Just imagine.
Imagine a presidential campaign where candidates inspire us to value learning rather than joking about their own poor academic records in an adolescent bid to be seen as someone voters “would like to have a beer with.”
Imagine a presidential campaign where candidates exhort us to read more, learn more, and excel in intellectual pursuits. Why do presidents usually leave topics like that to First Ladies? First Ladies bring prestige and awareness, sure, but the president brings power.
Imagine a presidential campaign where candidates address how education helps us to become better people, not just helps us get better jobs. Where they cheer on success in school, encourage a culture of learning, work to enhance the status of teachers so the best and brightest choose the profession and then find it fulfilling enough to stay in it.
Imagine a president who sets the education bar high, who makes literate comments that motivate us to reach for our library cards, who displays his intellectual curiosity, who challenges our brains and elevates our hearts, who understands the role model he is, who recognizes that we’re hungry for inspiration and eager to be proud of ourselves again.
Imagine the impact he could have on parents who know they are the most important factor in their children’s school success and who, because of his words, will find new and creative roles to play in schools, despite the challenges of 21st century parenting.
Imagine the impact on the mass media and popular culture that today put such high stock on violence, “reality,” and stupidity.
Candidates, you’ve asked us to hope, to work for change. It’s my heartfelt hope that you start this conversation, that you give us the opportunity and the vocabulary to address an issue that many see as less pressing than the economy, the war in Iraq, or the price of oil but that any thinking person knows in his heart is just as relevant and crucial to the survival of our nation – maybe even more so in the long run.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Election Time
A presidential election is the perfect time for the country to think and talk about the issues that mean the most to us. We want to hear our candidates discuss these issues. We want to know their thoughts. Polls show we're most concerned about the faltering economy. Then comes the price of oil. Next is the war in Iraq. But poll after poll for many years now, tell us that education is also way up there on our minds. So why have we heard so little about education?
Well, there are the topics I’ve just mentioned. The economy, clearly, has many people spooked. Our houses are worth less, our wages are languishing, food prices are skyrocketing, and record-breaking gas prices are affecting every segment of our lives.
Then, there’s the reality that a president really has very little to say about day-to-day education in our country. Education is a local concern, nowhere mentioned in our Constitution, despite our Founders’ high esteem for learning. It’s local, not national.
Talking about schools, teaching, and learning can wait. But can it?
Even if there are other more pressing, immediate concerns on our minds, even if education is a more appropriate – or at least practical – topic for state or local elections, that doesn’t mean Senators McCain or Obama don’t have a responsibility to discuss education.
There’s plenty they could discuss. Our colleges and universities may be world-renowned for their excellence - people from all over the globe are itching to come here to study. But the K-12 schools for our own children? Not so much. We’re mediocre at best, according to many studies.
There are growing numbers of people, especially in our urban cores, who’ve abandoned public schools for private ones that, it could be argued, do not reflect the population and contribute to a de facto segregation between the haves and the have-nots.
Parental involvement, by all research and common sense, needs strengthening in many schools.
School safety. Gangs in schools. Teachers’ preparation, status, and competence. Assessment. Arts. Health and physical education. Sciences. Modern languages. The list is seemingly endless.
The president may play a relatively small role in our country’s schools, but the presidency comes with a bully pulpit that enables him to focus our attention on important, immediate, even noble endeavors. Think of our best presidents and how they marshaled the power of their office to unite us in grand and inspiring ways, even in times more precarious than ours.
Next up, I’ll talk about the ideal influence of a presidential candidate’s role in education…
Well, there are the topics I’ve just mentioned. The economy, clearly, has many people spooked. Our houses are worth less, our wages are languishing, food prices are skyrocketing, and record-breaking gas prices are affecting every segment of our lives.
Then, there’s the reality that a president really has very little to say about day-to-day education in our country. Education is a local concern, nowhere mentioned in our Constitution, despite our Founders’ high esteem for learning. It’s local, not national.
Talking about schools, teaching, and learning can wait. But can it?
Even if there are other more pressing, immediate concerns on our minds, even if education is a more appropriate – or at least practical – topic for state or local elections, that doesn’t mean Senators McCain or Obama don’t have a responsibility to discuss education.
There’s plenty they could discuss. Our colleges and universities may be world-renowned for their excellence - people from all over the globe are itching to come here to study. But the K-12 schools for our own children? Not so much. We’re mediocre at best, according to many studies.
There are growing numbers of people, especially in our urban cores, who’ve abandoned public schools for private ones that, it could be argued, do not reflect the population and contribute to a de facto segregation between the haves and the have-nots.
