Monthly Archives: July 2014

Wednesday’s Parent: Favorite lines and tips

Posted on by
Blue Ribbon favorite lines and tips Photo by Wendy David-Gaines

Blue Ribbon favorite lines and tips Photo by Wendy David-Gaines

If you enjoy a fun read where you get helpful information and insights, check out some of my favorite lines and tips from past posts. These twelve cover parenting issues of stress and preparing children for college and beyond. I threw in a bonus to make it a baker’s dozen.

Want more? Wednesday’s Parent is here for you. Read the past posts, catch us each Wednesday, connect via social media and comment if you want us to address a specific topic. We’d love to hear from you!

  1. Button pusher’s resistance guide to parenting Some topics push buttons and both parents and children react. Emotionally it feels like an alarm that keeps ringing. This changes a teachable moment into a lesson in frustration for all. Sometimes, parents’ own buttons are pushed. The result isn’t any better. Read on for 12 ways to resist the button push and spark a dialogue.
  2. Parental peer pressure You may want to boast about the colleges on your student’s list, those she got into, and the one he chose to accept admission from but bragging rights shouldn’t be part of any of these decisions. Read on for examples of parental peer pressure and some good advice from Thomas Edison.
  3. Valuing academics From the first time parents hold their newborn to the good-bye hug at the college dorm, parents want their child to succeed. Books are often the first formal learning tool parents share with their offspring. Babies may chew on them but children’s minds savor the knowledge contained on the pages. Read on for how parents may show the importance of academics to their children and ignite a life-long love of learning from preschool through high school.
  4. Adding the extras Colleges want interesting, motivated students who show commitment to their passions and will not just fit in but will contribute to their campus. And parents want their children to be happy, full-filled and successful in school and beyond. Read on for 5 ways parents may help their children explore, learn and thrive with all the extras to make this happen.
  5. 10 out-of-the-gift-box ideas for a healthy lifestyle If only chocolate was a leafy vegetable, ice cream sodas were fresh water, lounging on a beach burned calories and tanning was good for your skin. Read on for 10 out-of-the-box gift ideas to encourage good health any time of the year.
  6. Will your child be a good citizen? As teens transition from high school to college, college to the working world, the decisions they make have greater and greater consequences. Will they maximize their higher education opportunities? Will they remain curious and become life-long learners? Will they make sure they are informed about current issues? Will they be able to support themselves? Will they care about others? Will they do a good job picking out our nursing homes? Read on for how parents may help.
  7. 7 Shakespearean steps to good decision-making Life is full of choices and the quality of life depends on the quality of those decisions. Read on for seven steps to making good decisions based on Shakespeare’s timeless quotes.
  8. Passing the responsibility torch He’s got his mom’s eyes. She has her dad’s smile. He’s got his grandpa’s sense of humor. No one ever says, “She has her grandma’s sense of responsibility.” Maybe it’s because many react to the concept like responsibility is a four-letter word. Read on for a list of typical problems and preventive solutions for parents to teach responsibility now before their children go off to college as young adults.
  9. 6 Circus lessons for balancing the budget Many kids and parents are fans of the circus. They marvel at the skills of the aerialists, acrobats and animal tamers. They laugh at the antics of the clowns, consume tasty treats and watch the sideshows. Read on for the powerful financial lessons that may be learned from these performers to help teens learn about managing money.
  10. Stressing out the college process Reactions to stress vary from fatigue to frenzy. Some may be frozen in a state of inaction, unable to be motivated. Others may find themselves so agitated they can’t concentrate. Read on for the best ways to handle, use and break from stress.
  11. 6 great examples to cure Senioritis This troubling “disease” is usually associated with high school seniors but the joy of the passed holiday season, vacation breaks, and winter doldrums can afflict parents and students of all ages. Read on and take a cue from six great cultural examples to get well quick and cure senioritis.
  12. 6 antidotes for spring fever First senioritis then spring fever. These are the two non-medical maladies that plague students and their parents. Read on for 6 flowery antidotes.

