Altameroy Blog

Here are some easy ways to incorporate instilling the virtue of gratitude in your children. As you go through your day, show them, the wonderful events going on behind the scenes that we all most usually take for granted.

1. Set the Right Example.

It is better if you teach them by using the appropriate words at the right times yourself. How many parents do you see saying “Thank You” to there two or three year old children. It is through example that kids learn best, and teaching gratitude is no different than anything else in that respect. “Children Learn What They Live!”

2. Teach It Through Role Playing.

You can play games with your children that implement the virtue of gratitude. Play the second chair and practice showing them how it feels to be on the receiving end of an unexpected, “Thank You!”

3. Teach by Showing Them How to Be of Service to Others.

Even simple things such as holding a door for an elderly person, are small ways we can show them how others appreciate us and our actions. It is also a way to put a smile and a lift into a strangers day, which always creates a good feeling within the person who is doing the kind act as well.

You would be surprised how many times a simple gesture like this can occur in your normal day activities, in places like grocery stores, doctors offices, or shopping trips.

4. Make a List.

An easy way to get them to make lists of what they are thankful for is to use “The Daily Gratitude Journal Software” You will find a link to this software in the resource box at the end of this article. There are two versions, one written in “kid language and displaying an output of “kid fonts” and an adult version as well.

5. Teach Gratitude While Going Without Things.

Recently my single family of three kids and myself had to deal with a full 24 hours of no power. This outage caused by a wind storm, was an ideal opportunity for me to teach them what we had to be thankful for that we normally took for granted. Simple things like, lights, heat, and being able to watch Tv, were just a few that quickly came to mind.

6. Show them How to Be Thankful for the Little Things in Life.

As in the previous example, although, most of us would not consider heat and light little things, they are things that are always there for our kids, so they are simple things that they usually don’t pay much attention too.

Other simple examples could include; having food to eat all the time, friends to play with, and having plenty of toys and school supplies. Showing them examples of third world country children who go without these things is a way of teaching them appreciation for what they have, too.

7. Teach them to see the good in someone they don’t like.

You can even use a negative experience to teach them the value of being grateful. When I think of this, immediately what comes to my mind is the Walt Disney movie, “PollyAnna” where she played the “Glad” game and found many things to be grateful for in every situation she encountered. Renting this video, watching and discussing it with them would be a great, gratitude building quality time family activity.

As you go through your day, show them, the wonderful events going on behind the scenes that we all most usually take for granted. Things like the police, who protect us, the firemen who are there for those who need them, and the clerk at the grocery store doing her job to help us get our food. Simple thank you comments to all of these daily activities is the easiest way to role model appreciation that they will learn and emulate.

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Learn more about teaching kids the lost virtue of gratitude. Visit:
http://www.dailygratitudejournal.com/software4kids.html
for more Free Tips on Teaching Kids Gratitude.
Join our discussion on the benefits of gratitude journaling by visiting:
http://dailygratitudejournal.com/Tips-for-Life-Software-and-Forum/index.php
Find more great content articles at http://articles411.com

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If your child is struggling with learning or behavior, and these issues are impeding their ability to function optimally in school, you may have to consider the possibility of a learning disability. The good news is that there are a ton of services available to your child, and they’re free to access. These are called special education and related services.

First of all, you needn’t be upset. As a school psychologist, I see approximately 20% of the student population for one reason or another. Services range from In-Class Support to Out-of-District Placement, and the range in between is significant. There are Resource Center placements that place your child in a smaller class environment for an extra period each day; there are replacement classes that offer a full class period of instruction in the Resource Center instead of the mainstream environment; there are self-contained classes for students with more significant learning difficulties.

If you suspect your child has a learning disability, your first course of action is to request an evaluation. You’ll write a letter to your district’s IEP Team and they’ll have a short time period (usually 20 days) to get hold an Identification meeting with you. At that meeting, you’ll discuss your child’s difficulties with the Team, which consists of (at a minimum) a School Psychologist, Social Worker, Regular Education teacher, Special Education teacher, and district representative, which may or may not be one of the aforementioned members. At this meeting it will be decided whether or not to evaluate your child.

If your child is deemed to necessitate an evaluation, then a three-pronged evaluation will begin. Your child’s IQ will be assessed, as will be their learning profile. A background interview will be conducted during which you’ll provide all pertinent information on your child. You’ll receive copies of these reports within a 90-day period.

You’ll reconvene to discuss the results of the assessments within three months. At that meeting it will be decided whether or not your child qualifies for services, and placement will be discussed when the Individualized Education Program is devised. You’ll have plenty of opportunities to interject and offer your opinion - after all, it’s your child! If you disagree with the findings, there are procedures you can take. You can refuse services altogether. Remember, though, that if your child is found to be learning disabled your Team may initiate a Due Process hearing to implement services if you refuse. There are legal protections for you, and for your Team.

