Our June 2021 Newsletter

Blueprint for Summer

Education Connection Advisors continues to focus on the “Reawakening, Rebuilding, and Recovering” of our lives with an emphasis on renewing friendships and reading for this summer.

Our lives should begin to have a feeling of normalcy. We should be establishing a better sense of balance and finding our own “family rhythm” once more. Some changes will seem sudden while others more gradual.

If you did not see the recent New York Times Magazine’s “A Celebration of Friendship in All Its Many Forms” that focused on friendships, take some time to read it.  It made an impression on us as it reminded us of the importance of strong friendships in our lives, particularly in the past year. Take a moment to reach out to a friend that you haven’t talked to in awhile. This is a great time to reconnect as the world opens back up.

As we reflect on our valued friendships, we are reminded:

• Friends don’t need explanations
• Friends become family
• Friends help one another, even when inconvenient
• Friends understand, and can engage, even when opinions differ
• Friends support ups and downs
• Friends give purpose

Summer Reading:

We hope the whole family will have time and space for reading this summer. Here are some of our picks:

For the Little Ones:

• Ada Twist, Scientist (Andrea Beaty)
• Cars and Trucks and Things that Go (Richard Scarry)
• I Promise (LeBron James)
• This is How We Do It: One Day in the Lives of Seven Kids From Around the World (Matt Lamothe)

For Early Chapter Book Readers:

• Wallace and Grace Take the Case (Heather Alexander)
• Junie B. Jones Series
• Fly Guy Series (Tedd Arnold)
• Owl Diaries (Rebecca Elliott) and Pug Diaries (Kyla May)

For Older Chapter Book Readers:

• Ivy and Bean Series (Annie Barrows)
• Seekers of the Wild Relm (Alexandra Ott)
• A to Z Mystery Series (Ron Roy)
• The Akimbo Adventures (Alexandra McCall Smith)
• Beezus and Ramona (Beverly Cleary)

YA Fiction:

• The Book Thief (Markus Zusak)
• Ghost Series (Jason Reynolds)
• Clap When You Land (Elizabeth Acvedo)

For the Grown Ups: 

For the History Buff: 

• The Splendid and the Vile (Eric Larson)
• Hellhound on his Trail (Hampton Sides)

For the Historical Fiction Buff:

• The Exiles (Christina Baker Kline)
• The Giver of the Stars (Jojo Moyes)
• The Paris Library (Janet Charles)

On Mental Health and Reflection: 

• What Happened to You: Conversations on Trauma, Resilience and Healing (Oprah Winfrey & Bruce D. Perry)
• Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know About the People We Don’t Know (Malcolm Gladwell)

On Parenting: 

• The Scaffold Effect (Harold S. Kopleweicz) 
• When You Wonder, You’re Learning: Mr. Rogers’ Enduring Lesson for Raising, Creative, Curious, Caring Kids (Gregg Behr and Ryan Rydavekski)
• Untangled: Guiding Teenage Girls Through Seven Transitions into Adulthood (Lisa Damour)

For Mystery Readers: 

• Still Life from the Inspector Gamache series (Louise Penny)
• The Guest List (Lucy Foley) 

Fiction:

• Anxious People (Frederik Backman)
• Behold the Dreamers (Imbolo Mbue)
• Homegoing (Yaa Gyasi)
• The Jetsetters (Amanda Eyre Ward)
• Early Morning Riser (Katherine Heiny)

Memoir:

• Maybe You Should Talk to Someone (Lori Gottleib)
• Memorial Drive (Nathasha Trethewey)
• I Miss You When I Blink (Mary Laura Philpot)

Go online and pick books from your favorite school’s recommended reading list or go to the library and ask the librarian for suggestions. Another great resource for books for elementary through high school readers is the Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl Booklist.

Have your child read a book every two weeks or so.  Read aloud a family chapter book together. Read a play and each family member read aloud a different part. Create a special reading time each day. It’s important for our children to see us, as adults, prioritize and value reading as well.

Make a list of different genres of books the family can read: biography, science fiction, mystery, historical fiction, fantasy, sports and more.  Let everyone have a chance to select a topic. Put the topics in a fishbowl and pick. Creating your own reading bowl is fun for all. 

Reading is the key to success! 

What’s coming in the fall:

We are excited to be hosting our annual  “Life After Preschool” Panel with Northside United Methodist Preschool on Tuesday, October 5th. It’s free and open to all parents with preschool age children. We will answer your questions and cover your concerns. 

Our Admission Director Panel will also be in October and will be virtual again. Stay tuned for more information. This free event includes many admission directors from all over Atlanta.

Placements: 

We are pleased to let you know that our families have been accepted to the following day schools in the Atlanta area:

Atlanta International School – The Children’s School – Christ the King – Cliff Valley – Epstein – Galloway – Heritage Preparatory School – Holy Innocents Episcopal School – Holy Spirit – The Lovett School – Mt Vernon School – Pace Academy – Paideia School – St. Francis

St. Martin’s Episcopal School – St. Pius – Trinity School – The Walker School – Wesleyan – 

Westminster Schools – Whitefield Academy – Woodward Academy

Educational Guidance:

We are now accepting clients for the 2021-2022 year. We help new parents, families in preschool-12th grade, relocating families, and boarding school families who have questions and concerns about what is next, what is right and “what should I do?” about picking the right school or path.

Email us for more information.

We can’t wait to help you figure out your journey with your children. Please pass this newsletter on to your friends. We can help them too!

Happy Summer

Barbara, Betsy, Fontaine and Margo

Education Connection Advisors