Maria Montessori developed a form of education in the first half of the last century that came to be called by her surname, and research indicates it often has positive outcomes. In the years since its development, tens of thousands of schools worldwide have called their programs "Montessori," yet implementations vary widely, leading to…

You and the school share responsibility for your child's language and literacy learning. Collaborate with your school to make decisions about your child's literacy education right from the start. Your child benefits when you and the school work together to support her literacy development. Working together promotes faster development and catches…

This guide is meant to give parents who are concerned about critical pedagogy a starting place to begin to respond to it in their children's school. This toolkit presents a glossary of critical pedagogy terms to give parents the tools to understand what, exactly, school administrators mean by "antiracism" or "implicit bias."…

Taking part in literacy experiences at home can develop your child's reading ability, comprehension, and language skills. Activities that you can engage in at home include: joint reading, drawing, singing, storytelling, reciting, game playing, and rhyming. You can tailor activities to your child's age and ability level, and can incorporate…

This document provides the following four tips for supporting reading skills for children ages K-3 at home: (1) Have conversations before, during, and after reading together; (2) Help children learn how to break sentences; (3) Help children sound out words smoothly; and (4) Model reading fluently by practicing reading out loud with your child.…

This document begins by providing four tips parents and care takers can use to supporting childrens' reading skills at home: (1) Have conversations before, during, and after reading together; (2) Help children learn how to break sentences into words and words into syllables; (3) Help children sound out words smoothly; and (4) Model reading…

This booklet provides an overview of the following important topics, which can assist parents in preparations to be made prior to their child's kindergarten entry: (1) Kansas Early Learning Standards; (2) Kindergarten Entry Information; (3) The Kindergarten Transition; (4) Additional Questions You May Have; and (5) Checklist for Entering…

The World Health Organization (WHO) has made the assessment that COVID-19 (coronavirus) can be characterised as a pandemic and the virus has now spread to many countries and territories. While a lot is still unknown about the virus that causes COVID-19, we do know that it is transmitted through direct contact with respiratory droplets of an…

Having children with and without autism comes with a unique set of challenges. Parents are not only faced with doing what's best for their child with autism, but also with paying attention to the needs of any brothers or sisters. Siblings, too, feel a sense of loss, confusion, and frustration -- all at a time before they've had a chance to develop…

This evidence-based practice overview on Response Interruption/Redirection (RIR) includes the following components: (1) Overview: A quick summary of salient features of the practice, including what it is, who it can be used with, what skills it has been used with, and settings for instruction; (2) Evidence-base: The "RIR Evidence-base"…

Ross Thompson, PhD, responds to questions about the capacity of infants and toddlers to experience complex emotions and about how parents and caregivers can support early social and emotional development. He underscores the importance of allowing children to experience a wide range of emotions--including frustration and anger--as vital to their…

This evidence-based practice overview on Parent Implemented Intervention (PII) includes the following components: (1) Overview: A quick summary of salient features of the practice, including what it is, who it can be used with, what skills it has been used with, and settings for instruction; (2) Evidence-base: The "PII Evidence-base"…

Raising a child has its frustrating moments; parenting a child with special needs multiplies those times, and parents often experience high levels of stress and frustration. In this article, the authors explore the challenges of parenting a child with special needs and the trials and errors of finding appropriate skills to assist in their…

"Special Schools as a Resource for Inclusive Education" examines inclusive education reform efforts by the Open Society foundation in Armenia in communities with special and mainstream schools. These efforts evolved into a project to transform three special schools for children with disabilities into resource centers to help mainstream…

In this paper we consider the place of early childhood literacy in the discursive construction of the identity(ies) of "proper" parents. Our analysis crosses between representations of parenting in texts produced by commercial and government/public institutional interests and the self-representations of individual parents in interviews with the…