What you think does matter

  Bribe Children to Learn the Right Way As any parent or teacher will tell you, getting a child to learn—to truly enjoy it and want to do it—is one of the most difficult things you can do today. You are fighting against shrinking attention spans chased by catchy TikTok videos, music-filled dance clips, and everything else found on social media. Even YouTube has to deal with the shrinking attention of its viewers; that is why they are pushing "Shorts" so hard today. How to Get Their Attention One of the things I do to grab the attention of students is to challenge them to play games. I do this during Daycare—the one place on a school campus where children want nothing to do with learning. Daycare is their time. It’s free time to play, talk with friends, and run wild on the playground while they wait for their parents to pick them up. While we tell them to do their homework or read a book during daycare, we know most resist this. They don’t give it their all, or they do the ba...

The Magic Spark: What Truly Makes a Children’s Book Unforgettable Have you ever watched a child’s face while they are deeply tucked into a story? It is one of the most beautiful sights in the world. Their eyes widen, their breath catches, and for a few moments, the living room or the classroom disappears, replaced by a forest, a space station, or a magical kingdom. As parents, teachers, and caregivers, we often find ourselves standing in front of massive bookshelves, wondering: Which one will be the one they remember? What makes a book truly "interesting" to a child? It isn’t always the book with the shiniest cover or the one that won the biggest award. The books that children ask for night after night—the ones that end up with dog-eared pages and worn-out spines—usually share a few "secret ingredients." Let’s take a gentle look at what creates that magic spark and keeps young readers coming back for more. 1. Characters Who Feel Like Friends The heart of any great s...