Teen Activities: Grit Assessment

By Deborah Pace Rowley

If your kids are on the same schedule as mine, we are now starting second semester. We have learned the grades each child got first semester (some good, some bad, some ugly!) and we are now faced with the daunting task of starting again with renewed resolve to do better and to learn from our past mistakes.

Much of the reading that I have done lately has had to do with the importance of teaching our children how to have "grit". "Grit" is that difficult to define quality of tenacity, strength, courage, and the unwillingness to give up. Grit doesn't whine, cry or run in a corner at the first sign of difficulty. Grit doesn't accept failure. Grit doesn't give in or give up even when the going gets tough. How do we teach this super important quality to our kids?

(Although Mattie demonstrated amazing tenacity, the new True Grit just wasn't my favorite movie.

Was this because no one could ever replace John Wayne as the indefatigable Rooster Cogburn? Get your kids to look up that word!)

The first step can be in determining how much of that quality our kids currently possess. How resilient are they? How willing are they to try a second or even a third time if the first time they come up short? I came across this grit assessment with my daughter Natalie. She used this assessment in a science project and studied if a high score on the grit assessment translated to high grades and overall satisfaction with school. In her limited scientific survey, they correlated perfectly!

You can find the Grit Assessment and instructions for scoring here:

You may want to use it with your teenagers and your elementary school age kids as part of a family night or dinner time discussion. You can teach your kids how important this quality is to succeed in life and share your experiences when you kept going and didn't give up even when you wanted to. Inspire your kids with stories of heroes who demonstrate this quality of grit and determination. How about Nelson Mandela? Or Winston Churchill? Do your daughters know the story of Joan of Arc? 

I love using these TED talks in my classroom. They would be fantastic to show your kids during a conversation on grit. Each of these woman refused to give up when they were faced with daunting obstacles, instead they turned a tragedy into a triumph because they refused to give up. 

Amy Purdy lost her legs as a result of a bacterial infection. She became a world champion snowboarder. You will be amazed at all the positive things she discovered about being a quadriplegic. 

Janine Shepherd had a devastating bicycling accident. She lost her dream of being an Olympic skier but became an accomplished trick pilot instead.

This last video is about Jarem Frye who lost one of his legs due to cancer as a teenager. You and your kids will be amazed at the things he is able to do with the artificial limbs that he invented. 

Good luck teaching the quality of grit to your children! 

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Parenting Tips: Favorite Parenting Tips of 2012

By Deborah Pace Rowley and Tiffany Rudd

We don't post parenting tips very often but when we do, we really care about the topic we are posting about. Here are our favorite parenting tips of 2012. Did any of these tips help you to be a better parent last year?

1. The Inverse Power of Praise (i.e. Don't Call Your Kids Smart)

2. Don't Rescue Your Kids

3. Nail Biting and Thumb Sucking

4.  Swimsuit Experiment

5. Teaching Your Kids to Listen

6. A Lot Of Smelly Teachable Moments

7. How to Give a Sincere Apology

8.  Refill Mom's Jar

9.  Planned Spontaneity

10.  Nighttime Dryness

11. Lying Continued

12.  Sibling Rivalry

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Preschool Activities: Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons {Book Recommendation}

By Tiffany Rudd

When my oldest, Cameron, was in preschool I remember having a moment of panic when I realized he was ready to start learning to read. I have a degree in Elementary Education and I took class after class on reading, but even still the thought of that responsibility on my shoulders made me nervous. I knew how important reading would be for his future success and I really didn't want to screw up wanted to give him a good foundation.

Cameron is such a cute kid, but from the beginning he has been my challenge. He has such a strong personality and he struggles sticking with tasks that are difficult for him. He is such a smart kid, but he has never reacted well to me in the role of his teacher.

Add on top of that the fact that I had just had baby #2 and was teaching preschool everyday in our home. I really didn't have time to prepare any kind of lessons.

I was at a loss.

Luckily, a good friend of mine recommended the book "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons." I was familiar with SRAs programs and had had success using the Distar program as a teacher, so I decided to give it a try.

