Free e-book for parents -Beyond the Golden Rule

'Tolerance' is a skill which helps us deal with life matters. In simple words I think we can resemble it with 'patience'. This post is about a free e-book which you can download and learn how to teach your kids 'tolerance'. As a parents first we should learn it and then teach it to our young ones. First let's learn more about this term:

Merriam webster dictionary provides definition of 'tolerance': 'Capacity to endure pain or hardship'
Wikipedia says: Toleration and tolerance are terms used in social, cultural and religious contexts to describe attitudes and practices that prohibit discrimination against those practices or group memberships that may be disapproved of by those in the majority. Conversely, 'intolerance' may be used to refer to the discriminatory practices sought to be prohibited.

"Beyond in tract ability" explains: Tolerance is the appreciation of diversity and the ability to live and let others live. It is the ability to exercise a fair and objective attitude towards those whose opinions, practices, religion, nationality and so on differ from one's own.[1] As William Ury notes, "tolerance is not just agreeing with one another or remaining indifferent in the face of injustice, but rather showing respect for the essential humanity in every person."[2]

Intolerance is the failure to appreciate and respect the practices, opinions and beliefs of another group. For instance, there is a high degree of intolerance between Israeli Jews and Palestinians who are at odds over issues of identity, security, self-determination, statehood, the right of return for refugees, the status of Jerusalem and many other issues. The result is continuing inter-group violence.

Drawn from our handbook, Beyond the Golden Rule: A Parent’s Guide to Preventing and Responding to Prejudice, the age-specific sections here offer practical advice about the challenges and rewards of parenting

The ideas in this guide will help foster tolerance in yourself, your family, your schools, your workplace and your community. Some of the ideas are things to do. Some are things to think about. Some are things to remember.
This guide is not a sure-fire recipe for making the world a better place. These ideas are only some of the possibilities. The best ideas are those that work for you and your community.

- Download PDF version of parenting handbook: "Beyond the Golden Rule"
or go to this link to download from the site link.

Links:

Tolerance

Career Information for Kids

We often ask our kids 'What you are going to be, when you are grown up?' and sometimes we estimate about any profession which a child seems interested. Career selection is an individual choice and teachers or parents can definately help their children guide about the career they intend to adopt in future. If from the very early age our kids have an idea or target for the future studies or profession, they would be more passionate about their future goal.

Career information for kids is from Bureau of Labor Statistics, offering very useful links and information about many professions.

Web site for kids provides introductory career information for students in Grades 4-8. Most of the material on the site has been adapted from the Bureau's Occupational Outlook Handbook—a career guidance publication for adults and upper-level high school students that describes the job duties, working conditions, training requirements, earnings levels, and employment prospects of hundreds of occupations.

On the kids' site, wording and labor market concepts have been simplified and some statistical detail has been eliminated. In addition, the occupations on the site are categorized according to interests and hobbies common among students. The twelve categories and their corresponding occupations are shown at the end of this Teacher's Guide.
To help students continue their career exploration, each occupational description on the kids' site links to related information in the Handbook. The Bureau's Web site for kids is updated every 2 years with each new edition of the Occupational Outlook Handbook.

Because the kids' site is designed to give a quick introduction to a career, the information provided is general. For example, the most common way of preparing for an occupation is described, while other, less common, methods of entry might be mentioned only briefly or not at all. In the same way, the earnings figures given are representative and might not illustrate the variety of earnings found in an occupation. The Occupational Outlook Handbook gives more precise and detailed information.

When describing projected job growth in an occupation, the kids' site uses phrases such as "faster than average," "average," and "slower than average." The "average" referred to in these phrases is the projected job growth across all occupations. These projections are developed by economists in the Bureau's Office of Occupational Statistics and Employment Projections.

For every field which you have interest describes the possible careers and each career choice explains:
What is this job like? | How do you get ready? | How much does this job pay? | How many jobs are there? | What about the future? | Are there other jobs like this? | Where can you find more information?

site link:Career information for kids

"All Safe Sites" - A search engine for young children

As internet use is increasing worldwide, more sites and links are emerging to help our kids browse safely online. I have written few posts about few top search engines where parents, teachers or students can search safely for the specific stuff.
is a directory and search engine for yound children. It is designed with visual aid to make it easy for small chilren who find text based sites difficult to read.

Other specialities of 'All safe sites'

- It is free of ads, and the reason (according to them) behind keeping it ad free is that most advertisement programs are deceptive in nature and attempt to lure the user away to another web site that is often not suitable for children.
- It offers educational, fun and safe sites.
- Directory of the search engine is human edited. Each site in their directory is personally reviewed and recommended by an elementary school teacher.

Home page offers search for catagories: Educational, technology, fun & games, entertainment, random and top rated sites.
Site link: All safe sites

Related posts:

* Search at "Ask for KIDS" for educational stuff!

* Search for the kids sites at "Kinder Start"

* Study Sphere-providing learning resources

* A "Child and Family Web Guide" about child development sites

* Where to search for educational stuff?

* Famous Search Engines for Kids

Exploring the environment - A resource for teachers and students

"Exploring the environment" offers teachers interactive ways to teach students about weather systems. It is one of the sites which helps teachers explore environment issues with their students for grades 5-12 and each activity indicates the applicable grade level, though most lean toward the upper grades. Geography teachers can use this link for activity based teaching and suggest their students to prepare their

The homepage for modules and activites has a jigsaw puzzle graphic with pieces interlocking that compromise the topics, their grade ranges, whether they are an activity or lesson, and whether they are "Basic", "Comprehensive" or "Advanced".

The two "Activities" available "Strangers in Paradise" and "Mars Landing" are located on the homepage at the top of the jigsaw puzzle graphic. Both are for grades 7-12, and each emphasizes working with digital images, such as enhancing, saving, manipulating, etc.

Detailed instructions are provided, along with a bit of humor in each scenario. Each of the lessons involves a situation that students must solve.
Some of the lessons include:
- "Florida Everglades",
- "Water Quality", and
- "Tropical Poison"
There is also a "Glossary" provided in a link at the bottom of the page, specific to each lesson.

Students can start browsing from the page: Modules and activities

The "Classroom of the Future" and "Exploring the Environment" is collaboration between NASA and Jesuit Wheeling University, and they are responsible for this fine website that offers teachers unique ways to teach students about weather systems.

* Get access to teachers pages

Related post:
"Tox Town"- educating us about environment health concerns

Famous Search Engines for Kids

When we search for educational or edutainment sites from ordinary search engines like Yahoo, Google, MSN, there is chance to not get the specific information. Because there are millions of professional sites selling products and naturally it takes time and effort to search for the valuable stuff. This post would help parents, teachers and kids to search at specific search engines which provide safe and useful infromation for them. These search engines are user friendly enabling filters to bring out only reliable and safe sites to the family members.

Famous Search Engines for Kids

* Kindernet - Kindernet insures that the safest and most useful results are found for you and your children using the smart searching filters. Kindernet also allows for faster searching by making the keyword entry process easy. If you want to search for two words, just type in “and” between your two key terms. If you wish to exclude a word, just add a minus sign in front of it.

* Quintura - Quintura Kids is one of the most useful search engines for kids. Quintura Kids caters its famous “cloud search” specifically to the children, allowing them to search through various subjects with ease. It provides the users with categories or “tags” for their keywords. This allows kids to get very specific with their search and get accurate results just like the big-boys who use quotation marks, addition signs, and secret symbols in Google.

