How to Care for Children with a Broken Foot

How to Care for Children with a Broken Foot!

I have been fortunate. In all of the years of being a parent, I was never challenged with mobility issues until I became a grandparent several years ago. The first time I was in a walking boot, my grandchild was a baby. I could hold and cuddle him for hours which worked well for all. The second time I was in a walking boot, I hobbled around with small grandkids that were easy to manage. This time, however, I am in an ortho shoe with orders to not walk. Today, I realized I was in trouble when considering my mobility challenges with three young grandkids that can outrun me in seconds.

Kids Can Provide Added Help

I can drive and have seven-year-old Brandon help with car seat latching. We can get into the house while the grandson parcels out snacks to all. Brandon has also impressed me with his culinary skills. Last week he made his three-year-old twin sisters peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. The girls loved his snack and were impressed with his leadership.

Our seven-year-old grandson was the babysitter and I was the helper. The twins proceeded to follow Brandon around as the leader. They watched him create a domino game, name his new fish in the fish tank, and play with slime as the art project for the day. I marveled at his leadership until all three children ran outside to play in the mud. Then I was in over my head when managing sheer joy and chaos. I was lucky. It was dinner time with mom back in charge to prepare the meal.

We Can Set Boundaries

Tomorrow, I will attempt to care for the kids again with the newly mandated no walking orders. It will be interesting and challenging with the following plan of action:

  • I have notified the parents about my added limitations.
  • The grandkids will be briefed and understand that Grandma has new limitations.
  • A parent will be working from home if or when there is a challenge.

Parents Can Build a Team of Support

I am learning that I must clearly state my needs with the grandkids before the chaos begins. With a team effort of parents and extended family members, the kids continue to thrive and grow in their responsibilities as family members overcome the daily challenges of life.

Happy parenting and grandparenting!

Mary Ann

Copyright © 2019 by GenParenting




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.

Experiencing Your Culture

Ideally, children will also have time to learn more about their culture and family’s values. Our family has participated in Japanese-American cultural camps throughout the years. These elementary school age summer programs vary in length and encourage the students to appreciate their Japanese heritage and take pride in their unique cultural background. Parents are encouraged to participate in every aspect of the program and share their talents with the children.

Through these programs, children gain an appreciation for the diversity of lifestyles that make up our society today (see www.suzumenogakko.org or www.medakanogakko.org for more information). Each area camp is different and may include some of the following activities:

  • Lessons in language, crafts, and music
  • Family life of Japanese Americans
  • Learning Japanese cooking and farming
  • Japanese gardening
  • Games, sports, and martial arts
  • Japanese-American history and relocation camps
  • Field trips to local businesses and public landmarks that may depict Japanese architecture
  • Guest assemblies, celebrations, and community service events

Reading About Your Culture

When considering the variety of cultural experiences shared in these camps, parents can read books to their children about cross-cultural perspectives. For example, we can help our children understand the relocation camp experience by reading Mei Ling in China City by Icy Smith. The book is based on events during World War II in Los Angeles China City. The story describes how a 12-year-old Chinese American girl named Mei Ling Lee loses her best friend, Yayeko Akiyama, to the Manzanar War Relocation Center. By corresponding through letters, the girls vividly describe their painful separation and their lives in China City and Manzanar. The story depicts these hardships and experiences with beautifully illustrated watercolor paintings.

Celebrate Your Culture

May your summer be filled with opportunities to celebrate your culture and your community’s diversity of lifestyles!

Joyce

Copyright © 2019 by GenParenting




What Empathy Teaches Us About Families

What Empathy Teaches Us About Families

I recently met with a group of parents to discuss how we can increase our children’s awareness and empathy for others. Through our sharing, we learned that:

  • Having experienced a disability or learning challenge has helped others better understand what it is like to be in someone else’s shoes with a disability and experience empathy.
  • Empathy can be learned when we overcame adversity or a negative experience. When we are rescued by others, we may not learn to overcome a challenge.
  • When family members provide healthy support and not rescue their children, the children must learn how to resolve a challenge. This reflective process can help children learn compassion, empathy, and how to successfully solve daily challenges with others.

Our Children Can Provide Community Support

With ongoing natural disasters occurring in local communities, our children have ample opportunities to determine how they want to give back to their communities. Families have been able to help others by:

  • Helping those who have lost everything in fires by collecting home goods, raising funds for gift cards, and reproducing lost recipes, photos, and locating relevant family mementoes
  • Participating in community resource fairs and events to support others in need
  • Serving food to the homeless at a homeless shelter or rescue center
  • Participating in a community service project with others in need

We Can Give to Others

We all have the capacity to give to others in need. Through our participation in our community, our children learn that they can take the time to give to others in need or respond to a community crisis.

Our love for our neighbors will transcend us to have more empathy for others.

