GenParenting

Parenting resources for all who love and care for children

Is Your Child Reading Below Grade-Level?

Is Your Child Reading Below Grade-Level?

At your last parent teacher conference did you discover your child was performing at below grade-level in reading? I know it’s January, but don’t despair. Hello, my name is Danielle Gentry and I’m a second- grade teacher in South San Jose. I’d like to give you some sound advice about what you can do at home to help your child and questions you can ask their teacher.

Questions to Ask the Teacher

First, let’s talk about valuable questions. How does my child read? What is my child’s reading level? Get specific answers. Most, if not all primary teachers have some kind of reading assessment that will inform the teacher of their student’s fluency, prosody, and comprehension. A deeper understanding of your child’s specific reading struggles can help you have a more directed reading experience with them at home. [Read more…]

Practical Homework Help – Tips for Math

Practical Homework Help – Tips for Math

Most parents are just getting acquainted or still getting used to Common Core Math. While it is easy to get intimidated by and frustrated with new approaches, the fundamentals of math will always remain the same. Here is what I keep in mind when helping my own children with their math homework.

What Is It Saying?

With Common Core math, word problems are emphasized. Most of the time, children have difficulty understanding what is being stated in the scenario. Make sure they understand the math terms introduced in the unit of study by looking up definitions and examples in the math glossary. You can also help your children understand the math problem by drawing pictures, diagrams or graphs. [Read more…]

Practical Homework Help – Tips for Reading Comprehension

Practical Homework Help – Tips for Reading Comprehension

Did you know that parents have much more influence on their child’s reading comprehension development than they think may be possible? If you are struggling with how you might be able to help your child understand what they are reading, here are some practical homework insights that you can easily adopt at home.

Model Good Questioning Skills

If you are curious about a topic or you need more information, verbalize that question and ask it out loud when reading or talking with your child. Phrases like, “I’ve never heard about that before. I wonder where I can find more info?” or “I still don’t understand that. Let’s look it up” show your child that it’s ok not to have all the answers and that adults still learn new things every day. In turn, your child will adopt the same desire to dig deeper into understanding what they are reading. [Read more…]

Tips for Managing Holiday Stress

Tips for Managing Holiday Stress

It is that busy time of year! All of us struggle with maintaining a sense of balance and calm in our daily lives. During this time of year, I struggle with juggling a demanding work schedule and maintaining my serenity with more demands for childcare and holiday celebrations. [Read more…]

Toy Buying Considerations for Our Children

Toy Buying Considerations for Our Children

It’s the season for giving and many parents ask us what they should consider when buying children’s toys. We have observed that children learn best when playing with toys that can be used in many different ways.

Toys for All Ages

Summarized below are our seven favorite types of toys for children of all ages:

  • Cuddly toys provide bonding, cuddling, and lots of situational and pretend play. These include stuffed animals, dolls, character blankets, busy blankets, toys with different types of tags, and puppets.
  • Situational toys support children’s creative expression and lifestyle problem-solving skills. Cooking items, food supplies, kitchen appliances, and cleaning supplies can be used to play house. Situational play kits that may include pirate ships, school houses, and cabins with furniture and supplies can be used to act out various imaginary activities.
  • Building and construction toys help children develop eye-hand coordination, manual dexterity, and foster our children’s cognitive skill development. Building blocks, Lego, Magna-Tiles, and Brio kits provide endless options for constructing a multitude of items and reinforce Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) skills.
  • STEM exploration kits stimulate science, technology, engineering, and math problem-solving observations, experiments, and product construction. Elenco’s Electronic Snap Circuits, KEVA Catapult, Engino’s STEM Machines Engineering Kit, Rubik’s cubes, math puzzles, games, and science lab toys provide endless opportunities for children to apply math and science explorations and problem-solving skills.
  • Large muscle toys aid muscle growth and essential coordination skills. Push toys, wagons, trikes, bikes, scooters, balls, sand toys, and gardening tools support healthy large muscle development.
  • Books of all types help our children discover the world of reading, imagination, and problem-solving. When we read with our children their abilities to explore expand as we can discuss many possibilities of how a story can relate to our lives. Nonfictional books help our children learn about the world beyond their daily experiences. Artistic books without words allow are children to create their own stories and conclusions.
  • Art supplies help our children express their creativity, imagination, eye-hand coordination, and manual dexterity. Large crayons, marking pens, finger paints, watercolors, collage objects, glitter, glue, stickers, and lots of different types of paper and shapes reinforce our children’s discovery of art in relation to their world.

[Read more…]