Balance Fun & Learning This Summer

Are you looking for ways to keep your children's minds sharp while still having fun this summer? As a responsible parent, you value balancing learning and leisure.

To help you make the most of your child's summer experiences and avoid the dreaded academic slide, below are some useful tips on intertwining learning with everyday experiences, regardless of your child’s age or the activity.

Embark on Exciting Volunteering Adventures

Encouraging your children to volunteer is an excellent way to teach them about empathy, community, and the impact of their actions. You can plan a family outing to a nearby food shelter where they can lend a helping hand and experience the joy of assisting others. This kind of activity will help them understand the value of giving back while building their teamwork and communication abilities. Moreover, it's an opportunity to create unforgettable memories as a family.

Acquire Essential Life Skills with a Job 

Encouraging your teenager to get a summer job can have multiple benefits. It can help them recognize their strengths and weaknesses and improve vital communication, organization, and time management skills. A seasonal job also allows teens to experience the concept of teamwork and make new friends. And by earning and managing their own money, they will learn about financial responsibility. 

Unleash Your Child's Inner Explorer at Summer Camp

Summer camp offers many opportunities for kids to have a blast while learning new skills. Whether it's a sport, art, or science camp, children can engage in hands-on activities that foster their interests and boost creativity. Encourage them to share their experiences with you, allowing them to reflect on what they've learned and develop storytelling abilities.

Discover the Thrills of Backyard Escapades

Transform your backyard into a treasure trove of learning adventures! Create a mini-garden to teach your children about plants, insects, and the marvels of nature. Motivate them to maintain a nature journal depicting and detailing findings. With activities ranging from observing birds and butterflies to planting seeds and monitoring their growth, the backyard offers limitless opportunities for scientific exploration.

Unlock their Inner Chef with Kitchen Creations

The kitchen is a haven for learning disguised as fun. You can involve your child in baking or cooking activities where they can practice math skills by measuring ingredients or following recipes. Encourage them to be creative with flavors and textures. Not only will they develop a taste for culinary arts, but they'll also learn about nutrition, teamwork, and problem-solving!

Foster the Joy of Beach Reading

A day at the beach is the perfect opportunity to indulge in reading adventures, so why not suggest they pack their favorite books? Create cozy reading spots with blankets and beach chairs, and let their imaginations soar as they dive into captivating stories. Discussing the books they read will enhance comprehension skills and expand vocabulary.

Create Lasting Memories with Grandma

Spending time with grandparents or extended family is a source of joy and a treasure trove of wisdom and shared experiences. Plan sleepovers at Grandma's, where children can learn about their family’s past, participate in storytelling, and even try their hand at an old family recipe. Encourage them to ask questions and actively listen to the stories shared by grandparents or loved ones. These cherished moments create strong connections while building an appreciation of family heritage.

In Conclusion: Find a Happy Balance

As parents, it is essential to balance fun and learning for children over the summer months. By intertwining education with everyday experiences, parents can ensure that children continue to grow intellectually while making unforgettable memories. From volunteering and summer camp adventures to backyard explorations, kitchen creations, beach reading, and family sleepovers, the opportunities for fun-filled learning experiences are endless. 

For more ideas on avoiding the summer slide, check out our blog called Want to avoid the summer slide? Here's How. 

Here’s to a happy summer full of adventures that combines excitement, growth, and the joy of learning!

Written By Keating Quigley | Educational Consultants

Conquer Those End of Year To Do Lists!

There's no disputing it: time flies! And now that May is closing in, the last day of school will be here in the blink of an eye. With all the art shows, dance recitals, graduations, award ceremonies, field trips, team banquets, and recognition dinners, the final weeks of the school year can be a whirlwind. To help you stay an top of the craziness of it all, we’ve put together our top tips. Check it out…There’s something for everyone whether big or small!

What you can do At school…

1. Avoid ‘springitis’: Make sure your child puts in maximum effort right up to the last minute to ensure a strong end to the academic year. Consistency and accountability are crucial, so make sure they maintain their routine and stay on top of year-end projects, assignments, and finals.

2. Consider teacher options: If you think your child would react more favorably to a specific teacher’s personality and teaching style next year, now is the time to submit a request to the Division Head or Head of School. These discussions take place in early summer, so get to it!

3. Discuss class placement: Similarly, if you believe your child's classroom experience is being negatively impacted by a classmate or your child is too socially reliant on a friend, talk to their teacher and ask them to be placed in separate homerooms next year. Every child deserves the chance to grow into their own space at their own pace.

