kinderparent

Welcome to the 2008-2009 school year!

2008-08-25T22:02:00.001-07:00

Welcome to all of the new parents and children in our kindergarten class. I am really looking forward to getting to know all of you through the year. Kindergarten is such a special year. As parents, your child is finally beginning their formal education, and your child is (hopefully) excited about being a "big kid." I am thrilled to be a part of this important event in your lives. As we begin to get to know each other, I'd like to feel free to introduce yourselves and share some special things you would like me to know about your child. It may take me a while to sort all of the new faces and names, but I'll get there...

Countdown to school...

2008-08-14T20:52:00.001-07:00

The summer is ending and school is beginning. I've been working at school getting the classroom ready for the new group of kindergartners. The summer for me has been very relaxing and productive. I taught the pre-kindergarten summer school and after those weeks were over, slept in. Luckily, my 3 year old daughter sleeps in as well. We've indulged in homemade breakfasts of brioche french toast, bacon, sausage, pancakes, waffles, and toast made with bread I made myself. We socialized with friends, ate frozen yogurt at Harmony. I've knit a few things and read a few books, and of course, did a little shopping. I'm going to savor the last few days of leisure with my family and friends before the hectic days of school begin.

Delayed Gratification...

2008-06-16T09:28:00.000-07:00

Years ago a television program did a show on delayed gratification with young children. Children were given marshmallows, but were told not to eat them until they were told that they could. The children were left alone to wait while a camera caught the children either "sneaking" the marshmallow or waiting in various stages of "patience" to be allowed to eat the marshmallow. Years later, the children were revisited to see how their ability to delay gratification helped them in life. Well, the children who were more patient were more successful in school than the children who had more difficulty waiting. You can read an article about the study here.
This summer I will have some time on my hands. I will be teaching summer school for Kids and Families 1st, but otherwise I may be doing a little too much shopping. Luckily, I spotted this cool article about delayed gratification for me to practice. Let's all practice this summer to build our ability to wait and see if we really "need" those cool new sandals...

Happy Summer!

2008-06-15T10:13:00.000-07:00

Hello to my Kindergarten graduates! I will really miss all of you very much. I can't believe the year went so quickly. I suppose time does fly when you are having fun! I wish everyone a wonderful summer. I loved being your teacher. You will always have a place in my heart.

China's Earthquake Disaster...

2008-05-21T21:41:00.000-07:00

There have been some heroic and amazing stories of survival coming from this devistating earthquake in China. Since I have been to nearby Chongqing and have a daughter from the area, this horrible event has really been on my mind. If you would like to help, there have been dozens of organizations asking for donations to help the thousands of people and children who have been affected by this earthquake. Here is a list of a few that I recognize as reputable organizations...

To help the orphanages affected by the quake...
Half the Sky
Love Without Boundaries

via mail:
Financial donations only:
Love Without Boundaries
P.O. Box 25016
Oklahoma City, OK 73125-0016
(you can specify Earthquake relief)

To receive 500 bonus United miles for a minimum of $50 donation...

ChinaRelief-Miles then email your electronic American Red Cross receipt to ChinaRelief-Miles@united.com

Earthquake info and updates

Earthquake safety...

2008-05-13T10:18:00.001-07:00

Here's a reminder regarding some safety tips when in an earthquake...

Remember that stuff about hiding under a table or standing in a doorway??

Boy! Is this ever an eye opener. Directly opposite of what we've been taught over the years! I can remember in school being told to, 'duck and cover' or stand in a doorway during an earthquake. This guy's findings is absolutely amazing. I hope we all remember his survival method if we are ever in an earthquake!!!

Please read this and pass the info along to your family members; it could save their lives someday!

EXTRACT FROM DOUG COPP'S ARTICLE ON THE: 'TRIANGLE OF LIFE'

My name is Doug Copp. I am the Rescue Chief and Disaster Manager of the
American Rescue Team International (ARTI), the world's most experienced
rescue team. The information in this article will save lives in an earthquake.