* GoGooligans - This is basically Google for kids. It has safety filters which prevent vulgar material from leaking out from the unsanitary cables and pipes known as the internet. GoGooligans also offers many search options, allowing kids to search through specific websites such as PBS, Britannica, Merriam Webster, About, etc. Also, once the search term is entered, users can then choose more specific results for their keywords, such as, Geography, History, Facts, Definition, and much more.

* Ask Kids - This search engine is a easy to navigate and offers features which make searching less of an ordeal. Enter your keyword and you are presented with numerous different facts along with your search result. This allows the children to not get lost in the all the links, and it helps them to get their information quickly.

* Famhoo - it provides a clean and simple layout that is usable by even the youngest internet users. Famhoo is a family search engine with top notch filters.

Parents and teachers are suggested to bookmark these links and let their children start browsing from these search engines.

Related posts:

* Where To Search For Educational Stuff?

* Search at "Ask for KIDS" for educational stuff!

* Search for kids sites at Kinder Art

Food Safety lessons for kids

Teachers and parents can suggest these tutorial based food safety lessons to young children. Parents can get help from these easy lessons to help learn their kids about food safety.

"Iowa State University Extension" has arranges these lessons.

This food safety module is presented in four lessons:

Lesson 1: What's bugging you?
Students will get an overview of the importance of food safety and become familiar with common foodborne pathogens. Topics in this lesson include:

What is foodborne illness?
Who is at risk?
How does food become hazardous?
Why are microorganisms important?
What is the greatest threat to food safety?
What conditions encourage bacteria to grow?
What are the most common foodborne pathogens?
How can I handle food safely?

Lesson 2: What are Consumer Control Points?

This lesson focuses on the application of Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) principles to prevent foodborne illness in the home. Students learn the "Consumer Control Points" from purchase through preparation by working their way through the Consumer Control Point Kitchen.
Purchasing
Storage
Preparation
Cooking
Serving
Handling leftovers

Lesson 3: Where is the Danger Zone?
A hypothetical situation using cartoon characters explains the importance of time and temperature in keeping food safe.

Lesson 4: Who is FAT TOM?
An animated turkey, FAT TOM, explains the importance of factors affecting the growth of foodborne pathogens. Students learn the importance of these terms as they relate to food safety:

Food
Acidity
Time
Temperature
Oxygen
Moisture

Site link:

Food colours are linked with hyperactivity of your child

This post is a part of series about children having hyperactive or ADHD symptoms effecting their overall progress at school. I hope that this piece of information would be helpful for all parents and teachers who want to learn more about it.
Parents who are concerned about their child's hyperactivity or ADHD need to learn about the factors which are responsible for it. Definately, learning the causes for hyperactiviy or ADHD can help us save our child from the bad effects of it.

Hyperactivity is when a child is over-active, can't concentrate and acts on sudden wishes without thinking about alternatives. There is no single test for diagnosing hyperactivity. Experts think it affects 2 to 5% of children in the UK. The figures are higher in the United States. Hyperactivity is a general term used to describe behavioural difficulties affecting learning, memory, movement, language, emotional responses and sleep patterns. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is more than just hyperactive behaviour. Research funded by the FSA has suggested that consumption of mixes of certain artificial food colours and the preservative sodium benzoate could be linked to increased hyperactivity in some children.

ADHD is linked to a specific pattern of behaviour, including reduced attention span and difficulties concentrating such that they affect the child’s ability to learn and function at home and at school. Children with ADHD often have learning difficulties and behavioural problems.

Important new research has shown that commonly used food dyes, such as Yellow 5, Red 40, and six others, are linked to hyperactivity, impulsivity, learning difficulties, and Attention Deficity Hyperactivity Disorder in many children. The Center for Science in the Public Interest has petitioned the Food and Drug Administration to ban the use of these dyes, many of which are already being phased out in Europe.

These dyes—petrochemicals, mostly—are often used to simulate the presence of healthy, colorful fruits and vegetables. But considering the adverse impact of these chemicals on children, and considering how easily they can be replaced with colorings derived from real food ingredients, it’s time to get rid of them altogether.

Download FREE 20 page pamphlet "A Parent's Guide to Diet,ADHD & Behaviour"
- Download link

* If your child shows signs of hyperactivity, or if on the basis of this information you have concerns, you might choose to avoid giving your child food and drinks containing the following artificial colours:

sunset yellow FCF (E110)
quinoline yellow (E104)
carmoisine (E122)
allura red (E129)
tartrazine (E102)
ponceau 4R (E124)
These colours are used in a wide range of foods that tend to be brightly coloured, including some soft drinks, sweets, cakes and ice cream. Parents may wish to check the labels of brightly coloured foods if they want to avoid certain colours.
For details: FSA advice to parents on food colours and hyperactivity

More useful links:

* Understanding e numbers

* The Hyperactive Children's Support Group helping ADHD/Hyperactive children and their families for over 30 years. The HACSG is Britain's leading proponent of a dietary approach to the problem of hyperactivity.

Related posts:

* Teacher's Ideas: Dealing With Students Having ADD/ADHD

* Hobbies, Interests and Activities helping children with ADD

* Tips to deal with your hyperactive child

Effective time out tips

Teaching discipline to children in an effective manner is very important, as it can really enforce good behavior and eliminate the bad ones. The time-out method is the most common, effective and successful discipline method used by parents, teacher and caretakers. The time out method has been used for generations; it is the modern version of the corner, dunce cap or “go to your room”. Parenting experts strongly stress the importance of using a consistent time out location.

By using this method of discipline you are giving your child time out from positive reinforcement (which includes any parental reaction such as yelling or hitting) after he misbehaves. Prepare a time out chair, which can be a chair in any room of the house, a space on the floor, the child's bed, etc… or any place where he is isolated from interaction with others.

'Time out' is the way to teach children coping skills and discourage inappropriate behavior, but if not used wisely it can't be effective. The early years are a time for children to develop confidence and self-control. Positive discipline techniques that combine caring and direction are a part of this healthy environment. Adults should look for meaningful ways to show children why harmful and aggressive acts are unacceptable.

Used infrequently and for very brief periods (no longer than two or three minutes), time-out may give a child the opportunity to calm down and cool off after a frustrating situation. Used often or inappropriately, time-out may not only be ineffectual—it may be damaging to the child.

TIPS

* Adults avoid using time-out for infants and toddlers. Very young children should not be isolated, nor should they be ignored or left without proper stimulation. Infants or young toddlers who do not understand why their behavior is unacceptable should gently be directed to more acceptable behaviors or activities.

* Your expectations of a child's behavior are realistic. A general knowledge of child development will help you identify when children are merely experimenting with their boundaries and when they are behaving inappropriately. When adults give children realistic goals, children feel good about themselves and are more likely to cope successfully with stressful situations.

* Consequences immediately follow the child's behavior. When children experience immediate repercussions for harming others, they understand more clearly why we are disciplining them. Whenever possible, adults should offer children positive alternatives to their actions (asking a child to help rebuild a block structure she has knocked down is more productive than removing her from the area entirely).

* Time-out should not be humiliating, nor should it make children feel threatened or afraid. There should not be a special chair or area assigned for time-out—this reinforces the idea that time-out is a punishment and may cause undue anxiety. Adults should never make a child feel ridiculed or isolated during time-out periods.

* The child should not be left alone, unless he wants to be. Young children need adults' support to work out their feelings. If adults show children that their feelings count, they will be more likely to respect the feelings of others. A caregiver should always visually observe a child during a time-out period.