Parental involvement, by all research and common sense, needs strengthening in many schools.
School safety. Gangs in schools. Teachers’ preparation, status, and competence. Assessment. Arts. Health and physical education. Sciences. Modern languages. The list is seemingly endless.
The president may play a relatively small role in our country’s schools, but the presidency comes with a bully pulpit that enables him to focus our attention on important, immediate, even noble endeavors. Think of our best presidents and how they marshaled the power of their office to unite us in grand and inspiring ways, even in times more precarious than ours.
Next up, I’ll talk about the ideal influence of a presidential candidate’s role in education…
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Month by Month Planning for a Successful Year continued...
October
Review progress toward goals. Need help, students? If you do, get it early. If your study buddy can’t help you, ask for help from your teacher, someone who’s smarter than you are in the subject, or a tutor. Just get help. Don’t put it off.
Parents, monitor those long-range assignments, and make sure your student is working on them. Put up a big calendar where everyone can see it. Mark the due dates. X-off each day in a countdown to the Science Fair project or the English book report, or the social studies term paper on Tutankhamen.
Interim reports come out around this time. Students, review your progress with your parents. Parents, despite what your kids tell you, report card grades are rarely a surprise for them. They shouldn’t be a surprise to you either. Review grades regularly. You don’t need to make this an “Inquisition,” just show that you’re interested and that your interest will be continuous - all year.
November
Prepare for exams. Semester’s coming to an end. Students, are you ready for finals? Long-range projects completed? Parents, have a “backpack pop quiz.” Check out what’s in there. You may be surprised. Homework assignments never turned in? Last week’s tuna sandwich? Unsigned permission slip for tomorrow’s field trip to the museum?
Have any questions for teachers you’ve been putting off asking? Do it now.
December
Students, get your assignments done before the holidays. There’s nothing worse than having schoolwork hanging over your head during a holiday. If it’s unavoidable, have a plan about getting it done with the least amount of hassle. Don’t put it off to the last day.
Parents and students, spend as much time as you can together. Talk about non-school stuff, family history, family members you haven’t seen in a while. Take pictures; send them to friends and family with short notes. Build memories. Everyone read the same book and then spend some time talking about it.
Now that you have a plan for the first half of the school year, I’ll cover January, February and March in a few weeks...
Review progress toward goals. Need help, students? If you do, get it early. If your study buddy can’t help you, ask for help from your teacher, someone who’s smarter than you are in the subject, or a tutor. Just get help. Don’t put it off.
Parents, monitor those long-range assignments, and make sure your student is working on them. Put up a big calendar where everyone can see it. Mark the due dates. X-off each day in a countdown to the Science Fair project or the English book report, or the social studies term paper on Tutankhamen.
Interim reports come out around this time. Students, review your progress with your parents. Parents, despite what your kids tell you, report card grades are rarely a surprise for them. They shouldn’t be a surprise to you either. Review grades regularly. You don’t need to make this an “Inquisition,” just show that you’re interested and that your interest will be continuous - all year.
November
Prepare for exams. Semester’s coming to an end. Students, are you ready for finals? Long-range projects completed? Parents, have a “backpack pop quiz.” Check out what’s in there. You may be surprised. Homework assignments never turned in? Last week’s tuna sandwich? Unsigned permission slip for tomorrow’s field trip to the museum?
Have any questions for teachers you’ve been putting off asking? Do it now.
December
Students, get your assignments done before the holidays. There’s nothing worse than having schoolwork hanging over your head during a holiday. If it’s unavoidable, have a plan about getting it done with the least amount of hassle. Don’t put it off to the last day.
Parents and students, spend as much time as you can together. Talk about non-school stuff, family history, family members you haven’t seen in a while. Take pictures; send them to friends and family with short notes. Build memories. Everyone read the same book and then spend some time talking about it.
Now that you have a plan for the first half of the school year, I’ll cover January, February and March in a few weeks...
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Month by Month Planning for a Successful Year
We lead busy lives, and since we don’t seem to have much success in simplifying or slowing down, the next best thing is to organize ourselves. It’s a good skill to teach our kids. Kids listen to what we say and watch what we do (yes, they do), so we’d better be good role models. If we want them to do better in school, we’d better let them see us reading, writing occasionally, doing actual math in our lives. And organizing.
One of the most frequently asked questions from parents is how to plan for a successful school year. Every autumn is a New Year for school kids, a time for New Year’s resolutions. Here are suggestions for things parents and students can do to get the upper hand on a new school year before it takes on a life of its own.
