Kids and the Internet

How can you find out which sites your children visit most frequently?  By doing a search of the browsing history.  Here;s how:

Open Internet Explorer and press and hold the “Ctrl” and “H” keys for a list of websites your child has seen in the recent past. Use the drop-down menu to see the sites your child has visited the most, or choose “Search History” to learn the keywords your child has been using. (The process is similar for other browsers.) If you find that your techy child has deleted the search history, ask him why.  You probably won't like the answer! 

Naturally, you can place child controls on the computer to filter out porn sites and any others you feel are unacceptable for young computer uses. Most major search engines, including Google, Bing and Yahoo, allow you to turn on a “safe search” mode that blocks sites that aren’t appropriate for kids, and most Internet service providers provide parental controls. However, it's also good to sit down with your children to discuss the problems associated with these sites so they understand your reasons for concern rather than your reasons for controlling their browsing. 

Be alert to any surrepticious behavior like turning off the computer or lowering the screen when you walk in the room.  That's a sure sign your child doesn't want you to see what he was researching on the computer.  Gently discuss the reason for this behavior.  If you jump in with a tirade about safe searching, your child will back away from your good intentions.  Open the computer while your child is in your presence and together look at the history.  That way you can discuss the situation without making it look like you're going behind his back to find out his browsing habits.  Remember, children need respect for their privacy, too, but not when their welfare depends on your knowledge. 

For more tips, go to http://kidshealth.org/parent/positive/family/net_safety.html and find a CyberSafe Program in your area: https://kidproofusa.com/course/CyberSafe.aspx

Put the YOU back in YOUTH

Teachers, look closely at your students.  Some of them are bright, strong, and active.  Others need a little more encouragement to participate and achieve high grades.  The former group most likely includes youthful volunteers, children who give their time and talents to those in need.  Statistically, students who volunteer in the community have higher grades and fewer absences than those who do not.   Seventy percent of teens who volunteer reported that volunteering gave them a new perspective on community issues.  As a result of their volunteer efforts, teens reported high grades in school and new career goals. Their communities found renewed interest in the environment, senior citizens, needy children, and orphaned animals. 

What does this tell us?  That we need to focus on helping kids to help others so that they can help themselves.  Why?  Because volunteering does not involve competition or grade achievement.  A notable side effect of charitable work is that the students gain one more positive section of information on a college transcript or job application.  Quite simply, volunteering forces students to look outside of their egocentric box and toward the greater needs of others.           

Recently, I spoke with a man who teaches special education in a closed classroom for emotionally disturbed middle school students.  Mr. Smith (not his real name because I met him at a party and we spoke only briefly) had a particularly difficult young man who never did homework, reacted with disdain at most of his requests, and generally disliked school.  Mr. Smith found that the young man, whom I’ll call Will, did enjoy reading.  Perhaps it became his escape from his family problems.  So, the teacher arranged for Will to read to fifth graders.  Together they chose Dear Mr. Henshaw as the read-aloud story.  Will went into the classroom, began to read, and the students were spellbound.  Later, Mr. Smith asked Will to develop ten questions for each chapter that he could ask when he was done reading.  Will, who would never do his own homework, came in the next day with ten well-developed questions.  This new work ethic carried over to his other school work, and Will began to pull up his grades.  He also became less of a discipline problem as a result of his volunteer reading for the fifth graders.             

So, how can teachers get students to become junior philanthropists?  Build on their natural talents, just as Mr. Smith did.  Kids love to socialize.  Encourage them to see that they can volunteer at a nursing home and socialize with people who get visitors only once a week, sometimes less.  Help them to understand that not everything needs to be done for money.  They could volunteer to babysit for an overworked mother of four who needs to take a break.  Help them to know that they can volunteer for other than human causes.  Some kids can join an environmental campaign to clean up a nearby stream, while others might volunteer at the local animal shelter.  There are no limits to the kinds of volunteer activities that young people can do.            Try to develop a philanthropy that also builds on your curriculum.  Since I taught child development, it was an easy match for my students to support Care Bags 4 Kids, a foundation that provides necessary items for needy children.  But what about the other disciplines?  Here are some ideas to consider:

• Write letters to soldiers - English and social studies classes can participate. (Note: use only the student’s first name and assign a student number for a return letter to the school.)
• Design and build bat houses or martin houses to combat the mosquito population – Shop and math coordination.
• Anti-smoking and substance abuse campaign for middle school students – Health and biology classes.
• Translation services for ESL students and foreign citizens in the community – Foreign language classes.

