1st-grade politics--help with diplomacy?
814540
That is one of the reasons that at schools where I have worked we asked parents to not distribute birthday party invitations at school.  Another problem we have seen is a family inviting everyone to the party and no one showing up - this was a child who had a disability.  Are you sure though that you are really getting weird looks, or is it a bit of your imagination because you feel uncomfortable about it?   \n\nThis is a very young start to "keeping up with the Joneses" and I know it is very difficult.  About the only thing you can do is explain it to your son if he is having any difficulty about it.  If he is ok with it I would ignore the looks of the parents.  Be pleasant to them of course, but you are under no obligation to take his whole class to his birthday celebration, nor are you under any obligation to explain to the parents.  I would assume your son brought a gift to each birthday party?  If so, obligation has been met.  The one issue that might arise is that your son may receive fewer invitations.  If that happens, deal with that issue with him if it is a problem for him.  I'd just go about my life and not worry too much about it unless it begins to adversely affect your son.\n\nI hope all works out well.
482595
I just went through a similar move a year ago... We have 3 children  all elementary school aged. Try to scope out some of the local parks and hang outs before you go and tell them how cool they sound, try to take them there within the first week of the move. I don't know if you know anyone in that area or not, but we did so, I had her give out invitations to a welcome new friends party....talk to your kids and listen to them... our "big" adjustment period was over within a month. Good Luck.
601317
Read to him, talk to him (no baby talk). Go on walks together and examine plants, flowers and animals you see along the way. Play simple board games with him. Make learning fun and he will respond by wanting to learn. We did this with our grand daughter and she is in 1st Grade an A Honor roll student, and loves to learn, it's an adventure for her. Don't put any pressure on your son though, make everything a game. We bought things like a plastic table mat with clocks on one side where she could draw in the hands of the clock to tell the time she went to school, came home, had lunch etc. On the reverse of the mat is the same thing but in written sentences with spaces for her to fill in the missing word. Another table mat we bought for her is a map of the world (simplified), on the reverse is a map of the USA with all the states outlined and named. We bought jig saw puzzles for her from the time she could hold something and place it where she wanted it to go (rather than just wildly throw it). Start with 10 or 12 piece puzzles and build up to the bigger ones.\nKids learn an amazing amount of stuff very quickly, they like to poke about in dirt-make that a learning thing, is the dirt wet or dry, what kind of stones are in the dirt, are there any bugs in the dirt, how many bugs are there? After finishing with the dirt we go wash our hands and feel and see the soap wash all the dirt and germs off, look at the colors on the soap bubbles on our hands. The possibilities are endless with young children, just make it fun!
430254
Make friends and talk to them.  Ask them to correct mistakes you make instead of just ignoring them out of politeness.  And be happy when they do.  Listen to the radio, to movies, to cartoons, children's programs, be with people as much as you can.  Also, read.  Read children's books to start with, but reading really helps you learn spoken English.  You see words in sentences and context and can look at them for awhile and see how they are used.  Go to the library and ask a librarian to suggest a simple, but intersting children's book with a few chapters that you could read.
695077
you can have a game of like "guess the job" to say have one illustrate and the others guess.\n\nafter they get it right or give up tell them why that is a good job in pre-school terms
620777
Loook i can't advice, but thats a great idea. Start out by maybe pasting signs on the schools walls or soemthing, but call it esay help
161747
Third grade kids love exploring and finding out about the world.  If you have access to pond water for example,  collect some and have them examine drops of the water under a microscope and then draw what they see.  Have them do it as a real "lab" experiment so that they also write about their observations, label their drawings, etc.  Do a class write up of their observations with each child contributing something to the class write up.  You could continue with a discussion of why we don't drink pond water, etc.  I have used this lesson very successfully with kids from about second grade to eighth grade.  It is one of the most awesome lessons I have used, and with some classes we have carried on activities related to it for days.\n\nTo sdd to what I wrote previously, her eis an answer I wrote for someone who asked for some suggestions on presenting ... some of htis might be basic for you, but some might help ...\n\nMake sure you project your voice, and make your voice interesting and expressive. Speak clearly, and slower than you would if you were just chatting with friends. Don't move around while speaking - try to stand in one spot, which makes it easier for those listening. Don't fidget. Try to use some humor. Use an ice breaker for the beginning of your presentation. One good one is to get everyone to tell something they have done that they think no one else in the room has done. You find out lots of interesting stuff about the group. Start on time and finish on time. Get their attention - don't try to talk over a lot of noise. Find ways to involve them - try to plan some activity that will teach them something and that will fit well in your time frame. Dress in a manner that suits your topic. \n\nGood luck!
