School Bell: Homework Bite Times

Unless you live someplace with an unusual school year schedule your children are not yet out of school.... at least physically!  Mentally and emotionally, they may have checked out already. As you try to keep them on top of their work during these last few weeks, try doing it in bite-size chunks.

Break homework time into 15 or 20 minute segments and alternate work time with reward activities.

Rewards can be anything more lighthearted: 
Mix it up to keep your child interested. Indoor, Outdoor, active, calm, you know your child best.  [Ideas:  snack, outdoor chalk drawing or jumping rope for the younger set, shooting basketballs, or game time.] Reward activities should also be done in 15 or 20 minute segments.

Timer ideas:
For speed and ease, nothing much beats a simple timer set to 10, 15 or 20 minutes. But if you have time, money, or inclination go for something more fun: Try ooze tubes or glitter jars or sand timers instead of being hung up on the actual minutes.  They turn over the tube or jar when they start working or playing and stop when the tube or jar is completely settled.  They shift activity with each flip of the tube or jar.

Ooze tubes take between 10-15 minutes to empty from one compartment to the other. They cost about $5. They come in a variety of colors. You can also find versions that are the same time but cost more and are larger. These are the favorites of my kiddos.  [We also use them for calming down.]

Glitter jars you can make yourself.... maybe even have your child help to get them involved. The time length and costs vary depending on how you make it. You can fin a link to directions on my Pinterest site or google for the directions of your choice, there are many different versions.

Sand timers come in all time lengths and designs.... from  My favorite site for finding fun sand timers is officeplayground.com [which also has a wide variety of stress toys].

Note: You can also use the "bite-size" approach to help your child shift between efforts on different subjects, making sure that math, science, history, and grammar all get a turn at the homework energy.
      
Image credits and thanks to: officeplayground.com, edu-nova.com

School Bell: Paint Chips for Reading

Here is a cool, colorful idea for helping your child with early reading. If you are like me you have tons of old paint chip strips lying around in drawers from when you last dreamed of redoing that bedroom or den. Dig them out and convert them into a great learning tool.

Use complete strips and label them with beginning consonants or consonant blends or with common endings.  See the examples at the right of the photo below.

Now take the larger ones and cut out a window at the beginning [for initial sounds] or the end [for ending combinations] and write the base words as shown with the cards on the left in the photo above .

For more info and details on this idea check out this blog I found on line while exploring recently:  The Snail'sTrail   I made this link for the May 27, 2011 entry where she gives all the info for this reading idea. Check out more of her blog because she is FULL of great ideas!

Image credit and thanks to:  thesnailstrail.blogspot.com

School Bell: Organize School Projects

About now in households across the country kids are struggling with that last "big" project for history or science.  Whether it is a model of the solar system, a whale report, a policy paper or other research project,  many kids and parents are pulling their hair out.  Sadly, I have no magic cure.  But here is a strategy to try.

Remember that the goals usually are:
1-- to teach your child how to break big projects and tasks into smaller component parts,
2-- to help them learn to work piece by piece rather than to leave it all to the last minute,
3-- to explore or summarize a topic, idea, or concept.
The goal is NOT to frustrate your child or discourage them!

So...
1-Sit with your child and help them break the project into parts. Take a freebie giveaway calendar or make a calendar between now and the due date.  Schedule in the in-vetween deadline goals to be finished two days ahead [to allow for emergencies or for the fun of handing it in early!].

2- Challenge your child to work XX number of minutes each day to get to that week's goal. [If you can do it with 10-15 min per day it works best.  If it takes more [ex 30 minutes a day] break the 30 minutes into 10-15 minute chunks so the frustration level stays under control yet progress is visible and steady.

3. Choose a reward [I'll use an ice cream sundae party as my example.]

4. Each day they reach the goal put a piece of the reward in place. [sprinkles in a basket or on the shelf, ice ream cones, choc sauce, etc.] This helps them see progress and motivates them to finish.

