Skip to main content

Two of My Favorite Tips From My Son's 4th Grade Teacher



"ABC" by luigi diamanti via Freedigitalphotos.net

We all know how many papers there are to read the first month of school.

Medical sheets, emergency forms, permission slips, classroom guidelines, homework policies, safety procedures and more....UGH.

But, here is one I haven't seen before:

"How my child's teacher will challenge him this year."
   -Interesting-

I read further, of course, because that's what good parents do right? READ the papers that come home?

I figured it would be cookie cutter, and say things like:
  • This is how we discipline
  • This is how I instruct them on certain topics
  • I would like to encourage students to answer their own questions before providing the answers

But instead-MUCH to my delight-it was a change from the normal list of what would be going on in class! It was actually 'a way of doing things' list!

WOW! That was awesome to me! And, just like my way of thinking!

I'm always stressing the importance of the manner in which things are approached, handled and mostly how we look at things.

Naturally, I completely agreed with ALL 10 of the points and strategies!

My favorites? 

#'s  8 & 9:
8.  All students also need to learn to work together. They need to listen to one another, and take one another's perspectives. They also need to learn how to present their thoughts to others who might not be thinking the same way in which they are thinking.

9.  Students need classroom experiences that encourage higher level thinking, that involve choice, that provide opportunities for creativity. 


I appreciated #8 because I felt it makes children interact in way which promoted acceptance, tolerance, fairness, community and most of all, maturity.

I loved #9 because who doesn't like to make their own choices? And, because I am a mom who believes that kids need many opportunities a day for this because it promotes their intelligence and teaches them cause and effect on a larger level while promoting individuality.


Another thought I had while reading these?
These could easily be translated to parents when working with their own children and companies with their employees...

Popular posts from this blog

Green Punch Buggy....!!!!

Green Punch Buggy...No Punch Back! As I was writing this blog post, my son came to me showing off his Lego creation. And don't you know I got hit at least five times since on my computer screen was displaying at least five different punch buggies, of five different colors thanks to Google Images. (Bad timing I'm thinking...) How can we possibly have world peace with these silly cars in the world!? ;) Don't the owners of these cute-but-obnoxious-cars understand that driving these things around town promotes violence!? ;) Anyhow.... The original purpose of this blog was to ask parents everywhere this question: Do you find yourself saying 'PUNCH BUGGY *BLANK-COLOR*! '  to yourself, even when the kids are not in the car??? I do! Isn't it funny how those games we used to play as a child are still around? I bet our parents say the same thing.... HAPPY FRIIIIIIDAAAAYYYY! P.S. I got hit at least ten more times, since as my son stood beside

Back to School Anxiety: Bullying

Download “School Boy Being Stressed” by David Castillo Dominici via freedigitalphotos.net I recently wrote about how to help your child if they’re struggling with going back to school because they were bullied. My biggest most important tip was to listen, because I honestly could not write a ‘How-to-make-them-not-afraid’ column. Frankly I thought that was absurd. Fear is sometimes real. Anxiety is sometimes truly there, and for a good reason. Our job as parents isn’t to try to make it go away, it’s to try to find out the true source of those worrisome feelings. If you’d like to read more, click here. And if you’re child is struggling to find excitement about the new school year, don’t deny it, just accept it and move forward gently. Here’s some more on bullying: Family Matters Links: A Touching Story/Song Bullying: A thing of the past A Peace Poem By My Teenage Daughter A Deeper Insight into My Thoughts on People Who Bring Harm to Others Other Links: Stop Bul

Good Customer Service At Home

Over the years, my careers have mainly been customer service based. I started in a family business and then moved on up through the rungs from waitress, to hostess, to sales associate, manager and eventually the GM of a hotel. In all my years, my training taught me that you should always do your best to take your customer all the way to what they need, make them happy, and never leave them until they are done with you. I pride myself on my customer service abilities. Though the other day, I think I failed at customer service in my own home! I was getting ready to cut my daughter's hair and because of how long it had gotten (she's been growing it out for a year!) I felt this time it would be best  if instead of me spritzing it with water, she could wash and condition it real quick. She was fully clothed so I just suggested she run into the bathroom and wash her hair in the tub. She’s fourteen. I suppose I just assumed that she knew how to kneel over the tub and do it.