FIND PROBLEMS AT SCHOOL WITH CHILD

As a parent or guardian, your child’s health and safety should be one of your top concerns. If your child is enrolled in a day care or school program and something goes wrong, you’re sure to feel upset or angry. But taking an aggressive approach can sometimes make the problem worse rather than better. With that in mind, here are five proven steps you can follow to document, report and follow-up when a problem occurs involving your child.

1. First, get to the heart of the problem. Let your child tell you in his or her own words – but don’t rely on their explanation as the only one. Get information from teachers, classmates or even other parents. You’ll find that there are several sides to the story, and the more you know, the more fully and accurately you can approach the teacher or caretaker and voice your concerns.
   
2. No one likes to be on the receiving end of a harsh criticism right from the start. Try to find something worth praising or noting in the school or person who is working with your child. Starting the conversation out on a positive note shows that not only are you concerned about your child’s well being, but that you also notice and appreciate the dedication and enthusiasm of the caregivers and teachers involved.
3. When it comes time to share your complaint, try to keep the issue on the actual incident instead of the people involved. This helps minimize any later confrontations (between your child and another child, for example), and also helps the teacher focus on the problem and not the ones who started it. Also, don’t forget or ignore your child’s possible role in the problem. Usually when an issue arises, there are two causes – not just one.
4. Don’t be quick to point the fingers or judge others – no matter how tempting. Rather, work with your child’s teacher or caregiver on coming up with several solutions to the problem and reaffirm your active role in your child’s education. By being a problem-solver, you’re not only showing that you’re active and involved in your child’s life, but also that you’re a responsible individual who cares about coming up with solutions rather than winning arguments.
5. After you explain your concerns to the teacher or caretaker, follow up with them and your child to see how things have improved. If the situation hasn’t changed, take your complaint to the next person up and repeat the steps above until a resolution has been made. Being informed and involved with your child’s school shows that you’re more interested in seeing quality results than making a one-time complaint and letting the issue sit while nothing is done to correct it.

Above all, show empathy and understanding toward the person being criticized. No one likes to bear the brunt of a complaint, so try to finish up the conversation on a positive or enthusiastic note. Express your confidence in the school or day care center and show that you’re looking forward to a new beginning – one where everyone wins. Good luck!

PREPARING FOR KINDERGAGARTEN

It’s almost that time of year when you’ll be holding your little one’s hand and leading them into that public education abyss where they will be staying for at least the next 12 years and turning into the people you hope they will be. Yes…it’s time to take your child to kindergarten. As much as you’ve prepared yourself for this day, it’s suddenly just around the corner and you’re not quite sure what to do. On the one hand, you know that this transition to another area of childhood is an important step; on the other hand, this is your baby! So how do you prepare yourself for the transition? How do you prepare your child? Obviously there is one thing you need to do so that other things will fall into place. You must register your child for school. Some parents opt out of kindergarten because in most states, kindergarten is not mandatory. However, in this day and age, there’s a lot that a child misses out on if he or she is not enrolled in some kind of preschool program. Every state is different in the requirements for registering a child for kindergarten. In North Carolina, for example, a child has to be 5 years old by October 16. In California, children need to be 5 by December 2, and in Kansas, by September 1, in order to attend kindergarten starting in the year they turn 5 years old. In most states, children need to be immunized and a health assessment done before they can go to a public school. Once you’ve gotten the "have to’s" out of the way, now it’s time to work on the separation anxiety. In one way or another, you and/or your child will experience this. Here are 10 suggestions for working together to curb the anxiety.

• Usually your child’s school will have lists available to parents for school supplies that will be needed throughout the year. Once you get the list, go shopping for school supplies together. Have your child pick out their own backpack or book bag. Encourage your child to find the items that they need for school. You may want to let them pick out something special that is not required that they can take to school as a reminder of their shopping day together with you.
  
