A great start
Dear teacher,
We’re back to school this month, and I want to make the year go smoothly. What are some of the really important things to do to make this happen?
Dear parents,
To make the school year go smoothly, a family discussion really helps. Talk about the things that really worked last year and those that didn’t. Focus on everyday activities such as the time to get up, go to bed, eat, and do homework.
It is also important to discuss how the children will organize getting everything ready for the new school day, such as getting forms signed and handling lunch. Early agreement on all these things is vital. Nothing, however, should be written in stone. Routines can be changed if they are not working.
Once the nitty-gritty of each day is organized, parents need to focus on the things that they can do to make the school year look a whole lot better. For many families, the answer is to slow things down to be able to avoid feeling exhausted and tense from too many activities. A steady routine of rushing to ballet, sports, and clubs for the children, and then parents trying to squeeze in meetings and exercise classes for themselves can eliminate any chance family members have to relax and enjoy time together. It is also very important to have dinner together so the family can talk to each other.
Value of pretend play
Dr. teacher,
I am a bit worried. My two young girls, ages 3 and 5, spend a great deal of their time doing pretend play. Is this a good thing for them to do? A lot of it centers on being princesses. They have their princess dolls riding horseback and living in castles. They also dress up as princesses.
Dear parents,
Pretend play is a wonderful thing for children to do, and educators are very enthused about its benefits. It is a great way to get kids ready for school. By playing together, your children are learning to take turns, be part of a team, negotiate, and play leader. At the same time, they are enhancing their verbal skills and learning how to solve problems.
It certainly seems to be popular right now for young girls to playact being princesses and to play with princess dolls. If you are upset about their concentration on princesses in particular, you might try providing additional paraphernalia to broaden their horizons. They may, however, just move their princesses into these new venues.
Pretend play also fosters creativity. Since young children learn by imagining and doing, be glad that they are building so many skills.
Is cursive writing disappearing?
Dear teacher,
My daughter did not learn cursive handwriting in third grade. And apparently cursive is not going to be taught in fourth grade. How will she ever learn to sign her name?
Dear parents,
Many of today’s elementary teachers believe that teaching cursive is old-fashioned in this technological age. Instead, they favor keyboarding instruction.
Furthermore, states now have the choice under the Common Core State Standards to decide whether or not to include cursive in the curriculum. And more and more of them are eliminating cursive partly because of the crowded curriculum necessary to prepare for standardized testing.
Because your daughter did not receive any instruction in cursive in third grade when handwriting is typically introduced, she may never be taught to write or read cursive.
As far as her signature goes, she will probably create her own signature, as most children without cursive instruction do. It is likely to be very simple and may not be too legible. The best way for her to learn to write her name is for you to have her practice tracing and then copying her signature until she can easily write it.
Handling bullying
Dear teacher,
My seventh grader has just told me that he doesn’t want to go back to school. It comes out now that a group of kids teased him unmercifully last year about his very curly hair. How can I help him handle this?
Dear parents,
First, you have to find out how serious this situation really is. Could it just be anxiety about returning to school? Or is it in any way a threatening situation?
As you know, bullying is a big problem, and close to three quarters of all children have been bullied. Your son needs to learn how to respond to verbal bullying. Should the bullying become physical or escalate to threats of violence, school personnel must be brought into the situation at once.
There are books that will give you and your son ideas about how to deflect bullying. A good choice is “Bullies Are a Pain in the Brain.” Look for a video by the same title on YouTube, where you’ll also find other videos that have solid approaches to handling bullying.
Advise your son that this is a new school year, and he may no longer be a target of the bullies. Also, help him develop strategies to use if he should be bullied again. These could include avoiding the bullies, making everyone laugh, and staying with friends.
Parents should send questions and comments to dearteacher@dearteacher.com or ask the columnists at www.dearteacher.com.
©Compass Syndicate Corporation, 2012.
Distributed by King Features Syndicate.
