Booster Seat Support

by Alina Larson
Nov. 14, 2009

Does your grandchild have a cloud over her head?

She’s convinced that her birthday will be boring, friends will forget her, the zoo is sure to be closed.

It’s not how you want her going into adulthood, especially since research reveals that negative kids are at higher risk for depression, illness, and poor academic performance.

Why does your grandkid sound like she should be in a nursing home rather than a nursery school, anyway?

“Through genetics and what you take in,” says Jim Fay, cofounder of the Love and Logic Institute, which offers parenting training and resources.

If Mom and Dad aren’t naysayers, the tendency can come from a more distant branch of the family tree. Bad experiences — academic or athletic troubles, bullies, or spats with friends — can weigh down mind and mood as well.

There’s nothing you can do about the disposition your grandkid is born with. But you do have a say in their experiences — and how they deal with them.

 

Mirror, Mirror

It starts with you. Kids model their parents’ and grandparents’ behavior.

If you present them with a gloom-and-doom view of the world, guess what? That’s how they’ll see it. Maybe you’re not the sunniest person, but you have survived, even thrived, in the face of adversity.

Tell the child about one of those experiences if it’s appropriate: “My sophomore year of college, I was worried I’d fail my French final. Every night the week before the exam, I stayed up late reviewing. I studied really hard, and I passed!”

 

Fixer Upper

 Often parents will rush to fix their children’s problems, but then kids don’t learn how to solve problems on their own, and they don’t earn the satisfaction of that accomplishment. “The more we believe we’re competent, the less scary and depressing the world looks,” Fay says.

If a child blurts out something negative (”I’m never going to understand math!”), use empathy first (”It’s frustrating when you don’t understand something”) and get him into problem-solving mode right away (”How do you think you’re going to handle that?”).

If he doesn’t come up with any ideas, give him a menu of “what other kids have tried before,” starting with suggestions that are clearly not great and working up to the better ones. Whichever way he chooses to cope with a situation, he’ll come away learning something and feeling empowered.

 

Reword It

When a child says something negative (”I can’t do this art project”), remind her of her past success (”Remember that beautiful birdhouse you worked so hard on?”) or question her assertion (”You were sure you couldn’t build that birdhouse. How did your thinking change?”).

This builds awareness of constructive and obstructive thoughts, and gradually she’ll learn to distinguish between them.

 

Great Adventure

Try new things together. Not only will the child feel secure in your love, but it will prove to him that there is fun to be had.

Often a negative child will avoid the unknown out of fear. But by not venturing out, he’ll miss out on a possible confidence-building success. Offer to take the blame if things go awry.

 

Outside the Box

The world is full of examples of triumph. Introduce your child to an uplifting saying (”This too shall pass”), film (like Babe), or book (such as, Where Do Balloons Go?, by Jamie Lee Curtis), or to an athlete celebrity who overcame adversity.

 

Bright-sizing

Make a family ritual of reviewing your day at dinnertime or bedtime. Help the child see the good that could come from something bad (”You didn’t do well on the test, but you learned you have to study more”).

End on an up note by having her name something that she did well or that made her happy that day.

Just think, helping a child become more optimistic will boost your attitude, too. How’s that for a brighter side?

 

Source: Grandparents 

 

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published on guidepost.com

We would like to know what you think. dan@youngchronicle.com

Bath Time Special

By Jennifer Nycz-Conner
November 15, 2009

It can be the best time of day for grandkids, if you know how to keep them safe.

Bath time with your new grandchild can be a tub full of fun, but since handling a wet infant can be like trying to hold onto a greased pig, it can also be a little intimidating if you haven’t done it in a while.

Baths haven’t changed much since your kids were toddlers, of course, although today’s parents may be more likely to invest in seats and rings designed to keep little ones secure while they get cleaned up. Not that those old methods were so bad. “When mine were born, we were so young and broke we just used to use the sink to give baths,” says Marian Merewitz, a Brookeville, Md., grandmother of four. “That worked great and wasn’t as hard on the back either.” Rest assured, the kitchen sink is still a viable option for infants today. For some other tips on making bath time as safe and as much fun as possible, read on:

 

Rule No. 1. The first rule of bathing children is to never leave them unattended, not for a minute, not for a moment. When in doubt, see Rule No. 1. Children can drown in less than two inches of water, and they can do so quickly. “Never, never, never take your eyes off the baby,” says Laura Hunter, a pediatric nurse in Atlanta and the coauthor of The Moms on Call Guide to Basic Baby Care: The First 6 Months (Revell, 2007). Let your phone go to voice mail, she says, make whoever’s knocking on the door wait, and focus entirely on the little ones. Always stay within easy arm’s reach of a baby.

 

Splish-splash when the mood strikes. Baths aren’t just for Saturday night, but for infants, they don’t need to happen every night either. Assuming their diaper area is kept clean, babies only need to be bathed about three to five times a week, Hunter says. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, more bathing than that during the first year could lead to dry skin. Check with your grandchild’s parents to learn their preferences for how often, and at what time of day, to bathe the baby. But if you’re babysitting for just one day or night and for whatever reason don’t feel comfortable bathing an infant on your own, don’t feel obligated.

