Dear Parents,

I hope this email finds you well and enjoying the beginning of Spring!  I'm sniffling my way through March and early April -- which isn't a ton of fun at all. 

I read an article yesterday that I thought you might be interested in.  It makes the argument that our children are often suffering from Nature Deficit Disorder because of our addiction to screens:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17495032

Hope it helps somehow.  I know it made me think about my own daughter and her love of our iPad. 

Be well,
Bill Ferriter

Dear Parents,

I stumbled across an article that you might find interesting tonight:

http://venturebeat.com/2012/03/13/kids-and-video-games-why-children-should-pl...

It defends video games as a healthy tool for the social, emotional and academic development of today's tweens and teens.

Now, I'm not sure that I agree -- and I'm completely jazzed that my daughter is too young to play video games yet simply because it means I don't have to have the conversation yet -- but I figured I'd share simply because I bet that y'all are having conversations about video games on a regular basis.

Hope it helps,
Bill Ferriter

Dear Parents,

Not sure if you've heard about it or not, but a new documentary on bullying in American High Schools is set to be released at the end of this month. 

It's gotten pretty good reviews in the Ed Circles that I am a part of because it makes the issue of bullying so transparent.  Many of my peers believe that the movie will be a good conversation starter for communities -- and particularly for high school students.

One of the parents on our team shared the following review of the movie with me today: 

http://www.greatschools.org/parenting/bullying/6317-bullying-school-movie.gs

Thought I'd share it with you -- not because I think it will be right for our sixth graders to see, but because you're likely to have some high schoolers in your life and it might be worth sharing with them. 

Hope this helps,
Bill Ferriter

Dear Parents,

This won't come as much of a surprise to you, but a recent research report has determined that children who exhibit the most self-control end up healthier, wealthier and wiser. 

Here's a link to a Discovery News summary of the article:

Children's Self-Control Predicts Health, Wealth
http://news.discovery.com/human/children-self-control-success-110124.html

Hope this helps,
Bill Ferriter

Dear Parents,

First, we had a great time seeing your students again yesterday!  Sometimes I forget just how lucky we are to have such a great group of students to work with. 

Second, I wanted to share a book that I just picked up with you -- particularly if your child is an introvert.  Here it is:

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking

http://amzn.to/A37wj1

While I haven't had a chance to read it yet, it's highly rated on Amazon and I've heard good things about it in the digital teaching circles that I swim in.  I think it could have real value for parents who have introverted children.  We're constantly telling our kids that they need to be more assertive and we treat introverted-ness as a weakness. 

This book makes the argument that our thinking about introverts needs to change -- and that's a lesson I think we could all learn. 

When I'm finished with it, I'll let you know what I think of it. 

Hope this helps,
Bill Ferriter

Dear Parents,

One of the things that has me worried as a guy who cares about kids -- both yours and mine -- is distracted driving.  Seeing stories of kids in crashes because they were speeding or texting or talking on the phone while rolling down the roads breaks my heart. 

That's why this article caught my interest today:

http://gizmodo.com/5877984/forcibly-prevent-yourself-from-texting-and-driving...

Anything that can automatically disable distractions for teen drivers has to be a good thing, right? 

I know that the Gnomes aren't old enough to drive yet -- but sooner or later they will be, right?  More importantly, you might have a high schooler that you're worried about. 

Hope this helps,
Bill Ferriter

Dear Parents,

One of the truths about being the parent of a middle schooler -- particularly a middle school girl -- is that bodies are changing as fast as minds and emotions.  That truth can be one of the biggest challenges that parents and students face during the tween-turmoil. 

That's why this blog post on promoting a healthy body image caught my attention today:

http://blog.anniefox.com/2011/11/27/guest-blogger-10-ways-parents-can-promote...

I've heard from dozens of parents during the course of my career who were struggling with kids who didn't feel good about themselves simply because they couldn't embrace their changing bodies.  If you ever face the same challenges -- and there's a real chance you will -- perhaps these tips will help.

Hope this helps,
Bill Ferriter

Dear Parents,

I hope this Veterans Day morning finds you well and looking forward to a long weekend with your children!  As sad as it may seem, I'm really excited about the fact that we have no school today because I'm going to try to get the carpets cleaned in our classrooms.  Strange, huh?! 

I'm also excited because I have some time this morning to do a bit of professional reading -- and in the course of that reading, I found an article that you may want to bookmark simply because you're likely to need it at some point during your time as the parent of a tween:

http://blog.anniefox.com/2011/10/31/we-kids-need-to-know-about-friendship-part-2/

Written by my favorite parent blogger -- Annie Fox -- it tackles some really common questions that kids ask about working through challenges with friends.  Specifically, it teaches kids how to work through misunderstandings with positive language. 

Hope it's useful to you somehow,
Bill Ferriter

Dear Parents,

First, I hope that y'all had a great track out!  Mine was far too busy to be truly called a "break," but my wife and I took Reece to the Fair last night and it was amazing.  It was her first time and she was full of two-year old "oooohhhs" and "ahhhhs." 

We did all the traditional "fair things" including eating cotton candy, feeding goats and spending too much money---but it was all worth it:  As we were walking out way past her bed time, Reece looked at me and said, "I had so much fun, Daddy." 

Gives me goosebumps.

Anyway, I wanted to point you to an article that I stumbled across this morning that you might find useful.  Written by Annie Fox---one of my favorite writers for parents of middle grades kids---it answers a bunch of student generated questions about how to make and keep good friends:

http://bit.ly/qLwPTw

If your child is struggling with their friends at any point in the next few months---which IS inevitable, considering they are middle schoolers----you might want to have them read this. 

At the very least, check it out yourself.  It might give you the words to share to help your sons and daughters move forward through difficult friendship situations. 

Hope this helps,
Bill Ferriter