The SMART Board

Today I have a video for you to see. Take a look!

The SMART board can be quite appealing to children, being able to produce different colors, sounds, images, and even videos onto a wide screen, which children would not have problem seeing. In this way, you would not need to worry yourself with using projectors, and the black or white board in your school would be replaced by a cleaner and more attractive board. This attractive SMART board will change your children into willing participants of the activities that you have prepared for use on the SMART board.

Having this technology in the classroom with its touch-screen functions, certain lesson preparations are simplified and all the children would have easy access to the information contained within it. Lessons prepared for the SMART board will take less physical space, and any available preset lessons with the SMART board will save the teacher some time. SMART boards left on throughout the school hours for children may be a very good access point to information that they seek in their exploration, due to the touch functionality of the board.

There may be some reasons not to have this in the classroom, such as expenses or the trouble that some teachers may go through in handling laptops and the such. Yes, these may be problems, so there may be some research a principal would have to go through in consideration of integrating this board into the classroom. But I believe that if the choice is made to bring this SMART board into the classroom, the SMART board will come as a great positive influence to the children's learning.

10 Commonsense Rules for Fathers

Hi, there! Today I present an article from the mychildmalaysia journal that may be useful to you fathers who may be seeking parenting simple, yet effective, parenting techniques.

Please take your time to read this article. The main points presented in this article may seem mere commonsense, but I have been enlightened that the details under each point will make clear the reasons for these simple rules. Now here's the article:

There are a lot of fairly sophisticated parenting techniques and ideas out there that are attracting attention. To be an effective father, you can skip most of them and concentrate on common sense rules that have always worked. They won't always make you the most popular Dad, but they'll always be effective:

1 Expect a great deal from your kids
If your kids know that you expect a lot from them, they'll rise to the occasion. Everything from saying please and thank you, to effort in school or on the athletic field. If expectations are made clear in a loving atmosphere, your kids will know that you think a lot of them. When they know this, they'll respond.

2 Always be willing to be the problem
When you're convinced that someone in your family is causing the problems and you're blaming them for it. Realise that this problem won't get better until you accept that you're making it worse by blaming them. It may briefly feel good to blame, but it never improves anything. Loving and accepting that person will make a positive difference.

3 Know your child's life intimately
Get to know all that you can about your kids. Know what their favourite toys and colours are, who their best friends are, who  their heroes are, etc. By showing interest, you're showing you love them. By not asking, you show that they're not that important to you.

4 Say 'No' to your kids
There's an awful lot of stuff out there for kids these days... and of course they want to have it all. Kids who get almost everything they want typically don't turn out to be very happy kids. Kids learn discipline, self-control, and how to delay gratification when they are told 'no' by their parents. It may be a difficult struggle, but saying no and meaning it will help you to have happy, healthy, and cooperative kids.

5 Hitting or spanking your kids doesn't work
There are plenty of studies showing that kids who are spanked have lower slef-esteem. Spanking your kids will also be likely to increase the very kind of behaviour that you are spanking them for. As a father. do you really want your child to be afraid of you?

6 Treat your wife extremely well
This is where your kids get their most important information about relationships between men and women. Make a great effort not to fight in front of the kids. Remember to be kind more often than trying to be right.

7 Actions speak louder than words
Many parents spend time threatening their children when their kids aren't cooperating. But if you don't follow through on the consequences, you can threaten till the cows come home. Your children will learn to ignore the threats. They'll understand action. If certain privileges are taken away because of their lack of cooperation, they'll learn very quickly that you mean business. Try your best to align the consequences with the action. (If you don't clean your room in time, you won't have time for stories before bed.)

8 Really listen to your kids
Don't just hear their words, but learn to understand the meaning behind what they say as well. "I'm picking my own clothes!" might mean that your child want more responsibility or independence. Be able to reflect back what your child says to you. If you want your child to listen to you, you absolutely must listen to her/him.