OR

4. Draw a picture or make a "ticket" for the reward and hole punch it each time they reach a mini-goal. So for example after 5 punches they get a dish of ice cream at home, after 10 they get an ice cream cone at a local spot, after 15 [when the final project is handed in] they can invite a friend [or two]  over for a make-you-own sundaes buffet celebration

Alternative to ice cream: movie night, dinner out, trip to a fun park, etc.... choose it to match your child and the difficulty of the project. .

Image thanks and credits to: telegraph.co.uk, loving your child.com, oregonlive.com,

School Bell: Celebrate Struggles: But...

The last two Mondays I explained two reasons to celebrate the struggles of schoolwork, particularly in middle school years :

1- Students hit that wall they are in a time when the grades matter far less than later in school or life.  [April 23]

2- Students who struggle learn strategies for overcoming challenges.  [April 30]

Today... the "but." Yes, celebrate Struggles BUT:

Be your child's best learning coach.

If you are a parent who does NOT have to help their child with homework:
It is essential that you find ways to challenge your children intellectually during these growth years. It is healthy for a child, while still surrounded by supportive parents, to experience challenge, frustration, even the occasional panic.  Those are opportunities to teach them ways to respond that will help them respond to other challenges, frustrations and panicked moments long beyond their academic years.

If you are a parent who DOES  have to help their child with homework:

When you are about to pull your hair at one more flash card drill, one more Venn diagram, etc., hold onto the thought that you are helping them develop systems for dealing with learning that will be in their personal learning baskets for the rest of their lives.  BUT: Touch base with your child's teacher about exploring learning assessments if you feel your child may have underlying challenges to learning or may need extra interventions to succeed.

Everyone: 
Gather up all the tips, tricks, and strategies you can and pass them on to your children through your teaching and through your example.  If they don't need them now, they will someday.

Parents play a pivotal role in their children's attitudes toward school and learning, their awareness of learning, and their opportunities to learn and grow. Coach your child every day!

Image credit and thanks to: inclusiveeducationpdresources.ca

School Bell: Celebrate Struggles: Reason # 2

Last Monday I posted about one reason to celebrate the struggles of schoolwork, particularly in middle school years  [hitting that wall when struggle, even failure, matter less than it will later].

Today reason #2 why struggle can be good:

2- Students who struggle learn strategies for overcoming challenges.

Struggle is good in the middle and high school years.  The child who has difficulty acquiring knowledge is forced to learn [or at least try] a wide variety of strategies for learning... flash cards, outlines, anagrams, rhymes, silly mental pictures, etc etc.  Compare that to the child who breezes through class, who seems to absorb the material the first time exposed. Some seem so lucky that they could pass [and do well] on the unit tests even without doing the homework. But is this lucky?  The parents get off easier, that is certain. But do the children?   

Children who never struggled in K-12  are often the kids at greater risk of doing poorly in college not knowing how to solve the problem.  Used to breezing through tests, or goofing around and only studying when it was time for the test, they may discover that it suddenly no longer works.  Or they may have been able to postpone a project or paper till the last minute and still pull it off and now they can't.  Or the information itself may not "stick" just by listening in class, or by reading the material quickly.  Suddenly nothing is working and they may have trouble even recognizing the train wreck coming, much less dealing with it.

The students who struggled at some point or through high school are not surprised or taken aback when things are hard. They have been there. They return to some of the strategies that got them through earlier learning challenges. These strategies are familiar, and many students even know exactly which approaches work best for them. They have tried multiple strategies for memory, for organizing, for breaking down deadlines, for seeking help, and for assessing their progress. 

So....

when you are about to pull your hair at one more flash card drill, one more Venn diagram, etc., DON'T.  Hold onto the thought that you are helping them develop systems for dealing with learning that will be in their personal learning baskets for the rest of their lives.

Next week... Of course, there is a "but" to celebrating school struggles. If you shouldn't panic when your child struggles, what should you do?  And what are the inevitable exceptions?


