Researchers have developed an excellent predictor of children’s future emotional health and happiness. The “Do You Know (DYK) Scale” asks 20 questions about a child’s family history. They found that children who provided the most comprehensive answers to the test had a better sense of control in their lives and a greater sense of a well-functioning family life. Why might this be so? The thought is that stories of a family’s history give children a sense of clear values and emotional strength. Other tips for family well-being:  10 great minutes of togetherness at any meal is as good as a family dinner every night; use the word “we” rather than “you” during family squabbles; move living room furniture into an O shape; and the biggie… be honest with children about family setbacks, failures and struggles (children need to know they are part of something bigger than themselves). You can read more and see the questions at: tinyurl.com/mgtssol

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LinkedIn is gaining in popularity among college students and recent graduates… and now is aiming younger. The job-networking site recently dropped its minimum age from 18 to 14  “to allow teens to build their resumes and connect with colleges on the site.” More than 200 universities now have their own “University Pages” so that potential applicants can learn about their offerings. Access for teens will come with restrictions intended to preserve their privacy.

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National Geographic has launched a new weekly TV series on Friday nights for ages 10 and up called Brain Games. It is a fun and informative look at how the brain works. The web site also has some cool functions that the whole family might enjoy. A recent episode centered why we lie, how often we lie and what goes on in the brain that allows us to lie. The web site then offered games and experiments to underscore the concepts. Learn more about it at: braingames.nationalgeographic.com. There is a companion book that looks excellent, entitled, “Brain Works: The Mind Bending Science of How You See, What You Think and Who You Are” by Michael S. Sweeney.

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There is a new web site called Born to Learn with animations that illustrate new discoveries about how humans learn. Students might get a kick out of it as well. Its tagline? “Your brain is the planet’s most powerful learning machine. But our current systems of education aren’t doing enough to unlock our true potential. This is what Born to Learn is all about.” (born-to-learn.org).

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Campusgrotto.com consolidated a wealth of advice to come up with 12 habits of successful students. Read the whole thing at: campusgrotto.com. Some of my favorites…    Successful students:

• set short-term and long-term goals.
• stick to a weekly study schedule.
• take advantage of office hours.
• are active in activities outside the classroom.
• go to class and participate.The most successful students sit in front and are involved in classroom discussions.
• get proper sleep. A sharp brain starts with getting enough rest.

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If you have a daughter or granddaughter ages 5-9, keep your eye out for a new toy called Goldie Blox. Developed by Stanford-educated engineer Debbie Sterling, the toy aims to challenge gender toy stereotypes.  The toy combines a storybook and a hands-on construction set with small figurines with the hope of getting girls interested in engineering. (goldieblox.com)

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The web site CrunchBase has analyzed data to determine which universities are producing the greatest number of successful entrepreneurs. The site checked the alma maters of 6,150 founders from 4,885 companies. No surprise that Stanford came in first.  The rest of the top ten are:  Harvard, Berkeley, MIT, U. Penn, Columbia, Cornell, USC, Yale and U. Michigan.

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ADD/HD expert Dr. Kevin Ross Emery has developed a free, unique “Managing the Gift” app, aimed at revealing the potential of children with ADD/HD. Unlike other ADHD apps that are self-diagnostic or generalized, this app provides custom-tailored reports with tips on parenting, guiding, supporting, and educating children with ADHD and ADD. One feature is a personalized interactive tool that defines a child’s distinct ADD/HD personality.

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I don’t have room to reprint it in full but if you are or have a college student, you should look at The 20 Things I Wish Someone Told Me at 20 (courtesy of Dr. Karin Smithson and The Huffington Post). Some of my favorites have to do with holding on to your friends, listening to your parents, taking care of your body, kindness, online smarts and asking for help. You can read the complete list at: tinyurl.com/kalleku

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A new study out of UC San Francisco and Berkeley found that just one use of cocaine may rewire the brain and drastically affect future decision-making. Other studies have shown the damage cause by long-term use but this study found that the wiring in the brain’s frontal lobe (the area of the brain that handles decision-making and memory) was altered after just one use.

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A study focused on teaching boys found eight categories of instruction that were most successful with male students.  They looked at the best practices in schools of varying size, both private and public, that enroll a wide range of boys of disparate races and income levels.

• Lessons that result in an end product – a booklet, a catapult, a poem or a comic strip, for example.

• Lessons that are structured as competitive games.

• Lessons requiring motor activity.

• Lessons requiring boys to assume responsibility for the learning of others.