 

Take your temperature. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends setting your home water heater thermostat at a maximum of 120 degrees Fahrenheit to avoid potential burns. Kevin Osborn, coauthor of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Bringing Up Baby (Alpha, 2007), suggests testing the water with your elbow to make sure it’s at a comfortable temperature for an infant. Also, when turning off the water after filling the tub, always stop the hot water first, then the cold. “That way, the faucet and any water that drips from it into the sink or tub will not be scalding hot,” Osborn says. (Some experts also recommend placing a rubber or foam cover or washcloth over the bath faucet to prevent infants from hitting their heads or getting their hands inside. Others think the covers attract children’s attention and keep them from learning that faucets can be dangerous. In the end, it’s your call.)

- Assemble your arsenal. Bath time goes more smoothly — and more safely — if you get everything you need on hand before you bring the baby in, Osborn says. That way, you can keep attention focused on the baby and not have to go searching for anything while the child is in the water. (See Rule No. 1.) Your lineup should probably include a washcloth, a large cup for rinsing, soap and shampoo (if necessary), and a hooded towel. For after the bath, near your changing pad or table you’ll probably also want to set out the parents’ preferred lotion, a clean diaper, and fresh clothes or pajamas.

 

A seat on the side. Hunter is a fan of bathing babies in regular tubs as soon as their umbilical cords fall off. To make it a little easier to manage, she recommends keeping a bouncy seat covered with a bath towel right next to the tub. It serves as a great, safe spot to strap the baby in while you’re running the bath, or if you should have to take the child out of the tub and leave the bathroom for an emergency.

 

This is your moment. Bath time is a great opportunity to spend relaxed, quality time with your grandchildren when they’re not otherwise distracted. Make it part of a cherished bedtime ritual when grandchildren sleep over, with a bath followed by a story and some chatter before lights out. “The time between awake and asleep,” Hunter says, “is a great time to connect with our children.”

 

Editor’s Note: Jennifer Nycz-Conner is a staff reporter with the Washington Business Journal as well as a freelance writer. She lives in Arlington, Va.

We would like to know what you think? dan@youngchronicle.com

Source: Grandparants

Socialization of Our Children

By Apple 4 the Teacher
November 13, 2009

Homeschooling is defined by Preiss (1989) as “the educational alternative in which parents/guardians assume the primary responsibility for the education of their children.” This Digest will offer some background information on homeschooling and discuss conflicting viewpoints culled from research on the socialization of home-schooled children.

RAPIDLY ESCALATING NUMBERS

While a Department of Education study in 1990-91 concluded that between 250,000 and 300,000 school-age children were being educated at home, “USA Today” recently cited the Home School Legal Defense Association figures for 1994 as between 750,000 and 1 million–up from only 15,000 in the early ’80s (Thomas, 1994). What is the reason for this explosion?

Mayberry (1991) pinpoints the gradual development of the modern state and public education as arenas which attempt to legitimate themselves by embodying the ideologies of many different public segments. She argues that by considering other agencies of socialization (in this case, the church or the family) as arenas which embody ideologies in contradiction to those transmitted by state institutions, the “context surrounding parental choice to home educate gains clearer focus.” She stresses that “…the decision to home school (or seek other forms of privatized education) represents a political response by people who perceive a threat in the current organization and content of public education.” Thus, the homeschooling movement is directly linked to the State’s struggle to balance contradictory imperatives (Mayberry, 1991).

BACKGROUND AND PROFESSIONAL RESOURCES

For historical background on homeschooling in America, both Bliss (1989) and Aiex (1994) provide enlightening information. Preiss (1989) offers a concise treatment of the legal aspects of homeschooling.

With the tremendous growth in numbers of the home schooled, there has been a corresponding growth in the market for homeschooling information–indeed, there are now myriad newsletters and books aimed at parents who home school, as well as at least one scholarly newsletter, “Home School Researcher.” According to Preiss (1989), “In 1987, in one home-schooling catalog alone, over 300 suppliers of home-schooling materials are listed.” With the explosion in homeschooling during the past few years, one can only imagine how large the network of professional suppliers of materials is by now.

The granddaddy of all the providers of courses for home study is the venerable Calvert School of Baltimore, which, for many years, was almost the only institution which offered correspondence courses below college level. It was founded in 1906 and has enrolled, through the years, upwards of 360,000 students in its home instruction courses. It has, of course, been joined by other entities in the past decade.

WHY PARENTS HOME SCHOOL

Parents home school for a wide variety of reasons–for example, many parents still live in areas where schools are not readily available (a number of rural areas and some parts of Alaska come to mind), and many parents are anxious about the physical well being of their children in an increasingly more violent school setting. Still others simply feel that they can give their children a better education at home. According to Mayberry (1991), however, two groups of parents home school primarily for ideological reasons:

• deeply religious parents
• “New Age” parents.

Mayberry surveyed 1600 Oregon families who home schooled, receiving a 35% response rate to her questions. Their responses led her to conclude that the two groups cited perceived homeschooling as an activity that provided them a way to reproduce their “way-of-life” by controlling the content of their children’s education. She reports: “…the meanings and values embodied in public education were not the ones that these parents wanted articulated to their children” (Mayberry, 1991).

SOCIALIZATION OF CHILDREN

Does the research show any clear-cut advantages or disadvantages to homeschooling, in relation to the social and emotional development of children schooled at home? Does the home-schooled youngster do as well in measures of interpersonal skills and communication skills as the conventionally schooled child?

The stereotypical home-schooled child is often portrayed as being shy, passive, and lethargic because of his/her isolation from the normal socialization found in formal schooling. Critics further allege that the self-concept of the home-schooled child suffers from lack of exposure to a more conventional environment (Stough, 1992).

