education Archives - Page 10 of 22 - Have Sippy Will Travel

How to Help Your Student Develop a College Plan in High School

May 4, 2013 by Samantha 1 Comment

One of the most exciting times in any young person’s life is the season between their senior year of high school and their freshman year of college. There’s their senior prom, graduation and all of the preparing that comes with getting ready for college life.

If you’re looking for a few tips on how you can help your child to develop a solid college plan while still in high school, we have five recommendations below that will definitely have them ready for their first day (and year) on campus.

Discuss career goals. On average, many college students do not commit to a major until the middle of their sophomore year in school; however, that doesn’t mean that your child should wait until then before exploring the kinds of things they would like to do in the workplace. So, spend some time discussing with your child what their favorite subjects are, what they’re passionate about and what they could see themselves doing for the rest of their life.

Encourage them to seek out scholarships. For a student to attend an in-state public university, tuition plus room and board, fees and books will run them somewhere around $15,000 per year; this means that it will cost them approximately $60,000 to earn an undergraduate degree. And, with many students leaving school with about $27,000 worth of student loan debt, it’s important to get as [Read more…]

Filed Under: education Tagged With: check in, college plan, college planning, help kids plan for college, high school college planning, How to Help Your Student Develop a College Plan in High School

Did You Know? Dyslexia

May 3, 2013 by Samantha 1 Comment

15% of the U.S. population, or one in seven Americans, has some type of learning disability
-The National Institute of Health
Dyslexia literally means ‘difficulty with words’ but the child with dyslexia is likely to have a wider range of challenges than dealing with words, and in many cases spelling is the least of their battles.

Many with dyslexia experience some or all of the following-

1. They can use the brain’s ability to alter and create perceptions (the primary ability)
2. They are highly aware of the environment
3. They are more curious than average
4. They think mainly in pictures instead of words
5. They are highly intuitive and perceptive
6. They think and perceive multi-dimensionally (using all the senses)
7. They can experience thought as reality
8. They have vivid imaginations

Dyslexic people are highly creative, intuitive, and excel at three-dimensional problem solving and hands-on learning. Our visual and holistic learning style means [Read more…]

Filed Under: education, kids Tagged With: Did You Know? Dyslexia, Dyslexia and kids, help for kids with Dyslexia, kids with Dyslexia, learn about Dyslexia

Child Learning Challenges: How to Address Them Early

May 3, 2013 by Samantha 2 Comments

No parents want to believe that their children are plagued by learning disabilities, but every year thousands of school-age children are diagnosed with a wide range of disorders that could impact their ability to learn at the same rate or in the same way as their classmates. This is nothing to be ashamed of. Consider that some kids are better at sports while others excel at music. The child that is good at everything is rare. So when your kids face challenges with learning, the worst thing you can do is ignore the problem and hope it will go away. This could be an academic death sentence as your children slip further and further behind in their studies. Your best bet is to address any potential learning challenges as quickly as possible in order to give your kids the best opportunity to get the specialized instruction needed to keep them remain at grade level or even excel beyond it. Here are a few ways you can face these issues head on.

What you don’t want to do is make your children feel that something is wrong with them. Instead, you must empower them to do their best by providing them with the help they need. This starts with having them diagnosed as soon as you feel that there might be more at play than individual development. [Read more…]

Filed Under: education, kids Tagged With: Child Learning Challenges: How to Address Them Early, help kids learn, help kids with learning disabilities, kids with learning disabilities, learning disabilities

Super Duper Publications Review & Giveaway

April 30, 2013 by Danielle 6 Comments

All of us I am sure love to interact with our children. We love to help them learn, as well as spend wonderful time with them. I was sent All About You, All About Me Fun Deck, TopicTalk Conversation Card Game, and MagneTalk Early Classifying all from Super Duper Publications to review.

About Super Duper Publications:

SuperDuper Publications is an online store that used to only be open to educators and therapists. It is now available to everyone. They have a wide variety of products. They range from workbooks to software, to games and even iPhone Apps. It is true that a lot of their items are geared towards school, they also make items that are perfect for parents to help get their kids involved in a fun way!

Super Duper Publications was started 27 years ago by a speech-language pathologist with just two lesson plans. They have a wonderful range of products on topics from auditory processing to phonics and many more in between.

About MagneTalk Early Classifying:

In this game, they combine real photos with magnetics.

This game helps your child improve their classifying, vocabulary, critical thinking, and fine motor skills.

