Living Love and Logic #37

Life and Death Decisions
Weekly Tip from the Love and Logic^® Experts

Does it seem to you that this world gets faster paced and more complicated each and every day? Compared to people a generation ago, are we faced with far more decisions and temptations than ever before in history? What will the world look like when our kids get there? Will the decisions they face be simpler…or far more difficult? Will the consequences of their decisions be smaller, or will they be a lot larger…often life and death?

Clearly, the world is becoming more temptation-laden every day. That's why it's more important than ever for kids to experience the type of parenting that helps them learn how to make good choices about serious issues. Providing this type of parenting hinges on our awareness of the following:

Kids learn to make great decisions about big and critically important matters by making plenty of poor decisions about small and relatively unimportant matters… and by experiencing the natural and logical consequences.

To learn how you can help your child learn now about serious choices go HERE.

Easter at HO4K

Celebrating holidays is always more fun when surrounded by excited children! Easter was not any different. The children loved talking about eggs. Where they come from, how they become hard boiled, different ways to eat them, etc. But most of all the kids loved dying them! What a great way to revisit our color wheel and how to create new shades of colors. The children each got to dye 3 eggs. Using the prongs, which are a great small motor tool, children selected the colors, mixed and then dipped!

Even our little ones got involved and with some help participated in the dying of the Easter eggs. While the children were outside playing, the Easter Bunny must have stopped by. That tricky bunny came and took our eggs. He then hid them throughout school. What fun we had finding the eggs in all the hard places! We worked together as a team and found them all!

Learning is fun!

When we work with our bodies, our brains remember! The students are again working together to review their letters while creating them with their bodies! What a great way to practice teamwork while reinforcing our alphabet knowledge!

The letter E had us exploring elephants!

Students at HO4K were enthusiastic about creating their own elephant masks! The students started off by creating "elephant skin" by mixing and layering different paints to create a textured look. After the "skin" dried, we created elephant masks. The students loved participating in dramatic play, as they moved throughout the room as elephants, creating body movements and sounds that can only be heard in the African safari! Students will remember the letter E as it is tied to the memories of their elephant experience at school.

Writing is something that students develop at their own pace. Many will go through stages when they enjoy writing and then struggle to find the desire. It is always exciting when students engage in any form of writing independently. The above student used her chalk to not create with pictures, but instead with words. She wrote "Apricot,apricot go to the zoo “ ! What a great start for a future author!These are important pre-writing skills!

Whenever you get the chance, provide a few art and writing materials at home for your child. You will be amazed at how creative our little ones are. Their imaginations get the best of them as they sit down to create without specific assignments. It is then that they work within their own boundaries and creativity. There is nothing holding them back as they explore and create!

Cotton Flowers

The children love discovering through science. One of our current investigations has been with cotton flowers. Brought from Carolina, the students have been fascinated with this plant. The first thing we did was observe the differences and similarities with the cotton flower and other plants. The students noticed the difference in touch with the cotton and other plants we have worked with. We found that the cotton flower also had cotton seeds within it. Students took turns removing these seeds and further investigating both the seed and flower.

Next, students plant the cotton seeds into soil. We will water and care for the cotton seeds, observing and recording the changes that occur. We hope to see cotton flowers sprout soon and will be sure to follow up on our cotton flower project. Check them out for yourself the next time you are visiting HO4K.

LIVING LOVE AND LOGIC TIP #36

Perfect Underachievers Weekly Tip from the Love and Logic^® Experts

Do you know any gifted kids who are super capable but just will not apply themselves in school? Some take the path of least resistance by completing only the work they find simple and easy. Others simply shut down altogether.

The common denominator with many underachieving kids is deep-seated perfectionism. That's right! As strange as it may sound, many kids who do poorly in school desire to do perfectly in school. As they grow, they become more and more imprisoned by the belief that it's better to avoid trying than to appear less than perfect in any way.

Sadly, many of these perfect underachievers are misdiagnosed as lazy or uncaring. Actually, fear…rather than apathy…drives their poor performance.

In my book, From Bad Grades to a Great Life!, I teach a variety of strategies for helping perfectionists gain the courage to achieve. To learn some more tips from Love and Logic click HERE!

worm farm

Are you sure you are ready for this??

A curiosity most children have is discovering more about worms. The children at HO4K are so lucky to have the opportunity to explore and get dirty while learning about worms, their environment and  more about how these fascinating creatures help our Earth. Some of the children have been enthusiastic learning about worms! Some others, not so much! The children are learning to be brave about doing things outside their comfort as they observe the changes in our worms and the worm compost they are creating.

We have gathered both Earthworms and Night Crawlers into a large container where they work hard to create soil. Each day the children observe the changes with the worms and also with the compost. We have placed fruits, vegetables and moist paper towel for the worms to feed off of the bacteria. They work hard moving throughout the dirt and food, eating and creating waste that later becomes the soil. We will use this soil later to plant some of our new plants. Ask you child to tell you some new facts they have learned about worms. Also, be sure to check out the worms yourself next time you are at school. They really are fascinating!

