Is home schoolong an option

Homeschooling is also known as home education or home based learning, is the teaching of children at home, by parents but sometimes their parent gets a tutor.  Rather than getting an education at formal institutions such as private schools or public schools. Parents have numerous reasons as motivations to home school their children as families have different lifestyles, values and beliefs .Homeschooling can be an option for families living in isolated rural areas, many young athletes and actors are taught at home. Some families do it because of their faiths, which may not be suitable with some of the subjects being taught in public schools or private schools

Home schooled children are taught at a level that is appropriate for their capabilities. This is very different from public or private schools where students are put into classes according to their age, no matter where they stand academically.

For many, home schooling is a poor choice because the parents fail to provide an atmosphere that is truly accommodative to learning. There are significant disadvantages to home schooling which outweigh the benefits. Some of the issues that parents face is that home schooling is time cosuming, it is draining and there can be a financial burden or hardship imposed upon a family. It is the responsibility of the parents to buy the curriculum needed for home schooling where the public school provides it at no charge.

Lack of contact with other children (learning how to socialize) can affect the child negatively as they need to learn communication skills to cope in society.

What to do if you suspect that your child needs help

All children are different and their progress happens at different paces. It is vital that your child has the support they need and that you are doing everything you can to ensure that they fully active in their learning journey. 

If a child is in need of extra educational support, the most important thing is to get the child assessed by an Occupational Therapist of Remedial Therapist. Parents should approach the school to find out who is the best  person to do this assessment. There are also remedial and occupational therapists associated with the Department of Education, who can be asked for help.

Once the assessment has been done, the therapist and the parents can agree on the best course of action. This is usually Occupational or Remedial therapy.

As the parent of a child with difficulties you must be willing to give the support and love your child needs.

It is vital that you be completely involved in your child’s learning process and the journey that they are on because learning does not end in a classroom. Read to your children, and let them read to you.

Children need praise. Never forget to tell your child how wonderful they are.

ADD and ADHD in children

It’s normal for children to occasionally forget their homework, daydream during class, act without thinking, or get fidgety at the dinner table. But inattention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity are also signs of attention deficit disorder (ADD/ADHD).

 

ADD/ADHD can lead to problems at home and school, and affect your child’s ability to learn and get along with others. It’s important for you to be able to spot the signs and symptoms, and get help if you see them in your child.

 

What is ADD / ADHD?

 

We all know kids who can’t sit still, who never seem to listen, who don’t follow instructions no matter how clearly you present them, or who blurt out inappropriate comments at inappropriate times. Sometimes these children are labelled as troublemakers, or criticized for being lazy and undisciplined. However, they may have ADD/ADHD.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a disorder that appears in early childhood. You may know it by the name attention deficit disorder, or ADD. ADD/ADHD makes it difficult for people to inhibit their spontaneous responses—responses that can involve everything from movement to speech to attentiveness.

 

Is it normal kid behavior or is it ADHD?

 

The signs and symptoms of ADD/ADHD typically appear before the age of seven. However, it can be difficult to distinguish between attention deficit disorder and normal “kid behaviour.”

If you spot just a few signs, or the symptoms appear only in some situations, it’s probably not ADD/ADHD. On the other hand, if your child shows a number of ADD/ADHD signs and symptoms that are present across all situations—at home, at school, and at play—it’s time to take a closer look.

Once you understand the issues your child is struggling with, such as forgetfulness or difficulty paying attention in school, you can work together to find creative solutions and capitalize on strengths.

 

What to do?

 

If you have paid close attention to your child’s behaviour  and still suspect they have ADD/ADHD then you have to get you child to a children's psychologist. They is medication available to assist you but effective treatment for ADD/ADHD also includes education, behaviour therapy, support at home and school, exercise, and proper nutrition.

 

The influence of television on young minds

Most parents underestimate the amount of influence the programmes on television have on young minds. It is vital that you take control in your household and pay careful attention to the programmes you let your children watch.

