Maximizing In-Person Learning in the Era of COVID

August 10, 2022 By Leave a Comment

We have the tools to keep students in the classroom and safe from COVID; we just have to use them—was one of the takeaways from a National PTA–hosted symposium on maximizing in-person learning days for students across the country.

The symposium, which took place during the National PTA 125th Anniversary Convention in June, featured a two-part panel discussion moderated by NBC News Correspondent Rehema Ellis on how our nation can plan a path forward from the COVID pandemic and how parents and caregivers can support student safety and well-being.

National PTA President Anna King kicked off the event, noting that, “it is vital to ensure the continuity of education for every child and to support children’s success socially and emotionally.”

The first panel included U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, M.D., MBA, and U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, Ed.D.

U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Murthy discussed how research and science can help inform parents’ and caregivers’ decision making around vaccinating children to protect them against COVID, as well as the mental health impacts of the pandemic on students and resources for parents on how to support their children.

As of July 28, 2022, over 140,000 children under 18 have been hospitalized and over 1,700 have died since the pandemic began.

“We should not tolerate those kinds of losses if we have a tool that can reduce hospitalizations and death,” said Surgeon General Murthy. “That tool is the vaccine.” He said that testing is another tool at our disposal that can help keep kids safe and keep them in class by detecting infections early on.  

U.S. Secretary of Education Dr. Cardona highlighted the resources made available through the American Rescue Plan to promote safe school operations and in-person learning. He also implored parents to help keep schools accountable with how they spend the money they received and how vital family engagement is at this time.  

“As the father of two teenagers, I know parenting can feel like you’re building the plane as you fly, and over these last two years with the pandemic, not only were you building the plane, you were flying it through a monsoon, but you did it,” said Secretary Cardona. “For the last two years, together we fought COVID, and for the next two years, together, let’s fight complacency.”

By complacency, Secretary Cardona was referring to the status quo in education prior to the pandemic, in which the education system “worked for some but not all.”

“Instead,” said Secretary Cardona, “let’s embrace this disruption in education to reimagine parental engagement. Let’s embrace intentional collaboration with our students’ best and more influential teachers: the parents.”

The second panel featured Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL) Board Chair Timothy Shriver, Ph.D.; American Academy of Pediatrics President-Elect Sandy Chung, M.D.; and National PTA Healthy Minds Ambassador Shaton Berry, MSW. They spoke about the need to protect children’s mental health in addition to their physical health.

“We all want our children to feel emotional safety so that they can feel physical safety,” said Dr. Shriver. “You don’t get to physical safety unless you have emotional safety.”

But, as Dr. Chung pointed out, our nation faces a shortage of the professionals we traditionally turn to for help: mental health providers. “We were always taught to refer to mental health providers, but there is a national shortage,” said Dr. Chung. “I was referring kids to someone, and they would have to wait six months to get an appointment.”

Dr. Chung encouraged parents and caregivers to reach out to their child’s pediatrician or other health care providers for help. “Whether or not your pediatrician may know exactly what to do will vary depending on their training and experience,” she said. “But if they don’t know what to do, they’ll know where to help you find care. The key here is just to remember you’re not in this alone.”      

“In this conversation about mental health,” said National PTA Healthy Minds Ambassador Berry, “we’re looking at it wrong. We’re looking at it from that the school is going to fix the community. And we have to think about how the community has to fix the school. If we’re not having conversations about mental health in our family, it’s never going to come into our school building.”

Berry had the following advice for parents: “As you’re having conversations with your babies every day, instead of saying, ‘What did you do today?’ Ask them, ‘How did you feel today?’ And change the narrative of how you’re talking about feelings and how you’re engaging with your child because that is a different conversation.”

The symposium was supported by Proud National PTA Sponsor Thermo Fisher Scientific and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ We Can Do This campaign.

Filed Under: Advocacy, Education News, Every Child in Focus, General, Health and Safety

Meet National PTA’s Mary Lou Anderson Reflections Arts Enhancement Grant Recipients

July 28, 2022 By Leave a Comment

National PTA’s Mary Lou Anderson Reflections Arts Enhancement Grant awards two local PTAs $1,000 in funds for student-centered programs that increase access to high quality arts learning experiences and new pathways for students – especially those hardest to reach – to participate in the arts and National PTA’s Reflections program.

