Education | Kids First

What a Gifted Program Can Do for Your Child

Gifted programs are fast fading from the American public school system. Unfortunately, there just isn’t enough school funding to cover programs like art, music, dance, theatre, or gifted programs. So why should we fight for programs that single out one particular group of kids? Isn’t that unfair? Not necessarily. Here are some benefits of getting your child enrolled in a gifted program.

It provides extra mental stimulation. A teacher has no choice but to teach according to her class’s needs. If some classmates aren’t grasping a mathematical concept, she’ll slow down the pace of her lesson. Gifted children often get into trouble at school due to lack of mental stimulation– they’re bored, so they seek to entertain themselves in other ways…and unfortunately, this often means getting themselves into trouble. Gifted programs can help alleviate boredom and disciplinary action for gifted students.
It teaches critical thinking skills. Critical thinking is a skill that isn’t taught in schools, but it’s absolutely essential for getting a college education or an online college degree. Furthermore, critical thinking and problem-solving skills are essential for daily living. Do you want your child to see one solution to a problem, or eight potential solutions to analyze and pick the best one?
It provides outside curriculum. Teachers are burdened with meeting state specifications on test scores. They have a very limited curriculum that they’re allowed to teach. Gifted teachers have much more freedom: they can act out Shakespeare, teach about cultures around the world, or let their students pick out their next learning module based on what they’re interested in.

The Importance of Getting Your Kid Involved in Extra Curricular Activities

It is important for a child to experience activities outside of being in the classroom. Through various avenues such as group sports or after school clubs, children can create relationships based off different factors that are important to their overall growth and development. Unfortunately, many parents are too busy dealing with the demands of the economy to make sure this happens, and children grow up in front of a television or playing video games for hours at a time.

There are a number of different ways to get your children involved. Below are a few of the most popular and effective activities to get your children into.

Sports

Sports is a popular facet in which children can do something they enjoy while simultaneously develop a camaraderie that is difficult to find in other situations. These sports range from anything such as school sports to community program based sports. There are many options available for parents and children to look into.

After School Programs

After school programs are a fun and creative way for children to delve into their interests with peers who share the same passion. Additionally, parents who might be working on their online Bachelors programs can get a little work done before picking their child up from school.

Community Service

While in fact community service is a punishment for some, it can also be a very effective way to get your child involved. Through various avenues that involve lending assistance, children can develop long-term relationships and values that reinforces their development.

Filed Under: Education, Learning Skills, Parenting Tagged With: Child, Extracurricular activity, Parent

Finding a Career for Mom

If you’re a stay-at-home mom, you realize that being a mom is definitely a job — one that’s 24 hours a day and pays nothing, but is more rewarding than any other job you’ve had. Many moms, however, feel out of place once all of their children are in school. It’s nice to have time during the day to get things done without constant, “Mom, mom, mom, mom . . .” but on the other hand you may feel like you want to do more.

If this happens to you, one thing to consider is getting a job — one that is fulfilling, like being a mom is, and that you can do without it interfering with being there for your kids. One of the most popular jobs for moms is being an elementary school teacher. You get the opportunity to help kids learn, but you’re still done in the afternoon to be there for your kids. You may have to do some work after the kids are in bed, but for the most part, you’ll be able to be there for your kids as well.

For those who haven’t gotten their teaching certificate, there are online education degrees that can be earned just like a degree at a local college. These programs are wonderful because you don’t have to leave the home to work on them and they’re fairly flexible. You can earn your degree while still being home with your kids.

Many women find fulfillment just staying home with the kids, but for those who want to help other kids as well, teaching is a great way to go.

Filed Under: Education, Learning Skills, Parenting Tagged With: Family, Housewife, Mother

Protect Your Child From Sporting Injuries To Ensure Education Is Not Affected

Your child’s education can easily get affected due to sports despite your best attempts to retain focus on education. How? Simple, through injuries. If your child is struggling with a bad back throughout the year, it is obvious that his or her education is going to suffer. Sports can easily lead to injuries. Convincing a child to relax and not play the sport for a specific period of time to help the injury heal is not an easy task.

The desire to win the match can overtake all long term health concerns. Not only will this affect the long term health of your child, it is also going to affect his or her ability to work hard and study. So, what steps should you take to protect your child from such problems?

For starters, make sure that your child eats nutritious and healthy food. You can make this a prerequisite for participating in sports. There is no point in having junk food and being obese and coming back home with injuries. Do not hesitate to be firm if required. If your child wants to play sports, then eating nutritious food should become a compulsion. Such a give and take relationship will also help to exert more control over the child during teenage.

Secondly, make sure you treat each and every injury with equal importance. A small limp for a few days may vanish but can quickly become a perennial knee problem for your child when he or she reaches adulthood. Children have fantastic recuperative facilities and capabilities. However, there is no point in stretching the body too far and regretting at a later date.

Thirdly, never hesitate to place priorities to studies over sports. A game just before exam may sound cool but coming back home with a broken hand is certainly not the right way to prepare for the exam. Use of online colleges are also a great option to ensure child education in this modern era of technology.

Filed Under: Child Development, Education, Learning Skills Tagged With: Child, Health, Sport, Trauma (medicine)

The Checkbook Religion

The Checkbook Religion is so named because of its sheer importance. In fact, it’s almost like a Bible. A Bible of numbers. The checkbook is the difference between financial downfall and budget Heaven. Needless to say, it’s important to be clear in saying that your children are the first and foremost individuals to pass on the knowledge of the Checkbook Religion, and teach them the ways of the “Force,” as if they were Jedi. Because falling into debt is not pretty, and you don’t want that for your children. So pull that book out and start lecturing. Your children will thank you in the long run.

