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Book reports, quizzes, worksheets, math assignments, and history lessons. These are the things that comprise our kids’ homework, right? But what if we are missing out on our own homework? The stuff that helps make sure that our kids can successfully work their ways through those assignments and study times.

How Do You View Homework?

If you are frustrated with the amount of homework your children get, their poor attitudes about doing it, the lack of clear instructions for assignments, or the fact that it means you can’t all go to the game on a Tuesday night because your kids have 2 hours of studying, consider how those feelings translate for your kids. If you place a positive attitude on homework, your kids as likely to assume that attitude just as readily as they will assume a negative one. We need to do our homework to make sure we can help our kids meet their full potentials. There are four basic types of homework, each with its own unique purpose.

Practice Homework – Just like it sounds, this type of homework is designed to help reinforce ideas and concepts and provide students with opportunities to master skills.

Preparation Homework – Most often used in classrooms with older students, this prep work involves preparing for future assignments. A teacher may ask students to read ahead so that they are prepared for the following day’s lecture.

Extension Homework – The purpose of this type of homework is to have students take the skills they already have and apply them to a new situation. Your child might be asked to write a report on the habitat of the grey wolf for Composition Class, when they have already written other reports on other topics.

Integration Homework – This type of homework requires that student apply more than one skill set to a situation. In Science students might be asked to research the migratory patterns of birds, write a report on it, and present that information to the class in a 2 minute speech. This incorporates scientific research, report writing, and public speaking.

Homework Begins at School

There is a debate around the country, and even the world, about the effectiveness of homework. Part of that effectiveness begins with how well we communicate with our kids and their schools.

• Get to know your kids’ school policies and teachers. When you better know the source of the homework and the intentions for it (not all schools and teachers view the role of homework the same), you can better guide your kids when they need it.
• Know if your teacher assigns homework as part of a plan to involve parents. Some homework is designed to bring parents and kids together: joint reading assignments, studying for spelling tests, etc. Other homework is designed as solo projects, with no outside assistance allowed.
• Cooperate with the plans your kids’ teachers have when it comes to homework. This not only helps the teachers more effectively do their jobs, but it teaches your kids the value you place on their academics, and emphasizes that school and home aren’t completely separate (learning occurs constantly).
• Pay attention to communication between teachers and home. If your school doesn’t have a plan for relaying expectations for students outside of the home, or the most involved you get is at conferences (when grades have already been earned), try to establish new lines of communication. Some schools post assignments, grades, and class rules online in parent portals. Work with your school to find ways to bridge the gap between the school walls and your doorstep.
• Talk with school administrators and teachers if you see negative homework issues. Once those students leave the building, school personnel often don’t know what happens beyond those walls. They might not fully realize the impacts of the current homework situations.

How Can You Help With Homework?

By help I don’t mean give hints for answers. Homework help from parents can come in many forms, and each child has unique needs.

• Understand your child’s learning styles so that you can help provide for the tools that will help the most.
• Don’t ask: Do you have any homework? Most often past about the 4^th grade, kids have some type of work they can do, even if it means reading for 15 minutes. Instead, ask: What type of homework will you be doing tonight?
• Create a homework plan in your house. Designate specific times to work on homework, and make sure that you have the necessary tools (pencils, papers, computer, etc.).
• Learn about effective study methods, and work with both your children and their teachers to find ways to implement the best ones for your kids.

For most students and parents, homework is an inevitable part of life. Even for me as a homeschooling mom, homework is a daily event around here. My daughter takes classes at the local college, and our exchange student attends the public school. My other kids joke that all their work is homework. How we approach these learning opportunities and responsibilities really does make a difference, and prepares our kids for how to manage their careers and daily life responsibilities – just without the backpack.

Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BetterParenting/~3/Thfez8QHEcY/

Top Tips for Throwing a Baby Shower

Tags: baby, baby shower, finger foods, planning a bab shower, Pregnancy, recipe

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Easy Ideas for Planning a Baby Shower

There is almost nothing as exciting as the birth of a new baby. If you’re planning a baby shower for a dear friend or family member, you might be feeling the stress of the planning, but don’t forget to relish in the joy you get to share. Whether you are having a traditional shower for just the gals, or you’re throwing a more modern bash with guys, too, these baby shower menu options and decoration tips will help ease a little of the planning stress. Only a baby shower can get so many people so excited about poopy diapers and late nights of drooling and crying (the baby – and parents, too). Let the fun begin!

Menu – Tiny Treats

If you plan the baby shower for mid-afternoon, you don’t have to worry about serving an entire meal, or if you serve enough of these Tiny Treats you can create a meal based on finger foods. Go with a theme of Tiny Treats, and use small salad plates (or just get paper cake plates – those 6” ones). Include Tiny Treats such as

• Small sugar cookies sprinkled with blue, pink, or a combination of colored sugar. You can even get cute cut-out shapes, such as booties or the letter B.
• A veggie tray with things like baby carrots, baby pea pods, and broccoli florets
• Small finger sandwiches – you can find miniature loaves of bread at the bakery or just take a regular loaf and cut the pieces into fourths (removing the crust)
• Pinwheels – try these on whole wheat tortillas (a great option for vegetarians)
• Cream cheese mints – again you can color these with food coloring in blue, pink, or a combination of colors (I use a recipe like this one, and have a mint mold tray shaped like tiny baby feet – but you can just make into circles as well)
• Snacks like nuts, raisins, trail mix, or pillow mints served in mini-muffin paper liners
• Miniature stuffed croissants – take refrigerated rolls of mini croissants and unroll each. Fill with things like small pieces of salami, oregano, and 1 tsp. of shredded cheese, then roll and bake (serve warm).
• Mini muffins – you can go traditional and serve blueberry or get creative and make a huge assortment, including cakes and banana breads (works great for a brunch party)
• Sliders – these mini hamburgers are a great option for a modern baby shower with the guys

Double Duty Decorations

Whenever I throw a party of any kind, I try to make the decorations usable – it’s too sad to just tear down streamers and throw them away when the last guest leaves! At the place setting for the mom-to-be you can include a note telling her that the decorations are also your gift to her.

• Miniature flower pots at each place setting – doubles as take home gifts for guests, and a miniature rock garden as a centerpiece (great gift idea for godmother to get take home)
• A bouquet of baby’s breath on the table for the Grandmothers of the baby to take home
• Instead of streamers over the doorway, a string of laundry line with tiny booties, onesies, and cloth diapers or bibs hanging from it (guests can be asked to contribute to it as well)
• Diaper cakes can be made with either disposable or cloth diapers, and do a great job doubling as decorations and gifts.
• Pages of scrapbooking paper – some hung on the walls, some scattered on tables. The ones on the walls can be completed with pictures and notes for the new mom, the ones on the tables can be works-in-progress that guests can help complete. Scatter scrapbooking supplies (stickers, markers, glue sticks, etc.) and encourage guests to write notes and create pages. A new scrapbook for Mom can be the centerpiece at the table. (This decoration serves triple duty – décor, activity, and gift!)

One last tip – If all of this planning has your budget feeling the pinch, use these gift ideas: coupons for babysitting, bathtub breaks (you’ll come over for an hour so the new mom can just take a bath), and even just a list you create describing why you think your friend will be an amazing mom. One day she’ll be feeling stressed, exhausted, and insecure. This list can be her saving grace when she is feeling like she’s not going to survive the journey – a priceless gift to a new mom.

Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BetterParenting/~3/ECs6kJbmg6w/

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Did you ever read The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne? In this classic cautionary tale, Hester Prynne is forced to wear a red letter A to announce to the world that she is an adulterer. This public humiliation is a form of discipline, shaming, and an attempt to set an example for the rest of the community about expectations for behavior.

