Family time, attention promotes literacy

Oct 5th, 2009 by Leanna Landsmann

The principal sent home a letter asking parents to de-emphasize television and video games, and “promote literacy every day.” Between my new husband and I, we have five children, ages 5 to 11. After a hard day at work, it’s tempting to feed them and toss in a DVD until bedtime. How can we “promote literacy” with five kids?

Promoting literacy simply means giving your children many opportunities to develop a love of reading, writing, listening and talking. The principal isn’t asking you to teach your children to read, for example, but she wants you to show them how you use the skill in your everyday life.

Study after study has shown that children whose parents make a conscious effort to limit TV consumption and integrate reading, writing and conversation at home do better in school in all their subjects.

Promoting literacy with children of varying ages is easier than you might imagine. “This aspect of parenting is underrated and the time required overstated,” says literacy expert Dr. Danny Brassell, associate professor at California State University-Dominguez Hills.

Brassell suggests the following activities:

– Read in front of your kids, with your kids and to your kids: “Our children may be ‘digital natives’ but they still need to master the printed word and develop a love of reading to succeed in life,” says Brassell. “If you sit down with People magazine, you’re promoting literacy by showing your children that one way you relax is to read for pleasure.”

The more things they see you read, and the more access they have to reading materials, the stronger readers they become. If a bedtime story times five is too much, try “family story hour,” where everyone gathers to hear a chapter of a compelling book each night.

– Keep a school-year scrapbook: Get a big three-ring binder and divide it into five sections. Have kids add exemplary work, stories, lists of favorites and photos. Have kids dictate stories to you, then print out and insert. “This activity not only records highlights and progress throughout the year,” notes Brassell, “it promotes writing and the reading of each other’s stories. By May, you’ll have a big family diary of the school year.”

– Eat dinner together: “This may sound old-fashioned, but it’s essential for families to gather each day to share and talk,” says Brassell. “Research shows that children who take part in daily conversations develop vastly superior vocabularies than those plopped in front of a TV set.” Pick topics kids are interested in and you’ll never run out of things to talk about.

– Play games with your kids: Board games, cards games, team video games, all good! Brassell, in his book, “A Baker’s Dozen of Lessons Learned from the Teaching Trenches” (Shell Education, 2009) even makes a game out of kids’ excuses. “When kids have the ‘can’ts,’ ask them to list of all the excuses they can think of, then suggest ways to overcome them, no matter how silly. When siblings respond to ‘I can’t go because I can’t find my shoe,’ the results can be hilarious!”

– Schedule ‘family party night’: Once a month, throw a fete! Let the kids pick the menu or go out for a family activity. Give prizes for accomplishments in school, sports and scouts.

When it comes to helping kids succeed in school, “parents have a tremendous home field advantage,” says Brassell. “You lay the intellectual foundation that all of your children’s teachers will build upon.”

Posted in Reading/Writing | No Comments »

Teach your child to socialize

Sep 28th, 2009 by Leanna Landsmann

My 5-year-old daughter, Belinda, is very shy. She gets nervous in social settings, such as church trips and the playground. Last year, she was in a fairly structured half-day pre-kindergarten, but she is still standoffish socially. Every night since school started, she says going to the lunchroom upsets her tummy. I feel so bad for her. Should I talk with her teacher? Do you think she has a learning disability?

Definitely talk with her teacher and the school counselor. There’s nothing in your e-mail to suggest that Belinda has a learning disability. She sounds like an introverted kindergartener who needs practice in developing the social skills that lead to friendships. Here are some strategies to help her work out her anxieties.

“It is not uncommon for young children to dislike or avoid unstructured settings,” says Diane Stephenson-Moe, a counselor at Jeffers Hill Elementary School, Columbia, Md.

The first thing to rule out is bullying by peers, says Stephenson-Moe, which unfortunately can occur even in kindergarten. “Is she the target of any teasing or threats? This often causes children to hesitate to engage in social situations. If so, enlist the assistance of teachers and administration to resolve the problem.”

If bullying is not the issue, then teach Belinda how to interact with other children. “We often assume that kids just know how to socialize, but it is a learned skill,” says Stephenson-Moe. “It’s a patient process of building her confidence.”

