Parent Newsletters - Issue 30

No Limits Learning
kids goals Ezine

Issue 30, March 10th 2007

IN THIS PARENT NEWSLETTER

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

1. A WORD FROM THE EDITORS

Welcome to the next issue of kidsgoals.com Newsletter. Wow, can you believe it is March?? Soon we will be turning our clocks ahead an hour for Daylight savings time and Spring will be here before we know it. Spring to me has always signified a new beginning. If something is not working for you, now is a great time to try a new approach. That goes for goal-setting also. Sometimes a little shake up is in order to get you motivated and on track again. That is the thing about long-term goals, they are not accomplished overnight and you can sometimes start to feel like you will never get there. Keep your eye on the prize and use all the tools in your arsenal such as visualization, positive affirmations and anchoring to empower you when the going gets a little rough.

The theme for the March newsletters and blog is going to be all about how to make learning enjoyable for your children. While this is not always an easy task for parents, keeping your kids motivated to learn is essential and will help ensure their academic success. One powerful technique that you can teach your children is mind mapping, which will be a great aid to your children when it comes to studying. Cassie and I hope you will find the article informative and will want to introduce your children to this powerful learning tool.

The Elmo contest is now closed and the 10 lucky winners will soon be receiving notification by email. Thank you to everyone that participated and keep checking the site because Cassie and I will be holding more competitions in the near future.

Monicka

2. MIND MAPPING (Visual learning diagrams)

Note Taking

Take a look at your child's homework books and what do you see? Nicely written neat paragraphs? Tidy lists of facts and figures? If so, your child's teacher no doubt has much praise! Teachers like to see neat handwriting - after all, it makes their job a lot easier. But are neat hand-written notes really the be-all and end-all? Are there better ways of stimulating children's memory and creativity than copying dull lists of words?

The problem with this common or garden note taking is that, in a word, it's boring! Yes, there is the occasional diagram or graph, but mostly it's a good old bland sea of sentences. The important key words are buried in fluff and wordy paragraphs with little to stimulate the imagination. In the classroom, when the teacher is trying to ensure that the children have all the information they need, linear note taking and simple copying down may, I suppose, have their place. But if that is the only way the children know, it is naturally what they are going to do when they come to revise those notes before an exam.

What they don't realize (because nobody has told them yet - but you are about to!) is that getting the information into the brain in a form that will be useful in the exam is a whole new kettle of fish. A kettle of fish that can be cooked in a very different and much more fun way...

What we are looking for is a method of presenting information that capitalizes on how our brains work. Our brains process and remember information by linking. We tend to think that our thoughts are linear, similar to speech or written text. But, learning within the brain is done by linking ideas, questions, words and pictures in huge inter-connecting branches and webs. Your child can therefore study much more easily and effectively by using visual learning diagrams like webs, maps, trees and timelines to incorporate the key words and important facts that he needs to remember, rather than copying out paragraphs of text. This may sound trivial but it makes a very, very big difference to understanding, memory and recall. The best way for you to get a clear picture is to go to our website at http://www.kidsgoals.com/images/cloudmap.gif and http://www.kidsgoals.com/images/wavesmap.gif where you can see some examples of mind mapping.

Here are some guidelines on using visual learning diagrams. I hesitate to call them rules, because the whole idea is to encourage freedom, imagination and creativity. But these "best practices" give you and your child a starting point. Then if you find your own way, which "breaks" these rules, you have made the method your very own!

Visual Learning Diagram Guidelines

* Tools: Colored pens - felt tips are ideal. Sheets of paper, preferably not lined, A4 or bigger - as big as is practical. Other useful items include highlighters and those plastic templates with arrows and other symbols if your child likes using them.

* Start with a word, picture or symbol representing the topic in question. Put this in the middle of the page. It's useful to turn the page around so it's the "landscape" way up.

* From your central topic, draw the main branches out for the subtopics or main ideas. You can write a word representing each sub topic on a branch, or put it in a bubble or box if you prefer. Doing each sub topic in a different color is often a useful visual aid.

* Continue to make smaller branches for keywords relating to each sub topic.

* As you work, keep the paper facing you the same way rather than turning it every which way as some children tend to do - this makes it harder to read afterwards.

* Write in capitals - they tend to be more legible when you come back to read the diagram in the future.

* Use only one word per branch or per bubble. You should be focusing on key words, not sentences.

* Draw pictures, doodles and symbols. Make your diagram unique, stimulating and fun!

Encourage your child to make one diagram for each topic he is studying. It's also a good idea to make one "master" diagram for the whole subject, showing the high level topics - this helps the child bear in mind how many topics there are for that subject and how they all interrelate.

By Cassie

3. KIDS CORNER COOKING AND CRAFTS

Creamy Fruit Salad

Healthy and yummy dessert for your family or an easy after school snack for the kids (with adult supervision)

1 pint fresh strawberries, sliced
1 pound seedless green grapes, halved
3 bananas, peeled and sliced
1 - 8 ounce container lemon yogurt or any other flavor your prefer In a large bowl, toss together strawberries, grapes, bananas, and strawberry yogurt. Serve immediately.

Pringles Pencil Keeper

You can make great pencil organizers for school or home with empty Pringles cans. The kids can decorate them any way they want.

What You Need

Small Pringles can
Small Pringles can lid, optional
Gift wrap, construction paper, or other decorative paper
Double stick tape or glue
Scissors

How To Make It

1. Wrap the outside of the can with gift wrap, construction paper etc

2. Cut the paper to size and stick to the Pringles can with double stick tape or glue.

3. Punch holes in the lid and put it on if you would like your pencils to stay in place - each pencil can sit in its own hole!

4. Use this decorative pencil holder on your desk at school, at home, by the phone, or any place you may need to have pencils and pens handy.

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

Q: How do dogs get rid of fleas?
A: They start from scratch

Q: What do you get from a cow in a bad mood?
A: Sour cream

Q: Why did the child study in the airplane?
A: He wanted a higher education!

Q: What can run but never walks, has a mouth but never talks, has a head but never weeps, and has a bed but never sleeps?
A: A river

Q: What did the doctor say to the man who complained he was shrinking?
A: "You have got to be a little patient!"

5. WORDS OF INSPIRATION

"Education commences at the mother's knee, and every word spoken within the hearsay of little children tends towards the formation of character." ---Hosea Ballou

"Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance." ---John Dryden

"Reading maketh a full man; conference a ready man; and writing an exact man." --- Francis Bacon

"There is the love of knowing without the love of learning; the beclouding here leads to dissipation of mind" -Confucius

6. YOUR FEEDBACK

If you would like to request any topics for the newsletter for 2007, please email Cassie or Monicka at kidsgoals.com.

Thank you, from Cassie and Monicka

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