We were so excited to select Jayne Ann Miller Elementary PTA in Texas and Hazelwood PTA in Washington to receive the award in 2021, and we were even more impressed with the innovative projects these two PTAs did with the grant funding. Check out their stories below!

Jayne Ann Miller Elementary PTA
Lubbock, Texas

With support from the Mary Lou Anderson Arts Enhancement grant, Jayne Ann Miller Elementary PTA, a diverse, Title 1 school, used the funds to invite Reflections students to an event and purchase new display panels that increased the school’s ability to display artwork from every student, ensuring that students receive recognition for their creative talents for many years to come. Prior to the grant, Miller Elementary School’s art teacher had to reserve display panels from a central office for a finite duration of time.

Each year, Miller Elementary School holds an annual fine arts event called Owlapalooza. This year, the PTA focused on including the Reflections Awards Ceremony during this event, making it a centerpiece of the program. The PTA sent out personalized invitations to Reflections families and provided awards to Reflections participants to boost student confidence and honor their hard work and creativity.

The new panels were a huge success and helped bring more attention to the arts. Britni Wilkins, PTA President and Program Leaders said, “Now, these panels will remain in our school building, in use permanently, so that our students’ work is always being displayed proudly for the school community to enjoy.”

Simultaneously, the PTA asked the community to support their arts programming by fulfilling wish list items. The PTA was proud that every single item requested was donated, including 28 boxes of crayons, 378 glue sticks, 5 packages of Velcro, 28 boxes of colored pencils, 500 sheets of construction paper, a package of art posters and 72 sharpies.

Jayne Ann Miller Elementary PTA reported that one of the biggest highlights of this program was watching the joy on each child’s face as they accepted their award, hugged their art teacher and showed their family members their thoughtfully displayed artwork at the front of our cafetorium. The PTA shared a story about one of our students who advanced to state level in the Reflections program, who had been struggling with self-confidence due to academic challenges. The family told the PTA that the child’s confidence soared after receiving their Reflections award and having their artwork publicly recognized.

Hazelwood Elementary School PTA
Newcastle, Washington

With financial support from the Mary Lou Anderson Reflections Arts Enhancement Grant, the Hazelwood PTA implemented a Meet the Masters program in every K-5 classroom. The grant helped the PTA overcome barriers for participation of all students including teacher support, funding of art supplies, schedule challenges, volunteer support and sustainability.

With community input, Hazelwood PTA chose to focus on the arts because Hazelwood did not provide a standard art curriculum. The PTA formed an arts committee and advocated for the Meet the Masters, a standards-based elementary school art curriculum, in order to increase emotional development, address cultural diversity and inclusion and provide arts access to all. They presented the program to the teachers and gained their support. They also worked collaboratively to recruit an art docent and 25 new volunteers through outreach and information sessions to administer the program.

The Meet the Masters program provided an opportunity to explore what artists may have been feeling with opene conversations with the students. The program also explored six chosen artists from different backgrounds, including local African American artist Jacob Lawerence and Katsushika Hokusai of Japan who – despite being poor – was able to draw using rice. The program helped build curiosity and understanding of diverse artists and cultures to build a more inclusive community

At the end of the program and school year, Hazelwood PTA planned a community art gallery and Museum of Art (MOMA) fundraiser to bring the community together in celebration of the arts and to support curiosity, awareness and discussion about diversity and inclusion. Through this work, the PTA lined the halls with artwork each month which promoted conversations around art, community and connection.

Prior to the grant and Meet the Masters, the school did not have a standard art program, so it was up to each teacher to decide how, when and if art was integrated into the classroom. The Hazelwood PTA is proud that they were able to bring this important program to all students in their school community.  Teaessa Chism, Program Leader, said “The program has gained school and community awareness now. We have received positive feedback from parents and teachers with will help with future fundraising to cover supplies and future artists.” Now, the arts can be explored in every classroom, increasing access to an art curriculum that supports diversity, inclusion and social emotional development. 

