Educating children Archives - Page 31 of 36

Feb 06 2018

Helping Your Child Relax for Test Taking

Test taking is a stressful and unpleasant activity for most anyone. For a child who may not have experienced test taking before, what are some practical ways to help them relax?

Tips for Preparation

Practice a growth mindset with your children. Help them realize that test taking is a measurement of growth from one academic year to the next. For more details about growth mindset, check out the work by Carol Dweck.
Get a good night’s rest. There’s lots of brain research which shows that the mind gets rejuvenated with rest. Make sure your kids get plenty of REM sleep leading up to the test. They’ll wake up well rested and in a good mood. Starting with a positive attitude is half the battle!
Eat a healthy breakfast. The brain is a well-oiled thinking machine and needs nutrients to help it run efficiently. Have your kids eat a hearty breakfast that will help sustain energy and brain power throughout the morning.

[Read more…]

Jaime Koo, Encouraging Literacy

Discovering the joy of teaching while in high school, Jaime pursued her B.A. in English at Santa Clara University. She also received a teaching credential and a M.A. in Education Administration from Santa Clara University. Jaime taught English Language Arts at Rancho Middle School, motivating and inspiring young people to become effective communicators and contributors in their community. From being a Middle School English Language Arts/English Language Development teacher to becoming a stay-at home mom, Jaime is an education consultant who presents literacy workshops. Her workshops focus on a combination of her ten years of teaching expertise with tried-and-true experiences that she uses with her own children. Jaime is also a Teacher Consultant with the San Jose Area Writing Project. Jaime’s mission is to share effective reading and writing strategies with families to encourage literacy.

Jan 30 2018

How Parents Can Support Their Children’s School Successes

Providing students and staff with challenging opportunities can bolster their confidence. This can improve their desire to excel when they experience success.

Writing a Novel

Our middle school’s teachers have dedicated themselves to promoting literacy in all subject areas this year because many of our students are not reading and writing at grade level. Our 7^th grade teachers decided to have their students participate in the NaNoWriMo National Novel Writing Month last November.

Each 7^th grade student wrote an 8,000-word novel about a personal experience, hope, or dream by completing the following steps:

Research a topic.
Outline the novel’s fictional or non-fictional contents.
Write the novel in 30 days.
Peer review and self-edit through feedback.
Use the Hemingway software application for writing feedback.
Professionally assemble the novel.
Learn how to sell a self-published book at a local book fair.

Many students were surprised that they could complete the assignment. They also began pursuing more writing challenges that allowed them to be creative. [Read more…]

Yvette King-Berg, College Readiness

Yvette King-Berg, is the Executive Director of Youth Policy Institute’s Charter Schools. She was the former California Charter Schools Association Vice-President of School Development and Outreach-Southern California. Ms. King-Berg has over thirty years of experience working with teachers, students, parents, and organizations in a variety of positions including Director, Assistant Director, Curriculum Advisor, Bilingual, and Title 1 Coordinators, classroom teacher (K-12) in Pasadena and LAUSD. She has been married for twenty-three years, and is the proud mother of her son, EJ, who attends UC Berkeley.

Jan 16 2018

Overcoming Holiday Brain Drain

Presents have been unwrapped, leftovers have been eaten, decorations have been put away…You have survived another hectic holiday season! So what’s going on with the kids? Have you noticed that the kids are cranky during and especially after the holidays? Are their brains now a mush and are they dreading the return to school?

The reality is that the holiday season is a major emotional roller coaster, especially for kids. Think about all the excitement and anticipation that kids have experienced during this time– writing a hopeful letter (fingers and toes crossed!) to Santa with their wish list, on-the-go activities like Christmas tree shopping and decorating the home, ice skating and drinking hot chocolate. Of course, there’s holiday shopping, attending traditional winter performances or recitals, watching new-release movies…not to mention the waiting and waiting for Christmas Day to open presents and the anticipation (or dread) of family get-togethers and holiday feasts!

And then everything comes to an abrupt halt.

What if the solution to overcoming holiday brain drain is moderation? Pacing your activities so that kids don’t crash from an emotional high would be a great way to overcome holiday brain drain. Here are some examples: [Read more…]

Jaime Koo, Encouraging Literacy

Nov 21 2017

How to Reduce Bullying at School

Each day our children are exposed to incidents of teasing, criticizing, and belittling. How children respond to these subtle, but destructive statements, can make a huge difference in their daily experiences at school. For example, one child may tease another at lunch about what he is eating. It may be that the child has food allergies and cannot eat certain foods. In another situation, a child may be eating foods that are unique to a culture. Regardless of the reason, children must learn to respect the individual differences of their classmates. Most schools focus on teaching children how to get along with others. Many schools grade children on their behavior with their classmates and their teacher. In California, schools have established strict guidelines on how students are to report bullying incidents to their teacher and school personnel. [Read more…]

Joyce Iwasaki, Early Parenting

Joyce Iwasaki has over thirty years of educational experience working with diverse students in grades from preschool through high school. Joyce’s extensive background includes teaching elementary school, serving on early childhood advisory boards, and advocating for educational initiatives as a legislative aide. During her tenure as a legislative aide, she helped create legislation that allowed incarcerated mothers to keep their newborn babies with them while in prison. Additional legislation was enacted to allow incarcerated pregnant mothers to remain unshackled during labor and delivery. Ms. Iwasaki established and served as the president of an educational scholarship foundation for fifteen years. Her foundation awarded college scholarships to emerging student leaders who provided service to their schools and communities. Joyce is active in performing arts and cultural organizations. She also provides ongoing support to her daughter and family by raising her grandson in her home.

Nov 07 2017

How to Get the Most Out of a Parent-Teacher Conference

Parent-Teacher conference time makes many parents nervous, but it does not need to be this way. Conferences are not an attack on your child, nor is it a time to put all the flaws of your child on display. Instead, shift your perspective. The question you should be asking is, “How can the teacher and I come together for the benefit of my child?” Here’s how to view Parent-Teacher conferences in a positive light.

Teacher will be held accountable for teaching curriculum

When teachers start to explain all the standards that your child will learn in class for the coming year, it may be overwhelming! From the parent’s perspective, there are a lot of concepts that your child will learn. However, the flip side of this is that the teacher is actually outlining all the teaching standards by which he or she will be held accountable for teaching. This is the teacher’s commitment to you and your child. [Read more…]

Jaime Koo, Encouraging Literacy