Smart Learning Newsletter
Helping You Help Your Kids Reach Their Smart Potential
Dr. MaryJo Wagner, Editor and Publisher
Vol 1. No. 3, February 2010
Contents
- Note from MaryJo
- Feature Article: Reluctant Readers: Three Strategies that Encourage Reading
- What's Happening at Smart Kids Smart Parents: The end of Winter and on into Spring
- Brain Gym® Tip: Super Brain Yoga
- Smart Quiz: You Could Win!
- Just for Smart Teachers (and Smart Parents): How to Get Young Entrepreneurs Started (and why)
Note from MaryJo
Wow! Where on earth did February go! And just because February's nearly over, my to-do list doesn't seem any shorter!
This month we're taking a look at motivating kids to read. Sometimes that's a bigger challenge than dyslexia or other reading problems. Just seems like more and more kids don't want to read. Think it's boring and not cool.
O.K. I admit it--Feb's Brain Gym tip is cheating. Super Brain Yoga isn't Brain Gym but sure looks like it. The Smart Quiz tests your knowledge of reading. And the Smart Teachers tip--for Smart Parents too--is a suggestion for kids who want to make money. Great idea for bright kids who are bored and never seem to have enough to keep them interested.
Enjoy. Let me know what you think. What you'd like to see. Just use the contact form. And tell your friends, other parents, your child's teacher to subscribe.
P.S. And while you're at it, check out Smart Kids Smart Parents. Read the blog. Three posts about Reluctant Readers, featuring me and my 14-year-old grandson. Add your comments. You'll find the Smart Parents Club and the Smart Parents mini-Guide "Why Smart Kids Don't Learn and Other Mysteries: Seven Strategies for helping Kids Learn."
Reluctant Readers: Three Strategies to Encourage Reading
My 14-year-old grandson Caleb doesn't like reading. Not one tiny bit. According to him, it's boring and definitely not cool.
So how do we get kids motivated to read? We know intuitively, from common sense, not to mention experience, that if a child isn't interested in reading or math or social studies, they don't learn very well. And we know from brain science that the part of the brain that controls motivation (the limbic system or mid-brain) plays a large part in learning.
I discovered from trial and error how to get Caleb to do his required 15-minutes of reading every evening.
1. Get involved. Caleb asked me to sit in the same room with him while he read. I agreed and read the newspaper while he read his book. We're both reading.
2. Let kids pick their own books. Now I certainly wouldn't have picked what Caleb picked--very sad stories about kids with abusive parents or kids who lived on the street because their parents had died--but it was his choice. I never criticized his choice.
3. Go to a bookstore. A big one with a kids' area and a coffee shop attached. As much as Caleb didn't like to read, he quite enjoyed going to the bookstore and buying books. He's a gifted artist so he chose art books--not much reading in art books. Then we'd go the coffee shop, drink hot chocolate and look at our books. I always bought a book or two for myself at the same time.
These suggestions probably won't make avid readers out of reluctant readers but they will encourage a bit of reading. You can read all of the details of how Caleb and I struggled with reading over on the blog. Laugh at his excuses and my always-on-my-toes comebacks. We finally made some real progress with a bit of Brain Gym prior to reading.
You can read the whole story about Caleb, me and our reading adventure at the Smart Kids Smart Parents Blog.
And I know it's a bit late for telling you this but you can sign up for a FREE TeleClass Tuesday evening, Feb. 23, 8 pm Eastern. It's "called "Get 'em to Read." It's all about why lots of kids aren't reading (you maybe surprised) and what we can do about it.
Find out how to get a reading environment going at your house or in your classroom. Can't make it? Sign up anyway. The call will be recorded and you can listen later. Comes with handouts. Sign up now.
What's Happening at Smart Kids Smart Parents: Calendar for the end of February to the first of May 2010
*February 23, 8pm Eastern, FREE TeleClass, "Get 'em Reading." With handouts and audio replay. Sign up today even though it's over so you can get the replay.
* February 25, 8 pm Eastern, Brain Gym Basics TeleClass. Continues March 2, 9 and 16. With handouts, audio replay and certificate of completion. CEU Credit available. Read the research report.
Can't make the dates. The classes are always recorded so you can listen at your convenience. Discover how to use 26 Brain Gym movements to help you and your kids learn more easily, lower stress and stay on task.
*March (Dates TBA) Brain Gym 101 in Lakewood, Colorado. Learn how to set and accomplish your goals with Brain Gym. Help your kids do the same. Counts toward Brain Gym certification and as the prerequisite for advanced classes. Credit available for teachers. Contact me for details if you're interested
*March 17 Smart Kids Use Their Brain starts. Continues March 24, 30, and April 7. Topics include Why Music is good for the brain, why TV isn't good for the brain, and why Quiet Time is an essential that kids aren't getting. Plus more including lots of how to's. Watch for details
*April 14 Smart Kids Don't . . . starts. Continues April 21, 28 and May 5. Find out the four things Smart kids must avoid for success in school. Watch for details.
Of course, I'll let you know when the March, April and May FREE Smart Kids TeleClasses are scheduled.
Brain Gym Tip: Super Brain Yoga
I'm cheating this month. Super Brain Yoga isn't Brain Gym but certainly is a first cousin.
1. Cross your arms with left hand on right ear lobe and right hand on left ear lobe.
2. Do deep knee bends.
Hmm, sounds like the top half of Brain Gym's Hook-ups plus Thinking Cap. Watch the video. The testimonials are amazing!(P.S. The teen in the picture isn't doing Super Brain Yoga. She's doing Cross Crawl.)
Check out the Super Brain Yoga video on YouTube. (Don't bother with the book, however. Doesn't have any more exercises in it.)
Smart Quiz
Congratulations to Vanessa Stark and Leila Al-Habbal who won the January Quiz. The answer was "Opera Conductors," because of the amount of crossing the midline required. And the ability to quickly convert fractions (the time signature of a composition) to shapes (the individual notes, i.e. half notes, quarter notes, and so forth.)
Kindergartners, whom many of you guessed, are delightful and enthusiastic learners but they aren't using whole-brain learning yet. The neo-cortex of their brain is not fully developed.
February Quiz: The first two people with the right answer to this month's quiz win the Smart Kids Smart Parents TeleClass series starting March 17 and continuing for four consecutive Wednesday evenings. Is the answer a, b, or c? Contact me with your answer right away to win the TeleClass. Now here's the Quiz.
What hinders reading the most?
a) TV and computer games
b) Lack of motivation
c) Dyslexia and other reading problems
Just for Smart Teachers
(Smart Parents you can read this too.)
Do you have kids in your classes or at home who want to make money? Or maybe they're always asking to buy this or that with YOUR money. Now with the help of a couple of websites, they can move beyond lemonade stands, babysitting, and mowing lawns. Check out http://saturdaymorningmastermind.com/ and http://raisingceokids.com/
And don't forget Junior Achievement. If your school doesn't already have a JA volunteer scheduled to talk to kids, call a local chapter. Some JA volunteers will help form after-school clubs or talk to a class several times throughout a semester. A friend of mine goes to a high school once a week to teach kids about the stock market.
It's not just about making money. These resources help develop leadership, creativity, responsibility, and money sense in kids
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Watch for the March Smart Learning Newsletter. I'll have the quiz winners and a feature article where you'll discover why music is important to math.
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