The Importance of the Completion of Homework Assignments

Being in college, I have decided that homework assignments definitely are a huge burden on an evening when I plan on studying for a big test or a midterm, and I need no other distractions. However, those homework assignments were the core and they were the building blocks that have gotten us to the point where when we are studying, all we need to do is look over a few notes, and look over our completed homeworks. This way we are able to analyze the work that we put forth on paper, and use it to our benefit in the time that may be stressful during studying. In elementary school, homework was something that was brought home in my backpack daily, for my mom and I , or my dad and I, to complete together. It was a way for my parents to see the material that we had covered during that day or week, and to be able to bring that material into the home and into their understanding. The importance of parents being involved in an elementary school student's homework is very important. A parent should always be aware of what all their child may be learning in school, and how they are grasping that material and in that case how the parents can help them to better grasp and improve any difficulties the child may be having. Even though homework is a pain for anyone at any age, and even a pain for the parents to have to oversee their child doing each and every day, it seems to be one of the best ways for reinforcement of the principles we learn in school. While reviewing my notes last night, I found myself remembering topics that the homework had been on, and referring back to those topics in reference to my studying. It alleviated some of the problems or questions I was having over topics I was studying, and it made the whole process a lot easier and go alot smoother. This concept can be applied to students of all ages, who review the material covered in class each day in order to better reinforce it later. This can be in the form of worksheets as a child, notecards and visuals as a middle and high schooler, and papers paragraphs and notes as a college student. If you are wondering tthe best way to help your child out, and feel as if your not doing enough to help them with their school work, this is the first opportunity you should jump on. It is so important that parents are available to their child and avaiable to let the child know how important the completion of each and every homework assignment is every single day.

Belew, B. thebizofknowledge.com (Photo of kid and mother discussing homework) 2007.

The Classroom of the Summer

Fishman, S.  http://blogs.trb.com/community/news/davie/forum/2009/04/summer_camp_registration_begin.html (Photograph of campers jumping off a dock) 2009.

For five summers of my childhood, from the time I was in the 2nd grade until the summer before my 7th grade year, I spent my summers at the the top of the Appalachian Mountains in a small summer camp called Camp Gwynn Valley. It was a sanctuary of learning new things, meeting new friends. Little did I know how much it was enriching my mind with things that cant even be taught in schools. The camp taught me so much about life's lessons, and taught me that being a part of the environment is important, and also that friends can impact you and stay in your hearts for the rest of your life.Those days I spent at summer camp, I am beginning to realize, were more of a "school about life" than a school for learning math problems, history details, and english language compositions. Camp taught me how to interact with big groups of kids my age, and how to be able to tolerate people of all different backgrounds, with different lifestyles, and with different personalities. I learned how to appreciate the environment while at camp as well. I learned about the ways you can harvest food and how to appreciate eating healthy as a way of life. I experienced rock climbing adventures, canoeing, hiking the Appalachian Trail, biking, craftsmanship, singing songs, camping trips, horseback riding and much much more. At Gwynn Valley I learned how to appreciate wildlife at it best, and how preserving it is the only way that our lives are going to be lived to the fullest, and how preserving the environment will allow for many generations after ours to proser. Yes, in the classroom during the school year, children learn multiplication tables, stories about the history of nations, and how to read and write with appropriate grammar, but yet there is so much more to learn when your at such a fruitful age. Going to camp gave me the opportunity to learn beyond the books, and to carry those skills I learned those summers with me throughout the rest of my life. I still keep in touch with my counslers and my friends, and I remember each and every precious moment that I had those summers that I will always remember. If I ever get the chance, I would love to create some sort of non-profit summer camp for kids who are not financially priviledged, yet still deserve to gain all the experiences I did while attending camp. All kids deserve to have something this enriching to fill their summers with, and something to bring them outside of the classroom and still have fun while learning. Camp Gwynn Valley was my summertime classroom, and I will use what I learned there in my classrooms someday!