Image credits and thanks to: coulditbethebaby.blogspot.com

School Bell: Celebrate Struggles: Reason #1

Tis the season for kids to be sick of school and parents to be tired of fighting over homework,. The season for final projects and cumulative tests. The end of the school years looms like both a deadline and a prize. Today and next Monday will hopefully give you and yours a more optimistic view of the homework struggles.

Struggle can be something to celebrate!

With very few exceptions everyone will struggle to learn something during their life. Sooner or later we come up against something that doesn't come easily.  Those students who breezed through middle or junior high school, who aced high school without breaking a sweat, will hit a wall sometime in college or on their job.  

Which brings us to reason #1 why we can celebrate struggles:

1- Students hit that wall they are in a time when the grades matter far less than later in school or life.  

In the 32 years I taught fifth grade, I never once had a Harvard admissions office care about that D on the marine mammal project, or that failed Civil War test. I have seen employers turned off by D's in someone's college major, or on their graduate school transcripts.

Parents have to let go at some point when their child is learning to walk.  They have to eventually let go of the bike if a child is to learn to ride. Knowing to occasionally NOT bail their child out of a school mess is also an essential if the child is to learn to learn.  Do it judiciously.  Do it compassionately.  Do it AFTER having taught the child the skills to be independent. But do it.

Few children are damaged permanently by falling on their face when learning to walk, or by a skinned knee in a bike fall.  They will also survive falling on their face at school.  But like a child learning to walk or ride, parents should be there to help dust them off, bandage the wounds, and help them see how to do better. And.. the bumps and bruises hurt less and heal faster when you are younger and more resilient.

Next week reason #2 and the following week... a "but."

Image credit and thanks to: unisa.edu.au

School Bell: Celebrating School!

I don't know about your kids, but the last thing my kiddos want to do during vacations is school work.  So what do you do to use your spring vacation most effectively? Whether they are doing well in school so far or they are struggling, try this idea to inspire them to a good finish to the school year"

       Name and celebrate their successes, efforts, and hard work!  

Every single night of vacation as the family gathers around the table find a way to celebrate and name what they have done or are doing that contributes to school success.  They will not only see that you notice what they are doing, they will hear exactly what it is that you are honoring and valuing. Best of all they will be receiving positive attention for the good, rather than more typical disappointment or frustration with their challenges. Ideas:

--Celebrate a memory of the school year that demonstrates their efforts and their progress. Make up little trophies [or get from novelty store], or a certificate etc. to make the honor concrete.

--Share an assignment that they worked hard on and talk about how proud you were to see their effort.  If you remember what strategies they used, talk about them. [Ex: flashcards, drill, doing a bit at a time, etc.]

--Decorate a big mirror or door or fridge front with an array of positive papers and comments from the school year.

If your child is really struggling.... if none of the above seem feasible, try one or more of these:

--Buy a medal or blue ribbon from a party/novelty store [or make one!] and award it during dinner one night to celebrate a risk your child made or something new they tried, focusing on the courage it took to try regardless of the level of success.

--Celebrate the fact that your child is_______ [getting to school on time each morning, being polite in class, participating in chorus/band/sports/whatever, telling you the truth about how school is going, coming to you for help on homework or prepping for tests, etc.]  As long as your child is still in school they have not given up completely and you CAN find something to honor!

--Think about what previous struggles have been conquered. Bring them up and point out how easy they are now, celebrate! Ex: Talk about how long it took to learn to [tie shoes, or name colors, tell time, or write their name, etc.]  yet how simple the task is now. Compare that to things that you once struggled with, but keep the emphasis on what they have already worked through and conquered.

Image credits and thanks to: wbrz.com, medrounds.org, open.salon.com

School Bell: Special Education?

Is your child constantly frustrated by school work?  

Now is the time of year to kind of step back and consider whether it is typical temporary frustration or whether the frustration reflects a significant struggle to learn and to demonstrate learning. Schools are required to provide instructional support for children who are struggling to learn and who are shown [by special testing] to have a qualifying learning disability, processing problem, emotional disability or other qualifying condition.