It’s a calendar of monthly actions that you and the children can take. It’s simple, but it’ll give you some ideas of how you can plan ahead, establish routines, ask the right questions, and set the right goals for a successful year.
August
Parents, start setting the healthy and helpful routines that your child will need to navigate the new school year. These include times for mornings (breakfast), after school (homework), evenings (family and fun) and bedtime. These routines become rhythms, necessary for children, adults, and families.
Talk about what you did over the summer as a family, as individuals. What did you enjoy? What did you learn? Movies? Books? Travels? New experiences? Special accomplishments? What was the most fun? Was something difficult? You get the idea. Talk to your kids. Listen.
Students, set some new school year’s resolutions. Make them challenging and realistic. An improved grade in social studies? Remembering to turn in homework assignments? Keeping an organized notebook? Studying for tests earlier than the night before? Learning to play the tuba? Getting the lead in the school play? Making the soccer team? What’s important to you?
Get a “study buddy.” Each kid should have someone outside the family who can be helpful at homework time or any other time of school “crisis.” A study buddy is someone from your class you can call or IM each evening (time limit required) to make sure you have all the assignments for tomorrow, understand them, and ask questions. When test time comes along, it’s okay for groups of study buddies to get together to study and help each other out. Actual studying is required. Parents have veto privileges over study buddies.
Did you sign up for the right classes to meet your goals? Did you get all the classes you signed up for? Don’t wait for the first day of school to find out. Visit the school first.
Are you new to the neighborhood? Need a tour of the school? With your parents, arrange one now, before school starts. Many schools do this automatically for all students, especially first timers, but you’ll want to make sure you’re ready to begin with confidence about where your locker is and first period class is held.
Seniors, how’d you do on your ACTs or SATs? Not happy with the scores? Start thinking now of getting help and then taking the test again. See your guidance counselor or check out www.collegeboard.com, www.act.org, www.educate.com, or other well-respected websites for test dates and prep opportunities.
And finally, check to make sure you’ve got all the school supplies you’ll need. Each school has its own requirements grade by grade – planners, crayons, highlighters, notebooks – so check with the school.
September
Parents, reinforce those routines. Students, you’ve already set the routines at home, now make sure you have school routines, too. Set them by yourself and with your study buddy. Share your goals with your study buddy. Help your buddy achieve hers; she’ll help you achieve yours. Parents, take every opportunity to communicate with teachers. Go to Back to School Night, take advantage of teachers’ web pages on the school web site, know when special projects will be due so you can bug your kids to get them done, inform teachers of your kids’ special needs and goals. Teachers like to hear from you, especially when you’re being constructive and helpful.
Set rewards and consequences. Parents, let your kids know – in words and actions – that you support their goals and efforts. Show them that there will be some kind of reward for advancing toward and meeting those goals. Rewards don’t need to be monetary, but they can be. Depends on how you feel about this. I don’t see anything wrong with reasonable money incentives, by the way. And don’t call it “bribery.” Bribery is money paid to make someone do something he shouldn’t do! Getting good grades should be encouraged. Read the books of Dr. Ruth Peters for some down-to-earth, common sense guidance. Go to www.ruthpeters.com for more.
Next, I’ll run through planning for October, November and December…
One of the most frequently asked questions from parents is how to plan for a successful school year. Every autumn is a New Year for school kids, a time for New Year’s resolutions. Here are suggestions for things parents and students can do to get the upper hand on a new school year before it takes on a life of its own.
It’s a calendar of monthly actions that you and the children can take. It’s simple, but it’ll give you some ideas of how you can plan ahead, establish routines, ask the right questions, and set the right goals for a successful year.
August
Parents, start setting the healthy and helpful routines that your child will need to navigate the new school year. These include times for mornings (breakfast), after school (homework), evenings (family and fun) and bedtime. These routines become rhythms, necessary for children, adults, and families.
Talk about what you did over the summer as a family, as individuals. What did you enjoy? What did you learn? Movies? Books? Travels? New experiences? Special accomplishments? What was the most fun? Was something difficult? You get the idea. Talk to your kids. Listen.
Students, set some new school year’s resolutions. Make them challenging and realistic. An improved grade in social studies? Remembering to turn in homework assignments? Keeping an organized notebook? Studying for tests earlier than the night before? Learning to play the tuba? Getting the lead in the school play? Making the soccer team? What’s important to you?
