KatieBeanKids

Author: D& M Robinson

Preschool learning activities vary in many different forms. If you use alittle creativity, you can come up with great preschool activities and learning activities for preschoolers and children.

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Author: Maggi Carstairs
Telling your child he is ’smart’ does not raise smart children…its better to praise effort and hard work so we realise that we are ’smart’ because we work hard…

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=the-secret-to-raising-smart-kids

Parents, and teachers, can engender a growth mind-set in children by praising them for their effort or persistence (rather than for their intelligence), by telling success stories that emphasize hard work and love of learning, and by teaching them about the brain as a learning machine.

A brilliant student, Jonathan sailed through grade school. He completed his assignments easily and routinely earned As. Jonathan puzzled over why some of his classmates struggled, and his parents told him he had a special gift. In the seventh grade, however, Jonathan suddenly lost interest in school, refusing to do homework or study for tests. As a consequence, his grades plummeted. His parents tried to boost their son’s confidence by assuring him that he was very smart. But their attempts failed to motivate Jonathan (who is a composite drawn from several children). Schoolwork, their son maintained, was boring and pointless.

Our society worships talent, and many people assume that possessing superior intelligence or ability along with confidence in that ability is a recipe for success. In fact, however, more than 30 years of scientific investigation suggests that an overemphasis on intellect or talent leaves people vulnerable to failure, fearful of challenges and unwilling to remedy their shortcomings.

The result plays out in children like Jonathan, who coast through the early grades under the dangerous notion that no-effort academic achievement defines them as smart or gifted. Such children hold an implicit belief that intelligence is innate and fixed, making striving to learn seem far less important than being (or looking) smart. This belief also makes them see challenges, mistakes and even the need to exert effort as threats to their ego rather than as opportunities to improve. And it causes them to lose confidence and motivation when the work is no longer easy for them.

Praising children’s innate abilities, as Jonathan2019s parents did, reinforces this mind-set, which can also prevent young athletes or people in the workforce and even marriages from living up to their potential. On the other hand, our studies show that teaching people to have a growth mind-set, which encourages a focus on effort rather than on intelligence or talent, helps make them into high achievers in school and in life.

……………………………………………………………………………

As a teacher I see many students who start school doing well, and then start having problems, and some become problem students, and I see how this effects the students who consider themselves ’smart’ but assume ’smartness’ should automatically make them succeed at Studies. We do not focus on the effort needed until it is too late.

Its not the time to tell University students that they need to ‘do some study’. Many assume that they can simply pass exams because they are enrolled. The fault lies with the Education System that allows students who do not meet the required grade to pass up into the higher level. The student who has managed to go up the educational ladder without learning anything, thinks he is ’smart’ because the school system has simply passed him, because not doing so reflects ultimately on the teacher as a failure, not the student. He knows he has not worked, and assumes that he has passed because he is smart, not because the school was lax in their assessment.

This is what is ultimately behind every uneducated student….parents telling him he is smart, and teachers, and schools, scared they will be penalised if they fail a student.

Maybe its time we all started focusing on our own efforts…teachers too…the student fails to learn because the teaching method has not approached the students way of learning, the student has not worked, and because the student needs to realise that learning does not miraculously happen, that effort is also needed.

The sad part is that learning may not occur, but the student gets a certificate saying he has passed that year or subject.

Right now there are many  students going to study in Universities and Higher Level Colleges  who do not have the required basic minimum standard, yet they hold basic test scores telling them they have passed  their secondary schooling and are ready to continue with their higher studies.

Yes, every student knows they are ’smart’ because their doting parents have told them this…and paid for them to attend an University or College that they would never have got in by their own merits, and will continue to pay for them until the student decided they are ‘not really set out for this area of study’ and will resign and look elsewhere for an easier path in life. The real world does not cater to them as easily as the schools and parents. They will discover this when they try to become a part of it.

Maybe its too late ……it takes a smart parent to raise a smart child…and a smart parent will never have a not smart child.

The answer is one word….Effort

or

two words….Hard Work

Think About It……..You have to be smart to have a smart child.

Marguerite Carstairs 2008

About the Author:

writer, Poet and Photographer with an interest in Travel, Art and Social Anthropology and Learning Research

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/childhood-education-articles/the-secret-to-raising-a-smart-child-is-to-be-a-smart-parent-658539.html

Author: Daniel Soto

It’s a fact in today’s world that to be successful you should have a sharp & attentive brain. When you have outstanding mind and brain skills, IQ confidence usually follows. Employers hire and promote often the person who masters these characteristics better than the person who works day in and day out with lesser results to show.

