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The reason I chose this theme was because this has been my first year working as a paraprofessional in the Kindergarten and 1st grade. A key part of my job is to assist with testing each week to see progress of the grade standards. It was not until this year that I learned Georgia Pre-K is mainly used for social and developmental skills. So when your child leaves Pre-K, that is where the hard work begins. Where I live we have been in school for 5 weeks, and there are kids that are struggling with the basic standards of ABC's and 123's.  Just imagine yourself, 4 years old, given the added stress of being told that you now have to learn to read and write in just one year.  Not all parts of going to school are fun and enjoyable. I want to make school a place students want to come, everyday, to learn.

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Bright from the Start Georgia's Department of Early Care and Learning. Meeting the child care and early education needs of Georgia's children and their families.

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In order to help your child succeed in their grade level, it is important to know what is expected from your child in their grade. These expectations, better known to educators as 'standards,' are set forth by the state. Kindergarten is unlike any other grade level, particularly when pertaining to grades. There are no letter grades for students in Kindergarten. Instead students are graded on their ability to meet each standard. If they cannot meet the standard, they are rated as either developing, emerging, or not yet demonstrated. I found the information in the guide below to be very helpful, because it breaks down everything your child is expected to know and learn during their Kindergarten year. It is never too early to start, because every child learns in a different way.

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One thing I have learned from being a parent and a future educator is that communication, and building a strong Parent-Teacher relationship, is key to the success of the student. I want to have a strong relationship with my classroom parents because I believe that, given the proper resources, parents should be able to help meet their child's educational needs, as well as provide extra reinforcement.

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Each child has a different learning style, and some children may have more than one. It is important to meet the diverse learning needs and abilities of all students, so that you can know what activities will keep them engaged while learning.

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Starting early can be tricky. I recommend creating a learning folder for your child at home. The Early Learning Passport is a folder that you create containing checklists, documents and work samples that can be passed on to the child’s Kindergarten teacher. Don't worry, there is no “right" way to put an Early Learning Passport together. I started one for my son when he was in Kindergarten, and every year I add samples of his work. I also keep a list of his goals to remind him and his teacher's of his dreams.

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The best teacher at home is life and learning at home should be fun too.  Parents are their child's first teacher.

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Building Skills & Learning at Home: Parent Handouts (aka FUN homework for preschoolers

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Parents are a child’s first teacher. Building skills and learning at home is super important for kids of all ages to be successful. I created Building Skills & 

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PBIS should be used at all time's, both in school and at home. Know how it works in the school environment, and develop a plan to bring Positive Behavior to your home.

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Parents need to let teachers and school Staff do their jobs. I sat back and thought about this: If we go to the doctor we are not going to question the work that doctor is doing. He was trained, educated, and has since put his knowledge into action. Believe it or not, doctors do the same thing as teachers! They evaluate, test, and then treat the problem. Identically to a doctor, a teacher completes state required courses in education which they then put into practice with their students. They too evaluate a child's knowledge, test various strategies, and adjust their teaching to achieve the best result- learned knowledge. Parents don't seem to understand that it is a teacher job to help your child show growth. LET THEM DO THAT at ALL TIMES!! They simply expect the best that each child has to offer.

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Lately, it seems that many schools are adopting a bizarrely lenient attitude toward disciplining children as well as bending over backwards to accommodate these children's and their parents' every demand. This is evident at all levels of education, from primary school to colleges and universities. It's unclear what's causing these school administrations to believe that children should be subject to no limits, no discipline and no stringent requirements for receiving a passing grade.

Perhaps it's an extreme over-reaction against the excessively harsh discipline employed in the past. Perhaps administrators are simply responding to the increasing pressure of those helicopter parents who insist that their children should be allowed to do whatever they want and to graduate, regardless of whether or not they've mastered the material.
Whatever the cause, these administrations are, in fact, doing a terrible disservice to today's young people and to society as a whole.
The rate of PTSD in many grade-school teachers is sky-rocketing, and if things continue apace, no-one will be willing to go into teaching at all. The saddest thing is that these schools are turning out children who are ill-suited to being constructive, productive members of civilized society.

Childhood is a phase of intense physical, emotional and psychological development. Children need to learn what behaviour is appropriate in their society, and how to get along with their peers and the adults in their lives. They need to learn how to play by the rules, as opposed to being taught that it's acceptable to break the rules or to have no rules at all.