* Time out does not last longer than it takes for the child to calm down. After the child calms down, explain clearly what is appropriate and inappropriate behavior. There should be no ambiguity about why we have disciplined the child, otherwise the child is more likely to repeat the undesirable behavior.

* The child feels safe with the knowledge that people care for her. Remember that children imitate adults' behavior. Screaming, hitting, or ridiculing a child for bad behavior is not an effective way to teach self-control.

* Tailor the method of discipline to the individual child. Children develop their abilities to control themselves at different rates. Take into consideration the needs of the particular child involved. No single technique will work with every child every time.

* Time-out is not used as a punishment. Time-out is an opportunity for a child to clear her mind and rejoin the group or activity in a more productive state. Teach a child how to solve her own problems with love and support, and time-out may no longer be necessary.
Source: Time out

Related studies:
* All children have behavior problems, some being harder to accept than others. Some of these behaviors can cause children to be aggressive, hostile and difficult to handle, which may emphasize their respective limitations. As parents we are our children's first and foremost teacher. We need to establish our plan for accomplishing rules and expectations.
More at this link: Problem Behaviors With Children

* Discipline Techniques That Work The Best

"The Why Files" - An interactive and informative site for science teachers and students

Teachers and students can both search 'The Why Files' site for science topics help. This a FREE resource without any advertisement so you can browse the site or bookmark it for you.

The Why Files is a non-profit, web-based source of entertaining and informative science information. Founded in 1995 by the National Institute for Science Education and funded by the Graduate School of the University of Wisconsin-Madison since 1998, The Why Files has helped pioneer the art of reaching web audiences with salient, accurate, and accessible science stories.

Each week the site features clearly written, often humorous, and always fact-checked stories explaining the science behind the news. News hooks are the headlines; stories range from 800 to 3,500 words and are richly illustrated with photographs, drawings, and tables. Each story includes links to relevant web sites and a bibliography with further information.

While traditional journalistic standards, snappy writing, and timely reporting have helped The Why Files achieve international recognition, it is the non-parochial approach to science writing that sets its apart from most university science web sites and has helped to attract a diverse reader base. Instead of focusing on Wisconsin stories, we consciously avoid them. Science goes far beyond a single institution to form a foundation of modern society. Our mission is to help people realize the critical nature of science; such an understanding ultimately benefits our university as well.

The Why Files is well-researched, educational descriptions of the actual science behind current news stories from the University of Wisconsin

Mission(In their own words)
'The mission of The Why Files is to explore the science, math and technology behind the news of the day, and to present those topics in a clear, accessible and accurate manner. We are based at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, but The Why Files covers science at all institutions that engage in scientific exploration and discovery. We hope this information will help explain the relationship between science and daily life.'

What you can get from the site?

- The Why Files produces a new story each week, alternating longer features with shorter shorties.
- A biweekly column by science reporter Tom Siegfried, a series of interactive science animations, the ever-popular "Cool Science Images," and
- A series of Teacher Activity Pages linked to the national science standards.


PC Magazine's editors says: "With tons of articles and activities, the Why Files will take you from ignorance to expertise in dozens of subjects."

Why Files articles includes classroom activities! Each article is equipped with a "teacher activities page" featuring relevant discussion questions, activities, quiz and links to national teaching standards. This free resource is designed to help teachers lead students to a deeper understanding of the scientific material covered in each article.
Few titles are:
Miracle of winged migration
Ultimate Storm: What are hurricanes?
Science Meets Sports
Radiation and Health: What Do We know?
Forensic Science: Bugs, Maggots and DNA
Heating the Home Planet
Volcanic Violence
Stem Cell Progress
Tornadoes: Power & Fury
Mosquito Madness
Tsunami Times 3
Polar Science
Heart Bypass Surgery: Up Close and Personal

- Teacher's activities page

Join the mailing list to get their weekly notice, by submitting your e-mail address at this page link

If you have a general science question, you can search at "archieves" link,

look at this page to search for your answer. Or you can submit your question at this page

Drawing contest for kids around the world

This drawing contest is announced from "Neuroscience for kids" a site from 'University of Washington' and kids from all over the world are invited to participate in this contest. As the site topic is neuroscience, drawing topic is also related to brain, so kids get ready to submit your drawings for this contest:

How to participate?

Download the entry form from the link of the site.

Entries will be divided into four groups based on age:
If you are in Kindergrarten to Grade 2: Your picture should be about "My brain helps me ________."

If you are in Grade 3 to Grade 5: Your picture should be about "Brain Fitness: I keep my brain healthy by ______."

If you are in Grade 6 to Grade 8: Your picture should be about "My brain is like a _______ because _________."
(Special hint: drawings that compare the brain to a computer, book or robot usually do NOT win.)

If you are in Grade 9 to Grade 12: Your picture should be about "Brain research is important because________."

To enter the drawing contest, mail your completed entry form with your drawing to:

Dr. Eric H. Chudler
Department of Bioengineering; UWEB E/O
Box 355061
1705 NE Pacific St.
University of Washington
Seattle, WA 98195-5061
USA

Do NOT send your entry by email.

- Entries must be received by February 1, 2009, and cannot be returned.
- People from all countries may participate in the contest.
- People and their families associated with the Neuroscience for Kids web site are not eligible to enter the contest.
- Drawings will be judged by the staff of Neuroscience for Kids or by other individuals designated by Dr. Eric H. Chudler. Drawings will be judged on the basis of originality, scientific accuracy and overall design.
- At least one winner from each group will be selected. In past years, each drawing contest has had approximately 50 winners. Winners will be announced by e-mail or regular mail no later than March 1, 2009. The winner agrees to allow Neuroscience for Kids to publish his/her name (first name, last initial only) and artwork on the Neuroscience for Kids web site. Winner addresses and e-mail addresses will be kept confidential and will NOT be published.
- All materials received will become the property of Neuroscience for Kids and will not be returned. Neuroscience for Kids will not be held responsible for entries that are damaged or lost in the mail.
- Winners will be awarded a book, CD-ROM or other prize related to the brain. The specific prizes will be announced later. Prizes will be mailed to the address listed on the winner's entry form.

Questions about this contest should be directed to Dr. Chudler at chudler@u.washington.edu

Link of the site: 2009 Drawing Contest

"Neuroscience for kids" - A learning resource for kids and teachers

This interactive and informative site is designed for kids but teachers can also use the site for teaching purposes. As I have searched the site and noticed that this ad free site is very informative for science students and teachers. Site navigation is also easy for kids. It is basically about brain and brain related information.


More about the site:
'"Neuroscience for Kids" is the perfect combination of neuroscience, education, science outreach, and writing and editing-all rolled into a collaborative and creative atmosphere.'

Few topics discussed are:
• The World of Neuroscience
• Brain Basics
• Higher Functions
• Spinal Cord
• Peripheral Nervous System
• The Neuron
• Sensory Systems
• Methods and Techniques
• Drug Effects
• Neurological and Mental Disorders

Every topic covers many articles which are interesting and informative.

If you are interested to get monthly newsletter from the site click on this page link

- FREE Worksheets, posters or colouring book

Other useful resources:
- 'Brain info' for the brain surface of atlas
- Brain maps from 'BrainMaps.org'

Get Online Protection With Internet Filtering Software

I am happy to share this information to all parents who want to protect their children from offensive online content. We need to look for the stuff which could help us regarding safe use of internet.

