What Teachers Really Want to Say to Parents

I have posted this article before but it bears repeating. It is an article written for parents by teachers..it’s about what we really want you to know. Parents please read this article carefully and if you see yourself then  think about what can be done to change the situation.  Remember, we have your child’s best interest at heart when we talk to you about grades, behavior, social skills etc.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/06/living/teachers-want-to-tell-parents/index.html

Second Grade Readiness Checklist

This is the time of the year that many parents start to wonder, and then worry about their child’s readiness for the next grade.  Now that my first graders are almost halfway through the year, it might be a good time for parents to get a reality check on how your child is doing towards progressing towards 2nd grade.  Here is a checklist of skills needed for 2^nd grade.

http://www.rrboosterclub.com/2nd_grade_readiness.htm

Is your child ready for Kindergarten?  Here is a checklist to find out.

http://childparenting.about.com/od/schoollearning/a/kindergarten-readiness-checklist.htm

Is your child ready for first grade?  Here is a checklist to find out.

http://kindergartenteacherclaire.wordpress.com/2010/05/13/checklist-for-first-grade/

If you see weak areas, don’t worry, maybe these skills haven’t even been taught yet in this school year, but keep in mind these lists are only the  minimum list of skills that your child should possess before entering either Kindergarten, First Grade and Second Grade.

Problem Solving

First graders should be able to problem solve.  Yet, time and time again throughout the day teachers are confronted with children who just can’t think for themselves.

• The child who brings you a broken pencil and just holds out in front of you.
• The child whose jacket is on a different hook and doesn’t even know where to begin to look for it.
• The child who cannot open his/her snack and just sits there.
• The child who cannot find his/her papers in his/her backpack because he/she has only checked one zippered compartment.
• The child who does not have the crayon that he/she needs and doesn’t know what to do.
• A child who pushes by a teacher blocking the aisle in school without realizing there are several other ways around the teacher.

You get the picture.  6 and 7 year olds have the ability to think through and solve simple problems on their own, however, they have learned (usually form home!) that they are in fact helpless and that an adult will readily come to their aid.  This can be a type of learned helplessness. It occurs when a child has learned to be helpless and not take the time to think through and solve problems.  The children feel that they are not in control of a situation so they just give up.  Watch your child at home.  Is he/she doing this?  Are you stepping in automatically to solve simple problems for your child?  If you recognize yourself, then you need to stop.  You are not helping your child learn the lifelong skill of problem solving.  First grade teachers expect their students to problem solve but more and more children are not coming to school without this skill.  Help your child, your child’s teacher, and yourself by taking the time to stop and help your child to think of ways himself/herself to solve a problem without an adult’s help.  Everyone will benefit.

Faux ADHD

More and more young children are being tested for ADHD.  Many of these children do in fact have ADHD and are treated in accordance with their doctor’s and parent’s guidance. However, maybe some of these children do not have ADHD even if he/she exhibits some of the symptoms.  I came across this short article, Could It Be Faux ADHD by Christine Mattheis in the January 2012 issue of Family Circle magazine.

Could It Be Faux ADHD?

By:  Christine Mattheis

“Forgetfulness, struggling to pay attention in school, aggression – it may sound like textbook attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Turns out those are also the signs of certain sleep problems, according to research from the New England Center for Pediatric Psychology. In a recent study, children who had no set bedtime or sometimes slept in their parents’ bed were eight times more like to exhibit symptoms that mimic those of ADHD. When these behaviors were corrected, the problems went away in two to three week in kids who didn’t actually have the disorder.  If your child has been diagnosed with ADHD and bedtime is a nightly struggle, consider talking to your pediatrician about retesting.”

Limit Screen Time

I was sitting in a doctor’s office today glancing through magazines and came across an interesting article about children and screen time.  Back in the 1970’s The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) made a statement that watching TV was not beneficial to young children.  Almost 40 years and over 50 different studies later, the AAP is again coming out with the statement that children should be limited to their accessibility of screen time (tv, video games, computers, I-pads, etc.)

The AAP recommends

• Children under 2 should never watch TV
• Watching TV can cause irregular sleep habits in young children
• TV’s should not be used as a babysitter, instead give your child something safe to play with and he/she will figure out how to entertain himself.
• No TV at night time in order for children to fall asleep easier
• If your child watches TV in the evening, it should be turned off a few hours before bedtime
• Kids with TV’s in their rooms tend to watch TV in the evening, or watch violent TV shows and are more likely to have sleep problems.
• Elementary School children who watch more than 2 hours of TV a day are more likely to have social and emotional problems.
• Too much TV leaves less time for creative play
• Too much TV can lead to Obesity, Behavioral problems, Violence and impaired academic performance.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/children-and-tv/MY00522

IS TV/I-pad, video games, etc. really worth it?

