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To Praise or Not to Praise?
Part Two: The Helper and The Learner
By Naomi Aldort
Q: I understand your guidance not to praise my child's achievements and to validate his expressed self-appreciation instead (last issue.) However, can I praise him when he helps me, and, can I give positive feedback when he practices his violin?
A: We want to let a child know that we appreciate his help, and we wish to give useful feedback when he practices music, sports, dance etc. Praise is an evaluation and so it misses these intentions; anytime we give our opinion or judgment (no matter how great) on the behavior or accomplishment of another, we appear as though we are one up, which is the reason it is perceived as patronizing. Such praise is likely to elicit annoyance, shoulder shrug or rolled eyes - because it does not meet the need of the child for respect and equality. If such praise is accepted, it can lead to dependency and insecurity as explained in the last issue.
When your child serves your needs:
A mother told me about her twelve year old son who one day, on his own, mowed the lawn. She praised him, "Oh, how wonderful, you are becoming helpful and it looks so nice." Three months later she reported that he hasn’t helped ever since, even though they have done a lot of yard work. After the session with me she empathized with her son and said, "You haven’t participated in our yard work since you mowed the lawn. Are you feeling thwarted because you wish to help out of your own free will?" "I don’t want to get grades for my work," he responded. “Do you need respect and autonomy?” she asked. "Yes,” the boy answered, “when you praise me I know that you are trying to make me do it again, that just kills it for me." ... read more
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 Three Simple Steps for Adding Spanish to Your Summer Fun
by Beth Butler
The summer is upon us all! In this article you will discover three simple steps you can take immediately with your family to start some Spanish fun learning. Bilingual Educator and recording artist Beth Butler sheds a realistic light on the sometimes overwhelming task of raising bilingual children.
Forget the worksheets for the summer! Skip the verb conjugation lessons for the next ten weeks! Did I hear some of you shout out a request for play? Now, if you have teens like I do, some of the shouts were for sleep! But today I want to talk about the strong desire of our younger set, between two and ten, who want to play, play, and then play some more!
It can be so easy to keep these young ones laughing and learning. We just have to have a game plan to get started, and I want to help arm you with the tools to get through the next ten weeks, coming out on the other end of the time knowing that the kids did learn something amidst all of the play. As a mom of three, an educator of thousands, and president of a company directed strictly towards children ages birth through ten, I can help!
First of all, find yourself a great local library that has lots of bilingual materials in Spanish and English. Not just books, I am talking CDs, DVDs, and even magazines for children featuring both languages. Many public libraries offer a wider selection than others based on the demographics of their population, and I encourage you to simply ask the youth specialist of your library to bring more bilingual materials in. She will (provided she gets enough of the same request). ...read more
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Pastels
by Robert H. Zondag
Pastels are an art medium in the form of a “crayon” or “chalk.” The stick consists of pure pigment in powder form that has been held together by a binder. They are available in different degrees of hardness with the softer varieties being wrapped in paper to prevent breaking. Pastels are also available in pencil format (“pastel pencils”).
Pastels offer a wonderful array of colors for your student and are an excellent choice when expanding your child’s repertoire of art mediums. Also, a student set of pastels are reasonable in price.
There are several techniques to have your student explore:
Cross Hatching: This technique looks like basket weaving. The student applies one set of hatch lines over another, usually in the opposite direction, forming the cross hatching. Two colors may be used to achieve a brilliant effect.
Blending: The blending of pastels can be accomplished using two different types of techniques. There is optical blending where the colors are not actually mixed together but instead lines are laid down closely together as in hatching (see below). The other type of blending is when the colors are actually mixed together, by rubbing with fingers or using cotton swabs or pieces of cloth.....read more
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10 Great Ways to Ensure Your Child's Success in Math
by Susan Jarema 
In today's information age, data is doubling faster than ever before. Kilobytes, megabytes, gigabytes, terabytes - I can't keep up! The math curriculum in schools is much larger, yet schools are required to teach it with increasingly limited resources.
This leaves students and parents with the important task of supplementing education at home. Parents truly need to be partners in the learning process to ensure that our children stay ahead.
