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Teach Your Child About Money

Monday, August 2nd, 2010

Guest blog by Louise Tillotson

If you haven’t already started, the time will soon come when you’ll want to teach your child the value of money. It’s an unavoidable part of life, and instilling good sound values in your child now will ensure they have a secure financial future.

Teaching your child how to save money

money

Child Money Savngs Tips

For most children, their first experience of money and saving is a piggy bank. Take your child with you and let them choose one for themselves, then make a game of putting coins in and taking them out. As the child grows older, encourage them to put any money given to them by relatives in their piggy, regularly take it out and count it with them, and keep a written record of the total each month or so. They’ll be able to see their money mounting up and this will help them to understand the concept of saving.

You may also want to open up an account for your child which they can use as they get older. Children’s savings accounts are offered by most banks, and offer similar benefits and options to adult savings accounts; competitive interest rates, withdrawal notice periods, and fixed terms of 1, 2 or 3 years. Explain to your child how their savings account works, and encourage them to deposit the money from their piggy bank into their account periodically. Older children might be interested in using an online tool called a savings calculator, which will help them to see how their money will increase over a set period with a given interest rate.

Teaching them the value of money

An allowance, or pocket money as it’s known in the UK, is perhaps the best tool available to parents who want to teach their offspring about the value of money. There are many factors to consider when deciding how much allowance you will give to your child. A general rule of thumb is to allow $1  for each year, so a 5 year old would receive $5, while a 10 year old would receive double that. But this is just a guide, and other things can be taken into account:

Their friends – ask the parents of your child’s friends how much they give their offspring, and try to keep to the same range. Children can feel left out if they know their friends get more money than they do.

What it’s used for – If your child will only buy sweets and magazines out of their allowance, then they shouldn’t need much (especially if you want to discourage them from eating too many sweets). But if you’d like them to occasionally buy their own clothes, books or CDs, then a slightly increased amount could be given to reflect this.

Saving – You could stipulate that your child put part of their allowance in their savings account or piggy bank. If this is the case, then consider giving them extra based on how much you expect them to save. You could even offer to pay ‘interest’ if you can afford it – put an extra $1 in their account for every $5 they do, for example.

Your income – How much can you afford to give to your child, consistently, each week? Examine your income and expenditure and see how much you can realistically and comfortably spare, without sacrificing household bills or other essentials.

Games you can play with your child about money

Children learn through play, so it’s a good idea to play some money-related games with your son or daughter.

The obvious one, and a firm favorite with most children, is Shops. Save some empty food packets from around the home, set up a table and let your child arrange the packets as they wish. Collect some spare change together and you can begin teaching them how to buy, sell and make change. Not only will this help them to learn what the denomination of each coin or bill is, but it can also teach them simple math.

Snap! is a familiar card game, and can be altered to teach your child more about denominations. You and your child/ren should have a handful of coins each, a mixture of high and low values. Choose a coin or coins at random, place them in the center of the playing area, and your child then has to choose different coins from their own pile which match the total value of the ones you’ve selected. If several children are playing, the winner is the first child to put out the correct total and yell “Snap!”.

Along a similar idea, Higher or Lower can be played with coins too. Select a coin, say ‘higher’ or ‘lower’, and your child has to put out a coin from their heap which is higher or lower in value than the one you selected. If they guess correctly, they can then say ‘higher’ or ‘lower’ and you then put a coin out, and so on. All of these games can be played with bills (make toy money if you’re worried about rips!) as well as coins for a greater scope of learning.

Bingo is a fun game which can be enjoyed time and time again by the whole family. First of all, get your child/ren involved in helping you create bingo cards – draw up a 6 by 6 grid on thin paper and show them how to do a different coin rubbing in each square (mix the pattern up so all the grids are different). Then, laminate each grid or cover in clear sticky plastic, and give one to each player along with small stickers or washable stamping pens. Fill a small tub with coins and choose one player to be the bingo caller. They choose a coin at random, call out the value and each player has to mark one occurrence of that coin off on their grid if it appears. The first one to get a line from side to side, or a full grid, shouts ‘Bingo!’ and wins the game.