I am personally using this software from the day I realized that my son has started using search engine for online free video games. And I am aware that these kind of sites are also not safe. So the best solution was to install filtering web protection software which could help me in this regard. The first benefit I found was that if you install it on your computer then nobody can browse offensive sites, as it protects your computer from inappropriate content and contact.

Sometimes I can't check the history of internet browsing, if I am not at home, but this software offers me full control over searching histroy. I was not sure if the software I am going to use is a free trial or a full version unless I install it. It is totally FREE for personal use.

More about the software

Blue Coat Systems offers the software "K9 Web Protection" which is an internet filtering software.

This software requires an administrator password. No one can uninstall it or change settings unless they know this password. With this software you can view internet activity. This page gives you an overview of the internet activity of everyone who uses the computer. With this you are able to see the category summary of what categories have been accessed and what categories have been blocked and why. This page also shows when K9 has been updated and if there has been any failed attempts to login to the system.

On the Setup Page you decide what kind of protection level you desire.
Protection levels include high, default, moderate, minimal, monitor, and custom.

- High protects against all default-level categories plus chat, newsgroups, and un-rated sites. Default protects against all adult content, security threats, illegal activity, sexually-related sites, and online community sites.
- Moderate protects against all adult content, security threats, and illegal activity. Minimal protects against pornography and security threats. Monitor allows all categories and only logs traffic.
- Custom is used when you want to select you own set of categories to block. There are numerous categories to choose from and I found the list to be helpful and complete when choosing what to allow on my family computer.

To use this software you will need a license key. Simply fill in the blanks on the page given here and they'll email it to you.

Get K9 Web Protection

Tips to increase your child's intelligence

These tips may seem very simple but applying these useful techniques can increase your child's intelligence. You can judge the importance or effectiveness of these tips by analyzing that few years ago when family bonds were strong and we had much time to spend with our children, atmosphere was most suitable for the growth of intelligent and healthy personality.

Either you are a parents or teacher, you can help your child grow healthier, and more intelligent by applying these techniques:

* Talk a lot
* Listen more than you talk
* Hug a lot
* Take walks
* Read together
* Make just a few rules and stick to them
* Say “I love you” at least once a day
* Sing — even if it's off key
* Keep your sense of humor
* Tell stories about your childhood
* Listen to their questions and give answers
* Celebrate special times
* Use “please” and “thank you”
* Never call names or belittle
* Smile a lot
* Never, ever yell
* Remember how big you look
* Praise good efforts
* Think of guidance instead of punishment
* Ask questions instead of jumping to conclusions
* Use “do” much more often than “don't”
* Avoid criticizing or blaming
* Or scaring
* Admit your mistakes
* Play games
* Keep a schedule
* Allow lots of room for their mistakes
* Look for the funny side
* Practice patience
* Call someone if you feel you are getting out of control
* Give your full attention when they talk
* Get on their level when they talk
* Look them in the eye
* Express appreciation often
* Read, read, read
* “Hang loose”
* Learn to say “I'm sorry”
* Wonder at life
* Get to know an older person
* Rock
* Swing
* Let the kid out in you
* Keep promises
* Remember when you were a kid
* Exercise your faith and share it
* Say “no” only when you mean it and will stick by it
* Do kindnesses for others
* Experience lots of things
* Enjoy each child's uniqueness
* Tell the truth
* Take pride in your community
* Be an example of the kind of person you want them to be

Tips are courtesy of: Lane H. Powell, Ph.D., 1996 (from 'Children's Healthcare of Atlanta Pediatric Hospital)

Importance Of Play - Promoting Child Development

I have noticed in nursery classes that whenever our students were not given opportunity to play or any outdoor activities, they were inattentive in class and more hyper. Play time allows our children to interact with their environment and gives us a great insight into how they view the world.

We need to make sure we give our children free time so they can direct their own play allowing their imagination and creativity to grow.

'Play is so important to optimal child development that it has been recognized by the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights as a right of every child. Children’s time has become a lot more structured at home and in the schools. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, free play is defined as “child-directed play time with no rules” and is a very important aspect in our child’s creativity, and emotional and social development. Free play is important for promoting physical activity and decreasing the incidence of childhood obesity. When children use their creativity, they are more likely to get up and move.

The scientific evidence shows that opportunity to play is more than simply a right for our children, it is a life essential. This means that if children do not play they will suffer from a condition known as play deprivation, which in mild doses makes children irritable and unhappy but which in more concentrated forms turns children into killers and mass murderers.

Playing is an integral component of the human evolutionary process and play in one of its forms has probably been a part of human behaviour for many millions of years.

Play is essential to brain growth and to balanced neurochemical activity.

It exploits biologically ‘sensitive periods’ during which certain kinds of experiences trigger rapid brain growth. Children under ten years of age are thought to have the potential to grow brains twice the size of those of children over that age. Some scientists regard play as one the main factors that human beings have not yet become extinct because of the flexibility it gives them to adapt to changing environmental and meteorological conditions.

Although play itself is vital to human survival and development and to our identity as a species, and is important for those reasons, because increasingly children around the world are being deprived of the space, time and freedom to play our concerns are with the development of appropriate practical opportunities for children to play too. Developing, operating and maintaining these practical opportunities is known as playwork.
Source: Play education.com

* A report from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) says free and unstructured play is healthy and - in fact - essential for helping children reach important social, emotional, and cognitive developmental milestones as well as helping them manage stress and become resilient.

The report, "The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds," is written in defense of play and in response to forces threatening free play and unscheduled time. These forces include changes in family structure, the increasingly competitive college admissions process, and federal education policies that have led to reduced recess and physical education in many schools.

Get the pdf version: The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds,
Get the html version: The Importance of Play

- Importnace of play at 'blogher'

- Melitsa Avila from www.play-activities.com has some advice for parents on why playing with your kids is time well spent:
The Importance of Play

- Benefits of Play

Tips for parents to help their child's brain development

Parents are always eager to see their child healthy in both ways: physically or mentally. Physical development is possible by providing them nutritious food and physical movements which might be free play or participation in sports or other related activities. But do we think that our children need another thing from us?

Yes, helping them grow their mental skills which nourish their brains. This article is offering tips for parents to help their child's brain development.

Basic brain maintenance for our children, and for ourselves, means making a specific effort, every day, to help our children's brains work normally. Dr. Ingraham urges parents to teach their children every day, by example as well as by communication, so that they develop positive and healthy habits and lifestyles, now and for the future. Children learn best by example

Bed on time: Sleep is brain restoration time. The brain's systems do not function very well without sleep.

Normal nutrition: The brain requires normal nutrition to develop normally and replenish the brain's chemicals.

Regular exercise: Endorphins are the brain's built-in stabilizers. Exercise and physical work stabilize the brain's systems, especially the emotion response and mood regulation systems.

Regular outdoor time: Being outdoors is therapeutic. We humans were not meant to be indoors all the time.

Regular chores and responsibility: Teach your child how to work. Work keeps a child connected to the reality of life. Teaching a child by example how to work helps the brain develop normally. The opportunity to learn to work is crucial. Children who never work never mature.

Tie all privileges to responsibilities: This keeps the child connected to the reality of life, and what life requires for success.

No exposure to violence, in any form: Violence in the family, violence in the environment, violence in TV, videos, video games and movies. Repeated and continual exposure to violence, whether in person or in the media, reprograms the child's primitive brain systems. We want to maintain the normal ecology of our children's brains.

