Celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

On the third Monday in January, the United States of America observes Martin Luther King Day.  Government Offices, school systems, banks, and postal offices are generally closed on this day.  This becomes a day of service, reflection, and commemorating of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  Since your children will be home from school, why not spend a little time learning about one of America’s famous heroes, Dr. Martin L. King, Jr.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a great man who worked for racial equality and civil rights in America.  He was born January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, GA.  His mother was a school teacher.  His father and grandfather were both ministers.  Martin has one brother, named Alfred, and one sister, named Christine.  Martin learned how to read before entering public school.

He was an excellent student; skipping grades in elementary and high school.  He enjoyed reading books, singing, riding his bicycle, and playing football and baseball.  He entered Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA when he was 15 years old.

After graduating from college with his doctorate degree, he was married and moved to Alabama where he became a minister.  During the 1950’s, Dr. King became active in the movement for civil rights and racial equality.  He participated in many peaceful demonstrations that protested the unfair treatment of African-Americans. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.  He gave his “I Have a Dream” speech on August 28, 1963.

Commemorating the life of a tremendously important leader, we celebrate MLK Day each year.  Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech is still remembered today to inspire us all to join together for peaceful harmony in this world.  He encourages us to dream for a better future for our children.

Here are a few ideas to engage your child in celebrating MLK Day:

1. What do your dream about?  Write a paragraph describing your dream.  Draw a picture of who you want to be when you grow up.

 2. Think of 8 words that describe Dr. King.  Write the words down.  Now use those words in sentences to tell facts about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  For example:  leader, minister, Civil rights, dream speech, equality.

3. Make a spelling word list to learn and memorize.  Examples:  great, leader, rights, protest, color, skin, equality, speech, dream

4. Write an acrostic poem using the letters in FREEDOM.

Helping Parents with their New Year's Resolutions

We are well into the New Year and maybe you have made your “New Year Resolutions”, but have you considered becoming a more involved parent in your child’s education? Here are a few tips you can use to encourage your participation in becoming more engaged in your child’s education and school activities. If you are already doing these suggestions, this can be one resolution that you can mark as “accomplished” and feel good about reaching your goals for the New Year. Thank you for your dedicated participation in your child’s education. You are laying the foundation for his/her future success in our global economy and society.

TIPS FOR INVOLVED PARENTS

1. Talk to your child about school activities and experiences.

2. Talk with teachers regularly – even when no problems exist.

3. Broaden your child’s understanding of the world by visiting malls, museums, parks, zoos, universities, sports stadiums, theaters, transportation facilities (air ports, train stations), farms, and local landmarks (historical sites, fire station, police station, courthouse).

4. Make learning relevant by encouraging activities that use what kids learn at school. Encourage kids to count money; make shopping lists; calculate costs, sales prices, and taxes; read menus and newspapers; and write letters.

5. Designate a specific time and place for homework.

6. Read to your child every day and encourage independent reading. Make frequent trips to the public library.

7. Set goals that are challenging but attainable.

8. Visit the school regularly and become involved in school activities as often as possible.

9. Become familiar with your child’s curriculum and its required skills and goals.

10. Be aware that your attitudes about school – and teachers – influence your child’s attitudes about school and teachers.

Challenge yourself to select at least three of these tips and work towards gaining total parental involvement in your child’s education. You will begin to see an increased improvement in your child’s academic progress, positive attitude about school life, regular attendance, and overall performance on a daily basis. So it’s worth your time and effort to become actively engaged in your child’s education. It is going to be a Happy New Year!

Safety Tips to Children Safely Playing in Cold Temperatures

Now that winter is upon us, when children want to play outside in the extreme cold temperatures, the American Red Cross offers some safety tips for staying safe in cold conditions.

1. Dress in layers of light clothing: rather than just wearing a heavy coat, wear undergarments, shirt and sweater, tights or knee socks, pants and boots along with a warm coat.

2. Cover your head and hands: wearing a hat, stocking cap, or hood and gloves will prevent losing too much body heat quickly.

3. Limit your time of exposure to low temperatures: small children need to come inside every 10 minutes to get warm before returning to outdoor play.

4. Seek medical attention immediately: if you or your child experiences symptoms of dizziness, confusion, and severe shivering, as hyperthermia may be a concern.

