Too Much Screen Time

Kids and teens ages 8 to 18 years old spend an average of close to seven and a half hours a day using entertainment media. Shelley Plasnik, director of the Center for Children and Technology at the New York City based Education Development Center states: “Media devices change, but the strategy for supporting kids isn’t that new or different.” Are you concerned that your child is watching too much television, computer screens, and video devices? Here are a few suggestions to ensure that your child is using the technologies available to set successful screen time habits.

1. Set limits and screen-time rules: begin establishing rules when your child is young and modify as he/she matures

2. Model the behaviors you, as the parent want to see: your child should see you using the media devices in balance with other family activities

3. Supervise and engage with your children during screen time: ask questions and encourage conversation and TV programs or computer websites

4. Keep screen devices in common areas of your home: have specific locations for your child to use video devices so that adult supervision can be available if necessary

5. Use expert resources to engage apps, websites, programs, and videos: let your child know that you are concerned about their internet search opportunities and want to keep them safe

6. Ensure other non-screen activities are readily available: consider other alternative activities such as: “board game night” or “no TV night”. Plan time for the family to engage in physical activities outside of the home.



The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends limiting kids total screen time to no more than one to two hours per day. The more time a child is spending in front of an electronic screen, the less time he/she is engaged in playing outside or interacting with other children or family members. So if you are concerned about your child’s lack of physical activity, try setting limits on time in front of the TV or computer and get more involved in creative play.

Celebrate National Children's Mental Health Month - May

The month of May is National Children's Mental Health Month. One in five children between the ages of 9- 17 has a mental illness that requires intervention by parents and schools. Let's work together to make the month of May an engaging forum with the community to reach the National Goals:


• promote tips for supporting children's positive mental health and helpful links for more information

• energize your community and show how children with mental health needs thrive in your community

• demonstrate how children's mental health initiatives promote positive youth development, recovery, and resilience

• maximize your impact and raise awareness of effective progress for children's mental health needs



Here are a few suggested activities to engage local schools, youth organizations, and daycare centers with local business organizations in Children's Mental Health Awareness:



1. Community arts event

Have students express their feelings through art, poetry, music, and drama. Have a community fair for children to perform and share their talents.



2. Book Read

Create a book list that talk about feelings, emotions, friendship and bullying. Work with your local public library to have a community book fair. Form book reading clubs and involve community leaders in the reading of the suggested children's books.



3. Table Tents and Placemats

Partner with local restaurants and have students create Table Tents and Placemats that include facts about Children's Mental Health. Include family activity calendars, resource information, and parenting tips, as well as, student art work.



4. Family Event

Hold a walk-a-thon or bowl-a-thon and encourage families to participate. Invite social workers, CASA volunteers, and local leaders to join the event.



5. Balloon Launch

Purchase environmentally safe green balloons. Involve community leaders to kick off the launch about the importance of understanding children's mental health needs.

Preparing Your Child for Standardized Tests

1. Help your child to be calm, focused, and rested on test day. This begins with a good night's rest.


2. Prepare any needed materials ahead of schedule and take time for a good breakfast before the tests.

3. Remind your children that you support their effort and that daily performance is a much better indicator of aptitude than a single test.

4. Plan a post-exam activity your child enjoys as a reward for his/her hard work.

5. Take advantage of study guides and teacher suggestions for content review, especially with history and science facts.

6. Practice problem solving examples in math homework. Many problems have multiple steps for solving. By talking through the problems, your child can gain a better understanding of how to tackle them on the test.



Extra Practice for handling multi-step math problems: point out the details needed to solve the question

1. What is the question at the end of the problem?

2. Decide what operation is needed to solve the problem

3. Are there tables, charts, graphs, etc. with this problem? Read the "picture" to determine details needed to solve the problem.

4. What facts in the word problem are needed to solve the question?

5. Set up the proper operation to solve the problem

6. Solve the problem

7. Check to see if your answer make sense and answers the question given

National Teacher Appreciation Week 2013

Teachers play a key role in your child's success in school. Sometimes a simple "Thanks" is all a teacher needs to hear to feel appreciated and valued. But since May 6-10 is National Teacher Appreciation Week, why not take time to celebrate your child's teacher with a few of these ideas:


1. Write a letter or design a card. Encourage your child to design a special letter or card to say "Thank you" to his/her teacher.

2. Show your support for the tremendous work teachers do all year to provide the best instruction possible for the children in their care.

3. Work with several other parents and create a small gift basket of goodies for a teacher. Teachers love to receive small gifts that they can use in their classroom, like: sticky note pads, stickers, markers, tape, glue sticks, tissues, and hand sanitizer. Usually by this time of the year, school supplies are running out and teachers are having to buy things with their own money.

4. During NTA week, visit your child's school and offer to help in your child's classroom. Be a lunch monitor or playground monitor. Giving a teacher 15 minutes of "free time" will be a welcomed break and an appreciated gesture to show that you value the work of a teacher.

Talk to your child and think of special ways to honor your teacher. Let your child be creative and think of some fun ways to show his/her teacher how much she/he is appreciated for all their hard work at school.

School Field Trips - Tips for Parents

As the school year is winding down, teachers are looking for field trip opportunities to expand their students' experiences with real life learning adventures. School field trips are a wonderful learning opportunity for students to explore what they have learned in the classroom. The real life experiences will benefit their understanding and give them lasting memories to treasure for a life time.