4. Crunch standardized test scores: And lastly, if you need guidance to decipher your child's recent standardized test scores and how they impact class placement, eligibility to advanced classes, or basic skills programs, contact your child's counselor, advisor, or teacher. They will help you make sense of the complicated percentile, stanine, and composite score data on the report.

What you can do At home…

1. Help your high schooler find a summer job:  Encourage your teen (assuming they’re old enough) to research summer employment or volunteering opportunities. Work experience is an excellent way to stay active over the long summer months and also teaches high schoolers the power of earning pocket money and helping others. And on another note: although the college application process might be a few years into your child's future, be aware that colleges prefer to see seasonal jobs listed in the Student Activity Log section of the Common App!

2. Sign your rising senior up for essay support: Summer is the ideal time for your child to work on the Common App essay before the demanding workload of senior year begins. Check out our recent blog, It's College Essay Season: Let's Get It Done!, for more info.

3. Show gratitude: There are most likely some staff members who made a positive impact on your child this year. Whoever they may be (a homeroom teacher, someone in the Main Office, the Head of School, or a member of the custodial staff), take time to thank them for their hard work and dedication personally. It may be a small gesture, but trust us, it goes a long way. 

4. Return & pick up ‘stuff’: Remember to trawl through closets and bedrooms at home and drop off IT equipment, library books, school supplies, or general classroom items on loan during the school year. Similarly, don't forget to pick up your child's yearbook, awards, art projects, etc., from the classroom before the last day of school.

5. Donate gently worn items: As the year winds down, this is the perfect opportunity to give your child's closet a once-over to determine what gently used uniforms and clothes to keep, donate, or toss. We promise you'll feel satisfied - not to mention lighter!

KQ: The Voice of Gentle Guidance & Reason

If you are looking for an educational consultant to advise you on any aspect of your child’s educational journey, email or call us. We’re always here to help...

Happy (almost) summer!

Written By Keating Quigley | Educational Consultants

College Chronicles by Charlotte G.

Meet one of KQ’s new Intern Bloggers! Charlotte grew up in Greenwich, CT. She graduated high school in 2020 and currently attends university in Virginia. Charlotte looks forward to sharing her perspectives and advice on academics, dorm life, and the joys along with the challenges of being a college student!

#1 - My top 10 Freshman Tips

Ah, as the beginning of the back-to-school commercials and sales come about, we’re reminded that summer is soon to come to an end. And for some, it means moving out and going to college for the first time. I was a college freshman last year and although it was an unprecedented year, every piece of advice I received from older siblings, friends, and adults remained just as, if not more, important. Trust me, I was terrified. Moving out after living in the same town and with my parents, my whole life seemed insane. I always knew I would go to college, but it always felt so far in the future, until it was right in front of me. 

And now, after my first year of college, I have never been more excited to return; I followed the advice from my friends and family which in turn made my freshman year one of the best years of my life. My hope is for yours to be just as amazing, so I am going to list some of the advice my friends and family gave to me that made me more cool, calm, and collected when heading into college. 

1. Balance Work and Play

   I think this is the most important piece of advice I was given. College is tough academically, and freshman year you are also thrown into the thick of social life. You are dying to meet people and make friends and acclimate to the school community. However, it is also important to prioritize schoolwork. Like myself, most college freshmen are experiencing living and studying away from home for the first time. This meant I had to adjust my study skills and truly learn how to manage time. I am a pretty social person, but I learned pretty quickly that to do well in school you have to balance both perfectly. It is okay to miss out on a couple of things in order to do better in school, and it is okay to not do your best on one project if you feel too overwhelmed with school. 

2. Get an academic planner 

   Getting an academic planner actually saved me. Without it, it is so easy to forget a small assignment that was just slipped out in the middle of class or something. I’ll link some below

   • Try this one

   • Or this!

3. If you have communal showers, Invest in shower shoes

   Please, who knows what’s on the floor in there! 

4. Buy headphones or earbuds 

   If you know you have a roommate, get yourself some headphones or earbuds if you don’t have any yet. No matter if you love or dislike your roommate, everyone needs a little alone time once in a while and with headphones, you can be in your own world without bothering the other person in the room.

5. Hold your judgments when meeting new friends

   It's totally okay not to be friends with everyone, but as a freshman, everyone is going through the same motions of making friends, and for some people, it's harder than others.

6. Try to make connections with your professors 

   It will only help you in the long run to have people in your corner! 

7. Don’t be scared to go to extra help sessions/office hours 

   It shows you really care about understanding the material and doing well, and will only help you to get extra help.

8. Be as outgoing as you can - even if it’s uncomfortable

   Although it's scary to be yourself, it's also the easiest way to find people that will be your best friends. Being genuine attracts people.

