In our last installment we focused on the story of Michael, a twelve year old who turned tragedy into triumph by using his COMMUNICATION, CREATIVITY, and INNOVATION skills to grapple with the very tough topic of gun violence. When children are given the opportunity, they can effectively navigate real-world challenges by using 21st-century skills. In this issue,…
Video games and especially video games for kids can be quite a fiery topic. Do they enhance intelligence? Are they too violent? Do kids spend too much time in front of the television? While there is plenty of research to back nearly every conflicting viewpoint, for me it’s all about balance. Find the right game,…
How Some Screen Time Can Help, Not Harm Your Child Although very convenient, “the digital babysitter” often causes alarm bells to go off in parents’ heads. It’s not uncommon to see parents give their smartphones and tablets to children to keep them quiet and busy. The same parents may guiltily worry about the harm screen time does to…
Ever since we had the opportunity to review KiwiCo’s entire line of educational subscription crates, we’ve been waiting to see what new product they would come up with for this holiday season. The wait has ended. The Atlas Crate has arrived. Is it as good a value as the other subscription boxes made by KiwiCo?…
Using a telescope and exploring the skies can be a hugely rewarding, enjoyable and fascinating experience for kids of all ages. With a huge selection of telescopes for beginners out there, it’s sometimes hard to choose the right one that will bring the moon, stars, and planets up close and personal. Don’t worry! You’ll find…
Searching for the perfect gift for the kid who has everything? Want something out-of-the-box? Foldable? …Buildable? …Throwable? We’ve compiled a list of seven cool toys that’ll be sure to surprise and delight anyone, even the picky and the hard-to-please. There’s a gift for every interest, from sports to robots, and everything in between! Cool Toys…
Music teaches kids lots of skills. Learning to play music requires commitment and discipline and if you splash out on an instrument, you need to know your child is going to put time and effort into practicing their skills. Children can learn rhythm, beat, pattern recognition and even math from music. Musical instruments for kids can also…
Ants are amazing creatures. They scurry around all day long, searching for food, building the nest, caring for their young and protecting the queen. In many ways, an ant colony is like an industrious human city: everyone has a job to do and they get on with it. Older ant farms were very simple. They…
Most people hate the sound of alarms. I’m one of them – it’s why I evangelize the use a light simulation alarm clock that usually wakes me up with light before the alarm goes off. But for some people, loud noise is a problem anytime of the day. Buzzers and loud bell rings can cause…
Handouts are a teacher’s best friend, but they can be a student’s worst nightmare. It’s difficult to keep track of all the papers that students throughout the school year. Folders hold up for a few weeks, but after a few assignments, they’re almost entirely useless. Regular binders serve their purpose for longer, but it’s easy…
Misplaced clothing, messy bedrooms, tripping over toys, forgotten homework books, and other scary surprises in backpacks frustrate parents. The irony is that, although the child is disorganized, you could be helping it along. There is a difference between being the child’s organizational reminder and implementing organizational strategies. When a parent keeps on telling the child…
The children are home, and the summer activity routine has taken over. The day is full of driving to baseball practice, swim lessons, and trying to fit in some fun time at the beach as well. Maybe you have found the time to get your children involved with a monthly STEM subscription, Khan Academy lessons,…
“I just can’t get her to read!” I often hear protests like this from parents when I suggest that their child read more for fun. Because it’s an important lifelong habit that I want my students to cultivate and because I know reading more will have a huge impact on their success in school, I…
Have you ever wanted to eliminate the feelings of guilt you carry around as a parent? When my daughter was born, I spent the first 12 months of her life racked with feelings of guilt and inadequacies. Was I looking after her well enough? Was she healthy? Was she happy? Would she be OK if…
Usually, here at SpecialKids.Company HQ, we like our weekly installments to be all about giving back to the community in any way we can. This is typically through top tips and advice for parents to help make life with a child with complex needs that little bit smoother and happier for everyone in the household….
Most evaluation tools and curricula arrange skills according to the way a typical child might acquire them. Essential for Living by Patrick McGreevy, PhD BCBA-D et al takes a different approach. They group skills into categories of “must-have,” “should-have,” “good-to-have,” and “nice-to have.” This instrument also identifies deficits in functional skills that might be the…
When the sun comes out and that thermometer starts to rise, there is no better fun for children than getting wet. Whether it’s a quick trip down to the beach, a cooling dip in the pool, or simply running around in the sprinklers, water is the perfect catalyst to getting out and having fun in…
The worst year of my life was the year I was in eighth grade. I was fourteen, had braces on my teeth, and was, according to our grumpy and insensitive doctor, ‘chubby’. I found boys baffling and icky, and had lost my best friend who had moved back to Ohio while I languished in New…
Bryan likes to tell his children – unlike a diamond, what you do on the internet remains intact forever. The web is a tool – one that leaves a lasting impression with your actions, both good and bad. Whatever you do online is for the world to see. What is the digital legacy you will…
We at Fractus Learning are excited to announce our first prize giveaway. These games should provide some time away from the electronic screens this summer. The details are below: [giveaway height=1400 id=1049860] Good luck! Giveaways
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