Quiet Time before School Starts: It's Fun and Required for School Success

Smart Kids Smart ParentsIs your youngster only quiet when asleep or watching TV?

Kids need quiet activities that require focus and concentration. The trick is getting them to do it.

And it's especially important for them to practice some quiet time before school starts. They'll be asked to sit quietly in school and often get in trouble if they don't.

You need the down-time too. Schedule some time every day which doesn't involve driving kids to the pool, and you'll stop counting the days till they're back in school.

O.K. I admit that hammering and building like the boys in the picture are doing isn't quiet. But it does require sitting still (or kneeling), concentration, and not too much talking. Plus it's creative. Count it as a great quiet time activity.

Succeeding in school requires the ability to be quiet and focus. Your kids will benefit by

Filed Under: ADHD Strategies Tagged With: adhd, Brain Games, parenting, quiet activities for kids, school success

How to Help Kids Get Organized before School Starts

School Success Requires OrganizationOne of the most important things you can do BEFORE school starts is to help your kids get organized for school.

And I'm not just talking about shopping for new clothes and shoes.

Even if your kids don't have ADHD, organizing all their stuff and keeping it organized is often a challenge.

Staying organized is also a big key to school success.

Proceed with one project at a time.

Start with their room if there's stuff on the floor, under the bed and piled everywhere.

Set an intention to do this together without arguing. Your job is to make suggestions, not demands. Buy three brightly colored bins (even three good-sized waste baskets will do). Label them

Filed Under: Parenting Smart Kids Tagged With: kids cleaning their rooms, organizing for kids, parenting, school success

Back to School without ADHD

Worried that ADHD or ADHD-like behavior will get in the way of good grades and high test scores, not to mention completed homework, when your kids go back to school?

ADHD always got in the way of school success for me. I loved school and had the very best intentions but my brain just wouldn't cooperate.  Back then nobody had even heard the words "attention deficit disorder," much less had resources to provide for those of us who couldn't sit still, couldn't concentrate.

If you had ADHD when I was growing up, you just struggled, got in trouble at school a lot, and listened to your parents and teachers tell you that you weren't living up to your potential.

Now the challenge is

Filed Under: ADHD Strategies Tagged With: adhd, adhd children, Brain Games

Smart Kids Get Fit to Succeed in School

Smart Kids Smart ParentsSecret to Your Child's School Success

OK, if you've been following this blog, my articles, my audio classes and the Tuesday Teletips, you already know the secret.

It's physical exercise. It's movement. Kids can improve additude, grades, and test scores with movement--even manage ADHD.

So how about organizing a race in your neighborhood to raise money for your kid's school?  It's a fabulous end-of-summer activity and fun for everybody. Just be sure to have it early in the morning so it isn't too hot yet.

In San Diego, the Girl Scouts organize a 5K race (that's about 3 miles) every year and everybody gets free Girl Scout cookies. Last year's race raised $20,000. Open to kids and adults, 1,000 folks turned out to run and eat cookies.

Note: Cookies are great but oatmeal makes a better breakfast before the race. And new oatmeal products are coming out from Quaker Oats. The company is reducing sugar and salt--a very good thing indeed. They're introducing multigrain oatmeal (hmm, does that mean it isn't oatmeal anymore?) and an oatmeal product for kids where they can mix different flavors together.

Your race doesn't need to be as elaborate at the San Diego Girl Scouts--could be shorter and fewer people. Could be open only to kids. It's up to you--better yet, your kids. Let them

Filed Under: Brain Games for Smart Learning Tagged With: exercise for kids, manage ADHD, parenting, school success, succeed in school

Creativity for Kids: It's Good for the Their Brain

Creativity seems to be everywhere these days.

How about the dress made from 1000 origami whooping cranes? If you're in London, you can take a look at it in the London Science Museum.

Or the two college students at Rice University who used a simple kitchen salad spinner, yogurt cups, a comb and a glue gun to make a centrifuge for separating blood to test for anemia.

The professor told the class to invent a cheap medical device that didn't use electricity and could be used in developing countries. They didn't just get an A for their class project. This summer the two young women, Lauren Theis and Lila Kerr, are traveling in Africa helping clinics test their device!

Now I'm not suggesting your kids are going to come up with an invention like this during summer vacation (of course, they might) but they certainly can

Filed Under: Parenting Smart Kids
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