What to do when our children disrespect and lie...

Check out this latest article from Work and Family Life.
It touches on Respect and that children are displaying disrespect for grown-ups at earlier ages now.  It says Children "need to see the adults around them as valuable sources of wisdom and fun, of understanding and acceptance, of support and comfort."
It goes on to explain "The problem is that in some ways we have become more distant and in others we over-manage our kids' lives."
Other problems contributing to respect problems include decrease in family time.  They suggest spending time "hanging-out" as a family and with extended family with older relatives as well.  Lots of great info is in this article, so go check it out!

become more distant and in others we over-manage our

kids’ lives.

them as valuable sources of wisdom and fun, of understand-

ing and acceptance, of support and comfort.

them as valuable sources of wisdom and fun, of understand-

ing and acceptance, of support and comfort.

Money in Exchange for Goods

Students recreated the polar express using money to buy tickets. Teachers facilitated the activities by encouraging using the names of coins and dollar bills.

MATH

3.PK.4  Sort pennies and nickles
K-3.K.4  Identify and sort pennies, nickels, and dimes.

SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL

Ec10.Pk.1  Demonstrate the role of consumers and understand that money is exchanged for goods and/or services.
K-E10.K.1  Identify United States currency.

Such Hard Workers

Children have the amazing ability early on to explore and play using their imaginations! Research has shown that dramatic play can affect a child's learning and ultimately impacts their success later in school. This form of "play" provides opportunities for students to imitate, combine both spoken language with imagination, and pretend to be someone or something else. Often, children pretend or act out "real life" situations, and change things from reality to their own perception of the situation.

 

 

 The students above are "car workers". They are changing tires and fixing the cars that are broken. Together, they learn how to manipulate the tires, remove them, rotate and replace them. The cars are fixed, washed and ready to play with again!

 

 

Part of dramatic play is assuming roles or positions of others. Students initiated "grocery store" play. They organized it so that there was a cashier, a helper and a customer. One student even declared, "how bout we wait in line, that's what we do in real stores."

 Students learned to take turns participating in the various roles and worked together to organize this form of play.

 

 

Learning the role of a consumer and understanding that money is needed in exchange for goods and/or services, is one of the Nevada Preschool Standards that is explored over and over again through this type of organized dramatic play! Students also demonstrate the roles of different jobs in the community and appreciate the work as they imagine themselves assuming that role.

Some of the other skills enhanced through dramatic play can be, cooperation, communication and problem solving skills. Not only is it fun to pretend and play, but it is a great educational and life learning experience!

LOOK WHO'S COOKING!

     In cooking class we used our 5 senses to discover a pineapple. We decided it was healthy a food. We discussed how much it weighs in comparison to a feather. Then we weighed ourselves and compared which one weighs more. We discussed where they grow. We learned that it takes 18 mos to grow a pineapple and only one at a time grows on each bush type plant....making them more expensive per pound. We observed the pineapple plant Ms. JoAnn showed Brodee Bear in So. Carolina (where Ms JoAnn's grandchildren Naomi and Noah moved to). We observed our collection of coins and identified which ones were quarters. If we spent all quarters it would take approximately 16 quarters to buy a 1 lb pineapple.

NV Pre K Standard Life Science- L.PK.4 5 senses:
Use 5 senses to explore and investigate the natural world

NV Pre K standard Health (HE)-
1.PK.3 identify Healthy Food

Nv Pre K standard math(M)-
3.PK.1 compare objects by size to determine smaller and larger

Nv pre K standard Geography (G)
G7.PK.1 begin to understand that people move to other places.

Nv Pre K Standard Math (M)
M3.PK.4 sort pennies and nickels

NV PreK Standard social studies/ economics (EC)
Ec 10.PK.1 demonstrate the role of consumers and understand that money is exchanged for goods and/or services.

MONEY MADNESS!

There are many important skills that students can learn by using coins. Several of the activities we practice at school can be repeated at home to reinforce comprehension. To start, students need to demonstrate an understanding that money is exchanged for goods and/or services. Have your child help you pay at the store, show how you write a check, pay your child for "extra" chores done at home, etc. Include your child in everyday exchanges with money. Below students practice exchanging and trading money. What a great way to practice our communication skills!

Students demonstrate an understanding of money when involved in dramatic play associated with payment. An example would be when children play cashier. They know that when we pay for food we get to keep the food.  Even before a child knows the value of a coin, they understand that a coin HAS value.

Sorting coins by similar attributes is a simple start to recognizing the different coins. Learning and talking about the different colors, size, texture and pictures on the individual coins helps a child to compare them. This is the first step, knowing and sorting into the four major groups. Here a students sorts with our classroom buddy, Brody the Bear!

LIVING LOVE AND LOGIC #6

Picture this. You're attending a school event and you overhear the following conversation at the refreshment table:

One mom says: "I don't give my kids any allowance at all. They have to do all their chores before they get a dime from me!"

Another Mom chimes in: "You don't? My kids get $20 a week no matter what!"

Then, a Dad pipes up: "My kids aren't allowed to even touch money until they’re 16!"

There are as many opinions about allowance as there are ways to spend money. Many parents think that allowance should be earned. Other folks think kids are too young or immature to ever be given any financial responsibility.

What do the Love and Logic^® experts say?

If we give equipment to kids to play sports and instruments to play music then it follows we should give kids money to learn how to use it wisely.

In the truest sense of the word, an allowance allows. It allows kids to learn the value and meaning of money with hands-on experiences. And itallows parents the opportunities to prepare their children for their financial future.

Here are a few ways to get started:

• Separate allowance from chores. Chores are contributions kids should do for free because they are a part of your family.


• Provide opportunities to earn money. If you want your kids to learn to earn money, you can give them jobs to do. Jobs are extra tasks beyond chores that kids can be paid to do.


• Nothing teaches the value of a buck faster than running out of money when you really want something. The amount of allowance is not as important as kids getting to practice with their own money when mistakes are small and affordable.

For suggestions for how much allowance, the best time to start, along with age-appropriate lists of contributions vs. jobs, check out my book,Millionaire Babies or Bankrupt Brats? Love and Logic Solutions to Teaching Kids About Money, co-authored with Jim Fay.

While the value of a dollar may change, the value of learning how to wisely manage a dollar will not.

Thanks for reading! Our goal is to help as many families as possible. If this is a benefit, forward it to a friend.

Kristan Leatherman, M.S.

Jobs For Hire

Having worn out one of our favorite scooters we've decided to turn it into a great economics lesson. We are all working together and Ms JoAnn is paying to pull weeds in our playground area. Thanks to those families who have also hired kids at home to contribute! Ms JoAnn is doing some comparative shopping, then will invite families to participate on a week-night or week-end "field-trip" to purchase our new scooter. (We're also thinking about selling lemon-aid from the lemons we picked, squeezed and froze the concentrate last fall. More details to follow).