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Showing posts with label ideas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ideas. Show all posts

Friday, September 24, 2010

Ideas to teach good manners to your kids with the help of toys

Toys are meant to play or have fun but toys can play a role of a teacher when you use them as a learning tool. Toys can keep the kids busy for hours while calming them down at some annoying moments. Toys can also help children teach good manners. This article offers tips and ideas to learn how you can use toys as a tool to manage your child's behavior.

Toys make amazing rewards that can encourage kids to behave. Toys can be used to encourage general good behavior or you can use them to teach manners, stop phone interruptions and more.

The power of kid’s toys is utterly amazing when you start using them as leverage for positive behavior.

How Kid’s Toys can Encourage Overall Good Behavior?

Get three of anything. It can be three pennies, three rocks, three trivial toys etc… Put the three items in a drawer. Put your child’s name on a plastic cup. When you see your child doing something good like using manners, treating his sibling nice or more then place one of the three items in your child’s cup.

Tell your child that he earned 1 point for his good behavior and compliment him on a job well done! Let him know that if he earns 3 points that day that you will play with him and his favorite toy at the end of the day. Now if you find that it’s too easy for your child to earn 3 points consider bumping it up to 5 or more. When play time arrives, count up the points and if he’s earned the right quantity let him go and get his favorite toy of the day and play with him for at least 30 minutes. You’ll find that doing this will improve your child’s behavior very quickly and once he learns that you’ll play “his way” for 30 minutes he’ll be very determined to earn those points every day!

Using Kid’s Toys to Teach Manners

If your child has a favorite stuffed animal or doll then you’re in luck! You can use his furry friends to help teach him good manners. You’ll first need to write down a list of manners that you want your child to learn. Do you want to teach him table manners and help him learn to say please and thank you often? Do you want him to know how to address adults like Mrs. Smith instead of using first names? Do you want to teach him how to say hello and goodbye on the phone and in person? What you teach your child is up to you, but it’s a good idea to write a list and practice often till it sinks in.

To teach table manners, have your child bring is favorite stuffed animal or doll to dinner. Ask him how his doll should be sitting and have him place his doll in the appropriate sitting position. Then ask your child to do as doll does. Then ask him to tell you what his doll should do if he wants to talk, but has a mouth full of food. Use his doll as an example for every table manner you want to teach your child. You can even have him place a napkin on dolly’s lap. You could have your child roll play his “inside” voice talking through his doll and even talk about how dolly could use his manners at a restaurant.

Later, go to the family room and have your child and doll sit on the couch. Have your child tell you how dolly can use the words please and thank you throughout the day. Roll play with the doll. Encourage your child to have fun with the roll plays to really “show off” his knowledge of good manners. Let him add lib and make things up and ask him to have dolly show you all the good manners that he has. This can be very fun, as well as, quite educational and effective at teaching manners.

Using Kid’s Toys to Stop Phone Interruptions

Everyone has been on the phone and had their child run up making tons of non-stop noise! This is annoying for mom and annoying to the caller, but it can be prevented by simply creating a phone call kid’s toy box. First step is to get a box. You can choose a pretty basket or plastic bin depending on where you want to keep the container. Get a box that’s big enough to fit 2 or 3 kid’s toys. Then you’ll want to choose some toys to put in it. I’d advocate choosing toys that encourage long-time play such as: blocks, pretend play toys, puzzles or anything else that will keep your child’s attention.

Talk with your child about the importance of not interrupting you while you’re on the phone. Let him know that he now has a special “phone toy box” that can only be opened when you’re on a phone call. Show him the box and the special toys inside. Tell him that every time you’re on the phone he can play with those toys. Let him know that if he’s really good you’ll let him choose some new toys every 2, 4 or 6 months (depending on what you decide and your budget) that he can put in his phone toy box.

If he’s quiet while you’re on the phone then he can keep playing with his special toys until the call is over. If he interrupts, then the toys go back up on the shelf straightaway. If he needs to tell you something “important” you can practice teaching him how to interrupt the nice way. Have him walk over to you and place his hand on your arm or knee and wait till you excuse yourself from the call. Teach him not make noise as he approaches.

