Children Learn What They Live – by Dorothy L. Nolte

Children Learn What They Live
By Dorothy Law Nolte, Ph.D.

If children live with criticism,

they learn to condemn.

If children live with hostility,

they learn to fight.

If children live with fear,

they learn to be apprehensive.

If children live with pity,

they learn to feel sorry for themselves.

If children live with ridicule,

they learn to feel shy.

If children live with jealousy,

they learn to feel envy.

If children live with shame,

they learn to feel guilty.

If children live with encouragement,

they learn confidence.

If children live with tolerance,

they learn patience.

If children live with praise,

they learn appreciation.

If children live with acceptance,

they learn to love.

If children live with approval,

they learn to like themselves.

If children live with recognition,

they learn it is good to have a goal.

If children live with sharing,

they learn generosity.

If children live with honesty,

they learn truthfulness.

If children live with fairness,

they learn justice.

If children live with kindness and consideration, they learn respect.

If children live with security,

they learn to have faith in themselves and in those

about them.

If children live with friendliness,

they learn the world is a nice place in which to

live.

10 Best Bedtime Stories for Children

1. Goodnight Moon – Clement Hurd
2. Little Quack’s Bedtime – Lauren Thompson and Derek Anderson
3. Close Your Eyes – by Kate Banks and Georg Hallensleben
4. Don’t Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late – by Mo Willems
5. Maisy’s Bedtime - Lucy Cousins
6. Harold and the Purple Crayon – Crockett Johnson
7. How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight – by Jane Yolen
8. There’s a Nightmare in My Closet – Mercer Mayer
9. There’s an Alligator under My Bed – Mercer Mayer
10. Just Go To Bed – by Edith Kunhardt

Wemberly Worried- Kevin Henkes- Something for the kids who worry

Wemberly Worried – by Kevin Henkes

Wemberly worries about everything, little things, big things, and things in between. She worries all day and all night long about all kinds of things, like, the crack in the wall, the radiator noise, her doll, having no friends, etc. Wemberly worries very much, but at the end she seems to become better able to manage her worries. To find out about the end, you’ll have to read the story. The kids will like it, and it will definitely make them laugh. Being worried and fearsome is a normal part of childhood. I found that this story really hits home with second grade students. Second graders are constant worriers. They are kind of like Wemberly . This is also a perfect story for a child who is about to go into a new school or start a new grade. 

Hope you enjoy it!

Let The Children Laugh – Walter Wangerin, Jr.

Let the children laugh and be glad.

O my dear, they haven’t long before the world assaults them. Allow them genuine laughter now. Laugh with them, till tears run down your faces – till a memory of pure delight and precious relationship is established within them, indestructible, personal, and forever.

Soon enough they will meet faces unreasonably enraged. Soon enough they will be accused of things they did not do. Soon enough they will suffer guilt at the hands of powerful people who can’t accept their own guilt and who must dump it, therefore, on the weak. In that day the children must be strengthen by self-confidence so they can resist the criticism of fools. But self-confidence begins in the experience of childhood.

So give your children – give them golden days, their own pure days, in which they are so clearly and dearly beloved trhat they believe in love in their own particular worth when love shall seem in short supply hereafter. Give them laughter.

Observe each child with individual attention to learn what triggers the guileless laugh in each. Is it a story? A game? Certain family traditions? Excursions? Elaborate fantasies? Simple winks? What?

Do that thing.

Because the laughter that is so easy in childhood must echo its encouragement a long, long time. A lifetime.

Little Lamb, Who Made Thee?

Walter Wangerin, Jr

Math in Primary Grades – Math Their Way

There is something about primary grade math that is very confusing to young children. I am not saying that teachers are not doing a good job teaching math, but there seems to be a lack of understanding on how children process math and what concepts are they ready to grasp. It is important for teachers to understand that children do not transfer knowledge the same way adults do.

I am not sure what causes math confusion in first grade. It should be simple, teach the fundamentals and let the children grasp concepts and build on it. But hey, that would be just too obvious. We teach our first graders abstract thinking. We present material in non-sequential order ( ex.- Everyday Mathematics) . We expect them to already know what we are teaching. Assessment, assessment, assessment.

Kindergartners and First Graders are rushed through the numbers. Counting by twos, fives, and tens is taught through rote memorization. And if you ask any of these kids what comes after 10, they will often say 20.

We need to teach children the way they learn. Fundamentals of math, and they need to be presented in sequence.

Here is a great site with good downloads. Hope that you find it useful. It has a number of math activities that will help your child learn math in a fun engaging way.

http://www.center.edu/NEWSLETTER/newsletter.shtml

Let Your Child Read Comics!

Improve your child’s reading. Let him read a comic!

Comic book are great for readers of any age. For the very young, who cannot read yet, every picture tells a story. And for the kids who are readers, comic books not only teach sophisticated vocabulary, which they might not hear from regular speech, but they teach kids to make inferences. 

And why are inferences important? They teach kids how to understand what they read and see to their own knowledge of the world. Inferencing is directly tied to reading comprehension. 

Anyhow, next time your child’s teacher, librarian, or a tutor shuns comic books, remember inferencing .

Read on!

Happy Summer!

AidToChildren.com

I really like the www.aidtochildren.com. It’s word game site that donates money raised from the site to an organization that helps children in need. For every correct answer, the site donates $.25 to children in need. I try to visit every day and stay until I make at least  enough money to feed one child, but I should still do better. 

I hope you like it too!

Learn to Spell- Kindergarten, First Grade, Second Grade

Spelling – Kindergarten, First, and Second Grade

Check the spellingcity.com site. It lets you plug in your own spelling words into a list and play games. It just makes the memorization of the spelling words a bit more meaningful, which will help your child put the words in context and remember them even after the test.

Is Aluminum the New Thimerosal?

I found this very informative article about aluminum in childhood vaccines. This is a must read for all parents of the young children. Dr. Sears does a great job explaining the dangers of aluminum in vaccines and even more importantly, the dangers of aluminum levels when a child receives multiple vaccinations at the same time. 

Please read and consider the alternative vaccination schedule.

http://www.mothering.com/articles/growing_child/vaccines/aluminum-new-thimerosal.html

If you would like to read more on childhood vaccines, here are some good suggestions:

Dr. Sears – The Vaccine Book: Making the Right Decision for Your Child

Stephanie Cave- What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Children’s Vaccinations

Learn to Spell – Kindergarten and First Grade

Here is a great spelling site with a lot of short and long-vowel practice. 

http://www.learnanytime.co.uk/English/Long%20Vowel%20Sounds.htm