Welcome to our Parent Resource Section! Here you will find helpful links and posts that will be useful to you and your child on their journey through school and life! Enjoy!
Click on the links below to try out some of our favorite websites!
Click the following link to learn more about Mental Math Strategies we will be teaching (i.e. Counting On)
Click on the links below to access information on Bullying:
http://www.teamheroes.ca/website/play.html?movie=4&playon=5
This one has little scenarios that you can do as a family—it is easy to navigate through and it asks the kids what they would do in certain situations.
www.b-free.ca
www.bullying.org
http://www.education.alberta.ca/teachers/safeschools/bullying-prevention.aspx (has good definitions of what bullying is and what it isn’t)
This one has little scenarios that you can do as a family—it is easy to navigate through and it asks the kids what they would do in certain situations.
www.b-free.ca
www.bullying.org
http://www.education.alberta.ca/teachers/safeschools/bullying-prevention.aspx (has good definitions of what bullying is and what it isn’t)
Reading with your child...
Teaching a child to read can be overwhelming for parents and students. The key is to break down learning to read into simple manageable steps, one little word at a time. It's not a race, everyone will eventually be reading so no need to teach all the words at once! Start with one little word at a time. Yup, one word at a time. How? I find that choosing the right book at the right level can make all the difference for both parent and child. Look for books that repeat, repeat, repeat. Maybe they repeat a key word on each page, a phrase on each page, or rhyme (all words end or begin the same). Read and reread that same book over and over for one week, allow your child to memorize the book, but always ask them to point to each word as they say it so they begin to see what they say. In the same way that you learn the concept of numbers by seeing and counting things individually. Some great authors that have repeating books are: Robert Munsch, Mo Willems, and Dr. Seuss. Below our some sample videos that I made with my son Jackson to demonstrate these concepts. It may appear that Jackson is a very good reader in these videos, but he is in fact barely beginning. He has memorized these books and we have read them 2 times before this read through. This is a stage of "reading" though. He is able to recognize a sight word "it" and 'read' it when he sees it, with help. In the other book he has memorized the text but is tracking it with his finger and therefore knows when to stop when the text ends. Much the same way a child will stop counting when they run out of objects instead of continuing to count. This is great progress on the path to reading! Try it with your child! We hope that these will help you read with your child!
Benefits of Board Games for Students
Board games for kids: Do they make kids smarter?
© 2009-2012 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved
The benefits of board games for kids? Some are obvious. Kids enjoy playing them, and board games are opportunities for families to play together.
In addition, social scientists have argued that games teach lessons about getting along with others (Kamii and DeVries 1980; Zan and Hildebrandt 2005).
For example, games may encourage kids to
• consider the concept of rules
• practice following rules
• reason about moral problems
And when kids play with older role models they can learn something else, too: How to win—and lose—with grace and good manners (Gobet et al 2004).
For more information from this article about board games and kids please visit: http://www.parentingscience.com/board-games-for-kids.html
© 2009-2012 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved
The benefits of board games for kids? Some are obvious. Kids enjoy playing them, and board games are opportunities for families to play together.
In addition, social scientists have argued that games teach lessons about getting along with others (Kamii and DeVries 1980; Zan and Hildebrandt 2005).
For example, games may encourage kids to
• consider the concept of rules
• practice following rules
• reason about moral problems
And when kids play with older role models they can learn something else, too: How to win—and lose—with grace and good manners (Gobet et al 2004).
For more information from this article about board games and kids please visit: http://www.parentingscience.com/board-games-for-kids.html
Pete the Cat is my favorite book! Pete is a groovy little cat who wears shoes! He loves his shoes... but when bad things happen to Pete's shoes he faces the trouble with a great attitude! We use this book in our classroom to help students over come dissappointments and help them take on challenges. If Pete can do it you can do it!
This book is also full of rythm and kid friendly language, which makes it really easy to memorize. Memorizing and retelling stories is the first step to reading! Students begin to develop turn paging, tracking (following words with their fingers and telling only the part of the story that is on that page) and story telling skills.