Whatever the outcome, at the very least you’ll have a detailed learning profile of your child. You’ll be able to get them the help they need. And they’ll be better off after the process is complete.

Nadine O’Reilly is a school psychologist and Coordinator of Special Services. She creates 100’s of special education programs for students with special needs each year. She is the author of the IEP Resource Guide, and the Section 504 Resource Guide, as well as numerous children’s books for toddlers with life-threatening allergies.

http://www.special-education-ieps.com
http://www.my-section-504.com
http://www.access4allergickids.com

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Would you hand a child calculus problems once she was able to count to ten? A geometry text when he began to recognize shapes? War and Peace as soon as she could recite her ABCs? Of course not! Not only is it preposterous to have such expectations of a child, but also it sets up the child for failure and, most likely, a dread of and distaste for calculus, geometry, and reading.

Yet all too many children are enrolled in gymnastics, karate, dance classes, and organized sports before they’ve mastered such basic movements as bending and stretching, walking with correct posture, and bouncing and catching a ball. How is that significantly different from expecting a child who’s barely learned to speak to recite the Declaration of Independence for an audience, no less?

The fact that a little one can walk doesn’t necessarily mean he’s ready to successfully or fearlessly walk a balance beam. Because a toddler is flexible enough to get her big toe into her mouth, that doesn’t mean she’s ready for ballet’s pliés and relevés. Even if a five-year-old can run circles around you, it doesn’t mean he’s prepared to simultaneously run and dribble a ball in a fast-paced game of soccer. And how much sense does it make to enroll an eight-year-old in competitive softball while she’s still demonstrating an improper throwing form?

The basic motor skills nonlocomotor (stationary, like bending and stretching), locomotor (traveling, like walking or hopping), and manipulative (object control, like bouncing and catching a ball) have been called the ABCs of movement. And, just as we wouldn’t expect children to begin reading without the ability to identify letters of the alphabet, we shouldn’t expect children to take part in certain structured physical activities without first experiencing success with the ABCs of movement.

Movements from the simple to the complex are like building blocks. You must have the foundation laid before you can construct the ground floor. You’ve got to have the ground floor completed before the rest of the building can be erected. Similarly, a logical progression of motor skills is essential if children are to achieve optimal motor development. If they skip the prerequisites, they may never progress successfully from one level of skill development to the next.

Moreover, bad habits acquired early in life are likely to persist throughout an entire lifetime. For example, the young pitcher who hasn’t yet acquired a mature level of throwing isn’t likely to lose his bad habits simply because he’s required to pitch one or two games a week. Rather, the odds are these bad habits will simply become more and more ingrained as time goes on a situation that could have ripple-effect consequences for years to come. He could, for instance, develop shoulder problems that prevent him not only from pitching in high school and beyond but also from taking part in recreational and fitness activities as an adult.

In the course of a lifetime, it is from the prenatal period through age five that children acquire and best learn the basic motor skills. The most sensible course of action, therefore, is to ensure children learn them correctly during this period. The least sensible strategy is for children to learn incorrectly or only to a certain, low level and expect them to correct their errors or improve their skill level merely because they age chronologically. Writing in the International Journal of Physical Education, motor development specialist and professor Carl Gabbard states: “In contemporary motor development literature, the period of early childhood is associated with the fundamental movement phase of motor behavior. This is a unique period in the lifespan due primarily to the emergence of fundamental movement abilities which establish the foundation upon which more complex movement skills are possible later in life.”

In other words, fundamentals first. Children should walk before they run. They should bend and stretch before they twist and dodge. They should throw for distance before throwing for accuracy. Static movement (balancing on tiptoes or hitting a ball off a tee) should precede dynamic movement (walking a balance beam or hitting a pitched ball). And children should definitely succeed at single actions (like bouncing a ball) before attempting combinations of them (simultaneously running and bouncing a ball).

Still, a study conducted at Northern Kentucky University found that almost half (49%) of children ages five to eight lacked the minimum skills necessary to play organized sports. And yet there are millions of five-to-eight-year-old not to mention three- and four-year-old children who are playing (or trying to play) organized sports. There are millions of others participating in dance, gymnastics, karate, and more who similarly lack the requisite skills.

Of course, if a child is involved in sports, dance, gymnastics, and such, there’s even more reason to ensure she’s able to successfully perform the fundamentals. First, fundamentals are the prerequisites to sport-specific, dance, and gymnastic skills. If a child can’t perform a skill required by her chosen activity, the chances are excellent she hasn’t sufficiently learned a prerequisite skill. Second and perhaps more important children who are successful in physical activities continue in those physical activities and others.

