This first step is to lay a strong foundation on which to build your children's education. 
Enjoy the bi-weekly articles below.
These sections  are organized by age level, but the information is not confined to that age group. Consider looking at other age ranges as well. Also, make sure to check out the Archives.

 
Educating Your Children 
     Education can be defined as learning in which knowledge, values, beliefs, skills, and traditions are passed from one generation to the next. Every experience children have in their formative years can have an effect on the way they think, feel, and act. Education is necessary; attending school may not be. This should bring comfort to parents who are facing the dilemma of having their children attend school during this pandemic. This decision may cause confusion for both parents and children. 
     Education must be suitable to the age, ability and aptitude of your children. It must be tailored to any special needs your children have. You probably discovered those needs when you attempted to home-school your children at the beginning of this pandemic. The purpose of education is to prepare your children for their future life not only in your family and your community, but also as adults in the world community. 
          Education gives us a knowledge of the world around us and changes it into something better...It is about the                                    lessons of life.  Kafoumba Doumbia 
     As parents, it is your responsibility to educate your children. Their early education should be instilling in them the tools they need to learn. They need to know letters—their sounds and how they work together to make words. They need to know numbers and their use in our daily lives.  They need to know how to get along with others and respect them. Your young children’s education might be to help them see the differences in weather, scenery, people, even buildings. Young children must have real experiences to make things concrete. They need active learning, playing and exploring, and opportunities to learn creative and critical thinking. Talk to your children about all they see, hear and experience.
     Through education, parents bring out the best of their children. Jane Revell and Susan Norman suggest you teach your child by what you are not just by what you say. 
               Your positive attitude and spending quality time with your children helps install good discipline and cultivates their                       interest in learning and gaining knowledge. Jefferson Jamit 
     George Santayana said that a child educated only at school is an uneducated child. Don’t be afraid to be the educator of your children.  

​Helping Young Children to Write

     One of the most important jobs of parents as teachers is to create an environment that nurtures creativity, innovativeness, perseverance and true grit without the restrictions of time and scheduling that the school year provides.  Children should be free to explore their environment within secure boundaries and that is, within their own family.
By writing their thoughts and memories down, children will be able to remember them better.
     Some basics first:
     Pencil grip:  Watch your young children as they pick up their pencils and crayons. They should hold their pencil between their thumb and index finger with it resting on their third finger and the other fingers slightly bent supporting the third finger. The pencil should be held high enough so  they can see the sharpened area of the pencil.  They don’t hold their writing instruments in a fist or in another awkward position that makes it uncomfortable to write.
     Provide an attractive notebook or paper that encourages your children to want to write.  Young children can write just a sentence about their day and maybe even draw a picture.  If you need to, you can write for them demonstrating how to hold your pencil or pen properly.
     Encourage your young children to always pull down to make their letters, not begin the letters from the bottom up.  You may need to provide a model for them to copy or write a word for them they want to use. Again, take your time and let them see how you form the letters.
     Help your children to write or print because handwriting is good for their developing brains. Handwriting helps children focus and uses both their left and right brain. It calms and centers their mind. 
     Handwriting is a valuable skill for children and should be grown along with keyboarding skills.

Scavenger Hunts to Help Your Children Learn
     Have you ever had the opportunity to go on a scavenger hunt?  Did you like the challenge of finding different objects?  
     A scavenger hunt is a game in which organizers prepare a list of specific items for one or more persons to find, not buy. The person or group who finds all the items first is the winner. 
     In the summer heat, many parents may be wondering what they can do to keep their children occupied (instead of video games) when children must be inside much of the time.  Try a scavenger hunt! 
     For your young readers, try a scavenger hunt to review their basic needs to bcome a good reader.  Make up a scavenger list of things your children must find that begin with a certain letter or have a certain sound.  You can make up a list of sight words or vocabulary words they need to make a sentence. 
     Becky on her website--thisreadingmama.com--has lists and ideas for math number hunts, 2D shapes, 3D shapes, measurement and telling time. There are alphabet, sight word and summer hunts.  You must subscribe to use these hunts using your name and email (for free) to join Becky and to print hunt lists.  Becky also provides other great ideas to strengthen your young readers in time for school.
     Scavenger hunts give parents or an older sibling a chance to be creative. These games also give the parents time to do their own work or have some quiet time.  Children can find these things mostly on their own and develop their problem-solving skills while they figure out what they need to find.  For younger children, older children might find pictures on the computer or cut them out of magazines or newspapers.  For older children, you may need to give an incentive, like extra screen time if they are the first to find all the objects.