American Academy of Pediatrics Website

http://www.aap.org/en-us/about-the-aap/aap-press-room/Pages/Babies-and-Toddlers-Should-Learn-from-Play-Not-Screens.aspx

Returning To School After Winter Break

Now that the New Year has arrived, school vacation is quickly coming to an end.  Children, parents and teachers alike have enjoyed a welcome break from the daily routine.  Now it is time to get back to normal, daily routines will return and school begins for children once again.  I don’t usually repost a blog but this particular topic never grows old.  Two years ago I wrote about the stress that a young child feels when returning to school after spending vacation time with his/her family.  Please read my earlier blog about ways to talk to your child before he/she heads back to school this week and realize that it is not as easy for them as you think.

http://kindergartenteacherclaire.wordpress.com/2010/01/03/the-day-after-winter-break-is-just-like-the-first-day-of-school-all-over-again/

Visualizing

Now that your first grader is almost halfway through first grade, we will be working on a reading skill called Visualizing.  It teaches a child to create pictures in his/her mind when he/she is reading.  Your child will learn to ‘see’ in his mind what he/she is reading in text.  He will learn to ‘feel’ what he/she is reading.  It is just like having an ongoing movie in his/her mind. We are teaching your child what some of the main events in the story would look like if they were happening in real life.  Being able to do this helps your child to better understand what has been read.  Many first graders are still just ‘calling words’ without attaching any meaning to what has been read.  Your child will consciously be using the words to create a picture in his/her mind. On a personal note, I remember when I took 2 of my children to see the movie The Indian in the Cupboard.  They had both read the book and had eagerly awaited the release of the film.  In the first few moments of the movie when the Indian was revealed, both of my children said out loud in the theater “that is NOT what he looks like!”  Visualization skills were at work.  Both children had created a mental picture of what they thought the Indian should look like and both were bitterly disappointed that their own vision was not recognized by Hollywood. Try it with your own child at home.  After he/she has read a chapter, a book or a few pages, ask him/her to draw a picture of what he/she was seeing in his/her mind when reading.  The pictures will be able to show you if your child is grasping what has been read, or needs to pay closer attention to the text.

Donating Used Toys

Many people reading this blog are the parents of children who have just received enormous amounts of new toys for the holidays.  Before those new toys make their way to bedrooms, playrooms, dens, etc.  now is the time to teach your child about giving away his/her older toys.  Have your child clean out his/her room, find the toys that he/she no longer uses and bag them up for charity.  I am sure that there is a charitable organization, shelter, hospital, or such that would welcome clean used toys to pass along to children in need.  A few simple clicks on your computer can help you find organizations willing to accept your donations…this is what I found in my own area:

Accepting clean stuffed animals:

http://www.stuffedanimalsforemergencies.org/

A site with several options for donating toys:

http://charity.lovetoknow.com/Donate_Used_Toys

Teach your child about helping others while he/she is young.  Children need to learn that it is not all about receiving, much joy can be received by giving as well.

Behavior Affects School Progress

There is a direct correlation between a child’s school behavior and his/her ability to listen, learn, stay on task and complete their work. First graders act like first graders.  They should! These young children are only 6 and 7 years old.  What a parent has to remember is that children who know when to stop, look and listen to teachers at school, are also the same children who can complete work without direct teacher guidance.  In most classrooms, the first grade teacher is instructing small groups of children while the remainder of the class is working on their own.  Children working may chit chat a little, but most can easily get themselves back on track to do their work.  In every classroom there are always a few children who just can’t motivate themselves to not only get started but stay on task once they do start.  These children are looking around the room at what others are doing, watching the teacher, staring out the window, cutting their pencils, gluing their fingers, cutting their work  paper, etc.  Something is not right.  Teachers try and tell parents when they notice that their child is struggling with work and behavior, but most times, parents do not want to listen.  They haven’t seen it at home is the usual excuse.  Really? Invite 23 more 6 and 7 year old kids to your house, try to manage all of their behavior and then in the middle of this, watch your child try and stay on task.  Then, and only then would you would be see what we see each and every day at school.  Our interims for this quarter just went home and parents sometimes do not like what they see regarding not only behavior but academic progress as well.  Keep in mind that teachers are not miracle workers and we cannot ‘fix’ children who misbehave.  Take a good hard look at your child’s behavior the next time a behavior note comes home, or the teacher contacts you about your child’s behavior at school.  If a teacher takes the time to write, or have the child write a note, then something needs to be addressed.  Children who misbehave by the minute, hourly or daily eventually fall behind in their school work and mid-December is when you will start hearing that from the classroom teacher.  Do you want your child to fall further and further behind, or are you willing to get to the root of the problem, support your child’s education and talk to additional professionals if need be. Only you can make that decision.

Babies and Reading

I was on a plane a few weeks ago and observed a young mother trying desperately to teach her toddler (about 18 months) how to read.  Yes, read! While struggling to keep the small girl in her lap, this young mother was also holding a ‘teach your baby to read’ book.  The girl just wanted to hold the book, throw the book, turn it upside down, chew on the book etc.  The mother wanted the girl to look at the large pictures and then ‘read’ the word next to the picture.  Keep in mind this girl didn’t seem to be saying much of anything, let alone read,  but that mother persevered, while checking those passengers around her to see if they noticed that her daughter was ‘reading’.  Really? What are parents thinking?  This book while not a waste of money given the fact that putting any book in a child’s hands is never a bad thing, trying to get a toddler to ‘read’ the words is a waste of time. Children who are read to from birth will develop a love of books and reading that will occur naturally over time.  I have had readers in Kindergarten, and have had children come to first grade reading.  Most of these children acquired the skill from hours, days, months and years of being read to and having a constant exposure to books.  Parents if you have young children at your house please save the money that expensive ‘teach your baby how to read’ books cost and spend the money on good quality, timeless books that your child will be able to enjoy again and again.  First, by having you read the books to them and then when he/she will learn to read on his/her own and the love of the same books will continue. I have said it before, but it is worth repeating.  No third grade teacher can survey his/her classroom and tell how old each child was when they learned to read.  So parents, stop trying to impress, let reading develop naturally and enjoy quiet times reading with your child, they do disappear all too quickly.