Recently in Education Category

It's what you've been simultaneously dreading and looking forward to for years - the day your teenager leaves for college. At this point, your living room probably resembles a staging area filled with essentials, maybe must-haves and should-we-take-this or-not piles. Here are some hints on what to leave at home, what to hold off on buying, and even what you might be able to be return, if you still have the receipt.

Less is more, especially in dorm rooms that are stingy on space. They are smaller than you remember from the campus tour, so think about what's really necessary. And just because you might be able to clear something out of your house now doesn't mean it won't show back up later, where it will just collect dust in your basement or attic.

"First year college kid's parents tend to over indulge," cautions Tina Shoulders, founder of furnishings and lifestyle company, Laidback. Her recommendations on what to bring include:  "A good duvet set, a few sheet sets, table lamp, rug, a few towels, under the bed storage bins, desk accessories." She suggests coordinating with the roommate to check and see what he/she is planning on bringing along so there isn't duplication on appliances.
Keep the décor simple. Let your son or daughter make their own decisions, even if you don't agree. You won't have to see it every day, so don't worry about it. Try to hold off on buying too many accessories, which will only clutter up the room. Instead, try to focus on one or two main items. Shoulders says, "Design is a great conversation starter. Always come with one conversational item or design. Buy at least one new throw pillow, lamp, cool poster or knick-knack that sparks interest."

In terms of closet space, try and leave some of your kid's clothing at your house instead of piling the entire wardrobe in the car because not all of it is going to fit.  "First, try to picture the residence hall closet.  If you don't remember how miniscule it is - picture 1/4 of your current closet  (less if it happens to be a walk in.)  College closets are tiny," says Eileen Roth, speaker and author of "Organizing For Dummies(R)."

"Chances are they already own 4-5 pairs of jeans, and that will probably be what they will wear 90% of the time.  Pair those with seven tops, some exercise clothes, add a sweater or two, and wait until you get to campus," she suggests. If you do take more during this trip, be sure to take some plastic tubs for storage. "To save space, buy an under-the-bed plastic storage box and store some things there - great for the 'too many shoes' person," Roth advises.

So take a deep breath and enjoy the remaining time with your kids before they head off to school - and don't forget, you'll see them along with mountains of their laundry probably more often than you think.

Photo: Austin Anderson, Executive Director Chic Galleria Publications

The third article in my series, Preparing Your Child For School, deals with children I am very familiar with. Kids going to 2nd grade.

I'm sure you experienced quite a year as you watched your child tackle reading, writing and arithmetic! Now they are going to take those skills and really put them to work.

Language Arts/Reading

• Reads regularly is independent level text effortlessly and with expression.

• Demonstrates appropriate use of capitalization, punctuation and sentence structure.

• Students will recognize high frequency words and be able to spell them. Dolce list

Math

• Names ordinal position first through tenth.

• Exhibits fluency with basic addition and subtraction facts to 15.

• Tell time to the hour and half hour.

• Identify the value of coins.

• Reads and writes numbers 1-100.

• Counts objects by ones, twos, fives and tens.

I tell my parent's in the letter I send out every May, not only do you need to have your child read to you often....ask them about what they read! Comprehension is a key element in your child's reading success!

Originally published 7/ 18/08
Photo Credit © Les3photo8 | Dreamstime.com

Located conveniently off I-65 between Chicago and Indianapolis, this dairy farm provides an educational stop for the entire family.

As we planned our trip from Atlanta to OshKosh for the annual Experimental Aircraft Association's AirVenture, one of the members of our group asked if would could plan to stop by a dairy farm outside of Chicago. Always up for good educational stops along the way, we eagerly added that stop into our plan. We studied the farm's website and knew we would be enjoying an adventure center, a birthing facility, and a tour of the farm.

We first entered the Adventure Center which was like a mini-amusement park of the bovine variety. We were all captured by the large cow replicas hosting touch screens and flip cards. The large signage containing the process of how grass and feed become milk taught us all a thing or two. The simulated milking "carousel" was a definite hit with everyone in the group.