Parents can be a great help to teachers as volunteer chaperones for the planned trips. Here are a few tips to consider if you would like to help chaperone a field trip with your child's class.

1. Let your child's teacher know that you are interested in helping with the school trip. She may need help in securing the transportation and scheduling the event. She also may need assistance with the fliers that need to be printed for parent permission. Offer your time to the teacher and let her give you guidelines for extra help where it may be needed.

2. If you become a chaperone on the trip, know the rules and teacher expectations for the trip. Be prepared to follow the guidelines set by the teacher so the students will be safe and secure in your care.

3. Be open to help supervise a small group of students, along with your own child. Field trip groups usually divide into smaller groups for the learning experiences. Having an adult parent to help monitor them will be very helpful for the teacher.

Even if you will not be available as a class chaperone, encourage your child to listen and follow the safety rules for the field trip and to participate in the learning experience with the class. Students can have a wonderful time on their spring field trips and establish lasting memories that they can share when they return home.

A Nature Walk with Your Child in Your Own Backyard!

Now that spring is here, go on a nature walk in your backyard with your young child. Engage your child in a conversation to look for "signs of spring". Here are a few ideas you can use:


Tell your child, he/she is a detective to look for signs of spring. To make this journey more fun, give your child a magnifying glass and begin your hunt just like real detectives. Bring along a small bag or basket for collectibles.

Look for:

• fresh green grass

• flowers popping up out of the ground

• flowers blooming

• Robin-red-breast hopping around in the yard

• birds building their nests

• buds on the trees

• spring rain or warm sunshine

After your child has made a collection of spring samples ( green grass, green leaves, flowers, buds, bird feather, nesting material, etc), come back inside and make an art project from the backyard experience.

1. Make a poster: Title "Signs of Spring": glue items on the poster and label each one. Proudly display in the kitchen or child's bedroom. Be sure to engage your child in the conversation about each item; naming the item, where it was found, and how it reminds us of spring.

2. Draw a picture of your walk in the yard. Glue the items on the picture where they were found. Here again, take the opportunity to talk with your child about "being a detective" and how the items were found. The picture can be hung on the refrigerator or wall for other family members to see.

3. Create a diorama: use an empty shoe box to display the found items. By using string attached to each item, hang the "signs of spring" to give a 3-D effect. The inside of the box can be colored or lined with colorful paper to give an appeal of being outdoors.

During your adventure, remember to engage your child in a conversation about the findings and why each one is a sign of spring. But most importantly, have fun with your child!

Create a Spring Collage with your Child

Preschoolers can have fun making a collage that doesn't involve gluing items onto paper. Try this idea: use clear contact paper.


1. Place a sheet of clear contact paper (sticky side up) on a flat surface, such as: a table, bench, or floor. Secure in place with tape.

2. Provide items for your child to place in the collage. Select one collection at a time.

a) Nature items: flowers, leaves, nuts, seeds, grass. Take a walk around the yard and collect items from nature that would fit on the contact paper

b) Types of paper: shredded newspaper, strips of tissue paper and wrapping paper, cut out shapes of circles, squares, and triangles. Have a your child search for possible items that are made of paper to place in the collage.

c) Types of material: ribbons, scraps of material, feathers, felt, pieces of terry cloth and old towel or wash cloth scraps. Have your child help search for different textures of material around your home.

3. After deciding on the collage collection for your masterpiece, let your child place the items in any design or format of his choosing. Engage your preschooler in a conversation about the collection, using describing words of colors, shapes, and how the item feels.

4. After all of the items are in place, now cover the entire collection with another sheet of clear contact paper. Press firmly around the edges. Use decorative tape to make a frame around the perimeter of the collage.

5. Select the perfect place to hang your child's creative work: wall, door, window, refrigerator, or a place where the light can shine through the piece.

This activity will spark your child's imagination and creativity. Remember to engage your child in a conversation about the pieces in the display. Ask these questions: "How are the items alike? How are they different?" Encourage your child to begin a "new collection" of items for a future display. Get the whole family involved. Your preschooler will begin to demonstrate leadership skills once he/she has completed the first collage. Just watch how your child blossoms with creativity!

Arbor Day

Arbor Day is a special day to celebrate the importance of taking care of our Earth. Most states in the United States celebrate Arbor Day by planting trees. School children especially take part in this special holiday.


Arbor Day began in the USA in 1872 in Nebraska. J. Sterling Morton, a newspaperman, knew how important trees were to the land so he began the idea. The state offered prizes to the groups and people who planted the most trees. On that first Arbor Day, the people of Nebraska planted more than one million trees.

Arbor Day is celebrated on the last Friday in April of each year. Although, some states will celebrate it at different times to coincide with the best time of year to plant trees in their climate zone. In warmer climates, young saplings have the best chance of survival if they are planted earlier than cold climate areas.

Maybe your family would like to take part in celebrating Arbor Day this year by planting a tree where you live. Make it a family event and everyone can help to plant the tree and keep watch over it as it takes root and grows. You can make it even more exciting by holding a poetry contest, drawing contest, or putting on skits about trees. Be creative and make this Arbor Day one to remember and celebrate the importance of taking care of our Earth.