Another socialization-related accusation faced by home educators is that of overprotecting their children from the real world. If this is true, however, at least one researcher (Bliss, 1989) does not consider this to be a serious problem. She argues that “Protection during early, developmental years for purposes of nurturing and growth is evident in many arenas: plant, animal, and aquatic. Why should it be considered wrong or bad in the most vital arena, human development?”

Stough (1992),looking particularly at socialization, compared 30 home-schooling families and 32 conventionally schooling families, families with children 7-14 years of age. According to the findings, children who were schooled at home “gained the necessary skills, knowledge, and attitudes needed to function in society…at a rate similar to that of conventionally schooled children.” The researcher found no difference in the self concept of children in the two groups. Stough maintains that “insofar as self concept is a reflector of socialization, it would appear that few home-schooled children are socially deprived, and that there may be sufficient evidence to indicate that some home-schooled children have a higher self concept than conventionally schooled children.”

This echoes the findings of Taylor (1987). Using one of the best validated self-concept scales available, Taylor’s random sampling of home-schooled children (45,000) found that half of these children scored at or above the 91st percentile–47% higher than the average, conventionally schooled child. He concludes: “Since self concept is considered to be a basic dynamic of positive sociability, this answers the often heard skepticism suggesting that home schoolers are inferior in socialization” (Taylor, 1987).

From the findings of these two studies, it would appear that the concerns expressed by teachers, administrators, and legislators about socialization and homeschooling might be unfounded. Indeed, Bliss (1989) contends that it is in the formal educational system’s setting that children first experience negative socialization, conformity, and peer pressure. According to her, “This is a setting of large groups, segmented by age, with a variation of authority figures…the individual, with his/her developmental needs, becomes overpowered by the expectations and demand of others–equal in age and equally developmentally needy.”

Webb (1989), one of the few researchers who has examined aspects of the adult lives of wholly or partly home-educated people, found that all who had attempted higher education were successful and that their socialization was often better than that of their schooled peers.

MORE RESEARCH IS NEEDED

At this point, more research on homeschooling is necessary–what we have is inconclusive about many of its aspects. Although more and deeper studies are certainly called for, the population to be studied is not readily accessible to researchers. And the types of research that can be done are still limited to case studies of families or to surveys of self- reports by participants.

Notably, the success or failure of the homeschooling experience depends inevitably on the success or failure of the family’s interpersonal relationships. Homeschooling is a complex issue and represents a tremendous commitment on the part of the parents–in most cases, the father must function as the sole breadwinner, and the mother must spend most of her time instructing her children.

For now, we will let Preiss (1989) have the last word. She says: “Because homeschooling contains so many diverse and changing factors, each family situation is unique. Yet there exists within the home-schooling community a sense of unity which transcends ideological, political, and religious concerns. That unity lies in the parents’ commitment to the education of their children, whose welfare is their primary concern.”

References

Source: Apples4theTeachers

Editor’s Note:  We would like to know what you think? dan@youngchronicle.com

This is Normal

by Jennifer Nycz-Conner
Nov. 1, 2009

It’s a touchy subject for families: How should you react when your lovable toddlers suddenly can’t seem to stop touching or showing off every part of their body in ways that make even the most well-adjusted adults blush.

The experts say it’s completely normal for little kids to explore their bodies, but it’s also natural for parents and grandparents to wonder what lines to draw, and when. Following is a guide to everything you ever wanted to know about naked toddlers but were afraid to ask:

 

So what exactly is “normal” for young kids?

Infants as young as a year old begin discovering their genitals. And far from being an indicator of sexual awareness, it is, like thumb-sucking and hair-twirling, a completely normal self-soothing behavior, says Dr. Jennifer Shu, an Atlanta pediatrician and coauthor, with Dr. Laura Jana, of Heading Home with Your Newborn (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2005). This kind of physical touching is generally not sexually-related until puberty approaches.

 

Why do my grandchildren insist on parading around naked?

Those naked kids might just have the right idea: They probably feel cooler and more comfortable in the altogether. “Children do not sense a stigma with nudity,” Shu says. Instead, they may see it as a way to get rid of confining clothes. For many kids, of course, streaking may be a reliable way to get adults’ attention.

What’s appropriate where, at what age, and in front of whom varies from family to family, and within families. You may be less tolerant of nudity than your grandchildren’s parents, or more relaxed about it than they are. But it’s important to be consistent with the rules the parents set, especially in their own home, says Dr. Charles Shubin, director of Pediatrics at Mercy Family Care in Baltimore.

My grandson just staggered by in my high heels. Why this sudden interest in cross-dressing?

Small children don’t associate gender rules with clothing. To them, dress-up is dress-up, and dress-up is funny, whether it’s a boy in a tiara or a girl in a tie. Adult shoes, especially, are endlessly interesting to little kids, and your heels may simply be more intriguing than your sneakers.

 

My grandchildren are starting to ask me some delicate questions. How should I answer?

Until their adolescent hormones begin raging, children’s interest in sexual organs or behavior is usually nothing more than innocent curiosity, and your responses should be simple. If your granddaughter asks why her little brother’s body is different from hers, don’t give her a college-level anatomy lecture; if your grandson asks where babies come from, don’t give him a dissertation on intercourse. “Look at it from the point of view of the kids, not ours,” Shubin says. A straightforward answer that girls are different from boys, or that parents who love each other know how to make babies will likely send the kids happily on their way.