Mary Ann

Copyright © 2019 by GenParenting




How You Can Support Your Children’s Project Homework

How You Can Support Your Children’s Project Homework

Teachers must evaluate what types of homework assignments will best support students’ learning outside of the classroom. Typically, many teachers assign homework that includes the following reading comprehension and reflection activities:

  • Math review worksheets and flash cards
  • Social studies, history, and civics research topics
  • Science experiments that can be performed at home
  • Field trips to local sites of historical and/or current significance with comprehension questions

Types of Projects

Although the homework plan may assume scheduled activity throughout the week, most children cram homework activity into an already hectic weekly school schedule. A new approach to homework is engaging students and their families in longer term project-based learning activities. The purpose of these homework projects is to help families integrate educational family activities into their daily lives. Activities can encompass Common Core State Standards and STEAM concepts in a relaxed and flexible home environment. When play becomes learning, your children can complete homework assignments with more enthusiasm. They will learn critical thinking skills while integrating grade-level Common Core State Standards and STEAM activities into their daily lives. A sample reflective homework worksheet is included below.

Sample Homework Activity Worksheet

Proposed Project:

As a third-grade student, I will construct a 9” x 12” birthday card for my brother that will include:

1.       Photos of my brother visiting various historical points of interest with captions of historical data.

2.       A layout plan illustrating how photos were cut and measured to fit with the photo captions and space for the birthday sentiment.

3.       A poetic verse or birthday sentiment that encompasses the photos and historical data used when designing the card.

4.       A finalized card, layout plan, and completion of the sample learning activity worksheet.

 

Nightly Activities to Support the Project:

1.       Monday: Select the pictures for the card.

2.       Tuesday: Research historical data for photo captions.

3.       Wednesday: Create a layout of the pictures for the card.

4.       Thursday: Assemble the card and create the birthday sentiment.

5.       Friday – Monday: Complete the worksheet by answering anticipated outcomes, observed results, and relevant Common Core Standards. Share my project and worksheet with my parents and ask them to reflect on what they have learned.

6.       Tuesday: Share the card and worksheet with my class in the bi-weekly presentation of project-based learning activities at home.

 

Anticipated Outcomes:

I will learn how to create a greeting card for my brother’s birthday. I will learn more about the places we visited on vacation and will learn which Common Core Standards relate to this project.

 

Observed Results of the Project:

I was surprised how much work it took to measure and create a layout with the different pictures selected for my brother’s card. I learned more history about the sites we visited. I liked writing the birthday sentiment.

 

Relevant Common Core Standards to Support the Activity:

CA Grade 3 Writing: Conduct short research projects that build knowledge about topic; recall information about experiences and gather information from print and digital sources; take brief notes on sources and sort evidence into provided categories.

CA Grade 3 Mathematics: Geometric measurement – understand concepts of area and relate area to multiplication and to addition.

 

Learning Reflections:

When I shared my creation with my mom, she was impressed how I completed the project and my creativity. She is going to teach me how to design layouts and research data for our family vacation photo album.

 

How to Help Our Children

Through project-based learning activities at home, you and your children will be able to understand how daily activities reinforce specific academic standards. These experiences can help your children’s teachers can learn how to expand relevant learning activities outside the classroom.

Much success with homework projects!

Mary Ann

Copyright © 2019 by GenParenting




What Is Your Child Learning in Kindergarten?

What Is Your Child Learning in Kindergarten?

Each spring, parents and families are encouraged to visit their children’s schools to learn more about what their children are learning. Some parents are excited that their children are learning to read and compute basic math problems. Others are excited that their child has a new friend and is learning to express himself in an illustrated picture with a sentence describing the picture. I am excited that my grandson is learning to understand the individual differences of his classmates while naturally exploring how to read sight words and counting by 2s, 5s, and 10s. His teacher also incorporates a variety of personal growth and study skill development activities during the school day.

Examples Personal Growth and Study Skill

The following are examples of how the teacher encouages students’ growth:

  • A focus on relationship skills when respecting student’s individual differences
  • Learning to understand another classmate’s perspective when problem-solving a conflict
  • Playing in small groups and playground settings
  • Learning to read relevant sight words when academics are not emphasized
  • Learning to count in multiplies and using problem solving skills
  • Having parents participate with children in small group activities
  • Participating in library activities that include group readings, games, and checking out books
  • Spending lots of time playing with classmates on the playground with a huge building structure and while leaping off a giant rock
  • Participating in a supportive afterschool program for younger children with a focus on messy art projects, water explorations, and sand play

My Grandson Is Having Fun

As my grandson learns how to navigate his daily activities on a large school campus, he is having fun and is confident of his learning successes. Academics will come in time when he is developmental ready to sit for longer periods of time in the classroom.

May your child’s kindergarten experience be filled with much exploring and creative learning!

Joyce

Copyright © 2019 by GenParenting