Comments for Peek-A-Boo Parenting

Comment on Education; Teachers want Family Involvement with Student Behavior by closefamilies

closefamilies — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 02:33:34 +0000

The art idea is a fabulous one! I will definitely be doing things like this with my son, especially this summer when I am home on maternity leave before he starts school in August! Thanks so much for the sound advice and encouragement! I want to also work with and participate in any existing groups that the school/community has organized (PTA/PTO or Parents as Teachers?) to begin with, and if none exist, then I shall create one! I definitely want to have a voice when it comes to my children’s education, and like you said, I’m sure others do as well, and teachers can benefit from gaining support at home from the parents. Teachers certainly don’t teach for the money, so deep down, it has to really be about the children for them too. I will be contacting you via email for any future questions or progress updates, if you’re interested. Feel free to contact me likewise.

Comment on Education; Teachers want Family Involvement with Student Behavior by Sandra Gunn

Sandra Gunn — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 21:48:05 +0000

Good for you! Remember that children love music and art. As an idea of what I did, buy a large piece of foam core then go to a local paint store and ask for paint that has been rejected as a donation to your “art studio”, get some rollers, a paint tray, and a few BIG brushes. Put the foam core in the yard (we bought 4′ x 8′ pieces and put them in the driveway, leaned against saw horses or trees). Then turn them loose to run up and down their canvas with big splashes of color, laughter, excitement and your grand approval. You are going to be so surprised when they get the hang of it what they produce! They will need your uninhibited direction. We have art hanging in our home now that friends think we bought in NY. As for starting an organization that motivates for changes in childhood education begin in your neighborhood – begin with other mothers or community members who you know. Form a group (coffee clutch) create an agenda for their review encourage discussion and brainstorming. Take the best ideas and create an actionable plan. You would be surprised again at how mothers (and fathers) yearn to participate in the direction of the education of their children. Invite teachers to your meetings (after you assemble a plan) or go to their classrooms and have them offer their suggestions. Begin a thoughtful, sensitive collaboration within your community – without finger pointing. BEGIN, that is what is important. Open the door and walk though. The first step is the most challenging but then after that all kinds of doors open. Be positive, let no one discourage you, stay involved and DO NOT give up once you set your feet on the path. I am always ready to help others begin – you have my email address sandra@peekabooparenting.com. I have yours lauraberry1984@gmail.com.

Comment on Education; Teachers want Family Involvement with Student Behavior by closefamilies

closefamilies — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 18:09:31 +0000

I have been sincerely debating on the latter of those two choices, as I definitely have already decided that we will do as much for our children (without putting too much pressure in them… They do need to “be a kid” and just play, but you can learn more through those experiences sometimes than through a standard classroom anyway, if we are involved in the play and take advantage of what we call in the preschool setting, “teachable moments.”) Any advice on how/where to get this type of organization started?? I am in a position where staying at home will be a possibility soon, even if only temporary, and I would like to do something useful with the extra time! This is a great opportunity to give back, and help my own family at the same time.

Comment on Education; Teachers want Family Involvement with Student Behavior by Sandra Gunn

Sandra Gunn — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 14:09:42 +0000

We raised our sons in a small county in rural TN, probably similar to yours. We taught them at home from the moment they could focus. Both attended MIT. You are doing the right things to help your 5 year old get the start he needs to succeed. Sadly, many educators remain unchallenged in their performance and lazy in their innovative thinking. They have little support from parents, from their community, from their superiors, hence, they lack the ambition to create stimulating educational environments for their students. You have 2 choices; provide the enrichment exercises at home that your child will need to succeed, AND/OR, be a FORCE in your community by creating a parent organization that focuses on upgrading educational expectations for your children. Bring this organization into the schools and collaborate with your teachers and principals in helping to shape a school room environment that is exciting and stimulating. You will meet resistance but your passion will prevail. You can make Changes; you can move people with your voice. Teachers have children too. Don't waste a moment; get busy and if you need to call upon me do it. I am ready to make changes with you. "In the land of the blind, the one eyed man is king"

Comment on Education; Teachers want Family Involvement with Student Behavior by closefamilies

closefamilies — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 01:20:58 +0000

We are teaching our five-year-old as much as we can at home, because of this fact! He is doing simple math and reading (no flash cards or worksheets involved, just learning through play and life lessons/explanation). We also work on his listening and comprehension skills. However, it’s hard to expect good things from a small town, rural school district that doesn’t even have a “game plan” for enrollment for Kindergarten, whereas most districts in the local cities and suburbs have already enrolled or will in March. This is our first child to enter public school, but it scares me that the principal doesn’t even know exactly how/when Kindergarten enrollment is going to be. Suggestions??

