article originally written for Co-Op Catalyst by Jen Lilienstein I was reminded of an interesting tidbit the other day about the Finnish school system in one of the education news emails I receive the other day. This information has been
Project Based Learning, Personality Type, and the 16 Habits of Mind

This article was written by Jen Lilienstein and originally published on LessonPlanet As new brain research permeates educational insights, we are becoming increasingly aware that engagement and affectivity – long key components of many pedagogical constructs – are now being
Butterfly Parents vs. Tiger Mothers

I don’t know about you, but the message of the Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua rubs me the wrong way. And this is not to say that I don’t expect my kids to always do their best…but

article originally written for LessonPlanet by Jen Lilienstein For many kids, annual standardized testing is one of the highest periods of stress1 during the school year. In fact, according to the Kids Health1 website, the number one kid stressor is
Five years later…

In 2011, I started Kidzmet in the hopes that, as parents and educators, we start celebrating and embracing the strengths that our kids were born with rather than trying to school them into molds that society deems optimal at the
Have U.S. Students Fallen Victim to Self-Fulfilling Prophecies?

This is a reprint of an article originally published on Cooperative Catalyst I was reminded of an interesting tidbit about the Finnish school system in one of the education news emails I receive the other day. This information has been
3 Easy Steps to Help Your Students Avoid Summer Slide

Article originally written by Jen Lilienstein and published on LessonPlanet. As we round the bend into summer, visions of holiday fun occupy the daydreams of pupils, parents, and teachers. While summer can be a great time for your students to
Smart Reasons to Keep Kids Learning Over the Summer

article originally written by Jen Lilienstein for FamilyShare. For many kids, their mid-July mantra is “lazy”— not “learning.” While summer fun is on the daily agenda, some conceptual calisthenics also needs to make it onto the calendar during July and
Sometimes you read an article and feel blessed.

While both the parents and educators attached to Kidzmet feel strongly about giving kids the best education they possibly can, sometimes you read an article that makes you feel truly blessed to be in a position to advocate for BETTER education and
YOUR favorite (or least favorite) teacher story

It seems like very few days go by when I don’t hear one story or another about the positive impact a teacher that “got” them made on someone’s life. I also hear lots of stories about unbearable school years where