Stephenson-Moe suggests the following:

– First, explicitly teach Belinda social skills through modeling: how to initiate and maintain conversations with children and adults, extend an invitation to play, join children already at play and read body language. Enlist the teacher’s help so you can reinforce each other’s work and praise Belinda’s successes. “These skills are key not only in making new friends, but also in getting along with people in general,” says Stephenson-Moe and most early childhood educators are trained to teach them, so its likely her teacher can show you how if you’re unsure.

– Second, prepare Belinda for events she will encounter to build her confidence. Take the cafeteria, for example. Kindergarteners often get nervous because it’s noisy, or they don’t know the kids they’re sitting with, or they are unaccustomed to making quick food choices (”pizza or chicken nuggets?”) in the lunch line. When you patiently prepare Belinda for these situations and choices, she may get more comfortable.

Third, involve Belinda in extra-curricular activities that will develop her interests as well as friends. “Sports, dance, theater, Girl Scouts — these would allow her to enjoy structured activities and interact with children who share a common interest,” notes Stephenson-Moe.

Fourth, ask her teacher to let you know when Belinda makes social progress, such as volunteering an answer in class, joining a team or developing a new friend so you can provide positive feedback. This lets Belinda know you’re cheering her on, and it also lets the teacher know that you want to work with her.

Don’t hover over Belinda or answer questions for her, advises Stephenson-Moe. “The last thing shy kids need is to think that they aren’t capable of thinking or speaking for themselves. They will, in time.”

Shyness doesn’t go away overnight and some children will always be a little more reserved than others. But with modeling, patient preparation, coaching, and positive feedback, Belinda will grow socially and gain friends. The year is young and so is she!

Posted in Motivating and Organizing Kids, Talk with Kids | No Comments »

Encourage students to look ahead

Sep 21st, 2009 by Leanna Landsmann

Before my niece left for her college freshman year, she warned my eighth-grade daughter to start applying “way earlier than senior year.” She said someone at the University of North Carolina gave prospective applicants a speech she wished she’d heard in middle school. Can you track down the advice?

Your niece may have been inspired by Erin Breese, senior assistant director of undergraduate admissions at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She talks with prospective students every day. When she and her colleagues review applications, they look at far more than a student’s record in junior and senior year.

“We understand that students travel many different roads to get to Carolina, and we celebrate the variety of interests, backgrounds and aspirations that they bring with them. The qualities that we seek include intellect, curiosity, creativity, leadership, kindness, courage and diversity,” says Breese.

“At the same time, we seek excellence,” she emphasizes. “We focus first on academic excellence, using a variety of information — courses, grades, test scores, recommendations, essays — to help us assess performance and potential. Successful candidates take at least one course in each of the five core academic disciplines — English, math, social science, lab science and foreign language in each of their four years if they are available at their high school. We pay particular attention to the rigor of each candidate’s course of study. We encourage juniors and seniors, when possible, to take the most difficult programs available at their school. We also encourage them to pursue activities outside the classroom which help them grow as a person.”

Breese advises middle schoolers and high school freshmen and sophomores to stay focused in the classroom. “We tell them to strive for good grades in the most challenging courses available to them — AP, IB, honors, academically gifted courses — in all disciplines. They should also develop good study habits and organizational skills.”

Breese also advises them to invest these years in learning which academic areas and extracurricular activities interest them the most. For example, she encourages teens not to slack off during the summers. “Students should do something to define themselves and their interests. Whether it’s volunteering, summer camps, employment, taking courses, or devoting time to a hobby, they should choose activities that interest them.”

If Breese were to address your daughter’s middle school classmates, she’d tell them:

– Strive for good grades (As and Bs in all courses).

– Take challenging classes (algebra 1, geometry or other advanced math; advanced science; academically gifted courses, etc.) Try taking a few courses over summers, as well.

– Develop good study habits and organizational skills. These will stay with you throughout high school.

– Find your passion. Spend time figuring out which academic areas and extracurricular activities interest you the most. If possible, take advantage of your breaks from school to take classes, trips or go to special-interest camps.

– Improve your reading, writing, and math skills. This will help you do well in high school courses and on your SAT or ACT. “Find your voice as a writer,” suggests Breese. “This effort will show up in that important college essay, which help reviewers understand your thoughts and feelings.”

