Smart Kids - Learning Site Words

This tip comes from teacher, Jennifer Hall.

Thanks, Jennifer for these wonderful tools!



Following are some suggestions that make learning Sight Words fun and effective!! These ideas can be applied to many subjects – the goal is to engage the child in learning and make it a fun experience for them to REMEMBER and WANT to learn! The more senses the child uses while learning, the more effective it will be. Be creative and enjoy!

 Use shaving cream or gel and make spell the words out on the shower wall. You can also spread it all around and kids can use their finger to spell the words out in the foam. Not only do they learn in a fun way, but it smells good and cleans the wall!
 Spell out a word in spaghetti or other food you are having for a meal. They can read the word before they can eat it and, if you don’t mind a mess, let them spell out more words in the noodles as they eat.
 Have word pancakes! Instead of pouring the batter on in the pan for a circle pancake, use a spoon to drizzle the batter and spell words.
 Write the words on index cards or post-it notes and post them around the house and in the car. The more they are exposed, the more likely they are to retain the info. Every time they pass a word, or brush their teeth (if it’s in the bathroom), etc, they have to read the word.
 Make a game out of finding the words in books, posters, etc.
 Write the words on a cheap shower curtain and give them a fly swatter in the bathtub or shower. While they are getting clean, call out a word and have them “swat it”.
 Use sidewalk chalk to make a word hopscotch. Call out a word and they have to jump to that word and read it.
 Make flashcards with sight words or even a memory game and be creative – make up games!!!

Anything to make learning fun and engage their senses (the more used the better!) will make a HUGE difference!!! If they can not only see, but associate a smell, sound, taste, and/or touch with what they are trying to learn, they are more likely to commit it to memory! Good luck and HAVE FUN!!!!! The possibilities are endless!!!!!!

Smart Parent - Dealing with Anger

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Do not teach your children never to be angry; teach them how to be angry. ~Lyman Abbott

I love this quote! One of the best tools we can give our kids is the tool to understand and manage their anger. Here are a couple of quick tricks.

1. Teach your child to identify their anger, what they say in their head, what they feel in their body. Each child may be a little different. Help them identify how anger feels to them.

2. Teach calm down strategies. Anger is not bad, just an emotion. But calming down will help your child manage their behavior. Teach deep breathing, counting to 10, jumping jacks, distraction. All great calm down tools.

3. Teach understanding. Teach your child to understand WHAT makes them anger. Everyone of us has our own "triggers." Help them ID theirs.

4. Teach strategy. Communication. Understanding of others. Problem solving. Show your child HOW to fix their problems, that all problems can be worked with, that they can do it!

Try it and see what happens!

Believe in the power of your every contribution!

Check out this great anger book for kids, When I Feel Angry

Maria

Smart Kids - A Little Pinch (of learning) Will Do

We all know when a recipe calls for a "pinch" that, despite it being a small thing, it has a lot of import and impact. I was helping out in my son's classroom last week and his teacher pulled a real number. She made pancakes for breakfast with the kids. She put the pancake box directions on the overhead. And talked through the directions and then the helping parents cooked and served the pancakes.

The kids went nuts. I never knew kids could eat that many pancakes. I never knew I could eat that many pancakes. Well, guess what. Teacher and I are chatting and she tells me. "I am introducing paragraph structure this month. You know, beginning, middle and end. I'll link this back when we talk about it later." She smiled her mischievous little smile and said, "They are learning and they don't even know it." All I have to say to that is, BRILLIANT!

You know, it was more brilliance and forethought on her part than effort. It made me think about all the opportunities we have to teach our kids. "Open the door about half-way."(fractions) "Can you write the list for me?"(handwriting, spelling) "How much do you think this weighs?"(estimating, rounding) A pinch, a small change, a mindset of opening our kids up is all it takes.

For many years, it was the parent's job to educate their children. In recent years, schools have taken on more and more responsibility. But we parents can be incredible partners in our children's learning and development, just by knowing what a bit of forethought and effort can offer our children and make teachers jobs easier.

Take a look this week for all the little "pinches" of learning you can offer your child. Small changes in how we rely information to our kids can give them incredible tools and growth.

Have a great week and remember the power of your every contribution!

Maria

Oh, and Mrs. Robbins, thanks for all the amazing work you do with our children. I love that you still have that twinkle in your eye and believe in the power of teaching!

Organized Kids - A Touch of Strategy....

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Get your child organized this year!

A touch of strategy and a ton of practice will get you there!

Have a great week!

Maria

Smart Parent - Developing Accountability

Read this article on helping kids develop accountability.


Have a great week and remember the power of your every contribution!

Maria

Smart Kids - New Year's Goals

New Year's is a great time to chat with your child about the year and their many accomplishments. Teach them to look at this time of year as an opportunity to look at all the amazing things they have achieved in the past 12 months. And there are many, I am sure. It is also a perfect time to talk about setting goals for the year. Looking at what they would like to accomplish, where they would like to go and how they want to make it all happen. Why not empower our kids to look at their achievements and point them in the direction of their newest goals?

Happy New Year and remember the value of your every contribution!

Maria

Kind Kids - Holiday Giving

The holidays are a great time to model altruism to your kids. Look for the opportunity to show your kids how to share, not just their stuff, but yours as well. Reach into your pocket to donate, look for volunteering opportunities, teach your children, through your example, what it means to give. This will go farther than a thousand lectures. Try teaching giving by example. Link your behavior to the value of giving, so your kids can understand and see where they take it!