GR8TR Today Magazine

Living a GR8TR Life Every Day

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Participate In Your Community By Joining a Board

People often do not realize that many local organizations have boards who meet regularly to help with organizational issues or keep track of the finance and operational goals.  Nearly all non profits have boards.  Schools all have boards. Communities have boards or councils.  Mental health organizations have boards. Large corporations have boards, but you might be surprised to find out that smaller companies and even startups have boards.

Qualifications are going to vary greatly based on the board and what the leader and the current board members are looking for, but you might be surprised to find you are just what they are looking for.  For example, a mental health board is not going to be made up of all psychologists usually.  Instead, they will often be made up of people in the community who care about mental health.  They will bring their varied talents to the table to help look at things from different perspectives.

Boards typically meet once a month but it could be more or less.  Some are paid positions, and many are voluntary.  Some voluntary positions do pay a small stipend to cover expenses.  At a minimum, they typically feed you at the meeting and it offers a chance to give back to the community and learn about a topic in more detail.  It also improves your skills and knowledge in the area.

Typically a board is either an elected position in the broad sense, such as needing to be on a ballot and get elected.  Think city councils and public school boards.  Other positions are typically by vote of existing board members.  One person might bring you in and if you and the board agree it is a good fit they vote and make you a member.

Board sizes can be from a small group of 5 or 6 up to a large group of 30 or more.  The larger the group the longer the meetings may go if everyone likes to talk and ask questions.

So how do you get on a board?

To begin, know what area you are interested in.  If it is entrepreneurship, you will want to try to get on a startup board.  If it is education, a school board.  If it is mental health, then a mental health board.

Next you can use Google and LinkedIn and find existing organizations that match your interest.  Look on their website and see if they list board members.  Call or email and inquiry about open board positions.  Ask if you can attend a board meeting.  Have your resume polished up and ready in case they ask for it.

And keep circling back around.  If a board is full when you contact them make sure they know you would like to be considered for a position in the future.  Then follow up regularly, maybe quarterly, to see if positions have opened up.

Unless you are very familiar with the industry and how boards operate, begin by listening a lot and asking questions after the meetings.  New visitors and board members sometimes try to do too much too soon, and it can be difficult.  The first six months or more will most likely be learning and absorbing all the stuff they are doing.

Being a board member in any community organization is very rewarding.  It can lead to new friends, new opportunities and a real sense of helping people.

 

Life Lessons Learned on the Tennis Court 


To say that I was a tennis player would be a stretch. Although I love the game and like to play when I can, in reality I spend more of my time as a spectator.

My son and husband are both passionate about tennis, so between watching professional tennis matches live and on TV or sitting on the sidelines during my son’s lessons and USTA matches, I have developed an appreciation for the intricacies of the game. 

The better educated I become, the more grateful I am for the lessons my son is learning that extend to his life on and off the court.

Here are some of the parallels you can draw to life:

Success takes an enormous amount of hard work

Succeeding at tennis, like all sports, takes focus and discipline. Players must be dedicated to their goals in order to achieve success. They discover that if they are willing to put in the time and effort, they will improve and succeed; and this lesson will carry over into their academic life and future careers.

It is not about how many times you fail, but how many times you get back up

In tennis you lose more than you win. At the end of the tournament, only one person goes home with the winning trophy. Players may have won many matches to get to the semifinals or finals; but in the end, without the trophy in hand, they are not completely satisfied with the result. 

It never ceases to amaze me how these young kids put themselves out there week after week. Even behind the glass watching the matches, you can feel the immense pressure. As parents watch the outcome of every point, you can hear a pin drop. Disappointed faces are hard to cover up when their child loses the point or match. Emotions seen on the court exhibit the players’ fear of not only letting themselves down but the people around them.

The lessons they learn from losing a match can be far greater than if they had won.  

  1. Losing a match isn’t the end of the world. Life goes on
  2. Appreciate the small victories even within the matches that were lost
  3. Failure is a temporary setback; continued practice and focus are required to achieve success
  4. Experiencing loss and the feelings that surround a loss, can make victory even sweeter. In life, we sometimes have to experience suffering to recognize real joy

Learn how to handle emotions and lose gracefully

We often see kids come off the court banging their racquets, yelling at themselves or their opponents. Most of them learn pretty quickly that this is poor sportsmanship. A good sport gives his or her opponent credit for the game they have played. Recognizing an inappropriate public display of emotions is part of being a good sport. A successful tennis player will use the loss as an opening to understand what they need to work on to become a better player.