Get a “study buddy.” Each kid should have someone outside the family who can be helpful at homework time or any other time of school “crisis.” A study buddy is someone from your class you can call or IM each evening (time limit required) to make sure you have all the assignments for tomorrow, understand them, and ask questions. When test time comes along, it’s okay for groups of study buddies to get together to study and help each other out. Actual studying is required. Parents have veto privileges over study buddies.
Did you sign up for the right classes to meet your goals? Did you get all the classes you signed up for? Don’t wait for the first day of school to find out. Visit the school first.
Are you new to the neighborhood? Need a tour of the school? With your parents, arrange one now, before school starts. Many schools do this automatically for all students, especially first timers, but you’ll want to make sure you’re ready to begin with confidence about where your locker is and first period class is held.
Seniors, how’d you do on your ACTs or SATs? Not happy with the scores? Start thinking now of getting help and then taking the test again. See your guidance counselor or check out www.collegeboard.com, www.act.org, www.educate.com, or other well-respected websites for test dates and prep opportunities.
And finally, check to make sure you’ve got all the school supplies you’ll need. Each school has its own requirements grade by grade – planners, crayons, highlighters, notebooks – so check with the school.
September
Parents, reinforce those routines. Students, you’ve already set the routines at home, now make sure you have school routines, too. Set them by yourself and with your study buddy. Share your goals with your study buddy. Help your buddy achieve hers; she’ll help you achieve yours. Parents, take every opportunity to communicate with teachers. Go to Back to School Night, take advantage of teachers’ web pages on the school web site, know when special projects will be due so you can bug your kids to get them done, inform teachers of your kids’ special needs and goals. Teachers like to hear from you, especially when you’re being constructive and helpful.
Set rewards and consequences. Parents, let your kids know – in words and actions – that you support their goals and efforts. Show them that there will be some kind of reward for advancing toward and meeting those goals. Rewards don’t need to be monetary, but they can be. Depends on how you feel about this. I don’t see anything wrong with reasonable money incentives, by the way. And don’t call it “bribery.” Bribery is money paid to make someone do something he shouldn’t do! Getting good grades should be encouraged. Read the books of Dr. Ruth Peters for some down-to-earth, common sense guidance. Go to www.ruthpeters.com for more.
Next, I’ll run through planning for October, November and December…
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Teaching Math To Your Children continued...
5. Have your own quizzes. In a fun way, quiz your child about math facts. Give small rewards, like an extra few minutes before bedtime or some alone time with you. Have her quiz you.
6. Use a calculator after your child has mastered basic math facts. We know kids’ attitudes about and interest in math increase when they can use calculators. But they need to know basic math facts first.
7. Use math to explain and illustrate. Make charts and graphs with your child to represent family information like allowances, homework times, favorite vacation spots, favorite meals and desserts, favorite music, favorite sports.
8. Be enthusiastic about math yourself. If you’re phobic about math, stop blaming your fourth grade teacher. At least, in front of your fourth grader. Get over it. Be a good role model for math by showing him how you use math daily. You use it more than you realize.
Parents, teachers, we’d love to hear your techniques to encourage math skills with your children. Please share some with us.
6. Use a calculator after your child has mastered basic math facts. We know kids’ attitudes about and interest in math increase when they can use calculators. But they need to know basic math facts first.
7. Use math to explain and illustrate. Make charts and graphs with your child to represent family information like allowances, homework times, favorite vacation spots, favorite meals and desserts, favorite music, favorite sports.
8. Be enthusiastic about math yourself. If you’re phobic about math, stop blaming your fourth grade teacher. At least, in front of your fourth grader. Get over it. Be a good role model for math by showing him how you use math daily. You use it more than you realize.
Parents, teachers, we’d love to hear your techniques to encourage math skills with your children. Please share some with us.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Teaching Math To Your Children
Many adults find it difficult to be encouraging and enthusiastic about math. While we would never admit to our children that we dislike reading, we find no such reluctance when talking about math. If you’ve ever passed the bill in a restaurant to someone else to figure out the tip, saying with a laugh, “I’ve never been good at math,” you’re giving your child permission never to be good at math, too.
Here are a few tips to encourage math in your child. They may even help you. The trick is to see math as enjoyable, a way to solve puzzles and problems. As with most problems, there may be more than one way to arrive at an answer. The best way is the one that’s simplest, easiest. Sort of like directions to a destination. You can take a long, convoluted route, or you can take a shorter, more direct one.