Set a good example

Children copy their parents and older siblings, so try to exhibit responsible financial behavior around your impressionable young ones. Get into the habit of talking to them each time you’re in a shop and trying to decide on a purchase. Say things like, “If we buy this [item on a whim], then we wouldn’t be able to get this [something you need]“. Let them see grocery receipts and point out any money you may have saved on your shopping trips. You can even enlist their help in a coupon-cutting session if it’s something you do regularly.

Author Byline

Louise Tillotson is a mother based in the UK, and a regular contributor to parenting sites in the UK and the US. She also writes for personal finance sites and the price comparison site Moneysupermarket.com.

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Posted in Family Activities, Parenting Tips, Schools and Learning | 2 Comments »

How to Deal with Sibling Rivalry

Saturday, July 31st, 2010
kids mean

Sibling Fights Picture courtesy of Teeny! Gee It's Been Awhile

Guest Blog by Kelly Wilson

If you have more than one child, the following strategies may help everyone in your home deal with sibling rivalry.

Embrace the Inevitable

Your kids will fight with you and with each other. They will alternate between playing like the best of friends and yelling at each other over who got the biggest piece of the candy bar that they had to share. And it can happen within moments.

The nice part about this kind of conflict is that it’s totally normal. Competition between siblings for attention from parents and others is not enjoyable, but developmentally appropriate behavior.

Anticipate Changing Needs

Understanding the foundational reasons for sibling rivalry can help increase the patience required to deal with it. Sibling rivalry develops for a variety of reasons.

Courtesy of Chapendra

Siblings Picture Courtesy of Chapendra

* Age Differences – unless you have a set of multiples, your kids are different ages with varying developmental needs and skills. This can create questions about why older children in your family have more independence or get certain privileges and younger kids in your family don’t.

* Personality Differences – my boys are totally opposite in every way when it comes to personality characteristics. The oldest is cautious and the youngest is a risk-taker. The oldest likes to plan out everything, and the youngest is go-with-the-flow. In our family, this can be wonderful and also the greatest source of fighting.

* Developmental Differences – My boys are three years apart, which means they have a variety of different needs and require different parenting. My oldest receives an allowance that he splits into sharing, saving and spending, and this allows him to buy toys and candy with his own money. This can be hard for the youngest, who doesn’t have a big allowance because he’s not yet ready for the responsibilities that go along with it.

Set Up Ground Rules

Since kids will fight for a variety of reasons, they need a collection of tools to be able to fight well. I like to teach my kids the following strategies to help the process along and prevent physical or emotional injury.

* “I feel” messages – set up a sentence that can be used anytime where kids learn how to share their feeling about an event. The sentence I use is “When you _______________, I feel ______________________.”

* Quiet Time – it’s difficult to come to a resolution when emotions are high. Encourage kids to time themselves out when they’re too angry to talk, and come back to resolve the problem after calming down (I’ve found this takes ten to twenty minutes).

* Make a Deal – if there’s something that one child wants, chances are good that there’s something the other one wants as well. Talking about the wants or needs of each person can help work out an arrangement that benefits both children.

* Apologize and Be Done – I remind my kids that holding a grudge works for no one. Once the problem has been discussed, apologies and forgiveness need to be shared. The situation is then officially over.

When to Get Involved

I try not to involve myself in my kids’ fights. This doesn’t mean that I sit by and let them say or do anything they want to each other. Instead, I listen and wait. Sometimes all they need is a little coaching, so I may give them a verbal cue, like “When you-“ which reminds them of the “I feel” strategy. If emotions run high, I may enforce a time out for all parties involved for about fifteen minutes. Usually my kids are ready to talk it out after some quiet time.

If kids really struggle with working out a problem, it helps to ask them questions. Start with one person at a time, stating that each person will get a turn and requiring absolutely no interruptions.

Ask for basics – what happened? Who was involved? How do you feel? What do you want or need right now? Move on to the next person, asking the same questions. By the end of this process, the kids can move on to actually solving the problem – all you’ve done is help clarify the situation for them.

Employing these strategies to deal with sibling rivalry take extra time and effort to begin with, but benefit everyone in your home for years to come.