I have crawled inside 875 collapsed buildings, worked with rescue teams
from 60 countries, founded rescue teams in several countries, and I am a
member of many rescue teams from many countries.

I was the United Nations expert in Disaster Mitigation for two years. I
have worked at every major disaster in the world since 1985, except for
simultaneous disasters.

The first building I ever crawled inside of was a school in Mexico City
during the 1985 earthquake. Every child was under its desk. Every child
was crushed to the thickness of their bones. They could have survived by
lying down next to their desks in the aisles. It was obscene, unnecessary and
I wondered why the children were not in the aisles. I didn't at the time
know that the children were told to hide under something.

Simply stated, when buildings collapse, the weight of the ceilings
falling upon the objects or furniture inside crushes these objects, leaving a
space or void next to them. This space is what I call the 'triangle of life'.
The larger the object, the stronger, the less it will compact. The less the
object compacts, the larger the void, the greater the probability that
the person who is using this void for safety will not be injured. The next
time you watch collapsed buildings, on television, count the 'triangles' you
see formed. They are everywhere. It is the most common shape, you will see,
in a collapsed building.

TIPS FOR EARTHQUAKE SAFETY

1) Most everyone who simply 'ducks and covers' WHEN BUILDINGS COLLAPSE are crushed to death. People who get under objects, like desks or cars, are crushed.

2) Cats, dogs and babies often naturally curl up in the fetal position.
You should too in an earthquake. It is a natural safety/survival instinct. You can survive in a smaller void. Get next to an object, next to a sofa, next to a large bulky object that will compress slightly but leave avoid next to it.

3) Wooden buildings are the safest type of construction to be in during
an earthquake. Wood is flexible and moves with the force of the earthquake.
If the wooden building does collapse, large survival voids are created.
Also, the wooden building has less concentrated, crushing weight. Brick
buildings will break into individual bricks. Bricks will cause many injuries but
less squashed bodies than concrete slabs.

4) If you are in bed during the night and an earthquake occurs, simply
roll off the bed. A safe void will exist around the bed. Hotels can achieve a
much greater survival rate in earthquakes, simply by posting a sign on The back of the door of every room telling occupants to lie down on the floor, next to the bottom of the bed during an earthquake.

5) If an earthquake happens and you cannot easily escape by getting out
the door or window, then lie down and curl up in the fetal position next to
a sofa, or large chair.

6) Most everyone who gets under a doorway when buildings collapse is
killed. How? If you stand under a doorway and the doorjamb falls forward or
backward you will be crushed by the ceiling above. If the door jam falls sideway you will be cut in half by the doorway. In either case, you will be killed!

7) Never go to the stairs. The stairs have a different 'moment of
frequency' (they swing separately from the main part of the building).
The stairs and remainder of the building continuously bump into each
other until structural failure of the stairs takes place. The people who get
on stairs before they fail are chopped up by the stair treads - horribly
mutilated. Even if the building doesn't collapse, stay away from the
stairs. The stairs are a likely part of the building to be damaged. Even if the
stairs are not collapsed by the earthquake, they may collapse later when
overloaded by fleeing people. They should always be checked for safety,
even when the rest of the building is not damaged.

8) Get Near the Outer Walls Of Buildings Or Outside Of Them If Possible
- It is much better to be near the outside of the building rather than
the interior. The farther inside you are from the outside perimeter of the
building the greater the probability that your escape route will be
blocked.

9) People inside of their vehicles are crushed when the road above falls
in an earthquake and crushes their vehicles; which is exactly what happened
with the slabs between the decks of the Nimitz Freeway. The victims of
the San Francisco earthquake all stayed inside of their vehicles. They were
all killed. They could have easily survived by getting out and sitting or
lying next to their vehicles. Everyone killed would have survived if they had
been able to get out of their cars and sit or lie next to them. All the
crushed cars had voids 3 feet high next to them, except for the cars that had
columns fall directly across them.

10) I discovered, while crawling inside of collapsed newspaper offices
and other offices with a lot of paper, that paper does not compact.
Large voids are found surrounding stacks of paper.

Spread the word and save someone's life... The entire world is
experiencing natural calamities so be prepared!

