#schoolaged

Mouth wash COVID-19 test coming for school-aged children in B.C.

British Columbia is introducing a new saline gargle test for students from kindergarten to Grade 12 to help make COVID-19 testing easier for children and teenagers.

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said B.C. is one of the first places in the world to use a mouth rinse gargle test for the new coronavirus.

“Unlike the (nasal) swab, this is a new saline gargle where you put a little…

10 Too Cute Turkey Crafts for Kids

Although your child might not have significant amounts of homework at this stage in life, it is beneficial to encourage them to have good study habits at home. Remind them that learning is not constrained to a classroom, and that it extends much further than that(Leal, 2012).  Encourage them to clear out any distractions while they are working, and remind them to keep a clean and tidy workspace. Not only will this keep your child organized, but it also increases your child’s probability of having positive learning experiences. If your child is focused and responsible with their schoolwork, it allows them to be more productive. As a result, this decreases the possibility of your child having unsuccessful learning experiences, which could result in feelings of inferiority and low self-esteem (Haskings-Winner, 2011). Keep in mind that this does not mean that your child must exceed at every subject at school in order to be confident, but it simply means that having good work habits can improve their learning experience by keeping them organized and more on-task. 

As your child begins school, it becomes your obligation as a good and successful parent to equip them with the skills needed to prosper in the academic environment. An important part of that is to ensure that they have the drive to succeed in school and work, through the use of motivation. Most of the time, children who are not often the best or most effective students possess extrinsic motivation, which is the desire to complete tasks and be productive because of external factors, such as detention or good grades (Haskings-Winner, 2011). However, extrinsic motivation does not provide a good drive to do things and be productive, because not only is the child unwilling to do the task out of their own free will and desires, but once that threat or reward is gone, the desire to perform is gone. The better way to succeed is through intrinsic motivation, which stems from a personal satisfaction or desire to do well (Haskings-Winner, 2011). This sort of drive is often much more powerful and effective, which can ultimately result in more inspired and productive work. The way that you, as a parent, can foster that attitude is by helping your child set goals once they start school and providing them the means to value and set goals by themselves (Gross, 2014). By allowing them to experience the personal need for satisfaction or success, it becomes far easier for them to be excited about school as opposed to showing up to mitigate a call home. Work with your child to set short term goals for the school year, whether it may be to get an A on the next math test, or the finish the homework before bedtime and let those become the stepping stones for long term goals that your child can ultimately hope to achieve. Only when your child is truly passionate can he or she have meaningful experiences in school. 

This age group is a critical time for educational progress. Your children is now in the pre-operational and concrete operational stage in Jean Piaget’s stages of cognitive development. This psychologist is highly influential in education, especially with teaching strategies. So the pre-operational stage (2-6 years) is when kids develop language, their use of symbols, memory, and imagination. They exhibit non-logical thinking and portray egocentricity. Try to help you child with their learning because you can never learn enough, and this will help them get an early start. Use tactics like visual aids, easy step by step instructions, and use real life experiences when teaching. The next stage (7-11 years) is when the logic starts to develop, and they become less egocentric. They have the ability to link concrete objects to symbols and are able to use them. (Haskings-Winner, 2011). To help ensure educational progress, make them read in brief periods of times. It’s also a good idea to incorporate concrete examples in abstract concepts to help the transition. So you might be saying to yourself, isn’t the teacher supposed to do this? Yes, they are, but you shouldn’t fully rely on others when it comes to your child’s education because the school might not be sufficient. You have to be involved and present in your child’s educational journey, and you don’t have to force anything; they don’t necessarily have to be ahead of the pack, you just want to make sure you’re doing what you can to push them a little. As we all know, a little push can go a long way.