The Classifying activity has 5 categories:

My Thoughts:

My daughter is only 3, so she is on the young end of this game. She thoroughly enjoyed playing this game with me. She was getting very good at it and was wanting me [Read more…]

Filed Under: education, family, gaming, giveaway, kids, review Tagged With: Super Duper Publications Review, Thoughts on Super Duper PUblications

The Magic School Bus-All About Earth DVD Review & Giveaway

April 18, 2013 by Danielle 5 Comments

I was lucky enough to be able to review The Magic School Bus All About Earth DVD. This year, over 1 billion people will participate in Earth Day activities, which has made Earth Day the largest civic observance in the world. Scholastic has given families the opportunity to get inside the Earth like never before.

About the DVD:

This DVD is featuring three all-new, never before released episodes of the series.

“The Magic School Bus Goes to Seed”:

Topic: Seeds. In this episode, the class’s garden is going to be featured on the cover of Plant It! Magazine, but Phoebe’s garden plot is glaringly empty.

“Blow It’s Top”:

Topic: Volcanoes. In this episode, in order to help them understand how islands are made, Ms. Frizzle presents the [Read more…]

Filed Under: education, giveaway, review Tagged With: Thoughts on Magic School Bus

How to Teach Your Kids Environmental Responsibility

April 8, 2013 by Samantha 2 Comments

If you have embraced an eco-conscious attitude and turned to a more sustainable lifestyle, you may be keen to pass on you ideals to the next generation by instilling them with a sense of environmental responsibility. Leading by example is a good place to start, and all you really have to do is show them the many ways in which they can live in a manner that includes environmental awareness. For example, you may give up your standard gas-guzzler in favor of an electric vehicle, public transportation, or even a bicycle. You could stop buying your produce at the market and plant your own organic vegetable garden. And you can buy second-hand or sustainable goods and compost and recycle in order to cut down on pollution from manufacturing and waste heading from your house to the landfill. But there are other ways to get your kids on the eco-friendly bandwagon and turn the lessons you teach them into lifelong habits.

The main thing is to start when they’re young. The sooner you instill your kids with eco-friendly values, the better chance that they will follow in your carbon-neutral footsteps for life. This means making eco-friendly adjustments to your household before you start your family so that your children can grow up surrounded by reminders of a sustainable lifestyle. When they start out eating fresh, organic foods rather than prepackaged and processed items, they’ll learn to prefer these healthy (and environmentally sound) options. And if the hardwoods in your home are reclaimed, the furnishings are made from recycled materials, the linens are organic, and the house is powered by the sun and heated and cooled via geo-exchange, your kids will grow up with a strong foundation in the principles of environmental responsibility.
[Read more…]

Filed Under: education, kids Tagged With: eco friendly kids, How to Teach Your Kids Environmental Responsibility, teaching your kids about the environment

5 Ways Parents Can Help When Children Struggle in School

February 20, 2013 by Samantha 2 Comments

It’s hard for any parent to stand idly by and watch kids struggle. While you certainly want your kids to learn to handle social and academic problems on their own, and you definitely don’t want to be so overprotective that they cannot become self-sufficient, it’s also your duty to provide them with the knowledge and skills that will allow them to cope with any difficult situations they encounter. This means that while they’re living under your roof, it’s your duty to instill in them the lessons that will turn them into confident and capable young adults so that they’re ready to face the world when they move out. So when you see them struggling in school, whether because of academic difficulties or problems with their peers, you need to help them in any way you can. And here are a few options you might want to explore.

Listen closely. As a parent, you probably think you know best, and as a result you might be tempted to offer your opinion without really taking the time to listen to the problems your kids are having. You should resist this urge and allow your kids to tell you everything before you start offering advice. This course of action will accomplish two things. For starters, it will show your kids that you respect them and that they can tell you anything without having to worry about being patronized. But it will also give them a chance to sort through their thoughts and feelings without interruption. From there you can ask questions that may help them to come up with a solution on their own.

iLearn ‘N’ Play Adventure Explorer Review and Giveaway

February 18, 2013 by Danielle 12 Comments

The big Christmas present in our house this year was an iPad for the family! I must admit that now that we have one, I can already tell that we need another one 🙂 Everyone wants to use it all the time, which is really testing the patience of my almost 3 year old (which is a good thing).

Being as my almost 3 year old really loves to play with the iPad, I work very hard trying to find “apps” and “games” that are educational for her as well as fun. I was very happy to try out the Adventure Explorer from iLearn ‘N’ Play & appStart Learning.

About AppStart Learning:

AppStart Learning joins 3+ toys and apps to make learning fun by making learning play! iLearn ‘N’ Play works with our young children to help them learn and understand some of the early learning concepts.

The company has offices throughout North America, as well as offices in London, Rome, Sydney, and Hong Kong.

About Adventure Explorer:

For the Adventure Explorer, you can connect your iPad, iPad mini, iPhone, or iPod to the console.

The Adventure Explorer has a working on/off ignition switch, a steering wheel, a shifter, accelerator, forward/reverse control that works with the iLearn ‘N’ Play apps.

There [Read more…]