2. Think Big Blog

Conventional considerations still count, even in this most non-conventional school year

Conventional considerations still count, even in this most non-conventional school year
By Your Friends at School Zone
September 16, 2020 — Never has “back to school” come in so many different varieties. Some districts started in-person early, others started later, and still others are online or have some form of hybrid combination. And for most, what’s in place today, could change tomorrow or next week. How to navigate this bumpy terrain and foggy horizon?
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Kids need both digital learning and fine motor skills developed in other ways

Kids need both digital learning and fine motor skills developed in other ways
By Your Friends at School Zone
September 2, 2020 — Salt and pepper. Knife and fork. Bread and butter. Without “both” in these pairs something important is missing, right? Ditto for print and digital learning. They work together to build the full set of skills kids need to succeed. The importance of digital can neither be denied nor minimized. “Screen time” is here to stay. It’s woven into the fabric of our lives, and most kids today grow up with cell phones, tablets, and remote controls in hand.
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Preschool learning focuses on pre-reading and pre-math, helps put kids on path to success in multiple ways

Preschool learning focuses on pre-reading and pre-math, helps put kids on path to success in multiple ways
By Your Friends at School Zone
August 21, 2020 — In all the chaos surrounding back-to-school decisions, skipping preschool for kids seems one of the easiest. While it’s true that formal, structured preschool is probably easier to replace than, say, 8th-grade pre-algebra, preschool does involve lots of “pre” skills that are really important and that kids can definitely learn at home.
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For all the pending school year questions, “keep ‘em learning” is the answer

For all the pending school year questions, “keep ‘em learning” is the answer
By Your Friends at School Zone
August 6, 2020 — What will school look like a few short weeks from now? We don’t know with any certainty. But a quote attributed to English novelist Margaret Drabble can help ease anxiety and boost optimism: “When nothing is sure, everything is possible.”
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Sequenced, adventure-filled learning paths put kids on the road to school success

Sequenced, adventure-filled learning paths put kids on the road to school success
By Your Friends at School Zone
July 14, 2020 — We’ve all heard the phrase “Rome wasn’t built in a day,” but neither was anything else! That includes proficiency in any task or mastery of any skill, whether basic or advanced. It’s always one step at a time. As we grow into adulthood, we sometimes take for granted all the big and little steps it takes to acquire math and language skills. Often it’s only when we begin to help our kids prepare for school and lifelong learning that we begin to consider the progression. We “get” the need for ABCs and 123s, but how—and where—do other skills fit in?
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