New Post Returning September 1, 2015

It has been a long dry spell, but new posts will begin September 1, 2015!

Teachers Learning to Do Brain Gym Activities

Teachers and supervisors of babies to 3rd graders, owners of daycares, homeschool teachers, and others  come to the Early Childhood Conference.  During the day they attend various classes.  These attended my class where they had fun learning some Brain Gym Activities and how to use them with children.

Brain Gym Activities Start Off their Day!

These 2nd graders start off their school day doing 5-7 minutes of Brain Gym Activities.  This helps them let go of anxiety and focus on the tasks of their day.  Their teacher sees a difference. Their parents tell me they are doing them at home and telling their families how to do them.

Bullies and Bullying

Bully and bullying are terms we may be hearing often. What do those words mean?  Are people we know and see everyday bullies? Do our friends or family bully us? 

The dictionary's definition of a bully is a blustering browbeating person; especially: one habitually cruel to others who are weaker. A definition of the verb to bully is to treat abusively; to affect by means of force or coercion; or to use browbeating language or behavior

Bullying is an act of misconduct. There are levels 1 and 2 of acts of misconduct.  In some definitions Level 1 is taunting, teasing, name-calling, spreading rumors, threatening or obscene gestures, excluding others from a group or manipulation of friendship while Level 2 is hitting, kicking, physical harm, destruction of property, enlisting someone to assault someone for you.

7 Points of Consensus about Bullies and Bullying

Following research of numerous articles and information pertaining to “bullies” and “bullying”, authority on bulling, Dr. Ken Rigby, found seven points of consensus in this information. They are:

• Bullying has been reported as occurring in every school k-12 which has been investigated.
• Bullying can be direct or indirect and also physical, verbal, and gestural.
• There is no consistent evidence that bullying overall is increasing, however cyber bullying is an area of growing concern, especially among older students.
• Boys are bullied physically more often than girls. Girls are generally involved with indirect bullying.
• Bullying with younger children is generally more physical, while older children use more indirect and subtle forms of bullying which tend to occur more often.
• Children typically report being bullied less often as they get older, even though being victimized tends to increase when children enter secondary school.
• Being bullied at school typically has a negative effect on the physical and psychological wellbeing of children who are frequently and severely targeted.

"Engaging the Whole Learner"-a conference for those working in Early Childhood Education

I had a great time at the Cowlitz County Early Childhood Education Conference in Longview, WA on Saturday.  "Engaging the Whole Learner"  was the theme of the conference and, of course, Brain Gym Activities fit in perfectly.  I was honored to be invited to be apart of the conference. Engaging the whole child (or adult) is so important, more effective, and rewarding as we continue to learn and grow in our world today.
I was excited to sit in on a class taught by my daughter and her co-presenter, "ABC's of Social Media".  This is an area I want to know more about.  The class was perfect for me.  I learned more about facebook, twitter, and pinterest and how it can serve me in the business world.  I am looking forward to explore and learn more now.  Learning new information and skills is a way we can keep ourselves alive and integrated in the world around us.
Thanks, Shannon and those who worked with her, for the great opportunity!

Sslf-Esteem and Ways to Strength It

Self-Esteem is Important

A child’s self-esteem is important. How a child feels about him/herself makes a difference in his/her life and how it is lived. If a child’s self-esteem is healthy, it will buoy him/her up and keep him/her on course as life challenges present themselves. A child who feels good about him/herself will be stronger when they meet negative pressures, will handle conflicts easier, and will be more likely to smile, enjoy life, and be optimistic. How a child feels about him/herself influences how he/she acts and reacts to the situations in his/her life.

Ways to Strengthen Self-Esteem

In one way or another child’s self-esteem is strengthened or weakened continuously. There are two factors that determine whether it is strengthened or weakened. One is the way the child interprets the people and circumstances in his/her environment. The other is those people and circumstances.

As adults, we can help them build stronger self-esteem when we help them interpret what those people and circumstances may mean in a positive way. Other things we can do are:

• Always treat them with respect.

• Catch them doing good things and acknowledge them

• Look for positive things in their personality, acts of character and kindness, good or wise choices, etc. and compliment them on those things.

• Model saying good things about themselves by doing the same about yourself.

• Model noticing those around you and saying friendly and nice things to them.

Contact

info:

Sara

Banister

Computers Can Cause Pain and Injury

Lots of us-students and adults-spend time setting at the computer doing schoolwork and/or playing games.  Whether the time at the computer is researching and writing a report, surfing the net, or being triumphant over the bad guy, the computer can be hard on our body!  We may be thinking. “How is that? “ 

Sitting for a long time in positions that aren’t natural for our body can strain our hands, wrists, back, and eyes.  This doesn’t happen all at once, but when this happens over an extended period of time, it can result in pain and repetitive stress injuries.

There are ways we can help protect our bodies from pain and injury.

·      An important thing we can do is to sit square on the chair.   To do this we must sit on the center of the chair with our back touching the seat back the whole time.  Be careful to not lean or slouch over the keyboard while typing.  Our legs should bend at the knees with the legs resting on the floor.  If our legs are too short then it is best to use a stool, box, or stack of books to put under our feet.

·      When typing, it is best to sit so that our elbows are bent at 90-degree angles with our wrists straight and close enough so that we don’t have to stretch to reach the keyboard.  If our wrists start to hurt or we start to wake up at night with wrist pain, we may be getting overuse injury (also called carpal tunnel syndrome).

·         If we are using one of our hands to use the mouse, it can help if we use a small wrist rest to support that hand. Another way to help is to use a trackball instead of a mouse. A trackball allows you to use a few fingers, instead of just one, as you move around the computer screen.·      Using the computers results in our eyes doing a lot of work.  When we hove the monitor 18 to 20 inches away, we are helping our eyes.  Also have the monitor at eye level with our forehead.  If it isn’t, it helps to adjust the height of the monitor or our chair.

·      Take breaks!  It’s best for students to take a break every 30 minutes.  Go to the bathroom, get a drink, take a walk, dance in front of the mirror, etc.  When we take the break, it helps to start with our eyes.  Focus on something that is far away like something that is out of a window.  This will give them a rest from the focusing on the computer screen.  To give our body a break, it helps to move our muscles. 

Doctors recommend only 1 to 2 hours of screen time a day.  That includes TV, computer, and computer games. 

Kidshealth.org