2009-10

  1. The Dyslexia Diagnosis: Better Readers, Happier Kids

     
    2009-10-Dyslexia
    By: 
    Julia Ramirez and Kim Pleticha

    If anyone should have noticed her daughter had a learning disorder, Liz Green figured it would have been her. As a kindergarten teacher, she had been specifically trained to spot learning difficulties. But since her daughter, Hayleigh, was an excellent student and an enthusiastic reader, the subtle clues went unnoticed.

    “Each night we read, Hayleigh made more and more substitution errors,” she says. “She read ‘rampant’ for ‘repellant’ and ‘habitat’ for ‘hatchery’.”

    It didn’t make any sense. Ms. Green asked her daughter’s teachers about the errors, but nobody seemed particularly concerned. Until second grade.

    About: 

    Julia Ramirez is a former associate editor of Minnesota Parent magazine. Kim Pleticha is editor of Parent:Wise Austin.

  2. Helpful Dyslexia Websites

     
    By: 
    Julia Ramirez and Kim Pleticha

    The International Dyslexia Association:
    www.interdys.org
    (Austin Branch: www.austinida.org)

    National Center for Learning Disabilities:
    www.ncld.org

    About: 

    Julia Ramirez is a former associate editor of Minnesota Parent magazine. Kim Pleticha is editor of Parent:Wise Austin.

  3. Editor's Note

     
    Editor's Note Graphic
    By: 
    Kim Pleticha

    Sometimes I just hate being a parent.

    Like last month, when my four-year-old son got thrown from his horse.

    After I realized he was OK (he had the wind knocked out of him) and I was OK (can you say heart attack?), I had to do something every fiber of my being told me not to do:

    About: 

    Kim Pleticha is the publisher and editor of Parent:Wise magazine.

  4. My Life as a Parent: Darwin Never Met My Daughter

     
    2009-10-MLAAP.jpg
    By: 
    Perry P. Perkins

    Often, as a young man, I would spend hours arguing with my friends over creationism versus evolution. This is because I had a deep understanding of nature and science, and a thirst to share that knowledge. Or possibly because I didn’t have a girlfriend.

    If only I had known that instead of spending all those hours reading and studying to form an argument I could have just had a child.

    Having now spent countless hours in exhaustive research (by which I mean the ten minutes immediately preceding the writing of this article, once Jeopardy was over) I have discovered that there is no way that the human race could have possibly survived the natural selection process.

    About: 

    Novelist, blogger, and award winning travel writer, Perry P. Perkins is a stay-at-home dad who lives with his wife Victoria and their two-year-old daughter, Grace, in the Pacific Northwest. In addition to becoming somewhat of a regular here at Parent:Wise, his work also has appeared in numerous magazines and twelve Chicken Soup anthologies.

  5. Picture This

     
    By: 
    Jeff Macfee

    We were at Legoland in San Diego, having shelled out entirely too much money to wander amongst the somewhat odd Danish version of Disneyland, when I noticed it. Dozens upon dozens of parents watching their children clamber over stacked-brick versions of lions and giraffes, watching the fun unfold through the pixilated screen of a camera. Taking snapshots of their kids' lives in three-second increments.

    Hey, turn to daddy and smile. Click.

    Quit pulling your sister's hair. Click.

    No, no, no! Don't put your hands in your pants! Click.

    About: 

    Jeff Macfee is a writer and IT manager living in North Texas with his wife and son. He has a cat named Ed that acts like a dog. When not dealing with his family and strange cats, Jeff is working on a novel about repo men.

  6. Storytimes Around Town

     
    By: 
    Kim Pleticha

    Austin Children’s Museum
    201 Colorado St., 472-2499
    Every day at 11 a.m.

    Carver Branch
    1161 Angelina, 974-1010
    Ages 0-5 Tuesday 10:15 a.m.

    About: 

    Kim Pleticha is the publisher and editor of Parent:Wise magazine.

  7. Sizzle Sights: Texas Renaissance Festival School Days

     
    By: 
    Hannah Diller

    October arrives as possibly the single most welcomed month in a Texan’s calendar.

    About: 

    Hannah Diller lives and explores with her family in Central Austin. She can be found on the web at http://dillerhome.blogspot.com or at dillerh@gmail.com.

  8. News Notes

     
    By: 
    Kim Pleticha

    We have Tickets to Grease and A Day Out With Thomas Give Away!

    Would you like to take the family to see Grease? Or how about A Day Out With Thomas?

    About: 

    Kim Pleticha is the publisher and editor of Parent:Wise magazine.

  9. Family Theater

     
    By: 
    Kim Pleticha

    Art Across the Americas: Opens Oct. 3 and runs through Oct. 31. This exhibition raises money for the Center for Adolescent Mothers in Lima, Peru (one of Austin’s 10 “sister” cities).

    About: 

    Kim Pleticha is the publisher and editor of Parent:Wise magazine.

  10. Recommended

     
    By: 
    Various Authors

    The Song of Francis
    by Tomie dePaola

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