The Fastest (or Slowest) Three Weeks in a School Year!

         With the Thanksgiving Holiday now officially over and the next holiday break not too far in our future, now is the BEST time to be focused on grades and school work. Even when I taught at the high school, I always thought the time between the two holiday breaks is the most important time for a student’s educational year outside the month of May. At the high school, it is almost the end of the a long semester and a chance to move each grade up just a notch before the all-important semester exams. With our middle school doing trimesters, it isn’t the end of a grading period, but it is right smack in the middle and that is just as important. And with winter sports in full swing and the excitement of the upcoming break and holiday, middle school students don’t always focus so well during this time period. This is why these 3+ weeks are so important. Grades are just starting to come in for the trimester and good grades over this time period can really set them up for a good 2016. By the time we hit the holiday break, our trimester is basically half over and it is much easier to have our hard work show positive results in the first half of the trimester than in the second half of the trimester.  So, while I know times are busy and hectic and there is a lot going on not only in the lives of our students, but in the lives of their families as well, please take some time each day to discuss the school day and keep the focus on your child’s education. 

Did you know?? We now have more “days off” than “days of school” left before January 4^th.  Want to know the math? We have 17 days left of school in 2015, but if you count weekends and our entire Winter Break, we have 18 days of break. So….just another reason to work hard every day….your child gets plenty of time to rest and relax in the upcoming month!

Other tips to keep your child focused during this time.....

*Have a routine. Pick a time and place each night to do homework or simply check to make sure homework is done. Be a part of this process. Don't just send your child to their room for an hour, make homework an activity that you are involved with and help where you can. If your child says they have "no homework", have a discussion about their day and look up their grades together on Infinite Campus to review how they have done.

*Use "Growth Mindset" vocabulary with your child. Your child will be hearing about Growth Mindsets during Advisory this month and learning that failure and mistakes are okay, the goal is to learn from these. Don't praise your child on their outcomes, but on their process. Say things like "I like how hard you worked on your homework!" or "Keep practicing, keep trying. Effort is the key." or "Our goal is to do better than the last assignment....not perfection." Growth Mindsets and the language of growth mindsets have been proven to keep students motivated, on-task, and wanting to do more and to keep trying on their work.

*Small and frequent rewards. Find some little things you can do with your child, for your child, or possibly even get for your child for little rewards along the way. This could be extra technology time, game activities, their favorite snack or dinner, or even some items from the dollar bin at Target or the dollar store. Doesn't have to be much, but little fun things to reward their focus and hard work. Make learning and focus fun!

*Calendar/Chart. I am not a big fan of "Countdown Charts", but these can work and can keep your child motivated. It might help them keep track of their busy schedule both at school and outside of school. Middle School students like routine and like to know what is coming next, so a calendar or chart can really help.

*Be supportive. Even if you don't do any of the things listed above, being supportive is so important. Your child thrives on positive energy and feedback. While the holidays can bring stress, this stress gets easily transferred onto your child if they sense that you are stressed. It is what makes middle school so interesting....students feed off of the emotions of others. Your child feeds off of your emotion, so stay calm and be supportive and you will be amazed at how this can change the attitude of your child.

  Good luck and let me know if I can be of any help in this process. Have a great December!!

Breaking the Technology Addiction.....How??

     I will be the first to admit it, I might be addicted to technology. This coming from a guy who once said he would never own a cell phone and only finally agreed to get a phone (but not use it!) because his pregnant wife said he needed one  just in case she went into labor. Fast-forward 10 years and 5 kids later, and I have my cell phone by me 24 hours a day. But what really worries me is when my 5-year old son says his best friend is "the IPad" and when asked what he is thankful for, his answer is "IPad!". Um...we have a problem. Fortunately, all problems can be solved or at least worked on. And fortunately, a radio DJ this weekend had several solutions we, as parents, can try. So, if your kids are like mine (or better or worse), here is a list of things you can try.

1. Sit down and have a conversation with them about technology use. And write up some expectations (rules, contract....whatever you want to call it). This doesn't make you bad parents for not laying down the law. Kids will buy into the expectations more if they have some input. They may surprise you with what their limits should be. This conversation should include all types of technology, not just phones or IPads, but game systems, E-readers, etc. But get the expectations in writing so everyone can agree upon it and review it from time to time and maybe update it.

2. Create Tech-Free zones. The dinner table, after 9 p.m., during homework time, church, etc. This can be part of your family discussion. But technology should not interrupt family time or other important times. As for late night technology use, screens are not good just before bedtime. It affects all of us and our ability to fall asleep quickly and have good, sound sleep. Pre-teens and teens don't really need technology in their room, but if they do, make sure it isn't keeping them up at night. Believe it or not, I have several students who wake up in the middle of the night (some even set their alarms!) and play on their phones or watch Netflix from 2-5 a.m.!! Technology is supposed to be useful and fun, not limit our family time or hurt our bodies. These Tech-Free zones might help us all get our families, and our sleep, back!

3. Discuss what Technology we are all using and why? Reading a book on an E-Reader or playing Cool Math Games online....not a bad choice for technology. Playing Call of Duty and killing video-humans or zombies for hours on end....probably not the best choice. Playing candy crush on a smart phone all through dinner versus texting back and forth with a friend who just moved away and had a rough first day at his new school.....pretty easy choice as to which is good and which is bad. Again, technology is meant to help us, not make us into mindless drones. It is no secret that the most popular games have endless levels and give extra lives and powerups. Remember the good ol' days when you have 3 PacMan lives and if you died 3 times you went back to your seat at Pizza Hut and enjoyed your family and good pizza. Well, technology creators have solved this problem by making sure kids and teens can play over and over and over and never quit if they want. A little mindless fun is okay every now and then, but if it is consuming their time and causing other things to not get done (homework, chores), then it is a problem. Not to mention what games, apps, social networking sites are appropriate vs. non-appropriate for certain ages.

4. Be there with your child when they are using technology as much as possible. Not only can you monitor their time, but you can monitor what they are doing with that time. Safe and appropriate use is key as they are learning and consuming technology. We wouldn't let our children drive a car without going through many steps and having us along their side and we wouldn't allow them to work a job without some training and a boss and co-workers supporting their learning, so why would we let them use technology without our help, support, and monitoring?

5. Last, but not least.....reflect on your technology use. I will admit it, my kids use technology a lot because I do. But I am getting better at modeling how I use technology so my kids see this and hopefully follow my lead. This means no phone or tablet at the dinner table, no texting and driving, no violent or pointless video games, and other expectations I want my kids to follow. I do have the urge to do these things sometimes, but I push that urge aside not just for me, but for my kids. Learning by example and observation is what kids do best, so no matter what rules and things you try to do, if you can't stick to them, your kids likely will not be able to either.

   I will leave you with this video which I have seen before, but I saw it on a few sites as I researched for this blog. It is a good reminder why we should not be glued to our screens.