Verbal Praise Worth a Million

        It is almost natural to praise children for their good performance, high score, or appropriate behavior. Nevertheless, we often forget to praise steps, specific actions, or personal challenges in daily life.

Younger children more often do something to please parents, teachers, or friends while older children start considering their own satisfaction from aiming for a goal.

In general verbal praising helps children to build their self-esteem, however when praise is self explicit it’s double worth; it helps to contemplate a particular action, keep away from trouble and find a reason to try to become better.

Praise your child; nevertheless do not praise falsely. When you applaud your child for things that aren't true achievements, she/he'll begin to expect praise all the time, which diminishes its power. "Overpraising a child can get her/him hooked on success and celebration instead of being satisfied by her/his own accomplishment," says Elizabeth Hartley-Brewer. Try to be specific about what you are praising.

Breath, one, and two-word expressions are suitable during a tournament when there is no time for wording.

Wow!

Super!

Perfect!

Excellent!

Outstanding!

Tremendous!

Sensational!

Wonderful!

Marvelous!

Fantastic!

Good job!

Right on!

Terrific!

On a daily base try to remember expressing what and why is something good/important.

You’re very good at drawing!

You're coloring it beautifully!

You’re eating much better today!

You’re really learning how to sow!

You’re really improving your reading!

You’re learning fast how to win that game!

You’re on the right track to finishing that quilt!

You remembered to be quiet! I really appreciate it!

You’re getting better at keeping your table organized!

I think you did it right switching the TV off before dinner!

I’m happy to see you playing with the other kids!

I couldn’t have done that sorting better myself!

I'm proud of the way you helped that lady!

It’s such a pleasure to watch you smiling!

I’ve never seen anyone rhyming better!

I'm very proud of how you hosted today.

I like when you comfort your friends!

I knew you could climb to the top!

I’m proud you tried new food!

I’m proud you didn’t cry!

That's the right way to dress!  

That’s better then getting wet!

That fairy is coming along nice!

That’s a good idea to set it first!

That was first-class porcupine fish!

That's great you helped your friend!

That’s right to wash your hands first!

That’s really nice to share the blocks!

That's the best way to finish the game!

That's the way how to make a sandwich!

That's much better than losing a best friend!

That’s the best puppet show you’ve ever performed!

That was quite important to keep instruction in order!

Keep working on your poem. You're improving!

Nothing can stop you from winning that raise!

Aren't you proud of yourself when it’s done?

Now you finished with A! Congratulations!

Try one more time and you’ll have it!

Now you've figured it out yourself!

Now that’s what I call a fine job!

Now you have your hand on it!

Look at your perfect curtsy!

Keep on trying that soup!

Keep up the good work!

Great cooking!

Good tea!

Read “Praising Boys Well by Elizabeth Hartley-Brewer http://www.amazon.com/Praising-Boys-Well-Parents-Teachers/dp/0738210218/ref=la_B001HMPJ5Q_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1356109943&sr=1-5

Read “Praising Girls Well” by Elizabeth Hartley-Brewer http://www.amazon.com/Praising-Girls-Well-Parents-Teachers/dp/B000W94KKU/ref=la_B001HMPJ5Q_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1356109943&sr=1-6

Printable list of praise expressions, which you can modify as needed.

http://www.ien-meudon.ac-versailles.fr/IMG/pdf/99ways.pdf

Overcome Shyness

Many children are shy, some of them become shy in certain situations, like meeting new kids or people, or certain places like at school or when on the stage,  but a few of them truly struggle with their excessive shyness. Sometimes it's a phase that the child will come through in very little time. Sometimes it's more of a personality trait that's likely to be lifelong. The good thing is that being shy doesn't have to get in the way of being happy. If your child feels OK with being shy and it doesn't last for a prolong period of time then it may not be as big problem. Let your child to know that it is okay to be shy.  Some children may be surprised to find out how many other kids are also just as shy. Talk to your child about some of the consequences of shyness, such as having people sometimes mistake it for arrogance and sometimes missing out on meeting new friends or taking part in great opportunities. Work with your child on finding ways to solve those problems while still respecting your kid's needs. Maybe small groups will be a better fit for your child. Think about it.

Help your child to triumph over the shyness!

 

Build his/her self-confidence. Find out if there are certain areas where your child feels insecure that are leading to the shyness, and work on helping to improve those. Provide your child with lots of areas to excel, opportunities to prove himself, and activities to build self confidence. Also remember that all different things give kids a feeling of confidence, e.g. new outfit or a great hairstyle can give a kid that extra something he/she needs to feel braver.