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Author: Marjorie Cross

Teaching your children the joys of cooking

Introducing your children to new foods can be as easy as getting them in the kitchen to help you prepare a meal. When my children were little I mean at the age of 2 to 3 you pick them up and set them on the counter top. I know, I know 2 years old seems young but the younger you start the more comfortable they will feel in the kitchen. I remember their first experience of trying to crack and egg. Read the rest of this entry »

Author: Artara

When a baby first begins to focus what does it see? Things that it has never seen before. Colours, shapes, sounds, movement, smells, taste, warmth from rugs and the feel of someone holding it close, namely the baby’s mother.

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Author: Andrew Bailey

Children are never too young to become interested in math and science. In fact, young children are natural scientists and mathematicians. They are curious. They ask questions all the time. They like to explore and experiment. When you encourage their questions and help them explore and find out the answers, you are building their interest in math and science. And children who have such experiences when they are very young develop an enjoyment and a confidence in math and science that pay off when they’re older.

As many parents have discovered, the toys we buy for our kids are not always what they enjoy playing with. How many parents have bought their toddler a cool toy only to have that cast aside while the toddler bangs on a pot with a wooden spoon?

Kids are full of boundless curiosity and what they need is something (toy or not) that will help them explore their senses or the world around them. What we think are simple things are amazing discoveries to a child. A tiny baby is fascinated by his fingers and what they do. A toddler is interested in the sound that things make when they hit the floor. A small child bouncing a ball can play for hours.

Anyway, I guess we don’t really *need* toys. My kids can have just as much fun playing outside and running around and drawing or coloring etc.   Children have always had toys through out history, granted they were not always as flashy as they are today. Toys comfort them and help development.

Ask the kids what’s tops on their Christmas lists and you’ll likely hear gaming systems, DVDs, cell phones and iPods. Ask some adults what should top the kids Christmas lists and you’re likely to hear books, toys that teach, toys that foster imaginative play, and sporting equipment reinforcing the idea that children learn best through play.

For older kids, a lot of electronic stuff is true, but you need to think about how to balance that out. If you do the electronic things, you balance it by giving them some things that are going to be activating and other things that will stimulate creative thinking, said Rebecca Isbell, director of the Centre for Early Childhood Learning and Development at East Tennessee State University.

Playing is important to children. It is the way they practice growing up. Toys are the tools children use in play. Toys can be purchased, or they may be as simple as kitchen pan lids or paper sack puppets. Anything children can play with safely can be a toy. In fact, you may have watched infants open presents and noticed that they spent more time playing with the ribbon and wrapping than with the toy inside.

Try to remember two or three of your favourite toys. Were they ones you created yourself or ones someone made for you?  All children are natural learners; constantly absorbing new experiences in their everyday lives. Therefore the toys they play with play an integral part in this learning process.

All children develop at different rates, while some may be walking at 10 months others are still toddling and falling at 15 months. Some children have strong abilities in one field while others are adept at another field. Therefore developmental guidelines should be used as a general rule of thumb.

Some of the most educational toys out there are simple alphabet blocks and magnetic letters. You and your child can make words with them, sort them into groups, or just review what sound each letter makes as you place it on a tower or shape. You can count them and add or subtract from the piles. Starting this process very early can lead to big rewards when your child is ready to start reading and it can be a great deal of fun, too. Colouring books, simple mazes, and empty notebooks to fill with their own creations can encourage your child to exercise the small muscles in their hands so that, when it comes time to start writing, they can control the pencils and crayons to make letters and numbers that they (and their teachers) can read.

Children do not “need” educational toys. Children don’t need any particular kind of toy. They can take rocks and twigs from the yard and play quite happily! What they do need is you - to invest your time playing with them and to teach them the basics yourself. While there are hundreds of toys out there that purport to teach the alphabet, phonics, numbers, basic math, and reading, the number one thing that helps your child learn all of these is you. The toys will help give you visual and audio support, but they are not needed.

About the Author:

For the Best Top 10 Selling Toys, Characters & Games, Ben Ten, Transformer, Terminator 2, Toy Story, Japanese Bandai Toy & 6201D Godzilla 2000 Action Figures. The Best Toys R Us also retail Free Wooden Toy Plans, Children Wooden Swing Sets & Toys, Wood Toy Box Chest, Dollhouses, Rocking Horses, Play Kitchen, Airplanes, Trucks.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/childhood-education-articles/why-do-children-need-toys-837638.html

Author: Justin R.

Many parents want to teach their children about renewable energy and energy efficiency early in life because once they get in the habit of it, it will be a habit they continue to follow for the rest of their life. But where should you start when teaching renewable energy for kids?

A good start would be defining exactly Read the rest of this entry »