How to Help Your Young Child Get
Ready for Summer
Enrollment
in a summer program helps young children make new friends and further
their love of learning. Sometimes new experiences, such as the
last day of school, increase separation difficulties and create
insecurity and dread ' especially for the very young. Planning some
transition strategies will not only help your child adjust and make the
most of the summer months to come, it will also help you handle
upcoming changes.
To help smooth transitions of all kinds at any time of the year, there are several things you can do to build confidence in yourself and your child:
- Talk to your child about what is going to happen ahead of time. The unknown is the core of discomfort with any change. Children under
age 3 may need a week to adjust, while an older child may need more
time to process an upcoming change.
- Continue to provide continuity in your daily routines. Keep as many scheduled elements of your child's day without drastic
changes. As you take one day at a time, your child can learn to do so
too, without high anxiety over what is coming next. Before summer
starts, make play dates with cherished friends who may not be in the
same summer program as your child.
- Share around themes that are related to transitions. Responding to your own child's interests, read books about new
situations and the anticipation of change. Point out the many changes
that are happening in nature this time of year.
- Respect and acknowledge your child's emotions. It
eases emotional strain when feelings are honored and accepted. Most
importantly, let children express whatever they feel. Remember that it
may be hard for them to identify what they are feeling and why.
Nonetheless, those emotions and attachments are real.
- Allow your child to know your own emotions about transitions. There is comfort in knowing we are not the only ones who feel the
changes, whatever age we may be. Be sure to express your happiness
about the good experiences of the past school year. Celebrate both the
endings and beginnings with your child.
- Meet and greet the new teacher with your child, if at all possible. Children who are having fun now don't want the fun to end. Will the new
teacher smile and be likeable? If your child and the teacher have met
before the summer program begins, then you will both know the answer is yes!
- Ask your child's current teacher if there is anything in particular to share with the new teacher. The experienced teacher may have some special insights about your child
that would ease the transition to a new teacher or new environment.
When
the old and the new come together, some children have no trouble
adjusting. For others, it is a normal and natural childhood experience
to feel a little rocky. Successfully managing the school-to-summer
transitions is a great pattern to cultivate year after year. We hope you find these few tips helpful to your own family's summer strategy.
Use Testing to
Increase Learning
While
most people might think that one of the absolute best ways to maximize
learning skills is by studying, research has shown that a better way to
learn is by taking tests on your chosen subject.
Studies have
shown that students who studied and were then tested ultimately had
better long-term recall of the subject (even on information that was
not actually featured in the test) than did students who were given
extra time to study but did not take a test.
Researchers believe the reason testing improves recall better than
studying alone is because using our memory to retrieve information
changes the way we access data.
When we remember something, it becomes much easier to recall that information in the future.
Students who test themselves on what they have learned are therefore
more likely to remember that information at a later date, such as
during a real exam.
Get Organized
Time management for a whole
Family can be pretty difficult,
and it is certainly very different
than time management for an
individual.
With multiple people trying to
go in different directions,
keeping on track can certainly
be a challenge.
That said, it is definitely
possible to get your family
organized.
One good method of organization is to hold family meetings. Family
meetings offer the ideal forum for a family to be able to share their
successes, plan upcoming events, talk about any issues that may be
causing problems and think of solutions together.
Because all members of the family will know that they have a chance
to actually be heard, they are much more likely to want to contribute
to the family plan and feel a sense of pride that will give them the
motivation to do their part.
Regularly scheduled family meetings will help you keep your family focused.
Spend Less than You Earn and Get Paid What You're Worth
It is a pretty basic idea, yet a large number of people still
struggle with this simple rule. The truth, however, is that it is easy
to start working on it.
The first step is to calculate the precise worth of your job by
evaluating your contribution to your company, your tasks, productivity
and skills, and by being aware of the going rate inside and outside the
firm you work for. If you are underpaid by even a thousand or so
per year, it can have a very significant, cumulative impact over the
full course of your working life. However, regardless of how little or
how much you are paid, you will never get ahead financially if you are
spending more money than you are earning.