9. Immerse yourself in school spirit!

   Go to sports games!!! They are amazing and it is so fun to have school spirit. 

10. If everything is overwhelming you and you feel swamped, take a break 

    I had to take a lot of breaks this year, especially with corona, I felt my stress sometimes take over. The most effective ways I regrouped were working out, calling my mom or my home friends, going for a walk, or just watching a comfort show (my personal fav is New Girl)

Written by Charlotte G. | Blogging Intern at Keating Quigley Educational Advisors

Summer Reads from The Hoot!

Sit back, relax and embrace the gift of time with Anne’s 2021 summer picks

Summer gives us the gift of time to read for pleasure with longer days, warmer weather, and more sunlight. Let’s see what our reading can look like this summer whether you’re sitting on a beach, on a road trip with your family,  in a bunk at summer camp, or just relaxing. After a year of quarantining and isolation, let’s make it a goal to turn off our phones and shut off computers to experience the joy of turning pages - paper or digital.

With that in mind, here are some of my favorite summer reads to consider. They run the gamut of gripping, endearing, educational, inspiring, and entertaining, so be sure to check them out. I’ve made sure to include something for everyone, so feel free to share the list with friends and family as well. Have a great summer filled with happy reading! 

Parents

• Deacon King Kong by James McBride: “Some novels about city life are poems of alienation, interior portraits of the existentially isolated, but James McBride’s vision of New York is one of overwhelming human profusion.” (New Yorker)

• A Place For Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza: Mirza's book gets to a universal truth: To be part of a family is to learn how to be more than one person, how to remain an individual while fulfilling the duties we have to those who love us, who made us. It is almost never easy; it is sometimes, in fact, impossible.” (NPR)

High School

• Oasis by Katya Becerra: A supernatural thriller about six teenagers stranded on an oasis in the desert

• Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo (novel in verse): Two teenage girls realize that they share a father

• Found by Joseph Bruchac: After witnessing a crime, Nick survives in the wilderness to escape the murderer

• Girl, Unframed by Deb Caletti: While spending summer with her movie-star mother, Sydney, 16, finds love but also finds danger

• This Is My America by Kim Johnson: Teenager Tracy fights against racism in the justice system

Middle School

• Danny Constantino's First (and Maybe Last?) Date by Paul Acampora: A Middleschooler, Danny reconnects with an old friend, who is now a celebrity

• Raising Lumie by Joan Bauer: Newly orphaned and living with the half-sister, Olive, 12, rediscovers hope when she trains a guide dog puppy

• Catherine's War by Julia Billet (graphic novel): Set in France during WWII, Rachel Cohen must goe into hiding after being separated from her parents

• One Last Shot by John David Anderson: Malcolm, 12, takes up miniature golf to make his athletic father happy

Elementary School

• You Can Do It, Yasmine by Saadia Faruqi

• Benny McGee and the Shark by Derek Anderson

• The Boy Who Grew Dragons by Andy Shepherd

• Great Escapes (five historical fiction books) by W.N. Brown

Happy summer from KQ!

Written by Anne O’Reilly Connerty | Reading Specialist at Keating Quigley Educational Advisors

Reflections on Fatherhood

By Dave Olson, Former Middle School Head at Sacred Heart Greenwich and incoming Executive Director at the Waterside School, Stamford, CT

I am the proud father of an 11-year old son. I came to parenting later in life than many and had already spent more than 20-years as an educator before our son was born. Working with countless children and their families over the years has allowed me to develop some expertise, especially in the middle school years. I forever encourage parents to embrace the unpredictability of childhood and stay focused on the remarkable development their children will undergo over the span of their many years in school rather than focusing on the day-to-day successes, frustrations, and challenges.

Fatherhood has helped me embrace how difficult this is and has allowed me to learn the following additional truths:

It’s Not About You

I purchased a baseball glove for my son when he was three days old and soon after mounted a mini-basketball hoop in his bedroom. While I knew the pitfalls of being an overbearing parent I couldn’t resist exposing him to the things I loved and kept telling myself that I learned some of my greatest lessons through playing sports and being involved in competition. It turns out that my son has a mild interest in traditional sports, but really loves to read, skateboard, and create things with technology. Of course, my wife instantly fanned the flames of his interests, while I struggled to let go of my dreams of collegiate athletics, the Olympics, and additional feats of greatness in multiple sports. I am a recovering overbearing sports parent and working on supporting his interests so that he will continue to learn the valuable lessons that come from hard work in any venue and that he will experience the joy that comes from doing something he loves. I have even learned various skateboard terms like an “ollie” and a “frontside 180;” certainly I must be the hippest and proudest dad at the skatepark.