Rae Pica is a children’s physical activity specialist and the author of Your Active Child: How to Boost Physical, Emotional, and Cognitive Development through Age-Appropriate Activity (McGraw-Hill, 2003). Rae speaks to parent and education groups throughout North America. You can visit her at http://www.movingandlearning.com.

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You’re so excited

Here’s a first birthday party idea that will preserve your child’s party, an important event in the life of your child and your family.

This is a special time to celebrate, remember, and look back at how much your baby has grown and learned in just one year.

Unlike other birthdays

Your child’s 1st birthday party is more for you, your family and friends. At only one year of age, your baby doesn’t understand all the fuss and excitement and why there are so many people in your home.

First Birthday Party Idea - You’re making memories

Even though your child is too young to appreciate their first birthday right now, you need to make sure that years from now when your child is old enough, they’ll be able to enjoy all the fun activities, gifts, food, family and friends that helped celebrate their very first birthday.

Here’s how

Pictures, a scrapbook and video or a DVD.

Take lots and lots of pictures and shoot lots of video. You can take too few pictures, but you can’t take too many pictures of your child’s first birthday party.

Set a goal

You want to document the entire celebration. Later on you can choose the best pictures to include in your scrapbook and DVD.

Treasured Keepsakes

Here’s a fun project that’s sure to become a treasured keepsake. Put together a special scrapbook about your child’s first birthday.

Include your pictures in chronological order, save a party napkin (especially if it’s a theme napkin), save an invitation and anything else that will help make your scrapbook special.

And if you shoot video or take digital pictures, either you or someone else can put together a precious DVD so that future generations to come will be able to see what everyone looked like “way back when.”

Your DVD can include shots of your baby’s room, special toys, stuffed animals and crib. And you can use a special song in your video.

Put your party together

Schedule your party at a time that works best with your baby’s schedule. You don’t want them to be fussy or cranky because they didn’t have their nap.

The party should only last a couple of hours because all the excitement will begin making your child tired and that can lead to being cranky and spoiling the party.

And remember that your young guests have a very short attention span too. So keep your games and activities short and simple.

Make your invitations interesting an fun

Your invitation should be fun, interesting and precious. Remember, you want everyone to know you’re going to be celebrating a very special event in your family’s life.

Use a phrase like “look who’s turning one year old” and include their newborn picture.

Just for fun

Make the newborn picture into a 3 or 4 piece puzzle. Or give then only one small piece of the puzzle and ask everyone to being their puzzle piece so the puzzle can be put together as a party activity.

Make sure to copy all the pieces in case someone doesn’t show up.

Decorate your home with a party theme

Do you have a theme for your baby’s room? That can be your party theme. Or you can use fun themes like Noah’s Ark, Sesame Street, Pooh or Over the Rainbow just to name a few.

Online party stores carry lots of wonderful first birthday party supplies for just about any theme you can imagine. To learn more just click on the link below this article.

The games you can play

Play games so the adults can assist the little ones.

Stack soft blocks, roll a ball, read a very short story, sing songs, do “baby art work” using crayons an paper.

Remember when

Put together a scrapbook of pictures and memories from the birth of your child, bringing baby home for the first time, baby’s first bath and all the special times through out their first year.

This gives everyone an opportunity to see the wonderful progress your child has made during their very first year.

Food and other goodies

You may want to have snacks available for the grown-ups and of course you’ll want to have a special cake.

First birthday cakes

You’ll have lots of fun putting together your little one’s birthday cake. You can put together a special cake that fits perfectly with your party theme. You’ll find theme candles and oh-so-cute cake decorations that will turn your cake into a masterpiece.

It’s going to be so much fun!

Yes, with this first birthday party idea, your child’s party is going to be a very special event, one you want to capture with lots of pictures and video that will be remembered and enjoyed for years to come.

And when your baby gets to be old enough, they’ll really enjoy seeing their first birthday party too.

Have fun.

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Most parents think childcare is a baby-sitting service. This is a misconception, as childcare is a profession as any other. There are so many important things to note about the challenging and rewarding career of being a childcare provider.

Childcare is a business and the providers are professionals. The childcare providers will have rules, regulations, work schedules’ and pay rates for the care provided. The provider will take his/her own time to create a handbook, contract, and other details that help to foster communications and understanding.

Childcare providers and parents should be clear on the rules such as transportation, discipline approaches, food to be given, and other care issues. If the rules put forth by the providers are not acceptable by the parents, both of them have the liberty to go elsewhere.

As per the Rule-101 in the kid book, accidents will happen. Parents should not over-react if their child gets a scratch or bumps a knee. Providers do their very best to keep kid play safe and positive, and to foster sharing and friendship among the children.

