How to Raise a Book-Loving Child (in Two Simple Steps!)
When I was young, it was a family joke that I never went anywhere without a book. If I was sitting still, I probably had my nose in a book; I’ll never forget the time my second grade teacher told my mom to encourage me to “socialize more… maybe spend less quiet time with a […]
ADHD Medication Shortages & Executive Functioning Support
For families with kiddos with ADHD, finding the proper medication is pure and utter relief. For many kids, it’s the first time they’ve been able to focus in school, keep up with their peers, and gain the academic confidence they’ve been missing. Unfortunately, there has been a dire shortage of life-changing ADHD medications like Adderall, Concerta, […]
10 Things To Do If You’re Applying To College As An Athlete
For many students, the thought of retiring from competitive sports upon high school graduation is unthinkable. For many, continuing to play in college is a foregone conclusion… but what does the process look like? Making yourself an eye-catching prospect and creating connections with the right people can feel like a varsity sport in itself. While […]
The US Surgeon General is Warning Parents About the Dangers of Teen Social Media Usage
Hindsight is 20/20. Looking back, there are so many things that make us recoil now, like smoking in restaurants or daily trips to the tanning beds. Last month, the US Surgeon General issued a warning about another risk to young people that we might be underestimating: social media. Even though it’s hard to remember a […]
Students Fell Behind During The Pandemic – And They’re Still Not Caught Up
Most parents are well aware that COVID – including school closures, stress, and sickness – caused learning disruptions. Now that school has resumed and life has mostly returned to pre-pandemic ways, the conversation about these learning disruptions and delays has gone quiet. After all, kids are back in school and working hard – surely they’ve […]
What Will Accommodations Look Like On The Digital SAT?
As the digital SAT (dSAT) starts to roll out, students who receive testing accommodations are wondering how this will affect their testing experience. We’ll go into the various ways certain accommodations will be managed in the digital format, but we’ll cut to the chase with a positive bottom line: in general, accommodations for the dSAT […]
Students Have Begun Taking the Digital SAT… Here’s What They Have To Say
On March 11th, 2023, international students became the first to take the new digital SAT (aka the dSAT), coming to the U.S. in early 2024. We won’t waste your time with a lengthy preamble – here’s what we are hearing about the initial rollout, and exactly how the dSAT differs from the SAT. The […]
The Upside of Feeling Stressed
The tossing and turning the night before a big exam or presentation. The slight nausea on the way to an important interview. The tears after less-than-positive feedback. We’ve all felt stress to varying degrees at different points in our lives, and it can be downright uncomfortable. Now, as parents, many of us are programmed to […]
ChatGPT Can Write Your College Admissions Essay (But It Probably Won’t Be Very Good)
Depending on your perspective, the potential of ChatGPT is either terrifying or awe-inspiring. If you’re not familiar, ChatGPT is an AI-powered “chatbot” that engages in conversational dialogue when given prompts. While the concept of chatbots isn’t entirely new, the capabilities of ChatGPT are – it is capable of  “challenging incorrect assumptions, answering follow-up questions, and […]
Three Big Ways Anxiety Impacts Executive Functioning
We’ve discussed the importance of executive functioning in previous blogs. Executive functioning is the umbrella term for many of the skills and abilities that allow students to flourish – the mental and cognitive abilities that help us multitask, focus on the task or information at hand, plan, and remember. While there are ways to strengthen […]