{"id":113,"date":"2020-04-02T19:16:23","date_gmt":"2020-04-02T23:16:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iblog.dearbornschools.org\/lovereading\/?p=113"},"modified":"2020-04-02T19:16:23","modified_gmt":"2020-04-02T23:16:23","slug":"a-great-message-from-highlights-about-covid-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iblog.dearbornschools.org\/lovereading\/2020\/04\/02\/a-great-message-from-highlights-about-covid-19\/","title":{"rendered":"A great message from Highlights about Covid-19."},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>You can be any kind of teacher to your kids, and they\u2019ll not only survive, but they\u2019ll also learn and grow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lessons can be both taught and \u201ccaught.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here are a few thoughts you may find helpful:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>You don\u2019t have to be Super Parent<\/strong>. Discard any notion you may have about keeping the household running smoothly\u2014and, while you\u2019re at it, throw away the guilt, too. These are trying, uncertain times. Accept a little disorder as you aim for a realistic routine. Get your kids out of their pajamas, and set regular meals and bedtimes, but rule out a rigid schedule. We\u2019re going to be in this for a while, and a fixed daily agenda may become a grind. The more you persist, the more they may resist.<\/li><li><strong>Hold sensible expectations about keeping your child\u2019s education on track<\/strong>&nbsp;with store-bought workbooks and lesson plans sent home from school or created by you. Sure, a little structured time at the kitchen table where you oversee some formal instruction isn\u2019t a bad idea, but don\u2019t try to sustain that for the length of a typical school day.<\/li><li><strong>Remember, reading can take you anywhere.<\/strong>&nbsp;Books and magazines transport us to different times and places, even when we\u2019re stuck at home. What a great time to practice or introduce the habit of reading for pleasure. Think beyond bedtime and consider setting aside at least 15 minutes once or twice throughout the day when the whole family drops everything to read. (Ring a bell or set an alarm to add to the surprise and heighten anticipation.) Even children who are reading independently love hearing books read aloud. Kids\u2019 listening levels are often higher than their reading levels, so it\u2019s possible to find an exciting book the whole family will enjoy. Choose a book with chapters that are cliff-hangers, leaving listeners starving for more.<\/li><li><strong>One of the best ways to keep your kids\u2019 brains engaged is with informal, hands-on activities.<\/strong>&nbsp;Let your kids cook with you, and sneak in some math and science lessons. Take a nature walk and identify trees and flowers. Do some spring gardening, or some bird-watching. Share one of your hobbies with your child. Teach them to knit or let them build something with scrap wood in the garage.<\/li><li><strong>Encourage creative self-expression.<\/strong>&nbsp;Set out the art or craft supplies, and don\u2019t worry too much about the mess. Urge your writers to compose their own stories. Let your divas record themselves singing, playing instruments, or acting. Join in, if you can. It\u2019s both fun and therapy.<\/li><li><strong>Do break out the board games.<\/strong>&nbsp;Word games like Scrabble and Boggle can build vocabulary and spelling skills. Games like Yahtzee give kids practice in basic math. Many games, such as Ticket to Ride, teach strategic thinking. Almost all games designed for two players or more\u2014both tabletop and digital\u2014can bolster kids\u2019 social skills.<\/li><li><strong>Use digital devices wisely.&nbsp;<\/strong>We suggest, especially for younger kids, that parents load their devices with some of the many fun, educational games and puzzles available. Discourage kids from spending too much time passively watching videos. When the family gathers around the TV, consider watching some of the great nature documentaries available, and check out the kids\u2019 movies based on award-winning children\u2019s books.<\/li><li><strong>Encourage your children to think about others.<\/strong>&nbsp;Health officials say that it\u2019s safe to open mail, so invite your kids to write to family and friends who are social-distancing in other locations. I call handwritten letters \u201chugs we send in the mail,\u201d and we could all use more hugs right now. Thank-you notes mailed to first responders at police stations and fire stations are always appreciated. Encourage your kids to FaceTime the people they love and miss.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Chances are we\u2019re going to be All Together Alone for a while. It won\u2019t be easy, but we don\u2019t have to make it hard, either. What we\u2019ll need most is the ability to see the upside and celebrate it. If we can backburner our fear and focus on hope and optimism, we can teach kids an important life lesson about managing strife. And we\u2019ll all discover that unexpected opportunities are often the sweetest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sincerely,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Maya Rababeh <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You can be any kind of teacher to your kids, and they\u2019ll not only survive, but they\u2019ll also learn and grow. Lessons can be both taught and \u201ccaught.\u201d Here are a few thoughts you may find helpful: You don\u2019t have to be Super Parent. Discard any notion you may have about keeping the household running&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":801,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-113","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blogs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iblog.dearbornschools.org\/lovereading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iblog.dearbornschools.org\/lovereading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iblog.dearbornschools.org\/lovereading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iblog.dearbornschools.org\/lovereading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/801"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iblog.dearbornschools.org\/lovereading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=113"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/iblog.dearbornschools.org\/lovereading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":114,"href":"https:\/\/iblog.dearbornschools.org\/lovereading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113\/revisions\/114"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iblog.dearbornschools.org\/lovereading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=113"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iblog.dearbornschools.org\/lovereading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=113"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iblog.dearbornschools.org\/lovereading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=113"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}