In this constantly changing world, television plays an imperative role in the receiving of information. The choice of what your children see and hear in the home is up to you.

This does not mean you should shield your young inquisitive minded children of reality but there is a fine line. You have to create a balance. Take note of age restrictions as they are put in place by professionals who know what is and is not suitable for your child to see.

Most parents get caught in the trap where you really want to watch a programme and spend time with your young one, don't let this be the case. If you cannot afford to have more than one television in the household let your children read books or play games that you have approved as an alternative.

Programmes that have explicit language, inappropriate visuals and violence are not programmes your child needs to be watching. You have the power to decide what you want your children to be exposed to in your home.

Parenting and video games

It’s a cliché, but more and more children seem to spend their time online, on their PCs, Play Stations, or Xboxes, playing some type of computer game.

The traditional view of this seems to be that children should be ejected from their seats, shown the garden, and instructed to play outside-because playing video games makes kids into anti social couch potatoes, with virtual war for brains.

A report published by the EU seems to contradict this-

Toine Manders, the Dutch liberal MEP who drafted the report, said: "Video games are in most cases not dangerous. We heard evidence from experts on computer games and psychologists from France, the US, Germany and the Netherlands and they told us that video games have a positive contribution to make to the education of minors."

The study called for schools to consider using games for educational purposes and urged parents to take a greater interest in them.

Video games and computers have a positive and negative effect on young minds. Anything in moderation is not a problem. Parents and children need to be able to decide how much gaming is permissible and what kind of gaming. Parents must teach their children what is good and what is bad. 

By: Katherine Alexander

Discipline begins at home

For many years child discipline has been a controversial subject in terms of the degree of discipline that is good for the child. However, one point on which all the experts agree is that discipline starts in the home. While it is reinforced at school  and in society with rules, it is not the job of an educator to teach a child right from wrong.

As a parent you have an enormous obligation to find the perfect balance between loving and disciplining your child, particularly since so many emotional aspects must be taken into account. These may start with imagined or real fears your child is feeling, to coping with his or her anger management. To balance love and discipline is a long and difficult process. No matter what the situation, you have to turn big troubles and chaos into peaceful and loving atmospheres. Unfortunately, this technique is something you learn by experience.

As you've undoubtedly found, if you are too lenient, your child will simply run all over you. If you are too strict, your child's spirit can be crushed, leaving you with a fuming rebel. There is only one key: love must be the basis of all discipline which should be balanced according to your child's personality.

It will help you and your child to set specific ground rules and be steady in your reinforcement. You have to ensure that your child understands the clear line between disobedience and obedience. It is vital that you set punishments suitable to the offence so that your child can grow up to be a productive and happy member of society. And always remember that a child needs fair discipline for security.

What makes a great parent

As a 21st century parent, you have access to almost everything and anything you need for your children. While your parents did the best they could, you can do much better, especially in light of all the research that's been done on what children need. And we're not talking about material needs, but emotional ones and thought stimulation.

To do the best for today's child, it's important to understand how drastically the role of parents and expectations of children have changed over the years. For one thing, it is unrealistic to expect teachers to do everything for your child. Of course children learn school subjects from their teachers, but they learn the vital attitudes to life from you, their parents, whose duty goes far beyond just paying for the education. Learning does not end in the classroom or with the after-school bell - it;s up to you to continue the culture of learning in the home.

This is why it is so important that you make sure homework is done every day. Supervising your kid's homework, and giving assistance when needed, can actually be a lot of fun for both you and your child. While teachers have to cope with many kids in a classroom, only you can give that one-on-one attention that's essential for a child's mental growth.

It's also vital to have a culture of daily reading in your home - people who read are surprisingly well informed. Of course if you are a reader, you will be the perfect role model for reading to your child. It's the old story -you can only lead by example.