'We are but angels with one wing, it takes two to fly'

In 1996 we made a film, which proved my survival methodology to be
correct. The Turkish Federal Government, City of Istanbul , University of
Istanbul Case Productions and ARTI cooperated to film this practical, scientific
test. We collapsed a school and a home with 20 mannequins inside. Ten
mannequins did 'duck and cover,' and ten mannequins I used in my
'triangle of life' survival method. After the simulated earthquake collapse we
crawled through the rubble and entered the building to film and document the
results. The film, in which I practiced my survival techniques under
directly observable, scientific conditions , relevant to building collapse, showed there would have been zero percent survival for those doing duck
and cover.

There would likely have been 100 percent survivability for people using
my method of the 'triangle of life.' This film has been seen by millions
of viewers on television in Turkey and the rest of Europe, and it was seen
in the USA, Canada and Latin America on the TV program Real TV.

The San Francisco Symphony

2008-04-25T17:36:00.000-07:00

Here's a photo of our birds-eye view of the orchestra. We all had a wonderful time. Just think of how these musicians got their start... they probably were exposed to music in school. Please donate to for kids! to insure your child and others will be able to continue having music education.

Please sign this petition...

2008-04-19T19:09:00.000-07:00

Click on this link, to tell Sacramento how much music education means to you and your child...

Serious Budget Cuts...

2008-04-18T21:51:00.000-07:00

I've learned that music will be cut. No more music lessons. It's already bad enough we only get it 10 times a year. Librarians are also being cut. Money that the state provided for the arts has been taken back to stem the state's budget crisis. Please take a look at for kids! and maybe, just maybe, if enough of us contribute, we can save vital educational programs.

Budget Cuts...

2008-04-13T13:52:00.000-07:00

I know you all are keeping up with the economic news. Our school district is also talking about serious budget cuts that will affect the programs that your children should have access to next year, which includes, the library, technology, and music.
Please check out this website, for kids!

Farm Field Trip

2008-04-10T21:48:00.001-07:00

We could not have asked for a better day! This lucky goat was relaxing in the sun and enjoying the attention of the kids--the kindergartners, I mean...
I believe the docents said that 20 lambs have been born so far this year. Unfortunately, I couldn't get a good shot, but you can check out this blogger, Farmgirl Fare, for some really cute pictures of her lambs...
Lambs can get up and walk within hours of being born. By three months, they are weaned from their mothers and by eight months, they are pretty much all grown up.
Our kindergartners are also growing up. In two months, they will be moving on to FIRST GRADE!!!

Happy Spring Break!

2008-03-21T16:52:00.001-07:00

A bunny for my bunny.

Read your labels...eat your vegetables...

2008-03-09T10:43:00.001-07:00

Okay, I can't get away from the food issues. A blog I discovered this weekend is written by a mom who is also trying to get her child to become a vegetable lover. greatbigvegchallenge.blogspot.com
Check out how blog Small Bites, called out the cereal companies by their flashy fruity claims. If this article doesn't make you think twice about how we are being hoodwinked by the food industry, read Michael Pollan's book, In Defense of Food. Enjoy!

On food and eating...

2008-02-29T22:59:00.000-08:00

I have a food-centric household. I not only read cooking magazines, I re-read them, I dog-ear them for recipes, I study the photos and I daydream about visiting the featured spots and tasting the food. My daughter knows the names of all of the cooks on the Food Network. She eats at "fancy" restaurants with my mom almost weekly. My husband has a full page "menu" from which to (sometimes) choose what he wants for dinner. I have an extensive list of bookmarks on my computer, all devoted to food related blogs, recipes, and general chowing-down. Fortunately for me, I do have a daughter who eats a pretty wide variety of foods.
Eating and food can be a big issue for some parents. For those who are blessed with "good eaters" we can only be thankful they do not have to dread mealtimes. As I was standing in line at "whole paycheck", I was drawn the photo of a luscious sandwich on the cover of Bon Appetit magazine. Of course, I had to buy it.
One article in the magazine really got my attention. The article, Health Wise: Eat Your Broccoli!, talks about the recent trend on "sneaking" vegetables into our children's diet. There are two recently published books The Sneaky Chef and Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food
The concept is good, sneak vegetables into your child with food they are willing to eat, such as macaroni and cheese with puree of cauliflower, and brownies(!) with pureed spinach. The problem, the author of the article points out, is that your child will "grow up learning to eat macaroni and cheese but not vegetables."
We all know our child's likes and dislikes, and I'm sure vegetables is on the top of many "dislike" lists. So, how do we get our children to eat their vegetables? (One parent, a few years ago, asked me to tell their child to eat vegetables because as a teacher, they felt I could convince their child...if only I had that kind of magic!) I can only give suggestions, and you can only try a few of the suggestions. So here it goes...

