Valor del Mes: EL ORDEN

El orden, un valor indispensable para la vida

El orden es un valor que se aprende en el hogar y nos acompaña para toda la vida. Hay quienes son ordenados por naturaleza, pero para otros el orden es un valor que se debe adquirir. De cualquier forma, el orden es indispensable para triunfar en la vida y de ahí la importancia de educar a los hijos desde muy pequeños en este valor.

Cuando hablamos de orden, no nos referimos solamente a la organización de las cosas materiales en nuestro hogar o espacio de trabajo. Somos también ordenados en la forma en que conducimos nuestra vida, en la forma de organizar nuestras ideas y hasta en nuestra presentación personal.

Para adquirir este valor es necesario poner en marcha la fuerza de voluntad en pequeños detalles, que en su conjunto, forman hábitos de orden. Así cuando se les enseña a los niños a ser organizados en su pequeño mundo, aprenderán a ser adultos estructurados y al mando de su propia vida.

Responsabilidad de los padres

Para educar en el orden es vital el buen ejemplo de los padres. En un hogar donde no existen normas claras, donde el desorden reina en cada rincón, es muy probable que los niños crezcan sin saber qué es ser ordenado. Pero si los padres mantienen su habitación ordenada, así como una presentación personal intachable, los niños aprenderán de ello como el modelo a imitar.

El orden en los niños debe comenzar desde que están en capacidad de recoger sus juguetes luego de utilizarlos; así, a medida que crecen, se les da responsabilidades para mantener orden no solo en su habitación, sino en el resto del hogar.

Y aunque no hay fórmulas exactas, cada familia debe organizarse según sus necesidades y circunstancias para educar en el orden: las tareas que se asignan a cada hijo deben ser individualizadas; una táctica es redistribuir algunos de estos encargos cada semana con el fin de evitar la creencia de que un hermano trabaja más que el otro.

Lista de tareas en el hogar

Una buena idea es realizar una lista de las principales tareas que deben repartirse entre los hijos. A los mayores se les puede responsabilizar de las actividades más complicadas, mientras a los pequeños de las más sencillas. Cuando se comparte el cuarto entre hermanos es importante delimitar las obligaciones y responsabilidades de cada uno, como hacer su cama y mantener sus juguetes, libros y cuadernos en el lugar que le han sido asignados. Eso sí, como padres tenemos la responsabilidad de ofrecerles espacios para que ellos puedan guardar sus objetos personales.

En hogares donde hay una empleada, los niños deben aprender que ésta es una persona que trabaja ahí, pero no está a su disposición ni es la única responsable de mantener el orden y la limpieza del hogar. Por eso, tenga cuidado para que la empleada no asuma las responsabilidades de orden que han sido asignadas a los hijos.

Explicar las razones del orden

Para lograr que los hijos asuman el orden como un valor que deben cultivar y no como un constante y tedioso mandato de sus padres, es bueno explicarles las ventajas que trae para la vida el ser ordenado:

1. Impide que las cosas se caigan cuando se abren los armarios.
2. Evita caídas y accidentes por tropezarse con objetos dejados en el piso.
3. Al mantener las cosas en su lugar se hace la vida más fácil y no se pierde el tiempo tratando de buscarlas.
4. Con cada cosa en su lugar y un lugar para cada cosa, los espacios del hogar lucen más bonitos.
5. El ser ordenados también evita animales y plagas, pues el orden está ligado a la higiene, especialmente en áreas como la cocina y el baño.

Comandos de orden para los niños

Los padres pueden establecer ciertas reglas que se deben respetar para mantener el orden establecido. Algunas de ellas son:

1. La ropa sucia no se tira al suelo. Debe dejarse en el lugar indicado.
2. Los desperdicios se arrojan al basurero.
3. Las toallas se dejan colgadas en la percha.
4. Al llegar del colegio las mochilas y el uniforme se dejan ordenados, no tirados en el suelo.
5. Los platos y vasos que se utilizan deben ser regresados a la cocina.
6. Al lavarse los dientes, la crema dientes se debe volver a tapar y el cepillo en su lugar habitual.

Helping Our Children Improve Their Listening Skills

Do you find yourself constantly repeating directions to your children, only to end up feeling frustrated and yelling more than you would like. Here are some things that you can try at home.

Eye Contact – Always make sure children are looking at you when you are talking and that you are looking at them. If their eyes are on something else, they are less likely to hear or understand you.

Repeat Directions – Have children repeat your directions to insure understanding, especially when there is more than one step involved. “Go to your room, make your bed and bring me your dirty laundry.” Now, ask them to tell you what you just asked them to do.

