Crafts

Great low cost craft for you and your daughters. Target fake keds and some sharpies I already had. Spray with water proofer and tah dah:).

Art

Math Facts a Fact

Teaching math again today and there are so many students in the 9th and 10th grades who do not know their multiplication facts. It is such a show stopper when they have to use the calculator for these simple things and they cannot smoothly complete their Algebra and Geometry problems fluidly because of it. Parents, please quiz with flashcards or us computer games to help your kids learn these simple facts. It is important for later. This is usually completed by grade 4, so get going everyone.

Accommodations list for parents and teachers with kids with ADD/HD

If your child is struggling with ADD/HD, you understand that what goes on at home also translates to classroom behaviors. If you feel frustrated with your child's lack of organization, inability to focus on a task to it's completion, etc. imagine what the child's teacher is feeling with a class of 30 to deal with. Sometimes you, as the parent, are the only advocate for your child's academic success simply because teachers are very busy and there is less and less help in the classroom for students with learning issues. This post is for parents out there who want to help their child's teacher to address their child's ADHD needs. This list can be copied and given to the teacher to help him/her to make some accommodations  in the classroom that will really make a difference. All of these ideas are based on educational research and they work, when done with care and consistency. You can try them at home too.

Remember, when giving directions to your kids, always check for understanding before disciplining them for non-compliance. Kids with ADD/HD may need to hear/see the directions several times before they can repeat them back to you and/or follow through with them. They may need to do tasks in chunks with short deadlines, not more then 2 days for younger and not more than 4 days for older kids like middle school and above. You may need to repeat the original directions again before each chunk of task given and always check to see if they have completed it before moving on to the next set of tasks. Remember to give lots of positive reinforcement immediately, don't make one long term reinforcement that is too far away to matter-for instance "if you get A's at the end of the quarter, you will get an Xbox". Better, would be-for each 5 daily assignments that are turned in on time and that earn an _____(fill in the blank), you can pick the restaurant and we will take you out to dinner with a friend. The last one is more immediate, involves relationship building with family and a friend, and is not a "thing".

Accommodation Suggestions for Students with ADHD (2007 Merrill Education/Pearson)

For Beginning Activities

Give small amounts of work

Provide signals to begin

User timers and encourage self-monitoring

Use verbal and written directions

Provide additional structure (e.g., large-lined
  paper)

Highlight directions using larger fonts or colors

For Keeping on Task

Increase frequency of positive reinforcement

Use peer assistants

Make tasks interesting

Break tasks into smaller “manageable” units

Allow breaks

Use hands-on activities

For Listening

Teach note taking and encourage use
    of notebook organizers

Use positive reinforcement

Allow doodling

Allow standing

For Excessive Activity

Use activity as rewards (errands, wash
  boards, move desks)

Allow standing during class

Encourage active participation

Reward sitting

For Impulsive Behavior

Provide acceptable alternatives

Encourage trying to continue with another
  part of the assignment before interrupting
  the teacher

Recommend note taking during lectures

Recommend writing down questions and
  answers before blurting out

Teach acceptable social behavior for
  conversations, for class behavior, and for
  interacting with peers.
Reward listening and appropriate behaviors

For Working Independently

Ensure tasks match ability levels

Provide brief directions

Use brief tasks

Use checklists for self-monitoring

Use positive reinforcement

For Following Class Rules

Keep rules simple

Post and review class rules

Model and role-play following rules

Be consistent and enforcement of rules

Provide students with copies of rules

Year Round Sports

I found this short article about this topic and I think it is very applicable to parents with children involved in sports of any kind.

