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Before there were emojis, there were emoticons. While emojis have surged in popularity, some of us still use emoticons. What is an emoticon, you ask? It’s a representation of an expression made using letters, symbols, and numbers from the keyboard. You have your basic smiley face :), a surprised face :0, and even a heart <3. There are numerous combinations. I personally like to use the winking emoticon ;), which is a combination of a semicolon and a bracket or parenthesis. It’s fun for a couple of reasons. It could mean, “I understand you” or “I got it”. It could...

So, I’m a teacher. As I teacher, I pride myself on being a know-it-all. Just ask my husband. He would agree. While I claim to know it all, I need to admit to some weaknesses in the classroom. In particular, working with students who have attention issues is not one of my strengths. Despite these students’ gifts, like creativity, curiosity, endless energy, and personality, I still struggle. I know this sounds strange coming from a special education teacher. The truth is this: in order for these kids to succeed in a traditional academic setting, they need lots of patience and...

It seems like sleep is the new buzz worthy topic in the health and wellness space. Everyone, old and young, is talking about sleep. I’m having a bit of a sleep battle in my own household. My oldest son is 10 years old. Lately, he has been a bear to wake up in the morning. What’s worse, on those days that he struggles to wake up, he also struggles to fall asleep at what I consider the appropriate time. In our house that’s 8 pm, sometimes 7:30 pm if the kids are being particularly frustrating. What’s going on? Why can’t...

When I was in high school, many moons ago, The College Board seemed like an enemy who made me take tests, scored the tests, and then sent those test scores to colleges. Actually, back then, I think that is all that they did. My, how times have changed (I sound so old). The College Board still gives tests and sends out scores, but now they have resources to help with the process of continuing your education after high school. Let’s take a quick look at The College Board and what they do. The College Board is a not-for-profit organization, most...

Hopefully, you caught that error. The saying is “think outside the box.” Sometimes, prepositions are used when they are not necessary. This often happens when we speak, but we don’t notice. It’s important to remember that we write differently from how we speak. Writing is more formal and less conversational. We often use prepositions that are unnecessary, but they create wordiness and need to be eliminated. Just stop. Be concise. Why are you doing that for? Sorry, I couldn’t help myself. What is a preposition? A preposition is a word or group of words that show a relationship between a...