If your child is working hard but making little progress, or is steadily falling behind his/her peers this is a good time of year to consider request your child be tested to see if they need special support to succeed. This problem can emerge at any grade level, but is often noticed between 3rd and 5th grade.

Testing is done within the school day and does not cost parents anything.  The school is required to get your permission before they initiate testing and you will be asked to sign permission for each type of test they plan to conduct.

Schools are required to respond within a specific time frame if you make a written request for an evaluation. When testing is done they will schedule a meeting to review the testing, determine if your child qualifies, and [if so] make a support plan.

If your child has struggled this year, despite reaasonable efforts, it is better to get the evaluation done this year for several reasons. 1- If the child qualifies, information and support plans will be in place when they begin next year rather than if you wait for the evaluation to see how next year goes.  2- The evaluations and questionnaires will receive input from teachers who have worked with your child and know your child this year, rather than if you wait until the fall when the teachers won't yet know your child.

Act sooner rather than later, because the evaluation process takes time and scheduling the followups can sometimes be challenging as well.  If you wait until the last month of school there will not be time to complete the process.

Note: If you have any specific questions, feel free to send them in a comment and I will do my best to answer. After 32 years as a teachert I can probably either answer your question or point you where to find an answer.

Image credits and thanks to:  cassidycash.com, eduguide.org, mylot.com

School Bell: TV Teaching pt 4: Settings

[I missed last Monday's School Bell because of unexpected family stuff so here is the 4th part of Teaching with Television. Sorry for the delay!]

For middle school or high school students today's "book reports" are more than just about plot and main characters. My former students would often struggle with how to describe the setting of a story or a scene.  This is yet another area that becomes clearer when you use a television or movie story to parallel written/read literature.  Sit with your child and watch one of their favorite dramas or comedies. In the ads talk with your child about three aspects of setting:

Place: 
This is usually the easiest so a good place to start. Where does the story takes place?.... city, country, small town, suburb, United States or other country.

Time/Era:
Does the story take place in today's time, the future or the past?

Economic Setting:
Go beyond location to atmosphere. Is it a wealthy region, area of poverty, middle class, privileged or struggling?


The key step is to help your child learn to recognize and look for the clues.

Help your children notice:
Props:
 What are the "toys" included in the scene?  Computers, cell phones?.. You can often date an episode by the size of the computer or cell phone, not to mention whether kids are listening to ipods, boom boxes, television, radio, etc. Do the posters in a bedroom feature current pop stars/sports icons, or those from the past?  What do the household appliances and tools look like?
Behavior:
Are the kids rolling hoops and playing jacks, listening to an old radio or watching television, playing sports, riding bikes, or dueling video games?
Clothing:
 How are the grownups dressed? All suits and dresses or jeans and casual? What length are the skirts? Are the guys wearing ties? Are kids dressed the same as adults or differently?
Life Roles: 
Are all the moms stay at home?  What types of work do the women do? Do the men commute to work or walk? What kind of cars are seen? ARE cars around or is transportation something other than cars...older or future?

In two weeks: The final step... the "What if.."s

[This is the 4th installment of tips for using TV to teach.  If you missed the earlier posts, check out Feb 6th and 20th and March 8th.]

Image credits and thanks:  date-dabitur.com, impactlab.com

School Bell: Absentee tricks

Does your child sometimes miss part of a school day because of dental or doctor appointments?  How about colds or strep throat? With younger children there is little The best plan is to plan ahead. [Isn't that often the case?]


The Set-Up
Have your child pick a "buddy." 
Good candidates? 
... someone who is pretty dependable. 
... someone who lives nearby and could drop off books or papers.
For upper grades legible handwriting is a bonus as is having a similar class schedule.

