National Poetry Month was started in 1996 by The Academy of American Poets, and is a month-long, national celebration of poetry! Their goal, then and now, is to widen the attention of individuals and the media—to the art of poetry, to living poets, to our complex poetic heritage, and to poetry books and journals of wide artistic range and concern.

There are so many hidden poets out there, including, Phoenix Suns co-owner Richard Jaffe, who recently published his first book of poetry. Jaffe offers five ways we can all benefit by tapping into our inner poet:

1. Improves cognitive function. Learning new words (he’s never without a Thesaurus), working out meter (math!), and finding new ways to articulate our thoughts and feelings (communication) are all good for the brain. Want to get smarter? Write poetry!

2. Helps heal emotional pain. Grief is one of the most painful emotions we experience, and it’s also the source of some of the world’s most inspirational poetry, Jaffe says. “When I have experienced a profound loss, the act of putting my feelings into words or memorializing and paying tribute to those who I lost is extremely cathartic,” he says.

3. Leads us to greater self-awareness. Most of us don’t have the time or desire to just sit and aimlessly ponder the meaning of our lives or what makes us deeply happy. Writing poetry gives us a constructive way to do that. Not only does it help us explore and gain insight, we have something to show for all that “inner reflection” when we’re done.

4. Provides a gift of inspiration or education to others. One thing we know -- we are not alone! “Universal questions, fears and emotions are called ‘universal’ because everyone, no matter what country or culture they’re raised in, experiences them,” Jaffe notes. Once we’ve done the work of exploring and finding our own answers, we can help others by sharing them. 

5. Celebrate! For some things, balloons and cake just don’t suffice. “Proposing to my wife, the births of my children, their Bar and Bat Mitzvahs, falling in love -- these were among the most emotionally powerful, joyful times of my life,” Jaffe says. “Thanks to the poems I wrote at the time to capture those feelings, I can experience them again and again.

To do our part to encourage all of the would-be poets out there to celebrate National Poetry Month, we have created the first annual K12 Poetry Contest!

Picture this: Your child runs into the room, elated to show you the results of her latest math test – 100%! A perfect score! “Great job!” You say, giving a high five. “You’re so smart!”

Seems like a pretty typical scenario, right? We know that encouragement, as in the scenario above, is hugely important for kids’ development, and in all likelihood you’ve probably had a similar exchange with your own kids at some point. While it is important to praise kids for their accomplishments, what many of us may not have considered is the way in which we praise kids. As it turns out, the words we use to encourage children can have a profound effect on them both now, and in the future.

We recognize the great sacrifices and unique challenges faced by military families every day. Many have chosen online learning as the right option for their families and we know there are other families looking for the same opportunities. In an effort to unite this large and growing community of families, we have created a ‘K¹² Military Families’ Facebook page!

Online Learning: Outside of the Box Classrooms

One of the many reasons families choose online schooling for their kids is the ability to learn outside of a classroom setting. If it's a beautiful day, the kiddos can head outside and read a book up in a tree or at a local park. On rainy days, the whole family can head to a museum to learn about art history.  Online schooling allows them the opportunity to learn outside of the box that a traditional classroom setting can sometimes feel like.