No exposure to greed, extravagance, explicit sex: These are major problems with the media and our value systems, both of which have disconnected our children from reality.

Simplify your life and your family's life: Make your family's life more personal and less driven.

Get in tune with your real values and priorities: Get off the rollercoaster of materialism.

Source: CHILDREN’S HEALTH CARE OF ATLANTA, Georgia Dept of American Academy of Pediatrics and Department of Human Resources.

The Importance of Teaching Children Good Social Skills

Among other skill develpment options, it is noted that social skill is the most important among all. This post would help you learn the importance of teaching good social skills to children.

Your 4-year-old may already know how to tie their own shoelaces and spell out their first and last names. But as preschool looms around the corner, are you worried how well they’ll fit in with the rest of the classroom?

According to a nationwide survey conducted of 1,000 parents by Mom Central Inc. on behalf of Hasbro Inc., the majority of parents feel the same way with 90 percent considering social skills to be vital to their children’s happiness and confidence.

Nearly eight out of 10 parents also think social skills are more important than academic skills when it comes to their child’s overall happiness. As a matter of fact, parents gave social skills a higher ranking than academic skills on the survey in nearly every area of child development.

“More than ever, our children must get along with others to function effectively,” says Stacy DeBroff, chief executive officer of Mom Central, found at www.momcentral.com. “In this age of team sports and structured play, it has never been more critical for our children to master socialization skills. From children’s play groups to collaboration in the classroom, kids today engage in significantly more structured group activities, raising the profile and the necessity for good social skills.”

According to the survey, one in five parents feel overwhelmed with teaching social skills and more than one-third say that teaching social skills leads to frustration. In response, Stacy DeBroff has developed some tips parents can use to help their child learn social skills in a positive and reinforcing way:

* Lead by example.

Children are excellent observers. If they see Mom and Dad using polite language, sharing and being respectful, they will follow their parents’ guidance.

* Play with them in an educational way.

Children love to play games with their parents because it provides them with direct attention. Noodleboro by Hasbro is a new line of board games, which includes storybooks and audio CDs that nurture preschoolers’ social skills through laughter and play.

* Take a problem-solving approach.

If a situation becomes stressful, encourage your child to talk about the issues they might have with saying “please,” and “thank you” or sharing their toys with their friends. By allowing children to talk, they often discover for themselves what’s causing the problem while also coming up with unique ways in which they will be able to handle themselves.

“It’s more than just manners… it’s sharing, it’s listening, and it’s engaging with others. The Noodleboro games offer an innovative way to use a classic board game to reward and challenge kids as they learn valuable social skills,” says DeBroff.

Source: 'ARAcontent'

More resource and articles:
* Download pdf report: 'Discipline- teaching school age children social skills'

* How to Teach Your Child Social Skills

* At 'Self Growth: "How to Teach Your Child Social Skills?"

FREE Online English Learning Course For KIds

There are millions of people around the world who learn English as a second language. Being a second language the first steps are always difficult when their children learn English at school or at home. I collected some interactive softwares for my son who was going to school, to make English learning easier and fun for him. I use the same technique for my students and use different software programs which are fun to watch and encourage them to listen, and speak the English langugage. I was really happy to find the site "Mingoville" which offers English learning course absolutely FREE.

Mingoville.com offers the world's most comprehansive English course online for kids of ages 5-12.

Features of the course:

- It is 100% web based and contains hundreds of game like activities to stimulate kids language learning abilities.

Mission (In their own words)
"Our Mission is to educate kids English language by providing high-quality, result-oriented English learning on the Internet. We believe in the power of knowledge and our valuable goal is to deliver the best practices of education, entertainment and information technologies.

Our Vision is to maintain the position of high-quality, result-oriented eLearning solutions and online content provider through continuous value creation."

It includes:

An interactive dictionary with words and images, 10 missions to solve, several different exercises in spelling, lestening and reading.

Regarding innovation in education, Mingoville’s creators understand that children learn English best when learning is fun. This "edutainment" (education + entertainment) model allows children to learn English by clicking, doing, exploring, and interacting – comprehensive virtual language immersion based on advanced technologies and the newest pedagogical knowledge. Through a variety of methods such as direct interaction with the exercises and games, visual learning, and recording and audio elements to perfect English pronunciation, kids are encouraged to explore and learn English in a fun way.
Parents of kids using Mingoville recognized a sharp learning curve after three to four months of commencement of the online courses in English for children.

- Sign up here

There are more Free courses which creator of 'Mingoville'company 'E-learning for kids' offers in subjects like Maths, language art, science, computer skill, health and life skill,

Link: E-learning for kids

"Teacher Magazine" - An online FREE publication for teachers

Online education blogs are a good way to get in touch with the fresh content relating to the education field. Online communities, forums or message board provide a platform where we can directly ask any question and get advice or tips from other members. Same way online magazines offer good stuff and "Teacher Magazine" is one of those online publications.

Teacher Magazine is from Editorial Projects in Education Inc. a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization based in Bethesda, Md.

Primary mission:
To help raise the level of awareness and understanding among professionals and the public of important issues in American education.

You can register FREE for complete access to TEACHER Magazine online.

Your FREE registration to TEACHER Magazine also gives you:

Full access to 'Teacher Magazine' online including feature stories, web watch, teacher blogs and more like,

- Community - blogs, chats and Web Watch to keep you connected to your profession.
- Insight - free e-newsletters, including "Teacher Update" and "Curriculum Matters" with the freshest approaches sent straight to your inbox.
- News - from Education Week online (limited to 2 articles per week)
- Research - Education Counts database with customizable reports right from your desktop.

Other publications from the EPE are:

- Education Week,

- Research center

- Digital Directions

After registering, you have access to even more edweek.org resources. In addition to what is listed above, you gain access to:

Daily editor-selected Education Week & Associated Press stories.
Up to nine free e-newsletters on relevant topics in K-12 education.
Ability to comment on articles and start discussion with peers.
All current and archived articles from Teacher.
Search for top school jobs and career resources at TopSchoolJobs.org.
Current Annual Reports - Quality Counts, Technology Counts, and Diplomas Count.
State data and tools from the Research Center.

See Free Content page for more detail.

"The Kid;s Garden"- Helping Kids Enjoy Creative Gardening

"The Kid's Garden" is an interesting site for parents and teachers who want to teach their kids "Gardening". The articles about gardening are written well but for small children it is better to read them the information or get idea how to talk or provide relevant information about the topic. Site provides interesting features and practical advice on this subject.

'The Kid's Garden' was formed to offer a unique reference point on creative gardening for children.

This site introduces your child to the wonders of nature through gardening. With a range of scents and colours, your kids can create a place of discovery.

Check the 'site map' page to go to the different sections of the site. Topics include, Around the Garden, Ask the expert, Garden activities, learning, safety, at school, planting. For every topic there are many useful articles.

'At school' page offers few interesting articles for the teachers. Article topics are:

- Garden Recycling, Get Your School Growing, How Does the Weather Effect the Garden?, Introducing Kids To Organic Gardening, Stimulating Kids Imagination Through Gardening, Strange and Funny Plants.

Related posts:

* Gardening for kids

* Benefits of Gardening

Tips to set limits for disciplined kids

There should be an effective strategy to apply discipline rules at home or school either you are a teacher or parent. Frustration, anger, and occasional acting-out are few behaviors, we can notice among every child. But do we set limits towards applying discipline regulations or rules for our kids?