Below is a post of Pete The Cat's story on You Tube! Take a minute and check it out with your child at home! We hope you love it as much as we do!
This book is also full of rythm and kid friendly language, which makes it really easy to memorize. Memorizing and retelling stories is the first step to reading! Students begin to develop turn paging, tracking (following words with their fingers and telling only the part of the story that is on that page) and story telling skills.
Below is a post of Pete The Cat's story on You Tube! Take a minute and check it out with your child at home! We hope you love it as much as we do!
Be A Bucket Filler!
The Bucket Filling program is a great way to teach children about feelings and how are actions affect other peoples feelings. We hope to introduce this program into our classroom a little later in the year. Families can introduce this program at home at anytime. Here are a few of the videos that go along with the program and a link to the website for more information!
http://www.bucketfillers101.com/
The Bucket Filling program is a great way to teach children about feelings and how are actions affect other peoples feelings. We hope to introduce this program into our classroom a little later in the year. Families can introduce this program at home at anytime. Here are a few of the videos that go along with the program and a link to the website for more information!
http://www.bucketfillers101.com/
This ones for the Girls.
I came across this list on Facebook one day and at the time we were fostering our niece. It said everything that we had been trying to teach her in "straight up" no nonsense way. If you have an older girl or teen in your life perhaps you will find this helpful!
GIRLS .... Listen up!!!
TEN THINGS TO SAY TO YOUR TEENAGE DAUGHTER/NIECE/GIRL:
1. If you choose to wear shirts that show off your boobs, you will attract boys. To be more specific, you will attract the kind of boys
that like to look down girls’ shirts. If you want to date a guy who likes to look at other girls’ boobs and chase skirts, then great job; keep it up. If you don’t want to date a guy who ogles at the breasts of other women, then maybe you should stop offering your own breasts up for the ogling. All attention is not equal. You think you want attention, but you don’t. You want respect. All attention is not equal.
2. Don’t go to the tanning bed. You’ll thank me when you go to your high school reunion and you look like you’ve been airbrushed and then photoshopped compared to the tanning bed train wrecks formerly known as classmates – well, at least next to the ones that haven’t died from skin cancer.
3. When you talk about your friends “anonymously” on Facebook, we know exactly who you’re talking about. People are smarter than you think they are. Stop posting passive-aggressive statuses about the myriad of ways your friends disappoint you.
4. Newsflash: the number of times you say “I hate drama” is a pretty good indicator of how much you love drama. Non-dramatic people don’t feel the need to discuss all the drama they didn’t start and aren’t involved in.
5. “Follow your heart” is probably the worst advice ever.
6. Never let a man make you feel weak or inferior because you are an emotional being. Emotion is good; it is nothing to be ashamed of. Emotion makes us better – so long as it remains in it’s proper place: subject to truth and reason.
7. Smoking is not cool.
8. Stop saying things like, “I don’t care what anyone thinks about me.” First of all, that’s not true. And second of all, if it is true, you need a perspective shift. Your reputation matters – greatly. You should care what people think of you.
9. Don’t play coy or stupid or helpless to get attention. Don’t pretend something is too heavy so that a boy will carry it for you. Don’t play dumb to stroke someone’s ego. Don’t bat your eyelashes in exchange for attention and expect to be taken seriously, ever. You can’t have it both ways. Either you show the world that you have a brain and passions and skills, or you don’t. There are no damsels in distress managing corporations, running countries, or managing households. The minute you start batting eyelashes, eyelashes is all you’ve got.
10. You are beautiful. You are enough. The world we live in is twisted and broken and for your entire life you will be subjected to all kinds of lies that tell you that you are not enough. You are not thin enough. You are not tan enough. You are not smooth, soft, shiny, firm, tight, fit, silky, blonde, hairless enough. Your teeth are not white enough. Your legs are not long enough. Your clothes are not stylish enough. You are not educated enough. You don’t have enough experience. You are not creative enough.