We are all faced with defeat in our lives, and sports provide us the experiences for learning to handle defeat

You are accountable, and you are in charge of your own destiny

As an individual sport, the outcome of the match is solely your creation. There are no time limits in tennis. No matter how far behind you are, it is plausible that you can make a comeback and win the match. 

You control your own destiny on the court and in life

Belief in yourself and the power of the mind are critical to success

As important as conditioning to support the physical requirements of tennis, mental toughness is what can separate the top players. A momentary lapse in focus or confidence can change momentum quickly and cost you the match. In many instances, the winner is the player that could isolate himself from the distractions.

In life and on the court, always keep your eye on the ball

You can never be fully prepared for what life throws at you, but how you handle those moments can make all the difference

Tennis players are giving us a performance. However, unlike lines in a play that can be recited over and over until committed to memory, or a dance that when rehearsed enough allows the body to move to the music almost on its own, a tennis player cannot prepare for every shot that is going to come at them. The variations can be infinitesimal, dictated by speed, angles, topspin, backspin, flatter, higher, weather, and surface. No two shots are ever identical. The player has a split second to make a judgment on where they want to place the returning shot and how the body needs to be aligned in order to achieve that result. 

You can never fully prepare for life or a match. but critical decisions made at key points on the court or in our lives can determine the outcome

 I am happy that my son has found something for which to be so passionate. I am impressed with his dedication and commitment to the sport. The young USTA players deserve immense credit for their resilience. As a child, I don’t know if I could have handled that pressure or the range of emotions–or had the buoyancy to continually put myself out there.

No matter what role tennis ends up playing in my son’s life, I am confident the lessons he has learned on the court will help him to succeed in his journey of life.

Melissa Reagan Brunetti

Tennis Mom, Freelance Writer, Certified Nutritionist

http://embracebalancedhealth.com/

allergy

Reduce Seasonal Allergy Symptoms Naturally

Every year, if you have seasonal allergies, you know exactly when things start to bloom.  Your eyes start to itch, and you feel that tingle in your nose and throat.  There is not one perfect strategy to reduce or eliminate allergy symptoms.  Each person is a little bit different, and for anyone who spends more time outdoors, their symptoms will be more severe than a person staying inside an air-conditioned home.  However, we have compiled a list of things to help you reduce your allergy symptoms.  Many of these tips, if done well, can help you minimize many of the bad symptoms you experience and help you feel better.

According to the American College of  Allergies, Asthma & Immunology(acaai.org) there are more than 50 million Americans that suffer from allergies each year. The cost to alleviate those allergies cost over $18 billion yearly, and the severity and symptoms varied considerably among the sufferers.

Popping pills every few hours to alleviate allergy symptoms is not recommended for anyone.  There are natural remedies for allergy sufferers to ease their stuffy, runny nose, sneezing, watery eyes and itching of the nose, and throat. Some of these natural remedies will help ease to varying degrees some of the worst symptoms. Here is a comprehensive list of things you can do to reduce your seasonal allergy symptoms.  Individually, none of these tips are a cure-all but can be used as a comprehensive strategy to greatly reduce your seasonal suffering.

Keep Windows Closed

We all want some fresh air when things warm up, but if it is allergy season for you, keep those windows closed.  If you must open windows for some fresh air, consider opening them during a light rainfall, or right after, for a short while.  The rain can help wash away pollen and reduce airborne allergens.

Air Conditioning and Filter

If your windows are closed, you are going to get hot.  The AC is an allergy sufferer’s best friend.  And if you buy a good filter that filters out allergens, you can stay cool and keep your air in your home clear of pollen.

Netty Pot – Nose Bidet

Flushing your nose with a warm saline solution 2-3 times a day will give you immediate relief from itchy eyes and other allergy symptoms.  These can be bought at the drug store.  Make sure you boil water first, and let it cool to a comfortable temperature. 

Local Honey

Some people swear by local honey.  The thought process is that the honey will contain the pollen in the area, and will help your body build up an immunity to it, thus reducing allergies.  I have never tried this enough to see if it works or not, but it seems something worth trying if you like honey in your tea anyway.