Our approach towards facing these kind of bahaviors is normally unhealthy, so better to keep these tips in mind while teaching discipline to our kids.

Tips

1) Always consider your child's developmental level when setting limits. It is unfair to expect more than a child can do. For example, a 2 or 3 year old cannot control the impulse to touch things. Instead of instructing them not to touch, remove fragile objects from reach.

2) Set the punishment to your child's developmental level. If you send your toddler to the bedroom for more than 5 minutes, the child may totally forget the reason, due to a short attention span. See time out.

3) Be consistent. Do not change rules or punishments at random. Punishments will obviously change as the child gets older, so make sure you explain why the rules change.

4) Make sure all caregivers are consistent with the discipline strategy. If one caregiver accepts certain behaviors while another will punish for the same behavior, the child is likely to become confused. Eventually, the toddler may learn to play one adult against the other.

5) Remember that you are a key role model for your child. The more even-handed and controlled your behavior is, the more likely your children will pattern their

Tips suggested by: Health at New York Times

Useful studies:

* Training Young Brains to Behave

Why we fail to teach our children discipline?

As a parent or teacher we are eager to find the best ways to descipline our children but many of us fail. A recent study found that 1 in 3 say the method they use doesn't work. Let's read some research based studies which may help us learn the effective ways to teach our kids descipline.

Childhood health experts say many parents think discipline means meting out punishment. But often the punishments parents use end up reinforcing the bad behavior instead of correcting it. Surprisingly, the most effective discipline typically doesn’t involve any punishment at all, but instead focuses on positive reinforcement when children are being good.

Dr. Kenneth Ginsburg, adolescent medicine specialist at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, said that when parents come to him complaining of discipline problems, he often explains the etymology of the word. The Latin root is “discipulus,” which means student or pupil.

“Defining discipline is really important,” said Dr. Ginsburg, author of “A Parent’s Guide to Building Resilience in Children and Teens,” published by the American Academy of Pediatrics. “When I tell parents this, you see their faces and they say: ‘It’s not about punishment? It’s about teaching?’ That changes things.”

But effective discipline is more difficult for busy parents because strategies that involve teaching and positive feedback take a lot more time than simple punishment, noted Dr. Shari Barkin, chief of the division of general pediatrics at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt University.

It was Dr. Barkin’s study of more than 2,100 parents that reported that 1 in 3 said they could not effectively discipline their kids. The findings, published last year in the journal Clinical Pediatrics, showed that parents often used the same punishments that their own parents had used on them. Forty-five percent reported using time-outs, 41.5 percent said they removed privileges, 13 percent reported yelling at their children and 8.5 percent said they used spanking “often or always.”

Parents who resorted to yelling or spanking were far more likely to say their disciplinary approach was ineffective. Given that parents often don’t admit to yelling and spanking, the study probably underestimates how widespread the problem of ineffective discipline really is, Dr. Barkin said.

Many parents’ discipline methods don’t work because children quickly learn that it’s much easier to capture a parent’s attention with bad behavior than with good. Parents unwittingly reinforce this by getting on the phone, sending e-mail messages or reading the paper as soon as a child starts playing quietly, and by stopping the activity and scolding a child when he starts to misbehave.

“How many times have you heard someone say, ‘I need to get off the phone because my child is acting up’?” asked Dr. Nathan J. Blum, a developmental-behavioral pediatrician at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. “You’re doing exactly what the child wants.”

Trying to reason with a child who is misbehaving doesn’t work. “Talking and lecturing and even yelling is essentially giving kids your attention,” Dr. Blum said.

While time-outs can be highly effective for helping young children calm down and regain control of their emotions, many parents misuse the technique, doctors say. Parents often lecture or scold children during time-outs or battle with kids to return to a time-out chair. But giving a child any attention during a time-out will render the technique ineffective.

Another problem is that parents miscalculate how long a time-out should last. A child in an extended time-out will become bored and start to misbehave again to win attention. Doctors advise no more than a minute of time-out for each year of a child’s life.

A better disciplinary method for younger children doesn’t focus on bad behavior but on good behavior, Dr. Blum said. If children are behaving well, get off the phone or stop what you are doing and make a point to tell them that you wanted to spend time with them because they are so well behaved.

DISCIPLINE is more difficult in the teenage years as children struggle to gain independence. Studies show that punishments like grounding have little effect on teenagers’ behavior. In several studies of youth drinking, drug use and early sex, the best predictor for good behavior wasn’t punishment, but parental monitoring and involvement. The best methods of keeping teenagers out of trouble are knowing where they are, knowing who is with them, and spending time with them regularly.

That doesn’t mean teenagers shouldn’t be punished. But parents should set clear rules that allow children to earn or lose privileges, which gives them a sense that they control their destiny.

“You don’t want kids to feel victimized or punished,” said Dr. Ginsburg of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. “You want them to understand that the freedoms they get are directly related to how they demonstrate responsibility.”

Dr. Barkin said she believed the problem of ineffective discipline was getting worse, in part because reinforcing good behavior is far more time-consuming than punishment. Dr. Barkin noted that busy parents juggling work and family demands often are distracted by cellphones, e-mail and other media.

“We have these new forms of technology which urge us to be working all the time,” Dr. Barkin said. “We are a distracted society. It’s harder to turn off the media and turn on that personal engagement.”

Source: New York Times

"Invent Now" -Inspiring Kids To Invent

When fun and education meet at one place it is called 'edutainment'and it is the most effective way to learning so far. Now internet offers lots of sites which deal with edutainment stuff.

Invent Now.org offers fun and exciting activities to inspire kids to invent and develop their own creative competencies.

You can see the hundreds of inventions that have been submitted by some very imaginative kids!

Teachers, inspire your students through problem-solving exercises, exploration, creativity and the inventive process. At the same time engage them in learning about the intellectual property protections of patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets.

Step into the Showroom and play with some exciting inventions.

Register as an InventNow.org Inventor and get access to all the great stuff at this site.

You'll be able to share your inventions, get patents, comment on other inventions and much more!

Inventnow.org requires users 13 years and older to enter either their or their parent or guardian's valid email address in order to activate their account.
Site link: Invent Now.org

'Education World' - Making Internet Easier For Educators

Many teachers around us understand that they should be tech savoy and learn to integrate technology for teaching, but they are afraid of taking first steps. I feel that we don't have much knowledge and information to start making our teaching tech based. I am planning to write and provide as many links and resources which could make our journey easier. Today's site "Education World" is the site which helps the teachers in this connection. It is a FREE resoruce.

Education World makes internet easier for educators. Education World's goal is to make it easy for educators to integrate the Internet into the classroom. With 98 percent of the nation's public schools connected to the Internet, the need for a complete online educational guide is evident.

How?

It offers:

* a search engine for educational Web sites only, a place where educators can find information without searching the entire Internet;
* original content, including lesson plans, practical information for educators, information on how to integrate technology in the classroom, and articles written by education experts;
* site reviews;
* daily features and columns;
* teacher and principal profiles;
* Wire Side Chats with the important names in education;
* employment listings.