As you start using toys as rewards you’ll ascertain how much fun it can be to teach your child good behavior without having to use negative consequences. These techniques are a win/win for you and your child because each of you will get what you want in the end!

Author: Kim Proulx, a Certified Parent Coach.

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Tips and useful links to help integrate technology in classroom

One of my colleagues asked me to provide links to the site which can help educators integrate Information technology in classroom. This post is written to compile the tips and useful links for all teachers/educators who are new to this topic or want to get in touch with best resources around the net. I hope that this post would help you.

* 'Free Technology for teachers' offers free technology resources and how teachers can use them also ideas for technology integration i education.

* David Andrade is the tech guy behind this awesome blog 'Educational Technology Guy' where you can find the information on topics like as: educational technology, educational theory, educational pedagogy, as well as exploring free educational technology resources, ways to integrate technology into the classroom, professional development, project based learning, and tips and resources for new teachers.

* 'Ed tech power'

* 'U tech tips' is a blog full of tech tips and fun stuff from a technology teacher.

'Subscribe' for the weekly newsletter which would provide information about U Tech Tips.

Useful posts:

* A valuable post from 'Education World': 'Get Ready to Integrate Technology-Ten Tips'

* 'Top 10 Technology Tips for New Teachers'

* iLearn Technology provides this post: 'Top 10 Technology Tips for New Teachers'

* 'Marilyn Western's' Technology Tips for Classroom Teachers

* A blog from an educator, consultant and presenter 'The Thinking Stick'

Monday, November 30, 2009

Community place for teachers

Online forums and communities are a good place to get tips, ideas, and news about specific topics. Like bloggers have many forums from which they can get useful information while getting a chance to discuss or share their own experiences. There is a lot of learn at these social community places.

'The apple' is for teachers, which is itself created by a teacher. It brings members of the education community together to support and advance the profession.

You get news, search for lesson plans and read articles written by experts, as well as getting career based posts.
Membership is free for all.

Few post links are given to show the content you can read at the site:

- Classroom Discipline Tips: Dealing with Difficult Students & Parents

- Top 10 Technology Tips for New Teachers

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Teacher's Ideas: Dealing With Students Having ADD/ADHD

We can learn a lot from other teachers who have good experience of dealing with students having ADD/ADHD. This article would help you get ideas and tips, which teachers around the world have shared at 'A to z teacher's stuff forum':

Attention Deficit Disorder(ADD) and / Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder(ADHD) are common disorders among children and adults. According to a research, between 4 and 12 percent of school-age children have ADHD. It has been given a great deal of attention by neurologists and psychologists. ADHD is now widely recognized as a legitimate mental health problem.

Now read the tips and ideas teachers are sharing with us:

1- One of the participant teacher says:
'Here are some things that I do to get me and my ADHD students through a day...

- Allow student to shift in his seat, change seats, or move around every now and then.
- Provide quiet "fidget toys". This is crucial during times when you want him to take in a lot of info at once. The thing about this disorder is that it doubles a person's processing time. It comes across as the kid not paying attention, being disruptive, or rude. (We get very defensive when confused.) It does help, for whatever reason, to have something in the hands to fidget with or even (I know this is an unpopular one...) a piece of gum. By occupying the physical impulses, the brain works better and can concentrate.
- Written plans, goals, and contracts work well. A visual reminder can really make all of the difference in the world.
- Give the child important jobs to do, especially ones in which he has to do something physical. "Joe, could you bring this to the office for me?" It is crucial that a kid with this disorder feels a part of things. Also, when confused, a lot of ADHD kids will get angry or violent. A pre-arranged signal between you and him could remind him that he is "floating out", and if necessary, signal that he needs to take a short walk to the bathroom or water fountain to cool down.'

2- Another teacher shares his experience and strategies:
'I am a first grade teacher on the Ft. Peck Indian Reservation in Montana. I average about 4-5 ADD or ADHD students in my class each year. Here are some strategies that I have found helpful...