 

What if they have follow-up questions?

The American Academy of Pediatrics offers parents and grandparents a guide to talking with young children about sexuality. According to the academy, kids from 18 months to 3 years are learning about their own bodies and expressing some curiosity. Around  age four or five, children begin to express interest in basic sexuality. This may include asking about where babies come from, as well as touching their own genitals or showing curiosity in those of other children. As children reach school-age, questions continue as they talk to friends and hear confusing references in the media. Always use their questions as teachable moments — don’t overreact or criticize children for being curious, and stay in sync with the parents’ preferences.

 

When should we be concerned?

Simple touching and exploring are normal, Shu says, but if children begin acting out sexual scenarios beyond their age, such as intercourse, or mentioning interactions with an adult, those may be red flags.

 

How should we react when kids act inappropriately?

Young children often test adults’ limits in a number of ways. Running around naked or shouting the names of certain parts of their anatomies over and over again are typical ways for kids to test limits. The best thing to do at first is simply ignore it, Shu says. Most children will drop the behavior, but if your grandchildren don’t, restate the rules in a firm, matter-of-fact way: “Touching yourself is a private activity. If you are going to do it, you need to do it in your room.” An angrier response may backfire. “Becoming too emotional about a behavior may blow the situation out of proportion,” Shu says, “possibly making the child want to do it even more.”

Source: Grandparents

 

Editor’s Note: We would like to know what you think. dan@youngchronicle.com

Teachers Say Texting Can Be Good for Teens

By Jeff Elder
October 30, 2009

Texting, a favorite and seemingly instinctive activity for teens, has loomed over education and parenthood for several years. Many adults felt like it would mash proper English into the ground and was a distraction from serious learning.

The average number of texts by U.S. teens 13-17 has reached 2,900 a month, according to Nielsen, the media and marketing information company. And The New York Times reported in May that physicians and psychiatrists fear texting is taking a toll on teens’ sleep patterns and ability to think for themselves.

But now some teachers in Charlotte and nationwide are seeking to harness its power and making peace with it. Researchers back this new approach with new evidence that texting teaches some positive language skills, and pragmatists argue that a war on texting is unwinnable.

Make a place for the giant thumb, these experts argue. In the words of teacher Annie McCanless of Providence High School, “It’s here to stay.”

McCanless, a civics teacher and swim coach, believes texting has become “an established part of teens’ lives” and can be used as “a real tool as opposed to a hindrance.”

Alan Vitale, who teaches journalism at Renaissance School at Olympic High, says, “Some teachers are actually embracing it,” and “the students really appreciate you meeting them at their level.”

None of the teachers, experts or even students interviewed by the Observer disputes the dangers presented by obsessively sending text messages on mobile phones: Some students text too much, text in inappropriate places (like the classroom), text in troubling ways (such as suggestive “sexting”) and text at times that are unhealthy (such as all night). But some teachers see positive aspects of texting.

One long-held fear about texting has been that its shortcuts such as OMG (for “Oh My God”) seep into teens’ language use, along with mangled, abbreviated and simplistic syntax. Yet despite much coverage of this in the press, researchers and teachers dispute it.

“Writing is good. Writing is expressing thoughts. Expressing thoughts is good. We just don’t like their modality,” argues Larry Rosen, an author and researcher at California State University Dominguez Hills whose upcoming book is titled “Rewired: Understanding the iGeneration and the Way They Learn.” Rosen and four colleagues surveyed more than 700 teens and aggregated multiple studies in the new study “The Relationship between ‘Textisms’ and Formal and Informal Writing Among Young Adults.”

The study found that texting may actually help teens’ writing in informal essays and many other writing assignments. In a conversational essay about happiness – which asked “what does it mean to be happy?” – teens who used more texting shortcuts performed better than colleagues who did not.

The popular press has reported much on “textisms” entering students’ schoolwork, Rosen says, “but research shows it’s very, very rare.”

“I definitely concur,” says Jim Scott, an English and journalism teacher at Myers Park High School. “They’re thinking in language terms,” he says, noting the positive aspects of texting. “Kids are far better at mode-shifting. People talk about texting abbreviations seeping into the language. I hear it in the press. I think that’s fear. I don’t think it’s research-based.”

The education blog www.edu topia.org reported in May 2008 that some instructors, including former N.C. Teacher Of The Year Cindi Rigsbee of Orange County, have asked students to translate passages from classic literature to texting-speak to demonstrate a comprehension of language and the differences in context. This is in line with one of the findings of Rosen’s research: Texting-speak is not a mangled form of English that is degrading proper language, but instead a kind of “pidgin” language all its own that actually stretches teens’ language skills.

There are negative impacts of too much texting, including a finding in Rosen’s research that it can hurt students’ performance in the most formal types of essay writing, a key component of some testing.

Joe Ehrman-Dupre, a Myers Park senior, echoed the thoughts of other Charlotte students on texting: “I think teachers are worried that cell phones are a distraction from learning, but I think they can be an important tool as well…. Texting encourages homework completion, because I get at least two or three texts each night from friends asking what the homework for ‘x’ class was.”

The Observer asked Ehrman-Dupre and other Charlotte teens on Facebook for their thoughts about texting.

