From our friend Emily Graham at Mightymom's Evenings shouldn’t feel like a battleground. But for many parents, homework time—especially when it involves tricky subjects like language learning—brings tension, frustration, and exhaustion for everyone involved. The goal isn’t to become a substitute teacher or suddenly fluent in Spanish. It’s to create an atmosphere where your child can move forward with clarity, confidence, and calm. That starts with adjusting the environment, your involvement, and your expectations. Here’s how to do it—step by step. Keep it Predictable, Not Perfect Children focus better when they know what’s coming. Set a time every day when homework begins—even … [Read more...]
The Strangest Secret
One in 20 of you reading this message will take the time to listen to the video. It will take 31 minutes of your time to change your life. The other 95% will find reasons not to invest the time. What do I get if you listen to the message? The knowledge that you improved your life and set the stage for your children to thrive and achieve anything they want. The REAL value will be to your children if you follow the guidance and teach your children to adopt the mindset and approach to life. Yes it sounds corny. If first heard this presentation when I was 15 years old and listened on a 45 rpm record. This isn't something that is taught in school. This IS something that parents can … [Read more...]
Rhythmic Reads: How Music Shapes Lifelong Learners
Today we bring you an article form a guest author: Emily Graham. Emily Graham is the creator of Mighty Moms (mightymoms.net). She believes being a mom is one of the hardest jobs around and wanted to create a support system for moms from all walks of life. On her site, she offers a wide range of info tailored for busy moms — from how to reduce stress to creative ways to spend time together as a family. Rhythmic Reads: How Music Shapes Lifelong Learners In an era dominated by digital screens and boundless distractions, the potential of music emerges as a beacon for cultivating literacy among young learners. Music isn’t just a fun pastime – it can also take a child’s learning … [Read more...]
Public vs. Private K-12 education cost review July 2023
As parents finish a school year and vaguely think about the Fall we thought it might be helpful to pull some information together about cost of public vs private schools. What follows is the most current data varying from 2021 up through 2023. For the 2023 school year, there are 39 private schools serving 5,466 students in Clark County, WA (there are 145 public schools, serving 75,243 public students). 7% of all K-12 students in Clark County, WA are educated in private schools (compared to the WA state average of 9%). As we closed out the 2022/23 school year the private school tuition costs were about $9,585. Public school cost numbers may vary depending on the source. The State of … [Read more...]
School board, districts and teachers unions testify against SB5334 “Increasing transparency in levy authorization information provided by school districts”
Ever notice that when school districts run levys or bonds that they produce a nice glossy brochure and mail them to all residences and then create a flashy web page that extols the virtues, benefits, value and absolute need to support the money they are requesting? The brochures cost taxpayers thousands of dollars (frequently $3-$5,000) and the postage can run $3-$5,000. Video's custom made can run $2-$5,000. The web page can cost more in time (which means someone at the communications dept is being paid). The ballot measure mailing and counting can cost $50-$75,000 easily. Never in any of those materials is there a single negative word. Not one word or sentence that shows why a taxpayer … [Read more...]