, He’s an Owl

May 17, 2014

By Sarah Vander Schaaff For the past month, I have been thinking about my interview with literacy expert, Peggy Kaye (LEARN WITH HOMER) who reminded me that children sometimes feel vulnerable when learning a new skill. I had forgotten that sense of fear; a worry that one will never understand. I’ve been reminded of it now each night that I practice my Italian, a hobby I picked up again after realizing it had been ten years and two kids since I first made it a goal to learn the language. When I first started, I bought a textbook and dictionaries and took the “T” once a week for a class in Boston. Now, I have my iPad, the Duolingo app,… Read More

Leave a Comment

Time to Plan for Summer Math

May 9, 2014

By Sarah Vander Schaaff A few months ago, I decided that instead of buying workbooks for my kids to look at over the summer, I’d start collecting the homework they brought home and use it as a basis for a personalized binder.  I’d add new material, too, of course, and try to find things that appealed to their interests as well as their grade level and the one they’d be approaching. But you know, it was only last month that I took down the Halloween lights that had been iced into a bush in our front yard for most of the winter. I may, perhaps, have been too ambitious in my dream for the ideal summer “let’s not forget everything… Read More

Leave a Comment

It Ain’t Easy Being Gifted

May 2, 2014

By Sarah Vander Schaaff Is there a way to talk about young people being “gifted” and not enter a territory fraught with debate? From what I’ve been reading recently, there are not only arguments about how we define “giftedness” but arguments about the arguments. For parents, the identification matters in a practical sense if they are trying to understand how their state identifies and fosters students with unique abilities. And it matters to our society, in a practical sense, if we are hoping to identify and encourage the next generation of leaders, innovators, and artists. But in the emotional and less quantifiable ways, it matters when we consider that there are many young people who possess the potential for giftedness… Read More

Leave a Comment