Schoolfamily.com blog entries

A Helpful Hint to Improve Fine Motor Skills

Connie McCarthy — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:36:25 +0100

“Mrs. McCarthy, I like to color but my crayon just won’t stop at the line!” said Kate. Some young children have yet to develop the fine motor skills needed to make their crayon “stop at the line.” This often makes a child reluctant to color, even though coloring is great practice for improving fine motor skills. Here’s a good trick to help your young child “feel” the line, while making coloring neater.

You will need:

Before You Do Anything, Call the Teacher First!

Angela Norton Tyler — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:12:01 +0100

Students come home and tell parents the most amazing things.

"Today the teacher called us stupid.”

Before you rush off to call the principal, take a deep breath and contact your child's teacher and give him or her a chance to explain. Children- especially small children- often misunderstand adults. (I am sure your kids have misunderstood something you’ve said, once or twice, right?) Instead of starting World War III, you might hear something funny.

Helping Children with ADHD Focus at School

SchoolFamily — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:08:41 +0100

Just came across this blog by Kay Marner about sensory objects that help ADHD kids focus at school. Great stuff! Good teachers are always looking for sensible ways to make classroom accommodations for kids with ADHD. "Fidgeting" has been shown to help ADHD children focus in the classroom.

E Read more...

Quick Tips for Tests and Quizzes

Angela Norton Tyler — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 02:07:47 +0100

For many students, final exams are right around the corner. And while these exams make up a large percentage of final semester grades (and cause a lot of worry), please don't forget about those weekly tests and quizzes.

Tips to Share with Students About Tests and Quizzes:

Read the entire test and each set of directions before you start.
Start with the easiest questions first and return to the others (don't forget to go back!)
Read all answer choices for each multiple Read more...

How attuned are you to your Kid's Stress Levels?

SchoolFamily — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:50:18 +0100

A colleague just sent me a link to this blog about kids and stress. Some interesting statistics for parents to digest...

According to a recent survey administered by the American Psychological Association, kids ages 8 to 17 are more stressed out now than they were a year ago. To be exact, one third of the kids who took this surve Read more...

Three Easy Activities to Improve Reading Skills

Connie McCarthy — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:04:17 +0100

"Mrs. McCarthy," said one of my students, "I'd like to read...I just don't know where to start!" Young students often don't understand the left-to-right progression needed for reading. Here are three simple activities to help your child practice and develop good reading habits.

As you read a story to your child, move your index finger in a left-to-right sweep, under the words you are saying.This helps her identify words and understand the natural left-to-r Read more...

Why It's Not Okay to Be Late to School

Angela Norton Tyler — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 09:16:27 +0100

Early one morning last week as I pulled the car up to my son's school, he announced that he wasn't wearing any shoes. He had managed to remember his lunch and backpack, but his new tennis shoes were in the garage where he had "forgotten" them. I was pretty annoyed (understatement) at having to drive in traffic- all the way home and then back to school and then home again, but what really upset me was that my son was going to be late to school.

As a former elementary school teacher, l Read more...

Don't Let Those Girls Lag in Math & Science

SchoolFamily — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 23:55:37 +0100

Recently came across this blog that talks about encouraging girls to excel in math and science. So I knew that the work force, in these areas, is still male dominated --but I didn't know just how much this is true. This quote from the blog actually left me stunned (and a little appalled):

Although women make up approximatel Read more...

Do Parent-Teacher Conferences Make you Nervous?

SchoolFamily — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 23:12:53 +0100

I was talking to a friend yesterday whose oldest child is in kindergarten. She was telling me that she just sent in the form for her daughter's parent-teacher conference and that she was nervous -- despite the fact her child is doing great. Nervous? I didn't get it. She said that it dredged up her school days. Said that she used get nervous, despite the fact she was a good student, when her parents went to a conference about her. Funny how these feelings can carry over.

I ha Read more...

More Math Games for Kids:Coin Recognition

Connie McCarthy — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 18:34:27 +0100

The four main coins used in the United States are the penny, nickel, dime, and quarter. Often children find it difficult to distinguish between coins. Young children must be able to recognize different coins, before they can grasp the more difficult concept of coin value. A fun way to practice coin recognition is to play a game I call "Coin Match Value Game" (in the Print and Use section of this site).

To Play: Take a King, a ten card, a five card, and an Ace, of any suit, fr Read more...

Helping Students Succeed in School - A Must Watch Video

SchoolFamily — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 21:37:33 +0100

My teens often send me amusing YouTube videos. Now, here's one that I want to send to them: Help Your Kids Succeed with Goal Setting For Students. Dont' let the title mislead you -- it's a good video for parents and (older)kids alike to watch!

