GenParenting

Parenting resources for all who love and care for children

Let’s Talk Math Strategies

 

Let’s Talk Math Strategies

My second-grade students are asked to fluently add and subtract within 100 when using strategies based on place value, properties of operations, and/or the relationship between addition and subtraction per CCSS 2 NBT.5. Was that a mouthful? It’s a lot of words to explain how one can use different place value strategies when adding and subtracting two-and-three-digit numbers. This approach is a big departure from the kind of math I was taught when I was my students’ age.

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What Will We Do With Children This Summer?

What Will We Do with Children This Summer?

It is spring and our children are getting excited about summer camps and activities. Many communities are now scheduling children for summer camps with an alternative plan of online activities if communities are forced to reenter lockdowns due to new COVID outbreaks. Activities that remain flexible include:

  1. Sports camps that reinforce independent skill development drills in sports like soccer and karate
  2. Snow skiing and outdoor sports camps while social distancing with others
  3. Park play, nature hiking, and beachcombing
  4. Swim lessons in a private pool without other students and masked instructors
  5. Cultural camps offered remotely
  6. Outdoors camping and backpacking trips
  7. Computer literacy camps
  8. Entrepreneur online camps
  9. Sewing camps with individualized learning options
  10. Music camps with individualized learning options

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Building Resilliency Skills for Kids

Building Resiliency Skills for Kids

This past year our students have been learning remotely in Goggle classrooms. Each morning, our second graders spend an hour focusing on their social-emotional needs. Our school has adopted the FranklinCovey’s K-12 Leader in Me (see www.TheLeaderInMe.org) curriculum so support students’ personal growth based on Stephen R. Covey’s The Leader in Me book. The seven habits that we focus on with a variety of reflective activities include:

  1. Be proactive by taking responsibility for personal choices and behaviors.
  2. Begin with the end in mind by setting goals.
  3. Put first things first by achieving the most important things first.
  4. Think win-win so that everyone can win.
  5. Seek first to understand, then to be understood by learning to listen first and talk second.
  6. Synergize by having folks work together to achieve a better solution.
  7. Sharpen the saw to achieve balance in life.

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Book Recommendations for Middle Schoolers

Book Recommendations for Middle Schoolers

Every now and then, people would ask me for book recommendations for their middle school aged student. “Are there any good books out there that my kid will like?” they ask. Acknowledging that there are books not all teens will like, let’s define what is meant by a “good” book for the purpose of these recommendations. For teenagers, good books provide IQ (intelligence quotient) and EQ (emotional quotient) perspective. In terms of IQ, books that give adolescents a point of view other than their own so they can expand their horizons would make great books. Teens will read plenty of sources bolstering their IQ through school, so this list offers only a couple suggestions in this area. In terms of EQ, teens will really benefit and grow from reading first-person narratives so they can learn to empathize and identify with the main character. In the case of auto-biographical writing, we benefit from the author’s perspective and voice. In an age where we need to develop more student leadership, compassion, and solidarity, I recommend the following: [Read more…]

How Our Kids Can Overcome COVID-19 Social Isolation

How Our Kids Can Overcome COVID-19 Social Isolation

This winter is a first for being separated from large groups of people due to the devastating COVID-19 pandemic. The good news is that this soon should pass as more of our elders and community members are vaccinated from this debilitating and deadly virus. But, until we can play with others again, how do we stay connected with our friends, families, and keep our kids socialized? Here is a list of various activities that families have reported success with during these last few months:

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