• Lessons that require boys to address open questions or unsolved problems.

• Lessons that require a combination of competition and teamwork.

• Lessons that focus on independent, personal discovery and realization.

• Lessons that introduce drama in the form of novelty or surprise.

A long article about these findings and how our boys tend to be penalized for their classroom behavior ran in The Atlantic this summer.

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I can’t get Ken Robinson’s book, “Finding Your Element,” out of my mind.  You might remember Robinson as having the most popular TedTalk of all time.  The book is about how discovering your talents and passions can transform your life. The bestsellers “Lean In” and “Finding Your Element” are this generation’s “What Color is Your Parachute,” but better.

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I am a huge fan of the web site StumbleUpon. You enter in your interests (education, college, wine, travel, whatever) and each time you enter the site it has accumulated dozens of interesting articles and sites for you to look at. You can quickly swipe between stories. (stumbleupon.com)

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I read last week that 31 percent of kids ages 8 to 10 now have their own cell phone. That number increases to 69 percent of 11- to 14-year-olds and 85 percent of those ages 14 to 17. Wow, will the age keep getting lower or are we at the youngest possible point today?

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The web site Librophile offers thousands of full-length free audio books and eBooks. Currently up for grabs: The Wizard of Oz, Grimm’s Fairy Tales, Homer’s Odyssey, The Red Badge of Courage, Moby Dick and hundreds more. If you have a child who doesn’t love to read, definitely try audio books. They are a big hit with our son. He listens for hours while shooting hoops in the driveway. (librophile.com)

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California just became the sixth state to adopt the Next Generation Science Standards but there is still no formal timeline for implementing them.  The new science standards stress problem solving, critical thinking and concepts that cut across difference science disciplines. They emphasize scientific thinking and big ideas instead of memorization and focus on the connection between what a student learns in school and what a scientist might use in the workplace. Teachers, academics and experts from 26 states worked for two years to develop the standards. Sadly, district budgets contain no money to train teachers in the new standards and the curriculum framework still needs to be developed. http://www.nextgenscience.org/next-generation-science-standards

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October is National Dyslexia Awareness Month. Did you know an estimated 10-15 percent of our nation’s school children show signs of dyslexia? My daughter is one of them. I have found that the International Dyslexia Association web site is the best resource out there for more information: interdys.org/.  Was your child slow to learn to read or currently a very slow reader? I recommend speaking first with your school’s learning specialist about the possibility of dyslexia but you can also try another free app: Dyslexia Detector. (itunes.apple.com)

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I am excited to tout another math app that is really terrific. Wuzzit Trouble, from InnerTube games, was developed by Stanford mathematician Keith Devlin (the NPR Math Guy). What is unique is the game’s the ability to teach multiple skills simultaneously. Players are able to practice and develop math skills and comprehension appropriate to their particular age and skill level. (innertubegames.net)

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There is a new ranking that cites 12 colleges as delivering a terrific bang for the buck. The ranking looked at student debt upon graduation, starting salaries, tuition and room and board for four-year universities, and graduation rates. The top schools from 1-12 are: University of Cincinnati, Ohio University, San Diego State University, University of Houston, Western Michigan University, West Virginia University, University of Arizona, University of Texas, George Mason University, the University of Maryland (Baltimore County), University of Oklahoma and Texas A&M University. It is really nice to see some unexpected names on that list. It is limiting when high school students all focus on the same handful of colleges. (policymic.com)

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Do you have a child who struggles with organization or motivation in school?  No?  Well, aren’t you lucky!  Blogger Andrea Reiser recently suggested 15 questions to ask your student as he or she heads back to school that might help tackle these issues:

1. What are you most excited about in the upcoming school year?

2. What are you least looking forward to?

3 What do you see as your biggest challenge?

4. Are there any non-academic issues that concern you about the upcoming year?

5. What are your academic goals for the year?

6. What are your personal goals for the year?

7. How can we help to support you in achieving your goals?

8. Is there one general theme you need/want to focus on?

9. What will you do differently from last year?

10. Is there anything in particular that will help motivate or focus you?

11. Do you want to make any changes to your study environment that may improve or enhance your study habits?

12. What are your biggest distractions and how can we help you manage them?

13. How are you planning to prioritize your schoolwork and activities and how can we be of help?

14. Is there anything we can do to help you get/stay organized?

15. What’s the best way for us to keep a pulse on your schoolwork?

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Just in time for back to school, Pinterest is setting aside a special spot for teachers to share creative classroom ideas, lesson plans and innovative classroom decor. My teenage daughter loves Pinterest for its craft and decorating ideas. Pinterest.com

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A couple hundred schools have recently purchased bullet-proof white boards for classroom use. The white boards have handles and can withstand multiple rounds from an automatic weapon. The boards cost $299 each from the company Hardwire. Genius or ridiculous?

