Posted in Motivating and Organizing Kids, Partner with Teachers, Uncategorized on May 14th, 2013
I didn’t realize how disorganized my fifth-grade son, Garth, was until his teacher told us about multiple uncompleted assignments he had. He enters middle school this fall. She’s urged us to work with him on getting his act together this summer, but how?
This teacher gets a “C” for flagging the problem (”better late than [...]
Posted in Motivating and Organizing Kids, Reading/Writing on Apr 21st, 2013
My son’s second-grade teacher wants me to bring our dog Bella to class to “listen” to students read. Bella, a tranquil 8-year-old Labrador retriever, is a trained guide dog whose owner died recently. The teacher says Bella can help some kids read better. The principal has approved, and my son is excited. Is this a [...]
Posted in Motivating and Organizing Kids, Uncategorized on Apr 15th, 2013
My son is failing ninth grade. For years, I’ve reminded him to do his homework, and then checked with his teachers. When I back off, he slacks off. His teachers say he can still pass if he shows effort. He admits he’s lazy. I’ve grounded him and removed digital devices, but it’s always the same [...]
Posted in Motivating and Organizing Kids, Talk with Kids on Sep 28th, 2009
My 5-year-old daughter, Belinda, is very shy. She gets nervous in social settings, such as church trips and the playground. Last year, she was in a fairly structured half-day pre-kindergarten, but she is still standoffish socially. Every night since school started, she says going to the lunchroom upsets her tummy. I feel so bad for [...]
Posted in Motivating and Organizing Kids, Vacation Plans and Projects on May 4th, 2009
Our Rotary Club will fund a summer garden at one of our middle schools. The principal approves as long as it becomes a “successful prototype for an evidence-based year-’round environmental curriculum project that enhances students’ learning.” I have no clue what she means. We’re not looking for a PhD project. We just want to teach [...]
Posted in Motivating and Organizing Kids, Science on Apr 6th, 2009
Every year, our middle school celebrates Earth Day with a tree-planting and recycling. I’m part of a group of parents who would like to take this opportunity to start “greening” our middle school. And since our district is building an addition, we’d like to make sure that the new building is more environmentally sound, but [...]
Posted in Motivating and Organizing Kids, Talk with Kids on Feb 23rd, 2009
I just went to school for the umteenth time to discuss my son Tripp, a fifth-grader who gets bored in class so he’s always in trouble. At the end of the meeting, the principal told me, “I need you to take more responsibility for Tripp’s behavior and grades. He’s capable of success. We can’t do [...]