As working adults, we know that when our employer allows us to make choices within reasonable parameters, we feel more positive about our job, our boss, and our own capabilities and value. We have more enthusiasm, energy and creativity on the job as a result.

We aren’t the only ones affected in this way, children are too. When students are allowed some personal choice in their learning activities at school, they feel good about their work which sets off the release of endorphins which in turn enhance the function of the brain’s connections. The resulting lower anxiety level they will feel about their work will actually enhance the student’s ability to learn. When student have high anxiety levels about their school work, hormones are released which affect learning in a negative way.

Choices build brain power

In our desire to build our student’s brain power by allowing them to make some choices; we must remember that allowing them to choose between many alternatives can be too overwhelming for them. It is suggested that you give them no more than say three acceptable choices, and that you frame them as options or possibilities rather than as orders. You could say for example “Bobby, you might prefer this activity since it is more challenging”, rather than “Bobby, that is too easy for you, I want you to put that back and do thus and such.”

Consequences are learning tools

Part and parcel of getting to make choices is the understanding that a choice may have a less than acceptable consequence in the child’s view. When a student or your own child makes a choice without much thought, allow him to experience the consequence of the choice. don’t just let him choose something else, life isn’t usually a “do-over”. The training you are giving him will be helping to prepare the child for future choices that may be harder and have more serious effects. Don’t treat the consequence as a punishment from you, the teacher or parent, but rather as a learning experience that will enable the child to make better choices in the future.

Encouraging child to choose

As a teacher you may encounter the child who simply cannot make his or her own choices, but looks to peers or the teacher to tell him what he should do. Be patient, but insistent that he is capable of making a choice. Often these children have perfectionist or controlling adults at home who do not allow them to choose. This might be an appropriate discussion at a parent/teacher conference as you explain that their child’s brain power is built up when children have the opportunity of making some choices from a group of options that the parents can live with. I’ve never met a parent who would prefer their child have lesser brain power, have you?

• Babies love to play Patty-cake! Not only are they enjoying the social interaction and hearing your voice, they are also enjoying their sense of touch, becoming aware of the rhythm of the chant, and learning to imitate you. There are very few adults who did not play Patty-cake as infants; it has survived the test of time!
• Babies really enjoy watching Bubbles. (Be sure they are far enough away to not have the bubbles pop in their face.) You will be promoting eye-hand coordination as the baby reaches for the bubbles, and visual tracking as he follows the bubbles from the wand to their final destination.
• Cross-lateral movement or movements that cross over from one side of the body to the other side can enhance learning by forcing both sides of the brain to communicate when arms and legs are crossed over to their opposite side. You can hand your baby things she likes in a way that makes her reach across the mid-line of her body to take them.
• Put an independently sitting baby in the center of a small pool, or on a large vinyl tablecloth to protect the floor in your home. Put a large plastic or metal bowl of warm water in front of him, demonstrating and encouraging him to Touch and Splash. After about five minutes add little floating rubber toys for the baby to grasp. This will enhance eye-hand coordination and exercise his upper torso as well. If the weather is just right, you could even do this outside on a patio before the sun gets too hot.
• Give your baby opportunities to pull herself up in a room with sturdy and safe furniture when she is developmentally ready and when she is ready to begin cruising with your supervision. Also be ready to help her get back down when she is ready.

We admire those who are able to think through and solve academic problems and perhaps navigate expertly through social situations with peers and teachers. These are valuable life-skills after all.

But, do we  sometimes tend to think or expect less of those students who are not so endowed intellectually; perhaps average students who must persevere in order to do acceptable and unremarkable work in school?

How do we feel about students who remain in the background for the most part, content to revolve around the circumference of the classroom rather than be the cog turning the wheel?

And what is our attitude toward the student who buzzes around the room like a mosquito, looking for a sweet place to land and take a bite out of some unsuspecting soul? All of these and more are in a typical classroom, and even with years of experience in education we can be drawn into arriving at certain conclusions which may or may not be correct about the futures of these children.

The important part of this scenario is that our perceived attitudes toward these boys and girls can either lift them to higher levels, or sadly discourage and even demolish their efforts in the classroom; especially if their home life is far less than ideal, and they arrive already bearing a very heavy load.

