Category Archives: ACA Blog

Long before your child tackles times tables, he or she must develop the fundamental number, counting, and pattern recognition skills that form the foundation of mathematical learning. Fortifying these skills is crucial, but kill-and-drill isn’t always the way. Chuck those flashcards in favor of these 6 easy ways to boost your child’s early math schools, […]

Crumbs cover the table and chocolate covers his face, but your preschooler still denies he ate the cookies. When you try to get him to tell the truth, he persists, blaming his sister, the dog, or even a monster that came out of the TV. So how do you get him to confess his misdeed […]

Every parent knows that enforcing a habit of daily exercise not only helps children in the short term but also sets up healthy habits that will benefit them for a lifetime. Yet in a world awash in smartphones, video games, and the pull of social media, getting your kids away from those screens is a […]

Serious (and not-so-serious) athletes understand that eating the right foods at the right time with the right balance of carbohydrates, fats, and protein can make a big difference in physical growth, development, and performance. What is less intuitive is that the brain is also a very hungry organ, especially in children. Check out these 8 […]

Since the middle of the twentieth century, educators have known that there is no ideal teaching method that works for everyone. Every child differs in the way he perceives the world and in the way he absorbs information. The challenge is how to optimize teaching methods to adapt to an array of learning styles in […]

If your child isn’t sleeping, then everyone in the house is awake. As a parent, you expect a certain level of sleep deprivation while taking care of a hungry infant, but wasn’t that supposed to end at your child’s first birthday? You’re probably wondering why your toddler or preschooler is still getting up once, twice, […]

For many parents, the buzz of a morning alarm can feel less like a reminder to start the day than a screeching blast that begins the desperate morning race. You rise from bed to shake your children awake, rush downstairs to put on the coffee, pop some frozen waffles in the toaster, and then return […]

Even a mild, unexpected illness can wreak havoc with your busy schedule. Is that 99-degree temperature the start of the flu or just your child’s little body fighting off a new attack of a virus that he’s already had? Is your child tired because she had an active day, or is she coming down with […]

It’s that time of year again. Everyone is sniffling, sneezing, and complaining of stuffy noses and fatigue. Over 200 kinds of viruses can cause the common cold, and no one is immune until they catch all of them. The Center for Disease Control estimates that over twenty million school days are lost just due to […]

Who doesn’t adore a self-motivated, curious, and independent student? It’s a joy to watch a child delve deep into a fascination with some new aspect of the world. That impulse is the essence of self-learning—a self-directed determination to grow in knowledge without the necessity of someone else having to explain or teach it. Promoting and […]