Author byline

kelly

Kelly Wilson, Editor, Teaching Resource Center

Kelly Wilson is an editor for Teaching Resource Center, supplying classrooms with Teacher Supplies and Teachers’ Lesson Plans for over 25 years.

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When Routines Aren’t Enough – Alternative Options For Better Toddler Sleep

Tuesday, July 27th, 2010

Guest Blog by Susan Long

Child Sleeping Tips

Child Sleeping Tips

While difficult routines and erratic sleep patterns are expected early on, sleep problems in older toddlers and young children are harder to understand, predict and manage. Once you eliminate illness, lack of routine and troublesome milestones such as teething or growing pains, it’s hard to know where to turn next.

Be realistic

Like just about everything with small children, it can be a case of trial and error until you find something that works for you and often, solutions need to be incorporated into the child’s usual routine for some time before really taking effect. So, be patient, realistic and remember that it would be abnormal for your child to sleep perfectly, every night of their childhood; some minor sleep problems must be expected.

Alternatives to medicines

There are 1001 solutions offered by all kinds of medical and non medical professionals and parents can be forgiven for becoming a little skeptical but some attract more anecdotal (and scientific) evidence than others. Some of the more popular ideas are:

• A large serve of protein and a glass of milk before bed makes for deeper sleep
• Avoid cheese at bedtime to avoid nightmares
• An organic diet or a diet free from artificial preservatives and other “numbers” minimizes the risk of chemical hyperactivity
• Low GI cane sugar alternatives can keep moods stabilized and prevent bedtime tantrums
• Massage relaxes muscles and minds
• Gentle, rhythmic stroking or patting can help induce sleep
• A chamomile tea bag on the pillow and a pep talk about how it’s magical in inducing sleep is enough to induce sleep
• Lavender, Melissa, Jasmine, Neroli and Sandlewood dabbed on a pillow can induce sleep
• A mirror on her bedroom furniture will kill a monster under a bed
• Finding the source of any noise or light and eliminating it is the quickest way to kill a ghost
• Bed time hypnosis tapes, specifically designed to enhance sleep can work after several weeks
• Favourite pajamas and bed clothes pre-cuddled by parents (leaving a parent’s smell) makes for a more relaxed child.
• CDs containing rhythmic ocean sounds or the sound of an engine humming can induce better sleep.

These “quick fix” options are often not enough for children with serious sleep issues but anecdotal evidence suggests that they may help.

When the worries of the world on her little shoulders….

worried

Too Worried to Sleep?

Determining why a child won’t sleep can be almost impossible but parents of sensitive or emotional children may find that their child has something on her mind that is causing sleeplessness. This may also be helpful during stressful life events such as a new sibling or troubles at home.

Try incorporating a “worry time” into the bed time routine. Ask her about her day how she felt about its events. Discuss anything negative at length and help her to find a solution or better understanding. Once she indicates that she feels better about her worries, close the worry time (this can be done symbolically with a hand movement or prop such as a “worry box”). Tell her that she shouldn’t think about her worries any more for the day and introduce a fun, favorite bed time story, free of negative emotions or scary themes.

When life is too wired for sleeping….

For some children, the world is far too interesting and too exciting to waste time sleeping. It is up to parents to literally make life a little boring around bed time but if your child is passionate about her favorite sources of stimulation, this can make things worse and even turn excitement into over tired tantrums. It’s time to fight fire with fire.

Consider DVDs and computer games designed to be part of a bedtime routine. Many of your child’s favorite characters feature in stories about routines and bedtime and there are even dedicated programs designed to do nothing but put a child to sleep. The BBC broadcasts In The Night Garden, a program targeted at babies to 4 year olds where characters relive their day and then go through a bed time routine – it is extremely effective in moving children into the calm and sleepy mode. And of course, ensure there are plenty of books available to her to encourage quiet time, in lieu of play.

When she’s a bright spark

During the day, you’ve probably switched to media, activities or games that involve higher levels of physical activity in a hope of exhausting an energetic child. With the growing obesity problem, many games and TV producers now offer “get up and get involved” versions of kid’s favorites to burn that physical energy away but for bright children, brain activity can cause sleeplessness too.

