|
April, 2008
Use ‘Teachable
Moments’ to Explain Respect
Is Your
Child Physically Ready to Take the Test?
Teach Your
Child to be a Confident Test-Taker
Show Your Child the Many Ways to Make a Difference in the World
A Word From the Director
Use ‘Teachable Moments’ to Explain Respect
Teaching your
child respectful behavior isn’t like teaching her how to ride a bike.
You can’t have her practice once or twice and expect the lesson to
sink in. Instead, look for moments when good - or bad -behavior is on
display. By talking about what you see, your child will learn a
powerful lesson. Talk about respect as you:
Watch a sporting event. If a baseball manager disagrees with an
umpire’s call, what does he do? If he runs onto the field screaming,
ask your child, “What would happen if you did that to your teacher?
What do you think would happen if I acted like that at work?”
Watch television. Many TV shows today confuse humor with
disrespect. If you hear a put-down or disrespectful comment on a show,
talk about it with your child. What are more respectful ways to talk
with people?
Is Your
Child Physically Ready to Take the Test?
Recent studies of elementary-age
children have shown: The more fit they are, the better they do in
school! Fit children have more “brain power” than their less active
classmates. They have greater attention and memory skills. They’re
faster when completing tasks and they make fewer errors. While your
child’s fitness should be a year-round concern, she can do some things
to boost her fitness level on test days. Encourage her to:
Get a good night’s sleep before
the test. Staying up all night studying increases anxiety, which
interferes with clear thinking.
Eat for success. A hearty
breakfast with seven to 10 grams of fiber will keep your child from
getting jittery from a sugar high or, later, bottoming out when her
insulin goes up.
Relax. If your child is too
nervous, she’ll forget what she knows. She can stretch and breathe
deeply to focus her mind.
Wear comfortable clothes. Pants
shouldn’t be so tight they keep your child from breathing fully. Her
brain needs oxygen.
Drink plenty of water. This is
another way to keep her brain alert.
Don’t forget to give your child a big hug on test day. This will
increase her sense of well-being and energy.
Back to Top
Teach Your Child to be a Confident Test-Taker
Test anxiety often comes from self-doubt. If your child doesn’t think
he will succeed, he probably won’t. You can help your child become
more confident before a test if you:
ê
Take off the pressure. Tell your child, “Tests show the teacher what
you’ve learned so far, and what you need help with.”
ê
Avoid last-minute panic. Your child should begin to review and study
days before the test.
ê
Teach efficient studying. Help your child focus on the material he
hasn’t yet mastered.
ê
Help your child connect new material to what he already knows.
ê
Encourage positive self-talk. When your child gets stuck during a
test, he can say, “I know this. The answer will come to me.”
ê
Remind your child of his strengths - what he’s good at.
ê
Help your child visualize success. Have him close his eyes and picture
himself knowing the answers.
Back
to Top
Show Your Child the Many Ways to Make a Difference in
the World
Your child learns most
powerfully from your example. If you reach out to make the world part
of your neighborhood, you will raise a child who grows up to care for
our planet and the people in it.
Talk with your child about the
things you do for people in your neighborhood. You may help an elderly
neighbor with errands. You may watch a child while a parent is away.
Now ask, “What would we do if
we thought of the whole world as our neighborhood?” Make a list of
things you can do right away—recycling or using less water, for
example.
Then think about things that
take more time and planning. You might collect books to give to
children in a hospital. You might help raise money to donate to a
worthy cause.
Then start doing some of the
things on your list. You’ll teach your child that even small actions
make a difference and make our world a better neighborhood to live in.
Back
to Top
Greetings from PCN
This month I have often overheard
parents talking about the “joys” of parenting. The struggle to get
their sleepy daughter out of bed, the trip to school to take books
that had been forgotten and just this morning I was telling my son,
“If you do not leave now you will be late for school.” The look on my
son’s face indicated he felt he had plenty of time and I was over
reacting. As I reflected on parenting the article written years ago
by Erma Bombeck came flooding back to me. Read and enjoy.
I Loved You Enough:
To ask you about where you were
going, with whom and what time you will get home.
To insist that you buy a bike with your own money that we could have
afforded to give you.
To be silent and let you discover your handpicked friend was a creep.
To make you return a Milky Way with a bite out of it to the drug store
and confess that you stole it.
To stand over you for two hours while you cleaned your room, which was
a job that would have taken me fifteen minutes.
To let you see anger, disappointment, disgust and tears in my eyes.
To admit I was wrong and ask for your forgiveness.
To let you stumble, fall and get hurt.
To let you assume responsibility for your actions at six, ten and
sixteen.
But most of all, I loved you enough to say “no” when you hated me for
it and that was the hardest part of all.
Enjoy your family time,
Darcy Jensen and the PCN Board
Back to Top
|
