The Interventionist Blog
As the short, cold days and long winter nights roll into February both parents and kids can become bored. If this sounds familiar to you, it’s time to try some new activities. Here are some suggestions: For Parents:
For Kids:
The above are some suggestions for beating the Winter Blues. Some of the things I’m working on this winter is trying new recipes and staying consistent with being active. Additionally, my winter project is organizing the baby clothes in the basement; going through them and storing them into bins according to gender/sizes. I know that once spring/summer arrives, I will not want be in the basement, so I might as well utilize the winter to get it done. I’m also trying to go out a little bit more to see family and friends. As easy as it is to “hibernate” this winter, I tell myself it is healthy for me to get out of the house besides dropping my son off at preschool and going to the grocery store. Working/learning in a virtual world, it’s easy to only leave the house once per week or not at all. I hope you find these suggestions useful to pass the time during the winter months; embrace the memories or traditions that you can create starting today! If you have any to share, I’d love to hear about your ideas too! Although we appreciate the winter, here’s to the countdown to spring when we can extend our memories or traditions outdoors!
0 Comments
Sticking to a routine at home can be quite a chore when factoring in different ages of children, multiple children, time change, job changes, and of course – WINTER BREAK! Getting children into good sleep or study routines is tough enough; vacations and daylight saving time can add an extra element to the challenge of keeping to a family’s routine. Changes in routine can be fun but can also leave children, as well as parents and teachers, out of sorts and tired. Tired children may end up behaving in challenging ways. Tips to help during changes in routine
Have a wonderful Winter Break! While enjoying the Thanksgiving break, I started thinking ahead to our next big break…Winter Break! I know many, like myself, look forward to that time of year with eager anticipation. Winter Break often gives us a much needed break in the action of our daily lives and time to relax and hang out with family and friends. Let the COUNTDOWN BEGIN! However…while we all feel the need for a break from the daily routine, our children need to stay on top of their learning game. For many of the skills your child is learning, it is important to remember they are doing just that…learning. Mastery of these skills has not yet happened. Learning is a process that takes time and does not handle breaks well. So, feel free to give them a break from the daily routines, but keep their brains active and growing over break so they come back ready to move ahead in their learning! This does not mean you have to dig out the flashcards and textbooks! I have include just a few ideas of how to keep your child’s brain engaged in fun ways that will help them to stay on top of their learning over breaks.
Keep in mind that this is just the beginning of the list of ways to keep your child’s brain engagedJ…feel free to add and adapt it to your child’s interests! And above all, HAVE FUN and ENJOY your much needed break! Going to school online can be a challenge for both the student and the learning coach. It is a whole new world; a virtual world that is. The support your child gets from you is one of the most important things that will determine their success in this environment. Here are 5 ways to support your child: 1. BE PREPARED Make sure you look at your daily plan ahead of time. Know what time each session starts and ends and prepare your child ahead of time for their sessions. If it is close to lunch time, make sure you have snacks handy in case they get hungry. 2. COMMUNICATE WITH TEACHERS Having a relationship with the teacher is essential especially virtually. Talk to the teacher about any issues that arise as soon as they come up. They understand the challenges of schooling online because they are teaching online as well. 3. ENCOURAGE YOUR CHILD Let your child know how special they are to be going to school online. They are the trendsetters and are leading the way in education. If they feel good about themselves, they will have more success. As they are working, let them know how they are progressing. Be specific when you praise them so that they know exactly what they have done well. 4. GET MOVING It is important to get up and get moving. Sometimes a change of scenery and some fresh air is necessary. Take every opportunity to go outside and take a walk, go for a bike ride or any other activity that gets your body moving. It could be as simple as doing jumping jacks, running in place or even dancing. 