Change Clothes

Pollen will come into your home in your hair, on your clothes, and on your shoes.  The more often you change things and wash things the better.  When you come in from doing something outside, consider changing to indoor clothing right away and isolate the outdoor clothing in a laundry area or a basket.

Change Towels

While it is great to use towels multiple times to reduce water usage, it can be bad during allergy season.  As your towel gets more pollen on it, drying your face with it becomes a terrible idea.  During allergy season, change your hand towels every day, and your bath towels every 2-3 days.

Clean Shoes

Shoes are the worst culprits for tracking pollen from the outside.  If you can, keep shoes in a garage or isolated area.  Frequently clean them and the floor where you keep them. Do not walk around the house wearing your shoes you wear outside.

Vacuum (Home, Car, Furniture)

The floor will get allergens on it no matter how hard you try.  Mopping and sweeping is essential, and an easy task if you do it daily.  Be especially careful of carpeted areas, like inside the car, on carpeted steps and even cloth-covered furniture.  Leather furniture might even be a better choice for someone with bad allergies.

Window Treatments

Curtains are hard to clean frequently.  If you have bad allergies, consider blinds that can be quickly dusted.  This helps keep those allergens out of the home because they cannot build up in the curtains.

Wash Dog

If you have a dog, allergy season is a good time for a lot of baths, or at least being sprayed with the hose frequently.  Depending on the breed, a dog can collect and bring in a lot of allergens.  Choose your dog breed carefully and keep their hair short and clean during allergy season.

Shower and Wash Face

Getting allergens off of you is critical. You do not want to go to sleep with them in your hair or on your face, especially. Take showers in the evenings, and rinse off after you come in from outside activities. If you cannot shower, at least wash your face and hands well.

Generic Claritin

Lastly, while this is not a “natural” remedy for seasonal allergies, I consider this a great tip.  Claritin works well for reducing allergy symptoms, but it is expensive.  Most people do not realize that there is a generic form that you can buy on Amazon or sometimes at your pharmacist that is under $10 for 100 tablets.  There are different names and brands, but the savings are incredible.

Natural options  are the best choice for your allergies, but when symptoms become intolerable , keeping a bottle of allergy pills on hand to ease your symptoms can be an option too.

Totally Free Family Activities (No Devices Involved)

I bet you have not thought of all these  five different ways to do really fun things with your family without spending money. We all like to go and spend money at the movies or in restaurants but you can’t do that every day and be fiscally responsible. Especially when you have small kids, you need to be planning ahead for college, for the car when they are a teenager, and all the other expenses that will come up with raising kids.

Number one is obvious. Going to local parks when the weather is nice is an easy way to get out and have a lot of fun with your kids. As the runaround on playgrounds they’re getting more fit and having a good time and likely making friends. If your kids are little bit older you can still pull this off by taking a frisbee, hacky sack or a soccer ball to the field and working on physical skills with them.

Number two is often overlooked. It is going to all the fantastic free events near where you live that you are probably not even aware of. Colleges, high schools, middle schools and churches have a events all the time open to the public and free of charge or sometimes they charge a small fee. This could be music, dance performances, theater, or other group activities or performances. Many colleges require students to do performances for their classes and these are often available for free.  And having young kids start making noise in a free middle school performance is not as embarrassing as having them throw a fit at the symphony.

Another idea few people bother to do is organize in their own clinic around a sport or activity. For example, your child might like tennis but there are no tennis camps. If you can find a few other families interested in tennis then you can organize a weekly tennis get together and work on your skills. You don’t have to be a coach to develop basic skills and practice. This could be for any sport or other kinds of group activities. You could organize a Spanish club, hiking club, art club or a coding in group. And if you are organizing, this could actually make some money for you if you charge a small fee to the other participants.

But if you don’t want to organize events like this you can also depend on your local library to have many things that are free and open to the public and great to do as a family. I know locally you can go see movies at the library on certain nights as well as go to art classes, story time, and book groups. I’ve never seen any of these things cost any money.

Lastly a great way to get out and have some fun and not spend any money is to go on a nature walk or a hike. But to make it more interesting for kids consider making a treasure hunt.  Decide what things you’re going to hunt for and mark them off the list or take pictures of them when you see them. They could be things like the bluebird or an acorn or are yellow car.

By making a treasure hunt it becomes far more interesting and it  can even become competitive. This is not much different from the old travel bingo games people used  to keep the kids entertained in the car before iPads and entertainment systems.