Public Shaming of Little Girl – Her Own Scarlet Letter

Sadly, this classic tale is the story that came to my mind when I saw the posting a father created, publicly shaming his 3-year-old daughter online for defecating in the shower. If you haven’t seen it, you have saved yourself the heartache that I feel when I read her father’s note that he plastered around his daughter’s tiny neck.

I pooped in the shower and daddy had to clean it up. I hereby sign this as permission to use in my yearbook senior year.

Below the declaration rests the scrawl of a 3-year-old’s signature. In news clips her face is obscured, but her tiny 3-year-old frame can’t be denied. Her father has apparently turned to public, online humiliation in his attempts to not have to clean up after his daughter any more. This raises the question:

Is humiliation an effective, healthy form of discipline?

According to researchers and psychologists, the answer is no, especially in such a public forum. Citing cases of tweens and teens who behaved inappropriately, against the rules and guidelines of their parents, and who were subsequently punished publicly, psychologists say that this type of punishment does not win in the long run. Humiliation as a form of discipline can lead to

• Damaged relationships with parents based on a loss of trust.
• Increased anxiety and depression for the child.
• Damaged self-esteem based on the humiliation.
• The same or worse behaviors. Kids who are disciplined by shaming don’t learn to do better next time. They learn to hide things from their parents (loss of trust) and that they aren’t worth doing any better (loss of self-worth).

Parents who have gone on to use public humiliation to discipline tweens and teens have faced mixed reviews. Some cheer them on, saying that it is about time someone took drastic measures to ensure that these inappropriate behaviors ended. Others say that when shaming and humiliation is the tool of choice, the outcomes are rarely positive or built on trust or healthy relationships.

Perhaps what is most disturbing is the age of this young girl. Dr. Marshall Korenblum, the chief psychiatrist from Hincks-Dellcrest Centre in Toronto, says that pre-teens are especially ill-equipped to handle shaming as a form of discipline. He goes on to say that,

“…so it’s overwhelming their defenses…so, absolutely, for a pre-teen I think it is cruel and unusual punishment.”

Korenblum goes on to say that while public humiliation might work more with teens, as they are getting hit where it hurts in the social worlds that are so important to them, in the end the real lesson is that, “it’s OK to not respect somebody else.” At 3 years of age, this girl is facing consequences for a 3-year-old’s mistake that could haunt her for the rest of her life.

• Is she even old enough to read what her father wrote (much less sign it)?
• Is she even old enough to comprehend the humiliation for which her father is aiming?
• If she is 3 years old and facing this type of public shaming, what type of private shaming is she enduring?
• What purpose does this serve – what will she learn from this “lesson”?

The answers to these questions don’t seem to add up to a positive discipline choice that will teach a child to make healthy, appropriate decisions. Most of all, it won’t teach a child why to make better decisions (unless the why part is out of fear of shaming consequences). I get the frustration and understand that challenges of trying to get a young child to do better. Parenting is a challenging job, and many days end without feeling like we make much progress in molding our kids into the adults we hope they can become. It is a constant process, and we make mistakes, too. The difference is that our 3-year-olds can’t really announce our mistakes to the world via social media.

Stop Using the Internet to Discipline

It’s time to stop using the internet as a parenting tool to humiliate our kids. If another person dared to post such shaming photographs of our own young children, we would be up in arms, because we know in our heart of hearts that this will hurt more than it will help.

• We are contributing to their digital reputation – the one future classmates, teachers, employers, and family members will see.
• We are building or tearing down their self-image, and we are doing it in the most public way possible.
• We are teaching our kids how to use the internet. It can be as a tool to connect, communicate, and from which to learn, or it can be used as a public square where we hurl virtual stones.
• We are teaching our kids how to treat each other.

Is this how we really want to teach our children to treat each other? Are we turning into a society where we must fear public reprisals, our own Scarlet Letters, for each mistake we make, to be plastered online for the entire world to see? I don’t know about you, but I am thankful that I was left to meander through my childhood mistakes without the eyes of the world watching.

Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BetterParenting/~3/h1lNcJB772o/