Tips for Parents
Communication – The Disappearing Art Form
By Guest Blogger on September 2nd, 2014
Text, Twitter, YouTube, Snapchat…these are but a few of the new and most common ways for today’s generation to communicate. Gone are the days of face-to-face time. Gone are the days of just sitting on the porch and shooting the breeze for hours. Gone are the days of chatting on the phone until late at night and mom coming in and saying “Hey, it’s time to hang up and go to bed.”
Today’s teens spend their hours not speaking with each other, but texting, posting videos, and of course, taking selfies. In May 2014, the term “selfie” joined the Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary. (“Selfie: An image of oneself taken by oneself using a digital camera especially for posting on social networks.”) It is now a permanent part of the American vocabulary. Today, kids don’t see the need for words, when a selfie can express what life is all about. Continue reading
Back-to-School Basics for Parents and Students
By Guest Blogger on August 12th, 2014
Every student and parent (well most of them anyway) gets excited for the start of a new school year. Students are ready to meet their new teachers, new classmates, show off their new clothes, and start the year off on the right foot.
Parents are excited too, but for different reasons. Usually they are just thrilled to get the kids out of the house, as the summer months can seem way too long for some parents.
The following is a list of tips to help students have a successful year – and that might even remind parents of some important strategies they should be utilizing. Continue reading
Keep Them Learning All Summer Long (3 of 3)
By Dr. Jeanne Giardino on July 22nd, 2014
Enrichment Activities for Families
This is part three of a three-part FLVS Virtual Voice blog series about enriching activities that will keep students learning all summer long. Part one shared enriching opportunities that can be found at your local public library. Part two focused on Geocaching. This post (part three) is all about art.
This summer, in between the barbeques and fun in the sun, take a moment to soak in the enriching art and cultural activities of your community.
“Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.” – Edgar Degas
Keep Them Learning All Summer Long (2 of 3)
By Dr. Jeanne Giardino on July 18th, 2014
Enrichment Activities for Families
It’s summer! In between the summer camps, pool parties, and lazy summer days, I encourage parents to add one more activity to their summer calendar: enrichment.
In part one of this three-part Virtual Voice blog series, I shared enrichment opportunities that could be found at your local public library.
For part two, I will be sharing another enriching activity that will keep students learning all summer long: geocaching. Continue reading
Keep Them Learning All Summer Long (1 of 3)
By Dr. Jeanne Giardino on July 16th, 2014
Enrichment Activities for Families
In this three-part FLVS Virtual Voice blog series, I will share enriching activities to keep students learning all summer long.
As our children enjoy the long days of summer vacation, parents all over the country have been hyperventilating as they fill 10 weeks of play dates, summer camps, pool parties, and weekend family adventures. It’s enough to make even the most seasoned parent’s eyes glaze over. As an educator I encourage parents to add one more activity to their summer calendar: enrichment.
Now wait!
Listened to Any Good Books Lately?
By Dr. Jeanne Giardino on June 24th, 2014
Did you know that June is National Audio Book Month? Really!
Do you know what a cassette tape is? Well, ever since the cassette tape was the latest high-tech audio medium, I have been a huge fan of the audiobook. Recorded books helped me pass the hours on long car trips, enjoy beach days, and cram for final exams on complex literary tomes. Today, I recommend audiobooks quite often to parents who have reluctant or challenged readers. I speak highly about the MP3 books available through the local libraries when it comes to getting children excited about reading and supporting their academic growth. Continue reading
Internet Safety Month: Protect Your Digital Footprint
By Guest Blogger on June 17th, 2014
Today’s teens consume Social Media every day – perhaps every five minutes in many cases! How often, though, do they consider the implications of their online activities?
The Social Media course at Florida Virtual School has been compared to “Driver’s Ed for the Internet” – teaching students about the safe and responsible operation of Social Media. Here are the top five tips from the course:
1) Protect your Digital Footprint – it’s the sum of every interaction involving you, and it lives FOREVER. While it’s obviously important to control what YOU post (photos, status updates, etc.), it’s also important to discover who ELSE is influencing your digital footprint – tagging you in photos, mentioning you in posts, etc. Keep your eyes open. Continue reading
Celebrating Fathers Who Read Aloud
By Dr. Jeanne Giardino on June 15th, 2014
My husband is truly one of the best fathers I know.
He took note from his father who lived life to the fullest and was sure to teach him the importance of embracing fatherhood.
One of my favorite memories of my husband, Fred, being a great father was simply reading bedtime stories to our girls. I would have read to them myself, but I was in charge of bath time and that takes substantial recovery time as some of you may know.
Each and every night of the week he made books magical when they were small by creating voices and suspense when reading aloud. I can remember the girls piled on our bed with my husband having a girl cuddled on each side. Continue reading
Losing Functionality: The Signs of Burnout
By Guest Blogger on June 10th, 2014
Over recent weeks my wife and I have been trying to sell our house. In an effort to have it sell faster, we purchased a dozen of these air-freshener warmer devices that you plug into your wall. If you haven’t used one, the way it works is that you plug it in and slide a glass jar of freshener into the warmer and set the dial to the level of scent that you want (from low to high). After two days of having the fresheners plugged in, I noticed that the smell wasn’t as tropical as it once was. I checked each one and all seemed to be okay. I left the fresheners plugged in for another week until I realized that there was no longer a divine smell of the tropics in the house. Upon inspection, I noticed that the glass bottles were completely empty and needed to be replaced. I had the fresheners on full blast, causing each one to deplete faster than I anticipated. Continue reading
Career Development through Childhood and Adolescence
By Anne Flenner on May 30th, 2014
When you ask a young child what he or she wants to be when he or she grows up, we often find the answers are similar: a doctor, teacher, firefighter, or athlete. As children grow older, they begin to expand their knowledge of careers and start exploring what may be the perfect fit for them in the future.
All counselors who work with children have a unique opportunity to help foster, support, and grow the knowledge of the young clients they work with.
While most elementary and middle schools may host a yearly career fair, there are many ways to go beyond the career fair to keep career development at the front of our young clients’ minds! Continue reading