The Art of "Following the Yellowbrick Road"

Since as long as I can remember, the Wizard of Oz has been one of my most favorite films, and the versatility that it brings about shines in many different aspects of my life. The lessons that I learned from that movie seem to resonate in so many different areas of my life, and seem to teach a new lesson to people of all ages, each and every day. When I was three years old, my mom threw me a birthday party with a Wizard of Oz theme. We had a pin the ruby slippers on Dorothy game, a sandbox full of plastic "emeralds" to mine for, and a yellow brick road leading up to the front door of our house when guests entered. My mom had made sure to include that aspects of that movie that would help me, as a three year old at the time, to realize some of the important lessons that the story portrayed. The yellow brick road, though being the fun entrance to my third birthday party, exemplifies the long road to success that life takes us all on. When a child watches the Wizard of Oz, sees that Dorothy wants to follow the Yellowbrick road in order to achieve her dreams and aspirations, they realize that in order to get where we want to go we need to have motivation by something in order to do something. Also, in order to get where we want to go, we must stay on the right path the whole way there. Another lesson I learned while spending most of my childhood watching "Oz", was that your friends are the greatest things you can have, and that accepting them for who they are is the best thing we can offer them. Whether our friends are "tin mans", "scarecrows", "cowardly lions", or whatever they may be, they all have something important to offer this world, and even though we may be completely different from them, we are also so much alike. Yet another lesson that this story teaches children is that hiding yourself behind a false image, like the Wizard, is not going to make you get anything that you truly want. It only sells yourself short, and being who you truly are is who people want to see of you. My mom has told me since the day I could talk, that I needed to stay true to myself, because I am a beautiful person in so many different ways, and I should be proud of every single part of myself. Being ashamed of yourself, and hiding behind a false something, such as the screen the wizard hid behind, only made him look like a coward, and less of himself in the end. It showed that he was just too insecure with who he really was. If we can enforce this to our children, maybe they will realize sooner that they do not need to look like others, because we are all beautiful in our own special way. One of the greatest lessons a child can learn in life, and one of my most favorites, was that there is No Place Like Home. As Dorothy always, said, and as she clicked her red heels together, home is the place where we all can find our truest identity, and find the love that we all started off with. While being away at college I have truly realized that no matter how far away I am, or where I end up in life, I have a beginning,  and a place that I can always return to and find everything the same. Each child needs to know that there is someone at home for them, and that there is a place that they can go to find the love that home provides. The Wizard of Oz is a story that captivates the hearts of the young and old, and this is a truly great film to base a lesson off of in schools, in any grade and for any age. It is a truly timeless classic, with more lessons than I can even explain. 

 

Toptenz.net (picture of Dorothy and friends from Wizard of Oz) 2010.

A Classic for all Times, and for All Ages!!!

"If ever there is tomorrow when were not together..there is something you must always remember. you are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. but the most important thing is, even when we're apart...i'll always be with you!" -Winnie the Pooh


http://thinkexist.com/quotes/winnie_the_pooh/ click link for further information on this quotation


kep21, thinkexist.com (quotation from winne the pooh), 1999-2010.


My mom sent me this timeless quote in an uplifting text message today. When a bad day comes my way every once in a while, this quote always lifts me up, and I rely on it to remind friends or family when they are feeling down or feeling beat from time to time, because its words are so strong, and can relate to anyone of all ages and in any situation in life! Winnie the Pooh was a character of true wisdom and love and compassion, and his sweetness resonates throughout decades. His books and movies are enjoyable for all ages- for I even found myself lying in my dorm room last year watching Winnie the Pooh one Friday night when everyone else was out enjoying their evening out on the town. Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Piglet, Eeyore, Christopher Robin, and Kanga and Roo and the rest of the crew always find ways to entertain the moment, be there for one another, and savor each and every moment of life. Sometimes life would be much easier if we could live in the Hundred Acre Wood, wouldnt it?! I think that Winnie the Pooh is one of those character's and stories that any teacher, and grade, in any school, at any point in time can use for examples of many different lessons. The stories and the accomplishments that these characters have overcome can relate directly to the life of a child, and can enrich their mind with ways to deal with life issues in the best ways possible. Pooh's characters not only teach valuable lessons, but most importantly, they teach and spread love to one another each and every day. The way that these stories are portrayed is in a calm, sweet, gentle way, and when children realize that that calmness can resonate into their own lives, they may want to keep reading more, and watching more. If your ever looking for a character trait during a lesson, a quote to bring about or relate a topic, or just to teach your students to appreciate the good in these characters and as they relate to the good in our peers, Winne the Pooh's stories are stories that you can rely on to jump to!


