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Helping your children when they begin school for the first time

 

A child’s entering preschool or kindergarten can be a source of excitement for kids and parents,but it can also be a source of stress or fear.

Today’s kindergartens, and pre-schools for that matter, have changed. There are distinctive differences in race, religion, family lives and level of education. Some children don’t have the ability to recognize letters of the alphabet while others can read and understand words and even sentences.

It’s important to do everything you can to help prepare your child for the educational, emotional, psychological and social interactions they are going to experience.

It’s difficult to prepare your child for everything that can happen as they begin their educational career but there are some basic areas you can cover that will give them the highest potential for success.

·      Take the time to get to know the local schools and choose the class your child will attend carefully.

·      Get the school’s enrollment and curriculum documents as well as the CV’s of the teachers.

·      Attend all open houses and any school tours that are available.

·      Spend time with your child doing learning activities long before their first day of school begins.

·      Encourage your child to get excited about reading and education as well as making sure they know you will be there to support them.

·      Challenge your child as you work with them and demonstrate how to handle situations where they may feel overwhelmed.

·      Talk with your child’s new teacher and discuss the teacher’s goals for the children in his/her class.

·      Ask the teacher if there are specific days that parents are invited to participate in class and how else you can help. 

·      Find and use technology, books and other available tools to show your child how exciting and fun learning and making new friends can be.

I hope this helps as you move closer and closer to your child’s first day in class and that FishyTale’s customizable reading experiences help to prepare your children for a lifetime of reading and continuous learning.

 

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Bullying Statistics at Schools In The United States

Helping your kids to recognize and deal with bullying is more important then ever with over 20% of kids reporting they have been bullied and at least that number being bullied or stalked online. Fist and foremost is to talk with your kids and make sure they can recognize bullying and know what to do when it is happening top them or someone they care about.

In 2013, about 22 percent of students ages 12–18 reported being bullied at school during the school year. Of students ages 12–18, about 14 percent reported that they were made fun of, called names, or insulted; 13 percent reported being the subject of rumors; and 6 percent reported that they were pushed, shoved, tripped, or spit on. Of those students who reported being pushed, shoved, tripped, or spit on at school, about 21 percent reported injury as a result of the incident. Additionally, about 4 percent of all students reported being excluded from activities on purpose, 4 percent reported being threatened with harm, 2 percent reported that others tried to make them do things they did not want to do, and 2 percent reported that their property was destroyed by others on purpose.

 "At school" includes the school building, on school property, on a school bus, or going to and from school. Bullying types do not sum to totals because students could have experienced more than one type of bullying. Students who reported experiencing more than one type of bullying at school were counted only once in the total for students bullied at school.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2016). Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2015 (NCES 2016-079), Figure 11.1.

Anger is felt by people of all ages and only gets worse when it is not handled well.

Not helping your kids to recognize anger in themselves and handle it appropriately can become a big issue especially once kids start to attend school and are required to interact with others.

Your kids can’t deal with situations that produce anger within them if they don’t recognize these types of situations and that they are getting angry.

Some common causes of anger especially within kids are:

·      Feeling misunderstood

·      Feeling that you are not being paid attention to

·      Frustration from a number of different sources

·      Being expected to complete tasks that are above your abilities

·      Feeling like you don’t have enough time to finish what is expected of you

·      Being disappointed by a test score or other low performance indicator

·      Being teased or picked on by classmates or other students

·      The feeling of fear can often turn to anger when not dealt with

·      Bottling up negative feelings can eventually turn to anger

·      Low self-esteem or not feeling good about one’s self can cause anger

·      Physical ailments like tiredness or a headache can make people more apt to be angry

·      Being ignored or not listened to can cause anger especially over time

These are just a few of the ways that kids can become angry or allow feelings to build up that eventually explode into some kind of an angry temper tantrum.

Parents and teachers can keep an eye for certain giveaways that may warn them of a child’s upcoming anger or display of anger towards another child or adult.

·      Red Face

·      Clenched Jaw

·      Tight Fists

·      Trembling or looking shaky

·      Louder than usual

·      Looking for an argument

There are plenty of strategies for dealing with anger and they vary wildly depending on at which stage you encounter the anger. The sooner you are able to recognize the potential problem and help them with it the easier it will be to handle. When helping someone that is having a problem with anger there are ongoing methods that can have a great effect. 

·      Helping them keep a journal of when they get upset

·      Keep a journal of productive ways to handle anger and what happens

·      Give them a list of calming exercises

·      Teach them to relax using counting down exercises or taking a walk

·      Work with their teachers to keep an eye on the situation and help them before they need it

·      Help them to identify when they are getting upset early so they can take actions before their anger gets out of hand

·      Help them to set goals and and time frames then track them

·      Reward them when they successfully handle anger and add it to their journal

For more information in working with and helping your kids keep checking back and subscribe to our blog.