The recording of yesterday's interviews with experts, Kat Eden and Dove Pressnall. Download the individual 15 minutes interviews using the links below.
In addition to being a mom of two, soon to be middle-schoolers, Kat Eden works for Education.com.
Education.com is a website parents can visit to get the information they need to support their children’s unique educational and developmental needs, and to find ideas for how to make learning more fun.
They have about 10,000 articles to help parents learn more about the issues they’re facing with their kids whether those kids are typical, have special needs, or are gifted. The site also has a number of other great resources including thousands of activities parents and kids can do together and a tool called JustAsk that lets parents ask their toughest questions and get answers from other parents and Education.com experts. There’s also a tool called SchooFinder that lets parents get tons of information about the schools their kids currently attend or may attend in the future. It’s all free and definitely worth checking out.
Kat answers the following questions in her interview. Download the 15-minute interview in MP3 format.
1. It sounds obvious that the transition from elementary school to middle school is significant and I think parents can get a little overwhelmed thinking about what it means to have a middle schooler. What are some practical things parents of new middle schoolers can do to make the transition easier on their kids and themselves?2. Those are some great ideas about how to stay connected to your child’s school, but one thing that many middle school parents struggle with is how to stay connected to your child once they enter middle school. Any tips there?
3. Speaking of the “Big Talks”, what are some things we should talk to our middle schoolers about as we head into the new school year?
4. What can parents do at home to help support their child’s academic success in the new school year?
5. Obviously our biggest concerns as parents have to do with our kid’s social, emotional and academic success in middle school. But let’s face it, back to school season is expensive! What can we do to get our kids started on the right foot without breaking the bank?
Now based in Los Angeles, Dove Pressnall was licensed as a Marriage and Family Therapist in 2001 but has been providing supportive services to individuals and families for the past fifteen years. She specializes in helping people to make the transitions of life more easily and to find ways of relating to and reducing the impact of problems on their day to day lives. You can find out more about her philosophy and her work at www.talkwithdove.com.
Dove answers the following questions in her interview. Download the 15-minute interview in MP3 format.
1. What can make the transition back to school difficult?
2. How does the child’s age influence the challenges of going back to school?
3. What opportunities might be found in the back to school transition time?
4. What can parents do to help themselves handle the back to school transition?
5. What can parents do to prepare their children to head back to school.
