It’s the time of year when parents are looking for back to school tips. Lots of questions come up this time of year and I got the chance to talk with Ilana Lopez of Education Solution to get some key questions answered. Ilana has years of experience as an educator, she’s worked in education non-profits, co-created youth programs at a university and worked with principals, counselors, teachers, and staff. She has great advice on navigating school systems and how to create enriching academic environments at home. Ilana started Education Solution to help parents navigate school systems, to learn how to work with IEP’s and special services and how to develop actions plans for your child. I had the I had the chance to pick Ilana’s brain and we got a lot of amazing tips to help any parent start the school year off on the right foot and stay that way.
In this 40 minute video we cover the following topics:
- Tips for success the first week of school
- How do parents and teachers start off as a team and stay that way?
- How do we not become “that” parent?
- How do we befriend the teacher?
- Understanding the teacher’s point of view the first week
- Morning routines at home and how they help at school
- Common mistakes parents make at school
- Tips on transitioning from small preschool to larger kindergarten especially for a “slow to warm-up” child
- Helping soothe a child anxious about school
- Working on a positive mindset with a child that thinks he’s “bad at something at school”
- How to address a child that feels shamed at school
- How to have constructive conversations with the teacher
- Sharing your curriculum/behavior mgmt suggestions with a school?
- How to be a progressive parent in a traditional environment or with a teacher who isn’t?
- Social aggression and Bullying
I like to encourage a growth mindset to help the child move from “I’m bad at this” to “I just haven’t found the right strategy yet.” Problem solving with the child on figuring out what strategies haven’t worked and what strategies might work better, really helps empower the child to figure out how he can help himself.
Understanding many of these issues will set you apart at school and really grow that homeschool connection that helps your child thrive and learn to become a confident learner setting them up to succeed not only at school but in the world.
Ilana can be found at www.educationsolutionhacks. com and usually will answer quick emails to get you started, so if you have a question – send it over to her and get yourself headed in the right direction. Thanks Ilana!
If you have questions for Ilan you can reach her at info@educationsolutionhacks.com or here https://www.educationsolutionhacks.com/parents-contact-us
This video has Closed Captioning 🙂
For more resources on schooling we suggest:
Books*:
Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire
The Schools our Children Deserve – Alfie Kohn
The Social Neuroscience of Education – Optimizing Attachment and Learning in the Classroom – Louis Cozolino
Links:
Teaching for Change.org – a website for building social justice in the classroom
Choosing a School – The Not so Obvious Questions You Need to Ask – Respectful Parent
- These contain Amazon affiliate links and might help me buy a latte, if I’m lucky 😉
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