Children's brains grow explosively during the first three years of their lives. Neural connections are made during these years which, if properly nurtured, build a solid base for future success in school, relationships and life. Alternatively, if a child experiences severe stress and trauma during this period, this can lead to emotional and social issues, and delay development. This [...]
Happy New Year! The GCP vision for 2020 will be posted shortly, but before we turn to the future I want to focus on a late 2019 special event. Just as the holidays got underway, I had the pleasure of joining RIISE (Resources in Independent School Education) founder Gina Parker Collins for "Lunch with Gina", where we talked about [...]
GCP has been writing about how to talk with our children about mass shootings for too many years. Sadly, we are running an edited version of this post again below. Our children are learning to live in a world where schools and other familiar places we all visit can be targets, and we have to help them cope [...]
Summer's here and it's time to make sure your kids are set with their summer reading booklists, goals and plans. Here are some tips and resources to help you get going: Scholastic Read-a-Palooza Summer Reading Challenge: Once again, children's book publisher Scholastic is offering a great summer reading program for children of all ages. After signing up on the [...]
I always encouraged (required, actually) my children’s friends to call me Mrs. Lewis, and I insisted that my children call most adults Mr. or Mrs./Ms. as well. If the parents were really good friends, they became “Aunt” and “Uncle” to our kids, and we were the same to theirs. But that was the only exception. Once my children started [...]
GCP Parents, hope you and your families are having a great summer! Now is a good time to focus on making sure that your children start the school year right. Have you been combatting summer slide with your children? If not, there is still time. Wherever you are in this process, we've got tips to make it easier. Several [...]
If you have any children 5 years old or younger, you need to know about Vroom, an amazing set of resources and activities which you can use to help their young brains develop and grow strong. Vroom offers over 1000 activities for parents which turn everyday moments into “brain building moments”, giving children a strong base for lifetime learning. [...]
Did you know that the many benefits of reading aloud to your child begin from birth? A recent study reported in the New York Times found here shows that reading and playing with young children (ages 0-3) can shape their social and emotional development, in addition to helping them learn language and early literacy skills. Children who were read [...]
Today's Thoughtful Thursday offers a break from the sadness and sorrow that surrounds us in the aftermath of the horrific Florida school shooting. Here are a delightful hodgepodge of poems to read aloud to your little ones as you tuck them in at night. We hope you have shielded them from the bulk of the coverage, but even the [...]
It may not come as news to you that there is a nasty strain of the flu virus--H3N2--sweeping the nation. This flu has been sending folks to the hospital in record numbers, has killed at least 37 children nationwide and it is on track to become the worst flu epidemic since the swine flu nearly a decade ago. Why [...]