9 Give your kids responsibility as they grow older
When your kids are very young, maybe they just help make their beds in the morning and keep their rooms clean. As they get older, add things to their list. Tell them that this is how a family works... everybody has certain things that they do. If you do it when they're young it's more likely they'll do it when they're older. Don't reward them for things that should be expected of them.

10 Tell your kids they're great all the time
It is especially important to tell them this when they're not at their best. It's easy to tell them when things are going well. Make it a point to tell them specifically what you think is great about them. This will be more meaningful than generalised praise.

Mark Brandenburg MA, CPCC, is the author of "25 Secrets of Emotionally Intelligent Fathers" (http://www.markbrandenburg.com/e_book.htm#secrets). For more great tips and action steps for fathers, sign up for his FREE bi-weekly newsletter. "Dads, Don't Fix Your Kids," at http://www.markbrandenburg.com.

This article with its image has been retrieved from the journal issue: mychildmalaysia | FEBRUARY 2010

My life

      I believe teachers who instruct kindergartners have a unique opportunity to provide an educational foundation for young children; we teachers are often the first to introduce a child to the basics of mathematics, language, science and other subject and skill. Therefore we as teachers must be understanding of children to meet their needs in developing their different areas of learning.

I feel being a kindergarten teacher can be an extremely rewarding experience and an extremely demanding job! Kindergarten is a time for children to begin the transition from preschool to primary grades, and a great kindergarten teacher can help eager minds learn to love learning.

The rewards of seeing young children getting excited about learning and discovering new things can be great, though the job itself can be challenging.

__________________________________________________________

Professional development is extremely important in helping early childhood teachers provide developmentally appropriate learning activities in a safe and educationally stimulating environment that addresses the needs of all children

Teaching kindergarten is somewhat different than teaching older students. 

• Kindergarten teachers often rely on interactive activities, using rhyming games, art projects and role playing to help younger children learn the basics of letters and numbers recognition.
• Emphasize on physical environment, the concept of space, shapes, colours, numbers, alphabets and prerequisites for writing, reading and language competencies.
• -Instruct students individually and in groups, adapting teaching methods to meet students’ varying needs, interests and skill level.
• Organize and lead activities designed to promote physical, mental and social development such as games, arts and crafts, music and story telling.
• Plan and supervise outdoor activities such annual sport day, year end dancing concert and variety trips for balanced program of instruction, demonstration, cooperation and exploration that provide students with opportunities to observe, explore, question and investigate which can guide students in learning from those activities.
• Confer with parents, other teachers and administrator to resolve students’ behavioural and academic problem.
• Instruct and monitor students in the use and care of equipment and material, in order to prevent injuries and damage.
• Meet with parents to discuss their children’s progress and to determine their priorities for their children and their resource need.
• Maintain accurate and complete students report and prepare reports on children and activities, as required by laws, district policies and administrative regulation.
• Use computer, audiovisual aids and other equipment and materials to supplement presentation.
• Attend school cooperation meeting, education conferences and teacher training workshop in order to maintain and improve professional competence.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Base on  knowledge of multiple intelligent, educator able to plan and implement a developmentally appropriate program for children who show gifts in different intelligence.

It’s Time-out Now

Time-out is very effective discipline technique when a child misbehaves. Time-out works well with pre-schooling as well as schooling children. By adopting this method, parents can refrain themselves from using conventional punishment such as hitting, yelling, scolding, spanking or nagging.  In other words, parents will be disciplining their children instead of punishing them. When we punish a child, he more often fails to understand the needs for a punishment but with positive discipline, he will at least be able make some sense. Discipline gives the child a chance to repent and be more responsible with his actions next time while at the same time, show that he is respected and trusted and as such punishment is unnecessary for him to realize his mistake.

How to Employ Time-out

Remove the child from the place where he misbehaves.

Time-out enables parents and everyone involved to remain clam. Both parents and the child will have a “cooling period” that they will need to ponder and reflect on the cinflict that has just arisen. This is something that parents should take seriously as they should be held accountable whenever a child behaves improperly. 