Emily Moore, a senior at Northwest School of the Arts, agreed, posting: “I think texting can be very helpful when it comes to homework. It’s an easy way to know if something is due if you forgot, or to ask questions about something I don’t understand. I have had many texting conversations over homework before.”

jelder@charlotteobserver.com

Source: Charlotte Observer

Editor’s Note : We would like to know what you think. dan@youngchronicle.com

Wash Your Hands

By CDC
Oct. 22, 2009

Handwashing is a simple thing and it’s the best way to prevent infection and illness.

Clean hands prevent infections. Keeping hands clean prevents illness at home, at school, and at work. Hand hygiene practices are key prevention tools in healthcare settings, in daycare facilities, in schools and public institutions, and for the safety of our food.

In healthcare settings, handwashing can prevent potentially fatal infections from spreading from patient to patient and from patient to healthcare worker and vice-versa. The basic rule in the hospital is to cleanse hands before and after each patient contact by either washing hands or using an alcohol-based hand rub.

At home, handwashing can prevent infection and illness from spreading from family member to family member and, sometimes, throughout a community. In the home, the basic rule is to wash hands before preparing food and after handling uncooked meat and poultry, before eating, after changing diapers, after coughing, sneezing, or blowing one’s nose into a tissue, and after using the bathroom.

Wash Your Hands: The Right Way

When washing hands with soap and water:

• Wet your hands with clean running water and apply soap. Use warm water if it is available.
• Rub hands together to make a lather and scrub all surfaces.
• Continue rubbing hands for 15-20 seconds. Need a timer? Imagine singing “Happy Birthday” twice through to a friend.
• Rinse hands well under running water.
• Dry your hands using a paper towel or air dryer. If possible, use your paper towel to turn off the faucet.
• Always use soap and water if your hands are visibly dirty.

If soap and clean water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand rub to clean your hands. Alcohol-based hand rubs significantly reduce the number of germs on skin and are fast-acting.

When using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer:

• Apply product to the palm of one hand.
• Rub hands together.
• Rub the product over all surfaces of hands and fingers until hands are dry.

Handwashing: The Beginning of Infection Control

 

Ignaz Semmelweis, an Austrian-Hungarian physician, first demonstrated over 150 years ago that hand hygiene can prevent the spread of disease. Hand hygiene as a practice includes performing handwashing, or using antiseptic handwash, alcohol-based hand rub, or surgical hand hygiene/antisepsis.

Dr. Semmelweis worked in a hospital in Vienna whose maternity patients were dying at such an alarming rate that they begged to be sent home¹. Most of those dying had been treated by student physicians who worked on corpses during an anatomy class before beginning their rounds in the maternity ward.

Because the students did not wash their hands effectively between touching the dead and the living–handwashing was an unrecognized hygienic practice at the time–pathogenic bacteria from the  corpses regularly were transmitted to the mothers via the students’ hands.

The result was a death rate five times higher for mothers who delivered in one clinic of the hospital than for mothers who delivered at another clinic not attended by the student physicians.

In an experiment considered quaint at best by his colleagues, Dr. Semmelweis insisted that his students wash their hands before treating the mothers–and deaths on the maternity ward fell fivefold.

Unquestioned today as the most important tool in the healthcare worker’s arsenal for preventing infection, handwashing was not readily accepted in Dr. Semmelweis’s era. Indeed, his pleas to make handwashing a routine practice throughout the hospital were largely met with derision. Another 50 years would pass before the importance of handwashing as a preventive measure would be widely accepted by the medical profession. Sanitation is now a standard and thousands of lives have been saved because of Dr. Semmelweis’s discovery.

 Semmelweis I. Etiology, concept, and prophylaxis of childbed fever. Carter KC, ed. 1st ed. Madison, WI: The University of Wisconsin Press, 1983.

 

Source: CDC.Gov

 

Editor’s Note: We would like to know what you think. dan@youngchronicle.com

Grade 2 Science

By Natalie Smith
October 20, 2009

Budding scientists learn fundamental concepts and gain appreciation for our natural resources

In second grade, your grandchildren continue to learn about scientific concepts primarily through observation. Textbooks typically divide the year into separate units on life science, earth science, and physical science; teachers use simple experiments to build on earlier lessons. In life science, children discover ways to describe the similarities and differences between people, plants, and animals. They also study simple life cycles to learn how organisms grow and change. In earth science, students learn more about how people use our planet’s most important natural resources, including water. They also learn about Earth’s place in the solar system, and why the planet has day and night and different seasons. In physical science, children throw themselves into hands-on lessons on matter in its various states, learning, for example, to measure mass with a balance scale, and volume with a measuring cup. They also explore forces such as wind, gravity, and sound. By the end of the year, your grandchildren should have an understanding of scientific investigation, and know how to use simple equipment, such as rulers and timers, to gather data.

The Age of Dinosaurs. As part of their study of earth science, second-graders often learn about how fossils, especially those of dinosaurs, provide evidence of animals that lived long ago. Studying these fossils is usually not controversial, but in communities where advocates of “intelligent design” theories are clamoring for changes in the local science curriculum, textbooks’ statements about concepts such as how long ago dinosaurs lived can spark heated debates.