It is also well proven that the more involved parents are with their children's learning journey, the more successful those children are. When you take an interest in their learning journey, you become really involved, you will find it so much easier to help your kids succeed - and you'll quickly identify if there is a problem for which a child may need professional help.

Your child's success begins - and ends! - with you!

Save for your child's education

Putting a child through a good school in South Africa comes with a heavy financial burden. An entire basic education schooling career, from primary school through to high school, can put huge financial pressure on parents. For your child to go through a government school from grade R to matric, you are estimated to pay just a bit more than R300 000.

Provision has to be made for your child's education. As a parent you should start some sort of investment strategy as soon as possible after the birth of your child to keep up with the spiralling effect of inflation.

All parents have dreams of sending their children to university, but as things stand only a selected few can afford to do so. Tertiary fees have also increased rapidly making it difficult for most South African parents to send their children to get a university qualification.

As a parent you must find out about the different ways to save for your child's education. It is never too late to invest in a good quality education for your children, but the earlier you start, the better your chances of securing a bright future for them.

Resolve to Raise a Reader

Provide a regular diet of books and reading for your preschooler

You feed and care for your child every day so that he will grow into a healthy, happy preschooler. Similarly, you also need to provide experiences that will enhance language development and stimulate learning skills. Try this menu of reading activities:

Read every day
A daily routine will give all the readers in your family a chance to read with your preschooler. Dads, moms, siblings, caregivers and friends can all be part of ensuring your preschooler gets 20 minutes of being read to each day.

Do things, and then talk about it
It's great to offer new experiences to your preschooler, such as a visit to the zoo or museum, but a trip to the grocery store or a neighborhood park can be just as educational. Talk about what you are seeing and ask your preschooler what he thinks of it. When possible, use interesting words to describe what you're seeing.

Read everywhere you go
You can find reading on the road, at the bus stop, in the store, and at the restaurant. Play a game to find words when you are out and about or take a look at home for words on everyday items like cereal boxes, toothpaste, and household appliances.

Be a reading role model
Your child wants to imitate you and be like you. Have plenty of reading material for yourself as well as for your child. Tell your child how much you enjoy reading.

Keep your pulse on progress
Please be sure to see your child's pediatrician or teacher as soon as possible if you have concerns about your child's language development, hearing or sight.

Article from: www.readingrockets.org.za

For a variety of reading material: www.readingmatters.co.za

Article submitted by: Yvonne Maseko (READ/ Reading Matters)

Should you place your child in an ECD centre or rather keep your little darling at home

Children are sociable little people and they enjoy, thrive on and learn from other children. In an ECD centre children are grouped together according to age and the programme is structured to suit their developmental stage. Activities and resources are also pitched at a level to challenge them and allow them to experience success. Children also learn best from other children and they learn through play, and playing with other children helps them to develop in totality i.e. social, emotional, physical and cognitively.

In an ECD centre the teacher is qualified to work with small children and also knows to observe them and knows when a child needs additional support and when they need yo be referred to a specialist. The daily programme is planned in such a way that active and less active activities alternate each other to release energy and to get them to start concentrating for short periods of time.

A good ECD centre will have a prescribed menu and will serve a healthy balanced diet suitable for the young child's needs. The first few months in an ECD centre could be difficult as your child might suffer numerous infections but even this could be seen in a positive light, with every infection the body is building more and more antibodies.

So yes, go for it! Book a place in that ECD centre near your home and become involved in the running of your child's first school.

By: Riette Els, ECD Manager

Discipline at home

As a parent you have to understand that discipline starts at home. Your children look to you for guidance and direction, you are the voice that counts. It is not fair to expect teachers to instill a strong sense of discipline in your children. They are simply there to reinforce the discipline ideals taught at home.

Children have to be taught that rules are important and that they have to be followed. As a parent you can start by making you child understand, respect and follow all figures of authority in their lives. Your authority is important, you must not blur the lines of parent and friend with your child. They need to understand that they can trust you with important information but that ultimately you are the parent.

