What a great idea! Here’s hoping that any assigned homework has long been done and you all had a relaxing Sunday. Read more about the assignment and its full story here.  

“When children are given the chance to help, they feel like full-fledged members of the family, learn to be independent, and avoid becoming too daunted by notions of responsibility.” Read the rest here.

“Veteran researchers present five strategies—like maintaining success files and allowing choice—to help struggling students develop a positive attitude needed for success.” Read article here.

“When students believe their intelligence can grow and change with effort, they perform better on academic tests. Students from low-income families were less likely to hold a growth mindset than their more affluent peers. However, if a low-income student did have a growth mindset, it worked as a buffer against the negative effects of poverty …

“The evidence suggests that what works is not therapy that focuses on the child — such as play therapy — but coaching and training for the parents. That does not mean that the parents were the problem in the first place, it means that the parents have been dealt a particularly difficult assignment, and the …

Sitting on ‘wiggle seats’, or moving their bodies in ways that don’t distract those around them, help students to be more engaged and better sustain attention while learning and completing work. Read the article here.

Here are some suggestions for a rainy weekend. Read full article here.

Studies show that students do better in math if their parents regularly talk to them about math–even if it’s just counting items. If you and your children have some math anxiety, this resource might help you both feel more comfortable while also boosting the student’s math performance.

“Filling a child’s time for them teaches nothing but dependence on external stimuli, whether material possessions or entertainment. Providing nurturing conditions and trusting children’s natural inclination to engage their minds is far more likely to produce independent, competent children, full of ideas.” From: What Happens When We Shield Kids from Boredom

Here are some thoughtful ideas for writing prompts. 500 Prompts for Narrative and Personal Writing