Finding the balance between mentally tired and over stimulated can be tricky. For children who can’t help but lay awake thinking about stuff (as opposed to worrying or feeling fearful) try introducing an educational afternoon activity. Learn a new skill or visit somewhere interesting in the early afternoon and help your child to fully explore what they are seeing and experiencing. Ask questions, look at examples, and practice difficult words or aspects of the activity until she has a thorough understanding of it. Once her attention begins to wander, change to physical play to clear her mind and burn any extra energy ready to start her bedtime routine.

It’s hard not to feel completely helpless when a child struggles with sleep issues. Always consult your doctor and consider joining a parents’ discussion forum to gather ideas and get emotional support if things get hard.

Author Byline

Susan Long is a mother of three difficult sleepers and a wife to one snorer! She spends her nights looking for inventive ways to keep kids in bed and her days finding inventive solutions to keeping families happy at Rent To Buy

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10 Free Phonics Techniques Blogs

Monday, July 26th, 2010
letters

26 Letters, 44 Speech Sounds, & 70 Common Spellings for those Sounds

Guest Blog by Margo Smith

Phonics is the system of relationships between letters and sounds in a language and will help your child learn to read and spell. Think of the written language as a code. If your child knows the sounds of letters and letter combinations, this will help your child decode words as s/he reads. This will also help your child know which letters to use as s/he writes words. Did you know that the  26 letters of the alphabet give us 44 English speech sounds and about 70 common spellings for these speech sounds? Our little ones have a lot to learn!

Start exposing your child to phonics at an early age.  Zoodles is a free educational resource with hundreds of fun Early Reading/Phonics Games and Decoding/Word Recognition Games for children ages 2 to 8.  Our unique child interface adapts to each child’s age and cognitive abilities, so Zoodles will grow right along with your child. For additional resources on Phonics Techniques, please review the below list of  free blogs provided by Guest Blogger, Margo Smith.

Your Friends at Zoodles

  1. Phonics resources help parents and teachers assist children to learn and love to read by the use of phonics. Make the most of all the beneficial data on this site to find the best books to read to your child to promote a love of learning and start them on the road to a lifelong love of reading. This site offers free teacher and parent resources.  You can also be inspired by the real life success stories found here to help you be motivated as you help your child learn to love books.
  2. Phonics and Teaching Decoding Skills focusing on the age range of kindergartners through third graders, this blog advocates that students in this age range who are taught explicit phonetic strategies for decoding and encoding words have a stronger basis for later literacy learning. They strongly feel that during these years children benefit the most from having precise phonetic strategies modeled for them. Such a strategy helps children to decipher word meaning and provides them with a secure basis for later literacy as they grow older and gain more reading skills.
  3. How to Help Your Struggling Reader is a very suitable site that points you to an article on how to intervene if your child is having difficulty reading, with realistic tips of parents of children who struggle with reading.
  4. Home School Blogger is a teaching blog that gives you a review of different phonics teaching methods available so that you can make a more educated decision when choosing a phonics program. Be sure to take a look over all the pertinent information you’ll find on this blog when deciding which program will best suit your needs.
  5. Phonics Reading provides help for anyone taking on the challenge of learning English as their second language. This style is an exemplary phonics based classification for demonstrating the English language. It has been in use for more than 30 years in the U.K. This procedure was implemented to help teachers explain the nuances of written English, well known for its rules and their exceptions, in a child-centered manner.
  6. Teaching Phonics targets the particular needs of parents choosing to home school their children.  Specific advice is provided for all homeschoolers.
  7. Learning to Read with Phonics examines the usefulness of phonics when learning to read. This site offers other articles on this topic. Be sure your children and loved ones have all the help they need in the area of reading.
  8. Building Blocks of Reading stresses phonemic awareness, known to be at the root of spoken English,  this site will definitely assist you as you work to help your child recognize words.  Find answers to any phonics question you may have.
  9. Phonics Kids provides you with helpful overviews of the usefulness of phonics. Get to know about various downloadable programs for your use.
  10. English Pronunciation Site offers videos detailing examples of English words and phrases. You can chose to maintain your skills by following the blog or subscribe for apps free of charge to keep up the pace with these valuable complete video segments. Be certain your English passes with flying colors by making use of this helpful site.