1. Show your child math in everyday life. Show him how to count with coins and bills. Point out how you use math in the grocery store, the bank, the pharmacy, the toy store.
2. Show math in the house. Point out how you use math when you cook, when you make repairs around the house, when you figure out what time to set the alarm. Ask him to help you. Have him explain his reasoning. Explaining math helps mastering math.
3. Show math in the car. Have your child help with figuring out distances on small trips, figuring out what time you should leave to make an appointment. If it’s not too painful, have her figure out what it’ll cost to fill up at the pump.
4. Have fun with math. Use playing cards to practice adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing. With your child, make your own math flash cards and worksheets to help her master the basic math facts that need to be automatic. Remember, practice makes perfect. When she’s mastered a skill, go on to the next one. From time to time, go back and review.
I’ll cover more tips for teaching your children math later this week...
Here are a few tips to encourage math in your child. They may even help you. The trick is to see math as enjoyable, a way to solve puzzles and problems. As with most problems, there may be more than one way to arrive at an answer. The best way is the one that’s simplest, easiest. Sort of like directions to a destination. You can take a long, convoluted route, or you can take a shorter, more direct one.
1. Show your child math in everyday life. Show him how to count with coins and bills. Point out how you use math in the grocery store, the bank, the pharmacy, the toy store.
2. Show math in the house. Point out how you use math when you cook, when you make repairs around the house, when you figure out what time to set the alarm. Ask him to help you. Have him explain his reasoning. Explaining math helps mastering math.
3. Show math in the car. Have your child help with figuring out distances on small trips, figuring out what time you should leave to make an appointment. If it’s not too painful, have her figure out what it’ll cost to fill up at the pump.
4. Have fun with math. Use playing cards to practice adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing. With your child, make your own math flash cards and worksheets to help her master the basic math facts that need to be automatic. Remember, practice makes perfect. When she’s mastered a skill, go on to the next one. From time to time, go back and review.
I’ll cover more tips for teaching your children math later this week...
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Back to School Time! Continued...
5. Help organize. Another of my favorite tips. Organization is as important as preparation and routines. Organize those homework areas, notebooks, planners, backpacks. Show how you organize for your tasks, projects, jobs. Have a special place at the end of the day for the backpack to be – filled with the next day’s assignments – so it’ll be ready to go in the mad rush of the morning. Insist on it. It’ll save headaches.
6. Encourage a “study buddy.” There’s strength in numbers, so encourage your child to seek out a friend he can study with, someone with similar goals and interests. They should talk, email, or IM each afternoon or evening to make sure they understand homework. Come test time, they can study together and with other study buddies to challenge each other, quiz each other, and keep each other on track.
7. Review each school day. Every day, review the day with your child. Ask him what he’s learning, reading, writing about. How’s he coming on that assignment due next week? What happened today that’s funny? Show him you’re interested and that you’re going to be talking about this every day. Expect conversation, not just one word answers. Be patient. It’ll work eventually.
8. Communicate with teachers. Teachers like to hear from parents. We want to know what your goals are, what your children’s interests, strengths, and needs are. We want your children to succeed as much as you do.
9. Get help early. If you suspect your child is struggling, get help early. The earlier the better. More teachers than get credit for it arrive at school early or stay late to help struggling students. Use an honor society student to help. Get a tutor. The important thing is to act early. Little problems are easier to solve than big ones.
10. Be positive. I know, it’s the same as the first tip. Everything begins and ends with being positive.
If you’ve learned some tips of your own, have some wisdom to share, or want to tell an inspirational story or two, share them with us. We learn together, right?
6. Encourage a “study buddy.” There’s strength in numbers, so encourage your child to seek out a friend he can study with, someone with similar goals and interests. They should talk, email, or IM each afternoon or evening to make sure they understand homework. Come test time, they can study together and with other study buddies to challenge each other, quiz each other, and keep each other on track.
7. Review each school day. Every day, review the day with your child. Ask him what he’s learning, reading, writing about. How’s he coming on that assignment due next week? What happened today that’s funny? Show him you’re interested and that you’re going to be talking about this every day. Expect conversation, not just one word answers. Be patient. It’ll work eventually.
8. Communicate with teachers. Teachers like to hear from parents. We want to know what your goals are, what your children’s interests, strengths, and needs are. We want your children to succeed as much as you do.
9. Get help early. If you suspect your child is struggling, get help early. The earlier the better. More teachers than get credit for it arrive at school early or stay late to help struggling students. Use an honor society student to help. Get a tutor. The important thing is to act early. Little problems are easier to solve than big ones.