“The Longevity Project” though not a “how-to book” for teachers, has some findings and implications we ought to consider:

• High IQ and advanced degrees have no direct connection on longevity.

• Persistence and ability to accept challenges in life are good predictors of  longevity.

• Conscientiousness is the best childhood predictor of a long life.

• Cheerful students do not live as long as their serious-minded peers; their “no holds barred” attitudes often lead them to make unhealthy or unwise choices.

• A pattern of persistence, prudence, hard work and close involvement with friends and community are behaviors which produce a well-organized person.

• Parental divorce is the strongest predictor of early death in adulthood and the most traumatic and harmful event for a child.

• Children with dark dispositions, who overreact to disappointments as though they were catastrophes were most likely to die sooner as adults.

• Children who lived the longest tended to be highly active physically, to give back to their communities, have thriving and enduring careers, healthy marriages and a good family life.

• Children with strength of character and resiliency to deal with reverses and challenges; even divorce, loss of a spouse, career disappointments and even war lived long lives.

How does this study affect me as a teacher, you ask? I recommend that you take some time to look beyond this current school year with regard to your students.

• Fight the tendency to look on those with high IQs or bubbly personalities in a preferential way, while not giving adequate value to the “less showy” individuals in your classroom.

• Look for, value and acknowledge the skills, abilities and personal strengths of each and every one of your students.

• Make every effort to instill values such as forethought and purposefulness in your students particularly the bubbly and happy-go-lucky students.

• Cultivate in your students a positive attitude toward set-backs and disappointments, seeing them as an opportunity to build strength and endurance.

• Teach them to think kindly of themselves and others even when they haven’t been successful  in an area or effort; there is always another chance to do it better the next time.

• Focus not only on the body of academic objectives, but on building the character traits of persistence, conscientiousness, prudence, hard work and goal-setting.

• Encourage appreciation for family, friends and community.

• Make your classroom a haven for those unfortunate students who have little love, stability or acceptance at home, and especially for those from broken homes.

You have the capacity to positively affect your students in so many ways; academically, socially, personally, both now and in their adult lives. Be a positive agent of change, success and inspiration for them.  They will not only remember you, they will never forget the investment you made  in their lives.

The recognition of patterns and relationships in our current knowledge and the ability to make connections between these understandings and the new information we gain seems to be the key to human intelligence.

As our brain collects information from our environment by means of our five senses it enters our short-term memory unconsciously. Our brain, which cannot attend to the plethora of information that bombards it at one time; about 40,000 stimuli per second, begins to screen it and only registers the relevant information that relates to the person’s prior experiences.

From this stage it is passed on to the working memory where we are able to focus and attend to it for the first time and begin to understand what it means. If we are able to connect the new information with our current knowledge because it has meaning and sense; it is then stored in our long-term memory. Our brain has an amazing, almost unlimited capacity to capture and retain information and undergoes both chemical and physical changes as it gains new information.

Brain Development Process:

Brain development proceeds in a wave-like manner. A particular part of the brain will be under construction at a given time. We continue to learn throughout our lifetime, but there are certain periods in a child’s brain development when the brain is highly absorbent, able to acquire new information with more facility than at other times. This seems to be true especially from birth to 3 years of age, when the child’s brain is 2.5 times more active than an adult’s brain, and proceeds through early childhood into adolescence.

A child can learn the grammar and meaning of his home language with little effort in these early years. Learning a second language comes most easily from 5-10 years of age, while learning a second language as an adult is possible but slower and more difficult. Different positions are held by various neuroscience researchers in regard to second language instruction. Some hold to learning the first language well before the second language is introduced, others prefer that the child be exposed to both languages simultaneously, while others hold to only introducing 50 or so words in the second language until the child is 5 years of age.

In my experience, children from dual language homes such as myself, usually do not speak as early as those in monolingual families, probably because they are having to process two languages and so they remain in the receptive stage longer before they begin to produce complete sentences in either language. They will, in their own time, move into the productive stage in each language and will eventually speak both languages well as long as they continue to be spoken at home. The key is for the parents, grandparents, or the caretaker to speak his/her most proficient language to the child in order to be the best model of that language.

