teachable moments Archives - Page 39 of 45

May 22 2018

Summer Time with Your Preschoolers

It is that time of year when parents are deciding about what they can do with their kids during the summer. Many of us have big ideas that are too expensive or time-consuming for a family’s resources. GenParenting readers shared the following affordable activities for fun-filled times with their children:

A camping trip that you can share with other families
A long weekend at a family friendly beach, resort, or motel
Spending a night at an animal sanctuary and waking up to the sounds of lions, water buffalo, exotic birds, or farm animals
Staying in a cabin or tent lodge at a lake or national park
Bicycle rides through botanical gardens or community parks
Planning overnight and extended visits with grandparents or special friends that allow for exploration of new cities and landmarks

[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.

May 15 2018

How to Overcome Temper Tantrums and Moody Days!

We’ve all had those days. You know, the days where you wake up to the spring bird’s love song, the sun lightly kissing your face. With your morning cup of coffee in hand, you delight in seeing the dew on the flower petals. It’s peaceful. And calm.

And then you hear it. [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.

Apr 24 2018

Planning Spring Play, Raising Lifetime Leaders

When the sun is out, the air is warm, and the birds are chirping, it’s time to beat those winter blues with outside play! While it is true that free play encourages imagination, allowing kids to “be bored” will unleash their creativity. There’s still lots to be said about helping children plan for play. As parents, modeling our thought process and questioning skills will help our children be decisive decision makers, become strategic planners, and develop leaderships skills. Consider the following scenario:

Phase 1 – Invite your child to be a decisive decision maker.

Child: Mommy, Daddy, can we play outside?

Parent: Sure, what would you like to do? Would you like me to help you think of ideas?

At this point, your child may very well say “No, thank you” to your offer of help. Imagine how empowered your child will feel because you gave him permission to say “No.” This is a very powerful step, as it communicates to your child that you trust him to be decisive in his decisions. He will continue to the next phase with a definitive idea for play all ready to go! [Read more…]

Jaime Koo, Encouraging Literacy

Apr 17 2018

Culturally Diverse Parenting

Amy and Joe are madly in love with their baby daughter. They are full of dreams and aspirations for their daughter who they plan to raise in a traditional, two parent household. Joe is a 5^th generation Californian with ancestors from Ireland and Germany. Amy is a third generation Japanese-American. Amy and Joe want their little girl to appreciate both of their cultures. Raising their daughter to enjoy a rich cross-cultural heritage can be enhanced when considering the following: [Read more…]

Joyce Iwasaki, Early Parenting

Apr 03 2018

Helping High School Students Prepare for Their Futures!

Yesterday, I met with our high school leadership team. We were discussing how to help our students prepare for a future career or goal. One colleague stated that we should teach our students autonomy. Another argued that we need to put family values first and help students grow with this focus. A third leader suggested that we needed to identify how those values might challenge a student’s future career and college success. The more we discussed this topic, the more I am convinced that we need to help students learn how to take care of themselves to ensure their future success. [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.