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by Rosemary Lee Potter, Ed.D.
Special to Tropical Breeze
How would any parent and family take to
having children who are perfectly well-behaved, good, safe
swimmers, excellent, eager readers, as well as organized
time-managers! Wow! Wouldn't all those super behavior features be
amazing? Well, honestly, yes, but, in reality, highly unlikely.
Yet, knowing this is almost impossibility for anyone, much less
children, wishful humor as this actually has some merit. Many
parents are choosing this summer to make some headway in the
direction of the well self-guided child!
Here are some of the ideas these folks are
trying, figuring even a little bit helps -- and high-time too!
Parents can easily use these ideas -- RIGHT NOW THIS SUMMER!
MANNERS: In so many areas of the society
in which children are living, manners are almost a thing of the
past. Informal conversation ala TV, movies, computer is fragmented,
often very abbreviated, and also over-the-edge vulgar. This does
not mean that any parent or teacher can lock a child away from such
influences as youngsters' daily contact with their peers would
make that impossible. However, parents who want to do so or who see
the need for civilty in a child's life, can make some changes
which count. Make sure there is household, sit-down conversation
time -- not about problems or discipline. At these times, parents
model good, polite speech and expect it. This is a natural time to
mention, polite vs. popular speaking conventions. This way a child
literally knows they can be both formal, informal, and kid-style,
and the definite difference between impolite and polite, as in
"pleases," "thank-yous," and "your welcomes." Remember, even a
little practice helps. Going overboard here is a turn-off.
SWIMMING: It's not too late to take
lessons. Most public pools still have classes at various levels.
Just knowing how to swim is definitely not enough. There is more
advanced instruction which can only make a child safer, ready to
have more fun. For older students who swim well, parents should
consider and encourage junior life-saving. They may recall the Cub
Scout who recently, having had water safety training, quickly saved
a baby from drowning while older people at poolside stood by,
seemingly helpless watching in horror.
READING: Once again, the more you read,
the better you read. That's what it takes. It's never just the
mechanics; it takes practice. A lot of practice! The secret of
"getting them to read" parents, is to make sure they get to
material about things which really interest them. That's it.
Summer's here -- use it!
All year in school the teacher generally
decides much of the reading material, although students can, of
course, check out books on their own. Sadly, students often think
summer is time off from "all that," when reading at leisure might
instead prove an amazing experience for summer which often actually
has "boring" moments in it -- even if they're on a break from
school requirements. Child picks stick! Magazines -- skateboarding,
outdoors, sports, celebrity people?
Then, off to library, bookstore, magazine
rack. Oh, yes, children need to read silently and for more than a
few minutes at a time. Even though children can read, parents still
need to read to them -- we're talking here even to teenagers! Plus
children need to read aloud to parents and anyone else they can --
grandparents, friends and younger children. Practice!
ORGANIZE: Right! Why wait 'til famous
"back to school" season? Parents have different takes on getting
their children organized at any age. We are not talking here about
messy rooms which may be actually a chronic ailment family-wide,
requiring major decisions on adding or arranging new closet space.
What children and, in fall, students need, is a little practical
planning which any parent can do... IF this improvement is truly
desired.
One parent helped her third grade son in
this way. She bought him four plastic boxes, two large enough to
hold toys, and two smaller, but with handles. One of the boxes had
hanging file folders! Together they discussed and then labeled the
boxes with clear signs. One read, SMALL TOYS, another read BIG
TOYS, the third read, MATERIALS, and the fourth one, SCHOOL STUFF.
Then the two sat down and did the organizing deed. At the end there
was more order.
There are ways that this four box
experience could help an older student, except, there might be an
inbox and outbox related to school studies, to be used daily --
when school opens, imagine, already understood because of the
summer trial run. Keep it simple.
Harder to organize is time, but here are
some tips. Limit time on TV, computer or cell phone, for all of the
reasons above and more. Student need to learn to manage time, not
use it in great globs of a single intensive activity. Trick is to
"GET OUT WITHOUT" or leave home or house without the rest of the
world electronically controlling time use.
Not easy unless parents are committed to
it. Can parents really try all these things with their children?
Certainly. Many moms and dads are quite successful in these areas.
Unfortunately, the world would have you think otherwise, that is,
that "it can't be done." Parents who make these efforts really
prove the world wrong and -- that your family matters!
© 2008 Rosemary Lee Potter. All
Rights Reserved.
Rosemary Lee Potter, Ed.D., has been a
teacher since 1960, including 21 years at Safety Harbor Middle
School, and is now a reading teacher at Carwise Middle School, Palm
Harbor. Contact her at
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
or by mail in care
of Tropical Breeze, P.O. Box 585, Safety Harbor, FL 34695.
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