Teachers can easily pin point those learners who have no discipline at home because these are the unruly ones in the classroom. These children do not understand that their behaviour disturbs other children. As a parent you must do all you can to ensure that you are not enabling your child with the wrong kind of freedom that will become a problem at school.

Ideas from: www.allaboutparenting.org/child-discipline.htm

Your role as a parent in your child's learning process

As a parent you have to be involved in your child's learning experience. Be aware of what your child is being taught in school. This can only be achieved by talking to your child and attending school meetings. Make sure you are taking the time to go through your child's school books. This will also assist you in knowing where your child is struggling so you can take steps in getting the appropriate assistance for your child.

Being a parent usually means your life is hectic between kids, work and running your household successfully but this can never mean that you should not fulfill your role as the primary educator in your child's life. As most parents know, it's not enough to simply buy toys, you have to invest in educational experiences and material for children to engage with. Purchase educational games that you can play with your children, this is a great way for you to spend time with your kids and be active in their learning process. When you spend quality time with your children why not spend it at the museum, or visiting an important heritage site or even walking in a historical section of town? All of this can be important learning experiences.

There is no excuse for a lack of parental involvement. As a parent it is your responsibility to know everything about your child, if you are not happy with what you know take the necessary steps to rectify the problem. Make sure you know your children's teachers and the progress you child is making.

Ideas from: www.articlesbase.com

Prepare your children for the world

When we talk about loving our children, loving them means preparing them to stand on their own feet.

Out there in the real world, your children will have to pull their own weight and make their own way. If you set your standards for them low, they will achieve those low standards, and they won't grow. It is important for your children to learn self-sufficiency, develop high self-esteem and be motivated early on in life.

If you are constantly helping them with their daily chores, their homework or taking care of all their needs, you are in fact crippling them. It's not fair to them to enable them for most of their teenage years then all of a sudden just put them on the street so to speak. You have created the problem. There's got to be a plan. There's got to be a transition.

Make sure you are communicating with your children and sharing your mistakes and solutions with them. It is important to instill a sense of responsibility in them by giving them tasks to complete and foster independence by asking for their input.

Very important is to give them good financial skills. It is never too early to start, when they are in primary school give your children chores so that they can earn what they want, and teach them about saving.

All you can do as a parent is prepare your children to the best of your ability. Make sure you do not pressure them into living the life you wished you did, but instead give them the right tools to choose and create a good life for themselves.

Reward and Punishment: Helpful or Hurtful

If you have not started the habit of rewarding with material prizes-don't!

A conception among some, parents and teachers alike, is that rewards and punishment can be useful and effective when trying to motivate a child to do a desired task, such as homework. However, pupils who are lured into doing something for a reward are less likely to do it again if no reward is given. Similarly, punishment or consequences often evokes in a child feeling of anger, defiance and a desire for revenge. This means that reward and punishment, even if it seems minor, could produce the opposite of the desired effect.

The most effective type of reward is giving praise. Praise that is effective because it refers directly to specific task performances, it is most effective because it emphasizes that success depends on the amount of effort one put in. Receiving praise and good feedback assists learners in evaluating themselves, helping them to create reachable goals. Once your child has established goals for homework or studying, they have already begun the process of becoming a self-regulated learner, or a child who has knowledge of effective learning strategies and how and when to use them. A parent's goal should be to help their child become a self-regulated learner.

Overall, rewards and punishments should be avoided if at all possible. They are quick fixes for parents who want to motivate their children to do well in school. In the long run, learners will be more motivated and eager to learn if their motivation is not determined by conditional extrinsic factors, but intrinsic ones. Using praise only when a child has done well. It is a mild form of reward that can teach that the amount of effort exerted and success are positively linked

Parenting for the new school year

Who wants to go from blissful summer holidays into stressful back-to-school mode? Surely no-one and to avoid this a simple bit of planning and thought can help.

