CAREABOUTKIDS

PARENTS:Ask your children to describe something in which you did not participate - for instance, a visit to a friend's home. This gives children a chance to use their memories, reflect on experience, learn to describe people and events, and tell complete stories. children who hold lengthy conversations at home learn to reflect on experience and to construct meaning from events. This is part of their learning to read and understanding what they read. MY WORD: Summer is a wonderful time of the year for children to describe the outdoors and nature.PG 4 PH 5-6

CAREABOUTKIDS

PARENTS:when parents divorce children,almost without exception, are affected by divorce. How much stress and how long it lasts depend on many factors, including age, sex, prior emotional resillency, and, perhaps most importantly, availability of adult support. The most difficult time for all typically occurs during the first year or two that follow seperation; by the end of the second year after the divorce, most families are regaining balance and ironing out major difficulties.MY WORD: There is always hope for a stable family when parents try hard enough. (ph1,2pg10)

CAREABOUTKIDS

PARENTS: The child may color facts when telling a story to make it come out the way she wants it to be. Elementary school children, on the other hand, are thought to be less "Me" oriented. They seem better able than preschoolers to put themselves in another person's place and understnad how their action affect her or him. To some extent, they can anticipate what the other person will do and feel and what will happen as a result. Nevertheless, even in the primary grades, some children still have difficulty imagining themselves in somebody else's situation.MY WORD: Imagining how a person will react to an action or thought is difficult to comprehend. Even for adults. It is an acquired skill.(ph.5pg2)

CAREABOUTKIDS

PARENTS: The importance of play: It takes time for children to develop an understanding of the relationship among objects. The first time they do a jigsaw puzzle,they may cry when they make a mistake. But as the pieces start coming together, ideas begin to click, and children become excited. After they master the puzzle, they may mess it up on purpose or hide some of the pieces to make it more difficult. They may purposely put pieces in the wrong place, then correct themselves in mock conversation. They may also trace pieces on paper to see what they look like in two-dimensional form. MY WORD: Puzzles play an important role in a child's collection of toys. (p11-pg7)

CAREABOUTKDS

PARENTS: There ae many differences in the way children play. For example, some children enjoy focusing on details; others like to deal with all the surroundings. Play and the manipulation of objects are bases of creativity and invention later on. The creative adult retains the sense of childhood play. Talking about experiences helps a child learn about concepts and helps build vocabulary.As a parent, yuou are the most important role model your child can have.MY WORD: Play is serious business for children.