Breese invites your daughter to go to www.admissions.unc.edu and select the “MyUNC” on the scroll-down menu for “Prospective Students” and create her own personal account. “Visiting MyUNC will help her stay informed about what’s happening at Carolina, keep in touch with us, and even if she doesn’t apply here, give her a concrete way to stay focused on the goal of college of few years from now,” notes Breese.

Posted in Choosing a School, College Prep | No Comments »

As school resources dwindle, it’s time for parents to volunteer

Sep 14th, 2009 by Leanna Landsmann

Our school has deep budget cuts, so my wife and I decided to volunteer this year. We called our son’s school to ask how we could use our skills. (We’re both engineers.) The school secretary told us to help the PTA fund-raise. Selling cookie dough wasn’t what we had in mind. We’d like to mentor in our middle school but don’t know how to get in the door. Any suggestions?

More parents are raising their hands this year as schools face fewer resources and higher expectations for student achievement. A new GreatSchools/Harris Interactive study indicates that 64 percent of parents believe that, because of the recession, it is more important for them to volunteer at school now than before.

More than half of parents, 53 percent, plan to volunteer at their children’s school, up from 44 percent last year, a 20 percent increase. “The trend is most pronounced among African American parents, 60 percent of whom plan to volunteer, a nearly threefold increase from the 23 percent who say they volunteered last year,” says Bill Jackson, president of GreatSchools.

There is ample evidence that when kids see their parents involved at school, they get better grades and test scores, have better attendance and behavior and enter college at higher rates. Involved parents not only improve the performance of their own children, they have a positive school-wide effect.

When administrators pigeonhole parents into fund-raising roles, or ignore their offers altogether, they miss out on game-changing ways to boost school quality, says Jackson. “While this is the worst recession in 70 years, helping the school sell more wrapping paper won’t add much value. Parents need to reinvent their involvement, and schools must remove barriers and create a menu of opportunities to tap parent power.”

How can you ramp up your involvement? Move the needle three ways, says Jackson.

First, as an individual. With mentoring an interest and engineering your profession, Jackson suggests contacting math and science teachers to offer help showing students how what they learn in class translates to the world outside. This could entail work-site visits, tutoring, introducing students to a range of science, math, technology and engineering professions, guiding students to high school courses that will open doors to college scholarships, or helping coach the robotics team or a science club.

Second, as part of a school-quality task force. “When parents band together, they add heft to the push for high standards,” says Jackson. “You might form a standards committee; work with educators on how to use data to improve performance; communicate priorities to other parents; or guide the school in making cuts. Should you cut sports equipment or art classes? Parents can provide important input to these decisions.”

Third, teach parents to advocate for their child and navigate the school’s resources. “In California, the Parent Institute for Quality Education (PIQE) has taught thousands of parents how to work with educators to keep their children on track,” notes Jackson. “Their goal isn’t to tell teachers what to do. It’s to meet monthly about a child’s instructional plan. It’s hard for a student to veer off course when both teacher and parent are checking his progress every four weeks.”

Parents have enormous leverage, notes Jackson. “Don’t wait for the school to enlist you. In a spirit of collaboration, find gaps you think you can fill and offer up your own ideas for involvement.”

For more ways to become involved in your child’s school, go to GreatSchools.

Posted in Partner with Teachers | No Comments »

Help children with learning disabilities

Sep 7th, 2009 by Leanna Landsmann

My eighth-grader, Rico, made honor roll last spring after a period of failing. He had a private tutor who insisted that the school test him. He now has a 504 Plan for his learning difficulties. My question is, should we drop the tutor? She helped us get the school to act, even going to school meetings. Now that he has a 504 team at school, it seems redundant, but we don’t want him to fall behind.

Your story makes me crazy. With all that’s known about early intervention, and all the legislated support such as Section 504 and the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, no child who is failing should have to wait until eighth grade to get tested for learning problems.

The good news is that Rico is succeeding. Now your job is to help Rico keep his momentum.