• Guide your grandchildren on a tour through nature with Jim Arnosky’s Crinkleroot’s Guide to Knowing Animal Habitats (Aladdin, 2007). Arnosky was a naturalist before he became an author. His fact-filled, colorful pages introduce grandchildren to the many different environments that wildlife can inhabit.
• Early-elementary students should understand that every plant and animal can cause changes to its environment – some for good, some not. Wendy Pfeffer’s Wiggling Worms at Work (HarperTrophy, 2003) illustrates this concept as it examines the critical role worms play in the natural world.
• Children in second grade will discover how animals, including humans, depend on natural resources like trees. How do the actions of humans have an impact on trees? Patricia Lauber’s Be a Friend to Trees (HarperTrophy, 1994) explores these ideas, and suggests ways to conserve this important natural resource.
• Second-graders will learn more about the power of gravity and its relationship to weight. It is a common misconception among kids (and many parents and grandparents) that heavier objects will fall faster than lighter objects. For a demonstration that proves this is incorrect, invite your grandchildren to the computer to watch an astronaut on the Apollo 15 mission drop a feather and a hammer on the Moon from the same height at the same time. For simple gravity experiments kids can perform here on Earth, with your help, read Vicki Cobb’s I Fall Down (HarperCollins, 2004).

Putting Animals in Their Place. Take your grandchildren to the zoo, and ask them to identify different creatures and tell you which animal group each belongs to, and what type of habitat it lives in.

Changes Matter. Show your grandchildren how to grow a rock: First, mix approximately two cups of hot water in a bowl with about four cups of sugar. Then tie one end of a string to the middle of a craft stick or pencil, and lay the stick across the top of the bowl, with the string hanging into the sugar mixture. Finally, cut the string so it touches the bottom of the cup. Once the mixture has cooled, have your grandchild take it home. Tell them to observe the string every day for a week and record what happens.

The Shadows Know. Take your grandchild outside on a sunny day. With a piece of chalk, trace his or her shadow onto the sidewalk. Write the time next to the shadow, then have your grandchild make a prediction about how the shadow will change later in the day. In a few hours, come back and test the hypothesis.

Editor’s Note: Natalie Smith is an assistant editor at Scholastic News Edition 4 and a freelance writer based in New York City.

We would like to know what you think? dan@youngchronicle.com

Source: Grandparants

Teachers Should Know

By Dan Samaria
Publisher/YC
Oct. 18, 2009

Editor’s Note: How many of us as parents have twins. And wonder how the teachers handled them or even know how to? The following column we hope will help teachers to understand about them.

We would like to know what you think. dan@youngchronicle.com

 

 

By Apple 4 the Teacher

 

The incidence of multiple births has increased dramatically in the past two decades. The birth rate for twins, who constitute the most common kind of multiple births, increased 42% from 1980 to 1994 (Lytton, Singh, & Gallagher, 1995). Given this trend, it seems reasonable to assume that many teachers will have twins and other multiple siblings in their classes at some point in their classroom careers.

To a large extent, the available research on twins stems from a long tradition of studies focused on the nature-nurture debates. These studies look at twins reared together and apart and attempt to ascertain the relative influence of genetic and environmental influences on personality development. Research on the effects of twins’ separation in school and other practical questions is as yet very limited. Nevertheless, difficult decisions about their education have to be made by school districts, principals, and teachers while new research is awaited. This Digest offers some pointers for educators facing the challenges of educating multiples.

 

DIFFERENT TYPES OF TWINS AND OTHER MULTIPLES

There are two basic types of twins and other multiples. Identical twins are defined as monozygotic because they are the result of the split of a single fertilized ovum. Dizygotic twins, usually referred to as fraternal twins, are the result of the fertilization of two separate ova, as in other siblings born years apart. There are four types of identical twins, depending upon how early in the development of the ovum its division occurs. The earlier in the division, the more alike the individuals are likely to be physically. In the case of other multiples, as for example in the case of triplets, two of the three may be identical, but more typically all three are as different as any other three siblings.

These variations in the extent to which siblings from the same pregnancy resemble each other suggest that teachers may want to keep in mind that most multiples are as unique as any other set of siblings, although their psychosocial situation differs from that of singletons. Identical twins will be more behaviorally alike on average than fraternal twins. It is also the case that many multiple- birth children are born prematurely and have low birth weight. Many of the same kinds of problems typical of single premature low birth weight children will be typical of premature twins. However, for parents of multiples, even if they are not subject to the strains related to the risks of prematurity, the stresses and strains of the early care of multiples are substantial and appear to have some short-term effects on the children’s development (Lytton, Singh, & Gallagher, 1995). Because twins are the most typical type of multiples, that term is used in the discussion below, although much of the discussion applies equally to other multiple-birth siblings.

 

SEPARATING TWINS IN SCHOOL

One of the most frequently asked questions by preschool and elementary teachers and principals is whether the classroom separation of multiples should be encouraged. Dreyer (1991) and Brodkin (1997) point out that many schools and preschool programs have a fixed policy of separating twins. In other schools, however, the decision may be left to the principal or to the teachers.

Is it necessary for schools and preschool programs to have a strict policy about separating twins? Dreyer concludes her discussion of what little research is available on this question by stating that “Twins feel that the best policy is no policy at all” (Dreyer, 1991, p. 6). Similarly, most parents seem to feel that such decisions should be determined on a case-by-case basis and that a rigid policy should be avoided.

Even in very small preschools and elementary schools that have only one class per age group, teachers often wonder if they should encourage the twins to engage in separate activities, participate in different learning center activities, sit at different tables for meals, and team up with other peers.

