Connie's Classroom Connie McCarthy is passionate about her work as a teacher of young children. She has devoted her entire career to making sure that her students do well at school, right from the start. Connie has an undergraduate degree in Elementary Education, and a Master’s Degree in Special Education. She has been teaching first grade in East Providence, R.I. for 23 years, where she received the distinction of “Highly Qualified Teacher” by the Rhode Island State Board of Regents. Connie also taught nursery school for four years, and published numerous articles on early education in East Bay Newspapers in Bristol, R.I. She’s also been published in PTO Today Magazine. She lives with her husband, Brian, and has a daughter and a son, both young adults. Connie enjoys reading, writing about elementary education, and taking long walks with friends. During summer vacations, she likes to travel with her husband. She also loves reading readers’ comments on her weekly blog posts.
I've often said that First Grade is a magical year in a child’s life. This is because First Graders arrive in September, primarily as "babies" in the school hierarchy. However, by the end of the school year, I could le... Read more
Will my daughter know how to buy her lunch? What if my son’s not reading yet? Will my shy child develop friends in the class?
Understandably, parents have questions and concerns when their young child starts school. ... Read more
"Hands-on" science is a great way to get your young child interested in learning. It's something that can be incorporated easily into daily life. If you have a reluctant reader, or timid math student, making a science connec... Read more
Every year, about this time, I think about what strategies I can use to comfort those new students who are fearful about school, or are having a hard time separating fr om parents.
School "jitters" are real and scary emotions... Read more
We use math skills each and every day. We follow a pattern when we commute to work, when we calculate change from our purchases, or when we check the temperature, etc.
The key to helping your young child understand math is t... Read more
Ready, Set, Read!
When my son, Michael, was four years old someone gave him a video of his favorite movie “Star Wars.” The problem was he could not yet read. So, each time the movie started, as t... Read more
Relaxed summer schedules are ending, and the back to school rush has begun. If your young child is counting down the days until school starts, or has just started back, your household routines are changing and getting back in... Read more
Play is a great tool for learning, and summer is the time to easily blend play with academic skills.
Here are some simple ways to turn play into valuable learning experiences.
At the beach:
Let your child use a stick to prac... Read more
One of the easiest ways to help your child practice writing this summer is to make a "Vacation Memory Book."
If you are going away on vacation, or just taking short day trips to the beach with your child this summer, this is ... Read more
When young children first begin to write stories they often get frustrated, and need help spelling the "big words." Here is a way to help your child overcome this obstacle and let creative writing flow.
You will need:
A sta... Read more
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