"Rivers know this: There is no hurry. We shall get there someday!"
-Winnie the Pooh
http://thinkexist.com/quotes/winnie_the_pooh/ click link for further information on this quotation


thinkexist.com (quotation of winne the pooh quotes), 1999-2010.

Allen, M. electronics.howstuffworks.com (picture of Winne the Pooh characters)

Children's Entertainment: Now and Then

When I was home last weekend, I went to visit the kids that I have babysat for since I was in the eighth grade. As I walked into the kitchen, the little boy was sitting at the kitchen counter playing on an Ipad. I have never even played on an Ipad. There is absolutely nothing wrong with anything to do with the concept of these great, innovative new gadgets, but when they interfere with the intellectual enhancement of a child's experiences outside, and interacting with other kids their age, I begin to find problems with that. He was playing a virtual video game that he had downloaded on his dad's Ipad, When I was 7 years old, I would come home from school and spend hours on end playing outdoors with friends from the neighborhood, on my backyard swingset, and building forts out of sticks and rocks behind the house. Whenever I babysit, it is really hard for me to understand how a child isn't drawn to all that the outdoors has to offer, like i so much was when I was that age. All the new technology that comes out new each and every year is only depriving children of things that matter most. Yes, it is a good thing at many times that we have these new technologies- but when it deprives us of all the important things we need in life to grow and to have happiness, it makes no sense to me at all!! SEND YOUR KIDS OUTSIDE TO PLAY TODAY- DITCH THE TECHNOLOGIES!

ipad? Yes Please upadated. 50under50.com (photo of Apple Ipad) 2009.

justoutdoortoys.com.uk (photograph of child swinging on swingset) 2010.

Fall Time Down South

I just can't even begin with how much I love fall down south! The leaves in Auburn, Alabama are just beginning to change. The sights, the sounds, the smells of fall bring back old memories of when I grew up in North Carolina, and going up to watch the leaves change at my mountain house, and smelling the smell of crinkling leaves, pumpkin spice, and the taste of baked apples. Fall also reminds me of Halloweens and Thanksgiving holidays as a child in elementary school! These were two of my MOST favorite holidays, and I will always treasure the memories of baking with my grandmother, the holiday parties in the classrooms with all of my little friends, and the Halloween block party and excitement of trick or treating. I really look forward to the jars around my house filled with candy corn and Halloween decorated candy wrappers. Right now, I am burning pumpkin pie flavored candles just to remind me of my favorite smells of this season! I can't even contain my excitement either for Thanksgiving day. Each year, I treasure my family's tradition of waking up, going to the Turkey Trot Run in downtown Charlotte North Carolina, and then coming home to watch the remainder of the Macys Thanksgiving Day Parade on tv. It is one of my most favorite things! After the parade, the entire extended family meets together at my aunt's house and we all feast over a gorgeous spread filled with every different kind of food you can imagine, and so many different twists on the traditional dishes such as green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, and cranberry sauce. The best part, in my opinion, is the pumpkin and chocolate chip pecan pies my grandmother makes:) Pure delight! I save up for weeks to be able to really savor the tastes of this day every year! I look so forward to the day that I get to decorate my kindergarten classroom with the smells, pictures, decorations, and excitement of this fall and special holiday season. The colors, shapes, and liveliness of it all will truly enrich my classroom someday. I will look so forward to the afternoon when I get to share "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" with my classroom for their first time. It is a true classic, and brings back so many of my own memories- it will make me so happy to share it with them. I look forward to having my classroom parties and Halloween parades, and smiling at all of the creativity children put into their costumes each year. I understand how truly exciting Halloween is, and will make sure that the lesson plans for that day are lots of fun, and include as much halloween flair as they possibly can. The thing I realize every year, is how each year this season gets more savorable and fabulous for me! I look so forward to bringing all of my excitement of this time out to the classroom someday!

Rojo Images, shutterstock.com. (Photograph of slice of pumpkin pie and candy corns) 2010