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There is a website that tracks each state’s progress in providing STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) instruction for its students. Vital Signs offer the most comprehensive picture of the demand for and supply of STEM skills, what states expect of students, students’ access to learning opportunities and the resources schools and teachers have to do their work. Check it out at vitalsigns.changetheequation.org/.

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The ACT college admissions exam will go digital in 2015. Students want their results faster and in theory are now tech-savvy enough to take the exam online. There aren’t big changes planned to the questions or content but portions will be more interactive and there will be places where students explain concepts in their own words. Why is this important?  The ACT is now more popular as a college admissions test than the SAT and, when one company makes a change, the other is likely to quickly follow.

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I was surprised to learn that humanities degrees accounted for 17.1 percent of all college degrees in 1970 and continue to account for 17 percent of degrees today (despite all the talk of STEM careers).  While many humanities degree programs have indeed shown sharp declines, the huge increases in enrollment in visual and performing arts has more than covered those losses.

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Parents, teachers, coaches and friends have a new way to get news of students after they head for college. Meritpages.com is used by almost 500 colleges to verify and promote achievements and create a positive online presence for students. Parents can “follow” a student’s merit page and receive updates when a college verifies an accomplishment, like making the dean’s list or winning a scholarship. Students can also add campus activities, leadership positions and work experience. The thought is that employers and graduate schools will also find the free site helpful when Googling candidates.

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 K-12 educators share ideas on the ThinkTank12 web site. The site recently featured “the best” 11 math game apps for smart phones. Some of their favorites are: Math vs Zombies, Math Motion Zoom and Math Kid. Read the rest here: tinyurl.com/m2dr3en

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New research shows that working with pre-schoolers on estimating skills is important. A new study by the University of Missouri shows that preschool children who has trouble estimating the number of objects in a group were more than twice as likely to have a have trouble with math later in school. (tinyurl.com/mpulkd5)

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The Chegg blog consolidated data from US News & World Report, Forbes and AOL to come up with a list of the top nine majors that are earning graduates the highest paychecks right now. In no particular order, they are: chemical engineering, accounting/finance, pharmacy, information systems, civil engineering, nursing, pre-med, computer science and computer/mechanical engineering. (blog.chegg.com)

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Stanford psychology professor Carol Dweck suggests that one little word has the power to inspire your child to do incredible things. Every time your child says “I’m not good at math (or science or Spanish)” or “I don’t get how to ___________ (insert any topic here), say, “You aren’t good at it YET.” Teachers are becoming big fans of Dweck’s books and “the power of YET” is becoming quite a hot topic.

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There was a lot of buzz this summer when the Oregon legislature approved a plan for the state’s universities to be tuition free. In exchange, students agree to give up three percent of their income for 24 years. The original idea was hatched by a group of U.C. Riverside students in 2012 (they called it Fix UC). At that time, UC system president Mark Yudof said he found the idea appealing but it never went anywhere. Earlier this summer, two state lawmakers in Ohio proposed following Oregon’s lead. It will be very interesting to see if anyone can make this work. What do you think? Great idea or appalling?

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Researchers have long known that exercising can help with learning but new research has found that the exercise timing and intensity are critical in learning and memory formation. In a German study, women who gently rode a bicycle (exercised lightly) while hearing new vocabulary words performed best on later recall tests. They performed much better than the control group who sat quietly and the other group who exercised vigorously before studying the words. You can read more about it here.

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My daughter, who takes Mandarin, is attempting to teach herself Spanish through online resources. She is curious how she is actually doing and how far she has gotten. She found this free language profiency testing site helpful.  She also loves the language learning web site duolingo. The site has data that claims it is as effective as university-level courses but its adaptive gaming platform makes irt addictive. Best of all, it is free. It offers instruction in Spanish, French, German, Portguese and Italian. duolingo.com

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My kicks and giggles this summer came from a facebook and twitter page and blog from The Honest Toddler. Hard to explain but basically a caustic imp saying what we fear little tykes actually are thinking.

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 If you find these resources useful, please consider forwarding this blog on to your friends! — LMS