 

MAKING SEPARATION DECISIONS

The Parents of Multiple Births Association, Inc., of Canada provides a list of possible circumstances to be considered when making a decision about separation (Dreyer, 1991, p. 11). Included in this list are questions such as whether the twins’ “togetherness” might hinder the social development of one or both. Thus, parents and the teacher might ask whether, by about the age of 5, each of the twins is capable of initiating and maintaining satisfying relationships with nonsibling peers. If the answer is “yes,” then separation would not be warranted. If the answer is “no,” then separation, perhaps for part of the day, might be attempted on an experimental basis. Separation may also be considered under the following circumstances:

• Classmates engage in frequent comparisons of the pair, and the comparisons provoke negative feelings in either twin. Constant comparison of twins is one of the greatest sources of distress to twins and one of the most difficult things for parents and teachers to resist. Although parents, and even teachers, often compare different-age siblings, the fact that the twins are the same age as well as frequently of the same gender considerably heightens the temptation to draw comparisons. Even at the preschool age, twins are likely to be aware of such comparisons and may become more competitive than other siblings. Most twins ultimately weather school situations successfully, but if one of the multiples typically comes out on the poorer end of these comparisons, a pattern of discouragement may develop and could lead to a pattern of “learned helplessness” (Burhans & Dweck, 1995).
• There is no evidence that twins are more disruptive than non-twins. However, if disruptions do occur and standard procedures for handling disruptive behavior fail to alleviate the pattern, separation might be one course of action to consider.
• A female twin “over-mothers” her male co-twin. In the case of fraternal opposite-sex twins, females tend to be the more dominant of the two and more critical of their twin brothers, who “appreciated their twin sister’s guidance but felt somewhat threatened by their ’superiority’” (Dreyer, 1991, p. 3).
• Many twins develop a pattern of helping each other through both academic and social predicaments. Educators might want to consider how separation will affect twins who are accustomed to helping each other. Teachers might observe the twins closely in the classroom to ensure that one twin does not help the other excessively, or that the one being helped does not become too dependent on the other. In the case of preschoolers, perhaps the best advice is to make the separation gradual, if it is done at all.

There are other situations in which separation might be a poor or untimely decision. For example, if the pair is undergoing particular stresses within the family, or if there are health concerns for one or both twins, separation may place unnecessary stress on twins.

In the case of school-age twins, it is a good idea to check their own preferences about separation. Although their feelings on the issue should be considered, these feelings should be put in a larger perspective of the long-term development of each member of the multiple sibling group.

Placement decisions should also take into account the views of parents. Some parents will have strong feelings on the matter (Segal & Russell, 1992). However, it is a good idea to keep in mind that parents may not be fully aware of how their children behave in the classroom environment. If parents disagree on the best course of action, teachers may want to listen carefully to each, make suggestions for them to consider, invite them to observe their children in the classroom, and suggest a short-term experiment of separating or keeping the twins together. During that time, the twins can be closely observed and evaluated by teachers and parents. In this way, the school personnel and the parents can address the issue as a team focused on the long-term best interests of the children.

 

LOOK ALIKES

Ideally, as suggested by guidelines for the education of multiple birth children recently issued by the National Organization of Mothers of Twins Club, Inc. (1998), educators should learn to recognize each child in a set of multiples without resorting to extraordinary measures, such as requiring identical twins to wear name tags, different color clothes, or different hair styles. However, for teachers struggling with large classes, this ideal may take much time and effort to achieve. In the case of twins who look very much alike, and who often behave alike, a teacher’s inability to distinguish between the twins and to use the correct name of the child may be a source of stress for the children and the teacher. It may be preferable to consult the parents about the possibility of helping the teacher to make the correct identification by dressing the twins differently, giving them different haircuts or shirt colors, or providing other consistently different patterns in their appearance. Speaking as a twin, the experience of being called by the other’s name can be very annoying!

Source: Apples4theTeachers

Charlotte Looks Forward to School

by Beverly Beckham
Oct. 18, 2009

Editor’s Note: Beverly Beckham is an award-winning columnist who writes for The Boston Globe. She has five grandchildren.

We would like to know what you thing. We would love to hear stories of you and your grandchildren. dan@youngchronicle.com

 

Charlotte has been looking forward to going to school for months. “I going to Castle School,” she has said all summer long. Her brother, Adam, and cousin, Lucy, were starting kindergarten. Her friend, Amy, was entering first grade. And though Charlotte is only 2, she insisted that she was going to school, too. All summer, every time we passed the Castle School, Charlotte would point and yell and smile.

So her mother, my daughter, signed her up for Castle School — two hours, two mornings a week. And when it was time for back-to-school shopping with Adam, she took Charlotte along and bought her new clothes, which Charlotte hung in the closet next to her brother’s. Charlotte also got a purple backpack, and new shoes — purple ones — which she strapped on in the shoe store (thank you, Velcro), pirouetted in a few times, and tested for their climbing ability.

A few weeks ago, on Adam’s first day of school, Charlotte dressed in one of her new outfits and stood beside him as he posed for pictures. “I going to school, too,” she said again and again, smiling for every picture.

A few mornings later her mother took her to the Castle School for a trial run. Charlotte met her teacher, saw her classroom, played with some toys, and then went home. Charlotte, it seemed, was good to go.

Finally, the big day dawned. This wasn’t a dress rehearsal anymore. Her big brother wasn’t standing beside her as she posed for pictures. Charlotte wasn’t just pretending to go to school. This was the real thing.

There was Charlotte at the Castle School, which is really a Unitarian church but the steeple has Charlotte fooled, dressed in a new pink and purple outfit, wearing her purple shoes, her backpack stuffed with pencils and snacks.

