Teachers have a very tough and demanding job. They serve as role models for our children and are responsible for their education. They also have to play referee between children who are having social problems and many have the added responsibility of teaching kids manners and how to respect their peers.

Honoring a teacher does not have to be an extravagant gesture. A simple picture, photo, or handwritten thank you note will suffice. Anything that is written from the heart will be treasured by a teacher and will be a positive reinforcement that he or she is doing a good job.

If you would like to show your appreciation to your teacher, check out Teacher Appreciation and Crayola websites for other ideas.

Many thanks to Vanessa Van Petten for naming Wonder Years Radio as one of her Top 50 Best Parenting Podcasts!! It’s an honor

Annette Yen from Relaxed Homeschooling is my guest host this week and she shares some fun and easy ideas for finding a learning experience in everyday life. Learning does not always have to be done in a traditional classroom setting. In fact, changing the environment will often stimulate the child’s mind and make him/her more curious about new subjects.

Feel free to share your summer learning ideas by leaving a comment below!

With so much information bombarding parents about how fat our children are becoming and how they are at risk for high blood pressure and diabetes, why do public schools insist on feeding our kids high fat foods that have no nutritional value? Chef Ann has some insights into how school cafeterias work and even shares her views of why parents need to step up and take control back from the children when it comes to what types of food they eat.

Did you listen to the end of the show to hear the Big Announcement??

If you are a business owner who’s target market is parents of elementary school children, adding a podcast could complement your business. Click here for more information!

This week I’m comparing school lunch notes with my friend Chele Neisler, the host of Moms Love Shopping. We are both tired and confused by the conflicting information we keep getting from the “experts.” Our nation’s kids are getting fatter by the day and yet the choices offered to them by the schools are very high fat and not the least bit nutritious.

This is only Part 1 of this series. Join me next week for an interview with an expert, a chef, who completely revamped her district’s school lunch program, which now serves homemade and ORGANIC meals!!

Do you feel strongly about this topic? Leave a comment below!

The bigger question is: are the shows your kids watching really educational or just nonsense? My guest today is Laura Wellington, the creator of the television series “The Wumblers,” and she shares her journey to getting this truly wholesome and educational show on the air.

Laura is not a bigwig television executive so her journey from creation to reality is long but it is heartfelt. She truly believes this is her creation to share with the children of the world and she is extremely careful with whom she signs broadcast contracts. Her main goal is not to make a fortune but rather to help our children grow up knowing important moral and life lessons.

Also mentioned on the show:

Christine Lane was a past guest in December and she’s hard at work planning her Student Body Campaign fundraiser for Sept. ‘08. For more information and ideas for how to start your OWN healthy fundraiser, please visit her website or listen to our interview.

My guests this week are the hosts of the Just One More Book podcast. Andrea and Mark have put their two passions…books and podcasting…together and have formed a truly remarkable resource for parents and teachers alike.

Because they are both avid readers, Andrea and Mark have collected hundreds of children’s books and have reviewed each one on their podcast, which is produced three times a week. These short snippets are only about 10 minutes long, sometimes less, but they really give you a feel for what the story is about, what age group it is written for, and what the reactions were from their own children.

They have the books categorized by age group and by topic, so if you’re looking for something in particular, Andrea and Mark will probably have a recommendation. They even have recommendations for the older 9-12 year olds. Another interesting note is that Andrea and Mark do not accept advertising and they do not have any affiliate links on their site. Feel free to browse as much as you like and bring your list to your local library!

Listen in and let their love of reading inspire you!

My guest this week is Sandy Fleming from All Info About Reading and she shares her insights about the best ways to encourage our children to read. Sandy is a classroom teacher who has taught special education students and she also tutors children who need extra reading help.

Sandy discusses the importance of reading to toddlers and elementary-aged children, the process of learning how to spell, why older children should read aloud to us, and why parents need to be their child’s advocate when it comes to getting tutoring help. Just because our kids are in full-day school does not mean parents should sit idle or not be involved in their child’s learning.

Reading skills are also necessary for every other subject taught in school, from science to social studies. Even math classes use word problems so if a child struggles with reading, chances are other grades are suffering as well.

Problems that are addressed very early in their school careers can be resolved before their grades slip too low or before they start tackling difficult subject matter.

Also in the show:

Come hear two cuties, Tristan and Levi, tell their jokes as part of our StoryTelling Kids contest! Deadline to enter to win a bookmark and really cute stuffed monkey is Monday, March 10th at 9pm eastern.

photo credit: ninjapoodles

This week I share a few stories of programs our school runs that help kids get excited about reading, teaches them about teamwork, and gets their creative juices flowing. These ideas can work at home, too…all it takes is having quiet in the house and talking to your children!

PARP is the Parent As Reading Partners program that the National PTA sponsors every year. I touched on our theme for this year but our committees have been super creative in the past. Even if you don’t have a PTA at your school, a team of dedicated parents can certainly put together a reading program like this.

Once you have a theme, take it and run! Last year’s theme was about reading around the world and each child in the school (550!) received a handmade passport which was stamped each time a child was caught reading. If you read for 15 minutes everyday, they you received a stamp. There were trivia questions about different countries scattered around the school so if your teacher asked a question and you got it right, you received another stamp.

They closed the program by painting a huge world map on the driveway to our school, complete with a welcome message. Each class member had a chance to paint a different part of the map. There was a ton of work involved for both parents and teachers but all the kids were so excited to earn their passport stamps.

I’d love to hear if your school has any programs that encourage reading. If your school has PARP, what was your theme this year?

Check out our brand new contest here!
photo credit: eyeliam

This week my co-host is my daughter, Kate, who tells first hand about what President’s Day is all about, what she’s learning about volcanos at school, and how her class will celebrate the 100th day of school on Monday.

Click here for very easy directions for making a 3-cornered hat, just like George Washington used to wear.

Here are some links for making your very own volcano. These have not been tested so I hope they work for you (and aren’t terribly messy!)

eHow.com

Kaboose.com

Discovery Education

Stay tuned for details about a fun contest starting next week!!

All elementary schools have rules about when a child should be kept home because of illness. Generally, children should be kept home until they are fever-free for 24 hours, if they have a severe or disrupting cough, or if they have a green runny nose. These are all signs that your child has some kind of germ/infection/virus and needs extra care.

Schools also tend to err on the side of caution when closing schools, even if the bad weather hasn’t yet begun. The superintendents don’t want parents complaining that the school busses were stuck in snow or possibly in accidents all because of the weather. Student safety is of the utmost importance.

Being flexible and having a support group of friends and family will help you stay calm when faced with sick kids or school closings. Talk to friends and family members ahead of time and ask if they would be willing to help out in a pinch. Find out their availability and keep it in a notebook by your phone so you know just who to call.

If your children go to an after-school program, ask the director if they can accomodate your kids when school lets out early. Be sure to fill out an emergency closing form with your school and bus company so they know where your child should go if school should close early.

If mom or dad are involved in extra activities, such as being a scout leader or sports team coach, do you have a substitute to call so the whole event doesn’t have to be postponed? Keeping your contact lists for each activity by the phone will save time when looking for someone to fill in for you.

Forming a backup plan is a necessary chore, even if you don’t think you will need one. My kids are incredibly healthy and rarely get sick…except for the one day I had things to do from 8:30am - 4:30pm.

What’s YOUR backup plan??