Create places that will be his/her "territory." It's always easier to feel self confident when we feel like we're someplace we belong. Try to give your kid at least a handful of places like this. If possible, try to set up new meetings in places where your child feels at home.

Provide your child with ready answers, phrases to use in different situations. It will help the kid to know the right things to say in new situations or with new people. Talk about what sorts of things he/she can say to kids he/she would like to approach just to get a conversation started, for instance introducing yourself, e.g. "Hi, I'm ______. What's your name?" or giving a complement, e.g. "I like your face painting." Brainstorm together about lines can be said to break the ice with potential friends and with groups of people. Remind your kid that body language, like a smile, eye contact, closer distance can show other kids that you want to be friends.

Practice playing roles. Set up situations and talk through them with your child, just to get ideas on how he/she can act and what to say. Make it jolly to keep it optimistic, and take turns playing different characters.

Teach getting ready for a conversation by following simple steps: calm yourself down by taking few deeper breaths, count silently to 5, make an eye contact and go:

"Hi, I'm Basia. What's your name?" "My name is Rapunzel."

"May I try how does the cotton feel?" “Certainly, you may.”

"May I pet the dog?" "Yes. Go ahead."

 

"May I hold the bird?" "Yes. Give me your hand."

Acting Exercises might be also very helpful. See some suggestions below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCw9vTLaOK8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMWNuw-vGHM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_NYktnvKak

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8t-7fDMa_dQ

Elf on The Shelf – Family Tradition

Family traditions are very important. We worship the one we have brought from our beloved countries. However, this year our family have adopted a new one. Barbara got a present form her friend. That evening we read a story "The Elf on The Shelf" by Carol V. Aebersold and Chanda A. Bell. Barbara named her elf - Jasmine, just like her friend how wished to share her great experience. Jasmine, the friend, had asked her elf to bring one for Barbara, so she did. Since that day our family became an Elf Club member.

A staffed elf is not just an any toy, it is Santa’s scout elf. Each Elf is assigned to his/her family to watch over and report back to Santa each night about who has been naughty or good. By the morning he/she is back and hides in a different place for a daily hide-and-seek ritual.

Barbara has instantly fell in love with the elf Jasmine, built a bedroom to make her comfortable, created a personal doll house to keep her occupied when she is at school, has been playing around her when back home and looking for Jasmine first in the morning.

The day after Christmas Basia received a farewell letter form her beloved Jasmine.  It really helped her to accept the separation. She truly believes that Jasmine will return the next year.

“The tradition begins when Santa sends his scout elves out to Elf Adoption Centers. Waiting for their families to bring them home, these patient elves hibernate until their family reads The Elf on the Shelf, gives their elf a very special name, and registers their adoption online. Once named, each scout elf will receive its Christmas magic and become a part of the family’s Christmas each and every year.

Excellent listeners and even better observers, these scout elves are the eyes and ears of Santa Claus. Although they cannot be touched, or else they may lose their magic, the elf will always listen and relay messages back to Santa. Taking in all the day-to-day activities around the house, no good deed goes unnoticed; these scout elves take their job seriously.

Each night, after the family goes to bed, the scout elf uses his magical Christmas powers to fly back to the North Pole. Once there, the elf will make his or her daily report to Santa and visit with elf friends where they will tell stories about their beloved families, play with the reindeer, and of course, sneak some of Mrs. Claus’ cookies!

Before the family awakes each morning, their special scout elf will fly back to their home from the North Pole. However, since these elves like to play games, don’t expect to find them in the same spot! While some like to hide in the freezer (probably because it reminds them of the North Pole) and others prefer to sit on the fireplace mantle or hang from the chandelier, these elves love to play hide-and-seek with their families.

On Christmas Eve, the scout elf will listen for Santa’s bell and then fly back to the North Pole until the next season, wishing every girl and each boy a Christmas of peace and a year full of joy.”  

http://www.elfontheshelf.com/AboutUs/TheTradition.aspx

"An Elf's Story" - Trailer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEqaSdVEpRk&list=PLY7iu-a9B41ONbHutFjK-aHewAu2D6nbg&playnext=2&feature=autoplay

The Gingerbread Man Tradition

The holiday season is forthcoming. Since our families are multicultural they are all getting ready in particular ways. To help our child to understand differences we can start by comparing our tradition with the others and then by introducing the new customs. Reading related stories, talking about them, creating arts and making traditional dishes are the ways to reach our goal.

These days we have focused on a Gingerbread Man.

