by Alyssa LaFaro

“I always ask for information about the specific child,” explains Makya Vandiver-Hawkins. “I wouldn’t ever think: ‘Oh, your child has this problem, and all children with this problem need this product.’ I strongly feel that people who group children like that are uneducated about special or different needs. Every child is different, whether they have a special need or not.”

It is because of this belief that the owner of Smarty Pants Kids in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, divided her store into multiple kinds of “smart” – music smart, logic smart, body smart, picture smart, word smart, self smart, people smart and art smart. Read More

by Tina Manzer

First Class, a book by Gallopade founder and award-winning author Carole Marsh, is the story of our industry. More specifically, as the cover states, it’s about “The Evolution of American Schoolrooms and the Amazing People and Companies That Wrought This 100-Year Transformation.” Yes – it’s all about us.

In chapters with names such as “Dusted and Dreaded” (about the first schools in England), “The Blackboard Jungle” (chalkboards and whiteboards) and “Tilting at Trends” (“flipped learning,” “vodcasts” and “MOOCs”) Marsh takes her readers through our behind-thescenes world, introducing inventors and innovators, and the products they developed. She hopes educators, history buffs and others will read it and see “the man behind the curtain.” Read More

by Ellen Metrick

The pressures of school can be tough on kids, especially those with special needs. Play can help children relax, recharge their batteries and take on new challenges.

It’s hard to remember a time when kids had more stress in their lives. Schools are forced to pressure children more and more to pass tests to keep their stream of funding. Our educational system is also under mounting pressure as the global ranking for America’s schools continues to trend downward. Homework has trended upward with little impact. Read More