The site is divided into many sections and you can directly go to 'site guide' link to further search for these sections:

LESSON PLANNING
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
ADMINISTRATOR'S DESK
TECHNOLOGY INTEGRATION
SCHOOL ISSUES
EARLY CHILDHOOD
EDUCATION WORLD @ HOME
LIFESTYLE
SUBJECT RESOURCES
SPECIALTIES
MORE RESOURCES

You can subscribe to many FREE newsletters such as:
- Education World Newsletter
- Education Site Reviews
- Teacher Lesson Plans
- Administrator's Desk Newsletter
- Education News Headlines
- Education Humor
- Early Childhood Education Newsletter
- Professional Development Newsletter
- SchoolNotes Home Newsletter

To subscribe click at 'this link'.

Reading And Homework Help Resource

I am in search of the sites which provide parents and teachers with positive and helpful information regarding academic related issues for our children. I personally learn and use this knowledge to enhance my teaching and hope that parents and teachers would get help and guidance from the resoruce and links I provide at this blog.

'Math and Reading help for kids' is a comprehensive directory site including hundreds of original articles and resources dealing with children's education. The site is equally helpful for parents and teachers.

The purpose of this site is to provide a centralized information portal that can help parents and children make better decisions about school-related issues. Although most of the articles on this site are written for parents, there is also a 'Just for Kids' section designed specifically for children.

Mission: (In their own words)
Studies show that teens are reading less often and fewer of them are obtaining critical literacy skills. We support the American Library Association (ALA)and Young Adult Library Service Association's (YALSA) mission that our children deserve the best. We also believe in the need to actively promote reading while advocating for the strengthening of young adult library services. Our goal is to continue to find new ways of providing quality educational resources. We are indebted to the hard work from our librarian contributors as well as quality parental feedback that help us make this a more complete academic resource.

Unique Math and Reading Help Content

Homework and Studying Help Section: Provides a comprehensive directory of homework and study help articles for parents to incorporate into their child's educational developement. Topics include creating an environment for good study habits, helping children prepare for tests, as well as math and reading help.

How To's and Tips for Parents Section:

This section helps provide parents with the necessary tools to help children enjoy learning as well as creating a positive environment for academic success. Subjects range from preventing summer learning loss to tips and advice on teaching children specific concepts learned in class such as fractions and decimals.

Reading Help Section:

This area covers several age groups ranging from early childhood to high school. Topics range from building strong literary skills to suggested reading lists for all age groups.

Educational Games:
Our most popular area for children. Fun and simple educational games to help children improve their math and literacy skills. Games cover a variety of subject matter including math, spelling and memory retention.


- Tips for Helping Children Achieve Academic Success

- If your child is struggling with math or falling behind in reading, you may want to consider a tutor. This page contains articles on tutoring - from determining if your child needs a tutor to finding and working with the tutor. There is also information on online tutoring, tutoring centers and becoming a tutor.
Article Directory: Tutoring

- Article Directory: This section provides articles on homework help for a variety of subjects, including math, reading, English and science. The articles discuss different types of homework assignments, working with due dates and how you can help them without doing the project for them. Select a topic below for specific information.
Homework Help

Teacher's Ideas: Dealing With Students Having ADD/ADHD

We can learn a lot from other teachers who have good experience of dealing with students having ADD/ADHD. This article would help you get ideas and tips, which teachers around the world have shared at 'A to z teacher's stuff forum':

Attention Deficit Disorder(ADD) and / Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder(ADHD) are common disorders among children and adults. According to a research, between 4 and 12 percent of school-age children have ADHD. It has been given a great deal of attention by neurologists and psychologists. ADHD is now widely recognized as a legitimate mental health problem.

Now read the tips and ideas teachers are sharing with us:

1- One of the participant teacher says:
'Here are some things that I do to get me and my ADHD students through a day...

- Allow student to shift in his seat, change seats, or move around every now and then.
- Provide quiet "fidget toys". This is crucial during times when you want him to take in a lot of info at once. The thing about this disorder is that it doubles a person's processing time. It comes across as the kid not paying attention, being disruptive, or rude. (We get very defensive when confused.) It does help, for whatever reason, to have something in the hands to fidget with or even (I know this is an unpopular one...) a piece of gum. By occupying the physical impulses, the brain works better and can concentrate.
- Written plans, goals, and contracts work well. A visual reminder can really make all of the difference in the world.
- Give the child important jobs to do, especially ones in which he has to do something physical. "Joe, could you bring this to the office for me?" It is crucial that a kid with this disorder feels a part of things. Also, when confused, a lot of ADHD kids will get angry or violent. A pre-arranged signal between you and him could remind him that he is "floating out", and if necessary, signal that he needs to take a short walk to the bathroom or water fountain to cool down.'

2- Another teacher shares his experience and strategies:
'I am a first grade teacher on the Ft. Peck Indian Reservation in Montana. I average about 4-5 ADD or ADHD students in my class each year. Here are some strategies that I have found helpful...

- Get the counselors, parents, etc. involved right away and document everything.
When you are on the floor, put a piece of tape in an X or a box for him to stay in. Explain that this is his space and nobody can go in except him.
- Keep him close to you. I would keep him at arms distance so you can keep a gentle hand on his shoulder, desk, etc.
- Many "busy" kids need something to touch while you teach to keep their focus. I put a piece of sticky velcro (the soft side) on the underside of their desk. They can rub this velcro while you teach and it helps with their impulse to move about.
- Walking Papers. We give the student a 2 pocket folder and have him hold onto the left and right side while we trace his hands with a black marker. This shows him exactly where his hands should be when he holds the folder. He takes this folder with him any time he walks in the hallway, to reading, to the OT, bathroom, counselors office, lunch, etc. This folder keeps his hands busy so that he is not using them to hurt or bother someone else. It has worked really well with a boy I have in my class right now. We give him a sticker each day when he has used it well and not forgotten.
- I've used a sticky note cut into three, four or five strips on their desks. (We target one behavior you want changed at a time.) Each time I have to remind them to sit still (or whatever the behavior is), I take away a strip. If there are any strips left at the end of the day (or half a day) he gets a sticker, computer time, to read a book (whatever he likes).
- I have let students stand who really have a tough time sitting while they work.'

3- A teacher shares his tips:
'Dealing with AD/HD kids is tough, and I'm speaking both as a special education teacher and a person with ADD. However, there are a bunch of things I have found that work with my students, at least most of the time! ...

- Since many children with AD/HD have other learning disabilites that tend to be masked by their zany behavior, I would recommend having the boy tested. Maybe part of the reason he is out of control is because the work is too difficult for him (or, alternatively, too easy.)
- Give him Playdough or silly putty to play with while you are giving instructions, reading out loud, etc. Or, let him draw or color. This may sound like letting him off the hook, but I have found that many AD/HD people focus better and absorb more of what they hear when they have something to do.
- Get the whole class up and moving now and then. I like to have a two minute stretch in the middle of every period. Or, you can use games such as Around the World to practice math facts and get the kids moving at the same time.
- Expect him to wiggle. He can't sit completely still, and even if he could, he would be concentrating so hard on doing that that all instructions would go out the window. If other students are distracted by him, put him in the back of the room so he can get up, lean against the wall, etc. If he gets out of his seat and wanders around the room, make sure it is really interfering with instruction before you make him sit down. I have a student who moves to a different chair about every fifteen minutes, but the others have gotten used to this and he gets his work done, and that's what really counts.

Source: A to z teachers stuff forum

Related posts:

* Tips to deal with your hyperactive child

* Is drug free treatment of "Attention Deficit Disorder"possible?

* Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD): No Heart for the Meds?