And there were her mother and father hugging her and kissing her and saying good-bye and I was hugging and kissing her, too. And there was Charlotte, whose litany, for weeks, for months has been “I going to Castle School! I going to Castle School!” suddenly … not happy at all. Suddenly, serious. Suddenly, mute! She said nothing. Not a word. Not a sigh. Not a sniffle. Not a sound.

Click went the cameras and Charlotte just stared. Whoosh went the videos and Charlotte just stood. “Charlotte!” somebody yelled and Charlotte didn’t even turn to look.

This little spitfire who just a few weeks ago walked fully dressed into a swimming pool, having announced “I swim,” as she jumped in, who sunk to the bottom then sputtered up, who was pulled out by her mother and a stranger and an ashen lifeguard, who on dry ground again didn’t wail or moan or even cough, who said only, “I need towel!” and then announced, “I swim ‘gin,” was this day in the parking lot of her beloved Castle School suddenly just a scared little 2-year-old.

How long did the good-bye process take? Twenty-six pictures? A few minutes of tape? A half-dozen hugs and kisses? A walk across a small parking lot? A short wait in line to file in? She filed in. And she never looked back.

“Bye, Charlotte! Bye! See you later. I love you,” we all yelled.

Charlotte didn’t turn. She didn’t react. She said nothing.

The big yellow door slammed closed and we left.

Two hours later, when her mother picked her up, she was back to her old chatterbox, why-walk-when-you-can -run, why-run-when-you-can-climb, fearless, crazy self. “Did you like school, Charlotte?”

She nodded. She skipped to the car. “I like Castle School. I play with crayons. I sing songs. I eat Cheez-Its.”

I look at the pictures I took just a few hours before. Charlotte’s first day of school. It’s a study in contrasts.

Children change even as you watch. Tentative one minute, tenacious the next. They’re 2 and then they’re 22, which is really why we watch, why we smile, why we take pictures and why we write.

 

 

Source: Grandparents

 

Grade 2 Math

By Dale Beltzner
October 12, 2009

Editor’s Note: We hope this will help your child learn math at home. We would like to know what you think. dan@youngchronicle.com

 

The sky’s the limit as kids calculate bigger numbers and learn the true value of money

Second-grade math textbooks are filled with illustrations to help students make a connection between groups of objects and their numerical representations. One of the fundamental skills for all mathematics learning is a firm understanding of the place value system, which is crucial for understanding the complex processes students will encounter in later grades. For most kids, place value is part of the second-grade curriculum. Students will learn to read and order numbers through the hundreds place, such as 356, or “3 hundreds, 5 tens, and 6 ones.” With this knowledge in hand, most students by the end of the year will be adding and subtracting three-digit numbers. Second-graders will also work with “fact families,” taking, say, 3, 4, and 7, and writing the addition and subtraction equations that can be built from them – “3 + 4 = 7,” “7 – 4 = 3,” “4 + 3 = 7,” and “7 – 3 = 4.” And they will learn to count money, a truly practical application of their growing skills.

Does Everyday Math Work for Every Child? Schools have tried a variety of math programs over the years, seeking the one that will best increase student performance, particularly on standardized tests. One of today’s most popular programs is McGraw-Hill’s Everyday Math series of textbooks. The series’ approach has been nicknamed “Chicago Math,” because its key ideas were developed at the University of Chicago. Everyday Math introduces new concepts in brief units, then “spirals” back to them for review throughout the year. It also emphasizes real-world applications for math skills — asking students, for example, to find prices in supermarket advertisements and using them to calculate the cost of a shopping trip. Some school districts credit Everyday Math with improving standardized-test scores, but it has many critics as well: It does not teach students traditional computation methods or demand that they memorize addition and subtraction facts. It also omits traditional lessons such as division by fractions and longhand division. In some schools using the textbooks, teachers supplement their lessons with traditional addition and subtraction drills.

• Second-graders may still be calculating relatively small numbers, but soon enough, they will be working with radically larger sums. Mitsumasa Anno’s Anno’s Mysterious Multiplying Jar (Putnam, 1999) uses words and pictures to show young children the magic of rapidly expanding numbers.
• If your grandchildren love working with numbers, or if they need some extra help with addition and subtraction, keep a workbook on hand for their visits. Scholastic Success With Math Workbook – Grade 2 (Scholastic, 2002) reinforces essential math skills with puzzles, games, and practice pages kids can complete independently.

Math Is War. Help your grandchildren practice comparing number values by playing the classic game of War. Divide a standard deck of cards into even piles and keep the piles facedown. At each turn, each player turns over his or her top card. Whoever has the highest card takes the other cards. (Decide before the game if aces will be high or low.) In case of a tie, go to War: Each player plays one face-down card and then one face-up card. The highest face-up card takes all the rest. The player who has all the cards at the end of the game is the winner. (Or, since War can take a while, you can set a time limit for each game and declare a winner when you reach the limit.)

Everybody Uses Math. While you’re out in the neighborhood with your grandchildren, ask them to identify people who are using math and how — for example, a waiter, a carpenter, or a tailor. As you find more people using math skills, you can reinforce for grandchildren the importance of math lessons for their futures.

Editor’s Note: Dale Beltzner has been a teacher, principal, and freelance educational writer for the past 30 years. He has worked in public and private schools in Oklahoma and Pennsylvania. Dale currently teaches fifth grade in Coopersburg, Pa., and serves as the district’s elementary math subject leader.

We would like to know what you think? dan@youngchronicle.com

Source: Grandparants

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