Congratulations, once again, to Jayne Ann Miller Elementary PTA and Hazelwood PTA! Look for the Mary Lou Anderson Arts Enhancement grant and others to open in August. Visit PTA.org/ArtsEd and PTA.org/Grants for more information.

Filed Under: Art Education, PTA Spotlights Tagged With: , ,

Announcing our Newest Proud National PTA Sponsor… BAND!

August 21, 2020 By Leave a Comment

Just in time for the start of this unusual and challenging school year, BAND has signed on to become National PTA’s newest Proud National Sponsor.

Band is a free app that helps facilitate and improve two-way communication for groups. Over 40 million groups and 8 million coaches, teachers & leaders are already using BAND, including youth sports teams, small businesses, schools, and other groups.

It turns out that BAND may be a perfect match for many PTAs, too—especially now.

“Technology like BAND is helping to make it more convenient for families to be involved in their children’s education and strengthening family-school partnerships. This is more critical than ever as the COVID-19 pandemic continues and many families and schools are continuing with remote learning,” said Leslie Boggs, president of National PTA.

As a PTA leader, you can use BAND to communicate with your officers, parents, teachers and school staff, etc., on one platform through features like group messaging, notifications, calendars, RSVPs, pictures & videos, polls, video calls and more.

At a time when many PTAs are paying monthly or yearly subscriptions for various digital platforms and services, such as to host virtual meetings and livestream events, switching to the BAND app may allow you to reduce or eliminate some of these expenses.

So, you might be wondering, how will BAND specifically be supporting National PTA and what can you expect to see in the years ahead from this collaboration?

On the practical side, there soon will be a PTA BAND for PTA leaders across the country to connect, share tips and resources, and help each other improve how they operate. In addition, PTA and BAND will create educational resources on ways to increase and improve two-way communication between home and school, and how to use the BAND app itself safely and effectively.

On the heartfelt side, BAND especially wants to honor our nation’s hardworking parent volunteer leaders, teachers, and students through the alliance with PTA. BAND has pledged to support Reflections as well as Teacher Appreciation Week, and there are some fun surprises and helpful enhancements in the works as a result of this new sponsorship. (Stay tuned!)

“National PTA is thankful to BAND for helping us celebrate, recognize and honor our nation’s teachers and student artists,” notes President Boggs. “It will be great to see and share all the creative ways that PTAs use BAND to communicate, coordinate and celebrate, even when we can’t come together in person as we normally do.”

BAND is available for free on iOS, Android, and the web.

For more information, visit https://about.band.us.

BAND is a Proud National PTA Sponsor and receives promotional consideration, such as this blog post, as part of their sponsorship benefits. National PTA does not endorse any commercial entity, product, or service. No endorsement of BAND is implied.

Filed Under: General, Slider Tagged With:

Advocacy Spotlight: Gun Violence Prevention

April 10, 2020 By Leave a Comment

Gun violence is such an overwhelming issue in our nation, it can be paralyzing to think about. How can you as one parent, or even as one PTA unit, make a difference? Thankfully, there are PTAs who have been paving the way, and we had the chance to talk with three representatives from Mercer Island PTA, Lori Cohen-Sanford, Erin Gurney, and Gwen Loosmore.

Mercer Island PTA has been advocating for gun violence prevention since 2018. They shared with us their lessons learned and advice for like-minded groups.

What do families need to know about gun violence and gun violence prevention?

Gun violence is the second leading cause of death for youth in our country. Over half of those gun deaths are suicides. Everyone has a role in gun violence prevention. If families do own guns, they need to make sure they are safely stored. Families need to feel comfortable asking if there are guns in the home, when their children go for a playdate– just like they would share about any allergies or ask about pets or swimming pool safety.

What strategies have you found most effective when advocating for gun violence prevention?

It’s crucial to know your platform. Familiarize yourself with National PTA’s position statement. Mercer Island PTA has made a habit of laminating them and bringing them everywhere!