* Special Education Information for Teachers

Hobbies, Interests and Activities helping children with ADD

It is a common feeling of parents and teachers who have ADD/ADHD children, that keeping them busy is a good solution for them. But it is also difficult to let them focus on some activities for long time, so it is our duty as a parent or teacher to look for activities or interests, which can help develop their skills.

Nearly all principals (99 percent) and teachers (97 percent) surveyed feel that it is important for ALL students to participate in some extracurricular activities or clubs.

Extracurricular activities including hobbies and interests are beneficial for children with ADD. The sports they play, the hobbies they develop, the camps they attend all help to round out children, to make them more than merely persons who have difficulty paying attention in school.

Although the term extracurricular suggests something that is beyond school, these activities are an integral part of the learning process. Frequently such activities can be employed to enhance attention and to reinforce desired behavior.

Hobbies and Special Talents/Interests for Children with ADD

One of the wonderful things about hobbies is that children and adolescents can become "experts." This is particularly beneficial for students with ADD. Often the feedback they receive from parents, teachers, and classmates is negative. Coupled with their difficulty in establishing meaningful social relationships, this negative feedback can lower their self-esteem. By developing a hobby they can acquire knowledge and skills for which they are perceived as competent, as an "expert" in one particular area of interest.

Hobbies don't just emerge, they must be fostered. Parents must expose their children to a wide variety of experiences and reinforce their interests. In addition to trips to the zoo, museums, aquariums, historical sites, and the like, parents can foster hobbies by enrolling children in courses related to their interests or providing them with unusual experiences. Many communities have arts and crafts classes, music classes, gymnastics, and so forth. Museums and philharmonic orchestras frequently have programs specifically geared towards youngsters. Many of these are appropriate for children with ADD because they are relatively short and are only scheduled on a weekly basis, hence the novelty of the activity tends to capture their attention. As with sports and clubs, you need to assess the expectation of the teachers of these classes and the number of students who participate.

Beyond these hobbies there are many more to be discovered if you have the time and inclination to explore. Children have developed interests in such activities as illustrating, Morse code, and miniature furniture. Collections in stamps, coins, baseball cards, and rocks capture the imagination of many children. The list is endless. All that is necessary is enthusiasm and time. It may take a while before you find a hobby that truly interests your child, so don't give up. It is exciting to see a child develop a hobby to a point where others solicit their advice. We recall the look of pride on one youngster's face when an adult asked him about the value of a particular baseball card. He seemed amazed and proud that he knew more about this topic than even his teacher. A hobby can develop a unique competence that is often hard to find in school or extracurricular activities.

If you find it impossible to come up with a hobby that is of interest to your child you may want to ask her teacher. There are many different activities that children engage in during a school day. Perhaps the teacher has noticed your child's particular interest in one of them, one in which she has demonstrated some competence. Also check with the special subject teachers, that is, art, music, physical education, and computers. Their expertise in a particular field may enable them to identify some activity that could lead to further exploration. Although it is not critical that your child have a hobby, it can do wonders for her self-esteem.

Perhaps even more important than encouraging these types of activities is the nurturing of a special talent a child may possess. Because of the behavioral problems associated with ADD, it may be difficult for parents to identify a special talent. You might solicit the input of teachers or, if your child has been enrolled in classes such as art, gymnastics, or the like, you might inquire about exploring higher level or enrichment courses in an area in which your child demonstrates particular talent. For example, we know of a child who has been diagnosed as having ADD and has considerable difficulty staying on task in school. He happened to be enrolled in a weekend class that dealt with the environment, during which the instructor noticed a particular talent in science. The instructor informed the parents and the child has been enrolled in a number of classes outside of the school that reinforce this particular ability. Additionally, his parents make frequent trips to the local science museum, read books related to science to him, and have hired a science teacher to work with him one hour per week to expand upon his interest and talents. Over the years, this special talent has manifested itself in many ways and he has become extremely competent, some would say "gifted," in this important area of the curriculum. It is with a tremendous sense of pride that he answers the questions of adults, knowing that they seek him out for his special talent. There are other examples in the arts, music, technology, and sports that children and adolescents with ADD have demonstrated special talents.

The common thread through these examples is the commitment of the parents. It takes an extraordinary amount of time and energy to travel to special places, to seek special events, to balance the special talent with other activities, but it is necessary if the talents are to emerge. We know a youngster who is an exceptionally good gymnast. She has far exceeded the skills level of her local gymnastic class so her parents drive her (three times per week) to a special gymnastic academy in order for her to further develop this talent. It would be easier to ignore such a talent, especially since her behavioral disorders related to ADD continue to cause concerns at school. However, the parents' willingness and ability to continue having this extra training has enabled this youngster to excel, and others have come to view her as extremely talented in this area and treat her with awe. This attention can go a long way when she is reprimanded for being fidgety in school.

Not all children with ADD have special talents. In reality, not many of us have such gifts. However, if talents are present they should be encouraged and enhanced. A child should never be pressured or forced to excel. Typically, if you expose your child to a wide variety of activities at an early age she will have many opportunities for hobbies to develop. If in your opinion and that of professionals involved in the activity your child is deemed to have a special talent, then we encourage you to pursue it.

Article is experts from:
"From Keys to Parenting a Child with Attention Deficit Disorders" by Barry E. McNamara, Ed.D. & Francine J. McNamara, M.S.W., C.S.W.

Source link: family education

Free Micro-Blogging Site For Teachers and Students

New age requires us to adopt the learning procedure in tech ways, like use of blogging or micro-blogging to make teaching and learning easier. Young generation is now addicted to computers and internet, and if teachers or parents are successful in proper use of these mediums, they would be able to divert the attention of our children towards learning.

Edmodo is a private micro-blogging platform built for use by teachers and students. It’s not only a great way to introduce microblogging to students in a safe environment, but it’s also a great communication tool. At this platform teachers and students can use itto send notes, links, files, alerts, assignments, and events to each other.

Let's learn first what is 'micro-blogging'?

According to Wikipedia: Micro-blogging is a form of blogging that allows users to write brief text updates (usually up to 140 characters) and publish them, either to be viewed by everyone or if chosen by the user, a select group. the ease of use that microblogging platforms provide makes it a better way to communicate with students than the tradition blogging platform. Traditional blogging platforms are designed to communicate long posts to a large group of people.

Microblogging platforms are really designed for interaction and communication in short posts and we feel that is an advantage to a teacher in getting their students to interact in classroom activities.

Use of Edmodo in the classroom

Teachers can use it to post daily assignments, and students can use it to answer questions regarding the assignments.
A lot of teachers have students find articles to bring to class. Now a teacher could have the student submit a link to the articles in Edmodo instead of printing them out.
Teachers can plan on using it to have students submit their assignments through Edmodo.
It can used as a tool for managing communication with other committee members or other school teachers.

You are able to attach files, embed links, or even turn a basic post into an assignment or event complete with date metadata. Very easy to send out an assignment along with attachment out to a specific class of your students.

you could send your contact information and office hours to ALL of your classes. Or send a video to your after school club for them to enjoy. You get the idea. Lots of control here.
Students can save specific messages in their ‘locker’ to refer back to later. Assignments and events hang around and will appear conveniently in the sidebar when their associated dates are coming up.

How does it work?
Teachers sign up for accounts, and then create groups. Each group has a unique code which is distributed by the teacher to the class. Students then sign up (no email address required) and join the group using the code.

More at: faq

Related posts:

* Links for teachers to start educational blogs

* Effective use of Blogging in education

* Practice Of Blogging In Classroom