It is to be expected that the learner will do some “code-switching” or speaking a sentence in one language with a word or two of the other language thrown in to replace a word they haven’t learned or have forgotten momentarily. In our state where there are many immigrants who began learning English as teens or adults, it is not uncommon to hear much code-switching when conversing with them. Presumably as they further develop their second language that will stop.

Of course there will be improvement in most skills throughout the child’s and even the adult’s life, but allowing children the opportunity to learn and develop a new language during the period when their brains are most ready and able to absorb the new information or skill is always best. Another benefit to early teaching of a second language is that most often children are not as self-conscious as adults if they make mistakes, and before long they are confidently conversing with family or friends in their new language. We have an amazing brain, do we not?

Question: I am the English speaking grandparent of a bilingual second grader who is a fluent speaker in both languages, and who can read very well orally in English, but cannot answer questions or tell me very much about what she has read. Her mom’s second language is English; so I have been asked to work with her. I am happy to do this, however I really don’t know where to begin. Can you help me?
Thank you,
Cassie G.

Answer: Thank you for your great question, Cassie! I will be happy to give you some background information and share some suggestions you could use to help your granddaughter.

Several elements are necessary for a child to become a good reader. She must have many experiences, a basic understanding of the world, a good vocabulary, some experience with language structure, and be thinking purposefully and actively as she reads. It sounds like your grandchild can say the words in the text well enough, but cannot tell you what she has read. Teachers would question whether she is really reading.

A good reader who is thinking actively as she reads but who is having difficulty with understanding a text will have reading strategies that she can use to make sense of it, and to solve the problems as she encounters them. Your granddaughter may need some help in this area.

One concept that improves comprehension is the understanding that words and even sentences may have more than one meaning. The reader must be able to adapt her thinking to recognize which meaning might be the most appropriate in the passage.

A reading teacher would work with her students to train them to consider alternate meanings in a sentence that is ambiguous and to reread it with that in mind. As they reread the sentence they would consider the context and think about alternative possibilities, even playing with the language.

Homonyms, words that have more than one meaning, can cause problems for a young reader. Another stumbling block can be structural ambiguities with syntax. For example, a sentence like “The boy talked about the problem with his big sister “could either mean that he discussed a problem with his big sister, or that he had a problem with his big sister that he told someone about.

Background knowledge and context of the sentence are needed to determine which one of two very different meanings is the one intended. The ability to discern structural ambiguities develops in second grade for many readers. Their success in this area will usually determine their success as readers in third grade.

As the student learns how to choose the correct meaning in an ambiguous text, you will see her ability to read with comprehension increase significantly. In one study it was determined that time spent practicing identifying and defining homonyms, recognizing and defining ambiguous statements in sentences, and reading and writing riddles will increase children’s comprehension monitoring and their reading comprehension.

In one study the children not only benefitted from these exercises, they eagerly participated with evident enjoyment and enthusiasm. These lessons included practice identifying and defining homonyms, identifying and defining different types of ambiguous sentences, reading and writing lexical (word riddles) and structural riddles, by reading Peggy Parish’s Amelia Bedelia series and using these as models to write their own original stories.

Another group read Mouse Soup by Arnold Lobel which was at the same reading level, and learned to identify and explain the homonyms and the ambiguous sentences. They also made progress in their reading comprehension.

Reading and writing riddles seems to be the most fun for children. Beginning in first and second grades children start to have a natural love of word play and riddles. Riddles have great educational benefit and potential among students with widely varying reading abilities.

According to school librarians, riddle and joke books are the most circulated books with students at this age. The humor in these books not only improves the learning environment but gives children the desire to read, and helps them develop critical thinking skills and vocabulary as well as language development skills.

I recommend that you go to the children’s section of your public library, or talk with your grandchild’s teacher and/or her school librarian to get additional titles of appropriate books for her. Armed with this information and the books that she will benefit from and enjoy, you will be able to see her increase her skills in vocabulary, homonyms and comprehension as well as building many wonderful memories of reading, discussing and writing with Grandma Cassie. Seize the day!