Grow a garden. Children will try things that they grow themselves.
Allow them to "help" cook their meals. Let them peel carrots, stir the bowl, toss the salad...
Cut things into interesting shapes. Use cookie cutters, or shred raw zucchini into strips like noodles, sprinkle with lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, grated parmesan and toss. Sounds weird, but can be tasty!
Ask other parents what their tried and true vegetable preparations are...maybe what we've been cooking just wasn't tasty enough!
Present an offending vegetable on their plate, along with their other food often. Sometimes it takes more than a dozen times to introduce a food before a child will try it. Sometimes we give up too easily.

Nothing is more effective than showing your child that you eat lots of vegetables yourself. Eat a variety, eat it often, order it as a side at restaurants so that you widen your own repertoire of preparations. If your child sees that you relish eating your vegetables, they will more likely grow up to be a vegetable eater.

Results not guaranteed. But at least we tried...

Hello!

2008-02-29T22:24:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I took a long time to advertise this blog to you, my room parents. Really, it's more out of total embarrassment than anything. I'm not so comfortable as a writer, but I do feel pretty passionate about my point of view. I really want to help you navigate through this time in your child's life. When I write a blog entry, hopefully, I'll be able to write frequently, not like the previous posts. I will write about general things that have been swirling in my head about events from the classroom, but I will try to be very general to keep the event that trigger these thoughts ambiguous, and keep the anonymity of the individual(s) involved.
Also, please forgive typos and possible spelling errors! I usually will be writing posts late, after the little one has been tucked in bed!

Remember when...

2007-10-21T19:02:00.001-07:00

Talking with (not at) your child is so important. But did you know that talking with your child is also teaching them reading strategies as well. How's that? Well, remember that reading is not only about decoding, c-a-t.

Reading is gaining meaning from the text. Reading involves having experiences, or schema, to connect with what is being read. Reading means actively creating mental images of what is happening in the text.
Reading is inferring what is, will, may, or can, happen next.
Reading means synthesizing information to check for understanding and think beyond what has happened in the text.
Whoa, that's a lot to digest? Are you synthesizing the meaning of reading?

When you ask your child to remember an activity or event that happened in the past, you are helping them to develop the language skills to make connections. Talking about activities you have done, whether vacations, trips to the library, or shopping builds schema as well as helps your child learn the language of narrative. You are helping to describe what happened, first, next, and last. You are expressing how you felt about the activity. You are teaching them the flow of language, vocabulary and concepts, as well as the importance of appreciating the time you have together. In addition, its always amazing what things your child remembers. It's almost always something you don't expect.

Helicopter Parenting...

2007-10-02T10:04:00.000-07:00

Recently, while channel surfing, I happened upon a talk show where they were discussing "helicopter" mothers. You know they type, constantly hovering over a child, trying to control their child in all aspects of interaction, environment, and expression. Then, while browsing through a Scientific American special edition on child development, I came across a quote...

"When mothers seemed to have a need to be constantly involved by controlling and limiting the child's activity, it made the child insecure. Children who felt confident of their mother's interest behaved in a more relaxed way and presumably would adapt better to their surroundings."