The Deal
The bargain is that if either of you is out of school or misses a class the other one will gather the papers handed out, assignments made, and notes given for the absent one.  If you know the night before that you are going to be absent, call your buddy and give them a heads up to remind them.  If you see your buddy out of a class, do the same for your buddy.  When school is over, stop by or phone to pass along the information. 

Note-Taking Trick:
The simplest way to take notes for someone else is using a sheet of good old-fashioned carbon paper. One sheet can be used several times and makes the copy as your write with no need for a copy machine etc.  Just slide the carbon and a plain sheet under your notebook page and the extra copy will be made as you write your own notes. Another possibility if the absence is going to be longer [like out for a hospitalization, chicken pox etc.] talk to the teacher and see if the teacher could photocopy the teaching notes for the one who is absent. 


Special Needs Kiddos: 
If writing is a problem, or a challenge for learning or physical disabilities, talk to the teacher and see if they would be willing to support either of the above strategies. They may even suggest someone in the class who takes good notes that would be allowed to share them with you.  


Image credits and thanks to: mooreland.org, myuniversitymoney.com, amazon.com

School Bell: Multiplication Tables Trick

Having trouble helping your kids learn those blasted multiplication tables?  Try this almost no fail trick for the 1-6 tables....  Work them into a game.  

1. Pick a game with a long trail [like Parcheesi, Sorry, etc.]. 


2. Explain that when you roll the dice you won't move the total of the two dice, but the product of the two dice. That means that the range of random dice rolls will mean moving anywhere from 1 space [1x1] to 36 [6x6] !

So what would have been a move of 6 can turn into a move of 5 [1x5], 8 [2x4], or even 9 [3x3]. A roll that might have been 12 [6+6] becomes a whopping 36 [6x6]. becomes While it will slow down the turns a bit while the child figures the math, they will move around the board faster too. The options of 1-36 will keep it moving and exciting and anyone's game.  


It's not a cure, but it is a way to sneak in some extra practice in a fun, enjoyable way.


For beginners:
--make the move in sets [a roll of 2 and 4 means moving 4 spaces twice or 2 spaces four times to discover the total move is 8].
OR 
--allow a multiplication table, or calculator


If you have only a bit of time:
--Choose any trail game and just see who is first to get one playing piece all the way around the board and back to the start. 

--Skip all the other rules and sidetracks and just make it a race once or twice around the board. 

For advanced tables: 
Buy two special ten-sided dice 0-9 for 30¢each from enasco
OR---After they have mastered the 1-6 tables roll the dice twice.... The first time for the first number, the second time for the second number.  This lets you get the 7-12 tables.  
OR---Use two plain wooden cubes [under 50¢ at craft stores] and label with 7,8,9,10,roll again, and lose turn. 


Image credits and thanks: datedaily.mate1.com, shamusyoung.com

School Bell: Put it behind you!

Are your kids overwhelmed by the amount of homework each night? Do they start fighting as soon as they see the stack of work to be done? Do they shut down after the first 15 minutes? This tip won't change the amount, but it may help manage the burden.  This time of year the homework load is often at its highest. Lower the stress your kids may feel. Help them take it one step at a time. Help them learn how to put it behind them.... literally!

Quick Homework Strategy...

Have your child stack their assignments and books behind them or under the table while they work. Take out a timer and the top-of-the-pile assignment and work for 15 minutes.  Then stop, put that assignment at the bottom of the pile and take out the new top assignment and work for 15 minutes. Continue until all assignments are done or homework time is used up. 

Advantages: 

1-Your child learns to stop getting frozen by the perceived enormity of what is to be done and learns to focus on one thing at a time, giving it his/her best.

2- Each teacher's or subject's assignment gets some work time.

3-The teacher will see what your child can accomplish in 15 minutes.
4-Your child learns the habit of breaking tough projects into smaller, more manageable chunks.

Hint- Talk to your child's teacher in advance and explain what you are doing and why.  Most teachers will support this approach whole heartedly. Just be sure that your child doesn't always leave their least favorite topic until last "conveniently" running out of time before getting to it.   