LIVING LOVE AND LOGIC TIP #35

Do You Have to Feel Guilty?
Weekly Tip from the Love and Logic^® Experts

Do you think the following parents ought to feel guilty for their actions?

Parent A:

I said to my teenage daughter, "I wash clothes that are placed in the hamper." They've been lying in a heap in her room…so she doesn't have anything else to wear except her least favorite outfits.

Parent B:

My son was getting more irritable and defiant every day. It seemed related to how much time he was spending playing his video games. I took the video games and told him that I loved him too much to see him getting so addicted to them.

Parent C:

My ten-year-old asked for a cell phone. I let her know that she could have one when she could afford the entire cost…including the data plan.

Parent D:

Our 23-year-old son was sitting around all day watching television. We told him that we were fine with him living with us for a while if he was doing his best to finish school or get a job. He continued to be so disrespectful and lazy that we asked him to leave.

What do you think? Should these parents feel guilty for what they've done? Do you have to feel guilty when you set and enforce reasonable limits with your kids?

Click HERE to read how to have quilt free parenting!

Lately in math

We used our bodies to learn more about the concept over and under. We created a pattern of chairs and then students practiced going over and under each chair. We had fun as we practiced this concept first with movement and our bodies. Later we reinforced "over and under" as we created oval Easter eggs in art. We weaved with paper which helps with hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills, while reinforcing the pattern of "over under". Check out your little ones art work as they bring them home. You can help review this concept by asking them to show you what going over and under something looks like!

Nevada State Standards addressed in the above activities include:

Math Standards

2.PK.2

Recognize and replicate simple patterns(e.g., ABAB).

4.PK.2

Identify positions (e.g., in front, behind, next to, up, down, inside, outside, on top, ordinal positions).

Physical Development Standards

3.PK.1 Demonstrate locomotor movements such as up, down, forward, and backward.

3.PK.2 Demonstrate the ability to follow basic movements (e.g., over, under, in, out, in between).

The above student practiced stacking cups into a pyramid formation. We talked about estimation and how many she thought she stacked. Next time, we will estimate how many she can stack in 1 minute, 3 minutes and so on. We plan on recording the data to be able to compare if she gets faster with each attempt. On a cold day, have your child show you how they can stack cups. Record the data as you practice and see just how fast you can go!

Nevada State Standards addressed in the above activity include:

Math standards
1.PK.3b Estimate the number of objects in a set of 5 and verify by counting.

Physical Development Standards
6.PK.1 Demonstrate skills in eye-hand coordination (e.g., stacking, sorting, lacing toys, stringing beads,
reproducing basic patterns, complete six-piece puzzle, Legos and peg-boards).

Goodbye Mr Timmy!

All of the kids at HO4K have LOVED spending time with Mr. Timmy. He has a contagious fun and exciting energy that kids are drawn to. We are so excited for him as he leaves to serve his church as a missionary! The kids wanted to give him something to remember them by and seeing as he will be wearing a tie daily, thought that a tie would be perfect. Each child carefully signed their name on the back and made cards to show their appreciation.

Everyone seemed a bit emotional as we had our last day with Mr Timmy. The kids said their goodbyes and wished him luck on his new adventure! We will miss him but will write to him and know that many wonderful things are to come these next two years for him!

Raising independent children

At HO4K, we focus on developing the "whole child" preparing them to become independent and successful older children, teenagers and eventually adults. Although they seem young, our little ones are capable and often eager to learn daily tasks exhibited by adults. It is through much practice and experimenting that children can learn how to be responsible and complete such tasks. 

Although cooking/preparing food with a child always requires more patience, this is a critical and necessary skill for them to develop. The students are learning how to make their snacks; dividing up the bread equally, making sure everyone has 2 slices of bread, creating a pattern as they use "bread, cheese, ham, bread sequence", understanding the right portion sizes, using their hands and the utensils needed to make the sandwich and finally cleaning up after the task. WOW! What a sense of accomplishment they have when they sit down to enjoy a yummy sandwich made just right!

 

We want our children to understand the importance of hard work and appreciate all that goes into keeping our world clean and beautiful. The children love being able to play outside in a safe and clean environment. They have learned all that goes into maintaining their play area. Above the students help to clean up and pull weeds that have developed in the "kid zone". They are excited to contribute to keeping their school beautiful. They continue to build lifelong lessons of responsibility and have pride in their work.

PLUS, what parent doesn't want a little extra help outside pulling weeds?

After all the hard work we love to be able to enjoy the beautiful outdoors and embrace all the nature around us!

Some of the Nevada State Standards addressed through activities such as the ones above are:

2.PK.1b
Move through routines and activities with minimal adult/teacher direction.

2.PK.2
Demonstrate self-help skills (e.g., put blocks away, pour juice, use soap when washing hands).

2.PK.3a
Use toys and materials with care.

2.PK.3b
Clean up or put away toys and materials when finished.