Author Byline

Margo Smith graduated with a B.S. degree from BYU. She enjoys writing about a wide array of topics from Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) to online classes to reading and phonics. She draws from her own education, her years in school and an author’s view on life when compiling articles.

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Posted in Parenting Tips, Schools and Learning | 1 Comment »

7 tips to protect your child from obesity

Friday, July 23rd, 2010

Guest blog by Alex C.
obesity-advertisingObesity is one of the most serious problems of our century and unfortunately it affects people of all ages. Childhood obesity is a growing problem and research shows that the percentage of overweight children has doubled in the last decade. The health problems created from obesity are a lot (diabetes and heart disease to name a few) and it is vital that care is taken by parents to protect their children from this nasty disease. The good news is that there are various ways to help your children lose weight from an early age and avoid becoming obese when they grow up and this is exactly what we are going to discuss in this article.

The first thing that you need to be aware of is that the fat cells are present in children from the age of two. At this early age this is normal but if this trend continues as they grow up they end up with a high percentage of fat in their body that is difficult to get rid of. It is thus very important to deal with this situation from an early age and take all the necessary precautions to prevent this from happening.

One of the measures you can take is to help your children minimize the consumption of sweets, soft drinks and generally food and snacks that are high in fats and sugars. These items contain a lot of “empty calories” meaning that they do not have any nutritional benefit to offer to the body other than adding to the fat cells. Many of the foods offered in fast food restaurants fall into this category as well as deep fried food and food that is full of  saturated fats. Instead you should guide your children to consume more fruits and vegetables, natural and organic food, non-processed foods, fish, poultry and legumes.

While the above suggestion may sound very hard to implement since it covers nearly everything that your children may be eating, you can succeed when you approach the whole process correctly. As a start you should not try to restrict your children from eating what they want by force but you can try the following tips:

  1. Remove any sweets, chocolates, and sodas from the house. Make sure that when you visit the grocery store you buy only healthy food.
  2. Start eating healthier yourself leading the way to a healthier diet. Children are influenced by their parent’s habits so you should lead by example.
  3. Try to explain to them the dangers from eating unhealthy and how difficult this will be when they grow up.
  4. Give them alternatives where possible; for example a bag of popcorn is much healthier than a bar of chocolate.
  5. Encourage your child to play fun health and nutrition games to reinforce good food choices and healthy eating, as well as demonstrate the importance of exercise and fitness.
  6. Reward them when they are moving in the right direction. Although some experts suggest that you should not associate food with punishment or rewards, sometimes it can be beneficial to give a prize to your child when they start making healthier choices.
  7. Teach them to drink a lot of water. Water is great for many reasons and when they are accustomed to drinking a lot of water from an early age this will make a lot of things in the process easier.

Finally, the earlier in a child’s age you address the problem of obesity the better. If it’s possible you should start thinking about this during pregnancy by taking care of your eating habits. Remember that the effort you need to take as a parent when your children is still young will help them a lot in the course of their life and protect them from many unwanted situations.

alexAlex C. writes about healthy weight loss topics. All of his articles are based on healthy ways to lose weight and he has dedicated articles for weight loss tips for kids.

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The Morning Routine You’ve Been Overlooking

Thursday, July 22nd, 2010

Guest blog by Logan Lindabury.

clock

5:00 AM

I’m a 20 year old entrepreneur and also a full time college student. I have no children. I have no wife. At least, not yet. And now you wonder, “What could he possibly know about what I’m dealing with? How can he possibly think he can help me when he can’t even relate to me?”

Well let us let the judging end here. Because here are your answers: Just because I’m young does not mean I have no knowledge. Just because I don’t have kids does not erase the fact that I myself was once a kid (and at many times, still act like one.) And although I may not have been in your shoes, chances are I have been in the shoes of the other person you are “dealing with.”

So give me a chance. Give me a try. What’s the worst that could happen? I’m offering ways to find happiness in your life and you want to pass that up? Really? Have you thought about what’s really important to you?

And now we begin, with the topic of this article:

Finding some happiness in your everyday life; Morning Routine Version.