Image credit and thanks: visualphotos.com, chinatraderonline.com

School Bell: Television Teaching... characters

In many places this is the start of the school vacation week.  In many homes there will be more television viewing than usual. But, this doesn't mean you can't continue to use television as a teaching tool. On February xx I talked about using television to teach the skill of summarizing and even note-taking.  Today I want to talk about using it to teach the literature concept of characters and description to boost your child's reading skills. If you have a child with learning disabilities that make reading a struggle, this will let them work with literature concepts beyond their reading level abilities but well within their understanding. 

TV Hint Two:  Characters and Description

1. Identifying the main character/s and their purpose in the story:

--Talk during commercial breaks about which actors/characters are the "main" characters.  --Who is the hero, good person  [for older kids... the protagonist]? 

--Who is the villain, problem person [antagonist]? 

2. Identifying supporting characters and minor characters:

--Talk about characters that were not the most important, but who helped make things happen, improve, or get worse? [ex: the best friend, the annoying person, the silly person, the family, etc.] These are supporting characters that the story needed.

--What actors were just minor characters to fill out the story scene [ex: students in a school scene, diners in a restaurant, etc.] These characters usually don't make much difference to the story except to make it seem real.

3. Analyzing and describing characters:

--Ask them to pick a character and describe that character as many ways as possible... first physically, then by their behavior, their moods, their actions, etc. 

--Talk about which characters would be good friends, people who could help, people who should be avoided in real life.


Image credits and thanks: colleenhammond.com, visualphotos.com

School Bell: School Valentine Surprise

Dig out or pick up some simple sidewalk chalk, get together some parents or kids or both and give your children's teachers an unusual valentine surprise as they arrive at school tomorrow. 

After the parking lot empties this afternoon, when all the teachers have gone, talk the chalk and fill the walkway at the entrance to the school with messages of appreciation and joy.

What a simple, inexpensive, but pricelessly wonderful way to greet the teachers and staff as they arrive on Valentine's Day tomorrow!

Piggyback idea: Be sure to take some photos.  Come Teacher Appreciation Day or even the end of the school year you can use the photos to make cards for the teachers.

Note: If you are reading this too late for Valentine's Day... use the idea for Teacher Appreciation Day, the end of the school year, or the first day of school.  Start a community tradition!

Image credits:  sidewalkchalk.com, uknow.drew.edu, everydayheartbeats.com

School Bell: Television for Study Skills

We are entering the more intensive part of the school year now. While homework time and review work are still going to be the staples of your helping your kids, try changing it up a bit by using television to help them learn.  Today.... teaching them a basic learning technique crucial to studying:

Summarizing

Summarizing [rather than retelling every tiny detail] is a skill and it needs practice. It is basic to eventual notetaking, reports, etc.

Television is especially useful because the story plots are broken up into clear segments by the commercial breaks.  

Younger kids: 
Start with a half hour show. Even cartoons can work because they have pretty simple, straight line plots. During the first commercial break ask your child what has happened so far in the show.  Help them put it into a sentence. You could even write it down if that helps.  Do it at each break. At the end of the show ask them to pick which sentence tells the main idea of that episode. 

Older kids:

Point out that if they put together the "main idea" sentence for each segment, they have a great summary of the entire story and that this is similar to the "plot outline" that authors use and teachers often ask kids to identify.  Keep a TV notebook of the shows they watch where they/you write in the summary sentence for each segment and star the main idea when they are through. 

Later on you can compare the summaries and begin to identify the concept of "genres' and eventually the characteristics of each genre etc.

[Note:  Often the genre they prefer in television will give you a hint in picking out books they are more likely to enjoy... comedies/humor, crime shows/mysteries, etc. ]

Next month I will show more ways of teaching literature through television.

