Issue link: http://hvparent.uberflip.com/i/695580
6 Hudson Valley Parent n July 2016 Publisher TERRIE GOLDSTEIN tgoldstein@excitingread.com Editor FELICIA HODGES fhodges@excitingread.com Executive Assistant to the Publisher BRITTANY L. MORGAN bmorgan@excitingread.com Media Advisor CHRISTY OLIVIER colivier@excitingread.com Community Liaison PAMELA PERRY pperry@excitingread.com Traffic Manager PAM SOSCIA psoscia@excitingread.com Intern JACQUELINE KAVANA Layout & Design ENGLE PRINTING also publishers of MY TripPlanner.com family MY TripPlanner.com family baby The HUDSON VALLEY G U I D E Hudson Valley Parent is published monthly by: The Professional Image Marketing & Public Relations Inc. 174 South Street • Newburgh, NY 12550 Phone: 845-562-3606 • Fax: 845-562-3681 hvparent.com This publication is copyrighted by the publisher. Reproduction without written permission of the publisher is prohibited. Hudson Valley Parent welcomes submissions, although we cannot accept responsibility for work submitted nor guarantee publication. A MEMBER OF I know it's only July, but parents tend to spend lots of time thinking about what's next on the horizon - especially when it comes to our children. You've probably already mentally fast-forwarded through summer, prepar- ing the back-to-school to-do lists and thinking about maybe visiting an office supply store now just in case Junior needs glue sticks or graph paper in September. Yeah - we all have. This month, we've included lots about education - including great info from area educators about what you can do to help youngsters who are having difficulty reaching their potential. The term "underachiev- er" is a bit daunting - and many in education don't even use it - but the words that follow the title are all about helping your kids do their absolute best. With that being said, a little learn- ing can be mixed into the school break, but summer is also a chance to unwind and breathe - for both kids and parents. How do I know? I was the parent who tried hard to squeeze trips to the library and bookstore into summer weekends (no, really!), but we were all so exhausted from the long week of full-day day camp (the young un') full-day work (the adults) that those trips became fewer and further be- tween as the summer wore on. Seriously, the mad dash to do homework, cook/have dinner, bathe and get to bed at a reasonable hour was hard enough during the school year when the day ended around 3pm - but I found it much tougher to do most of the same when the summer camp day didn't end until almost three hours later. For most of my son's grade- and middle-school years, July was pretty much an exhausting blur. But you know what? He read way above grade level through those years, had an early flair for num- bers and had been partial to journaling and writing on anything he could find for as long as I can remember. Wondering what you're doing wrong or not doing enough of can be emotionally exhausting - and summer should only exhaust you in a good way, I think. So whether your kids do work- sheets all summer or the season is filled with just sun and fun, it will all work out like it's supposed to (no, really!). How do I know? I really didn't - until "Pomp and Circumstance" played and my son became a college alum last month... Guilt trip-free summer FELICIA HODGES Editor's Journal Tassel-Flip Tuesday when my son, Malcolm, graduated from Queens College.