- Get the counselors, parents, etc. involved right away and document everything.
When you are on the floor, put a piece of tape in an X or a box for him to stay in. Explain that this is his space and nobody can go in except him.
- Keep him close to you. I would keep him at arms distance so you can keep a gentle hand on his shoulder, desk, etc.
- Many "busy" kids need something to touch while you teach to keep their focus. I put a piece of sticky velcro (the soft side) on the underside of their desk. They can rub this velcro while you teach and it helps with their impulse to move about.
- Walking Papers. We give the student a 2 pocket folder and have him hold onto the left and right side while we trace his hands with a black marker. This shows him exactly where his hands should be when he holds the folder. He takes this folder with him any time he walks in the hallway, to reading, to the OT, bathroom, counselors office, lunch, etc. This folder keeps his hands busy so that he is not using them to hurt or bother someone else. It has worked really well with a boy I have in my class right now. We give him a sticker each day when he has used it well and not forgotten.
- I've used a sticky note cut into three, four or five strips on their desks. (We target one behavior you want changed at a time.) Each time I have to remind them to sit still (or whatever the behavior is), I take away a strip. If there are any strips left at the end of the day (or half a day) he gets a sticker, computer time, to read a book (whatever he likes).
- I have let students stand who really have a tough time sitting while they work.'

3- A teacher shares his tips:
'Dealing with AD/HD kids is tough, and I'm speaking both as a special education teacher and a person with ADD. However, there are a bunch of things I have found that work with my students, at least most of the time! ...

- Since many children with AD/HD have other learning disabilites that tend to be masked by their zany behavior, I would recommend having the boy tested. Maybe part of the reason he is out of control is because the work is too difficult for him (or, alternatively, too easy.)
- Give him Playdough or silly putty to play with while you are giving instructions, reading out loud, etc. Or, let him draw or color. This may sound like letting him off the hook, but I have found that many AD/HD people focus better and absorb more of what they hear when they have something to do.
- Get the whole class up and moving now and then. I like to have a two minute stretch in the middle of every period. Or, you can use games such as Around the World to practice math facts and get the kids moving at the same time.
- Expect him to wiggle. He can't sit completely still, and even if he could, he would be concentrating so hard on doing that that all instructions would go out the window. If other students are distracted by him, put him in the back of the room so he can get up, lean against the wall, etc. If he gets out of his seat and wanders around the room, make sure it is really interfering with instruction before you make him sit down. I have a student who moves to a different chair about every fifteen minutes, but the others have gotten used to this and he gets his work done, and that's what really counts.

Source: A to z teachers stuff forum

Related posts:

* Tips to deal with your hyperactive child

* Is drug free treatment of "Attention Deficit Disorder"possible?

* Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD): No Heart for the Meds?

* Special Education Information for Teachers

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Art teaching ideas for art teachers

Creating an atmosphnere of creativity for art or drawing classes is important because you have control over what you want to teach to your students. In nursery class, I let my students to do drawing or art at their own way, and soemtimes the results were amazing. Last year a girl draw a sky or cloud like picture. I asked the student 'what you have drawn?'. Her answer was quite interesting, she said: "dream!

These few ideas or tips can help the art teachers to get new ideas for art, or drawing classes.

For example "Drawing emotions" offers these tips:

1) Discuss emotions with the class. What emotions are there?

2) Ask the class what these emotions feel like? Do they feel nice or horrible? What is their favourite emotion?

3) Ask the class to choose one emotion and draw or paint what they think that emotion looks like. Get them to think about what kind of colour that emotion might be.

4) When the children have made their pictures, compare those pictures which portray the same emotion. Do the children's pictures have similarities?

5) Discuss the kinds of colours we associate with emotion (red = anger, green = jealousy, white = peace etc.). Do any of these colours appear in the children's pictures?

- Feelings Flowers - A wonderful way of encouraging children to think about their feelings.

- Drawing Emotions - How can you draw an emotion? What does "happy" or "angry" look like?

- Name Designs - Use this simple procedure to create some fabulous designs, based on your own name.

- Our Lives so Far... - A great Art activity, illustrating key points in the lives of your class.

