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Doing School from Home

3/30/2020

With children and parents home from school and office, life has slowed down even as it has sped up. We are all adjusting to a ‘new normal’ as we await the next advisory regarding the Coronavirus.

School is in session - whether at home or at a traditional school house. Here are a few quick and helpful reminders if you are doing at home school for the first time:

● School work should be done in a consistent place daily.
● Gather all the supplies your child will need so that ‘getting down to work’ is easy.
● Be available to your child however, do not get into the habit of doing the work for them. If they refuse to do the work have an unrelated consequence that you are willing to impose. I can not stress this enough. This is one of the most difficult habits to break once it begins.
● Avail yourself of the many creative on-line resources that are free for almost all users.
● Make learning fun and enjoyable.
● A few hours of ‘school at home’ will feel like a full day to your child respect that feeling.
● Read, read and read more.
● Read in stories related to science and social studies.
● Have your child keep a journal as a writing activity during this time.
● Make note of how your child approaches their work. Working 1:1 with them will give you a lot of information on how they think, move through their assignments and what you can do to assist them in their learning.
● Play games.
● Have them help you with your work, be it housework or office work.

Do make every effort to keep up with whatever may be sent home from the teachers. There is no real experience of this for our students. What it will look like when they return to school is an unknown. To the best of your family’s ability keep moving forward. Be kind to yourself and one another.

Have a question - do reach out. We are all in this together.

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With Uncertain Times, Take This Time to Reconnect with Your Child!

3/23/2020

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Life has recently thrown us all a curveball. I want to encourage everyone to take this time to reconnect with their children - beyond your normal routine. Difficult to do for so many however, I do hope and believe the benefits will outweigh the challenge.

With so much uncertainty about how long schools will be closed and what it will look like when students return to classrooms, it is important that you keep moving forward with your child’s learning.

If the school sends home work do have them do it, even if it is not ‘mandatory’. Incorporate learning into life at home. Doing laundry? Have the children help fold and count how much underwear your family uses in a week. Boys will really love this!

Laundry also lends itself to sorting of all types. Work on executive functioning skills by having them organize their rooms, closets and drawers.

Have the children read recipes to you as you prepare meals together. Half, double or triple the recipe to experience real life math.

If your children love video games, have them write about their favorite game, character or any of the many things that interest them. Play the game with them.

Have a real little one at home. It is a lot of fun to measure how much liquid a diaper will hold!

There are so many resources on line for you to access. Do take advantage of them. If at all possible get outside every day.Share what you are doing with others.The important thing is that you, as a family, take this time to experience a new normal.

Keep a family journal. You will want to remember these times and how you and your children met the challenges. It will make for great stories around the holiday table.

Be thankful.

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How to Encourage Positive Behavior at Home and at School

3/16/2020

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The other day I was reading a report given to me by a parent that suggested a private psychologist go into a classroom to help a teacher recognize their child’s positive behavior. The need for the psychologist going into school was ‘because this is something difficult for teacher’s to do’.

Nonsense! This is something every teacher and parent can do starting right now. I will not take credit for this - it comes out of Responsive Classroom and was beautifully demonstrated by the teachers I worked with at Oxford Valley Elementary years ago. One of the most remarkable of these teachers was Heather R.

Heather R. taught 4th grade at the time and one year in particular had a little boy who really struggled with his emotions. He had reason to and Heather understood. She employed the following system (this can be done at home just as easily).

First she chose to ignore his inappropriate behavior that was not threatening or overly disruptive. He did not hear his name with a negative comment.

Next she explained what she would want to see take place to the entire class. Just a simple reminder: In two minutes you need to have your books put away and line up to go to PE.

1 Minute Reminder: You should be finishing up, putting your book away and then get in line to go to PE.

Verbal Acknowledgement: I see Mary putting away her book and getting in line, Billy, Tommy and Kathi are getting in line too. Thank you. As the students got in line she acknowledged each by name.

Here is the tricky part. There were no personal invitations or admonishments. Only thank you for doing the right thing by naming each child as they did what was asked. A big deal was not made of any behavior positive or negative.

When everyone was lined up the class as a whole was thanked and off they went.
Why this works:
No one is singled out - everyone is thanked.
What the teacher wanted was fully explained and reminded.
Minor negative behavior was ignored.
Beyond the direction and the one reminder there was no other direction given.
Everyone heard their name in a positive way.
She caught everyone doing what was expected and told them thank you for doing.........
She was specific to expectation, behavior and person.

Behaviorally challenged children get into the cycle of only hearing their name when they are doing something wrong. That is what they are waiting for - and they do not even know it. They need the reinforcement of knowing what to do and being thanked as soon as they do it.

To often we withhold the ‘thanks’ because they are finally doing the right thing. As soon as they do the right thing they get the positive feedback - not praise or the snide ‘finally’ just the thank you by name like everyone else.

Give it a try. You may have to do it a few times however you will be surprised by the result. Explain what you want, ignore negative behavior, remind, thank by name and behavior when it happens!

Have a question - reach out today. Let’s get a conversation started.

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What Ever Happened to the Diagnosis of Developmental Delay?

3/9/2020

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Years ago young children were often diagnosed with a developmental delay when they lagged behind in the acquisition of developmental milestones. Children learn more in the first 3 years of their lives than we really understand. Getting a slow start can, and often is, temporary and something that disappears with and sometimes without prescribed interventions.

A child’s speech may be lagging behind the majority of their peers. They may have difficulty putting on their own clothing, jumping, making their needs known according to normative charts. Peer interaction may be less than appropriate and often challenging.

Absent a medical diagnosis, that needed more than observer rating scales, developmental delay acknowledges the child’s development is not according to ‘accepted norms’ and does not put a lifetime limiting criteria on the child.

Developmental delay is a way to provide appropriate intervention with the hope and belief that the delay can be overcome in a timely manner to close the gap by age 8. After age 8, if your child is still behind the school district is required to reevaluate and determine a more specific criteria for support.

Appropriate support and intervention is always given to the child without a specific label that may define that child’s need for the rest of their lives.

The lack of label allows for celebration of growth. The realization that all delay is not life long or future altering should be embraced as a positive. It is very difficult to see your child as not in need because they have matured out of their challenge. There is always time for the life-long label. Seeing your child for the individual they are, with needs that can and should be met now is the ideal. The ‘better’ we become at defining difference the more we see difference as wrong.

Let’s keep moving forward to seeing difference as an opportunity for growth, not as something wrong but as a starting place for support. The rush to label put boundaries on our most precious resources - our children.

Want to know more about possibilities for support for your child. Reach out today.

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Doing School from Home

With Uncertain Times, Take This Time to Reconnect with Your Child!

How to Encourage Positive Behavior at Home and at School

What Ever Happened to the Diagnosis of Developmental Delay?

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