Be Present

One of my most salient fatherhood realizations is that my needs are secondary to the needs of my son. Being a father requires me to put the challenges of the day away when entering our home each evening so that I can be fully present for my son and wife. This is a work in progress. Thankfully, though, I have the most remarkable wife who picks up the slack regularly as I fall short. And while the pandemic created numerous profound challenges for schools and families, I found that it created greater opportunities for fathers to be more present in the lives of their children. We had a record number of working parents, many of whom are dads, participate in various virtual events this past year such as parent-teacher conferences. My hope is that fathers enjoyed the experience of being more intimately connected to their children’s education and that schools will continue to offer virtual options to encourage attendance. In addition, being quarantined for the spring of 2020 provided a profound experience for me as my son and I spent each afternoon playing outside together (yes, I “inspired” him to master the finer points of a jump-shot). When returning to in-person learning for the beginning of the 2020-2021 school year he earnestly asked “can you come home early from school each afternoon so that we can spend time together?” This hit me hard as I have spent so much of my life serving my various schools. Once again I am on the rocky road of mastering the simple concept of being present in my son’s daily life.

Enjoy the Ride

I often lament the lack of simplicity in the 21st Century, which is compounded by my tech skills as I am somewhere on the spectrum between a Luddite and digital native. Just like working in schools, being a father has forced me to embrace the sloppiness of each day and not get hung up on my utopian dream of having things arranged in vertical columns with neat bows. I am working on letting go of perfection, not getting sidetracked by complications, and simply enjoying time with my son. 

I salute all dads as we approach Father’s Day and encourage all to celebrate your small victories while remaining committed to being selfless, being present, and enjoying the greatest gift of being a father.

Reflections On The School Admissions Process

Independent school admissions decisions are out and deposits are in, and the verdict... accepted, waitlisted or denied. For some, the outcome was just what they wanted, a spot at the school of their dreams. For others the decision was disappointing because they are on  a waitlist , or worse yet, denied. So what does this all mean?

Before I go on, I should tell you that my approach to school admissions is centered on self reflection and acknowledgement. I challenge you as parents, to take a non-linear approach to the school search by not making the process about a means to an end. Instead, push yourselves outside the box and use this as an opportunity to help your child build life skills. Life skills? What do they have to do with applying to schools? First, let us think about a few: admissions interviews, applications, school research, writing a resume, and time management. These are skills that all of us have to develop and use throughout our lives. So, why not start early?

“Learning without reflection is a waste. Reflection without learning is dangerous.”

-Confucius

The first step in this exploration starts with your child and getting them to understand who they are as an academic, a person, and general member of society. At this point, you are probably wondering at what age children can start identifying these skills. A middle schooler, with coaching, can easily start pinpoint some of their characteristics and qualities. Do not underestimate your child’s ability to recognize their strengths and weaknesses! 

I would argue that regardless of the admission decision, it’s important to reflect on the school selection process. What did you learn about yourself as a parent? What did you learn about your child? And last but not least, what should you be doing as a family going forward? For parents of middle or high school students, this should be viewed as an opportunity for your child to reflect upon their profile. Okay, so this sounds interesting... but, where do I go from here?

Take a step back before you move forward and ask yourself or your child:

• What did I or my child learn about their character?

• Did I/they discover anything new about their academic profile?

• Are extracurricular activities a significant part of the child’s life?

• Should we consider academic support or enrichment?

• Have I/we adequately researched and addressed the school programs that are a “best fit” match?

• Did we put enough emphasis on the school community and environment?

• Was the application process an emotionally balanced experience?

• Did I empower my child in their school search?

Do not feel like you have to have one big conversation about this. Instead, use this as an opportunity to start a dialogue. You might want to consider putting pen to paper before engaging in conversation to show that you put time and thought into understanding their school search. We all know how hard it is to strike a conversation with our middle or high school students. Seize the moment!

While many of you might be thinking, “my child has a spot in their first choice school so what’s all of this reflection about?” These are questions every parent should be asking themselves periodically as their child navigates their educational journey. Take a pulse along the way, and make sure that your child’s school is still appropriate based on how they are developing not only as a student, but as a person.

For those of you who are still waiting for a spot or are planning on going through the school application process again next fall, turn a negative into a positive, and use this time to reassess your child, and their school list. You might find yourself wondering if you should have done things differently. Remember, it’s never too late to redirect your thought process, and change your plan.

Jacquie Quigley | Partner | Keating Quigley Educational Advisors