Parent Newsletters - Issue 25

No Limits Learning
kids goals Ezine

Issue 25, December 30th, /06

IN THIS PARENT NEWSLETTER

1. A WORD FROM THE EDITORS
2. GOAL SETTING FOR MATH
3. PROCRASTINATION
4. KIDS CORNER COOKING AND CRAFTS
5. TICKLE YOUR FUNNYBONE (JOKES FOR KIDS BY KIDS)
6. WORDS OF INSPIRATION
7. SPONSORS

1. A WORD FROM THE EDITORS

Welcome to the next issue of kidsgoals.com Newsletter. Cassie and I hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas holiday and are looking forward to a brand new year.

Goal setting is one of the key skills we are keen to help you teach your kids, and we have a guest article to share with you today on the subject of Goal Setting for Math, by Susan Jarema who has an awesome website to help kids learn math - please check out the article and Susan's website as we are sure you will like them!

One of the great deterrents to goal setting is procrastination. That dreaded "P Word" that keeps us from moving forward and realizing our dreams. The second article deals with this all too common phenomenon and gives us tools on how to (a little spin on the Nike ads) "Just Do It Now!"

The new KidsGoals Not-For-Profit shop will be launching very soon, with exciting, unique products created specially for you by us at KidsGoals. At the KidsGoals shop, EVERY price will be the right price, because YOU will decide what you want to pay. Our mission is to help children all over the world be happy and successful, and our loyal subscribers - YOU - are our starting point. So watch out for announcements of new powerful products for you and your kids coming very soon.

Finally, Cassie and I would like to wish you all a safe and Happy New Year!!! Thank you for being a part of our goal to make kidsgoals your parenting resource website. Please note the deadline for the book competition draw is December 31st so you still have a couple of days left to enter.

Happy Parenting,

Monicka

2. GOAL SETTING FOR MATH

New Year's Goal Setting and Math Add Up to Higher Grades for Students!

By Susan Jarema, Googol Learning www.googolpower.com

Teaching math is one of the greatest ways to instill valuable goal-setting skills while ensuring academic success. Math provides the perfect opportunity for goal-setting lessons: its aims are realistic, obtainable, measurable and can be broken down into smaller goals or tasks. Developing goal-setting skills will help students learn how to manage their time, make better decisions and take ownership of their own academic progress. You want your child's first serious goal-setting experience to be a successful one. Understanding the factors that contribute to goal achievement will help you ensure that success.

3. PROCRASTINATION

Almost everyone procrastinates to some extent; and there are a myriad of reasons why people procrastinate. It could be as simple as sheer laziness, incorrect time management or simply putting off something that you may find unpleasant until the very last minute. If you want to go deeper, procrastination could be caused by underlying feelings of low self worth or fear of failure. Rather than dwell on the whys, what is most important is to realize that at its worst, procrastination can be debilitating and keeps us from realizing our full potential. On the positive side we must also accept that no matter what the cause, procrastination does not have to rule our lives and we all have the power to change. Here are some ways to break the procrastinating habit:

Write it down - Make a list of what needs to be done-this is the first step so it doesn't need to be in any special order but record everything that you would normally put off till later, no matter how trivial.

Prioritize - This can be done in one of two ways, either by deadlines (dates) or by priority. Some things need to be completed sooner; decide by order of importance.

Categorize - Get a special calendar or, better yet a notebook, with lots of room to write notes and decide which are short and long-term goals that you intend to accomplish. For instance a short-term goal would be to organize your cupboards and a long-term goal would be to get to a healthy weight.

Break down your priority list - Look at what can be accomplished immediately and what will take a few days, or longer. Some things may need to be broken down into smaller goals in order to accomplish them.

Fill in your calendar - Set time aside for each goal while still keeping to your deadlines.

Think from the end - Close your eyes and visualize, see yourself as if you have already accomplished your goals. Imagine how good it will feel and what others will say as they see the positive changes in you. Try to do this every day for a few minutes.