Kids need to learn essential values such as empathy, responsibility, hard work and self-discipline. They must be taught conscientiousness, resilience and integrity. The way our schools have been doing things, we'll have exactly the opposite result.

When schools refuse to set limits, give kids consequences, or have appropriate expectations of academic and social performance students are deprived of the skills and attitudes necessary for their future success.

Recently, I read a fascinating article by Kathryn Streeter, in The Week, entitled " My daughter's teachers stood up to my helicopter parenting. I'm so glad they did." In the article, Ms. Streeter describes how she was making a case to her child's teachers, school counselor and principal that the child should be held back a grade. Her argument was that her daughter was the youngest in her class and although doing well academically, she was lagging behind socially.

The school staff disagreed with Ms. Streeter's request, telling her that her daughter was "where she needs to be." In the article, Ms. Streeter writes that, one year after agreeing to the school staff's recommendation, she realized how right they were and "felt grateful that I'd listened to them." She saw that her daughter was thriving both academically and socially, and "showing me how to be resilient to pressure, and ultimately, how to be a better human."

Ms. Streeter realized that "one of the greatest challenges for teachers and principals is dealing with stressed, over-reaching parents who, like me, can't see the bigger picture. What ostensibly counts as supportive parenting can sometimes inadvertently disadvantage a child."
Ms. Streeter learned a valuable lesson about stepping back and allowing school staff to get on with their jobs. She shares what she's learned in order to help other parents do right by their children.
Our schools don't have to revert back to institutions in which children are harshly punished for minor infractions, but the pendulum has swung to an absurd degree in the opposite direction.

Children need respect, but they also need guidance and limits. They ought not to be abused, but at the same time, they shouldn't be permitted to abuse others.

They shouldn't be humiliated for not knowing the lesson, but there ought to be clear and consistent expectations that they meet a certain standard in order to progress to the next educational or career level.

If we think it makes kids happier to spoil them, the stats contradict this. A recent Toronto Star article points to research which shows that the rate of depression, anxiety and addiction in high-school and university students has exploded in the past few years, and many are saying that over-protective parenting and overly lenient school environments are a large part of what's to blame for this.

In many institutions of higher learning, parents of students in their late teens to late 20s are arguing with teachers about their kids' marks and insisting that the young people receive their degrees, even without having submitted passing essays or exams.

Parents must take responsibility for correcting this situation. They must first of all, stop over-protecting and coddling their own children. They must see that every time they spoil their child, they further decrease the child's chances of having a happy and successful life.

Parents must also begin lobbying their school administrations, not to be more lenient with their kids, but to be less so. They must do like Kathryn Streeter, and listen to the wise advice of their school staff.

They must insist that their children not receive a passing grade unless they have mastered the material, and they must equally insist that their children receive appropriate discipline and consequences for unacceptable behaviour.

They must do these things to help their children learn how to be positive, productive, adequately educated and socially successful members of society.
This is the only way we'll be able to save our children and perhaps, even the future of our society. Sign up Listen to my latest podcast. Former award-winning gamer Nicholas Cole discusses the writer's life today. for my monthly wellness newsletter. September is all about giving your kids the tools that will enable them to graduate with distinction.
Take my short survey on Helicopter Parenting and be eligible to win an ebook of Be Kind, Not Nice, the latest book in myShort and Sweet Guides to Life series.

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Helicopter Parents Need To Let Teachers Do Their Jobs

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Lately, it seems that many schools are adopting a bizarrely lenient attitude toward disciplining children as well as bending over backwards to accommodate these children's and their parents' every demand. This is evident at all levels of education, from primary school to colleges and universities.

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While studying always give the child a brain break!!!

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While studying always give the child a brain break!!!

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Just because you have to study does not mean you can't have any fun!! Brain breaks are a way to keep your child learning, while still giving time to move all the wiggles out - they are children after all!

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While technology is all the rage these days, not all apps are helpful to properly educate kids. It is important to know what specific apps include, and how they can add to a child's development. Below are a few great, parent and educator approved, IPad Apps.

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Hi Everyone! I’m finally starting to get my head above water from the beginning of the school year! Taking over as Vice Principal of Academics in an accreditati