These are just some of the ideas you can do to get out and have fun and not spend any money while entertaining your kids getting exercise or developing a skill. It doesn’t matter where you live because things like this are going to be available in your area. These are just  common things in most communities. The key is the call around and find out what’s going on and talk to people and find all these great things available to you. Now get out there and enjoy them.

Summer Learning, Reinvented: How Outstanda Pays Students to Master Math, Science, and More

When most parents think of summer break, visions of sun, free time, and maybe a little screen overload come to mind. But a new nonprofit initiative is transforming summer into something much more impactful—and surprisingly motivating for kids.

Meet Outstanda STEM XP, a virtual summer program where students don’t just learn—they get paid to succeed.

Yes, you read that right.

In this innovative program for grades 2 through 8, students complete a four-week interdisciplinary curriculum covering math, reading, writing, and science. The twist? Every time they pass a weekly mastery assessment, they earn $25—up to $100 total.

“We wanted to combine project-based learning with real-world motivation,” says Ron McDaniel, Founder of Outstanda. “We believe students should be rewarded for effort and progress, not just showing up.”

The program is entirely online and designed to be flexible. Once enrolled, students get six weeks to complete four weeks of content. Each week includes a hands-on STEM project, vocabulary building, literacy tasks, and a short assessment that must be passed to unlock the reward.

And it’s not just for straight-A students.

“Some of our most engaged learners are those who’ve struggled in traditional classrooms,” says McDaniel. “When kids realize they can earn money by mastering concepts and apply what they’ve learned to something real – they become more invested. They see the value.”

While many summer programs focus on remediation or enrichment, Outstanda strikes a unique balance: it’s challenging, rewarding, and fun, but also accessible and affordable. Families can register directly through Outstanda.org, and early bird and multi-license discounts are available.

The program is gaining attention from homeschool networks, school districts, and parents looking for educational structure over the summer.

Why It Works

Outstanda STEM XP isn’t just a feel-good idea. It’s built on research showing that:

  • Immediate, meaningful rewards increase student engagement
  • Project-based learning improves retention and understanding
  • Flexible, self-paced programs can help close learning gaps

By blending those principles with a clear incentive, Outstanda delivers something rare: a summer program students actually want to finish.

 Registration Now Open

Outstanda is currently accepting registrations for multiple summer sessions. Visit Outstanda.org to learn more, view grade-level options, and download the program flyer.

Summer doesn’t have to be a learning slump—it can be a launchpad. And thanks to Outstanda, it might just be your child’s most rewarding summer yet.

Helping Your Student With His Writing

Writing, for many students is a painstaking chore that they would rather not do.  Many teachers complain that students do not even know how to write an introduction, let alone a whole essay.

For many students writing a term paper, the complications begin with vocabulary they need to use to convey their thoughts and ideas. Using adjectives, adverbs and pronouns become a problem if the student doesn’t know the definition nor their usage.

A student that needs to write a descriptive and coherent paper, should be able to use an array of words that are not repetitive, or boring.

How can you help?

Working with your student, try to use synonyms that will make the writing easier to read and will expand the student’s vocabulary. Choose words that are synonyms but are not as widely used. For example, the list below shows an abridged list of some adjectives that will make your student’s writing more mature without making it too difficult for him/her to write.  Start with these simple changes, and your student will begin writing a better paper in the future with little difficulty.

Use This

 Instead of this
Dreadful, rough bad
Pleasant nice
Extreme real
Worthwhile good
Vicious mean
Raging Very strong
Spacious large
Tiny Very little
strenuous hard
Courteous

nice

What if the vocabulary is not the problem? Writing can become a habit and you can make it happen.  Setting a specific time to do writing every day can start the change and become an enjoyable subject for your student.  Writing essays, letters and short stories can give your student the needed practice he needs.  Choose topics that seem to trigger a positive response from your student, then you can change those topics to more complex ones.  Begin slowly, with perseverance you and your student will achieve your goals.

After the Snow Melts, Focus on Your Lawn

In Ohio the last snow may appear as late as the early weeks of April. Still, a property owner may notice in February a single day earth thaws and makes it pliable. Gardeners look to this day as a reminder it is time to get lawns ready. Professional landscapers know a single day with a thaw is an ideal opportunity to begin the preliminary steps of lawn care. This assumes proper steps were taken in autumn “before” the first freeze occurred.

