This week’s family-related news included information on college resource centers for immigrant college students, a beautiful compilation of global family recipes and photographs, baby boxes acceptance in the United States, a new look at the concept of the “open classroom,” a Canadian ruling that allows platonic friends to legally become co-parents, research confirming that breast feeding can have a positive effect on hyperactivity, thoughts on the fine art of “ethical” parenting, ways in which Legoland has made efforts to become a welcoming place for children with autism, an explanation of March Mammal Madness, information on how to support your children’s financial literacy, and finally some timeless and beloved quotes from children’s literature.
What Some Colleges Are Quietly Doing to Help Undocumented Students Timothy Pratt, The Hechinger Report, PBS, March 24, 2017 Long-sought after additional support is finally being added on some university campuses to help undocumented students succeed in college.The goal of such resource centers and undocumented-student coordinators is to help tens of thousands of undocumented students stay in school, thrive and graduate.
Students Serve Up Stories of Beloved Family Recipes in a Global Cookbook Becky Harlan, NPR, March 25, 2017 Many of Washington, D.C.’s Capital City Public Charter School’s students are first-generation Americans with backgrounds spanning the globe, from El Salvador to Nigeria to Vietnam. Writing coaches from the non-profit 826DC, asked students from the junior class to think of a family recipe with a backstory — and then write an essay about that dish. The 81 recipes, their accompanying stories and beautiful photos make up a cookbook of global cuisine with a heartfelt touch, revealing that storytelling may be the most important step in any recipe.
States Give New Parents Baby Boxes to Encourage Safe Sleep Habits Maureen Pao, NPR, March 26, 2017 Finland’s well-known baby box, or maternity package: the box, plus clothing, blankets and other supplies, which the government gives to expectant mothers who get a prenatal checkup is making inroads in the U.S. However, here instead of being a prenatal care incentive, it’s being used to deliver a postpartum safe sleep message.
‘Open Schools’ Made Noise in the ’70s; Now They’re Just Noisy Steve Drummond, NPR, March 27, 2017 It’s a perennial debate in American education: Do kids learn best when they’re sitting in rows at their desks? Or moving around, exploring on their own?
Want to Raise Kids with Your BFF? Move to Canada Hayley Jones, The Daily Beast, March 27, 2017 Natasha Bakht and Lynda Collins, of Canada, have become the first women in a non-romantic relationship to legally co-parent a child.
Breast-Fed Kids May Be Less Hyper, But Not Necessarily Smarter, Study Finds Allison Aubrey, NPR, March 27, 2017 Now, a new study published in Pediatrics finds that children who are breast-fed for at least six months as babies have less hyperactive behavior by age 3 compared with kids who were not breast-fed. But the study also finds that breast-feeding doesn’t necessarily lead to a cognitive boost.
Why Parents Need to Teach Kids that the Lines Between Right and Wrong Are Blurry Eliana Osborn, The Washington Post, March 27, 2017 A nuanced approach to parenting is a lot more complicated, and challenging, than one where I would simply proclaim everything as clearly good or bad, or definitively right or wrong.
Legoland Park Includes ‘Quiet Rooms’ and Other Features for Guests with Autism Taylor Pittman, The Huffington Post, March 28, 2017 Legoland Resort Florida has been teaming up with the North and Central Florida chapter of the organization Autism Speaks since early 2016 to make its amusement park more friendly for guests on the autism spectrum. Legoland’s “Model Citizens,” also known as its employees, will also receive specific training during orientation so they can learn how to best interact with guests with autism and their friends and family.
A New Kind of March Madness Hits Schools Kat Lonsdorf, NPR, March 29, 2017 This is March Mammal Madness: Round 2. It’s a competition that has been playing out online and in hundreds of classrooms over the past month. Real animals wage fictional battles, while students use science — a lot of it — to try to predict the winner.
The Best Way to Teach Your Little Kids About Money Judy Woodruff Series, PBS Newshour, March 30, 2017 Economics correspondent Paul Solman gets lessons from personal finance expert Beth Kobliner on how to instill economic lessons in young people. Kobliner believes that parents are much more likely to talk about sex or drugs or alcohol with their children than they are about money.
20 Quotes From Children’s Books Every Adult Should Know Encurious, Date: Timeless Some of life’s greatest lessons can be found in children’s literature… Sometimes it’s only when we’re older that we learn to fully appreciate and understand the poignant words from our childhood entertainment.
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