Each class is unique.  What can you do within your class that will serve the school or greater community while helping the students understand the value of charitable giving?           
 
The benefits of helping kids to help others are boundless.  The young people learn that caring for others is just as important as caring about their own needs.  The people they help benefit from their efforts, plus the children learn the value of money when they budget fund raisers.  Isn’t it time we put the YOU back into YOUTH?

For more ideas, read Helping Kids Help

Kids’ Summer Curriculum Sampler

During the summer, children relish the lazy days without homework, projects, and early rises for school.  However, by September, their teachers bemoan their lack of memory for common math operations and English composition rules.  Consider these inexpensive suggestions to keep your children’s brains engaged over the sunny summer months while they exercise their bodies on the playground and at the pool or beach, so they are ready for their teachers in the fall.  It’s a sampling of each class your children encounter in school:

1. Math – If your grocery story doubles coupons, tell your children that for every coupon they find and you use, you will give them the grocery store’s contribution.  The only catch is that they have to calculate their profits before you hand over the money.  Also, encourage them to live by the 1/3 rule: 1/3 now, 1/3 for savings, and 1/3 for charity.  If you want suggestions for the charitable giving, read my book, Helping Kids Help, available at my website: www.reneeheiss.com/hkh.html.
2. English – Your children will be prepared for the inevitable “What I Did During the Summer” essay if they keep a sensory journal.  Either buy or make a fun journal. Then on each page, have your children describe the sounds, sights, tastes, smells, and textures of summer they encounter every day.  Reward them for their journal participation with stickers for particularly descriptive entries.  For help with the sensory imagery, go to The Colors-Shapes-Textures Thesaurus.
3. Geography – Going away this summer?  Then show your children on a map where you are headed.  Have them plot with you the route by car, plane, train, and bus, even if you’re only using one means of transportation.  Learn the names of cities along the way and any notable landmarks.  If you belong to AAA, get their TripTik, which is very helpful.  Otherwise make your own version of this travel tool.
4. History – Believe it or not, most kids don’t know the local history.  Take a photographic journey through your town.  Mount the pictures in a real or digital album.  Then help your children discover the history behind each landmark.  If you create a digital album, consider creating your own book at http://www.snapfish.com/
5. Reading – Your local library probably has its own reading program for children, so sign them up to join the fun.  If you don’t live close enough to your library, create your own fun by making a Bookworm Bulletin Board.  Start with an apple in the middle, one hole for each of your children, and then begin adding segments of a worm (circles cut from construction paper) for each book the child reads.  For extra fun, invite the neighborhood kids to participate, too!
6. Foreign languages – Have a weekly worldwide lunch (or dinner) day.  Find a food with a funny name and then have French Day, Spanish Day, Australian Day, etc. each week.  Encourage your children to research what they want to eat on that day and let them help prepare and clean up.  Post words from the foreign language with the translation around the table.  Everyone needs to create a different sentence from those foreign words.  Here’s a fun place to start:  Mama Lisa’s World Blog.
7. Science – Hold your own science camp.  Check out books from the library on science experiments kids can do with everyday items.  Designate each day of your camp for a different science topic: biology, geology, botany, astronomy, etc.  The next week, encourage your kids to develop a science fair.  Invite relatives for a barbecue to view their science fair displays. The homeschool network always has fun things the kids can do at home to encourage learning during the summer: http://homeschooling.about.com/library/blsumsci.htm
8. Practical and performing arts – Give your kids lots of room to explore with this topic.  Encourage them to learn a new skill – sewing, decoupage, working on a car engine, cooking, metal working, etc.  Caution: This activity is contagious and could develop into a lifelong love of the activity!  Enchanted Learning has thousands of ideas.  Maybe your children can begin to make gifts for winter holidays.
9. Philanthropy – Most schools recommend, and some schools even require, that children give back something to their community for the greater good.  Help your children to understand that giving money for charity is good, but doing something is better.  Find places where you can volunteer your efforts, if even for one hour a week.  Studies show that when children volunteer, they develop into caring, successful adults.  To see how one girl hosts a charitable birthday party based on the Care Bags Foundation, read Somebody Cares!

So what are you waiting for?  Summer’s just around the corner.  Consider assembling boxes of fun related to all the topics above.  There are nine weeks in the summer and nine topics.  Even if you pick only one day a week, instead of an entire week of topical fun, you will have increased your children’s potential for success in September.

Please post your own idea for extending children's learning during the summer.  Your idea may find its way into my new book on this topic ;-)