The Snow Melts – What Next?
Once lawns remain thawed in an Ohio spring, it is time to begin the work of preparing soil. For some property owners, this may require soil testing to understand the degree of compromise the winter had on soil pH and soil nutrients.

If the lawn was properly “winterized” in autumn, this may not be necessary. However, it is a good idea to know where the soil composition is most compromised in order to know which fertilizers may be added.

A properly prepared lawn may need only a light dusting of lime to start the season. Note that when lime is added, it is important to allow the soil to fully “ingest” lime components deeply into the earth below the grass line. This may take several days or a week.

Ohio, like many states in the region, find spring often brings a rainy season. Too much moisture can cause grass roots to rot or die. To avoid this problem, make sure the lawn has proper drainage. If yellow spots begin to appear in the lawn, this is a sign roots are receiving too much moisture. Alleviate this problem by adding a small patch of potting soil to drink up some of the moisture temporarily until the rainy season ends.

The Real Lawn “Work” Begins
Once the rainy season ends and weather is relatively stable, the real work of lawn care begins. Over winter, bits of dried leaves and twigs may become desiccated into the soil.

This debris chokes off oxygen to grass roots. Begin lawn care with a thorough raking to remove debris. Discuss with a local Ohio garden shop the best type of lawn fertilizer for your particular Ohio region. It is a good idea to become familiar with the various types of components in lawn fertilizer. For example, too much nitrogen in some fertilizers for some Ohio lawns can be as bad for the lawn as too little.

The other issue is to know the actual type of grass or grasses your lawn contains. In many areas of Ohio, lawns are composed of two or more types of grasses that create the ideal lawn structure for durability and endurance in specific regional weather patterns.

Post Fertilizer Lawn Care
Spring and fall are ideal times to add lawn fertilizer. This is because grass roots tend to slow their growth and absorb lawn fertilizers over a longer period. In spring, after a thorough raking and fertilizing, grass should have at least one inch of growth before the first time it is mowed. For those who prefer mulching mowers, lawns should still be inspected to prevent mulch buildup. In any case, lawns should be raked at least twice during the growing season to keep it healthy and vibrant.

Boost a Positive Mindset

There is nothing more frustrating than to be in a negative mood and have people tell you to be more positive. It is not just a switch you can flip. Imagine telling someone “Be more rich” or “Be more athletic” – it takes steady effort over time. Instead of telling you the one secret to being more positive, we have come up with 10 ways to improve your positive mindset.

  1. Get Physical – Doing more exercise is well known to improve your mood and boost positive thoughts. Once may not do the trick, make it a habit.
  2. Change Your Reading Habits – Where you are getting your news is going to affect your mood. If you are reading, listening or watching negative news all the time, you cannot also have positive thoughts. Reduce consumption or find a source with more happy topics.
  3. Change The Time You Spend With People – You will often here that you should get rid of negative relationships. But you cannot always do that. What you can do, at least, is lesson the impact they have on you by limiting time and interactions with people who bring you down.
  4. Swap In Positive Activities for Wasted Time – Neutral activities, like unwinding in front of the TV at night, can be turned into mood boosters by swapping that time for more active activities, such as hobbies, time with friends, learning a new language, etc.
  5. Get More Social – Speaking of friends, more social people are usually happier and live longer.
  6. Develop a Positive Mindset With Stoicism – Stoicism is a simple philosophy that helps you deal with daily challenges and focus on what you can control and reduce how much other things bother you. To get started, sign up for the Daily Stoic.
  7. Ask Your Significant Other To Support Your Effort To Improve – If you have a good relationship with someone you respect and can be honest with, work together to point out negative thoughts and comments and try to focus on more positive things. The buddy system will help you both reinforce a change in focus.
  8. Get Away From Electronics More – Be more aware of your surroundings, nature, people and things happening in the real world. This means less time with your nose pointed at a device. Time to think, away from online and email, will help you be more creative and more positive.
  9. Leave Work at Work – Do you have a stressful job? Practice leaving work at work. If you go home and discuss and think about problems at work every day, you need to practice leaving work at work OR find a new job that does not have negative consequences in your life outside of the hours you are paid.
  10. Clean Up Your Diet – Positive moods are difficult when you feel sluggish and you are out of shape. Eat cleaner, healthier food more often. Cook more. Then give yourself a cheat day to eat those bad things you miss. Your mood will lift with the accomplishment of disciplined better eating as well as the well-earned cheat day where you eat your old favorites.