You wake up each morning with a slight feeling of discontent because you know your child will stall, yet again. You have the everlasting feeling that the coffee will not be to your liking. That you’ll have forgotten to prepare lunch for the second time this week.

smile

Your child stalls getting ready, who hasn’t? I do it myself some days. But get this, when I incentivize the situation I tend to move a LOT quicker. “Hey, if I get done and out of the house in the next 10 minutes I can take the scenic route today!”

Get it? Offer your child something that he/she wants in turn for him/her getting ready on time. Do yourself a favor and come up with a few things that are both fun and free – like extra Zoodles playing time! You do that enough times, and you won’t have to give them the rewards anymore; though you still should.

But then there’s you, on your third cup of coffee before 9am. And boy are you tired! But guess what? Natural energy works so much better and has NO tired feeling afterward.

“But I’m too busy to do a workout or join a gym.” Good. Well, not good. But, OKAY. That’s fine. Here’s YOUR answer:  Sing and dance.

singing

Sing and Dance

Literally everywhere you go, sing and dance. No music? Who needs music. You’ve got the lyrics and the beats in your head. Come on, you remember Mr. Roger’s Happy Feeling Song, don’t you?!?! And when you can’t think of the lyrics, you can just mumble words together. I do it all the time.

So now you’re thinking, “Great, I’m taking advice from a crazy man who sings and dances no matter where he is. And this is supposed to help me?” Well first off, making my own fun does not make me crazy. And second, this will help you.

When you’re singing and dancing to music that you like you find happiness at a much more rapid pace than when you’re thinking about where the sugar is for your next cup of joe. So, give it a try. If it doesn’t work you at least know that you gave it your all.

But to be honest, I can’t tell you a single person that sings and dances at any given time and is NOT happy during and afterward.

That should tell you something. So, finish reading this and go give it a try. You don’t even have to thank me; just come back and keep reading.

Stay tuned for my next article about letting the kids join in the fun. Thank you.

Author Byline

logan

Logan Lindabury


This article was written by Logan Lindabury, the Happiness Coach from HappinessCanHelp.com. Do you want to enjoy your life? Do you want to find happiness no matter what happens? Then go to HappinessCanHelp.com and get started today.

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5 Sneaky Ways to Teach Kids

Wednesday, July 14th, 2010

Guest blog by LM Preston

As a mother of four with ages ranging from six to fifteen I have learned to persuade my kids to do what I know is best for them.  Managing a household, while working full-time and being an author of young adult fiction causes me to be extremely creative while taking a moment to reflect on what worked best on me when I was a kid.  By using the actions that worked on me, making them fun to learn, and reinforcing them with scenarios have given me great results.

Assess your childpout

Before you can teach your kid anything you need to really get to know them.  My oldest son is a passive aggressive.  He will agree with anything you say, hardly ever talks back, but will automatically go do what it is he wants to do.  My oldest girl is Miss Perfect, except she thinks she is smarter than everyone – especially her parents.  My youngest girl is impulsive, expressive, and wears her feelings on her face.  My youngest boy is one hundred percent alpha male in a tiny little package.  He is not a follower, extremely active, and hates to be told what to do.

Use games to teach small kids

All of my kids were readers before kindergarten.  How did I do this?  Well everywhere in the house that they went to every day I posted letters (started first with the vowels) and sight words.  We would play a game.  When we came upon the dresser, the word dresser would be there, and we would say the word each time.  When we came to the stove, the word stove would be there.  We would play the vowel game and sing the vowel song while I would make their breakfast.  With kids you can teach them most anything if you make it a game.

Ways to teach rules to small kids

chartI had a goal chart up in our kitchen, and the goals stated what goals we wanted to achieve.  The kids would get rewards daily for meeting their goals.   At the end of the day, my kids were able to put their sticker on the goals they met.  They also put the red sticker on the goals they didn’t meet.  I would ask them what choice they should have made in order to make that goal.  Usually they would give me a better choice.

Ways to reinforce rules to older kids

When your kid gets to be a teenager, your approach should change.  You want them to have ownership of the choices they make.teen

Spend time with your child

The best way to do this is to talk to your teenager.   Spend lots of time with them.  Show them that you think they are smart.  Let them know that you want to get to know the person that they are growing into, and get involved in their activities.

