Learning and Life Skills

Wanting to hear - Can We Do More, Mom? then try Mind Benders

Picture this....a young boy doing his daily school work at his desk.  You're working with him on science. The 'deer in the headlights syndrome' is taking over. (In case you aren't familiar with this syndrome, the symptoms include but are not limited to:  slouched shoulders; head propped up with hand; eyes open but staring off into space, then rolling into the back of the eyelids; excessive, almost debilitating yawns; followed by loud snoring. (only slightly kidding here).   Bottom line - you are losing your student. 

You look at the clock, see that lunchtime is approaching, realize that the brain sitting before you needs to WAKE UP!, and you say something like, "Let's do some of these activities just before we break for lunch."  Miraculously, the half-dead, zombie-like student that slouched before you moments before is now wide-eyed, smiling, and awake.  His pencil is gripped firmly in his hand anticipating the unfolding of the book, and the sound of an enthusiastic, "Whoopee!" fills the air. (still only slightly kidding)

What, you ask, could elicit such a reaction? 

Bruegger's Bagels and Modeling Thinking to Your Kids

My son swims during the summer each morning from 6-8:30 AM.  My role, as the Mom-taxi, is to get him there on time and then to hang out until he's finished.  My favorite spot for 'hangin' is the Bruegger's bagel shop on France Avenue in Edina.  Free wireless, a friendly staff, bagels and coffee keep me coming back.

This morning, while ordering my regular fix of decaf, General Manager Mike shared his troubles: he'd built and then secured with a padlock, a door between the Bruegger's and the adjacent Caribou Coffee shop. Problem was, the night staff had left with the key to the padlock.

We conversed while he prepared a fresh pot of decaf, Mike sharing the details of his problem, a summary of all the possible solutions he'd considered and the actions of last resort he'd take if he couldn't reach the staff person with the key.  He covered all the alternatives he had available and his analysis of how he could have prevented or would prevent this occurring in the future.  I found myself drawn into problem, searching for any alternatives he may not have considered.  Not finding any, I expressed my empathy, paid for the coffee and returned to my table.

It was then that I realized that Mike had just exampled exactly what I meant when I tell parents to "Model Your Thinking" to children as part of the Sandee's Secrets for Creating a Thinking Home.

Mike covered every aspect:

Catch their thinking by being there

I often teach parents to be with their children as they work exercises so that they can 'catch their thinking', understand it, coach it for improvement, and build on it.  Yesterday, was a time to be reminded and rewarded for the taking the time to follow my own advice.

Classroom tests - how parents can utilize them to help their students

After graded homework, classroom tests offer the next best piece of information for a parent to use to assess how well their child is doing in a particular classroom, with particular content, and with a particular teacher.

We have all had personal experience with this type of test.  They are either developed by the classroom teacher or the publisher/author of the particular curriculum/textbook being used, and administered throughout the year.  They are composed of a variety of types of questions: multiple choice, fill-in-the-blank, true-false, matching, definitions, and the dreaded - essay question.  Their purpose is to assess understanding and mastery of content in a particular subject content as of a particular point in time.  Tests may be chapter specific, or  cumulative for the mid-term or semester.  When used in a conventional school setting, the test scores serve as a basis for computing a class grade for each student.