With multiple children comes multiple schedules, bills and activities that require a master juggler to make it work.

To navigate the year ahead, have a year planner where all the different activities your children are involved in, the scheduled holidays and public holidays are mapped out. Be aware of your child's school timetable so that you are always aware of what is happening during the day. This is a great example to set for your children. Knowing what lies ahead will reduce stress because it allows you to plan and organize what is needed well in advance. It is also a good idea to display the year planner where all can see it so that you are all on the same page.

Budget is a serious consideration for most people and a set back-to-school and monthly school budget will encourage responsibility and saving in the family and give all of you a clear idea of what you can and cannot afford to do.

Then last but not least, talk to your children about responsibility, let them know exactly what you expect of them during the school year. Make sure children know they are responsible for their chores, completing homework and assignments, and remembering project dates. Together as a team, you will be able to have a stress free school year!

Tips on how as a parent , you can pepare your child for the school year

Taking time to talk with and listen to your child about the upcoming school year is one of the best ways as a parent that you can help your child with the transition back to school.

Pre-schoolers need to know what will happen

-As a parent you should take your child to visit the school and let them play and meet their new teachers.
-It's also a good idea to choose children's books about school life to help your child understand what to expect in school.
-You should establish routine bed and wake up times to prepare your child for their school schedule.

Primary school children will need to adjust to new beginnings

-You have to allow your child the freedom to buy something that they want, such as a trendy folder or pencil.
-Talk to your child about the new teachers he/she will have and the new freinds they will meet. The notion of a fresh start is usually appealing to children, and can help neutralize bad feelings about school.

Teenagers need positive reinforcement

-Help your teen set realistic goals on how to get better marks.
-Make sure that you help your teenager become organised by buying a daily planner and teaching them how to use it correctly.
-Encourage him/her to get involved in at least one extracurricular activity or sport because it will help them meet people.
-Try to convey a sense of optimism regarding the child's success because it enhances their motivation and sense of hope.

Understanding Depression

Research has shown that the highest risk of suicide and depression is the age group between 15 and 21 because there is a lot more pressure in this group. This includes pressure from peers to have boyfriends and girlfriends, to take drugs and alcohol, to be a certain type of person, as well as pressure from their families and schools to get good grades and meet expectations. All of this combined with the problems of adolescence and hormonal changes can contribute to a teenager feeling overwhelmed.

Symptoms of depression

• Feelings of helplessness and hopelessness. A bleak outlook—nothing will ever get better and there’s nothing you can do to improve your situation.
• Loss of interest in daily activities.  No interest in former hobbies, pastimes, social activities, or sex. You’ve lost your ability to feel joy and pleasure.
• Appetite or weight changes. Significant weight loss or weight gain—a change of more than 5% of body weight in a month.
• Sleep changes. Either insomnia, especially waking in the early hours of the morning, or oversleeping (also known as hypersomnia).
• Irritability or restlessness. Feeling agitated, restless, or on edge. Your tolerance level is low; everything and everyone gets on your nerves.
• Loss of energy. Feeling fatigued, sluggish, and physically drained. Your whole body may feel heavy, and even small tasks are exhausting or take longer to complete.
• Self-loathing. Strong feelings of worthlessness or guilt. You harshly criticize yourself for perceived faults and mistakes.
• Concentration problems. Trouble focusing, making decisions, or remembering things.
• Unexplained aches and pains. An increase in physical complaints such as headaches, back pain, aching muscles, and stomach pain.

Look after your children and support them where possible and necessary.

Education receives the largest slice of the budget pie

The 2011 budget has revealed high levels of spending on improving the quality of education in South Africa

The government has set aside 21% of the 2011 budget for improving the quality of education in South Africa.

This was revealed during Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan’s budget speech in parliament on Wednesday.

The total amount of spending equates to R190bn in 2012/13 to R215bn in 2013/14.

The key amounts to be spent include R9.5 billion for the expansion of further education and

training colleges and skills development, as well as R8,3bn on schools infrastructure.