• Talk about school at different times through the days and weeks leading up to the beginning of school. Talk about it in an encouraging way. Tell your child happy and fun stories about your school experiences.
  
• Help your child pick out a new outfit for the first day of school.
  
• There may be other children in your neighborhood or your church who will be going to the same school. Get together with them and their parents for a "play day" or cookout so the kids will get to know each other a little, and so the parents can share ideas or discuss any concerns about their children starting school.
  
• Go to the school with your child on a day before the start of school. Walk around the playground. Look into a couple of the windows, if they are at ground level, so your child can see what the classroom looks like.
  
• Make sure you go to kindergarten orientation.
  
• Help your child to meet new friends by giving them an incentive to do so. Promise your child that after they get home each day during their first week, you will award them with a quarter for each new name they can give you of children they have met that day.
  
• Fix your child’s favorite dinner the night before school. Fix their favorite breakfast on the first day of school, or go out for a special breakfast that day.
  
• Walk your child to the front door of the school building and let them go in by themselves. This will give them a sense of independence and will give you a chance to say your goodbyes and go back to the car. (You don’t want them to see you if you start crying!)
  
• Be on time to pick up your child at the end of the school day.

Of course, being interested in your child’s day is one of the most important things you can do to ensure his or her success. When you drop your child off to go to school, do your best to think happy thoughts and not worry about your child. Keep in mind that no matter how much separation anxiety you and your child go through during the first few days of school, things will eventually even out and you and your child will be okay. One of these days your little munchkin will no longer want to hug you goodbye in front of their friends, so savor every moment you can! The most important thing to remember though, is that by laying the foundation now, you are giving your child one of the best gifts you can give—an education.

HEALTHY PACKED LUNCH

Are you stuck for packed lunch idea? Aware that certain fats are bad but not sure how to avoid them? Well, read on because you will find lots of tips and ideas for healthy packed lunches.

As a parent, you might have gone through the anxiety of wanting to give your child health packed lunches, but also providing something that they will actually eat. After all, a child that won’t eat their packed lunch is probably just as unhealthy as one that eats a packed lunch made up of junk. It’s a huge pressure – I know all too well - but there are certain things you can do to help ease the stress of it all.

The key is in the word “balance” – making sure that your child has all the essential nutrients to help them be healthy and grow, but a little bit of naughtiness so that they don’t get hung up about food and see it as being a bad thing.

Lunchbox ideas:

Sandwiches – ideally, these should contain protein (cheese, meat or egg) plus either a vegetable or fruit - if your child won’t eat veg, adding fruit to sandwiches gives a bit of sweetness and adds to their five a day. Using relish or salad cream/mayonnaise will also make it more flavoursome. For example: cream cheese and banana, cheddar and tomato relish, chicken and thinly sliced tomato, ham and tomato, egg mayo with sultanas, chicken and grapes (try it!).

Bread – well we all know that white bread is no good. To try and wean children off white bread if they won’t eat anything else, try making sandwiches out of one slice brown and one slice white – you could even make this into a bit of fun, let them know that it’s a special sandwich for a super special child!

Fruit – children are much more likely to eat fruit if it is already chopped and in its own container or Tupperware, rather than if you give them a whole piece of fruit which can be a bit daunting. Try a mixture of grapes, blueberries, strawberries and raspberries for children that “don’t like fruit” or the more traditional mix of orange, grape and apple (squirt a little lemon over it to help stop it turning brown) for those that do.

Snacks – hummus with carrot sticks, cheese slices and tomato, nuts with dried fruit, homemade cake made with honey (instead of sugar) and banana, root vegetable crisps instead of potato ones (look in larger supermarkets).


If you involve your children in making snacks at the weekend, they may be more likely to eat them in their packed lunch. For example, making healthy muffins with blueberries, wholemeal flour and half honey/half sugar to sweeten. Or slice potatoes really finely, dowse in healthy olive oil and a pinch of sea salt and bake in a hot oven until golden brown, for perfect homemade crisps.