There is a beauty industry, a fashion industry, a television industry, (and most unfortunately) a pornography industry: and all of these have unique ways of communicating to bright young women: you are not beautiful, sexy, smart or valuable enough.
You must have the clarity and common sense to know that none of that is true. None of it.
You were created for a purpose, exactly so. You have innate value. You are loved more than you could ever comprehend; it is mind-boggling how much you are adored. There has never been, and there will never be another you. Therefore, you have unique thoughts to offer the world. They are only yours, and we all lose out if you are too fearful to share them.
You are beautiful. You are valuable. You are enough.
I came across this list on Facebook one day and at the time we were fostering our niece. It said everything that we had been trying to teach her in "straight up" no nonsense way. If you have an older girl or teen in your life perhaps you will find this helpful!
GIRLS .... Listen up!!!
TEN THINGS TO SAY TO YOUR TEENAGE DAUGHTER/NIECE/GIRL:
1. If you choose to wear shirts that show off your boobs, you will attract boys. To be more specific, you will attract the kind of boys
that like to look down girls’ shirts. If you want to date a guy who likes to look at other girls’ boobs and chase skirts, then great job; keep it up. If you don’t want to date a guy who ogles at the breasts of other women, then maybe you should stop offering your own breasts up for the ogling. All attention is not equal. You think you want attention, but you don’t. You want respect. All attention is not equal.
2. Don’t go to the tanning bed. You’ll thank me when you go to your high school reunion and you look like you’ve been airbrushed and then photoshopped compared to the tanning bed train wrecks formerly known as classmates – well, at least next to the ones that haven’t died from skin cancer.
3. When you talk about your friends “anonymously” on Facebook, we know exactly who you’re talking about. People are smarter than you think they are. Stop posting passive-aggressive statuses about the myriad of ways your friends disappoint you.
4. Newsflash: the number of times you say “I hate drama” is a pretty good indicator of how much you love drama. Non-dramatic people don’t feel the need to discuss all the drama they didn’t start and aren’t involved in.
5. “Follow your heart” is probably the worst advice ever.
6. Never let a man make you feel weak or inferior because you are an emotional being. Emotion is good; it is nothing to be ashamed of. Emotion makes us better – so long as it remains in it’s proper place: subject to truth and reason.
7. Smoking is not cool.
8. Stop saying things like, “I don’t care what anyone thinks about me.” First of all, that’s not true. And second of all, if it is true, you need a perspective shift. Your reputation matters – greatly. You should care what people think of you.
9. Don’t play coy or stupid or helpless to get attention. Don’t pretend something is too heavy so that a boy will carry it for you. Don’t play dumb to stroke someone’s ego. Don’t bat your eyelashes in exchange for attention and expect to be taken seriously, ever. You can’t have it both ways. Either you show the world that you have a brain and passions and skills, or you don’t. There are no damsels in distress managing corporations, running countries, or managing households. The minute you start batting eyelashes, eyelashes is all you’ve got.
10. You are beautiful. You are enough. The world we live in is twisted and broken and for your entire life you will be subjected to all kinds of lies that tell you that you are not enough. You are not thin enough. You are not tan enough. You are not smooth, soft, shiny, firm, tight, fit, silky, blonde, hairless enough. Your teeth are not white enough. Your legs are not long enough. Your clothes are not stylish enough. You are not educated enough. You don’t have enough experience. You are not creative enough.
There is a beauty industry, a fashion industry, a television industry, (and most unfortunately) a pornography industry: and all of these have unique ways of communicating to bright young women: you are not beautiful, sexy, smart or valuable enough.
You must have the clarity and common sense to know that none of that is true. None of it.
You were created for a purpose, exactly so. You have innate value. You are loved more than you could ever comprehend; it is mind-boggling how much you are adored. There has never been, and there will never be another you. Therefore, you have unique thoughts to offer the world. They are only yours, and we all lose out if you are too fearful to share them.
You are beautiful. You are valuable. You are enough.