As we were walking through the Adventure Center, a staff member came to our group and told us that we should really go to the birthing facility. There was a mother cow about to give birth to twin calves. The birthing center is really a sight to behold. The seating is basically stadium style positioned around a large area where the cows give birth. We only were there a few moments when a staff veterinarian entered the area where the mother cow was and helped her to deliver the calves. We were all in such awe of the beauty of what we had just seen that we just sat there watching for a long while as the mother cow cleaned her new babies. At the farm, about 80 calves are born each day and 3 are visible each day at the birthing center.

Next, we took the tour bus to tour the farm. We saw where the feed was stored, the barns, and the milking buildings. The cows on this farm, and I am sure most dairy farms, were such creatures of habit. They simply walked right up to the building where they are milked and stepped onto the carousel for their turn to be milked.

Ending out our stop over was a visit to the food and gift building where we were able to see some of Fair Oaks' award-winning cheese being made. Samples were excellent and definitely caused us to buy a few varieties. Our favorites were the hickory smoked Gouda and five-year aged cheddar. Of course, the children's favorite by far was the ice cream and gift shops.

I have to admit, being a homeschooling mother; I asked the friendly staff for any educational materials they could provide to me for follow-up study at home. They were extremely helpful and provided me with excellent materials.

This was an excellent educational stop over on our trip and provided a thorough, well-done lesson on the process of how milk and dairy products make it into our homes. When I asked my son how he liked the stop, he asked if we could come back again sometime soon. That was a definite "thumbs up" for parents traveling with children or who are in the Chicago or Indianapolis areas.

Look for farms in your area or where you are traveling and arrange a tour. You will be amazed at how much your children learn in a short afternoon.
 

Fun Dairy Facts

    * The average dairy cow will eat over 17 tons of feed per year.
    * Dairy cows produce approximately 90% of the world's milk supply.
    * Good dairy cows produce over 25 gallons of milk each day.
    * A cow chews her cud approximately 8 hours each day.
    * A cow has 4 digestive compartments.

Continuing my series Preparing Your Child For School, I wanted to offer suggestions for skills children should have before entering First Grade.

First Grade is the year your mouth will drop open and you will be in constant awe of your child. I always tell the parents at Back To School Night to just "take my word for it!"  Reading, writing, adding and making new best friends...what a fantastic growing time both educationally and emotionally.

Language Arts/Reading

• Knows all letter names and letter sounds.

• Writes first and last name.

• Shows beginning writing skills using pictures, letters and/or words.

• Recognizes and produces simple rhyming pairs.

• Recognizes sight words from the dolce list.

Math

• Identifies and draws basic shapes

• Identifies coins.

• Tell time on clocks to the hour.

• Identifies the days of the weeks and months of the year.

• Identifies and writes numerals 1-10.

• Counts forward to 20 and backward to 10.

As always, read with your child often!

Originally published 7/11/08
Photo Credit © Sandra Gligorijevic | Dreamstime.com

From the Series, Preparing Your Child For School.

Although we are deep in the middle of summer, many of you may be experiencing anxiety over the coming school year. As a teacher, I am often asked "What does my child need to know?" I thought I would give you some tips and suggestions so that you can work to prepare your child during the summer months.

Here are some things your child should be familiar with upon entering Kindergarten.

Language Arts/Reading

• Follows books left to right and from top to bottom on a printed page.

• Begins to understand that letters are grouped to form words and words are separated by spaces.

• Begins to see a relationship between the spoken and written word...follows print as it is read aloud.

• Know most letter names and begins to recognize the sounds of letters.

Math

• Identifies numerals 1-5.

• Sorts and groups objects in a set and explains what they have in common.

• Counts in sequence from 1-10.

• Recognizes circle, square, rectangle.

• Recognizes that patterns can repeat and explains them verbally (i.e. red-black-red-black-red-black)

Although summer is a time for relaxation and play, take time every day to read with your child. Ask them questions about what happened first, middle and last in the book. Ask them who the characters are and how the book made them feel. Use these "teachable moments" to help enrich your child's world. You are the tool to their success!

originally published 7/04/08
Photo Credit © Ciapix | Dreamstime.com