1. Every day set aside 30 minutes to read to and with your child. Schedule this special time to be a happy and nurturing experience; perhaps right before bedtime might work for you. Reading develops your child’s brain and broadens his world-view and experience.
2. Let your child see that you enjoy reading, and that learning new things is a rewarding pursuit for you. When learning to read becomes challenging at times, he will have the perseverance and incentive to keep working at it because he can see how much you enjoy reading.
3. Use the public library as one of your better resources. Not only can you check out a wide variety of appropriate books for your child, but the librarians can recommend the best selections for your child’s age and interests.
4. Give books as gifts to your child. Electronics are fun and exciting, but books develop your child’s imagination and the critical learning skills he will need throughout his scholastic years and beyond.
5. Limit television watching. As you know television can take over a child’s life if you allow it to. Replace that vegetative time with reading by providing a wonderful collection of quality books in your home library, and playing mind stimulating games as a family.

With these simple practices you are setting the stage for your children to become effective readers and adding rich dimensions to their lives as life-time learners.

My granddaughter in second grade is having real difficulty with reading comprehension. Her mom and dad are both so busy with their business and three younger children. They have no extra time. I would really like to help her and need some suggestions on how  best to work with her. I am not a teacher.

Thank you for your help.

C.M. Milano

Answer:

Ms. Milano,

Thank you for your excellent question! Sharing books with your children or grandchildren helps them learn to think and act like good readers without even realizing it. Both adults and children learn when they make connections with what they already know and what they hear as they are reading.

One method you can use to help your granddaughter to make those connections is called a  “think aloud” which is really just speaking your thoughts as you are reading. This practice will not only increase her learning but also will improve her reading comprehension.

Elements of a “think aloud”

1. Help your child connect the book to her own experiences.
For example: The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant -  You might say: “When I read this story it reminds me of when I was 7 yrs. old and our relatives came from California to spend Thanksgiving with us; we had such fun! Do you remember when your cousins came to spend two weeks with you and you had to share your bed with your cousin Andrea?”

2. Help your child connect the book to other books she has read. For example: Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters by John Steptoe “This story reminds me of Cinderella. These two stories are about sisters. Have you read any other books about kind and unkind sisters? Let’s see if we can compare these stories to find out if they are alike in any other way.”

3. Help your child connect the book to larger ideas and life- lessons.
For example: Mrs. Katz and Tush by Patricia Polacco “This story lets me see how two very different people can become such good friends through their love for an abandoned cat and the discovery that both have had personal experiences of suffering and happiness in their own cultures.”

These are three examples of how good readers “think aloud” and the types of connections they intuitively make as they read. When you model this process by “thinking aloud” as you read with your granddaughter, she will learn to make connections herself when she reads on her own. Before long her reading comprehension will increase as well as her confidence and reading enjoyment.

Bless you for your efforts and for being such a supportive grandmother!
I will be eager to hear how she is doing in a few months. Keep in touch!

As much as we try, some mornings are disorganized and hectic with lost items, accusations, flaring tempers, crying or yelling. What can we do to avoid the chaos so that we can send our children off to school in good moods and ready to learn?

Look at the calendar - well before bedtime, make sure that all extra curricular activities as well as school programs are on the radar screen and the children involved are prepared for the event.

After supper, plan breakfast – unless your family has a rotating breakfast menu for the week, you should decide what the family wants for breakfast in the morning, and set the table accordingly in advance.

Lunch options, decide and prepare -for those who take lunches prepare them the night before. If the choice is peanut butter and jelly or ham and cheese sandwich, these should be made the night before. To keep bread from getting soggy spread the peanut butter on both slices of bread, or lightly butter the bread for a ham and cheese first before spreading the mayo and mustard.

Pack the backpacks – the night before have the children reflect, gather and pack all needed items for the following day; library books, items from home that are required for an in class project, permission slips, homework and textbooks and have the backpacks near the exit door.

Lay out clothes before bedtime – allow your children to choose clothes for the following day from within the parameters set by Mom and Dad for appropriate school attire. Make sure that items are laundered and ready well in advance for special days such as DARE or School Spirit Days.