Parents, you do not need to be a mathematician to give your child the gift of mathematics. You only need to guide them on the right path. It is never too early or too late to start enjoying math at home with your child.
There is a strong focus on the value of reading to children when they are young - even babies. We hear over and over that "kids who are read to become better readers." Think about it: your child learned a whole new language by the time he or she turned two. Many children are reading words before they start school. Why not math? Math has its own unique language and the younger children are when they are when exposed to it, the more fluent they will be. Parents can help their children be better at math by just talking about it during their day. Your child will have more confidence in class and stay ahead if they have a sense of numbers before they reach school age......read more
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Exploring Art without Boundaries
by Dave Coates
Art is best explored freely. How does your child typically approach art at home: mostly using coloring books, or does he/she enjoy more open-ended creative play? When children are placed in an environment that encourages exploration, creativity soars. Where possible, find ways for your child to discover his or her own style by exploring with a variety of creativity materials with no set goal or expectation.
Mary Rogers M.A. Ed., co-founder and CEO of Abrakadoodle Remarkable Art™ says, “Most children are accustomed to trying to meet parent or teacher expectations and create with that in mind. However, when children learn that their creations will be valued, they really blossom with individual expression. It’s a wonder to behold.” ...read more
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 Divorce, Family & Children;
Some Perspectives from “The Trenches”
by Jay Lambert, MSW, LCSW, NHAC
The other day I drove past a billboard. It was advertising divorces for “The low price of $200.00.” It was situated near billboards for alcohol, an injury attorney, and a popular television show, and didn’t exactly jump out in any special way. And it was similar to ones I have seen before. But for some reason it hit me this time, this idea that divorce is literally for sale. I had never before thought of it in that light. But there it was, a divorce, on sale, right next to beer, ambulance chasing and television. What a strange concept, I thought to myself, that we would make divorces a product. And it got me to thinking that many people, when looking at such a sign, must ask themselves, perhaps subconsciously: Does marriage really matter to Americans any more? Is divorce really a big deal? Does it really hurt kids that much if everyone seems to be doing it and it is so easy to get? Have we begun to simply see divorce as a right of passage, like graduating from high school or something? Are we ready as a society ready to get rid of marriage altogether, and just avoid all this drama?
The idea of marriage has always had its critics, and always will. However, seeing that divorce has become a cheap, easy thing to do, I had to wonder if the idea of marriage as a valuable social institution is falling out of favor. In other words, has marriage, like divorce, become...well, cheap? To some people, it would appear that is the case. But I think marriage deserves a lot of respect as an institution, especially when we are talking about children and parenting, so I wanted to take this opportunity to make the case for marriage in a way that I hope helps people see its value in a new light...read more
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A Tale of Two Cities, Part 1: Athenian Democracy
by Scott Powell
In the study of Ancient history two city-states, Athens and Rome, rightly command more attention than all the others combined. Indeed, although it has been thousands of years since their civilizations reached their zenith, and their power over the Mediterranean world has long since withered, the story of their civilizations remains relevant--even critically important--to Americans today.
Why? Because the American form of government was constructed using the lessons learned from the record of the Athenian democracy and the Roman republic. Without those lessons America's Founding Fathers could not have made the United States what it is.
Tragically, publicly schooled children are being taught these crucial stories less often and less well, and every generation of Americans is becoming less able to appreciate the unique historical roots of the American government. Without this anchor of historical understanding, it is unlikely that Americans will be able sustain the founding identity of their government in these turbulent times....read more
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Using Technology to Engage Students
by Bruce Friend
My job allows me to travel around the country visiting different schools and speaking to teachers, students, and parents about their use of technology for educational purposes.
The “technology” I see being utilized as part of instruction in traditional brick and mortar classrooms amounts to little more than the chalkboard being replaced by a PowerPoint presentation. PowerPoint for classroom teaching can be useful but it exemplifies that classrooms are doing little more then scratching the surface
of what is possible by taking advantage of technology. If we are just scratching the surface, our children will not be competitive in the 21st century’s global economy....read more
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Featured Resource of the Month
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Featured Resource of the Month
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