The Summer is coming to an end and many kids are headed home after attending an overnight camp. Many kids will attend Camp for 1 week to 7 weeks over the Summer. The Camp experience is important to a child's growth and development. Children learn things at Camp that a parent can't teach their child at home.
My two children attended Camp this summer and we noticed so many positive changes. Our daughter attended camp for four weeks and our son attended camp for two weeks. Both children benefited from their time away from home.
Pre Camp - My daughter struggled with going to sleep at night on a timely bases and therefore, getting up in the morning was extremely difficult.
Post Camp - My daughter now takes the responsibility to go to sleep at a reasonable hour and set her alarm to wake up in time to prepare for school.
Now that school has begun, it is a relief that Haley is taking on this responsibility.
Pre Camp - My son was a picky eater. He would not eat what was served to him at dinner at home. He was not willing to try new foods. We found he was skipping dinner and snacking after dinner. My son was served a variety of foods at Camp. There were limited choices and no "snack" option after dinner. Camp kept Ryan extremely busy with outside activities throughout the day. By the time he ate dinner he was very hungry and ate the Camp dinner that was provided to him.
Post Camp - My son discovered that Mom's cooking isn't that bad. He now eats what the rest of the family is eating for dinner. He doesn't ask for a snack after dinner. He also discovered that if he doesn't love what is served to him he can add a flavor enhancer which is called ketchup!
Now dinner time is much more enjoyable for all of us!
Michelle
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Thursday, December 31, 2009
One Trick To Help End Procrastination
Students have a hard time getting motivated to study for an upcoming test. It is difficult for a student to realize the importance of not waiting until the night before to study for a test. In some cases a student may wait until the night before to create an excuse for performing poorly on a test. The student may say that the reason for doing poorly is because they were up all night studying on the night prior to a test.
Instead, offer your student a reward for finishing their studies prior to the night before. You may tell your child that you will take them out for icecream on the night before the test as long as they are prepared to take their test. My father used to tell me that he would go to a movie on the night before a big test. In many cases if a student doesn't know the material on the night prior to the test it is too late to study. A person may get away with cramming before some tests but as years go by and the material becomes more complex "cramming" won't work.
By developing the habit of learning to prepare for a test a student is more likely to get better grades and have more fun during the school year.
Instead, offer your student a reward for finishing their studies prior to the night before. You may tell your child that you will take them out for icecream on the night before the test as long as they are prepared to take their test. My father used to tell me that he would go to a movie on the night before a big test. In many cases if a student doesn't know the material on the night prior to the test it is too late to study. A person may get away with cramming before some tests but as years go by and the material becomes more complex "cramming" won't work.
By developing the habit of learning to prepare for a test a student is more likely to get better grades and have more fun during the school year.
The Best Typing Program For Kids
The best typing program is the one that works BEST for your child. I believe I purchased 7 different practices from major manufactures to small company programs. The packages were complicated and boring. Since typing is a skill that is developed over time with a great deal of repetition I knew I needed to find a package that my kids enjoyed. I spent hours doing research on the Internet.
Little did I know, I already owned the "best" typing tutor for my kids. They were diligently using a "free" computer program that came with a stuffed animal series called Webkinz. You can find these cute furry critters at your local Hallmark store or visit www.webkinz.com.
The Webkinz computer package includes a number of games to entertain your children. One of the games is a computer tutor. The computer tutor is quite engaging and my kids absolutely love it!
The package may not make your child an expert but it sure will give them hours of practice and a good start to making a difference in their typing skills for their future. In today's world it is vital to master the skill of typing in order for students to compete with others.
Little did I know, I already owned the "best" typing tutor for my kids. They were diligently using a "free" computer program that came with a stuffed animal series called Webkinz. You can find these cute furry critters at your local Hallmark store or visit www.webkinz.com.
The Webkinz computer package includes a number of games to entertain your children. One of the games is a computer tutor. The computer tutor is quite engaging and my kids absolutely love it!
The package may not make your child an expert but it sure will give them hours of practice and a good start to making a difference in their typing skills for their future. In today's world it is vital to master the skill of typing in order for students to compete with others.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Lions and Tigers and MATH oh my...
I have found, as my kids get older, that their math work is getting more difficult and they are less willing to accept help from me. In many instances, the kids are required to work on math that is "different" from the math we used. They will arrive at the same answer but the methods they use are different. Also, the math used in many school systems uses a spiral approach. In other words, a concept is introduced briefly and the students receive limited instruction and limited practice since the concept will be reintroduced again during the school year. The spiral approach works well for kids who are "good" in math and are not requiring much repetition. However, many children do require a great deal of repetition.
Fortunately, I have found a great free resource to help with math. Across the country many libraries offer free tutoring. A student must have a library card to access the free help. Typically, services are available from the afternoon until around 9 or 10 at night. The instruction is in the form of a chat session. The means of communication is through the computer and not via phone or in person.
The student will log on to the library website and log into the tutoring chat session. The service is not only offered for math but also Science, Writing and a variety of other subjects.
I recommend helping your student with the log in process and the first couple of sessions. After a very short time they will not need your assistance.
Fortunately, I have found a great free resource to help with math. Across the country many libraries offer free tutoring. A student must have a library card to access the free help. Typically, services are available from the afternoon until around 9 or 10 at night. The instruction is in the form of a chat session. The means of communication is through the computer and not via phone or in person.
The student will log on to the library website and log into the tutoring chat session. The service is not only offered for math but also Science, Writing and a variety of other subjects.