“High school brings new academic challenges,” says Kristin Stanberry, a California education writer and education advocate who specializes in learning disabilities and AD/HD. “Consider keeping the tutor for the first semester. She could give Rico a sense of continuity as he adjusts to the new school, schedule, faculty, campus and courses. Plus, she has proven herself effective in working with faculty, so she might help communicate his progress to his new teachers. Once you know the services the school will provide, you can decide whether or not to keep the tutor.”

Stanberry, who helps parents of children with learning difficulties successfully navigate the school system, also recommends:

Make sure the 504 Plan is transferred and updated: “Try to set up a meeting with the high school’s 504 team early on,” says Stanberry. Check the plan to see that it meets his current needs. Effective January 2009, eligibility and accommodations under Section 504 were expanded, but don’t assume the high school is aware of all the implications. Do your own homework to ensure Rico gets all the support he is entitled to.

Take advantage of every resource offered: Make sure Rico gets involved in the life of high school and uses every service that can help him succeed. “Take the freshman orientation and campus tour,” advises Stanberry. “Forge a strong relationship with the guidance counselor early. Dive deep into extracurricular activities he enjoys and excels at. All this will help him make new friends and build positive support systems.”

Prepare Rico for a heavier academic load: “Keep an eye on how he manages the transition to a faster pace and more homework,” says Stanberry. “Does he need extra help in study skills? Would he be a better note taker with a laptop? High school requires more reading. Would he benefit from digital textbooks or other assistive technology? Explore these accommodations with his 504 team to find out what support he’s eligible for.

Encourage Rico to become his own advocate: A self-advocate understands his strengths and needs, and can communicate them to teachers and other students. Because Rico ended eighth grade on such a high note, he may be ready to be his own ‘agent.’ You will continue to be his coach and backup, but encourage him to start speaking up for himself.

For more information about Section 504, go to The National Center for Learning Disabilities. Find many useful tips on helping students with learning disabilities at GreatSchools and click the tab for “learning disabilities”.

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Disconnecting your child from cyberbullying

Aug 31st, 2009 by Leanna Landsmann

My daughter Karissa, 12, was “cyber-bullied” by girls just before school ended, so I didn’t report it. I reduced her computer access this summer, and she became less upset. School’s starting and she’s emotional again. Should I alert the school?

Yes, but don’t assume the problem will disappear without your involvement. Schools are concerned about cyber-bullying, but the counselor’s case load and the time since the incident will make it hard to get to the heart of this case. Alert the counselor and ask about the school’s programs and policies on bullying.

Take two important steps, advises Tom Caplan, an Kingston, N.Y.-based educator who trains faculty, parents and students to reduce cyber-bullying.

First, educate yourself. Bullying is an attempt to assert power over another to achieve a feeling of superiority. Cyber-bullies multiply their hurtful impact through mass e-mails or distribution of humiliating photos via cell phone. Because the bullies often use screen-names, they can threaten and harass on a scale far surpassing face-to-face encounters.

“If your school doesn’t have a program, identify an educator who is passionate about this, and network with other parents to put one in place,” says Caplan. “Clemson University’s Olweus Bullying Prevention Program is effective.” Choose a good trainer who will make it fun, use role-play and create a sense of community. Find strategies and tips at: Teaching Tolerance, cyberbullying.org, i-SAFE and Students Against Desctructive Decisions.

Second, help Karissa develop resilience skills to combat bullying. Often experts overemphasize the power and reach of adults, says Caplan. “Yes, kids should tell adults, but most bullying happens out of view of adults or without adults noticing. We need to empower our best and most powerful resource, the kids themselves, to respond.”

How can you empower Karissa? Caplan suggests:

• Help her develop friendships with other girls through sports, the arts, clubs, service organizations, Girl Scouts or 4-H. “Choose activities where she’ll make friends who can help sustain her when the going gets rough.”

• Direct her to resources for teen girls such as New Moon Magazine. “The magazine has strong values and its online community offers moderated chat.” Another teen site is Cyberbully 411.

• Create a team of allies — girls who are “bully blockers” for each other. “Kids don’t realize that being a bystander, someone aware of the bullying but who does nothing, makes things worse,” says Caplan. “Have them practice how to ’speak up’ with strength yet without bullying back or escalating the situation. A well-trained ally team can combat the scale of harassment.”

