November 2023 Newsletter
Education Connection Advisors has been so busy helping our families understand the school process this fall that we sometimes do not have time to reflect on our own blessings. This month we want to address the words “thankful” and “gratitude.”
What do these words mean to you? Have you instilled these concepts in your family?
First of all, we are thankful for Northside Methodist Preschool for hosting our “Life After Preschool” lecture with Dr. Michael Bucotvetsky in October. In our conversation, we talked about being architects and building a house, an analogy which helped parents understand what to look for in a school. We very much believe in exploration and research of both public and private schools.
Secondly, we are thankful to Holy Innocents for hosting our “Navigating the Admission Process” webinar. We brought together a team of fantastic admission directors from eight other Atlanta independent schools. Their combined knowledge about what the process is like showed their dedication, warmth, knowledge and service to families like yours. These panelists are our friends but beyond that, they are true educators. We are so thankful for each one and all the admission directors in our schools for answering your questions and your quest for learning. Some of our favorite insights from the panel include:
Research – Reflect – Inspect and Connect – Keep an Open Mind –
– Think About Your Own Core Values – Set Realistic Expectations
Our team continues to be thankful for:
- Our own families who give us strength each day.
- Our families we help, who are building confidence and decision making skills in their own children.
- Our pediatricians, psychologists and the medical professionals who are diagnosing, treating, discussing, and helping alleviate your concerns and worries about your children. Seek their help if there is a concern about your child or even you.
- Our teachers, who day in and day out, are in the classroom working with your children and teaching them new concepts. These educators understand your child’s learning style and should be able to vocalize how your child is doing academically and socially. Teachers make a difference.
- We are thankful for our own team. We are educators who care about others and want to provide advice to families.
Notes for November:
- Be sure you have had a school conference at this time of year.
- It is the time of year to take action if you need to strengthen reading or math skills.
- Is your child feeling anxious?
- Is your child focusing or needing to work on executive functioning skills? Is there a certain area that needs attention?
- Is your child staying too long on devices and not doing assigned homework?
- Take the temperature of your family. Is your family routine working?
- What can you do to help your family?
We are so grateful to have people who can help. We are available to help guide you to the right resources, if needed. Focus on what is important.
As we move into our “Thanks Giving” month, we also think ahead about giving back. This concept should be an action item all year within families. Find a place where your children can learn about what it means to give. Our cities have many fantastic opportunities to give back to the community and help others.
Years ago there was a book called The Blessings of a Skinned Knee. Besides being a great educational resource for parents, the book also provided an important message: Blessings, thankfulness, and gratitude are concepts that should always be in your life and in the life of your family.
Thank you for reading our newsletter. Thank you for being one of our special families. Education Connection Advisors continues to help parents with their school concerns, navigating the school process for all kinds of schools, and providing resources to you about the education of your child. Please share our newsletter with your friends.
We are thankful,
Barbara, Betsy, Fontaine and Margo- your team at Education Connection Advisors