Thursday, August 27, 2009
Book Review
So a couple of my nephews like the Magic Tree House series. They are chapter books for new readers. I read #12, "Polar Bears Past Bedtime," by Mary Pope Osborne. As an adult it's pretty fast reading. The sentences are not long. Nor do they have a lot of commas which is good for new readers. The story kept going and kept at an even pace. The story is about two children, Annie and Jack, who in past adventures have climbed a magic tree house and have been whisked away to far off places. This time they climb up the magic tree house and the enchantress librarian, Morgan le Fay, has another journey for them to go on and another riddle to solve. She gives them a book on the Arctic. The tree house starts spinning and the children end up in the Arctic. They meet a seal hunter, go on a dogsled ride, see an igloo, play with baby polar bears and learn interesting facts about the Arctic along the way.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Friday, August 21, 2009
Strategies to Reduce Impulsive Behavior for Better Social Interaction, Part I
Curb Impulsive Behavior
Children, as well as adults, do not like to be screamed at or hit. A child who engages in this type of behavior will soon find themselves isolated from their peers. Here are three ways to rein in your child's impulsive behavior for better social interaction. Next week in Part II, I will discuss more ways. They are meant for school age children.
1) During a quiet moment, sit down and talk to your child about situations they find difficult. Share ways they can act differently when they feel the impulse to shout out something inappropriate or push a friend. Find peaceful solutions. By doing this you are showing your child you care about them, the situation, and what they think. If you have trouble coming up with ideas, here's one: When your child feels like pinching, grabbing or hitting someone in anger they should take a deep breath in, and then slowly breathe out. This will give them time to rethink what they were going to do and react differently. In place of the negative physical reaction they wanted to do they can do a different physical action. Like retying a shoe or walking away and getting a drink of water. The time it takes to retie the shoe or get the drink of water will give them an opportunity to calm down. As a parent if you see your child getting deeply frustrated about something, and you think it can lead to physical contact or screaming, calmly say, "It looks like you might need to go get a drink of water. Why don't you take a deep breath in. Then out. And go get some water." It's not really a question, it's a statement. The key words "go get a drink of water" will help your child associate those words with it's time to calm down. Do not yell this statement at your child. They don't need an adult who's not in control when they're not in control. A calm parent is in control. Your child needs your help with controlling themselves so be calm.
2) If your child keeps having problems with impulsive behavior identify things that lead up to it. Find ways to stop the behavior before it happens. After a problem episode do the following during a quite moment that same day: You and your child should reflect together on what happened to cause the incident. If you can identity what went wrong you can plan a strategy for next time so it doesn't happen again. Example: Your son keeps stomping on the foot of a particular boy at school because he teases him. Solution- Get your son to remove himself from any situation where that boy is teasing. Next time your son is near this boy and sees him teasing a classmate with say, a pencil, he should leave. Even if he's in line at the handball court. Leaving will be hard. But it's better then getting in trouble for stomping on someone's foot. Your son should learn to back off. You don't want him growing up and hitting someone in the face because they insulted him in some way. Plus, other boys won't want to play with him if they see him physical hurt others for what they consider only a minor offense. For if he hurts others for being annoying, they might get hurt too.
3) For some children it can help having a squishy ball in their pocket. They can squish the ball when they feel the urge to yell something mean or pinch or hit someone. Squeezing a squishy ball redirects undesired behavior. It is far better your child squeezes their squishy ball 10 times then alienating a classmate by squeezing his arm. Some children need a physical outlet for their feelings. If your child kicks doors, walls or their sibling in anger, redirect this energy with a punching pillow. They can punch it when they are mad or upset. Your child can also let out steam by doing a physical activity. Such as, jumping rope fifty times or a pushing or pulling activity.
Children, as well as adults, do not like to be screamed at or hit. A child who engages in this type of behavior will soon find themselves isolated from their peers. Here are three ways to rein in your child's impulsive behavior for better social interaction. Next week in Part II, I will discuss more ways. They are meant for school age children.
