Page 120 - Parents Magazine (December 2019)
P. 120
AGES + STAGES
the marketplace
they don’t know how to act and they
worry they’ll do something wrong. So
when you introduce your daughter to
YOUR OWN BACKYARD ICE RINK. your friends, she might clam up. To help 7 + Y E A R S
Everything you need is at .com her, brainstorm together what to do or
say so she doesn’t feel as flustered. It H O W T O
could be as simple as her looking up and
saying, “It’s nice to meet you,” then Strengthen
waiting patiently while you talk.
Spelling Skills
Teach him to laugh things off. by MARISA COHEN
A blunder in front of peers is awkward
for 5- and 6-year-olds because they
want to make new friends. If your son Make it more exciting.
® drops his lunch in the cafeteria, he may
If your child thinks of spelling as a
want to hide. But let him know that it’s
chore, sit together and watch the
okay to make light of things like this.
amazing documentary Spellbound or
While his first reaction may be to cry,
the feature film Akeelah and the Bee,
encourage him to tell a joke or say both of which make spelling bees seem
something like, “That was silly.” Remind
(not .com) thrilling. Then hold your own mini bee
him to be nice to other kids when they at home and have your child write words
mess up so they’ll do that for him. on a dry-erase board or spell them
NEED in the air with his finger. That tactile
SPACE? Handle body issues. sense of actually writing a word will
DREAM Kids this age are starting to pay make it easier for him to learn it. A
HIGHER! attention to appearances. If your child few other ways to make spelling more
Custom Loft and sees she’s not the same in some way, she fun at home: Write words on individual
Bunk Beds for may feel self-conscious. Consider index cards, then cut them in half and
youth, teen, reading It’s Okay to Be Different, by Todd
college & adults. Parr, to help her understand that every play a matching game, or have your child
Space-saving beds body is unique. Explain that everyone pretend to be the teacher and explain
in twin, full, queen to you how words are spelled.
& king sizes. Visit our website for creative passes gas, burps, or has stomach
design ideas for sleep, study & storage beds. grumbles from time to time. Remind her Nail down tricky ones.
Solid wood, Ready-To-Assemble & Hand- that if she says “Excuse me” and doesn’t If you see that your child got a word
crafted in the USA. 866-739-2331 make it a big deal, chances are other wrong on her homework, don’t just tell
YouthBedLofts.com/parents people won’t either. her the correct spelling. Instead, see if
Sources: Eleonora Villegas-Reimers, Ed.D., chair of she can sound it out on her own, then
the department of special and elementary education
at Wheelock College, in Boston; Erik A. Fisher, Ph.D., use an online dictionary like Merriam
coauthor of The Art of Empowered Parenting: The -Webster.com to look it up together.
Manual You Wish Your Kids Came With.
Bonus: Your child can also hear the
correct pronunciation there. For
children (and for some grown-ups!),
certain word groups, such as your/
O N E K I N D T H I N G YO U C A N you’re, to/too/two, its/it’s, whose/
who’s, and they’re/there/their can
D O F O R YO U R K I D
“Take your child to your be continually tricky. If you notice your
workplace on a weekend child is consistently getting those
so she can see where words wrong, have her write the group
you go during the day. Show down on an index card, then use
her the pictures them in three separate sentences on
you keep of her on your the back so she can see the different
desk, and tell her ways the words are used.
you think about her a lot.”
—Harley A. Rotbart, M.D.; Take advantage of technology.
author of No Regrets Parenting
Surprisingly, researchers have
found that kids ages 10 to 12 who text
frequently have had improvements
P A R E N T S 118 D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 9
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