For example, Karissa might respond by e-mailing, “Jessie told stories about Emily last week, and she’s telling stories about me this week. There’s no truth to any of them.” That online statement, followed by online support from the allies, such as, “Jessie, stop spreading rumors!” can help diffuse the bully and turn bystanders into truth tellers.

• Teach Karissa responsible Internet usage. Keep the cell for emergencies, set limits and monitor computer time, and don’t worry about invading her privacy. There’s no such thing in cyberspace. Avoid social-networking sites that allow anonymous postings.

• If it happens again, see the counselor. Take printouts of the bullying content in any e-mail, wall, IM chat or dialogue box with you. The school has a key role in stopping bullying, but parents have the most leverage. “Give kids effective ways to deal with anger and frustration. Teach them respect for others,” says Caplan. Teach The Golden Rule in cyberspace, too!

Posted in Kids and Technology | No Comments »

Easing the kindergarten jitters

Aug 24th, 2009 by Leanna Landsmann

Our son Adrian is starting kindergarten. He was excited but now is in a panic and doesn’t want to go. He has been in day care and did well on all the kindergarten tests except self-control. My mother says send him to pre-K, since he would be the youngest in his kindergarten. Is that a good idea?

Stick with the kindergarten plan. Kindergarten jitters are completely natural. Most kids, even those who have experienced separation, worry about how they’ll fare in their new environment.

There are easy ways to help him get over his worries, says kindergarten teacher Robin Obey from North Bellmore, N.Y.

• Read books about starting kindergarten: There are many wonderful stories that capture feelings that he might be having, says Obey. “This will help him see that others have concerns too.” Bookstores carry a large collection of “starting school” titles, and librarians will have them at the ready this time of year.

Some of Obey’s favorites: “Timothy Goes To School,” Rosemary Wells (Puffin, 2001); “Will I Have A Friend?,” Miriam Cohen (Star Bright, 2009); “Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready For Kindergarten,” Joseph Slate (Puffin, 2001); “The Night Before Kindergarten,” Natasha Wing (Scholastic, 2001); “Countdown To Kindergarten,” Allison McGhee (Voyager, 2006); “Wemberly Worried,” Kevin Henkes (Greenwillow, 2000); “The Kissing Hand” Audrey Penn (Tanglewood, 2007); “Tiptoe into Kindergarten,” Jacqueline Rogers (Cartwheel, 2003).

• Sleuth out his concerns: Children entering kindergarten wonder about things parents may assume they already know, such as “How will I get to school?,” “How long do I stay?,” “Will I be able to play?,” “Are my friends there?,” “Where will I go after school?” and so on. The more detail you show and tell, such as driving the route to the school, the better.

• Visit the school: If possible, go to his classroom. Show him the cafeteria and gym, walk the halls, check out the bathrooms (and how to flush those noisy toilets!) “In some schools, you may even be able to say a brief hello to the teacher prior to the first day,” suggests Obey. If you can’t get into the building, visit the playground and tell him about your first day of school.

• Work on self-control: Find opportunities to model and describe problem solving, says Obey. “Give positive reinforcement when Adrian seeks attention appropriately and waits for his turn patiently. Look for things he can do to take on some responsibilities, such as helping to set the table, unpack groceries, make his school lunch, and lay out his clothes. These activities develop independence and self esteem.”

• Show enthusiasm and stay positive: “While acknowledging his fears, you must continue to show excitement about starting kindergarten,” says Obey. Children pick up on parents’ feelings, and if you and your mother question his readiness, it will only serve to reinforce his own hesitancy.

• Remember, it’s a transition: Let his teacher know his concerns and what you’re doing to ease them, but don’t hover at school. During the first month or so, avoid over-scheduling Adrian. Make sure he gets enough rest and free play to balance the structure of kindergarten. And don’t forget to ask him those all-important questions: What did you learn today? Who did you meet today? What did your teacher tell you today? You’ll be building his language skills along with his self-confidence!

Posted in Kindergarten Readiness | No Comments »

Keep kids sharp with hi-tech learning

Aug 17th, 2009 by Leanna Landsmann

I just got our school’s packet on things parents can do to foster learning and it reads like it was written in the 1950s. Other than warning about the dangers of the Internet, there is no reference to digital projects. There must be some techie things we can do with our 7-, 10- and 14-year-old to promote literacy skills!