Don’t forget that PTA is an advocacy association. We speak on behalf of all children ESPECIALLY on behalf of children’s safety. We have the authority as PTA members to advocate for these positions. It’s helpful to have or establish a state platform, as well. We have found that parents want to act, so it’s helpful to give them something to do – specific bills to support, newsletters to read, encouragement to ask about guns in the home at playdates, etc. We really say that we are doing the advocacy work one conversation at a time. It’s also important to remember that every parent wants the violence to stop. There is a lot of common ground and we need to normalize the conversation around firearms in our society.

What advice do you have for PTAs who want to make gun violence prevention a higher priority in their school, district or state?

Talking about gun violence can make a lot of people nervous because it’s become a political issue in our country and we don’t want our schools to become split by political divides. The challenge here is to remind people that PTA is an advocacy organization and we’re advocating for student safety. What we are trying to do is change the culture in how we talk about gun violence prevention. Even gun owners are supportive of a lot of these measures.

Find like-minded parents and get organized. Consider going to non-PTA gun violence prevention organizations, like the Brady Campaign or Moms Demand, to find other local parents who share your passion.

Overcommunicate. If your leadership is concerned keep them informed of everything you’re doing, before you do it, share why, and how it falls into National PTA’s mission. National PTA already has a position statement on gun violence, and a website on family resources for school safety and questions you can start with that you KNOW falls within what PTA has authorized – start there!

Every community, every PTA, every individual has a specific set of experiences and what works for Mercer Island PTA might not everywhere. However, what is absolutely universal is people need to feel empowered and they need to know that they have the power to create change if they bring themselves together around this issue.

Curious how you can talk to your kids about these issues? Tune in to our podcast, Notes from the Backpack, to hear Dr. Edith Bracho-Sanchez share tips on talking to your children about gun violence in developmentally appropriate ways!

 

Filed Under: General, Health and Safety, PTA Spotlights, Slider Tagged With: ,

Parents are critical to education’s success

April 9, 2018 By Leave a Comment

This column was originally published via The Detroit News. 

I was visiting a local school district, meeting with some of their student PTSA members. While there, I had the opportunity to meet the administrative team — principal, assistant principals, office staff. They were amazed that the president of Michigan Parent Teacher Association (PTA) — a statewide association — was there to visit. They felt compelled to discuss how valuable the PTSA was to their school, to the community (as if I had some say over whether or not they existed). The administrators spoke of the dedication of the PTA leaders, how they don’t know what they would do without their help. How they helped with things that the school leaders needed but didn’t know how they would accomplish.

I told them that was the message they need to spread among other administrators. I mentioned that often school officials get intimidated by parents coming into the schools. That they ‘say’ they want parents involved, but sometimes, when they hear “PTA” especially, they draw back support. As if informed, aware parents weren’t what every school — especially those in Michigan — need. I reminded them that parents are the ‘real’ bosses because it’s our tax dollars that fund these schools and without that branch, that aspect of involvement from parents, that none of this is going to work.

“We should have taped that,” the assistant principal said. “That was perfect.”

So, is parental involvement necessary for Michigan to improve in student achievement? Is parental involvement necessary for Michigan to become a Top 10 in 10 in education? Yes.

If parents aren’t active stakeholders in the educational process, we can’t succeed. PTA has known and operated on this premise for 121 years; 100 years now in Michigan. That’s why the National Standards for Family-School Partnerships are key to the transformation we seek as a state. There are six aspects of this partnership that strengthen the school community as they are established: welcoming all families, effective communication, supporting student success, speaking up for every child, sharing power, and collaborating with the community.

Every family is important and adds to the culture of the school. Effective communication allows free transfer of information between families and teachers for the benefit of the students. As communication increases, so does collaboration. Advocacy is part of speaking up for every child — once we all realize how intertwined our lives are, we will begin to make changes that are driven by the quest for student success. This should pull us out of our corners to agree that every child deserves a quality education — regardless of ZIP code. Sharing power is another aspect of coming together to foster nurturing environments that support quality schools and educational programs. Strong collaboration with the community means schools are not looked at as separate entities, but necessary to the state’s success. All these factors support student success, the supposed goal.