Sometimes it is actually a lot simpler to spend less than it is to
try to earn more; just a little bit of effort toward cutting costs can
result in large savings.
The ideal employee:
How to make a name for yourself
Keeping your head down and just doing your own job isn't
enough if you want to succeed and advance at work. To be the kind of employee
that managers dream of'and to demonstrate your value to your
organization'practice these work habits:
' Attention. Don't stick your head in the sand. Keep up with
what's going on in your organization and department.
' Attitude. Be friendly and positive. Don't complain about
problems, solve them.
' Communication. Tell your manager and your co-workers
what's going on'no surprises.
' Compliance. Follow your manager's directions, and observe
your workplace's rules. Think for yourself, yes, but don't go off in your own
direction.
' Participation. Don't hide in your cubicle. Get to know
people, and take part in workplace activities.
' Reliability. Show up on time. Finish your work on time.
Keep your commitments.
' Responsibility. Actualize your own learning and growth. Be
accountable for your work'errors, too.
' Tact. Honesty is one thing'but rudeness is never
acceptable in the workplace. Tell the truth, but take people's feelings into
account.
' Teamwork. Don't just look out for Number One. Support your
team, department, and organization.
' Time management. Don't waste time. Look for ways to
organize and streamline your work.
' Trust. Show that you're worthy of your manager's trust by
meeting your deadlines, ignoring gossip, and not sharing personal or
confidential information. |
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IN THIS ISSUE |
How to Help Your Young Child Get Ready for Summer
Using Testing to Increase Learning
Get Organized
Spend Less than You Earn and Get Paid What You're Worth
The ideal employee:
How to make a name for yourself
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Barrington Academy |
Parents! We are pleased to send you this monthly issue of Wise and Wonderful. It is our way of saying that you are important to us and we truly value our families. Please feel
free to pass this newsletter on to friends and neighbors. Enjoy!
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MONTHLY JOKE |
Sick day
Jim
came into the office and found a note from his boss, demanding that he
report to her office right away. When he walked in, the boss told him
to close the door.
'Jim, I understand you called out sick yesterday,' the boss said.
He nodded. 'That's right.'
The
boss smiled, reached into her desk, and took out the morning's
newspaper. On the front page of the sports section was a photo of Jim,
holding a third-place trophy in a local golf tournament that had been
held the day before. 'What do you have to say for yourself?' the boss
asked.
Jim shrugged. 'If I hadn't been sick, I probably would have won.'
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Summer Camp Fun
Swimming Daily at Barrington Pool
Field Trips every week
Free T-shirt
Career Days
Art Show
Weekly themes such as Hawaiian Hullabaloo, Rainforest, I Love the 80's & Mighty Jungle
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Free Aftercare
Enroll in Summer Camp and receive free Aftercare in August.
Call center for details.
770-474-0772
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Trivia
Did You Know?
The Earth is growing. Each and every year, around 40,000
tons of matter from outer space (asteroids, debris from comets, meteoroids and
interplanetary dust) is added to the planet's mass.
The fact that the Great Wall of China is the only man-made
object on Earth visible from outer space is, in fact, a myth. The Great Wall is
barely discernible, and then only in the best of conditions; however, from a
low-earth orbit (which is the altitude where the space shuttle operates), a
number of man-made objects are visible, such as airports, highways, bridges and
dams. |
iPads Become Toy
Chests for Children
A recent survey has found that up to as many as 33 percent of all parents
in the United States have either purchased their children iPads or are
considering doing so. The study, from tech support service iYogi, also says
that such parents are willing to let their children spend a monthly average of
$14 on applications and let them use the device for up to two hours per day.
Seventy-eight percent of households with school-age children in the United
States have broadband Internet; just 3 percent are still stuck on dial-up, with
the majority of those being rural Internet users.
However, 67 percent of the parents surveyed said they would prefer to buy their
children a computer, notebook or laptop, while 50 percent of those not
intending to buy such a device for their kids said those kids would be better
off going outdoors to play instead.
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