By Basia, 2012

First we got familiar with a classic, easy to read, version of “The Gingerbread Man.” http://www.amazon.com/Gingerbread-Man-Enlarged-First-Readers/dp/1405455578/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1354762880&sr=1-1

Then we discussed the plot, characters and activates we wished to do.

At first we played an interactive game on the computer to create a Gingerbread Man on the screen.

http://www.starfall.com/n/holiday/gingerbread/load.htm?f&n=main

The next choice was to play with a clay and baking cut out to make a shape of a Gingerbread Man. While still wet we added some ornaments and let it dry for few hours.

By Basia, 2012

For a break we watched and listened to a story on the YouTube

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NjDUMeBaUo

Then using cardboard ages, paints and paper we created scenery.

By Basia, 2012

To relax our muscles we moved to “The Gingerbread Man” song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOTU3w6zq0I

By Basia, 2012

Then there was a time to craft the characters for a later play. We used printable, black and white templates, crayons to color, scotch tape to support the paper, glue to place them on the black construction paper and seizures to cut them out. To get the templates stroll the page all the way down http://www.dltk-teach.com/rhymes/gingerbread/felt.htm . You can print colored version if preferred.

By Basia, 2012

Finally we arranged a simple performance.

By Basia, 2012

Below you can find more “The Gingerbread Man” versions to listen and read: http://more2.starfall.com/m/talking-library/gingerbread-boy/load.htm?f&d=demo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnAgA1aZGkY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaEWoHeGft0

By Basia, 2012

Play with, Try and Enjoy Fruits and Vegetables

Many children eat few or preferable fruits and vegetables, don’t like or are reserved to try the new one. A very good way to break their habit is by letting them to explore the texture, smell and flavor when helping you in cooking. Preparing food for a surprise party, a play date or for someone who the child loves is the best time to push in the new ingredients to their diet.

Yesterday Basia made Dad's favorite Vegetable Salad with Mayonnaise.

Basia, 2012

“The origin of cooked vegetable salad goes back to 1864. Russian chef Lucien Olivier prepared this salad especially for Tsar Nicholas II. Oliver never gave this recipe to anyone. After his death, people tried to reconstruct the recipe, naming it Olivier salad. It was more sophisticated then present vegetable salad, which, after the war, was simplified and called Russian salad.”

Vegetable Salad with Mayonnaise - Recipe

Ingredients (for 8 servings)

3 large carrots
3 large potatoes
1 parsnip

5 hard boiled eggs
1 can of green peas
5 medium pickled sour cucumbers
2 apples, peeled, cored
1 small jar of mayonnaise
1 tsp of mustard

Preparation (time around 1hr)

Boil water in a large saucepan. Add and cook the carrot, potato and parsnip until tender. Remove them and drain. Set aside to cool. When cool, peel and chop into small cubes. Transfer to a serving bowl.

Chop the apples, pickled sour cucumbers and egg into small cubes. Mix with cooked vegetables. Add green peas. Season with salt and pepper.

Basia, 2012

Add mayonnaise and mustard.

Basia, 2012

Mix well. Add more salad and pepper if necessary.

Final Result, 2012

To learn more about picky eaters and ideas how to face the problem go to my old posts:

http://slpzone.blogspot.com/2012/04/picky-eater-and-new-food.html

Class Size and Student Achievement

It  is well known that…

…reduced class size increases students’ achievement.

Let me present you some American research supporting the above statement.

Interest in class size in America blossomed in the late 1970s. Since then there were two big studies presented around the country.

First study - Gene Glass and Mary Lee Smith consolidated prior years of class-size research using meta-analysis to calculate the effects of many studies and pool the results. Indiana's statewide Prime Time project (1981) initially reduced class size in grades 1 and 2, and later expanded to include reductions in kindergarten and grade 3 reductions that could involve teacher aides, a PTR intervention. Texas passed House Bill (H.B.) 72 in 1984 to limit class size in grades K-2 to 22 and added grades 3 and 4 and a 20 student limit in 1986.

The reasons for reducing class sizes included providing better instruction, more individual attention to students, and accommodating the growing diversity in public schooling.

To read the whole report go to: 

http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/1837/Class-Size-Student-Learning.html#ixzz2DgAclieA

Second study - Tennessee, Project STAR (Student/Teacher Achievement Ratio) - It was a statewide, large-scale longitudinal (1985–1989) experiment of small-class effects on the achievement and development of pupils in grades K–3. STAR expanded into the Lasting Benefits Study, Project Challenge, the Enduring Effects Study, and STAR Follow-up Studies to track students through the grades. By 2001, analyses had been conducted on STAR students who graduated from high school in 1998, including college admissions test results analyzed by the size of the K–3 class that the students had attended.

