I remembered this incident after 5 years but I thought it would be a good article to post.
When my son was in KG he had a homework to practice numbers.He was not interested in doing the same as he felt it was boring to write the numbers.He was stubborn that he would not .
I hit upon a plan.I took out some blank papers and prepared it as an address book.I wrote down the names of my friends.I requested him to help me to prepare this address book.He was excited .
I started dictating the telephone numbers and the brat could never decipher that actually he was practicing the numbers.When you involve the kids more and then not instructing them it becomes easy to deal with them
Monday, January 11, 2010
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Catalyst
Had I studied with the same commitment and energy I think I would have performed better.Now I am trying to use all my energy on my son and trying to make him do things which I did not do.A very memorable incident happened recently.
One month ago my son brought a book titled "Spelling Bee".This had around 1500 words.He told me that there is a spelling competition and he wanted to participate.I was happy at his interest but I also mentioned that he has to learn the spellings by himself if he had to really win.I was thinking from the perspective that he would improve his vocabulary but the brat was only thinking of the gold coins which he would get if he won the competition...(innocent mind).As expected he never sat to practice the spellings and I had to take him to target.Daily I started giving him dictation and make him learn the spellings.But I was surprised that he knew most of the words except for some. In between somehow we could not pursue this .We did not know the date of the competition also.
On Sat(21st-Jan-07)at around 7.00pm my son announced that the competition is on Monday(23rd-Jan-07) and he had remembered it just now.When I heard that, I was wild as he did not tell me before.I had no hope on this but still I thought I should push him to learn words.Grilled him for 2 hrs.We finished half the book.I instructed him that he should finish the rest on Sunday .
As expected on Sunday till afternoon the brat did not touch the book nor did he have the seriousness .I wanted to just leave it to him ,if he has interest he would do it.But finally I thought I need to be the catalyst and I had to push him to learn further.With great difficulty I made him sit to learn the rest of the spellings.At the end of day I felt I was stressed with vocabulary .I had no hope as this competition was for students in 1st and 2Nd std together and my son being in 1st std would be no match.In the morning I wished him luck....
In the evening I got a call from my son.He was so excited and the news was he stood first in the competition.I was dumb stuck.I was proud of him.He had been qualified for the district level and he would participate with other kids from all over Bangalore.It would be tough competition but this exposure would build confidence in him.
At the end of the day I felt proud and I felt that my trigger really helped and he was able to reach this level.We need to give enough confidence and keep on pushing them so that they can scale to heights......
One month ago my son brought a book titled "Spelling Bee".This had around 1500 words.He told me that there is a spelling competition and he wanted to participate.I was happy at his interest but I also mentioned that he has to learn the spellings by himself if he had to really win.I was thinking from the perspective that he would improve his vocabulary but the brat was only thinking of the gold coins which he would get if he won the competition...(innocent mind).As expected he never sat to practice the spellings and I had to take him to target.Daily I started giving him dictation and make him learn the spellings.But I was surprised that he knew most of the words except for some. In between somehow we could not pursue this .We did not know the date of the competition also.
On Sat(21st-Jan-07)at around 7.00pm my son announced that the competition is on Monday(23rd-Jan-07) and he had remembered it just now.When I heard that, I was wild as he did not tell me before.I had no hope on this but still I thought I should push him to learn words.Grilled him for 2 hrs.We finished half the book.I instructed him that he should finish the rest on Sunday .
As expected on Sunday till afternoon the brat did not touch the book nor did he have the seriousness .I wanted to just leave it to him ,if he has interest he would do it.But finally I thought I need to be the catalyst and I had to push him to learn further.With great difficulty I made him sit to learn the rest of the spellings.At the end of day I felt I was stressed with vocabulary .I had no hope as this competition was for students in 1st and 2Nd std together and my son being in 1st std would be no match.In the morning I wished him luck....
In the evening I got a call from my son.He was so excited and the news was he stood first in the competition.I was dumb stuck.I was proud of him.He had been qualified for the district level and he would participate with other kids from all over Bangalore.It would be tough competition but this exposure would build confidence in him.
At the end of the day I felt proud and I felt that my trigger really helped and he was able to reach this level.We need to give enough confidence and keep on pushing them so that they can scale to heights......
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Enriching Vocabulary for the kids
How do you add new words to the dictionary of your kid????
Some tips.... Every week make a list of 20 words which are new to the kid ,collect pictures which could project the word either as a single word or a sentence ...., identify the opposite ,synonym of the word and maintain a scrap book where in the kid records all these . The fun filled activities would make the kid pursue with interest.
May be over a fortnight you could have a game set up revising these words and understanding on how much the child has understood the meaning of all the words.
This would definitely enrich the kids vocabulary.
One more way would be reading out good story books or making the kid read and trying to explain the new words and the context it has been used.
Some tips.... Every week make a list of 20 words which are new to the kid ,collect pictures which could project the word either as a single word or a sentence ...., identify the opposite ,synonym of the word and maintain a scrap book where in the kid records all these . The fun filled activities would make the kid pursue with interest.
May be over a fortnight you could have a game set up revising these words and understanding on how much the child has understood the meaning of all the words.
This would definitely enrich the kids vocabulary.
One more way would be reading out good story books or making the kid read and trying to explain the new words and the context it has been used.
Thoughts on a Sunday
With a five day week of office and also taking into account the travelling time how much can we finish the offline work at home.Moreover you have a kid and you need to keep in sync with the everyday activities you need to be prepared.Make use of the weekend may be just 1 hr of organizing your thoughts of what you need to do for the coming week .This will save all the stress and wipe out the words "What do I need to do wear for my office,what do I have to do for breakfast,dinner???"
Organising your wardrobe -Most important as one would always feel confident in the way they are dressed up and it definitely boosts confidence.Keep the 5 dresses separate and the necessary accessories.From my experience this saves you quite a bit of time in the morning.
Organising the meals for the day-May be you could have a timetable and have the necessary groceries as it would save ample time and everyday you could use the same time in cooking a delicious meal."Health is Wealth"
Sync with the kid in their school work-Make a list on what has to be taught ,prepare the material to enrich their knowledge.Take it from me this helps.A special bond with the child is built.
The time on a Sunday to organise your work will keep you happy for 5 days........
Try this and let me know if it really helps.
Organising your wardrobe -Most important as one would always feel confident in the way they are dressed up and it definitely boosts confidence.Keep the 5 dresses separate and the necessary accessories.From my experience this saves you quite a bit of time in the morning.
Organising the meals for the day-May be you could have a timetable and have the necessary groceries as it would save ample time and everyday you could use the same time in cooking a delicious meal."Health is Wealth"
Sync with the kid in their school work-Make a list on what has to be taught ,prepare the material to enrich their knowledge.Take it from me this helps.A special bond with the child is built.
The time on a Sunday to organise your work will keep you happy for 5 days........
Try this and let me know if it really helps.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)