The Problem with Playing Sports Year Round

http://mikecaza.com/vertical-jump-training/playing-sports-year-round.html

By Mike Caza,
Director of Performance, Premier Sport Conditioning
The majority of young athletes play sports year round. Once one sport finishes, the next one starts. According to the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford University, more than 30 million children in the United States participate in sports every year. Of those, more than 3.5 million injuries are reported each year. When kids should be focused on generalized training activities such as learning how to run, working on balance, and improving strength and speed, they are instead specializing in multiple sports year round and often times practicing 6 days/week. And, we wonder why approximately 70% of kids drop out of sports by the age of 14 and there are more acute and chronic sports injuries than ever before?
Our model for developing youth athletes in this country is backwards. Kids routinely play games and practice 6 days/week with little or no time off on a yearly basis. The end result? More injuries, more kids dropping out of sports and more decrements in performance. We are at a crossroad were coaches, parents and athletes need to understand that more is not better. I just returned from a conference in Boston this past weekend and one of the speakers made a very interesting point which influenced my decision to write this article for the May newsletter.
He stated, "My 9 year old daughter plays more hockey games in her season than the Boston University men's hockey team. I thought to myself, why is an underdeveloped 9 year old team playing more games than a physically developed college team? It makes no sense. That's like putting go-cart tires on your car and saying I'm going to drive to Florida! It won't happen, the car will break down!"
The key to helping young athletes develop properly requires a multi-faceted approach with a balanced schedule on a yearly basis. That means, adequate time should be implemented for sport practices and adequate time should be implemented for a proper conditioning program. In addition, adequate rest time should be given to the athlete on a yearly basis. Below is a recommended schedule for optimal athletic development.

Age	6-8	9-12	13-18	19 & up
Maximum # of Sports Played Per Year	2	3	2	2
Days of Skill Training / Week (sport practice)	2 to 3	3 to 4	3 to 4	4 to 5
Days of Conditioning / Week (speed/strength develop.)	0	1 to 3	2 to 5	3 to 6
Time away from playing competitive sports each year	1 Month	1.5 Months	2 Months	3 Months

The 3 star sport is a thing of the past. To excel, kids should narrow their focus as they progress in age. By high school, 2 sports plus proper training is key. Two sports played in separate seasons with a distinct off-season is critical. If athlete's between 13 and 18 continue to play 3 sports, attend every single sport camp in the summer and continue with this unbalanced schedule, the end result is they spread themselves thin and they become average players and their performance is mediocre in all 3. Then once they finally decide to play 1 or 2 sports, it's too late to adequately develop to be good enough in those chosen sports.
The probability of kids not doing well playing sports year round is very HIGH. On the flip side, when young kids specialize too soon, we are preparing them for burnout in their teenage years. It is staggering to know that 70% of kids burnout of sport by the age of 14, this is why I believe our model for development in this country needs to change. Let's take hockey as an example. In Europe, they play 40 game seasons and the rest of the time, they are conditioning their body to be better athletes. In the U.S, we play 60-80 game seasons and the rest of the time, we are playing another sport and there is minimal training being done. The end result? Of the top scorers in the NHL during the 2007-2008 season, 6 Europeans, 5 Canadians and 2 U.S Collegiate players. Zero Americans. Our system needs to change.

Kindle Fire-No parent controls available

For those of you who are looking into purchasing a Kindle Fire for your children, you should know that there are no parental controls built in. The only restrictions are for app and other purchasing or just shutting off the wi-fi option. Your child can just upload a rated R movie from cloud storage no problem with wi-fi access and or search around the internet for whatever they may choose. Try searching for "Barbie" and see what comes up, not good. This is a major error on Amazon's part in the creation of the Kindle Fire and they should put a warning on the item for parents. You could be putting pornography and other destructive material into your child's hands without knowing.

Kindle Fire-not recommended for children under 18 at this point. Shame on Amazon for this oversight.

Should you locate your child through GPS? yes or no

Well, Dan and I have been locating our high school aged children for two years this way and I say, "Heck yes", you should do it. We have an app called Family Map that can locate any phone in our group through gps and even through cell towers in the vicinity. Kids may see this as an invasion of their privacy but I see it as a preventative and safety measure for kids. For instance, when my seniors tell me they are going somewhere and they are driving or taking public transportation, I can check and see if they made it to the location without having to text or call them. I have peace of mind and know they are where they are supposed to be. This also "helps" our kids to be in the right place at the right time because they know that mom and dad can see where they are, this is the preventative administration of the locator. We were also able to locate one of our children's lost phones this way as well, which can save you lots of money.

It is about $14.00 per month and is well worth it. We have AT&T but you can download any number of location apps for your device and some just come with your plan, just ask your provider. Knowing where your kids are at all times is just good parenting, not an invasion of privacy. Remember, you pay for the phone, so you get to make the rules about it, right? Yes, yes you do.

Links:

www.trackmykids.com
www.amberalertgps.com
https://familymap.wireless.att.com


Mrs. Anderson