Here’s a bonus post for Mother’s Day for those who believe this should be every day:

Embracing your almost adult-children on Mother’s Day

Read Suzanne’s post: Stress, Stress and More Stress

.____________________________________

Wednesday’s child may be full of woe but Wednesday’s Parent can substitute action for anxiety. Each Wednesday Suzanne Shaffer and I will provide parent tips to get and keep your student on the college track. It’s never too late or too early to start!

The bonus is on the fourth Wednesday of each month when Suzanne and I will host Twitter chat #CampusChat at 9pm ET/6pm PT. We will feature an expert on a topic of interest for parents of the college-bound.

Wednesday’s Parent will give twice the info and double the blog posts on critical parenting issues by clicking on the link at the end of the article from www.pocsmom.com to http://www.parentscountdowntocollegecoach.com/ and vice versa.

Wednesday’s Parent: 5 fantastic tips to refine a college list Part 2

Posted on by
Finalizing a college list. Photo by Wendy David-Gaines

Finalizing a college list. Photo by Wendy David-Gaines

The hard part of forming a college list is whittling it down to those schools that offer a student the best chance for success. Last week had tips about information gathering to jump start the process in 2 phases, 3 points for forming a college list.

Here is Part 2 with five tips for analyzing and refining the choices.

!. Define the student’s definition of success The definition of student success varies with each student. Wednesday’s Parent: Hunting and gathering a college list Part 2 explained this and gave five ways parents may help their child find their college matches.

2. Judge the college. How good a job a will the school do to help a student achieve his vision? Use the parent-student team approach to have frank discussions about college, career and future lifestyle goals. Write them down. Go back to the college list and eliminate those that are least likely to help the student attain her dreams.

3. Take a closer look. Go over the list again twice. The first time think emotionally. How did the campus make the student feel from the college visit? Sometimes it’s an unexplainable positive or negative gut reaction. The second time think logically about the school’s academic and extracurricular offerings. If there is a wide divide between the two impressions, it’s probably not a good choice. Students have to be vested in their college attendance for best chance of thriving.

4. Get selfish. Though they may be considered part of fact gathering, brand names, recommendations and what others are doing do not determine the final college list. The focus is on what will work best for a particular student based on his talents, skills, goals and qualifications. Colleges use the admission process to find students they want. Students should use the process to find schools that will help the student get what he wants.

5. Put in the time. The more time spent on making a good college list, the better the chance for student success. Find the places where the student is most likely to get a great education that:

  • Fits her abilities and stretches her opportunities
  • Provides the tools to graduate (or go on to grad school) on time
  • Prepares him for a future with manageable debt and the ability to be self-supporting at the life-style desired

Read Suzanne’s post: Making the Illogical Logical-The Final College List

__________________________________

Suzanne and I will share more insights into making a great college list on Wednesday’s Parent night (the fourth Wednesday of each month) on #CampusChat, Wednesday, July 23, 9pm ET/6pm PT. We will talk about the many factors to consider, how to finalize the list and the parent role in the process. Join us and bring your questions and comments.

UPDATE: If you missed the chat or participated and want to review the great information and links shared, check out the recap.

__________________________________

Wednesday’s child may be full of woe but Wednesday’s Parent can substitute action for anxiety. Each Wednesday Suzanne Shaffer and I will provide parent tips to get and keep your student on the college track. It’s never too late or too early to start!

Wednesday’s Parent will give twice the info and double the blog posts on critical parenting issues by clicking on the link at the end of the article from www.pocsmom.com to http://www.parentscountdowntocollegecoach.com/ and vice versa.

How Academic Performance Affects Children’s Confidence

Posted on by
Confidence. Photo by Wendy David-Gaines

Confidence. Photo by Wendy David-Gaines

Part of raising independent, self-supporting children is making sure they have the confidence to thrive on their own, know who to count on and ask for help when needed. Alexandra Berube shares some keen insights about how education influences student self-esteem starting with kindergarten in her guest post. Well said Alexandra.

