To The Core: An Education Podcast For Parents

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. 

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]

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. 

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 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. 

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.