Establish Routines – Children are better listeners when they are use to a routine and know what to expect. Try to wake up at the same time every morning, eat dinner, and do homework… This also helps with organizational skills. If possible, try not to rush through dinner. Children should try and sit at least 15 minutes with you. It’s a great way to catch up on their day, talk about family issues and for you to “model “good listening skills for them.

Chores – All children can be helping out around the house and some chores are great for increasing a child’s attention span. Remember parents, it is not important that it is done perfectly, but that they are focused and trying their best. Vacuuming, folding and sorting laundry, washing or sweeping the floor, washing the car and raking leaves are great. Another great activity is cooking - helping you follow a recipe, adding ingredients and then following through until the item is cooked is great on so many levels. Children love to stir and squish things with their hands. (Of course, if they are old enough to stir over the stove, monitor closely.) Let them pour cupcake batter into tins, mash up meatloaf or meatballs, peel cucumbers or carrots… Added bonus – you are getting to spend time with your kids while you are doing your own “chores”.

Don’t Over Schedule – Children have a much harder time listening and remembering directions when they are rushed. Just like adults, if we have too much going on at once, we are not likely to remember everything we have to do. Over-scheduling children can cause stress and decrease performance potential.

Be consistent and be patient! This process can vary in time and effort for each child.

Children learn by example, so remember to model good listening for them.

Como ayudar a sus hijos con las tareas.

Queridos padres, a continuación pueden revisar este artículo que les dará tips e ideas para tener en cuenta a la hora de hacer las tareas con sus hijos.


Como ayudar a su hijo con la tarea escolar.

9 TIPS TO DEVELOP GOOD STUDY HABITS

MANY parents know that good grades and success in school are highly dependent on their children’s study habits.

Below are nine of the most important and essential tips parents can use to help their children develop good study habits:

Tip 1: Create a study area. Put your child in surroundings that will help him concentrate and encourage a ready-to-study attitude. His study area should have good lighting and be comfortable. In addition, make sure he has all of the necessary supplies, study aids and reference material readily available.

Tip 2: Establish the best study conditions. Determine the best setting for your child to study. Does he study better alone, or with friends? Is it helpful for him to study with music, or does he need a quiet setting?

Tip 3: Remove distractions. Make sure his study place is not in a high-traffic area where there are frequent interruptions from people passing through. If it is, then you will need to identify another place. In addition, make sure that the TV is turned off – it’s the biggest distracter.

Tip 4: Schedule study time. Create a routine time of day for studying and have your child study at that time every day. He may want to study right after school, or he may want to schedule his study time after dinner, or later in the evening. He will also need to study for a specific length of time (an hour or two) everyday. The important thing is for him to adhere to his plan on a daily basis.

Tip 5: Study as if having a test the next day. Each day, have your child go over his notes and homework as if he were having a quiz the following day. This routine will help to condition his mind and increase his memory retention.

Tip 6: Schedule breaks. Teach your child to study for 40 to 50 minutes at a time, and then take a 10-minute break. Most students retain more information by studying for shorter periods of time with breaks in between.

Tip 7: Study right before going to sleep. Teach your child to do rote memory tasks and review facts just before he goes to sleep. Studies have shown that people remember more information when they study right before going to sleep.

Tip 8: Prioritize. Each day, have your child make a list of the things he needs to study. Then have him prioritize the list, and execute his plan. In addition, you and your child will need to decide on the length of time he will need to study for each subject area. Make sure the length of time is reasonable.

Tip 9: Review notes and outline chapters. Teach your child to be prepared for class by reviewing class notes and outlining textbook chapters. This will help him distinguish the most important facts and points, and develop a good understanding of the subject matter. Also, teach him to jot down keywords, important sentences, and ideas his teacher explains in class.

There's An App For That - Handwriting

Cursive Handwriting – An iPod/iPad App For Schools AND  Parents To Help Their Children

abc Joined Up is an iTunes interactive cursive handwriting App which I developed  to help children overcome problems in learning cursive handwriting.  It is based on a method I designed and have used successfully to teach children aged 5 to 11, many with English as a second language, to become proficient in cursive handwriting.

Using an iPad, iPhone, or iPod Touch, the app teaches children how to form their letters, gives them endless space to practise writing them, and uses phonics to encourage them to use their new skills.

The key benefits of abc Joined Up are:

·         a proven method of teaching handwriting

·         uses phonics to sound letters

·         starts with individual letters of the alphabet and progresses to writing words

·         guides children as they write letters and joins

·         voice encourages and celebrates success

·         American English or British English voice option

·         alternative letter shapes available for   b,f,k,s,v,w,x and z

·         enables parents to participate in and help with learning by downloading the App

·         tracks progress

See a demo on www.abcjoinedup.com , or by Googling You Tube/abc joined up.  It costs US $2.99 or £1.99 on the iTunes store. ~Mary Coen  M Ed