_________________________________

In my years as an educator, I have commonly found that students at all ages are good at hiding what they don’t know. It’s a basic human emotion to want to fit in with your peers and not let anyone see that you’re falling behind. I remember times myself in middle school and high school when I was too embarrassed to ask a question in front of the class and would just plod along, hoping to figure out the concepts on my own at some point. I remember in particular that I didn’t understand most of what was going on in my Pre-Calculus class, and I’m sure if you asked many adults, they would tell you the same; everyone remembers some class that completely baffled them, but their pride kept them from asking for help.

What affected me the most was my work with kindergarteners, because there is such a large range between skill levels at that age. Some students come in reading chapter books fluently, and some come in without knowing all of their letters. The ones that are behind immediately see what their peers can do that they can’t, and it makes them become more quiet and isolated. They often find opportunities to hide in the crowd so that no one can see their weaknesses. It is so sad and troubling as an educator to see the confidence of a child at such a young age already start down the path of self-doubt.

When I work with middle-schoolers, they know what their strengths and weaknesses are, and they know what they are “bad at.” There is no reason that an eleven-year-old should already have decided that they are bad at an academic subject. Of course there will always be concepts that are more difficult than others in each subject area, but at some point children internalize that they are just not going to succeed in certain areas, and this becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. They learn to compensate for their weaknesses by focusing on their strengths, but as a result, their weaknesses grow and grow from underuse. How many adults do you know that say they are terrible at writing, or terrible at spelling, or terrible at math? Ask any of these adults when they decided these facts about themselves, and I’m sure many of them will tell you that those roots lie very deep in their educational history.

It is so important to encourage children at every single stage of development that no matter how difficult a task or concept might appear to be, they can master it. Yes, some children will develop to be brilliant mathematicians, and some will demonstrate a natural talent for expressive writing, but there is no reason for any child to grow up feeling like they are impeded in some way, and that they can never move past this break in confidence to be successful in their future.

_________________________________

Alexandra Berube started Boston Tutoring Services, LLC., in January, 2010, while teaching her second year of Kindergarten in a small, inclusive classroom. Her background experience in test preparation, including ISEE/SSAT/ACT/SAT, led her to focus on these services in addition to academic subject tutoring. Personal attention and individualized instruction are the cornerstone of Boston Tutoring Services, and she seeks to guide and fully support every family through the process of working with her tutors. She only hires the highest quality tutors with educational degrees, teacher certification, and a superior level of expertise in test preparation. As a former teacher herself, with an M.Ed. from Lesley University, she believes that having a personal connection with parents is crucial to a child’s success, and understanding the value of an individualized approach makes all the difference.

Wednesday’s Parent: 2 phases, 3 points of the forming a college list Part 1

Posted on by
Creating a college list. Photo by Wendy David-Gaines

Creating a college list. Photo by Wendy David-Gaines

College lists hold the key to college success. Your student will be applying to schools off the final list and attending one accepting him or her.

There are two parts to completing the task of creating a great college list. The first is about information gathering (here in Part 1) and the second has to do with refining and analyzing the choices (Part 2 will follow next week).

To underscore the importance of a good college list, here is a review of three important points contained in former posts to help you help your student complete phase one of the college list formation process:

!. Hunting and gathering a college list Part 1 Form a parent-student team that is all about helping the student find and realize his goals, his options, his interests.

2. Pose this question: Is college a love match or a consumer purchase? Get organized by knowing what to look for. Check out the college consumer variables, campus personality and school quirks to answer this question.

3.  Picking a college by its flavor It takes strategy to form a good college list of well-suited schools that will help students stay on track and graduate. Start classifying schools that meet similar student needs.

 Read Suzanne’s post: Illogical College Choices—Part 1

____________________________________

Wednesday’s child may be full of woe but Wednesday’s Parent can substitute action for anxiety. Each Wednesday Suzanne Shaffer and I will provide parent tips to get and keep your student on the college track. It’s never too late or too early to start!

The bonus is on the fourth Wednesday of each month when Suzanne and I will host Twitter chat #CampusChat at 9pm ET/6pm PT. We will feature an expert on a topic of interest for parents of the college-bound.

Wednesday’s Parent will give twice the info and double the blog posts on critical parenting issues by clicking on the link at the end of the article from www.pocsmom.com to http://www.parentscountdowntocollegecoach.com/ and vice versa.

