Today began Red Ribbon Week at our elementary school. This special week is meant to bolster school pride while also teaching the kids to Just Say NO To Drugs. It’s a fun week with a different team-building theme each day.

Because kids learn best when it’s fun, right?

Today was “Wear Red and Pledge to be Drug Free Day.” Students wore red clothing and pledged to be DRUG FREE. They also signed their names on a whole-school banner proclaiming their intentions to stay away from drugs.

Tomorrow is “Team Up Against Drugs Day.” Students can wear their favorite team shirt, jersey, or sweatshirt while spreading the message, “Join Our Team - Our School Rocks Drug Free!”

Monday is “Drugs Give You the Blues Day and Drugs Don’t Make Cents.” All students are asked to wear blue because drugs give us the “blues.” Students and staff are also asked to donate pennies or small change to purchase turkeys for our holiday food drive.

Tuesday is “Walk Against Drugs Day.” Students are asked to join the school’s walking club before school to Walk Against Drugs. Exercise and good judgement go hand in hand to promote a healthy lifestyle.

Wednesday is “I’m a JEAN-ius” and everyone will wear jeans to show how smart they are to be drug free. Students are also asked to donate a can of food because success comes in CANS - I can, you can, we can!

The last day of Red Ribbon Week is next Thursday, which is “Crazy Hair Rock Start Day.” Dress like a rock star and make your hair style crazy, cool and unique, just like YOU!

Every year my kids look forward to this week. The themes add a little bit of school spirit while reinforcing a very important lesson. I also love this week because the message is positive and proactive, encouraging kids to not get started with drugs in the first place.

Studies show an amazing number of middle schoolers have tried drugs and alcohol by the time they start 6th grade so hopefully programs like this will help lesson those numbers and teach kids it’s OK to be unique and live a drug free life.

I also love how the school’s student council organizes the week, puts up posters around the school, and makes the announcements to get the kids excited. Teachers have enough to do without organizing these different themes and let’s face it, sometimes kids listen to other kids more so than to their adult teachers.

In this presentation I listened to the heart wrenching story of a father (who wasn’t that much older than me) whose son committed suicide in the 7th grade. Standing in front of hundreds of 6th and 7th graders was a man who showed a slideshow of his son Ryan and told us about his childhood and what a happy kid he was. He had loving parents and good friends.

And after a few minutes Ryan’s dad told us about the morning he got the phone call telling him Ryan had killed himself. Words that no parent deserves or expects to ever hear in their lives.

So what went wrong and why am I writing this sad story?

Because Ryan was tormented by bullies year in and year out, starting in the 5th grade. He had difficulties academically and he wasn’t a gifted athlete, so that made him a target.

The scarier thing is this bullying was emotional and verbal, not physical. Ryan wasn’t getting in fights everyday but he was being made fun of, called names, and had rumors circulating about him.

No child, no matter what age, deserves this.

How your children are treated - and how they treat OTHERS - in elementary school is vitally important to how they will grow and develop relationships with other peers. This isn’t boyfriend/girlfriend relationships…I’m talking just basic social interaction with other kids their own age.

Children learn different behaviors almost from birth. Parents are the first and most important teachers because children tend to imitate the behaviors they see most often. If they are home everyday with a parent or caretaker who exhibits bullying type behavior, most likely the child will think it’s OK to treat others the same way.

If teachers do not have consequences for bad bullying behavior in the classroom, that silently teaches the child s/he won’t be punished for being rude or hurtful to other kids.

If school administrators don’t have strong and swift consequences - or in some cases, if they never hear about the classroom bullying incidents - the bully continues to learn s/he is “above the law” or “untouchable.”

You get the idea. The time to teach kids how to respect others starts at home at a very young age. By the time they’re starting middle school it’s very difficult to change 11 years worth of behavior conditioning. Not impossible but certainly not easy.

Thankfully I didn’t see any students laughing or joking during the presentation; the cafetorium was silent. And there were many boxes of tissues being passed from row to row, with both girls AND boys taking handfuls to keep the tears at bay.

And after reading some of the guestbook entries on his website, it appears that Ryan’s dad touches many, many students on a daily basis with his presentation. Yes, he has dedicated his life to spreading the word about Ryan and his experiences in the hopes of preventing another teen suicide.

He’s a much stronger person than I…

I’m sorry for the downer of a post but I have honestly thought of Ryan and his family every single day since that assembly and I hope other students in my daughter’s school think of him as well and learn this priceless lesson.

Parents…please do not consider bullying a “rite of passage” or “kids just being kids.” Circumstances are drastically different from when we were young and no one has any right to threaten harm to or make fun of any child.

You just don’t know what affect those words can have on a child.

To learn more or to schedule your own school assembly, please visit http://ryanpatrickhalligan.com

Many “room moms” will even collect money to purchase a group gift, which often works out to be a better deal. If each student gave $5 towards the gift, the teacher can receive quite a nice gift certificate, nearing $100 depending on the number of kids in the class. And there’s very little you can buy these days that’s nice for only $5.

I’d like to offer some tips for “room moms” who may be collecting money this year to avoid classroom drama among the parents. This is happening in my daughter’s class right now and it’s really a shame to see the pettiness of these adults.

1. Please do not require a set amount of money in your letter. Yes, it’s lovely to give the teacher a big gift but you don’t know the financial situation of the other families in that class (nor is it your business), so even asking for $10 might be a stretch for some families.

2. Expect some parents not to participate. Some parents may not like the teacher, some prefer to give their own gifts, and some may have had a bad experience that year and can’t wait to get away from the whole school environment. Whatever the reason (and again, it’s not your business), don’t hound these people and “require” them to participate. Giving a gift should always be optional.

