PTA Parent: 2010 Summer Learning / Library Benefits

Keeping Your Kids Sharp This Summer
Summer Learning Day is July 9. Take the opportunity this week to follow advice from the National Center for Summer Learning at Johns Hopkins University. The center shares eight tips for what parents can do to keep kids sharp over the summer: http://www.pta.org/3295.htm#1

Rediscover Your Public Library
The public library is a great place to find entertainment, educational or cultural enrichment, or valuable information. Reading Rockets offers nine reasons to go visit your library today: http://www.pta.org/3295.htm#2

Child Care Checklist
Blogger Christie Burnett, an advocate of partnerships between educators and parents, shares a checklist for evaluating child care centers or early learning programs: http://childhood101.blogspot.com/2009/07/creating-learning-communities.html

PTA also advocates partnerships between families and schools as a way to ensure student success in school and life. PTA’s National Standards for Family-School Partnerships provide a framework for how families, schools, and communities work together to support student achievement: http://www.pta.org/national_standards.asp

PTA Radio
The latest PTA Radio broadcasts feature:
* Jim Shelton’s innovative ideas to change American schools for the better. Shelton is Assistant Deputy Secretary for Innovation and Improvement at the U.S. Department of Education.
* National PTA Ambassador Chris Draft of the NFL’s St. Louis Rams, sharing how parent involvement has been a key to his success.
* A virtual contest from one of our partner programs, the Entertainment Software Rating Board.
Tune in: http://www.ptanewsroom.org/pta_radio.html

Parents Interact
Read about how two PTAs hosted family events that got parents involved in a fun, before-school activity with their children. Go to the new PTA Great Idea Bank: http://tiny.cc/aLgds

100 Ways to Help Your Child and School Succeed
There are many ways that you can help your child succeed!:

* Make donations and/or offer to work at clothing drives and food banks to benefit economically-disadvantaged families in the community. (Haga donaciones y/u ofrézcase para trabajar en colectas de ropa y alimentos destinados a familias con dificultades económicas que habitan en la comunidad.)
* Ask teachers or school counselors about how to talk with your child about tough topics. (Pregunte a los docentes o asesores escolares cómo hablar con su hijo acerca de temas difíciles.)