Set clocks 5 or 10 min. ahead…especially the bathroom wall clock -this little trick works for many families, but others might prefer to have the children set their individual alarm clocks to awaken 5 or 10 minutes ahead of time. It is amazing how smoothly and calmly the mornings can go when you have those 5 to 10 extra minutes to get ready!

There may still be mornings you would like to forget, but practicing these time and mood-saving techniques will enable your family to begin most days calmly prepared, relaxed and smiling!

The following ideas are some suggestions you can use to prepare your child to become a successful and happy reader. By trying these tips one by one you will be able to tell what works best for your child.

Cuddle up when you read a book
As you hold your baby close to you and look at a book with him, your baby will enjoy the cuddling as well as hearing your voice as you read the story. One way to begin to build your baby’s confidence and love of reading is by looking at a book and feeling safe and secure in your arms.

Choose appropriate books for babies
The best books for young babies to see are those that are bright and bold or those with high-contrast illustrations as these are easier for young babies to see, and will hold their attention. Also, books made with cloth or “board books” with sturdy cardboard pages are easier for a baby to handle. You may also want some soft plastic ones for the bath tub.

Keep books within baby’s reach
Babies need books that are easy to reach so they can hold and look at them. They will do with a book what they do with every other toy or thing- put them in their mouths, which is what they are supposed to do. So, be sure to only put those “chewable” books at their reaching level. The others need to be elevated to a higher shelf.

Talk continuously with your baby
Name and describe fruits and other items when shopping at the grocery store, comment on the weather and relate things you see to the pictures in a book you have read when you are going for a walk. Ask your baby questions. Your child will learn words, ideas, and how language works by listening to you.

Respond to your baby’s coos, gurgles, and sounds
These are your baby’s way to communicating with you, and these are the first important steps toward speech. Encourage his or her attempts to mimic you; the more your baby practices making sounds, the clearer they will become. Make appropriate animal noises like mooing, barking, honking, and meowing as you read books about animals!

Develop your baby’s hands
Baby’s hands will grow strong and agile and able to turn pages if you will continually encourage him or her to pick up cereal, crackers or peas, touch her body parts, point to pictures and hold toys.

Follow a daily routine of which reading is a part
Routines are soothing to a baby, and allow him to predict what will happen next. Being able to predict what will happen next is an important skill when your child is older and begins to read independently.

Sing songs and read stories over and over
Reading favorite books and singing favorite songs repeatedly is fun for your baby and will strengthen her language development as well as engendering positive feelings about singing and reading.

Observe your baby’s reactions
Notice how your baby reacts to the book as you read to him. If you see that your baby is not enjoying the story, stop and choose another book, or a better time to read the current one. Reading always needs to be fun for your baby.

Reading is the foundational step to success in school and in life. Begin early to expose your child to the reading of books in a loving, secure and fun-filled way. When these children are developmentally ready, they will enjoy reading on their own. So many educational benefits and so much enjoyment in life is dependent upon the ability to read. Reading allows your child to become a successful life-time learner.

You may be a “Reading Mom or Dad” once a week, or may work in the work room assembling booklets, cutting out projects, or doing other prep work for your child’s teacher. Good job! You show your support for your child’s teacher!

You have bookmarked the teacher’s web page and stay up with your child’s assignments, events, etc.
You know that communication is of utmost importance!

When the subject of school or teacher comes up at home, you do not speak negatively about your child’s teacher in front of him or her. When you have a complaint, you communicate directly and respectfully with the teacher.
You know that there is a direct correlation with your child’s success and his opinion of his teacher!

You let the principal know what a great job your daughter’s teacher is doing, and have written the teacher more than one thank you note for her outstanding efforts as well. You are aware that teaching is very demanding and teachers are overworked and underpaid. You have shown the teacher that you value her efforts and support her!

When there is a special event in your family or home such as the death of a grandparent or the loss of a job, you keep the teacher informed by a note, email or phone call.
You’ve helped the teacher to understand why your child may not be himself right now!

Throughout the year you verbalize to the teacher that you want to work with her to maximize your child’s time in her classroom. You look over homework assignments, provide the materials he needs to be successful, and you respectfully allow the teacher to explain her position if there is something with which you do not agree.
You’ve shown that a cooperative parent/teacher team makes for a successful school year!