There are! One of my favorite ed-tech gurus, K-12 educator Jim Moulton, has a whole list. Moulton teaches teachers how to use new technologies to motivate kids and deepen engagement in learning. He blogs for an innovative education Web site, Edutopia.

Moulton offers these activities to start you off.

Family Photo Fun: One of Moulton’s favorite sites, BigHugeLabs, makes it easy to put the family on the cover of a kids-created magazine. You can create other things, such as family trading cards with stats and motivational posters. “Because the results are JPEG files, you can pass them on,” says Moulton, What better way to showcase kids poetry, for example, than to create a poster with it?

Family archive: During the depths of the school year, you’ll want to bring up those family photos that made you laugh so hard this summer. Have kids organize, caption them and upload to a storage site. Moulton likes Google’s Picasa. It’s free. Take those funny snapshots and share them exclusively with family members and friends you select, says Moulton.

Kids’ own comics: With Plasq, software created by Comic Life, you can turn family photos into comic books. Moulton says that faster than you can say “Shazam!” your kids will be creating their own graphic novels.

Family wikis: Planning a big family event? Set up a family wiki to share everything folks need to know about it. Moulton says this is also a great way for friends and cousins who only see each other during summer to stay in touch during the school year. To learn how to set up a wiki.

Video on demand: You know all those cool YouTube videos your kids loved but forgot to save? Get your kids to store and organize them by downloading Miro. “It’s like iTunes for video,” says Moulton. “You can save files on your local hard drive.” There’s more than entertainment value here. A good collection of content-specific videos on nature, sports, history and more can suggest topics for reports. This is a boon when a child announces Sunday night that he needs to find a topic for a report due Monday morning.

Read around the world: Go to Newseum to read the front pages of newspapers across the globe. Moulton says “Your children are going to be players in a global economy,” so it’s important for them to become interested in what people are thinking about in other countries. Scanning the front page from a newspaper kiosk in Beijing, Beirut, Houston, London, New Delhi or Toronto is a good way to learn geography, too.

Another Moulton favorite for geography learning is Google Maps where “you can take a look at the neighborhood in a whole new way. Map skills are a key part of many curriculum areas,” says Moulton. “Use Google Maps to explore the settings of books kids are reading, look up places in social studies texts, and places in the news.”

For more ed-tech ideas you can translate to home learning, watch Moulton’s blog.

Posted in Kids and Technology | No Comments »

Getting your bearing on outdoor fun

Aug 10th, 2009 by Leanna Landsmann

Our family is planning an “unplugged” week at a state park to enjoy the outdoors. Our boys, ages 9 and 11, will leave their video games behind, but we will have our GPS. Can you suggest learning activities we can do with it?

Good thinking! No better way to get ready for school than spend time in one of nature’s classrooms. Being in the great outdoors grounds kids, says Richard Louv, co-founder of The Children and Nature Network.

In his book, “Last Child in the Woods,” (Algonquin Books, 2008), Louv cites research on the positive mental and physical health benefits of outdoor experiences and says kids who spend life indoors in structured activities suffer from “nature deficit disorder,” which he believes leads to obesity, ADD, and depression.

So what can you do with your GPS? A lot to boost your boys’ geography and critical-thinking skills, says Bennett Moe, an educator at mapmaker GeoNovaGroup.com. Pack along Moe’s ideas.

Before starting out: Prior to programming the GPS, using an atlas and route maps, have the boys find their location and destination and compare the information on each type of map. Discuss why each type has its purpose. Use Google Earth to look at each location. “GeoNova’s ‘Student Atlas of the World,’ available as an e-book and on paper, includes map-skill activities that help kids understand differences of scale,” says Moe. There are also good sources on the Web. Moe likes this neat “zoom” from the universe to an atom.

En route: Create some GPS challenges for the drive, suggests Moe. For example, using current speed and time, determine when and where you should stop for food. Ask the boys to find an eatery, museum, scenic vista or historic site using the GPS unit. If your unit allows, search the best prices for gasoline.

