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Elementary News

  Elementary Archive 2007-08

June 2008

Plan Fun Activities, Quality Time With Your Child This Summer
Encourage Responsibility by Helping Your Child Enjoy Chores

Help Your Child Ward Off Summer ‘Brain Drain’
Maintain TV Viewing Limits During Summer Vacation

A Word From the Director



Plan Fun Activities, Quality Time With Your Child This Summer

This summer, plan to spend some quality time with your family and keep everyone’s brain at work, too. Sit down with your child and make a list of all the fun possibilities that are before you this summer. Ask yourself:

? Are there places in our town we’ve never visited but would like to?
? Are there free concerts or plays nearby? When are they scheduled?
?
What summer activities would we like to try? Are there things I could do with my child, such as riding a bike or learning a new sport?
? What are my child’s interests? What could my child do to explore those interests?
? Is a class available that interests my child? Whether it’s learning how to make a video or how to knit, there may be a class on that subject.
Once you have your list, narrow it down with your family. Choose three things you all want to do this summer. Then make a plan so you can get them done before school starts next fall.

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Encourage Responsibility by Helping Your Child Enjoy Chores

How do you get your child to want to do chores? Remember that elementary-age children love to plan and carry out their plans. So first, involve your child in brainstorming what needs to be done and when. Also:

þ Be a good model. Happily do chores yourself. Acknowledge your satisfaction when you finish a chore.

þ Give your child a choice of chores. She should be able to take out the trash, vacuum, fold laundry, feed a pet, help with yard work.

þ Rotate chores each week, so no one feels “stuck” doing a chore she doesn’t like. Put chores on slips of paper family members draw from a bowl.

þ Make a game of it. Race to put things away. Or set a timer and see if your child can “beat the clock.”

þ Use a chore chart. Place a star on it when chores are finished.

þ Schedule a “work time” when everyone is doing a job.

þ Curb criticism. Don’t immediately say what your child did wrong. Gently ask what she might do to improve her work.

þ Be encouraging. Say, “Here’s the broom so you can help! You can do it. Let’s do this together.”

þ Follow chores with fun. Have a basket of index cards listing fun stuff to do after chores.

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Help Your Child Ward Off Summer ‘Brain Drain’

A new study shows that over the summer students can lose up to 60-percent of what they learned in the school year. This “brain drain” in elementary school hurts performance in later school years.

To help prevent a loss in your child’s learning skills this summer:

Hone basic math skills. Let your child measure and weigh as you cook. Help organize a lemonade stand, and have your child figure out the cost of ingredients and calculate change.

Explore the natural world of science. Have a family scavenger hunt for bugs, leaves, rocks and flowers. Study the stars.

Keep your child writing. Have your child write your grocery list and thank-you notes. Ask questions and have your child answer them in a journal.

Nurture curiosity. Let children disassemble and reassemble an old appliance (be sure to supervise). Fill glasses with different amounts of water and tap on them to create tunes.

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Maintain TV Viewing Limits During Summer Vacation

At the end of the summer, what will your child remember? Hours spent reading, playing and being outdoors? Or hours spent staring at the TV?

It’s all too easy to let TV-viewing hours creep up during the vacation. But the American Academy of Pediatrics wants parents to limit TV time to two hours a day - or fewer.   Here are some ideas about how you can make that work during the summer months:

Make a schedule. Set aside a time each day for TV viewing. To make your schedule work, you’ll also need to schedule time for activities like reading. While you’re at it, schedule times for snacks so your child doesn’t eat out of boredom.

Stock up on other things to do. Create a costume box for plays. Collect art supplies. Buy a few board games.

Take TVs out of bedrooms.

Plan trips. Go to museums, parks or on neighborhood walks.

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Greetings from PCN

It has been a busy school year and I am already putting the baseball schedule for my son’s summer games on my calendar. As your days get filled with “must do” tasks, remember to take time for those you love. It seems that we often get things done for everyone around us but do not take time for our family or our own needs.  I found this quote by Henry Drummond, which puts things into perspective, “You will find as you look back upon your life that the moments you have really lived are the moments when you have done things in the spirit of love.” These are words for all of us to live by.
The PCN office and website will be available to you all summer if you have questions or need a resource. Please contact us by phone or through this website for information on any parenting issue. The Safe South Dakota site offers tips for talking with teens about alcohol use and driving.

 Enjoy the moments this summer,

                Darcy Jensen and the PCN Board

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Elementary Archive 2006-07

 

 

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