Wednesday’s Parent: Must-know tricks and tips for successful college visits

Posted on by
Campus this way. Pjhoto by Wendy David-Gaines

Campus this way. Pjhoto by Wendy David-Gaines

Successful college visits don’t just happen, they are planned. That’s why this Wednesday’s Parent revisits the topic of visiting those institutions of higher learning to decide if they belong on the college-bound’s short list.

I gathered together six of my writings about college visits so families may know before they go:

Parent role in college visits

Visiting a college is a great way to evaluate a “good on paper” school but students and parents have different roles.

Taking a collegecation

If you enjoy mixing business with pleasure then you are going to love visiting colleges. It’s the best way to check student-college fit and get a vacation. I call the trip a collegecation (family vacay + college visit).

Top 10 questions to ask on college visits: Part 1

Parents and the college bound are ready to visit colleges but aren’t sure what to ask when they get there. Attending a college information session and tour are part of good college prep, but these school introductions are designed to market the campus and show off its perks…There are 10 top questions to ask and they reflect parent and student chief concerns for academic/nonacademic best fit. Here, in Part 1 of this article are the top five questions parents should ask on college visits.

Top 10 questions to ask on college visits: Part 2

While a college application is all about the student showing what he can do for the school, college visits should be about finding out what the college can do for the student. As parents and students set foot on campus, a million thoughts are churning in their heads but what are the most important questions to ask?…here are the top 5 for students:

Top 10 nonacademic reasons why parents and students visit colleges: Part 1

Counselors and colleges urge prospective students to schedule college visits as part of college prep to help them form a college list. Although both students and parents want to find the best educational fit, there are key nonacademic factors that can drop a college off the list…Here, in Part 1 of this article are the top five reasons for parents to visit…

Top 10 nonacademic reasons why parents and students visit colleges: Part 2

“Go visit colleges,” say counselors urging college bound students to get busy with their college prep. “It will help you decide if the school is a good fit.” Counselors are not just talking academics. They know there are nonacademic factors that can drop a college off a student’s college list faster than than their thumbs can text…here is Part 2 for students.

Read Suzanne’s post: College Visits and the Illogical.

____________________________________

Wednesday’s child may be full of woe but Wednesday’s Parent can substitute action for anxiety. Each Wednesday Suzanne Shaffer and I will provide parent tips to get and keep your student on the college track. It’s never too late or too early to start!

The bonus is on the fourth Wednesday of each month when Suzanne and I will host Twitter chat #CampusChat at 9pm ET/6pm PT. We will feature an expert on a topic of interest for parents of the college-bound.

Wednesday’s Parent will give twice the info and double the blog posts on critical parenting issues by clicking on the link at the end of the article from www.pocsmom.com to http://www.parentscountdowntocollegecoach.com/ and vice versa.

Wednesday’s Parent: Safety revisited

Posted on by
STOP for safety review. Photo by Wendy David-Gaines

STOP for safety review. Photo by Wendy David-Gaines

Safety and ways to protect ourselves and our children are topics that demand repeating. Our guard is up at the beginning and end of the school year but in between, routines may make us lax. Such is the case in summer. However, the warm weather break doesn’t make dangers disappear in camp, on vacation and even in our own backyard.

Suzanne and I are reviewing our safety tips for you to share with your teens and continue to enjoy a Happy and Healthy summer.

Here are my six ways parents can help their children of any age learn to protect themselves: Safe v. Sorry. 

Read Suzanne’s post: Top 5 Posts about Safety

____________________________________

Wednesday’s child may be full of woe but Wednesday’s Parent can substitute action for anxiety. Each Wednesday Suzanne Shaffer and I will provide parent tips to get and keep your student on the college track. It’s never too late or too early to start! \

The bonus is on the fourth Wednesday of each month when Suzanne and I will host Twitter chat #CampusChat at 9pm ET/6pm PT. We will feature an expert on a topic of interest for parents of the college-bound.

 Wednesday’s Parent will give twice the info and double the blog posts on critical parenting issues by clicking on the link at the end of the article from www.pocsmom.com to http://www.parentscountdowntocollegecoach.com/ and vice versa.