At camp: Try Geocaching, a high-tech treasure hunt with players of all ages throughout the world, which will give your boys a lesson on longitude and latitude. Using your GPS, you can locate outdoor hidden ‘treasures’ called geocaches en route and at your campsite, by zip code. Sign up is free at geocaching.com. You leave a treasure when you take a treasure.)

GPSGames.org has several games that use “virtual caches” as the basis of the game. MinuteWar, for example, is a virtual version of Capture the Flag where you travel to a designated spot to ‘capture’ a virtual flag, In GeoGolf, your score is determined by how close you get to the coordinates of a virtual stash.

Garmin includes games in some of their GPS units, such as Virtual Maze. “You move through the maze on screen by running around,” says Moe. “You need open space and you can look like a lunatic running with a GPS unit in your hand, but it is great exercise if you try to beat your best time! Or, gather a batch of campers for a game of NavBall, a team soccer game for GPS-enabled cell phones.”

Pack a camera and some fresh journals for the boys to note observations. And just in case your GPS gets “lost,” have handy a couple of decks of cards, “The Games Book: How to Play the Games of Yesterday” (Scholastic, 2009), and a week’s supply of chocolate, graham crackers and marshmallows for s’mores.

Posted in Vacation Plans and Projects | No Comments »

Help your child roll with the punches

Aug 3rd, 2009 by Leanna Landsmann

Our school has let parents request a teacher, without guarantees, but we usually get our choice. Parents were just informed that the policy was no longer in effect, and the lists were redrawn to make larger classes. I am furious my third-grade son, Jason, didn’t get the teacher I wanted. Our school is highly rated, and we hope this isn’t the beginning of its decline. Should I go to the principal and insist?

No! Count to 10, then count your blessings. Pressing this issue won’t serve you or Jason’s interests well.

Today’s school administrators don’t have it easy. They must make tough choices forced by a terrible economy, while maintaining high-quality instruction, supporting teachers who have fewer materials and more students, and managing parents’ expectations.

Rescinding the policy isn’t a big deal in the scheme of things. What is a big deal is what you do from here. “Principals, counselors and teachers put a great deal of thought into class assignments, and parents should have some faith in the process,” says retired Maryland elementary school principal Shirley Harden. “Principals don’t want mismatches any more than parents’ do.”

Accept the decision: You may have had excellent reasons for requesting a particular teacher, but you need to accept his assignment with an open mind. “You’ve stated your school is highly rated. Explain to Jason that it’s because it has many good teachers. Say you’re looking forward to meeting and working with his new teacher,” says Harden. “Do not express any concern about the assigned teacher.”

Plan for a successful year: A teacher is but one factor in a child’s success in school. What you do at home every day is as important as what happens in the classroom. Harden suggests getting Jason ready to go back by transitioning from summer schedule to school schedule a couple of weeks before school starts. Build excitement by showing him what he will be learning.

Once school begins, join a School Improvement Team or the PTO so you’ll be in close touch with the school. Then do some pro-active parenting. Have a conversation with Jason every day about what happened in school, says Harden. “Ask questions that get him to talk: ‘What surprised you today?’ ‘Who did you meet that was interesting?’ ‘What do you think your teacher will ask you tomorrow?’ Parents underestimate the value of these daily conversations. Don’t ask questions that allow your child to simply give you one-word answers. Have a real chat!”

Child psychologist, Paul J. Donahue, author of “Parenting Without Fear” (St. Martins, 2007), says “parents should worry less about these kinds of decisions” and focus on what really helps children become confident, capable learners.

Donahue advises parents to build in more “alone time” for kids — 20 to 30 minutes a day — to nurture independence and imagination. He recommends having evening meals together with children three evenings a week. He also advises setting aside a couple of nights a week without any scheduled activities, such as “Hang Out Fridays, a time with no obligations when families can just enjoy each other’s company. This strengthens family relationships and gives kids a time to bring things up that interest them or may be bothering them.”

Use this as a life lesson: “It’s not your job to make everything perfect for Jason,” says Dr. Donahue. “Think of him as capable and able to cope with his new teacher. Learning to roll with the punches builds resilience and helps him adapt to new situations.”

Posted in Talk with Kids | No Comments »

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