BrightWord

Who Will Hold the Lemonade?

Janie Bowman — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 19:27:37 +0000

Educators who are parents of children with special needs have a special insight that lends itself to greater understanding and compassion. Recently, Rogill Anderson sent me information about a book she recently published that sounds informative and interesting. Though I haven’t read the book, I thought I’d share the information. Who Will Hold the Lemonade? Steuben Press.

Names, Names & More Names

Janie Bowman — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 06:00:04 +0000

I found a wonderful site that has tons of creative ideas for names. Want to name your kid after a sports celebrity? Look for World Cup and Olympic names for something unique. Grandparent names in different languages? Yup. Pet names? Tons of possibilities. It was fun to look at all Name Nerds had to offer. Here’s the site map, or the main page. ~Enjoy.

Schools and Teacher Ed Programs: Missing the Obvious

Janie Bowman — Sat, 09 Oct 2010 16:45:19 +0000

Pete and Pam Wright have an excellent report on how schools and teacher education programs are not addressing children’s developmental and learning needs.

It’s been over twenty years since my husband and I realized this was an issue with public schools. The dropout rate and parents opting for homeschooling should have been a clue that something was amiss But we’re just parents; what the heck do we know?

The U.S. is falling more and more behind in our educational goals and objectives, so I’m pleased to see this issue being addressed by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education in their initiative released this month.

We can do better.

Wrightslaw on Evals, Tests & Measurements

Janie Bowman — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 02:26:10 +0000

Pete and Pam Wright of Wrightslaw.com have a tutorial on how to tell if your child is receiving educational progress in school. The tutorial is focused primarily on students in special education, but any parent who is concerned about their child’s lack of progress in school would benefit.

Documentation could mean the difference between success and failure, and even though the maze of special education requires a steep learning curve, it’s not a step that can be neglected.

Prudential Benefits when Servicemen Die

Janie Bowman — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 19:31:49 +0000

According to Bloomberg News, Prudential has been sending out checkbooks to pay out death benefits to families of servicemen who die. This allows Prudential to hold the money (hundreds of millions of dollars) in a general account, paying out interest on the account but investing the funds.

I think the American Legion gets it right on this by coming out against this practice.

Hopefully, things will change. Please, as much as it’s painful to plan ahead, whether you’re in the service or for specific family estate needs, see a certified financial planner.

New Article Posted

Janie Bowman — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 19:38:11 +0000

I just posted an updated article on homeschooling children with special needs. It was originally written in 2000 at the request of Janie Levine Hellyer, a homeschooling parent and advocate. Ten Steps to Successfully Homeschool Children with Special Needs