March Tidbits

 

March

1. Get ready for test day 

   Many schools will begin standardized testing. We will administer Illuminate FastBridge in April and TCAP in May. Make a note of the SCS testing schedule on your family calendar so you can be sure your children get a good night's sleep and eat a healthy breakfast on test days.

2. Read some more 

   National Read Across America Day is March 2. Take time at home to read aloud on this day with your kids, and have them take turns reading to you. Encourage older children to read on their own and to their younger siblings. Anything that interests them—from comic books to the classics—counts! And if you haven't taken the pledge to have your kids read at least 20 minutes a day, go to parenting.com/pledge and make the promise now!

3. Get art smart 

   Exposure to art and music can help your children excel in math, problem solving, and reading, and help them develop teamwork skills and self-esteem. Check out the resources on free.ed.gov, and then do your part at home. Replenish your arts-andcrafts supplies. Let your kids experiment with inexpensive music-makers like a harmonica, a recorder, or an old guitar. Check out child-friendly music CDs and art books from your library. Urge older siblings to join their school's choir, band, or drama program.

4. Plant a garden 

   Kids learn firsthand about weather, plant life cycles, and nutrition when they help grow their own garden. 

   
   

   Department of Education Countdown to Success

   
   

Welcome back to our In Person Learners!!!

 

iReady Winter Diagnostic

 

 Parents, 

Our winter iReady Diagnostic will start Monday January 11, 2021. All students K-5 will take the Reading and Math assessment. Check out the link below for the iReady Parent guide. 

 

https://www.rcboe.org/cms/lib/GA01903614/Centricity/Domain/7630/Parent%20Guide.pdf

January Parent Tidbits

 

January

1. Make a winter-weather plan 

   Make sure you have a safety kit in case of power outages; have your children help assemble it so they get a lesson in emergency preparation, too. Get more tips at ready.gov.

2. Be a meteorologist 

   Winter months are a great time to introduce budding minds to the science behind weather patterns and how to predict them. You'll find plenty of weather resources for kids in the “ Earth Sciences” section of free.ed.gov.

3. Dream big 

   Celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on January 16 by encouraging your kids to complete the sentence “I have a dream that…,” and then e-mail, tweet, or post on Facebook their own hopes for the future.

December Parent Tidbits

 

 

1. Be safe
   

   Amp up the reminders about washing hands frequently and wearing masks—. Pay attention to school websites and newsletters for alerts about flu or other illness outbreaks. Check the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website (cdc.gov) for up-to-date information and the latest prevention advice. 

2. Help end bullying 

   Take the time to talk with your children about bullying behavior. Before you begin the conversation, go to pta.org/bullying and stopbullying.gov to learn what you can do as a parent to instill an attitude of acceptance in your children and get help with bullying behavior if your family needs it.

3. Remember the teacher 

   A simple holiday token is nice if you can swing it. Teachers particularly appreciate cards from their students, and gift cards for their favorite book, crafts, or office-supply stores. Teachers often replenish classroom supplies out of their own pay, so gift cards help cut the cost.

4. Practice cyber safety 

   If your children will be spending more time online during the winter break, or if they get a new laptop or smartphone as a gift, be sure to review family rules and online behavior.

   Dept of Education Countdown for Success
   

September Parent Tidbits

 

 

September

1. Reach out to your kids' teachers

   Attend virtual conferences, orientation, or other welcome events, but don't stop there. Make a point of introducing yourself and learning about class activities and expectations for the year. Find out how each teacher prefers to communicate.

   Many use e-mail as the main form of contact, but phone calls and conferences (make an appointment first) are usually welcome, too. For more advice on building a parent-teacher relationship that will last the entire year, as well as links to all the websites featured in this guide, go to parenting.com/success.

2. Get in the groove 

   Establish healthy at-home routines for school days, such as consistent waking times and getting-ready patterns. Decide on a regular homework time, and create a comfortable, quiet virtual work space. Set bedtimes that allow elementary-age kids to get 10 to 12 hours of sleep.
   

3. Time things right 

   Stay on top of everyone's school, activity, and work schedules with a free online calendar or a smartphone app.

4. Commit to volunteering 

   With help from parents like you, your school can offer many more programs and services for your kids. Join your school's PTO and ask about volunteer opportunities in the school community. National PTA's “Three for Me” campaign encourages parents to pledge to volunteer at least three hours during the school year. Go to three4me.com for more information.

Help parents and caregivers keep kids focused, interested, and balanced while learning from home.

As we embark on starting school virtually this year, here are some tips to help you keep your child focused and interested while learning from home.

https://www.commonsense.org/education/articles/parent-tips-and-tricks-for-distance-learning

Setting Up for Success

Make a space.

• Create a special, personalized corner of a room dedicated to learning, creating, and reading. Use a movable box or crate if space is precious. Let your kid help prepare the space for school, even if that just means putting a decorated pencil box next to the device they'll be using. Getting the space ready will help them get ready to learn.

Set a routine.

• Little kids need more structure, so make sure to let them know what to expect. You can create a visual schedule they can follow. Older kids can use a calendar, planner, chalkboard, or digital organizer to keep track of what's happening each day.
• Have them follow a routine as if they're going to school (getting dressed, brushing teeth, etc.) instead of lying in bed in their pajamas, which could lead to less learning.
• Breaks are really important, especially for kids with learning and attention issues, so make sure to build those in and break assignments into smaller pieces.