A further R24.3bn will be added to education and skills expenditure for the next three years.

Gordhan noted that this amounts to the "most important programme of investment in future growth and redistribution."

-BusinessDay 24 February 2011

There's no such thing as a bad child...

In 1968, Rosenthal & Jacobson published a study called Pygmalion in the classroom. The study was conducted at a lower middle income school, where the principal, Lenore Jacobson, and Robert Rosenthal, an educational psychologist, told teachers at the school, after conducting what purported to be an new form of IQ test, that several children had IQ results which showed they were gifted and capable of learning at a rapid rate.

The result of this was that the teachers taught those children differently. The children learned at a rapid rate. The teachers had higher expectations of those children. They gave them more input, and more chances.

As parents we have such power. Our children have belief and faith in us, however difficult and troublesome they sometimes appear to be. If we tell them they are clever, and are capable, and that we believe in them, then they will believe in themselves. If we tell them all the time how wicked and incapable they are, they will believe us.

Children are at school a lot of the day. We do not always know what they are being exposed to. We might have to deal with bullying, or with our child being a bully. If our children have strong belief in themselves, and a good, wide open world view, then what happens at school doesn’t have to be the end of the world for them. They can benefit from the good, and deal with the bad.

Teachers are human. Not all teachers are as fair or sensible as we would like them to be. When there is a dispute between your child, and a teacher, then the important thing for all parents to do is to support their child. Many schools value “discipline” – punctuality and tidiness- over learning. When a child is being picked on about something other than schoolwork, then don’t hesitate to confront the teacher. It is also the teachers duty to mark all work completed by a child, as not doing so is an infringement of the child’s constitutional rights to an education. So if a teacher is refusing to mark work because it is late, don’t hesitate to complain.

Most importantly, make sure you protect your child’s confidence from attack. It isn’t appropriate for teachers to tell children “you will never amount to anything” “you are useless”. These are forms of verbal abuse, and shouldn’t happen.

When in doubt, stay staunch with your children. Don’t worry if teachers aren’t your best friends. It is more important to be a good parent than to be big chums with a teacher. Often the teachers who seek to befriend parents do so to ensure that the parent will not give credit to a child complaints about being picked on. It’s not usual for children to lie unless they are always being told they are untruthful. Once someone is being blamed for doing something they did not do, there is no real value for them in not doing it. They are already guilty…why not commit the crime… So don’t criminalise your kids, and keep a sense of humour. A lot of the drama associated with schooling comes from the childish and pompous nature of the school system. The only reason to get upset with your children is if they aren’t doing their work. If you praise them they will like work. People like being praised, it makes them feel good, and makes them willing to work harder.

-Katy Alexander
READ Educational trust

Every child can succeed in the right environment

Large classes at mainstream schools can't provide enough assistance for children who may need more one on one attention.

"Some children need assistance to perform which they are not receiving in mainstream schools," says Delayne Large, a registered counselor and independent psychometrist.

Delayne, who runs Alberton Remedial Therapy Centre adds that she became increasingly frustrated as she could only provide assistance one hour a week when the children were brought for remedial therapy after school. "Children need to receive this assistance throughout the day. Furthermore, children who struggle within a mainstream environment have very little time left to just be children. They have a full school day, extra mural activities, homework and then still need to go for remedial therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, whatever the case may be. These expectations are hardly realistic.

"Many people have a misconception about remedial education, falsely believing that its merely lowering the standards and giving children less work. Remedial education, on the contrary, is aimed at equipping the children with the skills that are preventing them from performing within a mainstream environment," Delayne said.

"While most teachers make a gallant effort at doing just this, the task is near impossible as a result of the large numbers and copious amounts of paperwork and procedures teachers are required to follow.
"By drastically reducing the number of children in a class children are able to receive the individual attention they deserve."

Extract from Southern courier, 15 February 2011