Dear Gaila, How do you teach students when to write “it’s” vs. “its”? Jerry Dear Jerry, When I first teach my students about apostrophes I tell them that "an apostrophe appears when a letter has been popped out". The case of it's and its is a spelling difference. My students need to think about what are they saying: Are you saying "It is a baby" or "The puppy loved its baby"? If it's the former, a letter – i – has been popped out and we need an apostrophe. Otherwise skip the

Dear Gaila, I heard you set store by your silly songs - what exactly do you mean by that, and what does it accomplish? Mother of 3 Young Children Dear Mother of 3, As a young mother (and now older grandmother!) I used to sing my children 'silly songs'. This tradition was learned from my mother who said she learned it from her mother. Although her mother must have sung to her in Yiddish and I sing to my children in English, the language does not make any difference. The poin

Dear Gaila, We just made Aliyah this summer. Both my husband and I have a working, albeit limited, vocabulary in Hebrew. How much Hebrew should we speak to our children so they will be able to learn Hebrew and integrate into the school, yet retain their English? Sincerely, New Israelis Answer: NONE! Your children will pick up Hebrew easily from their environment. Most of the day they will be surrounded by Hebrew. You'll have to work hard to preserve and enrich their E

Dear Gaila, My 3rd grader won't do his homework. What's the big deal about it? Why do teachers give out homework? Sincerely, Worn-out parents Dear W.O.P., Been there done that! It is not easy to instill good habits in our children. However, homework is essential as there is not enough time in school for our children to learn, absorb and review all that they are taught. That is the role of homework. Homework plays a crucial part esspecially in learning math and language. Daily