I recommend helping your student with the log in process and the first couple of sessions. After a very short time they will not need your assistance.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
The Right Way The Wrong Way And My Way - Helping Your Child Learn Their Address And Phone Number
There is a time and place for everything. I have often spent time teaching my kids important "need to know" academics. For example, every child will need to learn their address and phone number. Some kids learn this easily while others have a hard time memorizing this important information. We spent time going over this information in my car on the way to school. My drive to school was about ten minutes.
During this time we made a song with the words of our home address. We also sang our phone number to a made up tune. Since we were in the "privacy" of my car we could be as silly as we like. We laughed and sang and this task became a game. I also found that on some days I would reward my kids with gummy bears for reciting their correct address and phone number.
It didn't take long before both of my kids learned our address and phone number!
This "method" worked. I am sure that there are a number of ways to accomplish this task. Some kids will learn their address and phone number quickly while others may take quite a while.
Several years passed. I was recently taking my kids to their tennis lesson. I couldn't help but overhear another mom TRYING to teach her 2 children their address and phone number while waiting for their tennis lesson to begin.
This made me think back to the days when this was number one on my list of what my kids had to learn. There were a few differences in her approach. First, the kids were not having fun. In fact they seemed quite annoyed with the idea that Mom was trying to teach them their address and phone number in public. The teaching took place after school at the end of the day and the kids were tired from a full day of school. They were at their tennis lesson to learn tennis. The mom and kids couldn't make up a silly song because they were in public and not in the privacy of their car or at their home.
Learning doesn't have to be a chore. It needs to be fun! Kids will not only remember their address and phone number but they will remember the time they spent with Mom learning!
During this time we made a song with the words of our home address. We also sang our phone number to a made up tune. Since we were in the "privacy" of my car we could be as silly as we like. We laughed and sang and this task became a game. I also found that on some days I would reward my kids with gummy bears for reciting their correct address and phone number.
It didn't take long before both of my kids learned our address and phone number!
This "method" worked. I am sure that there are a number of ways to accomplish this task. Some kids will learn their address and phone number quickly while others may take quite a while.
Several years passed. I was recently taking my kids to their tennis lesson. I couldn't help but overhear another mom TRYING to teach her 2 children their address and phone number while waiting for their tennis lesson to begin.
This made me think back to the days when this was number one on my list of what my kids had to learn. There were a few differences in her approach. First, the kids were not having fun. In fact they seemed quite annoyed with the idea that Mom was trying to teach them their address and phone number in public. The teaching took place after school at the end of the day and the kids were tired from a full day of school. They were at their tennis lesson to learn tennis. The mom and kids couldn't make up a silly song because they were in public and not in the privacy of their car or at their home.
Learning doesn't have to be a chore. It needs to be fun! Kids will not only remember their address and phone number but they will remember the time they spent with Mom learning!
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Guidance for Study Guides
My son is in the 5th grade and his teacher at school is helping to prepare him to transition to middle school. He is expected to learn to take notes from class lectures as well as take notes from his text books. He is also to learn how to utilize a study guide in order to prepare for an upcoming test.
These expected skills can be overwhelming for a student to master. I decided to research my areas of concern. Who better to ask than a teacher at my son’s school.
Her answer seemed simple but proved to be extremely helpful.
Teach… Model… and Learn
My son and I spent the next evening going over the study guide provided for the upcoming test. We made a photocopy of the study guide. The original was put off to the side. We used the working copy to create our own study guide for the test. We used a black sharpie pen on the working copy. We would read a sentence and darken in the key words thus creating a full in the blank format.
ex. The brain consists of two hemispheres including the left and the right.
ex.(with sharpie)(xxxxx = the words we wanted to quiz)
The brain consists of two hemispheres including the xxxxxx and the xxxxxx.
We created a fill in the blank working copy that could be studied in the future.
Together we reviewed the working copy which was now a fill in the blank study guide.
Finally, he was able to quiz himself with the fill in the blank study guide on his own.
TEACH = I taught my son how to create two copies of the study guide including the working copy and the original. I also taught him to darken in key words that would be important to learn for the upcoming test.
MODEL = Together we studied for the upcoming test.
LEARN = My son learned what was necessary in order to create a study guide, learn material and finally he was able to study for his test independently.
Hurray!!
My son aced the test and most importantly learned the skills to study for upcoming tests.
These expected skills can be overwhelming for a student to master. I decided to research my areas of concern. Who better to ask than a teacher at my son’s school.
Her answer seemed simple but proved to be extremely helpful.
Teach… Model… and Learn
My son and I spent the next evening going over the study guide provided for the upcoming test. We made a photocopy of the study guide. The original was put off to the side. We used the working copy to create our own study guide for the test. We used a black sharpie pen on the working copy. We would read a sentence and darken in the key words thus creating a full in the blank format.
ex. The brain consists of two hemispheres including the left and the right.
ex.(with sharpie)(xxxxx = the words we wanted to quiz)
The brain consists of two hemispheres including the xxxxxx and the xxxxxx.
We created a fill in the blank working copy that could be studied in the future.
Together we reviewed the working copy which was now a fill in the blank study guide.
Finally, he was able to quiz himself with the fill in the blank study guide on his own.
TEACH = I taught my son how to create two copies of the study guide including the working copy and the original. I also taught him to darken in key words that would be important to learn for the upcoming test.
MODEL = Together we studied for the upcoming test.
LEARN = My son learned what was necessary in order to create a study guide, learn material and finally he was able to study for his test independently.
Hurray!!
My son aced the test and most importantly learned the skills to study for upcoming tests.
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