Teachers - for much of the day, they are the center of your child's life. So of course, you want to give him or her a creative gift from the class that they're sure to remember all summer.
But we all know how busy the mad sprint to the finish of the school year is, and if you don't have the time to dream up something fabulous, don't fret!
We have 10 fabulously inspired end of the school year gifts that are perfect for any teacher on your list!
1. You’re Out of This World!
Eight years ago, when my son was born, I made the decision to quit my job as a college counselor in order to dedicate myself to writing full time.
In a recent KidsHealth survey, almost 90 percent of students said they felt stressed day in and day out. And so often, when kids are stressed, their parents are as well. Just as much pressure can be felt after the school bell rings as during school hours.
If your after-school schedule feels more hurried, stressful, and complicated than you would prefer, try the following the solutions to make life a little simpler for you and your child:
Reassess the After-School Schedule
Every day, we hear about the side effects of childhood obesity. Increased risk for diabetes and heart disease, low self-esteem, and depression all make that list, and apparently, so should difficulty with math.
According to a Child Development study that surveyed more than 6,250 individuals, children with “persistent obesity” (aka, starting in kindergarten) scored lower on math tests in grades one through five, than children without weight issues.
The seasons are funny. We wish for the warmth of summer but after two months, parents are counting down to fall and the start of school - except that with the start of school comes HOMEWORK. Uck.
You know, that stuff that turns your kids into weepy messes. Or tantrum monsters. Or defiant demons. They refuse to do it and you spend two hours screaming about it and then perhaps you even do it for them. Yes, you know who you are. We will get back to you in a bit.
So how can you make homework time work better for you and your child? Here are a few tips:
So this sealed envelope was sent home from Ava’s school the other day.
The parents of a 6-year-old in Maryland are fighting his suspension last month for making a gun gesture with his hand, aiming his fingers at a classmate and saying, "Pow."
The first grader was suspended for one day (Dec. 21) for what school officials described as his threat to "shoot a student."
Now, the boy's family has enlisted legal help to file an appeal, asking that the incident be expunged from his school record.
For older generations, studying involved a trip to the library and poring over several tomes of information. Now, thanks to the Internet, students have quick research tools like Google and Wikipedia. That should mean that there is less work for them to do in order to find the information they need.
If that's the case, shouldn’t studying be a simpler task for this generation? Shouldn't kids be less likely to cheat in order to get ahead?
Unfortunately, not so much.
Did you know that October is National Bullying Prevention Month?
While the stories of bullied children are nearly enough to scare parents into following our children around everywhere, we know this isn’t the answer.
Instead, we must model, teach and guide our children to be kind, inclusive, empathic changemakers.
We often hear about the importance of reading with your young children at home, but rarely do we hear people advising to write with your children at home.
Research proves, though, that reading and writing go hand-in-hand, and a child’s reading comprehension greatly improves as his or her writing improves.
