Tag: Education

How to help a child sleep better?

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People go through 4 to 5 cycles of sleep per night with each cycle extending from 75 to 90 minutes. The cycle includes two main states, the Non Rapid Eye Movement (NREM) state and the REM sleep. The REM sleep is the last stage in the cycle and it is the stage where we dream.

It is important to go through REM and NREM to get the full benefits of sleep. Those include better memory, increased creative thinking abilities, and enhanced pathways between the left and right sides of the brain.

When we sleep, the body evaluates the information acquired during the day and decides what to keep for later use and what to discard. Storing the information in long term memory allows us to build on this experience to better sort out related issues. The process itself strengthens the neural connections in the brain.

What goes on before sleep plays a role in sorting out problems as well. One study found that thinking about a question before going to be induced dreams regarding the issue for half the participants and solutions for a quarter of them.

Sleepiness builds up during the day and is released when we sleep. If we don’t get enough sleep, we feel unable to make decisions that require a lot of focus. We are also prone to making mistakes in judgment due to a lack of full attention.

It is important to maintain consistent sleep routines, avoid using the computer the last hour before sleep, have the last heavy meal for the day at least 3 hours before sleep, and sleep in a dark and cool room.

Some children have issues going to bed and keep waking up through the night. The attached video covers states of sleep and factors related to sleep problems including if the child is a morning or an evening person. The video also includes ideas on what parents and educators could do to help the child sleep better.

For additional information, refer to:

Karman, M. (2023, July 15). How sleep improves and impairs creative thinking. Eachnight. https://eachnight.com/sleep/sleep-improves-impairs-creative-thinking/ .

Is it too early to talk “success” with children?

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Every time,
We listen to a child,
We encourage a child to carry out an activity,
We comfort a crying child,
We let a child make a choice and carry out that responsibility,
We watch a child experiment with materials,
We respect a child’s failure,
We help a child apologise for mistakes,
We discuss different points of view with a child,
We set agreed upon rules,
We accept a child’s fears and need for time to calm down,
We show pride in what a child offers to self and others,
We share fun as well as sad stories,
We show our love,

Guess what, every time,
We are talking “success” with the child.

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Helping children with money literacy so they grow up financially secure

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With the economic fluctuations, teaching children about financial literacy has never been more important.

Developing number sense is essential to learning about money. To do so, children need to learn about fractions, multiplication, addition, …

More important, children need to learn the value of money. One example is engaging the children in a school project where they have to plan material and budget, prepare, and implement the selling scheme. Buyers would have the option to buy using money or services. They could volunteer or bring items from home in return. So, setting the price is going to engage children in discussions on pricing, labour, and the value of money.

There are also actions that parents can do with the kids at the market. They can point out different prices for the same item. Other ideas involve asking the child to save towards a purchase, engaging the child in some home help in exchange for money, and involving children in discussions about gifts.

More information is available at https://www.moneysmart.gov.au/

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Are we holding gifted and talented children back?

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We want children to be gifted and talented and yet parents and teachers find themselves not knowing what to do or what to say to those children.
Sometimes it looks as if the learning method of the gifted and talented children is not conforming to the teachers’ expectations. They might not enjoy groups and prefer to work alone. As a consequence, the behaviour could be seen as uncooperative.
It is important for parents and teachers to assess the child to check her/his capabilities. Children could also engage in self-assessment as they might know their strengths and needs better than other people around them. As a result, the curriculum needs to be differentiated to extend their learning.
It is important to note that gifted and talented children could at the same time have strengths in on area and needs in another. So, a child could be a fast learner and hyperactive at the same time. Any action plan needs to account for both characteristics.
The parents and school need to partner together to support the child.
Gifted children are at a risk of dropping out of school given the inability of schools to nurture them. Teachers need to be able to provide an inclusive curriculum that scaffolds children to the maximum level that they could reach.
An example of a very successful program in reaching to all children is the Renzulli Learning System. More information is available at https://gifted.uconn.edu/# . The “Schoolwide Enrichment Model” provides opportunities to engage all students including the talented and the gifted by enriching the program. Social and emotional challenges are also addressed.

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How can parents and teachers facilitate children’s conversations?

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Children learn very early in life that language helps them communicate their needs and interests to other people around them.

How can parents and teachers facilitate conversations?

Firstly, when parents or teachers notice that children are engaged in a deep conversation, they should consider whether it is worth to interrupt the children in order to move to a different activity. It is more respectful to give children notice and time to bring the conversation to a closure.

Secondly, parents and teachers need to provide opportunities for children to engage in different types of groupings.

Children need to learn to share ideas, to listen, and to voice disagreements in different situations. They also need to learn to take turns in one to one conversations as well as in large groups where the waiting time could be longer.

Children could be grouped by same or mixed age, gender, ability, or interest. There are advantages and disadvantages to each type and children could contribute differently to each type.

Parents and teachers need to expose children to situations where different types of groupings are taking place. They need to note of what is working and to draw strategies to strengthen the groupings that are not functioning well. For example, groupings based on gender are also based on interests. Teachers and parents need to plan experiences where girls and boys are engaged in non-stereotypical activities with children of same or mixed gender.