Most education of finances are done step by step. There’s the standard information—writing checks, what you do with copies, how you endorse, and where you put your bank statements. When dealing with the checkbook, writing out your transactions is essential to teach, because that will help them learn to keep track of their own expenses. When the statements come in, teaching them to reconcile the balances will keep every i dotted and t crossed without missing a single beat. You know why it’s important, too, because one dollar off could be the difference between a positive balance and a $35 overdraft fee. If you ever felt the sting of one of those, you’d know how important it would be to check everything.

Keeping your children well informed of a debt consolidation service is a must. As much as we’d like to not admit it, you would have to be prepared for the possibility that your son or daughter might run into debt. Likewise, make sure your children are then prepared for the same thing, so they don’t panic. There are a number of ways to fall into debt, too: opening too many accounts, inaccurate budgeting, helping others more than you can actually handle, and so on.

Filed Under: Education

The Love of Reading

: Cover of A Child’s Treasury of Nursery Rhymes

Reading…a favourite pastime that is enjoyed by many people especially children, and especially when it starts at a young age.

Just how much can you foster the love of reading in a child? There is no limit to how much you can instill in a child the joys and perpetual gratification that he or she can get from reading. Canadian literature has done a magnificent job in instilling that same love for reading in children within local communities in the area.

There are a vast number of popular Canadian children books that are best-sellers in the book industry and that have gotten a lot of attention and the interest of young readers.

Some of the Canadian best-seller’s list includes:

Bubblegum Delicious by Dennis Lee
A Child’s Treasury of Nursery Rhymes by Kady McDonald Denton
Chin Chiang and the Dragon’s Dance by Ian Wallace
The Crazy Man by Pamela Porter
Camilla Gryski’s Favourite String Games by Camilla Gryski
Canadian Fairy Tales by Eva Martin
Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis

Where can you find these popular and interesting books?

The best place to find the books that are chart-toppers is by visiting the local bookstores and libraries in Canada to find what you need. The bookstores are very conducive to fostering the love of reading in children and in providing the necessary tools and resources that make the reading experience delightful for young readers.

You can find these places by doing a search at Canada 411 and searching for bookstores in your proximity according to your city or zip code. Once you find one that you may be interested in visiting, you can either call for further information, or you can visit the bookstore’s website to peruse it and see if there is anything else on the site that may be of informational value to you.

Filed Under: Child Development, Education

How to find fitness programs for your children

You have been teaching your child how to throw, dribble, and run with a ball. They have been having the time of their lives. The next step is to get them involved in sports so that they can benefit from the involvement. Maybe you home school your children or maybe they do not like their school. Whatever the reason, here are some tips for finding fitness programs.

You need to know what you are looking for in a fitness program. First, what does your child want to learn to play? Get them involved in the decision.

Probably the easiest way to find fitness programs is to get online and search for survey sites like KISSinsights or sport leagues in your city. You even have access to online phone directories like the phone books you get in the mail. Use these resources to find different activities to enroll your children in.

Use the Internet or phone book to write down phone numbers for sport good stores, equipment shops and sport leagues. These resources will help you determine where to start looking. Give each sport league, karate school, or dance studio a call to see what programs and classes they offer. This gives you an idea of when to enroll your child, what the teacher expects, and how much it will cost.

Check with your family and friends to see if their children are involved in sports. Ask them about how they got started in the sport league or class. This will give you ideas of your own. Talk to people who have done what you want to do successfully. It is possible to find forums online about how to get your children involved in activities and the best places to go it in town.

Consider starting your own team or volunteering to coach at a sports league. This not only gives you the ability to be involved in what your children are learning, but you can help them. Finding fitness programs that your children would be interested in is easy. Ask around for the best places and programs in town.

Filed Under: Child Development, Education Tagged With: Child, Health, Physical fitness

Fostering Imagination

: Image via Wikipedia

The amount of creative imagination that a child has is amazing. They can turn a seemingly common item or activity into the world’s biggest adventure or creative story. Many people believe that imagination might hinder a child’s growth; however, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Studies have shown that children with active imaginations often had better social skills, did better in school, had a more developed vocabulary, and even had a higher IQ. With all this information, you might be wondering how you can foster your child’s imagination. Here is a look at two great ways to help your child build imagination.

Play Dress-Up

Dress-up is often thought of as something that only girls do. However, boys can also enjoy it. Many children love dressing up in various kids costumes and other items that allow them to develop imagination. The fact that the children are wearing costumes allows them to be pulled further into their imaginative play and really develop their imagination. Dress-up is a great way for children to not only build their imagination, but to develop proper social skills, enhance their vocabulary, and learn how to share with others. Parents can get involved with the creative world their child develops when they play dress up by encouraging them to tell them stories and act out who they are while in costume.

Encourage Story Telling

Another great way to develop your child’s imagination is to encourage story telling. A great way to do this is to have your child draw a picture or create a world in their playroom. After this has been done, encourage your child to tell you about the world or the picture. Ask them questions that will help them think about the world and various aspects of it. This is a great way to develop your child’s vocabulary and creative thinking skills.

Filed Under: Child Development, Education Tagged With: Child, Costume, Creativity, Imagination, Learning, Parenting, Social skill, Storytelling