TREASURE HUNT

Sep 182009
 

1950s Children Playing Sign

Photo credits: www.roadtrafficsigns.com

by Esther Jantzen, guest poster

One great place in every community is the Children’s Section of the public library. Whether you have been to the library many times or are making your first visit, you can find treasures there!  Take a bag to carry home those treasures, the books you want to borrow.  If you or your children don’t have library cards, stop at the Information Desk and get a card.

Here’s what to look for.  Choose the ones that fit the age and interests of your child:

1) Look at the library walls for posters and pictures. Let your child find all those with animals.

2) Look at the book displays or showcases together. Find one thing that surprises you.

3) Find the section with picture books. Can you find a book by Richard Scarry there? Clue: Using the alphabet to guide you, find the section where the authors’ names begin with “S.”

4) Find the section with Easy Readers. Pick a book that you would like to read together with your family. Take it with you to the check out desk. Or sit right there and read it together.

5) Find the Junior Fiction section. See if you can find a book by Beverly Cleary, E. B. White, or Lulu Delacre. Or find one by a favorite author of yours.

6) Look for the section with Foreign Language books. How many languages do you see represented there? Do you know anyone who speaks those languages?

7) With your child, find out if your library has a story hour when someone reads to kids .

8) Go to the computer table and see if you can find out how many books by Dr. Seuss the library has. Ask the librarian if you need help to do this.

9) Find the non-fiction section. Can you find a book about something that interests you?

10) Ask the librarian for the library schedule or calendar of special events.

Look at all the things you can do before you even check out the books!

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Esther Jantzen, Ed.D, is a mother, an educator and the author of Plus It! How to Easily Turn Everyday Activities into Learning Adventures for Kids available at www.plusitbook.com and the Way to Go! Family Learning Journal available through www.jantzenbooks.com

 

 

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Bully-be-gone!

Sep 152009
 

This has got to be one of my favorite back-to-school stories… and best ever bullying story.

Like all parents, I am concerned about bullying.  I am also concerned that many of the ways that we encourage kids to deal with bullying are at best ineffective – and at worst set them up for even more torment.  That is what’s so great about this story – instead of making the victim responsible for ‘fixing’ the problem the majority of the student community stood up together and said “enough.”

It seems that a young man showed up for his first day of upper school wearing a pink shirt – and was seriously harassed for his ‘offense.’

Fortunately, other students noticed, and having had “enough” decided to take action. 

Two of the students, 12th grade boys, went out and purchased 50 pink t-shirts and handed them out to friends to wear the next day.  They also e-mailed friends and classmates who turned to their own closets in order to lend support.   

On Day Two at Central Kings Rural High School in Cambridge, Nova Scotia school students and faculty alike were treated to the sight of a sea of pink… as if the majority of the student body was challenging the bullies to take them on as a whole.

 Asking kids who are being bullied to take action on their own behalf often sets them up for more torment…. despite the best of intentions ‘telling an adult’ often leads to escalated and more secretive bullying.  But when the whole community stands together and says “enough”…. Well, that’s pretty hard to ignore.

Want all the details?  Click here to read the original news story http://www.cbc.ca/canada/nova-scotia/story/2007/09/18/pink-tshirts-students.html

Children’s – oops — I Mean Parents’ Good Manners Month

Sep 012009
 
Tea Party

Tea Party (Photo credit: annagarcia)

 

 

Did you know that September has been declared Children’s Good Manners Month?

OK. Everybody else will tell you that it’s Back to School Month or even Backpack Safety Month (please, please, please don’t overload the little guys. The Consumer Products Safety Commission estimates that 4,928 emergency room visits each year result from injuries related to book bags and back carriers. It’s bad for both their posture and their long-term spinal health.)

Did you see that I said ‘please’? Thank you for noticing.

I try to set a good example – and encourage other parents to do the same. I believe that it is the most important way that we teach our children anything.

What comes immediately to mind is the embarrassing stories that so many of us have to tell. You know, the ones in which our toddlers use “language”? The kind we didn’t know they’d overheard from us? Thank goodness they so often do it when they’re small and cute — and we still have the option to clean up our language before they go to school!

So, how will you take advantage of this special month to improve your family’s etiquette? I must admit that I am far less concerned with which fork to use in a restaurant or who holds the door for whom than I am with the concepts behind them.

Our modern code of conduct is based on thoughts and actions designed to make others feel more comfortable. For example, long ago men started extending their right (generally dominant) hands to one another to show that they were unarmed. We teach our children to offer snacks or toys to their guests first, largely for the same reasons: to promote hospitality, peace and harmony!

Do you teach the rules, the concepts or both? Do you have any favorites?  Thanks for reading – and for sharing your comments. It’s a really nice way to let us know that you’re checking in. (See? ‘rule’ AND ‘concept’!)

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And, to thank you for being a reader, we have a special back-to-school offer…. two (2) copies of What Kids Need to Succeed (with free shipping in continental US) for $30. One to keep and one to share. (A great way to thank someone???) Please click here to access this special offer.

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