From a review of this research, we can scientifically document several important findings about reduced class size:

• Smaller classes in the early grades (K-3) can boost student academic achievement;
• A class size of no more than 18 students per teacher is required to produce the greatest benefits;
• A program spanning grades K-3 will produce more benefits than a program that reaches students in only one or two of the primary grades;
• Minority and low-income students show even greater gains when placed in small classes in the primary grades;
• The experience and preparation of teachers is a critical factor in the success or failure of class size reduction programs;
• Reducing class size will have little effect without enough classrooms and well-qualified teachers; and
• Supports, such as professional development for teachers and a rigorous curriculum, enhance the effect of reduced class size on academic achievement.

The above findings come form:

http://www.centerforpubliceducation.org/Main-Menu/Organizing-a-school/Class-size-and-student-achievement-At-a-glance/Class-size-and-student-achievement-Research-review.html

To read more go to: 

http://www.princeton.edu/futureofchildren/publications/docs/05_02_08.pdf http://www.aypf.org/publications/rmaa/pdfs/ClassSizeSTAR.pdf

To read about class sizes around the world go to:

http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/11/class-size-around-the-world/

The Nutcracker Tradition

By Basia, 2012

Many people associate the Winter Holiday Season with the well known Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Nutcrackers Ballet. Our family strives to keep the story and dreams alive by reading, playing and enjoying it every year. We’ve already seen Keith Michael’s The Nutcracker. It is performed throughout December at the New York Theater Ballet  http://www.nytb.org/season/family-series/.

The Nutcracker Ballet is based on a very old story from 1816 called “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King” by E.T.A. Hoffmann. There have been many adaptations of the Nutcracker’s story, including movies, TV shows and even a cartoon.

The Nutcracker Ballet story in glance

The ballet takes place in Germany in the early 19^th century. The curtain rises on a Christmas Eve party in the Silberhaus home. The children get their presents then dance about the room. The door opens. A strange little man named Drosselmeyer comes into the room. He makes playthings. He is little Clara Silberhaus's godfather. He has four dancing dolls for the children and a special surprise for Clara. It is a Nutcracker. She loves it, but her brother Fritz breaks it. She puts the Nutcracker in her doll bed to get well. The party ends and everyone goes home. Clara and her family go to bed. Clara creeps back to the room. She needs to be certain her Nutcracker is resting quietly. All of a sudden, mice start running about the room. The dolls, the tin soldiers, and all the other playthings come to life to fight the mice. The Christmas tree rises higher and higher. The Nutcracker jumps out of the doll bed to fight the Mouse King. When the Nutcracker is in danger, Clara saves his life by throwing her slipper at the Mouse King. The Mouse King runs out of the room with all the other mice. The Nutcracker becomes a human prince. Clara and the Nutcracker Prince set off through the snowy woods for the magical Land of Sweets. The beautiful Sugar Plum Fairy rules this land. She welcomes the two children then orders her subjects to dance for them. The ballet ends with everyone dancing a waltz. 

A cartoon version can be watch on YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byrYjX4fhmQ

We made our own puppet version of The Nutcracker Ballet.

We used printable pages http://printables4kids.com/printable-nutcracker-puppets/, 

By Basia, 2012

colored characters, 

By Basia, 2012

supported with a scotch tape, 

By Basia, 2012

cut them out and taped to popsicle or chopsticks.

By Basia, 2012

And finally Barbara performed as a Bavarian Doll in “The Nutcracker” by Manhattan Youth, Downtown Community Center http://www.manhattanyouth.org/, an excellent production directed by Susan Kay, choreographed by Frida Persson, Joy Voelker, Junie Kenworthy, Lauren Ferebee, Kara Zacconi and Vanessa Reyes, set by Jacqueline Leung and Michael Cohen, costumes by Constance Tarbox, sound design by Susan Kay, Lu Yang and Caleb Eberhardt. “The Nutcracker” multidisciplinary show was not only a huge success but for us, the parents a Christmas gift watching our kids smiling and dancing with joy.

Dear Manhattan Youth Team!

We are truly grateful for your hard wok.

We would like to thank you and wish you

A happy Holiday Season and the New Year!

The parents

“The Nutcracker” by Manhattan Youth, Downtown Community Center

With Basia as a Bavarian Girl, 2012