Advocating for your Child

I am constantly coaching parents on how to advocate for their child when things tend to go "offline" at school.  The most important thing to remember is that you are sending your "best" to school and that message needs to be conveyed to your child's educator.  In other words, when your child misbehaves or is floundering on a specific topic, it is important that the message you give your child's educator is that you haven't chosen to send a second rate child to school but rather this child needs to be supported so that they can achieve their best.

When working with your child's teacher it is important  that you are working as a team to enhance your child's learning experience.  Opening lines of communication is one aspect that is going to create a real difference in your child's experience at school.  Please be aware that opening lines of communication does not mean coming down on your child's teacher because of a story or event that your child came home with.  It is important to get all three sides of each story so that you are collaborating with your childs teacher and not just pointing fingers.

One large mistake that many parents make is beginning conversations on the attack.  By doing this you are sure to get your child's teachers back up and virtually tarnish the relationship you have with him/her for the remainder of the year.

Ask questions:

1. How is my child socializing with the other students?
2. If there are any areas that you think we should support our child at home, what are they?
3. What are the times that my child could come for extra help?
4. What would be the best way for me to communicate effectively with you, knowing that you have a large class and your time is limited?

Asking questions gives your child's teacher a chance to give there perspective on how to support your child at home.  This also opens the lines of communication in a collaborative way where you are working as a team to make sure that your "best" can achieve their best at school!

Rewards?

The hot topic of rewards always comes up when I am talking to parents of students I work with.  Some parents think that rewarding  a child for getting their homework complete is ok.  Behaving in class should be rewarded or treating a reward as a bargaining tool for parents when their child is driving them nuts is ok. WRONG!  Rewards are appropriate when we think of the big picture.  One has to ask them self the following questions when considering  to use a reward system.

Is this helping the child learn independence?
Is the reward going to help the child achieve a bigger goal?
Is the reward being used to get the child off ones back, behave in public, or achieve a short term goal that has no benefit in the long run?

If your child is completing their homework the reward is ultimately going to be better grades in class because they are keeping up with the work load and getting things done in a timely manner.  If your child comes home on the honour role, or achieves a grade that both you and your child said they were going to work towards in the long term, that deserves a reward.  They set out to achieve something and they DID IT! 

Rewards can be really helpful as something to work towards.  It values your children's efforts and allows them to see the benefit of pursuing something to completion!  Use rewards for the right reason not a quick fix!

One week IN!

So we are one week into this new school year and it has been hectic for some, rewarding for others and at times overwhelming for parents and students alike.  One of the guiding principles of each teacher at the onset of the school year is to establish routine in the classroom.  There should be no difference at home.  These are a couple of helpful hints that will help both you stay SANE during your morning routine,and your child stay on target and on task.
1) Make your lunch at night, both for your and your child.  Waking up in the morning getting your kids dressed and dealing with so much chaos in a short amount of time (usually an hour or less)-is a perfect recipe for disaster.  Having lunches made is one less thing to DO in the morning.  As your child gets older, make them part of the lunch making process.  This is a great time to educate them on healthy food choices and gives them control over what they are putting into their bodies.
2) Have your children chose the clothes they want to wear for the next day the night before.  Have the clothes set out for the next day.
3)  Get your child(ren) and yourself working as a unit. Before the onset of the day, make sure expectations are clear as to what each child and yourself are responsible for to make the morning run smooth so you can get your day started right.  An example of this may be:
 -One Parent makes the breakfast
 -Children bring dishes to the sink
 -One parent tidies up the sink area
 - kids get clothes on
 -Lunches in bags (THEY ARE READY FROM LAST NIGHT!)
The idea of a clear and reliable morning routine is to alleviate the stress of morning chaos, so that all can meet the day with a smile and arrive to school ready for success!

Welcome to the first day of school and my new blog!

Hi Everyone.

On this first day back to school, we are all filled with new beginnings.  I wanted to thank everyone for joining our new facebook page.  We feel the love!  Also, welcome to my new blog, where I will be posting helpful ideas and sharing stories that I hope you will find interesting.  If you have a question about education, please email me and I will respond as quickly as I can.

Thanks all!