The Most Important Teacher
This Web space was created for the most important teacher in your child’s life – you! Brain researchers say that in your role as parent, one of the best things you can do to support academic achievement is to create an emotionally safe learning environment at home. When a child feels intimidated, labeled, frightened, or incapable, an overproduction of stress hormones (noradrenalin) causes the child to focus on self-protection, not learning.

You might be thinking, “How can I create an emotionally safe learning environment when I’m dealing with discipline issues, mood swings, and homework hassles?” Help is one click away! Link to “You Can Handle Them All,” by Master Teacher, to access step-by-step directions for handling over 117 misbehaviors! Another powerful and practical discipline resource is Love and Logic.

While you're surfing, take a look at KidsHealth.org. It helps children learn how to deal with issues that are often too difficult to discuss with an adult, and it is filled with practical parenting tips provided by health experts.

Your Child and . . .

Internet Safety
Sleep, Caffeine, Money, and Stress
Study Tips for Your Child's Unique Learning Personality
Brain Boosters, Memory Tricks, and Homework Helpers

Internet Safety

Four Things To Do Today (pdf)

Three Important Truths

1. You are the most important leader in your child's life. What is a leader's first responsibility? LEARN MORE.
2. The rod of the shepherd is not for beating the sheep. "Our ability to manage a child effectively is very much an outcome of our capacity to manage ourselves." (Gordon Neufeld, M.D. and Gabor Mate', M.D.) How does relationship play a role in Internet Safety? LEARN MORE.
3. “Raising kids is part joy and part guerilla warfare.” (Ed Asner) We must identify the issues that require a teaching intervention, devise a working game plan, and then stick to it. Where do we begin? LEARN MORE.

Sleep, Caffeine, Money, and Stress

“The average high schooler needs 8.5 hours of sleep. A middle schooler needs 10 hours. Children in elementary grades first through fourth should be getting 10.5 and preschoolers, 11 hours of sleep.” Huffman (1994). Psychology, 3rd Ed. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. on www.brains.org

Dr. Kathie Nunley provides excellent articles especially designed for schools to reprint free of charge in newsletters or other publications.

• What Caffeine does to the Brain
• Sleep and Brain Biology
• “Money may not be the Best Motivator – Especially if You’re Family.”
• Depression in Adolescents – More Common than You Think

Study Tips for Your Child's Unique Learning Personality

Sit down with your child and look at this collection of eight Alien trading cards. Ask your child to pick the Alien that seems to be a lot like him or her. As you listen to the child discuss how they are alike or different from the Aliens, you will begin to see a kaleidoscope of interests, strengths, learning styles and natural tendencies. Be a careful listener and let the child do all the talking. Students who understand the concept of learning styles and multiple intelligences are better able to grasp their own learning profiles and to set realistic goals about minimizing their weaknesses and building on their strengths.
"...higher level reasoning skills are achieved PRECISELY when we allow a person to learn through his strongest modality, whatever that may be..." (Discover Your Child's Learning Style, by Mariaemma Willis and Victoria Hodson, page 154)

Travel with your child through a misty forest with hidden tunnels and dark caves to unlock secrets that reveal fascinating clues to his or her unique learning personality. As you travel through the Caves of the Code Breakers, you will pick up 4 letters that combine to unlock the mystery of your unique learning personality.

Brain Boosters, Memory Tricks, and Homework Helpers

• Learn quick and easy strategies from the field of brain research that yield DRAMATIC results in classroom, with Teachley's Amazing Talking Brain.
• Memory tricks & strategies that every student should know can be found in the Memory Booster!
• The Cranial Concoctions mad scientist laboratory allows children of all ages to cook up amazing creations for any assignment.
• Your child can find tons of helpful, highly engaging, interactive Web sites for any subject in school at the Content Coliseum.

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