Comment on Education, Lateral Thinking and the Google Ngram Viewer by read more here

read more here — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 10:33:58 +0000

http://www.getjealous.com/blog.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=2445654&go=klaraswelt5487 Thanks for that awesome posting. It saved MUCH time

Comment on The Family; A Serious Decision by Olivia Slama

Olivia Slama — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 22:14:49 +0000

I will have to inform my four month old daughter of the curse I placed upon her by having her at a young age. You can’t expect a young person to raise “their children with love, care, and discipline…”? TV shows, such as MTV’s “Teen Mom” give young mothers a poor representation by taking the girls who will never grow up, and telling society that this is the face of every young mother. It is true that many children are raised in an environment that is not suitable for teaching them to be responsible adults, but it is naive and insulting to state that all young mothers are simply children parenting children, and that all of them provide this poor environment. Young mothers are women (yes, women- the individuals on television are the children) who learn responsibility early in life. They are women who jump into adulthood early and do everything they can possibly do to provide for their child. They are women who love their child like they have loved nothing before. Anyone who says a young mother is incapable of these things is too easily persuaded by the television, and they need to spend more time in the real world with real young women.

Comment on Education: A teacher’s response… by Wisconsin Speech Therapy Jobs

Wisconsin Speech Therapy Jobs — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 20:53:51 +0000

I am going to reccomend your Blog to various associates of mine, I think you are definately on the right track.I found your blog on Yahoo

Comment on Education; Teacher Cheaters in Pennsylvania! by learningbuzz

learningbuzz — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 20:51:46 +0000

That is so true. Again we are going back to the “study for the test” mentality that is instilled by teachers in their classrooms. If you don’t get the score, you’re out! The teacher suffers too because of one number that doesn’t meet someone else’s standard (mostly government). The students learn that the abilities to think critically, analyze and question have absolutely no meaning because a single score is more important. A great example of this is Asian students – they have the perfect scores on all the test necessary to get into a North American university. And they do… Then everyone realizes that they have little common sense, little analytical skills, social and communication skills because all they did at school and the “extra” private tutoring academies is … study for the test! Nothing else matters.

This needs to change…

I went the Sir Ken Robinson’s talk in Vancouver, BC and he told a story of a student he talked to. The student had just finished a university course. He asked her: “So what did you get out of this course?”. She replied: “I got a B.” He smiled and said: “No, this is what your professor got out of your assignments. But what did you actually got out of this course?” Student couldn’t think of a single thing. The picture is pretty ugly.

Comment on Education; It’s time for a new school model – STEM by learningbuzz

learningbuzz — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 20:33:24 +0000

You are making a great point about parents not involved in their children’s education and instilling the sense of the winner.

I have heard so many parents say: “I drove him to school, now it’s the teachers’ job to keep him busy.” How about teaching your child that when they enter that classroom, they should have respect for their teacher? I can go on forever on that topic… I just don’t know when the school became an excuse for lack of parent involvement in children’s education. Parents think that as long as the child is at school, they don’t need to do anything. The attitude is: “If my child is falling behind, it’s the school’s fault.”

And then I have also heard so many teachers tell parents that their children are doing great at school and everything is going fine, only for the parents to find out at the end of the school year, that their kids have had problems all along and no one told them. A friend of mine learned that her son couldn’t recognize some of the letters of the alphabet at the end of Grade 1, but throughout the school year, the teacher was telling her that he was doing better than most kids in his class and he’s very smart. When she met with the teacher to talk about her son’s performance, the teacher started telling her that her son had been struggling all year to grasp the material. When my friend asked the teacher why she wasn’t notified about these issues, the teacher said that she didn’t want the boy to think that the teacher is putting him down and that he’s not doing well. It’s ridiculous. He needs to know he’s not doing well, so he can put in the effort to do well. How else would he know if he’s reaching the expectations?