As children grow up in a global world, they will encounter all sorts of groupings and need to engage in the different scenarios successfully. The early years help set the path to success.

For further reading, refer to:

Arthur, L., Beecher, B., Death, E., Dockett, S., & Farmer, S. (2015). Programming and planning in early childhood settings (6th ed.). Victoria, Australia: Cengage Learning.

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Smiling in the face of life: How parents and teachers can help children grow up happy

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In a world full of complexities, it is important to teach positive life skills in the early years. One way teachers and parents could enhance positivity in children is to engage them in simple and fun activities.

Teachers and parents could:

  • Help children to verbalise their feelings and to find solutions to daily problems.
  • Give children projects to work out in groups and have them come up with ideas together.
  • Assign individual activities to the children who work better alone.
  • Ask children to share funny events or stories and record the stories for future reading.
  • Acknowledge situations where children might feel helpless and provide preventive actions in advance. For example, transitions from home to child care or from child care to school can be alleviated by having parents discuss what is going to happen, visit the place, and give the child time to ease into the new environment. The same applies to field trips where locations are unknown to children.
  • Initiate the use of short sentences around happiness and smiles where all children can participate and remember the sentences for later use. One such activity is to start by saying:

Take life with a smile.
Take the day with a smile.
Take breakfast with a smile.
Then ask children to continue adding sentences about school or home activities. They could add:
Take food with a smile.
Take play with a smile.
Take puzzles with a smile.
Take story reading with a smile …

and so on until children remember most activities they engage in. Children can be asked to make their own song, story, or drawing around smiling.

  • Write reminders such as: The more we smile … The more life will smile back…

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How can schools stop bullying and what could children do?

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Bullies target a person with the intent of harming physically, emotionally, or socially. Bullying is rarely innocent and happens for a variety of reasons. The presence of the bullied person is not welcome and he/she must pay for being different and is made to feel that he/she will not belong easily if at all.

Bully Stoppers is an online resource that includes learning modules and advice sheets to help students, parents, teachers, and principles address and prevent bullying. The following is drawn from that reference.

Children who are bullied could do any of the following:

  • Tell someone they trust and write down the actions with dates and times.
  • Ask for help: Targeted children need to ask for advice on how to address the issue.
  • Confront the bully(ies) confidently if it is safe to do so alone or ask a friend to accompany them.
  • Think of the people who love and support them and draw strength from this.
  • Accept that we should not please people at the expense of what we like, who we are, or what is better for us.
  • Avoid being intimidated by the bullies by ignoring them.
  • Not internalise the negative outcomes intended by the bullies and understand that it is not their fault that they are targeted.
  • Avoid retaliating from the bully(ies) as this tactic rarely works.
  • Engage in activities in and outside school that help develop fulfilment and positive self-worth.
  • Befriend children who are supportive.

Unfortunately, the topic is rarely resolved on its own. Schools have an important role to play in building healthy social networks on the school grounds so children grow up to become successful members of their societies and the world. Teachers and principals need to be part of the solution by establishing anti-bullying programs in schools. Empowering each child is the first step.

Reference:

State Government of Victoria. Department of Education and Training. (2019). I’m being bullied. Retrieved from  https://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/students/health/Pages/studentbullied.aspx

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Engaging children in successful problem solving skills

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To be successful in a global world, children will need to be effective problem solvers.

Parents and educators can help children develop problem solving skills by:

  • Asking children for their opinion on issues that affect them.
  • Encouraging turn taking.
  • Engaging children in individual reflections and group discussions.
  • Giving children time to respond and listening to what they have to say.
  • Discussing proposed actions and reaching a solution.
  • Trying out the solution and monitoring its success in solving the issue at hand.
  • Making the process of problem solving part of everyday communication.

A respect for what children can offer at all stages of their lives is the first step toward children’s success in life in a global world.

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Bilingualism

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pexels-photo-247644Bilingual children speak two languages. This can be at home with each parent being a native speaker of a language or can be part of a child’s education. Children develop the skill of code switching according to the situation. To do so successfully, children need to be aware of the difference between the two languages and where words belong.

When children are learning the two languages simultaneously, they should be hearing the two languages frequently. Adults can help by pointing out to the child that there are different words that say the same thing. Children might mix words from two languages in everyday communication. In many cultures, this is an accepted practice and sometimes is a show-off practice.

When children are introduced to the second language later, they have already developed competency in the first language. Children will observe and listen to what the others are saying and participate in classroom activities. They might not initiate conversations and would respond using words and short expressions.

In learning any skill, children who are shamed when making mistakes or discouraged to bring their heritage in a classroom will not be confident in experimenting with languages and will feel excluded. Learning languages enriches lives and should be encouraged in a global world.

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Children’s Play

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pexels-photo-262488

Different cultures view play through different lenses. Sometimes parents ask their children to stop playing and start studying. In early childhood, learning is embedded in play.

By not playing and exploring the environment, children are missing out on important benefits.

Through play, children improve their communication skills, enhance their social and emotional wellbeing, develop a faster memory, and try creative solutions.

Most important, they live healthier and happier.

For more information, refer to the Parenting for Brain website.

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