216969
If you are intentionally trying to teach him information (like ABC's, sight words, and numbers)... make it a game... and keep your teaching "sessions" short and simple.  Don't worry if he isn't interested... he will learn when he goes to school... teachers have amazing ways to get them to learn without them even knowing it.
276400
Tom Vilsac, the governor of Iowa, who is also exploring the waters for a 2008 presidential race started his career going door to door, but rather than a brochure, he gave out a blank sheet of paper asking what issues were on their mind. It worked. So get to know your district, go ask tons of open questions. Listening in politics is a lost art. Write your local papers on what your listening discovers. Ask for help. Create a simple web pages with some interactivity built it. Collect as many email addresses as you can. Avoid negativity. Only solutions solve problems. Engage the fringes and the center. Listen. Listen. Listen.
754564
I find that giving a child with special needs a "buddy" who is "typically developing" tends to help.  I usually choose a girl who is a little (how shall we say?) bit of a leader.  Girls tend to have a little more of the nurturing and protective element.  Choose one person to help out the other child, makes sure that they get their assignments, stay on task, do their work... just be a reminder for the child with special needs.  Talk with the children truthfully about the child's qualities and needs.  "Yes, Joshua can write, but he can't speak very well yet."  Tell the other children what they can do to help him out.  "Erica, since you are good at understanding what Joshua wants, can you make sure that he gets what he needs to do his work?"  Praise the children for sticking up for their friend (this is especially hard in 2nd on up- the kids are starting to really notice differences).  Build a sense of community within your classroom, and expect that the children take care of one another outside of it as well.  Show the children what the child with special needs can do well, and try to find the similarities.  If the child with special needs is really into baseball, find another child in the class with the same interests who can talk about them with them.  Mostly, it is all about fostering a sense of belonging with all the children, pointing out everyone's achievements, and having a sense of comraderie.
156287
i wouldnt be worrying so much about grades, but the content.  if they are missing a lot of key concepts and ideas that are appropriate for that age level, something needs to be done.  im an educator in texas and we have spelling activities every week, cursive is taught in third, and science is all year.  but there is so much more to school than those few things.  from what you have said, it makes me wonder what else is falling through the cracks?  i would contact the school board, the district superintendants, and whoever else you need to get this resolved.  check up on required curriculum for the state and see if this school/class is meeting those.
1046688
I expect there will be many answers suggesting that it isn't too early to rub textbooks against one's pregnant belly, but I think one can relax quite a bit; as a retired teacher, here's my suggestion:\n\nThe most important first lesson a child can learn is how to be socialized.  You can be sure the other kids will let him know what's ok, and what isn't!  This is the purpose of any organized education before First Grade.\n\nSome people like to get a start on teaching the alphabet before 1st G., but, because when we are very young our attention span is small and our retention is slight, I don't think there's much use in drilling the alphabet until the age of 5 or 6.  Really.  \n\nHere's when I would suggest that you get serious:  2d or 3d G.  Pay attention to what interests the child; observe how his mind works:  does he think analytically?  Deductively?  Intuitively?  (At all?  ...Sorry, couldn't resist).\n\nI'd start making exciting materials available to him as he begins to show interest:  building toys for the analytically inclined; colorful age-appropriate magazines for the introspective, and so on.  Tailor the item for the child's special interest; and yet, be sure to add subjects that are new and exciting from time to time!
931115
I have had kids leave notes on my desk for me...if you trust them, just say, "Do you any free time today?  I have an issue that I'd like to discuss with you and get your input."  \nThen before you meet, write down exactly what you want to say and refer to it during your meeting if you find that you get nervous or tongue-tied.  Good Luck!
