Lauren Martin's picture

How Online Education Can Help Special Needs Children

Submitted by Lauren Martin on Tue, 05/21/2013 - 10:06am

Online Education can help Special Needs ChildrenSpecial needs children often struggle in traditional brick-and-mortar schools. Whether they have autism, dyslexia, or ADHD, children with learning disabilities often need an education that suits their unique needs.

A student on the autism spectrum may not be able to keep up with a teacher’s lesson. Children with ADHD may need to take frequent breaks to reduce anxiety and increase attention span.  A child with multiple sclerosis may need to adjust their day based upon their physical limitations.

Ashley MacQuarrie's picture

5 Must-Have Apps for Busy Parents

Submitted by Ashley MacQuarrie on Mon, 05/20/2013 - 9:55am

With nearly one million mobile applications in Google Play and the Apple App Store respectively, and new apps being added at an astonishing rate of 20,000 each month (on average), it can be hard for even the most active user to keep up with what’s out there. While there are many apps available designed to make your life easier, finding the ones that are actually relevant and useful to you can be harder than you’d think. To save you the trouble, here are 5 favorite apps perfect for busy parents.

shoaglund's picture

Help Spread the Word About Online Education

Submitted by Stephanie Hoaglund on Thu, 05/16/2013 - 12:13pm

Online Education is still a very nebulous concept to many people out there, even though there are literally hundreds of thousands of students currently attending school online in one form or another across the country and around the world.   And for those of us ‘in the know’ about online education, we have witnessed how it much it can help a once struggling student, thrive and succeed.  


How do we, collectively as a community, help spread the word about online education so that it no longer seems like an “out there” concept and becomes a viable option for parents looking to address their child’s unique educational needs?

Ashley MacQuarrie's picture

What Parents Need to Know About Snapchat

Submitted by Ashley MacQuarrie on Wed, 05/15/2013 - 9:40am

Are you friends with your kids on Facebook? Whether out of concern for their online safety, or simple curiosity about their online (and offline) activities, the majority of parents who use social media (92%) say that they monitor their kids’ Facebook use to some extent.

Boys Texting The problem is that the presence of so many adults on Facebook is, in part, causing teens to leave the social network in droves.

Many of these teens are migrating instead to new, smaller networks, where adults have less of a presence. Apps and social networks like Tumblr, Instagram, and Snapchat, are still tiny compared to the Facebook juggernaut, but they are rapidly growing, with teens making up a large percentage of their user bases.

Social media is popular with the vast majority of teens; 90% have used a social networking site. However for students in online schools in particular, whose friendships may form and grow online, and whose friends may be located far away geographically, social networks can play an even more important role in their lives. It’s so important then for kids to understand how to use these networks safely and responsibly, and for parents to be aware of what their kids are up to online.

CrossFit Kids's picture

CrossFit Kids: A Primer for Parents

Submitted by CrossFit Kids Program on Tue, 05/14/2013 - 9:46am

We are partnering with CrossFit Kids to bring you information to help encourage and inspire your children to incorporate health and fitness into their every day lives and to improve their ability to learn. It's important for all online school students to spend some time every day moving, playing, and exercising - not only because in some states, it's required, but because the overall benefits to health and learning are immense!  

However, It is very important that you consult a doctor before you or your children begin any type of exercise. Always stop exercising immediately if you experience any shortness of breath, dizziness, or pain.

The posts provided by CrossFit Kids in this series are designed to explain the overall philosophy of CrossFit Kids, review some basic movements, and offer suggested workouts that can be incorporated at home. We will be reviewing different movements throughout the series and providing you with ideas to get your kids moving.  The workouts won't be anything you can't handle and you should, by all means, join in!

Remember, this should be fun!  Are you ready? 3, 2, 1...Go! 

Walk midway into a class at a registered CrossFit Kids program and you might discern the kind of energy that usually emanates from a playground during recess. There is joyful noise: laughter and thrilled shrieks and triumphant shouts. Kids are having a blast. And the trainers look like they might be having an even better time. A well-run program always looks like a boatload of easy fun. But all of that fun, as merrily hectic and aimless as it sometimes seems, is by design, purposeful. CrossFit Kids intends to teach children to associate exercise with fun, with the ultimate goal being that they will value the pursuit of fitness into adulthood.  It is the new school when it comes to physical education.

But when parents find themselves acting as their child's learning coache at home, that sense of easy fun can become decidedly uneasy. The urge to get their children to a registered CrossFit Kids program can become strong. But that is not necessary.

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