Improve Your Relationship With Your Teen

I have always said the age of 7-12 is perfect. You can do all kinds of fun things with your kids, and they have not usually started the process of abandoning you in favor of their friends. As you hit the dreaded teenage years, you will most likely need to change and reconsider your relationship. It will gradually become more of a “team them” and your role can stay very positive if you see yourself as a coach, and less of an authoritarian parent.

Let’s explore some ideas on how to keep a positive relationship even while they start to break off and become their own person.

1. Set Goals Together

If you set clear goals that are THEIR goals, you can help them achieve things they want to achieve. This is going to be more of a symbiotic relationship versus trying to impose your goals for them on them.

2. Be Strict Where It Matters

As they get older, be strict when you need to be on things that align with their goals, but do not try to force less important things on them. For example, they are 16 and you still try to make them play an instrument they do not wish to play or get straight A’s when their goal is to go to a community college? Maybe B’s and giving up music are appropriate at this point. When they set the goals, it is easier to say you are just helping them achieve their goals.

3. Do Something With Them That They Enjoy

Find common interests and activities that are positive that they would still like to do with you. Maybe hiking, yoga, reading… the kind of things they would not easily do with their friends because it is not universally enjoyed by everyone. (Movies are just not going to be as fun with a parent, sorry)

4. Lean, Don’t Shove

Assuming you do not have any major issues that require forceful intervention, having a strategy of leaning on them, instead of shoving them in the direction you would like to go is very advantageous to maintaining a good relationship with your teen and helping them become good people.

  • Use positive reinforcement.
  • Assist when they need something oriented towards their goals.
  • Send them the occasional article that reinforces what they want to achieve.
  • Talk about the difficulties of adulthood and how certain things make life easier (better education, good job, health and fitness, etc.)
  • Watch the occasional great documentary with them.

5. Use Vanity, Greed and Pride

Lastly, try to pay attention to nature. At some point your kids will want to look good, have more money and feel good about themselves. Instead of just giving them what they want consider using these developing feelings as motivators for them to do more things themselves. This requires you to pay attention to what they find meaningful and lean on improving that area.

Of course, this article is for people who are lucky and do not have significant behavioral or addiction problems. If you have serious issues, get help. The sooner you address it the more likely to improve things and get back on track.

Help Kids to Stay Focused in Spring

It isn’t just a “young man” whose fancy turns to love in spring. Kids also “reawaken” with the first bloom of the crocus through the snow in Ohio. Trying to keep kids attention focused on their studies becomes a bit more difficult for parents when warmer temperatures have kids panting to be outdoors or engaged in spring activities. Parents can help kids to stay focused in spring by ensuring there is balance between their kids’ natural exuberance and ability to focus on their studies.

Tips to Help Parents Cope with Kids’ “Spring Fever”

One way for parents to help kids bathe gently in spring fever is to provide a connection between changing temperatures, increasing sunlight due to Daylight Saving Time and their studies.

For example, there are many ways to use “spring fever” to keep them focused on science and math by encouraging kids to align their studies to changes taking place all around them in spring. In fact, parents can encourage their kids to use these changes to advantage in science, math and literary projects, such as reports, special projects and presentations.

Align Kids’ Ages with Focus on Studies

Educators all know that to expand the minds of children, it is necessary to gear their studies to age levels. Parents can do this at home in a vibrant Ohio spring by exposing their children to various poets, artists and authors who’s work is influenced by Spring.

In the sciences, develop kids’ focus by helping them to learn more about the particular subjects they are learning. For example, if the course of study is algebra, help kids to learn about the history of the subject, the significance of algebra in today’s hi tech world and how they can better understand the subject. Parents can also create a science project at home for their kids by helping them advance their knowledge of plant or insect growth in various forms.

Keeping Ohio Kids Focused on their Education

One thing parents can do to keep their kids focused on their educations is to provide examples of the lack of education and the causes and effects of having limited knowledge. Parents should always encourage a “thirst” for knowledge in their kids. This should include a step in the path of kids’ education toward technology. Help kids to develop an intense curiosity of technology and technological logic that will be of immense benefit to their futures.

In addition, consider clear rules that respect their desire to get outside more but also makes clear the need to keep up academics. Some kids will not need extra attention but even some of the best students will feel a little more restless and need attention from parents to keep on track. Enjoy the weather.