10. Be positive. I know, it’s the same as the first tip. Everything begins and ends with being positive.
If you’ve learned some tips of your own, have some wisdom to share, or want to tell an inspirational story or two, share them with us. We learn together, right?
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Back to School Time!
Giving up the joys of summer and returning to school can create mixed feelings in kids. Sadness at ending the extra freedoms that summer brings. Anticipation at seeing friends again. Eagerness to set a new beginning. Anxiety at reaching new goals. Maybe some fear, especially if they’re going to a new school. And finally, challenges that come with change. Going back to school, after all, is all about change. A new year. New teachers. New friends mixed with the old. New routines. You remember, you were their age once.
Kids need our help now more than any other time of the school year.
Here are some tips to keep in mind as your children count the days before school opens for the fall. They are counting, you know, even if they don’t admit it.
1. Be positive. Show you care by having a positive attitude about the new school year. Talk about your school days, the happy memories (keep the bad ones to yourself, even if they’re now funny), the things you learned, the interests you developed, the friends you made, the teachers you remember fondly, the activities you participated in. You don’t want to make a lecture (or worse, a sermon) about it, so keep the conversation informal. Kids pick up on our moods, so keep it light. You want your child to have good attitudes about school, including her friends, teachers, extracurricular activities, goals for the year. This is yet another opportunity to show you care and are positive about the possibilities of the new year.
2. Set goals. With your child, set realistic goals for what you each want to accomplish this year. Goals should require a bit of a stretch to create a feeling of accomplishment. These goals can range from improved grades to making new friends, from trying out new after-school activities to making the soccer team. Encourage, support, and most important, listen.
3. Help prepare. If you’ve read any of my blogs, you know how much stock I put in preparation. When we’re prepared, we feel so much more confident than when we’re just winging it. So, give your child the confidence she needs by helping her prepare for this new adventure. If she’s going to a new school, visit it. Learn where the classrooms are, the bathrooms, the lockers, the cafeteria, and any other places where she’s heading. Get all the materials she’ll need for class. Review the school calendar with her and mark your own kitchen calendar – displayed where everyone can see it – with important dates like report cards, due-dates for projects, PTA meeting, and the like.
4. Help establish healthy routines. I’m also big on routines, especially for kids. They make youngsters feel secure and confident. Reset summer routines for fall ones. Cut way back on TV. Set meal times, study times, homework times, play times, quiet times, bedtimes, wake-up times. Show that you have routines, too, and stick to them. You’re a role model, remember.
Later this week, I’ll continue with more tips on preparing for back-to-school with your children…
Kids need our help now more than any other time of the school year.
Here are some tips to keep in mind as your children count the days before school opens for the fall. They are counting, you know, even if they don’t admit it.
1. Be positive. Show you care by having a positive attitude about the new school year. Talk about your school days, the happy memories (keep the bad ones to yourself, even if they’re now funny), the things you learned, the interests you developed, the friends you made, the teachers you remember fondly, the activities you participated in. You don’t want to make a lecture (or worse, a sermon) about it, so keep the conversation informal. Kids pick up on our moods, so keep it light. You want your child to have good attitudes about school, including her friends, teachers, extracurricular activities, goals for the year. This is yet another opportunity to show you care and are positive about the possibilities of the new year.
2. Set goals. With your child, set realistic goals for what you each want to accomplish this year. Goals should require a bit of a stretch to create a feeling of accomplishment. These goals can range from improved grades to making new friends, from trying out new after-school activities to making the soccer team. Encourage, support, and most important, listen.
3. Help prepare. If you’ve read any of my blogs, you know how much stock I put in preparation. When we’re prepared, we feel so much more confident than when we’re just winging it. So, give your child the confidence she needs by helping her prepare for this new adventure. If she’s going to a new school, visit it. Learn where the classrooms are, the bathrooms, the lockers, the cafeteria, and any other places where she’s heading. Get all the materials she’ll need for class. Review the school calendar with her and mark your own kitchen calendar – displayed where everyone can see it – with important dates like report cards, due-dates for projects, PTA meeting, and the like.
4. Help establish healthy routines. I’m also big on routines, especially for kids. They make youngsters feel secure and confident. Reset summer routines for fall ones. Cut way back on TV. Set meal times, study times, homework times, play times, quiet times, bedtimes, wake-up times. Show that you have routines, too, and stick to them. You’re a role model, remember.
Later this week, I’ll continue with more tips on preparing for back-to-school with your children…
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