Help! My child is hurting other children at school.
I recently received the following e-mail from a reader and thought to post my reply here in case some of you are having similar problems: Hi Anel – I need some advice. My daughter started Grade 000 and she is loving it (and has always loved playschool), BUT she is the only child hurting […]
Boosting your child’s self-esteem
When we came into this world as babies, it was with a clean slate. We knew absolutely nothing about ourselves and we automatically had high self esteem. Quickly our minds began to soak up information about ourselves from our parents and our environment. We soon began forming the self-image that would follow us into our […]
What exactly is self-esteem?
Brian Mesinger, PhD, a psychologist at the Fort Collins Youth Clinic in Colorado, defines the term in the following way; “Self-esteem is the collection of beliefs or feelings that we have about ourselves. How we define ourselves hugely influences our motivations, attitudes and behaviours”. Put simply, self-esteem is the value we place upon ourselves. It […]
Help your child succeed in school
There are general things that you can do as a parent to help your child succeed in school. Success in life and at school is about more than just the child’s intellectual ability or IQ, it is essential that we consider a child’s emotional intelligence, talents and self-esteem. Talents need to be identified and […]
Maths games for kids
Unfortunately many kids dislike math. It’s almost become a mental block and this is not helped by parents who happily claim, “Oh, I was no good at maths either”. The funny thing is, most young children enjoy learning to count as they enjoy the rhythm and the precision involved. And it’s really quite easy for […]
Writing exercises for children
Children need to be able to communicate appropriately in written form. Unfortunately this no longer means strictly pen on paper and so things such as writing and perfect penmanship are almost considered a thing of the past but this does not mean that your child should be allowed to scribble and work untidily. Writing requires […]
Reading games for foundation stage
Early reading – these reading games for foundation stage learners will help them master sight words and basic spelling words: Word Bingo: create a grid on a page and laminate it. Write your child’s sight words or spelling words on the grid with a white board marker and play bingo. She would need to read […]
Reading games for preschool kids
Here are some reading games to play with your preschool kids: I spy: play I-spy to introduce phonics, ensuring that you use the letter sound and not the name, for example, ‘ah’ (a), ‘buh’ (b), ‘cuh’ (c), rather than ‘Ay’ (A) ‘Bee’(B), ‘See’(C). The game goes like this: “I spy with my little eye, something […]
Tips on how to develop a love of reading in children: Ages 3 to 5 years
Developing a love of reading in children: Ages 3 to 5 years At this age, children are beginning to develop an appreciation of different letters, numbers, symbols and what they represent. They have also nearly mastered an understanding of different seasons, colours and shapes, as well as the basic concept of time, in terms of […]
Tips on how to develop a love of reading in children: Birth to 3 years
Birth to 3 years A child’s earliest learning comes to him before the age of 5 years in the environments he is exposed to, which are most often the home and perhaps a day-care centre or pre-school. Obviously then, the more you expose your child to in this period, the more extensive his learning will […]