Lily Jones

Educator, writer, curriculum developer, mother, lover of learning & teaching
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STEM stars who learn and think differently

Students who have trouble with subjects like math and science may think that a STEM career is not for them. But in fact, many leaders in STEM learn and think differently. Teach your students success stories about scientists, engineers, and other STEM professionals with ADHD and learning differences. You can start by downloading these mini-posters. The posters feature leaders in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math. As kids, they struggled in school. Today these STEM stars are...
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How to use flexible grouping in STEM

Collaboration is a future-ready skill. Almost every job requires people to work with others. That makes it one of the most important skills for students to practice in school, especially in STEM lessons. In STEM, students must work together to solve problems. One way to do that is with flexible grouping.Flexible grouping is an evidence-based teaching practice that supports all learners. Students work together in temporary groups to develop a skill or to complete an activity. The groups can be ho...
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How to plan STEM lessons with Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) can help make STEM content more accessible to all students. UDL is an evidence-based teaching practice that removes barriers to learning. Read on to learn more about UDL and how to use it in your STEM lesson plans.UDL is a framework that helps ​​all learners to access and engage in learning. It’s about building flexibility into your lesson plans so they can be adjusted for every student’s strengths, interests, and needs. With UDL, you assume that barriers to l...
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Growth mindset printables for STEM

A growth mindset is a way of viewing challenges and setbacks. People who have a growth mindset believe that with hard work, their skills can improve over time.Having a growth mindset is important for students. It helps them face challenges and learn from mistakes. It’s essential for students who learn and think differently to have opportunities to practice a growth mindset. And STEM is the perfect place to practice this.STEM often involves finding solutions to problems. Having a growth mindset h...
Hooked on Phonics •

Scarborough’s Reading Rope | Hooked on Phonics

The science of reading is a comprehensive body of research that explains how children learn to read and identifies the most effective instructional methods. It highlights the need to teach a combination of phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. Scarborough’s Reading Rope is a model that helps visually represent how these essential skills intertwine to develop skilled reading. Understanding this model can allow you to help your child grow as a reader.Scarborough’s Re...
Hooked on Phonics •

Teaching Your Child to Read: A Parent’s Role | Hooked on Phonics

How do you teach your child to read? Actually, teaching your child to read isn’t something you need to do on your own. Your child’s teachers will play a key part, and educational technology can help, too. So, what is your role as a parent? While you can teach your child to read, it’s also important to help your child get ready to read. Here are some tips to grow a reader.The simplest way to help your child learn and grow as a reader is to consistently spend time reading together. While a nightly...
Hooked on Phonics •

When Do Kids Learn to Read? | Hooked on Phonics

The answer to the question, “When do kids learn to read?” is simple: when they’re ready! That’s because learning to read is an ongoing process that happens on your child’s own timeline. In fact, it’s normal for there to be a wide variability in reading skills until about age 6 or 7. By then, most children’s reading abilities tend to even out. That’s why it’s important not to push your child too fast. Instead, try to think about learning to read as the beginning of a lifelong adventure. Even afte...
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Three ways to involve families in their child’s learning

Learning doesn’t just happen within a school building. To increase student achievement, it’s important to not just focus on what happens at school. Research shows that parents’ involvement in their kid’s learning is the strongest predictor of academic success. An analysis of 100 Chicago public schools showed that students were four times more likely to improve in reading if they had strong parental involvement. To truly partner with families, schools need to actively listen to families and prio
Forbes •

Healing Together: How Guardian Lane Helps Children Cope With Loss

When Kristina Jones was seven, she lost her dad to cancer. To help process her loss, she went to therapy and grieved with her family. But, reflecting back on her experience, Jones wishes she had more of a support network. “It was very traumatic. I never got the help I needed to process what had happened. My school didn’t give me any type of support. They just gave us a Christmas tree and expected me to go back to normal,” said Jones. Now Jones is committed to making sure other children who exp
Forbes •

Proud To Be Us: Celebrating Pride Month With Supernow

With Pride Month underway, children’s media has been finding ways to celebrate all month long. From the Blues Clues Pride Parade to Sesame’s Street’s rainbow muppet message of solidarity, kid-focused brands have been infusing pride into their programming. Even Lego got in on the Pride Month celebration with their Everyone is Awesome rainbow-themed set. For Supernow, relatively-newcomers to the children’s media scene, celebrating pride month has presented an opportunity to double-down on their m
BabyCenter •

