educators and care givers working together to benefit child

It is so important to have a supportive school that is able to address education, social emotional and family issues/concerns of each child. When a child begins having difficulty in a certain area, it is important that school and care givers recognize together, that way they can work together for the mutual benefit of the child. Providing adequate support and love is key. Some times kids start out the school year on target but as school year continues more is expected and difficulty can arise. If child is feeling the challenge it may affect self esteem. School performance and self esteem can go hand in hand. This makes feelings of self worth questionable and without support and forward movement it can have a devastating affect on a child. A great school has great educators who can recognize changes in children early on. The earlier something is detected and supports are put in place the better the outcome. This does not mean diagnosis, special education but just can mean extra help in certain areas, pulling a child out of class to give additional support or additional work to do at home to continue building skills. Care givers and educators in consistent communication can build on skills worked on in class at home to keep child on target. Laying positive self talk to promote good self esteem, strong language, counting, letter recognition along with knowing sounds are important since they are the foundation to reading, writing and math which is needed for life. If these skills are not built or addressed early on, we are setting up our children for life struggle. Lets work together, communicate and support and love our children so the best foundation is laid.

Education Reinvestment

As our new Governor gets ready to talk education with Arnie Duncan this Friday he should keep in mind what is really important. Excellent schools for all.  In order for this to be achieved we need to step away from no child left behind which punishes the students by removing their principals and teachers if the school doesn't meet testing standards but does not address the core issues that got them to a failing point in the first place or assist in creating a pathway to success. We should be stepping forward to creating new and exciting curriculum that challenges and engages and puts all of our children on the road to success while addressing each school and communities diversity and specific needs. Adding enrichment activities, advanced placement, individual student support in addition to family and community support that meets the needs for each school plus add music class back into our schools is important. It is essential that we create a pathway from the beginning that sets all children on the road to educational and personal success. Reinvesting in our schools and our community needs really is an investment in our greatest commodity, our children, who are our future.

Who's to blame? What do we do?

Listening to KMOJ radio this morning the discussion was how do we as adults and community help keep our youngsters away from drugs when many of them are exposed to it by their parents or other family members who smoke weed and drink right in front of them and some introduce and share in smoking and drinking with their teenagers. I have spoken to many parents who say they would rather have their children smoke with them instead of out in the streets, at least they can monitor what they are doing. Is this really the role model and value system we want for our children? Is there a correlation between teen parents, teen std's, crime? How than are we shocked when our children become dealers, become sexually active or begin doing harder drugs, since many call marijuana the gateway drug? Is Marijuana a gateway drug? We as adults can say do what I say, but in truth children do what they see. Are us adults and community causing the drug addiction of our youngsters?  Are we saying it is ok? Are we the reason there are so many teen parents? Are we teaching our children destructive ways of self medication? What is our role and responsibility as adults, parents and community to our children?  

Play

Watching children play using their imagination and creativity is extremely enjoyable and participating is a joy. These days children have so many toys, gadgets, and places to go to keep them entertained but remembering that using household things to create imaginative play is a great way to go. Blankets, pillows and chairs make great tents. Helping a child make a costume of favorite super hero brings laughter and smiles a mile wide. Going for a winter walk or just playing in the yard in the snow making snowmen and caves can be fun for hours plus it tires them out and bed time can be much easier.

Teachable Moment

I was sharing a meal with a young man age 7 and my son age 6 and we were having an interesting discussion about school, friends etc. This little seven year old got upset when my son touched his shirt. Instead of using his words to simply say stop, he screamed and whined, a reaction I would think I would see from someone more like three or four years old. This reaction caught my attention and I asked him, why did you do that instead of use your words. He just looked at me. I asked him if anyone has helped him to know what to do if someone does something that bothers him. He responded no. That opened the door for me to offer some suggestions. We talked about using his words to get his wants out. I said be clear. "What do you want him to do, or not want him to do." He responded "to not touch me". I said "than tell him that directly". I also gave him two to three more steps to do if this does not work such as telling an adult, moving away or touching him back if he does not stop. When interacting with me and my son, I notice how he looks down a lot. I encouraged him to look me in my eyes when talking. Looking someone in their eyes when speaking to them shows you are interested, paying attention, confident and showing respect and expect respect back(though in some cultures this is the opposite). We practiced that the rest of our conversation and by the end he was smiling and had loosened up a bit. I felt the need to share this experience. It is so important that we are parents, educators, mentors and adults take the time to pay attention to daily interactions with children all around us and that any moment can be one to learn, grow and hopefully help or touch another. We can not expect that children no matter the age know what to do in each situation. We learn by observation, being talked to and with, by someone taking our hand and showing us what to do. We must also be sensitive to a child's emotional response to situations as they are just as important as the action its self and can play an essential role in how someone reacts.

Tips for developing reading skills with your children

Share the love of reading with your child. Make time to read out loud to your child daily or if they are able to, have them read to you. This is a great way to bond and develop skills.
Kindergarten children should read books with not many words but with lots of pictures to support the words of the story. Ask your children to sound out words they don't know and use the pictures to help tell the story.
Reading out loud to your children while using your finger to track the words from left to right helps children bring attention to the words being read and helps them learn that reading from left to right is the correct way to read.
Another way to support reading with your children is to point out bulletin boards and signs while driving in the car or walking in your neighborhood.
Learning to rhyme is another important piece in learning to read and build vocabulary. Making up a rhyming game that ask your child to think of words that rhyme with "bat" for example but use a different letter is a useful and fun way to build vocabulary.
Supporting your child's comprehension of what they read is also important. Asking them questions when you read aloud such as, what is happening, what will happen next, why, who. Keeping these interactions positive and fun is important because we as parents want to make learning fun and non threatening.
Help your child learn to write letters. Reading and writing go hand in and hand. Encouraging your child to write their name and other words and phrases is another way to support their development and skills.

Children number 1 priority

Hello All. My name is Ms. B and I am based out of Minneapolis, Mn. It is cold and snowy here on this December early morning. We got dumped a few feet of snow and some of us are still buried in it. Schools are closed due to the below temps. Too cold to play out doors and the kids are bouncing off the wall.
I am a single mother who's world revolves around my child. I also am inspired by the eyes of a child and have worked with parents and their children in intervention and prevention child abuse programs as well as early childhood education programs. Children are our most important commodity in this life. We must nurture them, value them and raise them with their personal spirit intact. Each child is unique and their gifts and talents are their own. It is our job to expose them to as many opportunities and experiences which enhances their lives and helps their life take shape. Being a parent is the number one priority once you have a child. If you don't have any, being a good role model, friend or mentor is just as important as it takes more than one to raise a healthy and happy child. How do other parents feel about raising their children?