Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Try these techniques to encourage learning despite the nearing of the school year's end.
Standardized tests are now over and the downward slide begins. Teachers are counting the moments and students feel that life begins in a matter of hours. . Yes, my son knows how many days, hours and minutes are left until he believes he will be free. (So much for my vision of “loving to learn.”) Parents are also counting weeks – weeks of the summer. They are counting the weeks until their children return back to classrooms, since summer can produce anxiety, depression and boredom. But for now? Spring Fever has hit. Spring fever is a translation of a German term that means “Spring tiredness”. Kids, as well as adults, can experience a state of low energy, headaches and lack of drive. Hormone imbalance may play a role, too. According to…
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Full Circle Interior Solutions offers tips on how to renovate your bathroom.
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Information on the different stages of grief and how to address anger and pain.
With the number of disturbing violent episodes in or around our community it seems more important understanding and teaching our children the importance of finding the peace within before reacting to surfacing emotions. It is important to talk about values, about compassion, about empathy. Upon the tragedy of losing another young man in our community this week, our hearts ache thinking of his family, his friends and every person that this young man touched. I hope we can use his life and his gift, as lessons to creating peace and creating calm rather than uprising in anger. Allow a thought, a moment, a time of silence, a time of tears. Allow peace. Psychiatrist Elizabeth Kubler Ross created five strategies for dealing with grief …
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Testing can be stressful, but stress can be handled by taking a variety of steps to ease anxiety.
It is test-taking season once again. Did I just see the hairs on the back of your neck stand up and scream? Some children, as well as adults, become quite anxious when the mention of testing occurs. Teachers are immersed with tests: Finals, STAR, CASHEE, SAT, PSAT, ACT and every other acronymic test you can ponder. Daily the teacher mentions testing repetitively with all positive intentions that redundant reminders will somehow create a more positive outcome in the end. Many people, however, wonder if the testing push is all it is hyped up to be? The movie “The Race to Nowhere” is an excellent resource to review as it suggests that public schools actually are damaging the learner with constant tests. There are a plethora of sites with…
Friday, April 6, 2012
Here are some tips on how you can strengthen your child's love for learning, even while on vacation.
My son the other day sat idly, then it happened. He retreated for about 30 minutes, came back into the room with a “Pen BB gun." He discovered that by removing the inside of a pen, he could transform the former writing utensil, into a pull back shooter of an air soft pellet. He was excited, fascinated and engaged. I was not as amused as he, but I loved the idea of him using his time to learn The next day he was baking banana bread. Again, I was loving this. He had no “homework”, so he created his own. Motivated…completely. Now spring break is officially here and the children's and teens' excitement for the vacation has surfaced. “No school!” They yell. Some will choose to sleep in, others will be outside, and others…well others …
Monday, April 2, 2012
Take our poll to help find out where Newark residents should get their taxes done.
Hey, slackers. Income taxes are due soon. Do you need to get your taxes done but don’t know where to go? Well, here’s to hoping that your neighbors will pull through and tell you where. So Newark residents, where is the best place to get your taxes prepared in town? Take our poll below to choose among: If there is another local spot that we missed, tell us in the comments section below. Remember, receiving the most votes does not automatically make you a winner. Make sure you click on the links above and rate the business on its Patch Places listing, and leave a review. If you know of a great tax preparer nearby, you can vote for the best place in Union City Patch or Castro Valley Patch.
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Parent columnist Jody Montgomery gives some insight on why adequate hours of sleep is important.
Sleep: Is it really that important? I despise sleepovers. “Why?” you ask. Many parents of teens/preteens tend to go to bed before their children’s heads hit the pillows. But I tend to be the “sleep warden” as my children call me, since I will not go to sleep until all sleepover children are sawing logs. As uncool of parent as I am, I know that: Now the rolling of the eyes as I begin to mention the dreaded words: “The Research.” I’ll do it anyway. “The Research” states that about 70 percent of high school students do not get the recommended hours of sleep, which eight to nine hours per night, according to a study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC also notes that “Insufficient sleep is associated with health-risk …
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Parent columnist Jody Montgomery discusses how she handles talking about alcohol with her children.
When it comes to what the legal age to drink should be, I, as a parent of teens, emphatically have an opinion of "Keep the age to 21 years!" Knowing what I know about the teen brain, the drinking age should not be lowered and should not be OK at the age of 18! The teen brain’s frontal lobe is developing, growing and is unable to make clear decisions. According to Madd.org, countries that have a lower legal age for drinking have more alcohol-related problems. Madd.org states that “European countries have worse problems than America does, as far as binge drinking and public intoxication. Studies show that Europe has more underage drunkenness, injury, rape, and school problems due to alcohol. Since alcohol is more available there, it…
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
How old is old enough for kids to have their own Facebook or Twitter accounts? And how much control should parents have over what their kids do online? Newark moms weigh in.
It seems like, in today's world, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social media outlets are a natural part of life. Sooner or later (if they haven't already), your children will want accounts of their own. So, we asked our Newark moms: Here's how they weighed in: Angela Slate, mom of two I think they can start having social media accounts at around 14 if they have a track record of proven responsibility. The conditions are that I must have their user name and password. Simply friending me or allowing me to follow them is not good enough as they can create settings to hide content from me. I want to be able to sign in to their account at any time to check their activity. If I find that they have been doing anything inappropriate or …
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Parent columnist Jody Montgomery discusses her perspectives of a recently approved board policy that allows specially trained dogs to sniff for drugs on district property.
The Newark School Board of Education recently voted to approve the use of drug-sniffing canines on district property. This decision has created much talk, and in most of those discussions, parents in my world have few concerns. The good news is, according to the U.S. Department of Education Indicators of School Crime and Safety (PDF), the percentage of students in grades 9-12 who said drugs were offered, sold, or given to them decreased from 32 percent in 1995 to 23 percent in 2009. The bad news remains. We do know there are students with drugs on campus. The drugs range from marijuana to methamphetamines to ecstasy, to… well, you understand – especially if you grew up in the ’70s or ’80s. Times have not changed. Drugs remain and are …
Alex
1:42 pm on Wednesday, April 11, 2012
If you make less than $50K a year, get your taxes done for free at VITA or try on line. more ›