5. BE AWARE Be aware of how your child is doing. Ask them questions. Create a space where they feel free to communicate with you. You spend more time with them than anyone else and they need to know that you are listening, that their feeling are important and that they are being heard. Students face a number of challenges producing correct and appropriate texts. For a start it is usually a solitary task. Often it’s given as homework and therefore feels unsupported. In class students can find support from each other doing pair or group work and also from their teacher. Writing a composition for homework, they often don’t know how to help themselves. When it comes to motivation, students often feel a great sense of failure when they have writing returned to them covered in red ink, with each mistake highlighted. It is not easy to know how to pick yourself up and start again. If our students are teenagers this is particularly difficult. They may put on a show of not caring, but teens find criticism very painful and may feel great frustration in not understanding exactly how they can redress their weaknesses in writing. Writing is a big part of every high schooler’s life. In fact, students write more than ever before–from school research papers to essays on standardized tests to texting their friends. Yet writing problems abound. According to the 2011 results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), only 24% of twelfth-graders are at or above the proficient level in writing and only 3% write at an advanced level. While these results are disappointing, the overall effect on student achievement is a larger concern: writing problems can greatly hinder college and career success. The good news is that with hard work, patience, and targeted help, high school writing problems can be overcome. As with any other skill (and art), writing takes practice. You need to write every day to build your writing fluency. Daily practice might include keeping a journal or blog. The biggest hurdle to writing is getting over the hump of not doing it. Students should write every day to build fluency. Write a lot, and get in the habit of reading every day. Good readers also make good writers! What Does Your Child’s Writing Look Like? Does your high school student make errors in grammar, spelling, and punctuation? Are you finding poorly constructed sentences and unsuitable word choices? Is there a lack of organization or supporting ideas? Here are some common errors that will help you identify the trouble spots in your high schooler’s writing: Problem: Sentence Fragments Example: Going to the football game this afternoon. Solution: I am going to the football game this afternoon. Problem: Run-on Sentences Example: I enjoy going to the movies first I have to finish my homework. Solution: I enjoy going to the movies, but first I have to finish my homework. Problem: Lack of Subject-Verb Agreement Example: She drive every day. Solution: She drives every day. Problem: Incorrect Noun Plurals Example: The berrys are ripe. Solution: The berries are ripe. Problem: Incorrect Plural and Possessive Nouns Example: The childrens’ toys were donated to a charity group. Solution: The children’s toys were donated to a charity group. Problem: Wrong End Punctuation Example: Where are you. Solution: Where are you? Problem: Not Forming Compound Sentences Example: It rained today. The weather report called for blue skies. Solution: It rained today, yet the weather report called for blue skies. Problem: Sentence Variety Example: Susan runs to school every morning. Susan talks to her friends before class. They don’t get to class on time. Their teacher gets angry. Solution: Susan runs to school every morning so she can talk to her friends before classes begin. However, when they don’t get to class on time, their teacher gets angry. Problem: Paragraph Focus Example: I love computer games, model cars, and comic books. All are fun! Solution: I enjoy many different types of leisure activities. My friends and I have a great time playing the latest computer games with the most excitement and challenge. When I want to create something on my own, I build model cars and take pride in getting every detail just right. Yet nothing beats my comic book collection if I want to kick back and relax! With all of these things to do, I’m never bored. Overcoming Writing Problems: How Parents Can Help High school writing problems can be overcome through a combination of thorough feedback, writing practice, and careful revision. Start by speaking with your child’s teachers. Share your observations and concerns. Often writing problems exist because students need more feedback or are confused about the feedback they are getting. Another issue is the busy high schooler’s schedule, which doesn’t allow enough time for practice and revision. Here are some tips that can help you get your student on track for writing success–in class and on tests:
Most people don’t realize that writing is a process —a process of hard-to-get-started introductions, messy drafts, and tedious revisions. Students need to be shown that most writing is not done in a single draft, and understand that teachers don’t expect it to be! (www.time4writing.com/writing-resources/writing-problems-high-school/). There are many ways to support the development of your child’s understanding of Mathematical concepts by engaging in activities that are fun, but also demonstrate how Math is a part of our lives. Since we are in the middle of the Fall season, I thought I would share some activities which relate to this time of year! Pumpkins are everywhere this time of year! If, like many, you have a pumpkin or two decorating your home, or if you have plans for carving jack-o-lanterns or cooking up some delicious pumpkin treats this season, you can explore some math concepts with your children at the same time! Check out the great pumpkin project! Step by step directions are given for how to involve students in estimation, measurement, data collection, prediction, and graphing activities as they try to determine how many seeds are in a pumpkin! Paired with the activity is a reading of the book by Margaret McNamara, How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin? Pumpkin Measurement and Pumpkin Pi!