117415
yeah, i can help.  i can help you be a better parent by giving you some advice:  don't do your son's homework for him.  you are sending him to school to learn, aren't you?  how is he going to ever learn how to do anything if you spend days doing his work for him?  \n\nsure, he might end up with an A in first grade, but who cares about what you got in first grade?  you could make an argument that grades are important to his future if they are high school grades, but it's far more important that he actually *learn* things at this age.\n\nsheesh.
932632
this is just an idea but with elections coming up and all how about YOU pick out a bunch of diffrent stories from the magazine and hand them out in class. tell your students that they are the new president and this matter was brought to thier attention, now they, as the new pres., have to deside what needs to be done next and how the matter could be solved or how they could keep it from happening again... i think that would be a little more interesting for them to write and for you to read later on!\nhope this helps!\nand please do excuse my spelling and grammer!!!!
474744
Try the web page below:- \nhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diplomatic
1094214
Inhispresence, I commend you for looking for ways to touch the lives of your young ones.  I just "retired" (had to leave for medical reasons) from teaching first graders in an impoverished area and was constantly looking for ways to reach my kids.  Here are some things I learned:\n\n!. Don't be afraid to tell the kids that you love them.  Some of them never hear it at home.  Back it up (aka: more than words), by doing things to show them that you care.  One of the best/most effective way to show your affection is by running a tight ship diciplinewise-being fair and consistent everytime.  I have found that when children know you love them, they will expend every bit of energy and talent they have to achieve what you ask them to do.  \n\n2. Don't be afraid to praise.  But, make sure you're not giving empty praise.  Meaning, instead of saying "Good Job!" leaving the kid to wonder what you're talking about.  Say "Karen, you spelled 'thought' correctly!  That's great work!"\n\n3.  In every lesson, tell them how they can use what they are learning in the real world.  If they don't think what they are learning is important...Why bother??  \n\n4. Use fun things that they like to do (ie writing letters to their favorite tv/movie stars or sports heros) to teach something they need to learn in Language Arts.  My favorite elementary school teacher was Miss Sylvia Teauge, now deceased.  She let us write letters to our favorite stars.  At that time, I was in third grade, my favorite star was (don't laugh!!) Cher!!  I wrote her and she sent me an autographed postcard back!!  I was in HEAVEN!! Man, do I wish I would have kept that thing!!  \nThis requires getting to know your students on a more personal basis and finding out about the things they like to do.\n\n5.  Use recipies whenever possible to teach concepts.  Food brings people together.\n\n6. Give your kids access to the best materials to work with.  In your writing center, provide lots of different types of papers, writing instruments, things they can use to illustrate their work.  I bought a tool chest (one with about 30 drawers) and filled it up with all sorts of things like shells, googly eyes, sequens, pom-poms, stickers, etc. so they could use them in their writing.  I got excellent results.\n\n7. Let the kids know they are part of something bigger than themselves.  Kids are very egocentric.  However, if you expose them to experiences outside of their realm, they really shine.  Ways you can do this:  get them penpals from another school/county, same grade (write about things you are studying); get them involved in music or sports; get them involved in community service.  We had our first graders go to a local nursing home and preform their PTA songs.  We took along cards and some refreshments.  The kids were really proud that they had made someone's day!!\n\n8. Show the children that you value their work.  Get papers graded and back to them quickly.  Post their work on the walls of your classroom and in the halls of the school.  Allow them to go to a computer and type their final drafts of their papers.  Pick some of the best work from each of the students and ask another teacher, perhaps the gym teacher or one of the "specials" teachers or even the principal, to read and comment on how well the work was done and sign in.  When a child did an exceptional job in my class, I would let the child call his/her parents on my phone and tell them about their success.  I would also talk to the parent and tell them how proud I was of their child's accomplishment.  Calls like these make it easier, too, later on when you need to make calls about dicipline issues.\n\n9. Whenever you can, make things a contest or a game.  We had a reading contest going where I made each student a little truck (that they illustrated) and as they read in minutes, they got to drive their truck across a US map.  The first to reach