Oak Knoll’s Upper School offers a wide variety of classes for grades 7-12. From Darkroom Photography to HO Psychology, AP Latin to HO Engineering, the opportunities are limitless. As a student, I’ve enjoyed getting to explore these options and challenge myself academically. However, some of my most memorable experiences have been taking those OKS courses that are on the rather quirky side.

Summertime is here and children have been trading in their class time for pool time as schools around the country are on hiatus until late August/early September. 

Families have started to enjoy day trips, limited schedules, vacations, quality time together, and plenty of outdoor fresh air. However, although children would probably much prefer to shelve their books and ignore practicing those basic math facts – they shouldn’t, especially after this unusual pandemic school year. 

Each fall, teachers wrestle with the inevitable “summer slide” – or summer learning loss where studies show there is significant knowledge loss in reading and math over summer break if children don’t practice these skills each day. 

Thanks to COVID, learning declines throughout last year were very real for many children. However, it’s not all bad news!  Kelly Ross, Oak Knoll's Academic Support Counselor, offers several ways families can help children combat the COVID slide – the gaps of academic growth and lowered expectations due to the learning disruptions from the 2020-21 school year.

Entering a new school in second grade was nerve-wracking — an experience that I’m sure a lot of new students can relate to. How long would I last here? Who would I make friends with? Little did I know that, at Oak Knoll, these questions would be the least of my worries and I’d actually be preparing myself for some amazing memories. As I now write this as a graduating senior, I want to share some of the lessons I learned along the way. Here are some of my biggest takeaways from the best 10 years of my life.

New Jersey’s weather has warmed up in recent weeks and the lazy and longer days of summer are on the horizon. This is certainly a relief after COVID-19 shut-downs and precautions left many of us feeling stir-crazy.

However, as schools here in our own state and across the country dismiss children for summer break, more children will be out and about attending summer camps, at town swimming pools, riding bikes, or walking around with their friends. 

Now is a prime opportunity for parents, adults, and caregivers to review safety tips with children. 

As we make progress moving forward during what has been an unprecedented year, we continue to see students struggle with so many facets of mental health and stress management. These concerns pre-existed the pandemic on many levels. However, as parents and educators, we are grappling with the multi-faceted impact of COVID-19 on various aspects of adolescent development and functioning – and as such – continue the need to see our students and their struggles through this complex lens. 

So, how do we help our students prioritize their mental health through this experience that is unique and eludes our understanding? While it is useful to engage in conversation that helps our teens understand the deleterious ways COVID-19 has exacerbated what was already a delicate balance of academic, social, and extracurricular pursuits, we are trying to move on from this discourse into a more future-oriented, affirming place. 

The passage of time is something that most parents wish they could freeze. Before you know it, your peaceful, sleeping infant in the car seat starts to develop their own, unique, and independent personality. 

It’s generally not until after age 2 that children begin to gain independence and show interest in exploring the world around them– two key markers that your child could be ready to start preschool. (Here are other markers to help determine if the time is right to start your child in a preschool program).

By the time your little one walks out of the house for that milestone first day of preschool, their brains are already functioning as sponges, soaking in stimuli and the world around them. In fact, between birth and three years of age, the human brain increases to 80 percent of its adult size. Enrolling your child in a preschool program boosts learning and development during this important window of time.

Young children are exposed to new experiences and opportunities in preschool. Here is what your child can expect to learn after you drop them off (hopefully without tears!) at their new preschool. 

We can all relate to those days when nothing seems to go your way. When we’re down and vulnerable, self-critique tends to creep in and – at times – can make us our own worst enemy. 

While we may think we have complete control over our negative emotions,  thoughts and behaviors, we don’t! This is a myth, says the Cultures of Dignity, an organization that works with communities to shift the way we think about young people’s physical and emotional wellbeing. In fact, they argue the opposite – that  no human has complete control over their thoughts and feelings. 

Despite challenging days life will undoubtedly continue to throw at us – pandemic-related or not – the best thing to do is face any hardship head-on through the practice of self-compassion. 

Self-compassion is defined by The Cultures of Dignity as the as “the practice of choosing to turn towards your suffering with kindness and empathy.”

Here is how to teach children to practice self-compassion and some of its benefits:

Run, jump, play! When it comes to school, these are terms that typically don’t apply to the classroom – that is – unless it’s gym or recess time. 

Even so, the time children are allowed for recess or free play at school seems shorter these days than in years past. Thanks to the pandemic, many schools are also in half-day sessions making kids’ recess, gym or playtime non-existent in many school districts. 

Any parent will tell you that kids need to move their bodies. It’s good for their overall health, helps them to maintain a steady attitude and it’s great for their sleep cycle. 

But what many parents may not realize is that playtime works in tangent with learning. Research has found that it’s crucial for younger students at the pre-K and kindergarten levels to learn through play. 

Here are some of the ways that younger children can learn through play.

In episode 10 of the Academically Speaking podcast, Laura Perillo — Oak Knoll's Marketing Content Strategist — sat down with Dr. Jennifer Butler-Sweeney, Upper School psychologist, who talks about tactics parents can use to address the social and emotional impact of COVID-19 on middle and high school students. This is the second in Oak Knoll's special four-part parenting series, Parenting During the Pandemic.

As most of the nation gears up to send their children back into the physical classroom (hopefully) after months of virtual learning, parents will place a large part of their child’s development directly back into the hands of their school system.

Schools have a tremendous impact in the lives of our children. One way to help ensure that we are raising good humans is to work in tandem with our schools to help foster inclusivity – the practice or policy of including people who might otherwise be excluded or marginalized.

Every parent wants their child to feel included, accepted, to make friends and to have an overall positive experience and year in the classroom.

Here are several ways that schools can work together with parents, and their communities to help foster inclusivity.