Review expectations.

• Go over what the school and teachers expect around online learning. Fill out this digital learning pledge with your young kids or co-create a learning agreement with tweens and teens to help set the tone for distance learning.   
• Set some expectations of your own as well. When can your kid expect to spend time with you? When should they avoid interrupting you? What can they do in their downtime? Come up with a list  of "must dos" and "may dos" together to cover the essentials and activities of choice.
• If kids are sharing devices with siblings, make sure they understand how the devices are to be shared, including who gets to do what on the device and when. 

Staying Focused

Keep them close.

• When it's hard for your kid to focus, try to keep them close. Consider setting up nonverbal or one-word cues to help get them back on track.
• Depending on your circumstances, it may not be possible to keep your kid in sight all the time, but it'll definitely be harder to keep them on track if they're in their room with the door closed, so try to get your eyeballs on them as much as possible.

Encourage self-regulation.

• Talk to kids about the connection between bodies and brains and what happens in their bodies when they feel frustrated, excited, or sad. This awareness helps kids recognize and manage their emotions.
• If you have other devices in your house, keep them out of your kid's workspace if possible. This can also mean shutting down phones, keeping phones in a designated place for the day, and putting away remotes if temptation takes over.

Play pretend.

• Little kids feeling at loose ends might respond to some role playing. Cast your kid in the role of work partner, teacher, or researcher to help them stick to a task (and let you stick to yours!).
• Though older kids won't want to play pretend, they may respond to an honest conversation about taking on more responsibility (like chores, self-regulation, etc.) because they're older and gaining maturity. You might be surprised how they rise to the challenge in response.

Encouraging Ownership & Effort

Follow kids' interests and get input.

• If there are gaps in your kid's school day, remember that whatever your kid is into -- animals, Minecraft, magic -- can be used for learning. Read books, create science experiments, and do math related to favorite topics. Wide Open School has great choices, too!
• When deciding how to structure the day, ask kids what they prefer. Try to incorporate their choices into the plan. For instance, if math is the hardest subject for your kid, would they rather do it first or last? Why? Check in with them regularly about how distance learning is going.
• Communicate with your kid's teacher, and encourage them to self-advocate for what they need. And model communication about your day, including the positives, challenges, and kindnesses.

Display work.

• Let kids hang up their drawings, writing, or other projects in your home. It shows them you're proud of their work and helps them value their learning.
• Even big kids like when you show pride in their work by bragging about their efforts and showing off their work. (But always ask before you post anything!)

Give detailed praise.

• Instead of saying "good job," try giving specific details about your kid's work. If they tried hard, let them know you noticed. Have they made progress? Used a new technique? In what ways are their efforts kind, clever, beautiful, or insightful?
• Also, encourage a growth mindset, which means reminding kids that it's not about being good or bad at something, but working toward getting better at it.

Managing Motivation

Start from strengths.

• Build a bridge from things your kid loves to school subjects they don't love -- yet. If they love sports but dislike reading, find a graphic novel about soccer to spark interest. Your kid's teacher can likely help with this, too, but they might need to communicate with you (and maybe your kid), to get the necessary information.

Presentation is everything.

• How you present an activity makes a huge difference in how kids feel about it. For little kids, whenever you can, frame tasks as games to make them more fun. Need to sort the laundry? Challenge your kid to a throwing contest of tossing clothes into the right pile. Or, let them use pieces of cereal as manipulatives for math problems and eat them when they've finished a problem.
• Sometimes tweens and teens seem to have a "bad attitude" that's really masking insecurity, boredom, or anxiety. They're often hoping we'll help them through it, even when it seems just the opposite. Staying calm, not taking things personally, and maintaining a sense of humor can go a long way.

Use natural consequences.

• While it might be tempting to "reward" your kid with screen use, that can set kids up to see screens as a coveted commodity. Instead, you can frame it as a timing issue: "We have three hours in the evening, so if you put strong effort into your work and finish, you'll have time to play your video game." 
• If intrinsic motivation is hard to come by, you can incentivize effort and progress in a way that makes sense. Come up with ideas with your kid, set benchmarks, and praise the process along the way.

Making Room for Well-Being

Be a good friend to yourself.

• If your kid gets caught up saying negative things about themselves, encourage self-kindness by asking them what they would say to a friend in the same situation.
• The same goes for you: We often beat ourselves up as parents, but what would a good friend say to you? What would you say to your friend?
• Try creating a gratitude list together to give you a fresh perspective and focus.

Get help when you need it.

• You won't always know how to help your kid. Think about who could help fill in the gaps -- look to family, friends, teachers, and others for help. Sometimes having another adult take over removes the tricky parent/kid homework battle dynamic and lets you go back to just being a parent.
• Communicate with the school about how things are going, leading with positives first. Everyone's doing their best, AND it's important for teachers to know what's working and not working for your kid so they can get the help they need.

Use movement and humor.

• Sometimes we just need to move our bodies. Physical activity can lift our spirits and get our minds refreshed for learning. Try a lunchtime block walk or a 5-minute dance party to help everyone reset and bring new energy to the day.
• Finding the funny right now is helpful on every front, including learning and well-being. Be silly, make wacky connections, come up with crazy answers so your kids correct you -- whatever works!