Image credits: parentsavvy.com,,davisd0714.blog.com

School Days: Get out of School Free Passes

Tomorrow I will continue a family tradition that many consider strange... especially for a teacher. Tomorrow one of my kiddos will stay home from school just because he has chosen not to go. There will be no consequences from me. Huh? ...Each school year I give each of my kiddos a "Get out of School Free" pass. It isn't exactly permission to play hookey since that is defined as absence from school "without permission." This is absence from school without the school's permission but with my permission.Now don't panic and think I have lost my mind.  Read on and then think about it.

I couldn't give this to my own children until they were old enough to stay home alone safely because I was working full time as a teacher. I could give it to my current kiddos at an earlier age since I am no longer teaching. They each get to pick one day a year when they may choose to stay home without penalty from me. It cannot be on a day they have a test, nor the first day of school. They can only use this pass one time per year.

I find this token is rarely used. I remind them of it whenever they try to play sick and clearly are not. It seems to eliminate some of the usual hassles/whines about "I don't want to go to school today." It avoids most of the rants and rages and fights by putting a bit of choice/power in their hands. I simply ask if they are using their Skip Pass that day and remind them that they only have one. Usually the child decides s/he might need it more later and goes ahead to school. If they choose to use it, fine. Sometimes they choose to use it on their birthday, as my kiddo is tomorrow. I call the school to let them know that s/he will not be in school that day. They may spend the day as they choose as long as it is acceptable behavior that doesn't break family rules and doesn't interfere with my duties for the day.

My kids like the idea, teachers live with it [once I explain it is only one day], and I find it acknowledges the wishful thinking we all have about working, helps the children be honest, to make conscious choices and it helps promotes good decision making. Besides... it is one of the rare things I do that they think is cool. :-)

Image credits: ventingstation.com, westsoundacademy.org

School Bell: Learning Alphabet Letters

For those of you with little ones who are starting to learn their letters... here are two really easy ways to help both entertain your child and help him/her learn.

1. Find the letter
    For a really inexpensive way to give your child lots and lots of practice recognizing letters grab any of the inexpensive word search collections. Instead of using the pages as word searches, use them as letter searches.  Hand the child a page, two crayons, and challenge them to circle all the As in red and all the Ps in blue for example.  [Hint: Pick one with relatively large letters to make it easier.]

When I had little kids around, I would keep a couple of word search pages in my purse in case I needed to keep them occupied for a few minutes [in a waiting room, while I finished a phone call, etc.]

2. Alphabet Around the House
    Using sticky notes or index cards, label things around the house with the first letter of its name.  C/chair, T/table, M/mirror, B/bed  and so on.  You can focus on one letter at a time or do multiple letters depending on your child.  Have the child help you to multiply the fun, the connections, and the learning.

Image credit: sunniebunniezz.com
  

School Bell: Check In Time

This is mid-terms week for many semester-based school systems, roughly half way through the school year.  The students and teachers have settled in, gotten used to each other, and have hopefully learned the patterns and expectations of the current grade level.  Now the real meat of the school year is on the table, the next few months are the key months for new knowledge. Review and getting back up to speed is past, now is the time to really pack in the learning before vacation fever starts showing up. So consider some of the questions below as possible assessments for your student or his/her teacher as you head into the core teaching time of the year.

1. Is your child willing and comfortable talking to the teacher to ask questions, asking for help or clarification?
2. Does your child able and willing to participate in group activities/projects?
3. Does the amount of time your child spends on homework match the teacher's expectations?
4. Is the amount of time your child spends on homework similar to the time spent by classmates?
5. Can your child name two classmates s/he could and would call with a question about class work?
6. Is your child willing and able both to do homework independently and to ask for help on homework?
7. Does your child remember to bring homework materials home and remember to hand completed work in at school?
8. Is there an adult at the school that your child has connected to, comfortable with, and that the child perceives as fair?
9. Does the child talk about some of his/her classmates as friends?
10. Does your child share both good things and bad things that happen at school?