For Michigan to become a leading education state, the citizens of the state must push for reform that is not tied to partisan efforts, but truly focused on every child. For 100 years, the Michigan PTA has worked to ensure that every child’s possibility becomes their reality. We must restore the core of our educational structures and values so every child in Michigan will be guaranteed quality education.

Sibyl Wilson is president of the Michigan Parent Teacher Association.

Filed Under: Membership, Slider

Chrysler Brand and National PTA Collaborate to Support Schools with ‘Cars 4 Classrooms’ Program

February 13, 2018 By Leave a Comment

(Sponsored Post) Chrysler minivans have been the go-to vehicle for families with school-aged children for more than 30 years.

Families have come to rely on the functionality and versatility offered by Chrysler minivans to transport children safely to and from school along with the available cargo space to haul bulky science projects, sports gear or fundraising items.

This relationship between Chrysler and schools in our communities is expanding after the brand became a Proud National Sponsor of National PTA last year.

Through this collaboration between Chrysler and National PTA, the brand will support local PTAs across the country in promoting family engagement in education and raising funds for their schools.

The brand’s efforts to support schools across the country will be showcased at every Cars 4 Classrooms fundraising event. PTAs and schools have an opportunity to set up test drive fundraising events through this initiative that feature the Chrysler Pacifica and Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid to earn up to $3,000 for their school.

The featured vehicle for this program, the Chrysler Pacifica, represents the sixth generation of Chrysler minivan. The Pacifica is completely re-engineered from the ground up on an all-new platform and offers the first hybrid minivan to the segment. It also has more than 100 available safety and security features, the class-exclusive Uconnect Theater rear-seat entertainment system, and an array of comfort and convenience technologies.

For every participant who takes a Pacifica for a brief test drive as part of this program, the brand will donate $10 to the school. PTAs can go to http://www.Cars4classrooms.comto learn more about hosting an event. Participating Chrysler franchised dealerships will work with PTAs to provide Chrysler Pacifica minivans for the event.

In addition to the test drive fundraiser, the Chrysler brand will support PTAs in encouraging families to visit their child’s school and get more involved in their education as part of National PTA’s Take Your Family to School Week Feb. 11-17, 2018.

Filed Under: Money Matters Tagged With: ,

How to Celebrate American Education Week

November 14, 2016 By Leave a Comment

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This week—Nov. 14-18—marks the National Education Association’s (NEA) 95th annual celebration of American Education Week. NEA has created resources and a cheat sheet for how you can celebrate and promote the week.

Go to NEA.org/AEW for more info on American Education Week—including an online toolkit and artwork. Contact Christiana Campos for questions and more details.

About American Education Week

Each year, American Education Week is observed during the first full week before Thanksgiving.

American Education Week began in 1921 with the NEA and the American Legion as cosponsors. The goal was to generate public awareness and support for education because of concerns over illiteracy. A year later, the U.S. Office of Education signed on, and the PTA followed in 1938.

Cosponsors now include the U.S. Department of Education, National PTA, the American Legion, the American Association of School Administrators, the National School Boards Association, the American Federation of Teachers, the American School Counselor Association, the Council of Chief State School Officers, the National School Public Relations Association, the National Association of State Boards of Education, the National Association of Elementary School Principals, and the National Association of Secondary School Principals.

Daily Celebrations

Monday, Nov. 14: Thank You to All Educators
Across the nation, Americans are sponsoring special events and activities to thank educators and celebrate public education.

 Tuesday, Nov. 15: Parents’ Day
Schools are inviting parents into classrooms to experience a day in the life of students.

Wednesday, Nov. 16: Education Support Professionals (ESP) Day
Schools and communities are honoring school support staff—bus drivers, nurses, secretaries, custodians—for their commitment to students.

Thursday, Nov. 17: Educator for a Day
Community leaders are being invited to teach a lesson or visit a class and connect with public school students and teachers.

Friday, Nov. 18: Substitute Educators Day
This day honors the educators who are called upon to replace regularly employed teachers.

