Now in its 12th year, America Recycles Day is a day where all Americans are encouraged to actively recycle and buy products made from recycled materials.
Events and activities developed to heighten awareness about the environmental, economic, and social benefits related to consistent recycling occur on November 15th each year.
The thought of collecting mounds of candy can get any child or teen excited, but parents and guardians always want to make sure their children take necessary precautions to stay healthy and safe if they go trick-or-treating.
For years, child experts, child educators, parents, and children have talked about the difference between discipline vs. punishment being used with children who engage in inappropriate, negative, and unacceptable behaviors.
Definitions have been offered for both terms; however, there hasn’t been a consensus to date regarding which approach may be more effective in correcting inappropriate child behaviors.
Discipline is considered to be the more positive approach designed to help children understand what they’ve done wrong, what they could and should have responsibly done instead, and how to correct any inappropriate behaviors and move forward from that point. It is said that discipline allows for long term improvements in behavior.
Punishment has been described as a short term, negative approach to controlling inappropriate child behaviors; and has been said to be a way of making a child suffer for having done something wrong. Critics of this approach also express a lack of changed behavior in children as a result of punishments being rendered.
“If you’d like to be able to keep your cell phone for the rest of the school year, you’ll want to make sure you don’t use it during any of your classes since there’s a school rule about not using cell phones in school” might be described as a form of discipline parents might use with children.
In contrast, “Don’t even think about using your cell phone during class time, or I’ll take it away from you in a second” might be described as a form of punishment parents may use with children.
For more information and helpful tips about discipline vs. punishment being used with children, see:
Sharon M. Biggs, M.A., is a wife, mother, and 21st Century educational leader who serves as Co-Chair & President of Lifeline Foundation, Inc. This 23-year educator is also Founder, Editor, and Chief Writer of LifelineExtensions.blog. View Sharon's other published works at http://www.examiner.com/.
One of the toughest decisions for parents to make involves which schools to have their children attend.
Parents want the best for their children and want to make sure the “school investments” they make will yield excellent educational dividends in the long-term.
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Innovation & Improvement has published English and Spanish editions of a helpful booklet to help guide parents who might be trying to select the right schools for their children’s specific learning styles, learning needs, and interests.
In the 41-page booklet, a description is given of the various types of school choices available to parents:
***Neighborhood Public Schools
***Other Public Schools such as: Charter Schools ~ Magnet Schools ~ Virtual Schools ~ Advanced Placement & International Baccalaureate Programs
***Nonpublic Schools such as: Religious Private Schools ~ Secular Private Schools ~ Home Schools
Pages of details, parent tips, and available resources are noted throughout the booklet as the U.S. Department of Education takes parents through four basic steps in the school selection process:
1. Consider your child and your family.
2. Gather information about schools.
3. Visit and observe schools.
4. Apply to the school(s) you choose.
To order a FREE copy of the booklet in either English or Spanish:
In addition to requesting either English or Spanish editions of the publication, special requests can also be made for Braille, large print, or computer disk versions. Direct all special requests to 202-260-0852.
Good luck as you make this very important decision and choice for your child’s future.
Studies focused on children and laughter reveal that many children laugh an average of 300 to 400 times a day, particularly when they are getting their needs met; and feeling joyful and happy.
Adults, on the other hand, are reported to laugh an average of 15 times per day; with a noticeable increase during positive social interactions that invite or encourage laughter.
Children are said to laugh as much as they do primarily during play, regardless of whether or not someone has told a joke or said something funny.
These frequent “body laughs” as they're called, are released without filtering through a child's brain.
Adults on average do not release "body laughs" with great frequency throughout the day; and adult laughter is reported to process through the intellectual filter of the brain before being released.
Laughter Therapy and Laughter Yoga are being used by some parents to help guide their sick children to health and wellness.
Although most children reportedly don’t need any provocation in order to laugh, adult educators and caregivers are encouraged to create ongoing opportunities for children to enjoy their average 300 to 400 laughs per day.
Pre-School and Kindergarten teachers put a lot of focus and time into helping their students become better readers and writers before they enter the first grade; the time when the academics kick in.
In addition to obtaining any of the available free information or resources, parents are encouraged to:
• Expose your child to books at an early age – let your child handle and hold the books
• Let your child see you having fun reading and writing – this will help him or her copy the same behavior
• Teach and practice the alphabet – alphabet sounds and letters first -- then, practice writing the letters
• Read at home with your child each day, spending time talking about what’s happening in the story
illustrations
• After reading a story, you and your child can draw illustrations or write a few sentences about your favorite
part of the story
• Teach and practice writing your child’s name and other sight words
• Make visits to the library together often – some days stay there to read and write, and other days check
books out and enjoy them at home – get library cards for you and your child
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