If you’re really at a loss and are not sure where to start, a good place to begin is by first establishing if your child prefers sweet taste or savoury taste. If children prefer sweet taste, try and encourage fruit eating, and for savoury eaters, try and encourage them to eat veggies sticks chopped matchstick thin and eaten with something tasty such as cheese.

They key is to take small steps and to not give up. You will get there, even if you are not sure how! One small step at a time.

EDUCATION SUPPLIES

While August is the popular month for saving money on education supplies, there are other places you can look to find discount school supplies and clothes. With a little creativity and planning, you will find all the education supplies your children need whether you are a parent or a teacher.

1. Let’s get sales on education supplies out of the way. If it is already August the smart thing to do is to check out the supplies for school at local drug, discount and school supply stores. National chains offer tremendous savings on school supplies this time of year. Get to the sales early and you will find what you need and save a bundle in the process. Teachers can find many classroom supplies on sale at this time as well. If you are a teacher, be sure to take advantage of tax free discounts!

2. Close out stores like Big Lots have school supplies year-round. Notebooks, pencils, rulers, lined paper and folders usually line at least one shelf. While your kids may not appreciate the choice they have in clothing, education supplies can be bought anywhere.

3. Yard sales are a great place to find some of your children’s clothing. If you go to the right neighborhoods, you can find fashionable clothes for a few bucks. It may take some looking, but it is possible to find cute jeans and tops. If your kids balk at the idea of yard sale clothes, just take their measurements and go to them yourself. If you have a bit of fashion savvy, you can get great deals without letting your children know where you got them.

4. For supplies for school, dollar stores are a great place to look. You can buy packages of pens, pencils, erasers and folders for $1 each. Be careful, though. Sometimes you can find even better deals on paper and notebooks on sale at other stores. Why pay a dollar for a notebook when you can pay fifty cents at Target?

5. Warehouse outlets carry name brand clothing at discount prices. Most children -- even teenagers don’t care about the “discount” clothes when the store sign and clothing tags have brand names written on them. Many of these places offer savings of up to 50% on clothes and shoes.

6. If you have you have children of the same gender that are a year or so apart in age, the chances are that you can get away with passing down some clothes. This only works if you make sure to get your younger children something extra which the older child won’t get -- like a brand new lunch box, backpack or purse. You can pretend they are missing out anyway. It’s deceptive, but believe me, the plan does work sometimes.

7. Search online for discount school supplies. Teachers can find fantastic prices on classroom supplies if they get a head start on shopping. Parents can find some of the education supplies their children need by going to places like Amazon and eBay. If your children need specific books for literature classes, online bookstores such as Amazon offer used books as well as new. Scientific calculators can break your budget. They are not cheap, but you can find them cheaper if you look on eBay and other auction sites. There are online school supply stores which carry all such items all year long. Often they will have sales on school supplies at the same time as the brick and mortar stores. If you can be sure the items will get to you on time, this is a great way to shop without having to brave the traffic. With the price of gas these days, the shipping costs may be worth it in terms of time and money.

Whether you are a parent or a teacher trying to find classroom supplies, you can find bargains any time of year. Give these pieces of advice some consideration and you will find everything you need in education supplies and school clothes without breaking the bank to do it.

SCHOOL SUPPLIES

It is time to buy school supplies. The stores will be stocked up on the basics and sending out circulars with coupons and ads. Some places will have better deals than others, so it is a good idea to start comparison shopping right now. If you are overwhelmed, you should know that is common. If you have more than one child, there will likely be a difference in the school supplies you will need.

Exactly what you will need in school supplies depends on the ages of your children and the school they are attending. Many teachers are now sending out lists of needed items ahead of time so the students can be prepared on the first day instead of having to wait for a week or two before they have all they need. Waiting to shop for school supplies can cause a disruption in the students’ ability to do their assignments correctly.

If you have not received such a list, you can still do the bulk of your school supply shopping. It is easier to get everything you need if you take along a list.