1) During a quiet moment, sit down and talk to your child about situations they find difficult. Share ways they can act differently when they feel the impulse to shout out something inappropriate or push a friend. Find peaceful solutions. By doing this you are showing your child you care about them, the situation, and what they think. If you have trouble coming up with ideas, here's one: When your child feels like pinching, grabbing or hitting someone in anger they should take a deep breath in, and then slowly breathe out. This will give them time to rethink what they were going to do and react differently. In place of the negative physical reaction they wanted to do they can do a different physical action. Like retying a shoe or walking away and getting a drink of water. The time it takes to retie the shoe or get the drink of water will give them an opportunity to calm down. As a parent if you see your child getting deeply frustrated about something, and you think it can lead to physical contact or screaming, calmly say, "It looks like you might need to go get a drink of water. Why don't you take a deep breath in. Then out. And go get some water." It's not really a question, it's a statement. The key words "go get a drink of water" will help your child associate those words with it's time to calm down. Do not yell this statement at your child. They don't need an adult who's not in control when they're not in control. A calm parent is in control. Your child needs your help with controlling themselves so be calm.
2) If your child keeps having problems with impulsive behavior identify things that lead up to it. Find ways to stop the behavior before it happens. After a problem episode do the following during a quite moment that same day: You and your child should reflect together on what happened to cause the incident. If you can identity what went wrong you can plan a strategy for next time so it doesn't happen again. Example: Your son keeps stomping on the foot of a particular boy at school because he teases him. Solution- Get your son to remove himself from any situation where that boy is teasing. Next time your son is near this boy and sees him teasing a classmate with say, a pencil, he should leave. Even if he's in line at the handball court. Leaving will be hard. But it's better then getting in trouble for stomping on someone's foot. Your son should learn to back off. You don't want him growing up and hitting someone in the face because they insulted him in some way. Plus, other boys won't want to play with him if they see him physical hurt others for what they consider only a minor offense. For if he hurts others for being annoying, they might get hurt too.
3) For some children it can help having a squishy ball in their pocket. They can squish the ball when they feel the urge to yell something mean or pinch or hit someone. Squeezing a squishy ball redirects undesired behavior. It is far better your child squeezes their squishy ball 10 times then alienating a classmate by squeezing his arm. Some children need a physical outlet for their feelings. If your child kicks doors, walls or their sibling in anger, redirect this energy with a punching pillow. They can punch it when they are mad or upset. Your child can also let out steam by doing a physical activity. Such as, jumping rope fifty times or a pushing or pulling activity.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Movie Pick
Movie Title: The Spiderwick Chronicles. Children-Magical. Rated PG. Film is based on a series of books by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi. Plot: A mother takes her twin sons (Freddie Highmore in dual role) and daughter to live in the country. One of the twins is absolutely miserable about it. Then something exciting happens, the kids find a magical world. I really enjoyed this movie.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Book Pick- Book on Funny Poems
Get your child interested in poems! If you haven't heard of Shel Silverstein, you're missing out on a good laugh. He makes reading poems fun. Children should learn that poems don't have to be boring. Or mushy. Or just for adults. Mr. Silverstein's book "Runny Rabbit" is a great example. The book is full of humorous poems about Runny Rabbit and his animal friends.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Simple outdoor activity to do with your child
Simple outdoor activity to do with your child:
Flower display for outdoor BBQ picnic table.
This is something even a five-year-old can do. Have your child pick three light-weight flowers. Example: two daisy's and a blooming rose. You should cut off the stems and leaves of the flowers. You want only the top of the flower. Have them choose a pretty bowl. Fill the bowl with water. Have your child place the flowers on top of the water. Floating flowers in a pretty dish is an attractive centerpiece.
Flower display for outdoor BBQ picnic table.
This is something even a five-year-old can do. Have your child pick three light-weight flowers. Example: two daisy's and a blooming rose. You should cut off the stems and leaves of the flowers. You want only the top of the flower. Have them choose a pretty bowl. Fill the bowl with water. Have your child place the flowers on top of the water. Floating flowers in a pretty dish is an attractive centerpiece.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Book Pick- 4th to 6th grade
Chapter book for older kids.
For some summer fantasy I've picked "The Last Dragon," by Silvana De Mari. An orphaned elf, Yorsh, must go on a dangerous journey to find the world's last dragon. The elf must for-fill a prophecy, that he and the dragon will save the earth from the Dark Age. Though the main character is a boy-elf I think girls will like this book too. It's fast paced enough even for adults.
For some summer fantasy I've picked "The Last Dragon," by Silvana De Mari. An orphaned elf, Yorsh, must go on a dangerous journey to find the world's last dragon. The elf must for-fill a prophecy, that he and the dragon will save the earth from the Dark Age. Though the main character is a boy-elf I think girls will like this book too. It's fast paced enough even for adults.
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