We, as parents, are trying to raise our children to become responsible adults, who are independent, and can make positive, active choices in their lives. The foundation for this goal begins early, and as parents of kindergarten children, we need to evaluate how much we are doing for our child. A child who is five, is capable of doing many things around the house, and can learn to do many things independently. If you are doing many things for your child, begin to transfer appropriate activities that you normally do, to your child. They can sort the socks in the laundry, set the table, put their clothes away, help put dishes in the dishwasher. Give them a chore chart of a few activities they can do and possibly give them a small allowance for following through with their chores.

Children with control in their lives tend to be more confident and have less "tantrums". Although the chores may take your child longer to do than for you to do, the time you take to teach them now, will save you time in the long run. Relax.

"Children whose mothers are relaxed seem at ease. Those with controlling mothers seem insecure." (Scientific American: Special Edition on Child Development)

Talking with your child vs. talking at your child...

2007-09-25T22:06:00.000-07:00

My daughter has been asking lots of questions ever since she turned two in January. Of course, the most common question always starts with, "Why..?" While driving recently, her latest question was, "Why the car go like that?" I answered simply and truthfully, "The car is being bumpy because the road is rough because they are fixing it." My daughter is learning what "bumpy" means and why. Sometimes I even remind her of an experience that relates to the current one, "Remember when you were riding your tricycle on the grass, and the ride was bumpy?" Maybe next time she'll say, "Whoa, the car is on a bumpy road!"

As parents, we are constantly answering questions. Answer the questions, and answer them directly and truthfully, with the understanding of course, that your child is not going to understand the whole answer. They will gain some vocabulary to help them understand their questions later on, and they will respect you for respecting their question. As their vocabulary develops, start asking them, "What do you think?" with your goal to have them tell your their thoughts in complete ideas and sentences.

Even if your child is not asking tons of questions, talk with your child. Constantly. You are their model for their language development. If you don't communicate well with your child, they most likely won't communicate well with you. Talk with your kids while driving the car, while shopping at the store, and while eating dinner. Think of it as (almost) saying everything that is going on in your head. Try to have conversations, even though it seems like you are only talking to yourself. You can help your child develop a great vocabulary, be able to describe events in detail, or even understand how decisions are being made.

Try to reflect on the type of talk you have been having with your child. Do you mostly give commands? "Get your pajamas on." "Turn the T.V. off." "It's time to brush your teeth." "Go wash your hands, please." Instead of giving commands, maybe it's time you ask the questions. "Which pajamas are you going to wear tonight?" "What happened on the show you watched on T.V.?" "What books do you want to read tonight?"

Our bedtime ritual includes choosing two books to read, recapping the highlights of the day, and talking about "What are we going to do tomorrow?" I can't tell you how valuable I find this time of the day to be. Most of the time. Of course, I can't wait for her to go to bed sometimes and I do a little rush job...but most of the time I do enjoy reading the two books, talking about what she did during the day, and sending her off to sleep, looking forward to another day. "See you tomorrow. I love you!"

Calling All Volunteers!

2007-07-31T14:47:00.000-07:00

You may have noticed the large posting by the PTA asking for parents to volunteer for Room Parent, Art In Action, and various PTA activities. Become involved in school activities and gain pride for your school, new friends, and the latest news. We welcome parents to share responsibilities as Room Parent and as a volunteer for Art In Action. Check this link,
http://www.artinaction.org/school/programs/k.html
for more information about Art In Action. Don't forget to let us know if you are interested or have signed up to help!

Welcome to Kindergarten!

2007-07-30T16:31:00.000-07:00

These first weeks of kindergarten will be full of emotions, activity, new routines, and new people in your lives. This blog is available to you as a way to provide information about school and parenting. Topics will be varied, and as parents, you may also help to provide topics as the year progresses.
Your child will have brought home a yellow envelope that is full of important information and forms to fill out. Please, please, please, fill these out and return to school as soon as possible. Also, please feel free to introduce yourself, and if you are available, please sign up to volunteer on the calendar on the classroom door. Volunteers are needed daily from 8:20 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. We also welcome volunteers to supervise, organize, or do activities with the children from 11:30 a.m.-12:20 p.m.
The kindergarten class of 2007-2008, get ready, set, go!