Avoid putting a provider in custody battles, spouse disagreements or other domestic concerns. Providers will abide by the signed agreement of who can and cannot bring or pick up a child. If there is a court order, the provider needs to have a copy.

When selecting your child day care center, do be selective. Survey the playground area, general cleanliness of the facility and most of all check licensing (if applicable in your local area).

For more information about child day care, visit Child Day Care

David Chandler
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“What The Wall Street Hot Shots Won’t Tell You!” go to: The Stock Market Genie

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Young people these days are bombarded by media messages every day.We watch TV shows and movies with perfect looking actors, or read fashion magazines picturing top models.

How can we not end up feeling inadequate in comparison? We compare our looks to those of actors and models, and then feel awful because we aren’t as skinny, or don’t have the same straight nose, or the same hair, or big eyes etc.

What we don’t know is how many plastic surgery procedures the models may have gone through, or how the photos are touched up and airbrushed, or how many actors and models feel the need to starve themselves to maintain their demanded body weight. The models appear to have it all because of their looks, but do we really know if they are happy? Would you be happy if millions of people were judging your body on screen or in magazines? Would you be happy if you rarely got to eat?

No wonder there are so many ads for weight loss wonder pills and instant diet plans. We see ‘before’ and ‘after’ pictures that lead us to believe our lives will be perfect if we can just lose the weight. Then we will be beautiful, right?

Again, what the media doesn’t tell us is that many of the people in those ‘miracle’ weight loss commercials get paid quite handsomely to lose weight, and are even using other methods beside the product advertised. And they don’t tell us how many of these people gain the weight back and then some after the diet is over.

These companies spend millions of dollars on marketing figuring out new ways of attracting people to their product. So be aware of the big, bad advertising monsters that make you feel like you have to look a certain way to be a worth-while person.

Also another big influence can be when your friends and/or family members who are actually not overweight, but still say they need to lose some weight. The question you may ask then is, if they need to lose weight, do you also need to lose weight? Shouldn’t you also be unhappy with your body? It seems like the pressure to be skinny never ends.

Unfortunately excessive and prolonged dieting can lead to an eating disorder as well.

The fact is, overeating is usually caused by emotions. You may notice that when you feel tired, angry or lonely, you reach for a cookie or another slice of pizza.

Next time you eat, ask yourself the question, ‘Am I eating because I feel hungry or is there another reason?’
Eat a variety of foods, and make fruits and veggies part of your daily food intake. If you are not already doing so, find a sport that you enjoy. It might take a few tries for you to find the sport that fits you best, but keep looking. Being physically active will help you feel better about your body.

Unfortunately, some sports nowadays do cost a lot of money, which can create a big problem for teens. If that is the case, there are other ways to keep your body fit. Going for walks with your dog (or your friends), go bicycling, play Frisbee, jump rope, just get moving. Even mowing the lawn is good exercise, and you may also be able to charge for it and make some money on the side!

(* source: Social Issues
Research Centre)

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Baby showers are a fun way to welcome a baby into the world and are great occasions for the parents-to-be to receive the wishes of all their friends. Generally given by friends and co-workers, baby showers are much more than just a party. They provide a chance for the guests to have a get together and maybe even meet the new baby.

Baby shower parties usually last for 2-3 hours depending on the number of guests and the kind of party. They can have any number of guests from five to more than a hundred. It is a good idea to have a few games in the party, as they are a lot of fun and also act as ice-breakers. They are a good way to interact wherein experienced parents can throw in advice for the parents-to-be. There can be two to four games planned in a baby shower and some small prizes to give the winners. However, the main idea is not to win or lose but to be as creative as possible and to make the party as much fun as possible.

A few common baby shower games are the Name Game (forming words with letters in baby names), Feeding Time! (while blindfolded try to scoop cotton balls), Rice Bowl (try to find safety pins in rice while blindfolded), Baby Guests (match each guest to their baby photo), Baby Bingo (bingo with baby words instead of numbers), Shower Gift Bingo (bingo played during gift opening), Round the Tummy (guests estimate size of mommy’s tummy), It’s in the Bag (guess what items are only by touch), Off Limits! (certain action or word off limits during shower), Baby Food Game (identifying baby foods based on their appearance), Scrambled (unscrambling baby-related words), Poopy Diaper (guess which candy bars are melted in a diaper) etc.

Before planning the games, it is wise to have all information about the number of guests who are expected to attend the party. All the supplies required for the games such as pens, paper, and other items have to the ready before the guests arrive. Keep a few spare supplies in case more guests turn up than expected. Small prizes can be awarded to the guests, including candles, potpourri, picture frames, food goodies like candy, bath soaps, and decorative flowers.

Baby Showers provides detailed information about baby showers, baby shower decorations, baby shower favors, and more. Baby Showers is affiliated with Personalized Baby Gifts.

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