Estimating with pumpkin seeds: Take pumpkin seeds and place them in a small clear container or glass. Have your child estimate how many pumpkin seeds are in the container. Talk about what strategy they used to make their estimate. (Ex: Did they count what they could see? Use a method such as doubling or multiplication?) Then, have your child check his/her estimate by counting out the seeds! Follow-up estimating pumpkin seeds with some sorting and counting activities!
Explore fractions while baking some delicious pumpkin bread! Get out your measuring cups and let your child gets some hands-on experience seeing how we use fractions every day when we bake! (If you prefer a different Fall treat, any recipe will do!). You can also let your student explore fractions with measuring cups without doing any baking if preferred. This can be done with anything that students can scoop and pour with measuring cups (pumpkin seeds, dried beans, four, or water). As students fill and empty measuring cups, seeing how many of each fractional measuring cup it takes to fill or empty the larger one each time, it will help them to develop a deeper understanding of fractions as equal parts of a whole. Downeast Maine Pumpkin Bread Ingredients
In all types of schools, teachers get to know their students over time and hopefully learn how their students learn best. We realize that not everyone learns in the same way and try to play on our students’ strengths in order to help them succeed. Some teachers choose to use a quiz like the ones found here to figure out their students’ learning styles quicker than they may be able to just pick up on them. http://www.educationplanner.org/students/self-assessments/learning-styles-quiz.shtml http://www.personal.psu.edu/bxb11/LSI/LSI.htm http://www.edutopia.org/multiple-intelligences-assessment Students who attend virtual schools have not only a teacher, but a learning coach who helps facilitate their learning. Because learning coaches are often parents or other adults who are close to the student, they have a unique perspective of the student. I hear many parents say things like, “He needs to hear it in order to pick up on it,” or, “She needs it laid out in front of her or she will not understand it.” Comments like these show that parents or other learning coaches already have an idea of their student’s learning style, even if that isn’t the terminology they have used to discuss it. Tuning in even more to that learning style can help your child become even more successful. In addition to knowing your student’s learning style, knowing your own can be helpful as well. The reason for this is that it is easy and even natural to choose methods that go along with your own learning style to teach something to someone else. We tend to lean toward our own learning styles when explaining something because this is the way things make most sense to us. Being able to tune in to your own learning style, your student’s learning style and knowing when to sway from one to another can help ensure success for your student. An interesting article that I read (Know Your Students- Identify Their Personal Learning Styles by Inge P. Cannon) explains and sums up the different learning styles as: · Lookers (technically termed visual/spatial learners) process information best when they see it. · Listeners (called auditory learners) are most efficient when they can hear information. · Movers (kinesthetic or tactile learners) function best when they can physically interact with information in a hands-on way. Here are a few study tips for working with “lookers”: · Use drawings or allow the learner to illustrate their ideas · Use charts, diagrams or mind maps · Avoid activities that rely solely on memorization Here are a few study tips for working with “listeners”: · Read things aloud and solve problems aloud · Eliminate noise distractions · Incorporate music, rhymes, rhythms into learning Here are a few study tips for working with “movers”: · Use objects such as legos or clay to reinforce the objective · Take frequent breaks · Allow movement while learning- standing, encourage whole body movement, walking, etc. So, don’t cramp your student’s style- embrace it! For more ideas to play on your student’s learning style, visit the following sites: https://www.hslda.org/earlyyears/LSChecklist.asp http://medicine.utah.edu/learningresources/tools/auditory.php http://medicine.utah.edu/learningresources/tools/visual.php http://medicine.utah.edu/learningresources/tools/tactile.php So you’ve decided that online education is the best route for your family – great! We are glad you are here! Virtual education allows your child to work at a pace that is comfortable for them, some flexibility in your schedule, maybe a little traveling, or just a better alternative to your local school. Now that you’ve gotten used to being online daily, working through curriculum, and attending virtual classes, are you finding that you or your child spend a lot of the day just sitting?
