The school year has begun. How many of your children dread heading to school each morning?

It could be that they are victims of bullying. Bullying has become such a serious issue that the U.S. government now has a website called Stop Bullying.

Children who are being bullied may have trouble sleeping; come home with damaged or missing books, clothing, or other items; or lose interest in schoolwork and other activities. Children who bully others may get sent to the principal's office frequently; have extra money or new belongings they can't explain; or refuse to accept responsibility for their actions.

This excellent site has sections for kids, teens, young adults, parents, and educators. It has a special section on cyberbullying and a dozen cartoon Webisodes (roughly two minutes each) depicting various bullying scenarios, including one in which a mother recognizes that her child is a victim of bullying.

Finally, you can Test Your Knowledge with facts and myths about bullying.

With the budget cuts faced by educational systems around the country, I'm all for the private sector finding ways to reward our excellent teachers. Unsung Heroes, is a program offered by financial giant ING. Over the past 15 years, the company has awarded millions of dollars in grants to educators for "breakthrough projects that bring classroom teaching to new heights."

We are coming up on the 10^th anniversary of 9/11 and, if you're like me, you vividly remember where you were and what you were doing when you heard the terrible news. However, many of the children you teach were either not born yet or were toddlers on 9/11, so they have no recollection of that day or the associated events. Yet many things in their lives today are impacted by the events of that day, from the security measures they experience to parents or close relatives serving in the military.

At Learning A-Z, we believe that children in elementary school need to learn about 9/11 and understand what happened on that dark September day in U.S. history. For this reason, we have developed three separate books on the topic of 9/11: Heroes of 9/11 (Level J), September 11: Always Remember (Level R), and 9/11: A Dark Day (Level Y). Each book has support resources including a lesson plan, a graphic organizer, activity sheets, discussions cards, and a quiz. The mid-level book is free to anyone who visits our Reading A-Z website.

We hope that you will find these books and accompanying resources helpful as you teach your students about this very troubling event. Let others know these resources are available so they, too, have the support materials needed to teach about 9/11.