AEW Tools and Resources

Filed Under: Education News, General Tagged With: , ,

Making College Happen: Advice from One Family

August 29, 2016 By Leave a Comment

My son Alex and I are preparing for his first year at the University of Colorado at Denver. Paying for college can feel challenging and overwhelming, but it’s absolutely possible. Here’s how we did it:

  1. Start Early

We visited colleges during Alex’s sophomore year, and by junior year, he found a favorite. While visiting colleges with your child, stop by the financial aid office or just give them a call. They will give you a good idea about typical costs and answer questions about transferring credits. We learned that the University of Colorado at Denver offers a discount for residents of neighboring states. That’s helped us make it work.

  1. Determine the Cost

Once you find a college, determine the cost. Remember to consider not just tuition and fees, but also books, transportation and other expenditures. It might sound like a lot to keep track of, but free resources like the Sallie Mae® College Planning Calculator can help. Some colleges also offer net price calculators to help you estimate the costs.

  1. Start Simple

Fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) on or soon after Oct. 1. The FAFSA determines eligibility for federal financial aid. Some of that aid is awarded on a first-come, first-served basis so it’s best to submit the application as early as possible.

  1. Apply for Scholarships

Make sure your child applies for scholarships early and often. Start searching online in August of their senior year to meet early deadlines. Services like Sallie Mae and Fastweb offer great scholarship search engines. Alex worked hard to maintain a good GPA because he knew academics are so important for scholarships, but many scholarships are based on other factors.  Set a weekly goal and don’t get discouraged. Alex completed many applications and often received the response: “great letter, but…” Don’t give up! Alex added the Make College Happen Challenge to his list and made an animated video about college planning. He placed 3rd nationally! Nothing is out of reach, so if you see a scholarship you like—have your child apply!

  1. Parting Advice

There are plenty of other ways for students to save, plan and pay for college. But the key is to start with a plan. At least, that’s what we did. And remember, this is just an example of our experience. The important thing is to create a personal plan of action to make college happen.

Good luck!

 

Veronica and Alex Gomez are a mother and son currently navigating the paying for college process. Alex recently won Sallie Mae’s Make College Happen ChallengeSM with his animated video submission detailing how he plans to pay for his college.

National PTA does not endorse any commercial entity, product or service, and no endorsement is implied by this content.

Filed Under: Education News, Slider Tagged With: , ,

10 Ways to Get Kids Reading this Summer

July 18, 2016 By Leave a Comment

This blog was originally posted on the Great Schools blog.

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School’s out, the days are longer, and suddenly kids have time on their hands, and you’d like them to put down their tablet and pick up a book. After all, studies show children who read when they’re out of school do better academically than those who avoid cracking open a book.

California Library Association is asking patrons across the state to encourage their local libraries to be a part of the Five Book Summer Reading Challenge. CLA has innovative programs to share or seek at least a calculation of how many books were read. Reading just five books during the summer reduce summer learning loss–significantly more than three or four books. Here are 10 ways to get even the most reluctant reader started on a reading adventure.

  1. Get inspired by Hollywood

    Movies can be a great way to get kids excited about reading, so kick-start summer with film adaptations of popular children’s books. Parents might Netflix Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009), based on a book by Roald Dahl. If kids warm up to Mr. Fox, you’ll be able to introduce them to the book version  as well as other titles by the author, such as James and the Giant Peach, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and The BFG.

  2. Take a book-themed vacation

    “I can go anywhere!” — or so says the theme song to the PBS show Reading Rainbow. Parents could do a lot worse than taking those songsmiths to heart and helping children plan a vacation inspired by a book they love. To start, try reading Liz Garton Scanlon’s picture book All the World while planning a trip to the beach. New Englanders might visit Providence, R.I., after reading the historical young adult novel The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle.

  3. Meet the authors

    Kids of all ages can benefit from attending an in-person literary event. Authors routinely make appearances at bookstores to read their latest work, and these events are often sparsely attended. Seeing the person behind the words could inspire kids to try a new book. For dates and times, check local news and bookstore websites.

  4. Get cookin’ with books

    Parents of kids who aren’t interested in the more traditional children’s books might want to steer their offspring toward other genres. Cookbooks can encourage kids to master practical skills while providing a delicious payoff at the end. The American Grandparents Association recommends 12 cookbooks for kids 3 and older. And children who branch out into the world of food blogs will find endless reasons to keep reading.