Sitting down, especially at a computer, for long periods of time can have some negative effects on the body and even the mind! Neck and back pain, poor posture, digestion issues, and even slower brain function are just a few side affects you may experience from sitting all day. Yikes! But don’t worry, there are some easy and fun ways to incorporate movement into your family’s very busy day so you can avoid those long lasting effects.
There you have it! And when you’re thinking of putting off that few minutes of movement just remind yourself of this: 150 minutes of physical per week can reduce stress and anxiety, improve sleep, mood, memory, and even learning! That’s 30 minutes five days per week – you and your child’s spine, heart, tummy, and brain will appreciate it! No, your brain isn’t made of plastic. But you know how plastic can be made into pretty much anything? Well, your brain is similar. It can change and grow depending on what you put into it and how you exercise it. We used to think that a person’s IQ was really important. You know—that you were born with a certain amount of intelligence, and that’s what you got. If you were really smart when you were little, you were just lucky. But now we know it’s much more complicated than that—IQ isn’t fixed. In fact, it’s becoming a less reliable measure of anything. So what? Well, knowing that your intelligence isn’t fixed is great news—if you’re willing to work to get smarter and to know more things. Parents and teachers used to think that some children just couldn’t learn. Now we know that isn’t true. That doesn’t mean that everyone can learn at the same pace or that everyone will excel right away. We have moved from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset. The more we learn about the brain and education, the more we understand that brains aren’t stuck at one place or one intelligence (fixed mindset). Instead, they can continue to change throughout a person’s life (growth mindset). But I CAN’T learn this! (NOT!) There are many reasons that learning can be difficult. Some people have learning disabilities or traumatic brain injuries. Some have ADD. Some students have struggled with subjects for years and feel that there’s no hope. But the newest research is showing that brains are so plastic—so flexible—that they can learn to adapt to very challenging circumstances. HOW do I learn when I think it’s too hard? You fix your thinking. That’s not easy, of course, but the very simple truth is that if you believe you can learn, you will be able to do it faster and better. If you have a habit of telling yourself that something is too hard, you are fighting your own brain. If you give up, you’re not giving it a chance at all. Here are a few ways to change your thinking:
If you’re interested in learning more about brain plasticity and growth mindset, here are a few links: https://hbr.org/2016/07/the-antidote-to-our-anxious-times-is-a-learning-mindset http://sharpbrains.com/blog/2008/02/26/brain-plasticity-how-learning-changes-your-brain/ https://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/plast.html https://www.brainpickings.org/2014/01/29/carol-dweck-mindset/ Virtual lessons are delivered via the computer but we still need to use other tools to learn what is being taught. It is too easy for information to go “In one ear and out the other!” Our brain is composed of the right and left hemisphere. Between the left and right sides of the brain is the corpus callosum. The corpus callosum integrates information between the right and left side of the brain. When information is stored in more than one part of the brain it can be remembered more easily. When we listen to information it uses a different part of the brain than when we read the same information. If there is a chart or diagram the part of the brain that processes this type of information is in a different area. When we write things down we are using yet another part of our brain. To be able to remember the things that are being taught we need to read, write, listen, speak, view images, draw pictures and make diagrams. These things will improve our ability to remember! Here are some suggestions as to how to help your student learn and remember what is being taught! 1. What does my student have on the desk along with the computer?
With your student think of the things that they think they might need. I keep these things in a large manila envelope, these are the tools related to geometry, I may not use the every time but they will remind me of how to do the things I need to do. Geometry
Elementary School Math
During the first week of school considering making a couple of “kits”. Ask your student “What do you think you will need for math this year?” What are some things you can have your students do the same way every time that can reduce stress. The beginning of a new school year can feel a bit overwhelming. One way that you can ease the stress is to Train Your Brain! Instead of having to consciously remember certain things – turn them over to your unconscious brain, in other words make as many things as you can “automatic”. For example I have a key rack in the kitchen. I always hang my key on the rack, when I need to go somewhere I always go to the rack and grab my keys. I have been doing this for 16 years! I don’t consciously think about it. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
January 2017
Categories |