GenParenting

Parenting resources for all who love and care for children

Embrace and Learn from Mistakes and Challenges

Embrace and Learn from Mistakes and Challenges

by Erik Youngman, Guest Blogger

Regardless of your children’s age and where you live, there are daily opportunities to help children embrace and learn from mistakes and challenges. Teachers and parents have an important shared responsibility and opportunity to model and empower critical skills to children. Children make progress when teachers and parents model and empower learning from mistakes and challenges with a growth mindset. Progress and change are dependent upon specific skills that are required and improved while learning with a growth mindset and become even more important as expectations and rigor increase. [Read more…]

College and Career Explorations

College and Career Explorations

When children are preschoolers, they love to think about what they want to be when they grow up. Some want to be garbage collectors, doctors, princesses, and athletes. Whatever career passions children relish, it is important to reinforce these interests with relevant play activities and enrichment outings to learn more about various careers. Parents can help children visualize a plan for a career opportunity by encouraging their children to:

  • Communicate with folks in specific professions.
  • Research the educational and job requirements for potential careers.
  • Participate in field trips and community activities to learn more about specific careers.
  • Attend parents’ work activities and shadow parents, colleagues, and friends to explore various careers
  • Encourage children to help at work with duplications, mailings, and computer inputting if permitted by the company.
  • Secure community service volunteer responsibilities, internships, and paid jobs.

As children enter middle school and explore various careers, they must learn how to research various college and career academic requirements to ensure that they are taking the proper courses for a specific career. They can attend career exploration days, meet with college counselors, and attend college tours to learn more about academic preparations. The more children understand the requirements for specific careers, the greater their successes will be to prepare and plan for appropriate course selections.

Early College Options

Early college, or the ability to take college courses in high school, can save thousands of dollars in educational preparations and tuition costs later. Middle school and high school students can learn more about early college by contacting their local school district to determine which high school campuses offer community college courses at the high school site. Parents and students can also contact their local community college to learn which courses high school students can register for during and after the school day. Additionally, many state and private colleges offer summer and vacation break intra-sessions on different careers including computer coding, science and math academics, performing arts, and writing workshops.

Community Service Leadership Opportunities

As part of their high school graduation requirements, most high school students are required to participate in community service activities. Some students use this time to explore careers and provide community services at elementary schools, for youth sports teams, and at various social service agencies. During summer breaks, students may participate in an international business program or cultural exchange program in another country. Other students work at summer jobs or internships to learn about merchandising, computer coding, and legislative support services for a local legislator.

Much success supporting your children’s school leadership and career planning options.

Becoming a School Leader

Becoming a School Leader

Parents are their children’s first teachers. Many feel inadequate on how to become a school leader. Some parents may have had a negative experience in their own academic experiences. Others may have attended school in another country. By participating in their children’s classrooms, parents can learn how to help their children at home with their homework and school projects. Parents can share their own skills, hobbies, and cultural experiences with students in the classroom. Additionally, children will respect their parents’ presence at the school and feel important. Parent classroom volunteers can:

  • Provide food donations when requested and help prepare meals with the students.
  • Donate classroom supplies requested by the teacher and prep curricular projects at home for classroom use.
  • Serve as a classroom parent representative to provide added support for class parties, field trips, and grade-level events.
  • Share a talent or hobby in small group learning centers.
  • Mentor and shadow new classroom parent volunteers.
  • Provide interpretation and translation support for parent volunteers and students

Classroom Support

Classroom parent volunteers will be able to:

  • Gain insight in how their children are adjusting to the new school year with their classmates and the academic course work.
  • Observe how the teacher is coaching and interacting with various students when responding to diverse educational challenges.
  • Advocate effectively with teachers and staff because they have an established relationship and committed partnership with the school community.

School Leadership Roles 

As parents become experienced classroom volunteers, many will receive leadership training from teachers and parent mentors to expand their volunteer leadership at the school. Parents can become school leaders and support the school by:

  • Serving as a parent representative on school and district committees
  • Participating in the school’s Parent, Teacher, and Student Association (P.T.S.A.)
  • Supporting a school’s fundraising foundation with fundraising and sponsorship events
  • Soliciting and advocating for added community partnerships at the school site through community-based organizations and local businesses
  • Leveraging added instructional support services by organizing special events, field trips, and community service projects for students and their families
  • Creating a school-based performing arts program with local artists, museums, and community theaters
  • Expanding physical fitness and nutritional programs with community-based organizations and sports groups

As parents partner and expand their roles at school, they will become more confident in supporting their children’s academic needs and successes.

Managing School Year Stress

Managing School Year Stress

During the first weeks of each semester, children will come home daily with many needs, stories of exciting adventures, and frustrating challenges that must be resolved. Parents typically feel overwhelmed with the many school supplies needed for each classroom. Added paperwork must be completed for classroom teachers. Children must also adjust their personal schedules to meet individual classroom schedules.

Managing Stress

We can model effective stress management behavior by taking a deep breath, reflecting, and choosing our words carefully as life becomes demanding. Our family will be happier during the afterschool routines if we are calm and respectful. Most family members need a break when they first arrive home from work and afterschool activities. The kids want to play or watch television. The parents want to change into their cozy clothes and relax. Younger children demand hugs and quality time with their parents. Some families preplan their dinners each week and eat leftovers every other day to simplify and support a relaxed evening. Other families make simple meals on alternate nights and purchase prepared food at the grocery store. Whatever the solution for dinner preparation, it is important to strive for a relaxed evening. [Read more…]

Getting Ready For Next School Year

Getting Ready for the Next School Year

Once you decide on a school for the upcoming school year, it is important to plan ahead throughout the spring and summer. For example, during the last weeks of summer, it is important to help your children plan for the first days of school by coaching them to become organized for the first day of school. Many children have later bedtimes during the summer. It is helpful to slowly adjust their wake-up and bedtime hours to align with the school year schedule a couple of weeks before school starts. Your children may resist at first, but the family will feel successful that they are ready for the new school year. [Read more…]