Originally posted 2017-11-06 20:59:09. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Originally posted 2017-01-16 17:17:34. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Originally posted 2020-09-17 14:12:04. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Originally posted 2017-08-28 07:40:18. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Reading for at least 20 minutes a night is the standard advice, and it’s a good habit for students to develop. But what if they read out of duty or grudgingly? Love and Logic has a simple suggestion below that still applies in 4th grade and beyond:

After a difficult and frustrating day at work, don’t you wish your spouse would greet you with the following?

Honey, I got an email from your boss. She says that you haven’t been working up to your potential. She also mentioned that your reading is really poor and that you’ve had a bad attitude about completing your projects. That’s why we are going to sit down together and work on some practice samples. Now…I’m only doing this because I love you.

My guess is that few readers would vote for this treatment as an effective way of promoting deeper marital intimacy and improved work performance!

Far too many children struggle all day long with reading…and other subjects. Then they face even more frustration when they get home. When this happens, their reading performance rarely increases, but their disdain for books does!

May I suggest another approach? What if this strategy saved your relationship with your child AND helped him or her develop a much better vocabulary, understanding of language structure, and attitude toward reading?

Read to them, and have fun doing it. Do this even if they’re in high school! Do it as often as possible. Don’t stand over them and force them to read. Don’t nitpick their reading performance. Just enjoy your time together as you read…to them. Take the pressure off!

Read the rest here.

Originally posted 2014-03-15 12:35:27. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

• In healthy families, Mom talks to Dad when she is upset with Dad.
• In unhealthy families, Mom talks to the kids when she is upset with Dad.
• In healthy families, Dad talks to Mom when he’s upset with Mom.
• In unhealthy families, Dad talks to his friends when he is upset with Mom.
• In healthy families, Junior talks to Dad when he wants something from Dad.
• In unhealthy families, Junior talks to Mom when he wants something from Dad.
• In healthy families, Junior talks to his teacher when he doesn’t understand an assignment.
• In unhealthy families, Mom and Dad talk to Junior’s teacher when Junior doesn’t understand an assignment.

The pattern is probably clear by now. Healthy communication involves going directly to the party involved in the problem, rather than involving a third party. The shortest distance between two points is a straight line, and quickest way to a solution means going to the person involved. Read the whole article here.

Originally posted 2017-04-13 13:35:36. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Self-confidence, responsibility, character, and resiliency all find their foundation in the same place. They grow out of the opportunities children create when they make poor decisions and are faced with the consequences that follow.

Wise parents over-ride their own natural tendencies to rescue or to tell kids how to deal with these opportunities. If they don’t, the opportunities are lost. Over a period of time, youngsters start to believe that others are smarter and more capable than they are.

Jake called his dad from college to say that his car had been towed. He tried to explain that it wasn’t his fault because the parking sign was not easy to see.

Dad replied, “Oh, that is sad. What do you think you are going to do?”

“Well, Dad, I was thinking you need to send me $200 so I can get the car out of the impound lot.”

Wise parents don’t rescue kids from their mistakes

Keep reading to find out how Dad responded.

Originally posted 2015-11-11 10:23:34. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Parents are often tempted to look for ways that minimize the pain their children experience, even when that pain was caused by their child’s poor choice. But separating a consequence from an action is not the best way to show love to a child. Minimizing that pain now makes it more likely that the child will experience increased pain in the future as he repeats the same mistake over and over. A wise parent lets their child experience the logical consequences of their choices, and then shows them love through the situation. Said another way, a wise parent “can either stand between his [child’s] bad decision and the consequences, or she can stand beside him, supporting him as he learns from it. She can’t do both.”

Here’s a better response to the class skipper:

“What a sad situation, Toby. How do you want to confess? Do you want to do it in person, in writing, or would you rather have me help you by going with you to the principal’s office? I bet you might like a hug right now. I know that I do.”

Letting a child learn from their mistakes before the consequences become serious is the most loving way parents can handle the problems their children cause.

Read more about this here.

Originally posted 2016-10-18 13:45:47. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Originally posted 2016-06-18 07:02:54. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

To figure this out, one year I looked at the number of minutes of math practice my fourth grade students were completing at Khan Academy, a math practice website. I compared that to a student’s math level. Here are some facts to consider, using data from one fourth grade marking period:

• The average number of minutes the class worked for the entire marking period was 800 minutes. The lowest value was 400 minutes, and the highest was 1750 minutes. So the hardest workers were working 400% more than the lax workers.
• The top 25% of the class was working an average of 1300 minutes with an average math level of 5.1.
• The bottom 25% of the class was working an average of 471 minutes with an average math level of 3.5.
• The middle 50% of the class was right where you would expect them to be, in the middle of minutes worked and math level.

Here’s the data in a table, sorted by the number of minutes worked:

It’s clear from above that the students that are spending the most time working are improving their math levels. The students practicing the least are below grade level.

Here’s the table sorted by math level:

What this table clearly shows is that the students that need the most practice, the lowest level math students, were working the least in the class. However, the average minutes in this table are higher for the bottom and middle percentiles than in the table that was sorted by minutes worked. That shows that some of the lower level students were spending more time trying to improve their math levels. Over time, that practice will pay off.

Two takeaways:

1. Practice time makes a difference. While not a guarantee, the more time your student spends practicing math (or reading or any other subject) the better their level will be. This is why a daily homework time is essential.
2. Grades will follow minutes. If your student has a lower math level than you would like, nothing is likely to change until you find ways for them to practice more at home. It would be great if your student would take initiative and practice on their own. But if they are struggling, it is likely that they are not practicing. You’ll need to step in and help them organize your time if you want to see a change. Over time, more practice will make a difference.

Originally posted 2017-12-04 15:41:19. Republished by Blog Post Promoter