GenParenting

Parenting resources for all who love and care for children

Giving Thanks for Our Families

Giving Thanks for Our Families

My grandson lives between two countries; the United States and Japan. His mom works full time in the United States while his dad works full time in Japan. The value of having parents in two countries is that my grandson is able to live and appreciate his cultural heritage as a descendent of the Japanese culture and a fifth generation American.

Favorite Activities in Japan

When my grandson visits his father in Japan, he enjoys:

  • going to baseball games
  • playing at amusement parks
  • visiting indoor children’s discovery museums
  • exercising at indoor gymnastics activity centers
  • attending entertainment centers

[Read more…]

How to Develop Leadership Qualities in Your Child

How to Develop Leadership Qualities in Your Child

When considering leadership qualities, admittedly, there are a lot of good qualities to name! How do you know what is the best quality to develop in your child? Where do you start? For young children, it is good to start developing foundational leadership skills within their circle of influence. Usually, this means starting with the self. Start developing internal qualities within your child in the context of your home. As children mature, they can add and build upon the qualities that they already possess.

1. Develop Self-Discipline

All great leaders possess this quality and it must be instilled in your child while they are young. One way to develop self-discipline is to assign chores or guidelines for keeping their personal space tidy. After playing with toys, do your kids have to make sure the space is cleaned up before dinner? What are your expectations for dirty clothes and clean laundry? Do you have a consistent routine for kids to do homework? Perfecting the skill of self-discipline takes time and repetition! Once this practice becomes a habit, your kids will be able to add other responsibilities with ease. [Read more…]

What Works in Urban Charter Schools?

What Works in Urban Public Charter Schools?

Youth Policy Institute Charter Schools (YPI) in Los Angeles County has met major growth achievements during the past two years. When preparing for our charter petition renewal, the leadership team analyzed extensive data and feedback from key stakeholders to identify what was working in YPI schools.

Best Practices

We identified the following five best practices:

  1. Our newly hired teachers are highly qualified with 15 – 20 years of teaching experiences and added years of professional experiences beyond teaching.
  2. Our teachers provide differentiated reading support and literacy instruction based on each student’s tested reading level. We have closed up to six years of grade level reading gaps in shorter amounts of time.
  3. Our teachers and students review grade level performance data daily to identify their strengths and weaknesses. This analysis helps students identify what they learn each day.
  4. Parents are critically important to their school’s success through varied levels of leadership involvement and engagement.
  5. Parents and their students are taught how to support each other in preparing for a specific career path that will include college and career preparation.

[Read more…]

Back to School, Already?

dreamstime_l_33958479Back to School, Already?

I always loved the beginning of the school year as a student and as a teacher. It was always an opportunity to begin again, to do things better in the new school year.

How can we as parents and guardians be better this year? [Read more…]

Cultural Awareness Summer Programs

Cultural Awareness Summer Programs

As our children focus on the last days of the school year, parents are anxiously trying to secure adequate childcare and enrichment programs for their children once school is out. Some parents focus on sports camps, wilderness camps, and performing arts camp activities. Other parents use much of the summer for parks and recreational play dates. And other parents will focus on academic learning boot camps. It is important to balance your children’s summer play with a variety of activities to ensure that they have time to regroup and learn many new skills. [Read more…]