With all the activities, homework, family responsibilities, etc. it is sooo easy to let our lives run us, rather us running our lives. This video reminded me how important it is to slow down, prioritize, set goals, and set reminders f Read more...

Help Your Child Learn to Read

SchoolFamily — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 22:03:18 +0100

Just came across this blog from Literacy News that I thought had some excellent advice for parents of young readers. As a parent, it's tricky sometimes to know what your role is when it comes to teaching a child to read. This blog offers some good, concrete tips for parents who want to help their children prepare for reading success.

What kinds Read more...

Payoff for Joining a PTO or PTA?

SchoolFamily — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 18:30:03 +0100

What's your perception of your school's PTO or PTA group? Do you think it's friendly and hardworking... or cliquey and unwelcoming? If you said the latter, you are not alone.

Connecticut mom, Monica, felt that way about the PTA at her kids' school. In her recent blog post, "To PTA or not PTA" she talks about her shifting perspective of her parent group and the choices she made. She could have been turned off by a seemingly cliquey group and opted to do nothing. Instead, she got involved Read more...

Students Need A LOT More Sleep Than You Think

Angela Norton Tyler — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 23:05:22 +0100

Your kids' bedtime.

Ah, just reading those words puts a smile on your face, doesn't it? I love my children as much as the next parent, and at the same time I am not ashamed to admit that I also love sending them to bed at the end of a long day.

The two things are not mutually exclusive.

Kids need sleep. Lots and lots of sleep. They need consistent bedtimes and regular sleeping hours.

You may be surprised to learn how much sleep your children need:

3 to 6 ye Read more...

Hands-On Math Games; A Fun Way to Improve Skills

Connie McCarthy — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 17:41:17 +0100

Math games are a great way to practice skills and allow your child to visualize abstract concepts. For these two games you will need a deck of cards, and a pair of dice.

Start with twenty-five cards from the deck and one die. Place the cards face down in a pile. Roll the die. If you rolled a “four” take four cards from the pile. Next person rolls and takes that number of cards from the pile. Game is over when all twenty-five cards are gone. Winner is the one with the most car Read more...

Bullying on the School Bus

SchoolFamily — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 05:10:47 +0100

When you ask a soon-to-be Kindergartener what part of school they are most excited about, they often say riding the school bus!

Fast forward a couple of years and ask some moms what they dread the most about their child's school day. A frequent reply? The school bus. Sad but true. Parents are forever looking for ways to teach their kids to stand up to bullies.

With the mix of ages and little supervision, school bus rides can be playground for a bully. That's why Read more...

Why Breakfast Really Is the Most Important Meal of the Day

Angela Norton Tyler — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 03:25:01 +0100

When I was growing up, my mother insisted that my sister, brother and I eat breakfast every morning. This was non-negotiable. Mom said, "You can't learn on an empty stomach." Just once, I wanted to go to school hungry to find out if she was right, but I never. First of all, there was no way my mother was letting me out of the house without breakfast. Secondly, she cooked serious breakfasts: scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage sandwiches, fried apples, pancakes, French toast, waffles, scrapple and Read more...

Math Games to Help Your Child Understand Numbers

Connie McCarthy — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 04:57:03 +0100

Saying numbers and knowing what numbers mean are two different and distinct mathematical skills.

Your child might be a champion counter, yet not be able to identify the number “8″ out of numerical sequence. He or she might be able to recognize the numeral “12,” but be unable to count out 12 objects. Knowing how to match numbers to objects is basic, mathematical one-to-one correspondence.

Practicing one-to-one correspondence helps your child make the conne Read more...

Get (and Keep!) Those Backpacks Organized!

Angela Norton Tyler — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 02:45:41 +0100

The kids have been back in school for awhile, and that "new school smell" is gone. New grade, new teacher, new classroom- big yawn. Most of us have settled in and gotten used to our school schedules.

Before you get too relaxed, I have a question: How are your children's backpacks looking these days? If they're like most students, they are already a mess: loose and crumpled papers, half-eaten sandwiches, random pencils, lost assignments.

A backpack is a student's "traveling office," Read more...

Advocating for Your Gifted Child

SchoolFamily — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 00:28:25 +0100

Do you have a child that is gifted? Does your school system have program for talented and gifted children? Judging from all the articles about budget cuts in education, thinking that most of you answered no to this question.

The lack of programs is doing a serious disservice to our future, according to Nancy Robinson, former director of the Halbert and Nancy Robinson Center for Young Scholars at the University of Washington. When asked what the long term effects of not having an adequa Read more...