Be accountable - Find someone who will keep you honest. Tell a good friend what you want to do and make them hold you to it by checking your progress every few days.

Remember that Rome wasn't built in a day and breaking the procrastination habit takes a lot of commitment and perseverance. It is not something you will accomplish overnight so be patient with yourself. Try to allow lots of time to accomplish your goals and give yourself a bit of leeway for possible delays. This will give you the needed confidence to realize that you can accomplish all your goals and meet any deadlines without over stressing yourself.

Finally, we all know that children learn by example so make it a point to show your children how important it is not to put off things that need to be done. I find that unfinished business haunts me and makes it difficult to move forward. When I follow through and get it done, it gives me a sense of accomplishment and pride. What a great tool to teach your children and something that can only benefit them in their adult years.

By Monicka

4. KIDS CORNER COOKING AND CRAFTS

Hot Apple Cider Recipe

(perfect non alcoholic way for the kiddies to toast the New Year)

Ingredients:
1/2 gallon apple juice or non-alcoholic apple cider
2 cinnamon sticks
2 whole cloves
2 allspice berries or whole nutmeg
1/2 orange peel, cut into strips
1/2 lemon peel, cut into strips

Directions

Pour apple juice/cider into a large stainless steel pot (crock pots work great if you have one handy)

Place spices and peels into cheesecloth. Drop cheesecloth into apple juice/cider.

In a regular pot: heat to just short of a boil. In a crock-pot: Heat for 2 hours.

Remove cheesecloth.

Once you are done, you can keep the stovetop on low and have people ladle the apple cider straight from the pot.

Kazoo to Ring in the New Year

(with adult help)

Materials
Toilet tissue roll
Waxed paper
Rubber band
Small knife or nail
Felt Tip Pens

Instructions

1. Decorate the tube with your felt tips.

2. Have an adult poke a hole in the cardboard roll with knife or nail near one end

3. Cut a four-inch square piece of wax paper. Secure the wax paper over the end of the cardboard roll near the hole using the rubber band.

4. Blow into the uncovered end of your finished Kazoo at midnight on New Year's eve!

5. TICKLE YOUR FUNNYBONE (JOKES FOR KIDS BY KIDS)

Q: Why did the man run around the bed?
A: Because he wanted to catch up on his sleep

Q: How many psychiatrists does it take to change a light bulb?
A: One but the light bulb has to want to change.

Funniest Procrastination joke ever written
Coming Soon........

From an newspaper contest where kids were asked to write their "Deep Thoughts":

"I believe you should live each day as if it is your last, which is why I don't have any clean laundry because, come on, who wants to wash clothes on the last day of their life?" -- Age 15

"Give me the strength to change the things I can, the grace to accept the things I cannot, and a great big bag of money." -- Age 13

"As you make your way through this hectic world of ours, set aside a few minutes each day. At the end of the year, you'll have a couple of days saved up." -- Age 7

"Democracy is a beautiful thing, except for that part about letting just any old yokel vote." -- Age 10

"For centuries, people thought the moon was made of green cheese. Then the astronauts found that the moon is really a big hard rock. That's what happens to cheese when you leave it out." -- Age 6

"Laugh and the world laughs with you, cry and the world laughs at you." - Rob P, age 8

"If life gives you nothing but lemons, make up a better shopping list for it." - Steven B, age 8

6. WORDS OF INSPIRATION

"Nothing is so fatiguing as the eternal hanging on of an uncompleted task." William James

"Someday is not a day of the week." -- Author Unknown

"Procrastination is opportunity's assassin." -- Victor Kiam

"A goal properly set is halfway reached." -- Abraham Lincoln

"Give me a stock clerk with a goal and I'll give you a man who will make history. Give me a man with no goals and I'll give you a stock clerk." - J. C. Penney

"The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it." - Michelangelo

7. SPONSORS

If you can suggest any organizations or websites that might want to sponsor this newsletter, or reprint our articles, please email Cassie or Monicka at kidsgoals.com.

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