- Making Personal Flags - Make flags which represent each child in your class in a unique way. An excellent way to decorate your classroom.

- Draw a Story - Draw the events of a story on a storyboard, and get another child to make up the text.

- Observing in Detail - Activities designed to get children to look at things more closely.

- Activity Cards - A set of activity cards to base lessons on or to use as imaginative time filler activities for children who finish their work early.

- Craft Activities Pdf file - A selection of craft activities which can be used as part of work on lots of other concepts.

There are more activities and ideas at the source link page.

- source link

Friday, July 4, 2008

Tips and ideas to learn about behavior management

Behavior manangement is a skill which parents and teachers should learn to deal with children. This article would help you to get many tips and ideas from various sites. I have given links to the sites, which offer behavior manangement tips and ideas for parents and teachers.

Let's learn what is behavior management?

Wikipedia explains:
"Behavior management is similar to behavior modification. It is a less intensive version of behavior modification. In behavior modification the focus is on changing behavior, while in behavior management the focus is on maintaining order. Behavior management skills are particularly of importance to teachers in the educational system.Behavior management is all of the actions and conscious inactions to enhance the probability people, individually and in groups."

* LD Online offers an article on the topic:

When someone mentions behavior management, our first thought may be about controlling students or stopping them from performing inappropriate behaviors. We expend a great deal of energy managing students so that inappropriate behaviors will not occur.
Read the full article: Behavior Management: Getting to the Bottom of Social Skills Deficits
- Behavior Management Ideas

* Ask Dr. Sears is a site from William Sears, MD and Martha Sears, RN, who wrote 40+ pediatric books, articles in parenting magazines, and their appearances on more than 100 television programs such as 20/20, Donahue, Good Morning America, Oprah, CBS This Morning, CNN, NBC's Today Show and Dateline. After raising eight children and practicing pediatric medicine for more than 30 years, they have answered questions from thousands of parents. Their site provides a lot of articles on discipline and behavior
- Descipline and Behavior articles

* FREE e-book "Rules for Unruly Chilren":
This e-book offer is from "Parenting.Org" an online resource for free parenting help.
Rules for Unruly Children, written by Richard L. Munger for use by Boys Town, is meant to change your child's problem behavior as quickly as possible, using simple techniques that will work with most children. This book offers parenting approaches that:

- Can be learned quickly
- Can be used immediately
- Gives quick results
- Work with most problem behaviors

You can download FREE e-book "Rules for Unruly Chilren" from the link below. And please note that to get the e-book you should enter the U.S. A or Cananda address at the available form.
- Sign up page to get the book

* Intervention Central offers free tools and resources to help school staff and parents to promote positive classroom behaviors and foster effective learning for all children and youth. The site was created by Jim Wright, a school psychologist and school administrator from Central New York.

Visit to check out newly posted academic and behavioral intervention strategies, download publications on effective teaching practices, and use tools that streamline classroom assessment and intervention.
- At download section you can get link to many topics like as:

- Curriculum-Based Measurement: A Manual for Teachers. This 106-page manual gives instructions that educators can follow to prepare, administer, and score Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM) probes in the classroom. [106 pages/File size: 3.39MBA Manual for Teachers

There are many other manuals and reports which you can download from the download page.

* This article is from "BehaviorAdvisor, which is from Dr. Mac (Tom McIntyre), a former teacher of students with behavior disorders and learning disabilities, is now a Professor of Special Education and Coordinator of the Graduate Program in Behavior Disorders at Hunter College of the City University of New York. An entertaining presenter, and author of 3 books and over 100 articles, he promotes practical, positive, and respectful management of defiant and aggressive behavior.

- Your Child Has A Behavior Disorder”

* This article is a series of training manuals provided by "Project PARA" which conducts research and develops training materials for paraeducators and teachers who supervise them. Based in the College of Education and Human Sciences Department of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. The project provides Web-based self study programs that offer school districts resources to provide introductory training for paraeducators and/or the teachers who supervise them. These resources are offered free of charge to schools and teacher training programs.

- "Teacher Vision" provides many printables and articles helping you manage classroom descipline. Behavior Management

*
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