  5. Wise up on magazines

    Magazines cater to many interests and can inspire kids to read deeply on subjects they enjoy. Among magazines suitable for younger readers, several well-known magazines, such as Sports Illustrated and National Geographic, offer “kids” editions. Parents’ Choice has a list of spring 2015 winners here. Teens in particular may want something for the more mature: Seventeen, Teen Vogue, ESPN or MAD — and most magazines are available for electronic readers such as Kindle and Nook.

  6. Create a readers’ theater

    Parents can bring books to life by staging scenes from favorite stories. Act out characters, read scenes aloud, try funny voices, and use props from around the house — do whatever it takes to get kids excited about the story. By imagining themselves in the roles of their favorite characters, children can make a deeper connection to what they’re reading.

  7. Listen to your books

    Parents might not realize that audiobooks are freely available for checkout at most public libraries. Take your children to the library (or iTunes), and pick out the perfect summer tale, then set aside some time to listen to the audiobook together.

  8. Throw a blog party

    Make reading social by helping your kids — or, more likely, having them help you — set up a reading blog on sites such as Blogger, WordPress, TypePad, or Tumblr. While getting them set up should be relatively painless, kids might need encouragement to keep writing, so make sure you help them stick to a schedule. For even more online fun, see if you can get your children’s friends involved as well.

  9. Organize a summer series

    With school out, children have extra time to get sucked in by the compelling narratives of popular series. For the youngest set, start with picture books such as Babar. Genre books can be particularly addictive for older kids: The Lord of the Rings is a classic — and one of the best.

  10. Be strong and read hard!

    It’s especially important for parents to model the behavior they want to see in their children. Some parents only read after their kids are in bed, but summer is a great time to take the books off the bedside table and make them part of vacation or leisure time. Whether that means booting up the Kindle or dusting off old Anna K, show your kids you still love a good read, too.

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Filed Under: Art Education, Communications, Education News, Family Engagement

6 Things to Do in Orlando During #PTAcon16

May 23, 2016 By Leave a Comment

FloridaPTA leaders, parents and education and industry experts from across the nation will come together in Orlando, Fla. for the Think BIG… Think PTA! 2016 National PTA Convention & Expo June 30 to July 3.

Why not plan your family vacation with us at the same time? Orlando is a great city—full of fun, warm weather and family-friendly activities. We want you to experience all it has to offer. While you join us for #PTAcon16, hopefully you can find time during your stay to enjoy:

  • Thrills! Fun! And even more thrills! Stop by the Universal Orlando Resort and explore their three different theme parks, including a stop in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter’s Diagon Alley for a tasty pint of Butter Beer. Cool off at the Universal’s Islands of Adventure and get splash-happy with your favorite cartoon characters in the water rides of Toon Lagoon. Then, ride through the Jurassic Park jungle and snap pictures of the nine-foot-tall velociraptor!
  • Mickey, is that you? There’s no better place to feel like a kid again than at Walt Disney World. This wondrous world of childhood magic consists of four theme parks: Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Epcot and Magic Kingdom Park. Be sure not to miss the nightly fireworks! End the day with the Wishes Nighttime Spectacular right in front of Cinderella’s Castle. Heads up: BIG news is coming to Disney World. Read more
  • Explore Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort. Since you’ll be lodging at this resort, we want to make sure you take advantage of it to the fullest! And you don’t have to be a guest at the resort to partake in some of the awesome activities it has to offer. Unwind and relax at the Mandara Spa. Visit the in-house art gallery, The Galleriá Sottil. Do a little shopping at their Disney souvenir shops, Disney Cabanas and Disney Garden or at Lamont’s, their classy boutique. There’s nothing like fine dining, so end your day with a bite to eat at one of their amazing restaurants.

For more info about the Think BIG… Think PTA! 2016 Annual National PTA Convention & Expo, visit PTA.org/Convention. Hope to see you there!

Ebony Scott is the communications intern at National PTA.

Filed Under: Communications, General, Slider Tagged With: , , , , , , ,
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