Basic Back to School Supplies:

• . Pencils - These are one of the things of which you should buy more than you think your children will need. Pencils get lost, stolen, broken and worn down. Buy twice as many as you think each of your children will need. Older children will need pens as well.

• . Lined Paper - Depending on the age of your children, you may need the larger “learn to write” lined paper and/or notebook paper. If the price is lower than you can expect to find it later, purchase two for each child and put the extras away for later.

• . Printer Paper - Make sure you have plenty of this in stock at home as well as in your children’s backpacks.

• . Construction Paper - If you have very young children, construction paper is a good thing to keep on hand. Buy two pads of these for each child. Your child will likelyhave projects to do at home and this saves having to run out and buy it the night before a project is due.

• . Crayons, colored pencils and waterproof markers - which of these you buy will depend on the age of your children.

• . Notebooks - Buy several one subject notebooks per child (except for the 5 to 7 year olds) and at least one five subject notebook for each of your children who are in middle or high school.

• . Erasers - Pencil toppers and big erasers.

• . Binders - Each child will be able to use at least one binder. Many junior high and senior high schools require more than one binder. Here is where a pre-school list from teachers can come in handy! If you don’t have such a list yet, buy at least one binder for each of your children.

• . Calculators - Basic calculators for children who are in upper elementary classes and a scientific calculator for older children. If your child is taking algebra, geometry, calculus or trigonometry, they will likely need the more expensive brands. Here is another place where starting early can be helpful. Find the best deal possible!

Another School Supply Consideration:

Make sure your family or your child’s computer is running efficiently and has the necessary memory for holding the mountains of homework your children are likely to be doing. Nearly all written essays and reports are not only researched via the internet but are written on the computer as well. Many schools are now recommending that all children have laptop computers. Be sure to ask your child’s school about how a laptop might fit into your school supply list.

School supply lists can be very complicated, but finding great deals on the basic school supplies doesn’t have to be complicated at all. If you can find a good online store that that has these items at discount prices, you may be able to buy in bulk and have everything delivered to your door! Don’t wait until school starts before getting as many school supplies as possible.

JOKES FOR PARENT

A mother was scolding her teenage daughter for her careless hairdo. "You modern girls don't care how you look. Your hair looks worse than a mop." To which the daughter inquired innocently, "What's a mop?"

The father of four cleared the room of toys and chuckled to the minister who was visiting, "Since I've been a married, Ive learned what Paul meant by saying, "When I became a man, I put away childish things,' "

A critical neighbor was speaking of the spoiled palyboy who lived next door. "He went to college and received a B.A., but his M.A. and his P.A. still support him."

A love struck 17-year-old was begging his father to sign for his marriage license. "Don't worry about me making a living, Dad. Two can live as cheaply as one!" "I'm sure two can. Your mother and I have lived as cheaply as you for some time now."

The motto of a single mother: Look like a girl, act like a lady, think like a man, and work like a dog.

A single mother was giving her daughter piano lessons every day of the week. One day a man knocked on the door. "Who are you?" the single mom asked. "Jones, the piano tuner." "But I didn't send for you," she protested. "No, but the couple in the apartment upstairs did."

Sammy was practicing his violin lesson while the next door neighbor's hound dog howled pitifully. The neighbor took all he could and finally came over to talk to Sammy's parents. "Please, can't the boy play something the dog doesn't know?"

Two scientists were debating the possibility of life on Jupiter. "I'm sure there's no life ther," said one. "It's never been listed on my daughter's cell phone bills."

A young mother pushed her baby in a stroller while the baby wailed loudly. A child psychologist met her while walking his dog and heard her saying, "Be calm, Margie. Take it easy Margie!" "Young lady," he said, "I congratulate you on knowing how to calm babies." The he leaned over the stroller and said, "Hi Margie. You're a cute little cry baby." "No! No! the mother shrieked, "Im Margie. She's Beverly."