Thank goodness! I really can't say enough good about this book. Each lesson is very literally spelled out for you. All you do is read the script they provide. I've started the program with Brooklyn and don't feel the need to stick exactly to the script with her, but with Cameron the fact that I was simply reading instructions out of a book to him was a lifesaver. He had a much easier time following the books instructions than he would have had mine. At about lesson 80 he got frustrated, so I skipped back 20 lessons. All of a sudden it was easy for him again and he finished just fine.

In 15-20 minutes a day, with no prep on my part and no frustration between the two of us, he was reading. When he started Kindergarten he was testing on a 1st grade level.

Knowing I would be using the book with each of my kids, I took it to Kinkos and had it ring-bound. Brooklyn and I are about 25 lessons in now (she is 4) and I'm loving just as much, if not more, this time around.

Here is the description of the book. You can find it on Amazon or at Barnes & Noble. Totally worth $13.07!

"Is your child halfway through first grade and still unable to read? Is your preschooler bored with coloring and ready for reading? Do you want to help your child read, but are afraid you'll do something wrong?

SRAs DISTAR® is the most successful beginning reading program available to schools across the country. Research has proven that children taught by the DISTAR® method outperform their peers who receive instruction from other programs. Now for the first time, this program has been adapted for parent and child to use at home. Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons is a complete, step-by-step program that shows patents simply and clearly how to teach their children to read.

Twenty minutes a day is all you need, and within 100 teaching days your child will be reading on a solid second-grade reading level. It's a sensible, easy-to-follow, and enjoyable way to help your child gain the essential skills of reading. Everything you need is here -- no paste, no scissors, no flash cards, no complicated directions -- just you and your child learning together. One hundred lessons, fully illustrated and color-coded for clarity, give your child the basic and more advanced skills needed to become a good reader.

Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons will bring you and your child closer together, while giving your child the reading skills needed now, for a better chance at tomorrow."

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Toddler Activities: Our Top 12 Favorite Toddler Activities of 2012

By Deborah Pace Rowley & Tiffany Rudd

It was so fun to look back through our toddler activity posts from this past year. It brought back so many great memories of the fun we had testing them with Anniston. It was hard to narrow down our favorites to just 12, but here they are! Were these some of your favorites too?

1. Butterfly Blanket

2. Foot Parade

3. Glow Sticks in the Tub

4. Contact Paper Art

5. Itsy Bitsy Spider Gloves

6. Crepe Paper Fun

7. Chenille Straws - Fine Motor Skills Practice

8. Learning Colors

9. Sound Exploration Shakers

10. Paint with Pudding

11. Follow the Piggy Game {with printables}

12. Toddler Fish Pond

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Healthy Lifestyles Challenge!

By Tiffany Rudd

It's a new year so, like me, you are probably ready to make some healthy changes! I'm starting another round of my Feel Great in 8 Challenge on Monday and I'd love to have you join in and maybe even win some prize $$$!

You can find out more about the challenge here.

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Elementary Activities: Our Top 12 Favorite Elementary Activities for 2012

By Deborah Pace Rowley and Tiffany Rudd

Here are our favorite Elementary Activities from last year. Did you have any favorites that we missed?

1. Knock, Knock Your Socks Off!

2. Great Apps & Websites to Encourage Young Writers

3. Spelling Words Practice {Without a Fight!}

4. 25 Ways to Read a Book and Watch a Movie

5. Knights of Right Challenge with Paper Dolls

6. DIY Giant Bubble Blower

7. Foamerators!

8. Reading Wall Charts

9. Eye Bombing

10. Roller-Box TV

11. Skip Counting Songs

12. Favorite Educational Apps & Websites

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Preschool Activities: Our Top 12 Favorite Preschool Activities for 2012

By Deborah Pace Rowley and Tiffany Rudd

Here are our top 12 favorite preschool activity posts for 2012. See if there are some great posts that you might have missed.

1.  Guess That Smell

                                                     
 2. Construction Paper Jewelry

3. Fun with Color Tubes

4. Bubble Wand Testing

5. Floor Shape Songs

 6. Button Sort

7.  Shaving Dad

                                          

8. Habitat Sort

9. Painting Sugar Cookies

 10. Sink and Float

11.  New Ways to Play with Playdough

                                                 
12. Learning to Write Your Name

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