Get a safe and uninteresting room

Choose a room with less or no distractions so that he would be able to reflect on his mistakes. Avoid keeping the child in places where he might create mischief when left alone, such as the bathroom or store room. Parents can even get the child to stand in the corner of a room, with the child facing the corner. During the whole process, avoid any eye contact with him; it’s better than his sight is averted from everyone who passes by. The child must not have the chance to interact   with other during the time-out process. In other words, he must be well truly isolated.

Time the child’s time-out well

The child will need to be isolated for about 2-10 minutes, depending on his age. Make sure that the selected range of time frame is appropriate. Time-out for smaller children should be shorter because they have a limited attention span. It makes little sense to give a 5 year old 45minutes of time, when after 15 minutes or less he will get bored and begins playing around again. Time-out will only count from the moment the child begins to be quiet, even if several minutes or an hour had passed by before the child starts to behave. This is especially true for older kids as they are generally more resistant to instructions.

Explain why the child needs a time-out

Toddlers usually take longer time than older kids to calm down and sit quietly. In a firm but pleasant voice, explain to the child what he has done and why he is being disciplined. Parents could also try talking to their child in a louder and firmer tone, but be careful not to shout or yell. Shouting or yelling will only worsen the situation as the child may get agitated and retaliate with more shouting matches. If the child does not seem to listen, parents can try using eye contact to get the child to pay attention. Chances are the child will not easily obey the parent’s instruction. He might create distractions even as he is being led to the time out room.

Continue time – out if misbehavior persists

Tell the child that unless he behaves himself, he will have to continue sitting in time-out. Do not pay heed to any of his attempt to gain attention until the time-out period is over. If he tries to move about or walk away, don’t simply go for the cane. It will suffice to use proper body language to get across the message. Upon completion of the ordeal, it is necessary to explain to the child that he needs to promise not to repeat the same offence again or he’ll have to go through the disciplinary process all over again.

Parents must share a common understanding and agreement

The situation can also deteriorate when parents are not in agreement with one another. One parent may have the tendency to give in to the demands of the child while the other stands firm. Parents must have a clear understanding with one another of what is best for the child. Clashes of opinions and values among parents will only lead to more serious problems within the family. The child will only grow up with a habit of hurting his parents as his own emotional needs are not met. Parents must note that it is equally important to support and encourage good behavior rather than just punishing the child whenever he misbehaves.

Understand that time-out may not work always

Bear in mind that time out is just one of the methods of instilling discipline and parents may have to adjust the methods used to fit their own parenting style and their child’s temperament. Parents should be aware when time-out is not effective especially when they have to administer method several times a day or when the child does not seem to be setting down at all during time-out. Among the options parents can choose from are taking away the child’s favorite toy, game or television program or reducing a small amount of the child’s allowance. Nevertheless, the most important aspect in disciplining ac child is to follow up on instructions given to him with explanations on the consequences of his ill-behaved actions.

Punishment in the form of hurting and humiliating the child never serves the true purpose of disciplining children. Disciplining can come in many ways and parents can always use their creativity and experience when disciplining and parenting their children. Only parent know and understand their offspring like the back of their hand so parents should never hesitate to employ their own methods of disciplining if all else fails.

I my self was used some kind of this way to settle down the child who are misbehaves last time, but I always mention to the children if who not obey I will let them sit on the naughty chair, but the child will do the same mistake in later time. Through this article I found that is another better way to settle down the child who make mistakes or lost control their emotion.
When children behave improperly we may let them know their mistakes and leave them along in a place that is less distraction for reflecting on their mistakes. I am very happy found this good idea to hander this kind of problems, now I understand that benefit of time-out. Punishment just a temporary control their behavior not for live long because some children may not know what the actual purpose why they not aloud to do this and that. In coming day when they are not more constraint form parents or anyone, they may go back the same mistake.