These are not the only ten questions, or even necessarily the best ten. Some you can answer yourself, some you may need to ask the child, or his/her teacher. But the answers to these ten questions will give you a pretty good sense of red flags or green flags to watch as you start the second half of this school year.


Image credits: musictherapymaven.com

School Bell: History Help

Kids often complain that history classes and history itself are dull, boring, and too hard. Flashcards, outlines and charts may help them organize, cluster, and memorize information. But, if you own a television, a DVD player and a library membership you have another opportunity to get your kids involved.

Children who have grown up in the television era [not to mention computer age] will find it far easier to focus on a television screen than a textbook.  Your job is to find sources that have accurate information.  These DVDs [or older videos] also help kids who are visual learners and can retain information they have watched better than information they have to read. Some of you may be old enough to remember the days of filmstrips in school.  Even filmstrips were more fun to watch than reading the history book assigned chapter paragraph by paragraph each child around the class!

Look through your child's textbook to see what topics and people will be covered during the year. Then search for programs about those.

Go online and search for National Geographic, Biography, and History Channel specials.  National Geographic has an array of interesting programs on state parks, regions of the country, and other geography based topics.  The History Channel is your source for info on wars, historical eras, etc.  The Biography Channel will help bring historical figures alive with details and more.

Once you have found a program, check out your school library or your town library to see what they have available for sign out.  If there is a specific one you want, ask the librarian if it is available through inter-library loan. Plan a 'Desserts and DVDs' or 'Brownies and Biographies' night at the start of each unit.  Your child will have an introduction to the topic that will be a baseline to hook with the information they cover in class. This will not only build interest, but help them retain what they hear in class. Try it!

PS. These DVD programs also provide great idea starters for history projects. [Ex: The History Channels program on the Navajo Code Talkers really fired up one of my kiddos to get excited about his project!]


Image credits: japanprobe.com, mtrushmorenationalmemorial.com,kaboodle.com, vetsed.org

School Bell: Currency of Thanks

I know that by now some of you may be getting tired of the giving Thanks themes, but I want to take a post to consider the value of thanks on all sides of the school equation.


1- Thanks to a teacher from a parent... I taught school for over 30 years and only three times got written thank you notes from a parent at Thanksgiving or unexpected times.  Believe me, I remember those parents... to this day.  I am not complaining... I got many thank yous at the close of the school year each year, and many spoken thank yous. What I want you to know is the power of a written thank you when a teacher is not expecting it. The way that it boosts your spirits, revitalizes your reserves, and carries you for days and days.


2- Thanks from a teacher to a parent... I have raised nine children completely and others for stretches of time. Some have been great students, some special needs, some challenging, some hard-working and some lazy. Those of you reading this who may be teachers yourselves... How often have you stopped to jot a quick thank you note to a parent who you see working to support their child's efforts in school?  Parents also need to know their efforts are noticed and appreciated.

3- Thanks to your student child... Try writing a quick note to your child after a decent study session for a test. After they struggle and finish completing a late assignment, or a tough project, or making up back work. Maybe even a short thank you note the day they sit down to do their homework without arguing. Kids need to know we notice.  Praise for good stuff is FAR more effective than slams when they make mistakes. By giving that praise in writing, it sticks around both in their minds and on paper longer. 


Any kind of thank you is better than none.  But a thank you someone takes the time to WRITE is particularly powerful because it is so uncommon these days. It doesn't need to be fancy. It doesn't need to be on cute stationery.  Although I personally prefer signed ones, it doesn't even need to be signed.  It just needs to be personal, honest, and specific.  "Steve, Thank you for studying so hard for your history test last night. I am proud of you!, Mom," or "Mr Thompson, Thank you for such a great study guide for the history test, it made helping Steve study much easier!, Mrs. Smith," or "Mrs Smith, Thank you for all your hard work helping Steve study for his test!, Mr. Thompson."   Give it a shot.  It can't hurt.

P.S. I wouldn't hurt for your child to send one to you or the teacher either!


Image credits: freestyledesigns.net, robinscraftroom.com