The brown's little baby was quiet and never spoke. The child remained that way until it was six. The one day at the table, the child said distinctly, "Pass the potatoes." Mr. Brown and his wife were flabbergasted. He said, "You've never spoken before. Why did you do it now?" "Didn't need anything until now," the kid said.

Q. What do you call an aborted fetus in Czechoslovakia? A. A canceled Czech

10 WAYS TO MAKE CHILDREN SMARTER

Scientific research shows that intelligence is both genetic and environmental. Intelligence is also not fixed but can be increased because the brain develops new neurons and interconnections with stimulation.

A supportive environment fosters numerous aspects of intelligence. The following 10 easy ways to stimulate intelligence in children will provide an "enriched environment" for brain growth.

1. Love and Self-Esteem Improve Academic Performance

In a long series of experiments, Prescott Lecky, an American educational researcher, found a high correlation between low self-esteem and learning problems in children.

He correctly theorized that by raising a child's self-esteem, learning performance would also improve.

His success stories include a poor speller who averaged 55% in spelling improved to 91% in six months, a Latin student who went from 30% to 84% after three encouraging conversations with a teacher, and a student considered to have no aptitude for English who improved over a semester to win the school's literary prize.

2. Breast Fed Babies Are Smarter

Danish researchers found that mother's milk contained essential micronutrients for brain development. In fact, the longer the child was breast fed, the more the brain was nourished. For example, infants breast fed for 9 months were smarter than infants only breast-fed for two months.

3. Proper Nutrition Improve Health And Nerve Conduction

Diets high in sugar, Trans fatty acids, and salt decreased health in children. Junk food failed to provide sufficient iron for healthy brain development, resulting in poor nerve impulses. Children with nutritional deficiency also missed school more often because of illness and fell behind their peers.

4. Proper Breakfast Improves Attention At School

Thirty years of research has shown a strong correlation between breakfast and mental alertness. Children who had nutritious breakfasts had better memory. They also concentrated better and absorbed more information during class. Those who had no breakfast or poor breakfast were more irritable and distracted during class.

5. Exercise Benefits Intelligence And Personality

Research conducted by the University of Illinois showed that fitter children performed better academically. Besides the obvious physiological benefits of improved oxygen intake, blood flow, immune stimulation, and neural transmission, there was also a psychological and sociological component, too. Psychologically, fitter children showed higher self-esteem. Sociologically, those who participated in organized sports displayed more confidence, more cooperation, and spontaneous leadership.

6. Musical Training Improves IQ Into Adulthood

Long-term research by the University of Toronto showed that organized music lessons benefited children all the way into adulthood. The longer the child studied music, the higher their IQs as adults. Music students also displayed better grades throughout their schooling.

7. Some Video Games Enhance Mental Acuity

Research by the University of Rochester found that certain video games improved sensory perception, strategic thinking, and planning ahead of time. The video games that created positive mental improvements had an educational element that improved motor skills and enhanced memory.

8. Mind Games Do More Than Entertain

Board games like chess, checkers, creative games like Lego and jigsaw puzzles, and brainteaser games like crosswords, cryptograms, riddles, and Sudoku improved intelligence. Specifically, they stimulated better decision-making, smarter analytical thinking, and more accurate problem solving.

9. Reading Improves Both Creativity And Logic

Whether a child was read to at bedtime, or actively read their own books, silently or aloud, they displayed increased left and right brain intellectual growth. Both fiction and non-fiction books improved creative imagination and logical, sequential thinking.

10. Nurturing Curiosity Creates An Open, Absorbent Mind

Curiosity, the urge to seek knowledge, is essential to improving intelligence in children. Conducting educational outings, teaching new skills, and supporting hobbies encouraged the development of curiosity.

These 10 ways of raising intelligence in children are easy to apply, practical, and within the reach of parents and teachers. Research has shown that they are highly effective in creating the environmental support children need to develop their intelligence.