How to prepare your child for daycare or school with coronavirus (COVID-19) precautions

As kids go back to daycares and schools, they'll find new precautions to prevent the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19). Safety measures are necessary, but they may take young children time to adjust to. Help your child adapt to the "new normal" with these tips. When your child goes to daycare or school, people may be wearing masks, sitting farther away from each other, doing activities in smaller groups, and spending more time outside. Talk to your child's daycare or school administrators to get
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How to handle anxiety about sending your child to daycare or school during coronavirus

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has changed everything and layered anxiety onto everyday events. If you're sending your child to daycare or school, it's absolutely normal to feel nervous about it. But managing your anxiety is good for you and your child – so get relief by working through your feelings, reaching out to your community, and practicing self-care. Name it to tame it If you're struggling with making a decision about sending your child to daycare or school, start by articulating
Forbes •

Everyone’s Out Of School: How Outschool Is Making Virtual Learning Personal

After the coronavirus outbreak closed schools across the world, parents became teachers at a rapid rate. Though a sudden switch to homeschooling certainly has its challenges, it is also an opportunity for kids to dive deep into subjects that interest them. This is the perfect time to help kids develop agency, self-direction, and a love of personalized learning. Enter Outschool. Though their online learning platform has been around since 2015, they have grown rapidly over the last few weeks, so
BabyCenter •

Three ways to celebrate World Kindness Day with kids

Did you know there is a whole day devoted to spreading kindness around the world? There is! Celebrating World Kindness Day is the perfect way to show your child the power of kindness. Use #WorldKindnessDay to follow and share positivity on social media on November 13. At home, use these three tips to show your child it's cool to be kind: Talk with your child about how it feels when someone is kind to her. Share examples from your life, and ask your child to reflect on a time when someone did so
BabyCenter •

How to help your child struggle through problems … without your help

As parents, we wish we could make all our kids' problems go away. But as great as that may sound, kids learn important skills by working through problems on their own. Instead of rushing to intervene, help your child turn his struggles into learning opportunities. Start by following these steps: When you see your child struggling, take a deep breath and a step back. Ask yourself: Does my child need my help? If your child fell and has a bloody knee, he likely needs your assistance and comfort. I
Forbes •

Want to Support Teachers? Pay Them, Help Them, Love Them

A recent study found that teacher pay is decreasing. This is bad news for an already struggling profession. Many come to teaching as a calling, something they feel they are born to do (I was one of them). Many leave teaching because it is unsustainable, as there’s too much soul-wrenching work without support, both monetarily and otherwise (I was one of them too.) We know that society doesn’t value teachers, though many of us individuals do. How can parents and other supportive community members
BabyCenter •

Three ways to find high-quality parent friends

Life with a baby or young kid can be isolating. You may long for adult contact, but what tired parent has the energy to look for new friends? Often you can end up hanging out with anyone who has kids of similar ages … and then discover you have little in common with them. Use these tips to find friends that will stick around long after you pass the baby stage: Put yourself out there When you have a little one, it can be easy to get wrapped up in her schedule. Whole days can pass without you ev
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Get your creative groove back with National Novel Writing Month

If you're a busy parent, the idea of writing a 50,000-word novel in the month of November may seem laughable. But participating in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) can give you the creative boost you most definitely need. NaNoWriMo provides the structure, community, and encouragement to help people find their voices and achieve artistic goals. Whether you're tackling a novel or just want to get back to journaling, use these three lessons to bring more artistry into your life: The ingen
BabyCenter •

Reframing your child's 'attention-getting' behavior

In a recent article, early childhood expert Tamar Jacobson wrote that young kids' misbehavior often stems from a desire for a relationship. Instead of leaving kids to figure out how to regulate their emotions on their own, it's important for parents and caregivers to help kids develop the tools and language to deal with their feelings. Use these ideas to reframe attention-getting behavior as opportunities for connection: It can be hard to remain neutral when your child gets upset. As much as po
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