3. Don’t penalize the kids if the parents choose not to participate. No matter how many families contribute to the gift, ALL the children should be allowed to sign the card. Or just write, “From Your Students” on the card. Preventing kids from signing when they have no control over their parents’ actions is cruel. Would you want your child left out of signing the card when they see ALL of the other “contributing” students doing so?

The end of the school year should be a time for celebrating, for acknowledging our students’ accomplishments, and for looking forward to family fun during the summer months. There shouldn’t be any room at all for parental dramas.

In the grand scheme of things, is it really that important whether 2 kids who did not contribute to the group gift get to sign the card?

I think not…

Monday: Band practice, school, soccer practice
Tuesday: School, karate
Wednesday: Band practice, school, soccer practice
Thursday: School, karate
Friday: Band practice, school, tennis lesson
Saturday: Soccer game, tennis match
Sunday: Church, go to friends, dinner with family, more church

Wow, I hope not! There are some very important things missing from that schedule. Where is the homework, weekday family time, relaxing, reading, eating, and being a kid? Does your child really want to be doing all those other things? All of them?

Tell the truth - were all of these extracurricular activities your idea? Yes, you only want what’s best for your child. It takes dedication. But seriously, who is the one dedicated here?

You child is 10 – he’s in the fifth grade – let him be a kid! These days children grow up way too fast. Don’t be in such a rush to hurry it along. During the elementary school years allow your child to be a child and to learn and grow at their pace. Don’t place too much pressure on them. Once they get to high school the pressure to achieve due to dreams of college will kick into overdrive.

Children really need only two main responsibilities: Being a kid and being a student. If they are over scheduled and over tired how will they ever be proficient in either?

Yes, extracurricular activities can have a very positive influence on your child’s development, but good grades and great family time can have just as much, if not more, of an impact. If you feel like you need to have something after (or before) school then let your child pick just one activity that he actually wants to do. This may not be the popular choice or what all the other parents are doing, but it is the wise choice. You job is to parent and by doing so you are going to equip your children for the future.

Make a commitment together as a family to limit activities and try parking the Mom Taxi in the garage for a bit. You may just be surprise at the results you see!

photo credit: Pingu1963

If your child is doing well at school your job is easy. However, if not, it can be difficult when you feel, because you are not in the school with him, you have little control or motivational input in his education.

Often the picture you only get to see is that of his homework tasks, and news of any misdemeanour. It is hard knowing what is really going on, and how you can do your absolute best to help him get the most he can out of the long time he has at school.

1. It’s important to make your child aware that what he does at school is important to you, and that you have a genuine interest in his welfare there. Most parents will admit that getting a child to talk about school can be like getting blood out of a stone. Look at the recurring conversations you have with your child. By this I mean, when your child gets home from school, or at dinner, do you say the same thing day after day, for example “how was your day at school?” or “what did you do at school?” Usually the reply will be “nothing” or “boring”. Once you identify these conversations you can break the cycle, choose something completely different to say, or totally avoid the subject all together, and then later on in the day, initiate a conversation along the lines of what he likes about school, or what he doesn’t like about school. Often, approaching a conversation in an indirect way allows a child the freedom to be more open. Something will pop into their head about an event that happened that day, and they will communicate it to you, so the subject of school is totally initiated by them.

2. Not only make your child aware that you are interested in what happens at school, but also make his teachers aware of this. Attend parents’ consultations, with a pre-prepared list of questions. It’s all too easy to walk away having not asked a vital question because you felt rushed by the appointment system. Make his teachers aware that you want to support your child in his education, and that communication is important in that.

3. Communicating with teachers is not always easy when they are busy people. Often it is only at parents’ evenings you see them, but they are usually willing to discuss any issues that come up for your child at any time. Many schools have an email system. You can email the school office who can then forward your email on to the teacher’s direct email address. Such an email system can be very useful if, for example, your child is not communicating his homework tasks, or bringing school letters and announcements home.

4. Be aware of your child’s homework tasks, and be available to help him with it. You can support him with classwork as well. Many subjects have periodic tests, and if you know when these will be, then you can help your child prepare in advance for these. This can make all the difference to his overall achievement for the year, and his sense of confidence in his own abilities.

5. Check your child’s classwork regularly. Don’t leave it to parents’ evening to discover he has sat through months of, say, maths, and done very little. Regular checks will tell you where he needs help. Many children do not ask for help at school, so do not leave this responsibility to the teacher only. He or she is a busy person who has lots of children to track and motivate.

6. Many children find it very difficult to learn through books and find it even harder to express themselves through pen and paper. Your child may be excellent at recalling information through speaking, but not through writing. You can help your child by letting his teachers know this. With this information, they can possibly teach and test him using different methods, for example, using oral tests.

And finally, make sure your child has a balanced view of our world and its expectations. Schoolwork and passing exams isn’t the whole and only answer to success. Many of the most successful people did not succeed at school. Einstein was a poor student, preferring day-dreaming to studying, and was eventually expelled from school for being a disruptive influence. Yet he was nominated as the greatest creative genius of the 20th century.

Your role as parents is to stay informed, and to do what you can to support your child, without overt pressure. Pressure only serves to hinder and sometimes paralyse children who really do find academia a struggle. Your praise and support where necessary is what they need.

Loving, peaceful and powerful parenting is possible, with The Chilled Parent. Visit www.chilledparent.com/Ebook.htm to get the informative ezine.

By: Rita Offen

Article Source: http://greatarticlesformoms.com