Remove things that allow them to alienate you

My kids don’t have TV’s or Video game systems in their rooms.  If you start this out when they are young, they don’t realize that it is something that they are missing.  That way they have no real reason to hide out in their rooms.  The older kids do their homework in our office or family room.  The younger kids do their homework in the kitchen.  We hang out together in the common rooms were there are TVs, video games, and a computer to play online educational games.

Use scenarios

When I was younger, I thought I knew everything.  However, my father was smarter than me.  He would chat with me and put me in all types of scenarios.  Like he would ask me, “If this guy that most of the kids in school were kind of jealous of, was hanging out with everyone and got drunk or drugged up.  What do you think they would do to him if they could get away with it?”

As a teenager, kids hate to be told what to do.  At least I did.  However, when my father would use different scenarios, ask me questions that lead me to the correct responses, he had me.  Once I had walked through the scenario, thought about the consequences, and responded with an answer then I wouldn’t be caught unaware when I was placed in that situation.  I owned the response, the choice, and the decision to do what was right.  I also had accessed the various consequences to making the wrong decision. Don’t ever underestimate the power of problem solving games and scenarios.

Remember YOU are the parent

At times when my kids make the wrong choices, even when I know they have been taught better.  I talk to them, ask them why they made that choice.  I also tell them what the punishment for that choice is, and ask them if that one moment of defiance was worth it.  I never back down from a punishment, so I make sure that it is never made in haste, and that it reflects why the choice they made was not the best.

Author byline

LM

LM Preston

You can learn more about LM Preston, author of  EXPLORER X – Alpha and The Pack, by visting her personal Website and her Blog.

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Inexpensive Ways to Educate Your Kids During the Summer

Thursday, July 1st, 2010

Guest Blog by Eric Rea

Read mini-books. Mini-books are a terrific way to keep kids reading and discovering. You can improve reading skills, learn new things, solidify good social and moral lessons, and even create your own stories.

Geared for specific grade levels, mini-books can enhance and advance your child’s reading and writing skills. They spark creativity without being viewed as “educational”. You can even create games surrounding the stories you read. Best of all it’s an activity you can do together.

Go on nature walks. Grab a book on plants, birds, or history and hit the trails. Make a game of trying to find, identify, and locate all kinds of things. Other than the cost of some gas, and maybe some snacks or a picnic lunch, this trip is completely free.

You can check out books from the library and do some reading for a day or two before you go. Get the kids familiar with what they are to look for. The possibilities are endless – geography, geology, historic site markers, animals, stars, fish, shells, metal detecting, insects, or whatever you and your children can come up with. You might even schedule these outings once a week and look for new things each time you go out.

Educational TV sessions. Schedule educational television sessions for the Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, History Channel, Travel Channel, or Planet Green and the like. TV is often a boon of pleasure for kids in the summer. With more time to watch, make sure that they’re going to pick shows that will get the wheels turning.

Scout out shows that one or all of you are interested in, or let each child pick a show with a subject they want to learn about. Throw your interests into the mix, so they can learn about you, too. They can write about what they’ve learned, have a discussion, or take unanswered questions to the internet to find out more.

Go to historic museums and centers. Sure, you have the big and famous museums that are super fun, but you don’t have to restrict your fun learning to these super museums. Tons of small cities have historic museums or locations that give children a glimpse of all kinds of history.

These lesser-known places have tasty tidbits of interesting and unusual historic artifacts, stories, and atmospheres. Plus, they’re usually not nearly as expensive as the big ones, and can take you and the kids to areas you may never otherwise visit.

Don’t forget Zoodles. Keep your child’s academic skills sharp this summer by encouraging them to play fun reading games and math games on the computer. You can teach and reinforce a variety of subjects by visiting our Games Directory and populating the games your child has access to with the type of educational subject matter he or she most needs.

Learning and fun don’t have to be opposites!

Author Byline

Eric Rea

Eric Rea

Eric Rea is a college student who loves the outdoors, blogging, and social media. He is a devoted uncle and his own blog can be found at www.ericrea.com.

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