5. Watch for symptoms of frostbite: your extremities may show signs of frostbite if there is a numbness and skin discoloration of the fingers, nose, face, or toes. If this occurs, seek a warm shelter and begin first aid treatment. Remember to use “luke-warm” water rather than hot water to soak hands and feet. Call emergency medical attendants immediately for frostbite exposure.

6. Drink hot liquids and stay hydrated: keeping hot cocoa or hot tea available for warm-up breaks from being in the cold will help to keep the body warm on the inside. It is important to stay hydrated when playing in the cold temperatures, so drink plenty of water, too.

7. Final tip: get into a warm shelter before any of the extreme exposure symptoms become severe.

Let your children have fun during the winter months when the sun is shining. Just take precaution when the temperatures dip below freezing. You will want to keep your child happy, healthy, and safe until the season changes for warmer days.

New Year - Healthy Choices for the Whole Family

In a time of busy schedules outside of the home, it is important to make time for the family unit to be together. It’s a new year and a time to consider making healthy choices concerning food and physical activity for the family.

Here are a few simple suggestions that the whole family can participate in:

1. Consider adding at least one fresh fruit snack to the daily diet
2. Consider switching to whole grain cereal, pasta, and bread
3. What about play time? Why not add 30 minutes of outdoor activity 3-5 times a week
4. Consider scheduling family activities on the monthly calendar.

Here are a few suggestions:

• Evening walks
• Fitness classes
• Board game or Wii night
• Skating night, soccer game, or other sporting events.

 Make your New Year’s resolution to include family time for healthy eating, physical activity and together time. Be creative and let your child help to generate ideas for the family sharing time together.

Easy No Bake Cookies - Family Activity

Want an easy recipe for cookies that your children can help make?  Here’s an easy no-bake cookie recipe that uses the following ingredients:

1 cup creamy peanut butter

2 cups chocolate chips

3 cups slightly crushed corn flake cereal

You will also need a cookie sheet or tray and a sheet of wax paper

Wooden spoon

Optional items: ice cream scoop; cupcake paper cups;  plate for serving

 Place the chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl.  Heat on low setting.  Stop and stir after one minute.  Continue heating on low and stop after 30 seconds and stir until chocolate is smooth and creamy.

 Remove the bowl from the microwave.  Spoon the peanut butter into the chocolate.  Let your child stir the chocolate and peanut butter until the mixture is blended.

Gently stir in the crushed corn flakes.  With a spoon, fold the mixture over and over until the corn flakes are covered.

With a cookie sheet lined with wax paper, scoop the cookie dough with a spoon or ice cream scoop onto the waxed paper.  Make 16 cookie balls.

Place the cookie sheet in the refrigerator until firm, about 2 hours.

Cookies can be placed in individual “cupcake” paper cups or placed on a plate to serve.

These no-bake cookies are easy to make for little “helping hands” to share in the preparations.  Why not include your child in making these delicious cookies for the holiday festivities.

Holiday Greetings

Now that the holidays are fast approaching, here’s an idea that will be fun for your kids and educational, too. Start a family tradition of making greeting cards for family and friends this holiday season. This is a fun activity for children. They get to be creative and artistic to design original cards. The hand written messages will be treasured by Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, cousins, and friends. Let’s make holiday greeting cards!

Materials Needed:
• Old cards that can be cut apart and recycled into new cards
• Assorted colored paper
• Makers, pens
• Envelopes of various sizes (envelopes can be made by folding plain paper)

1. Allow your child to design the cards by using materials listed above
2. Assist, as needed, in writing the special greeting on the inside of the card
3. Decide to whom the card will be sent
4. Decide if the cards will be hand delivered or mailed
5. Assist, as needed, with securing mailing addresses and postage

EXTRA: have your child make extra cards to be sent to military heroes in foreign lands. Use the following address to forward all military cards:

Holiday Mail for Heroes
P.O. Box 5456
Capitol Heights, MD 20792-5456

If you elect to send cards to the military personnel far from home, I’m sure they will appreciate your thoughtfulness during this special time of the year.

So spend some quality time with your child and make holiday greeting cards together. Remember to save a few as “keep-sakes” and don’t forget to put the date made on each one.

Family Fun Facts

Here are a few “family fun facts” that came from the Harvard Family Research Project (www.hfrp.org). These activities can improve your child’s education and help him/her to be successful in school.

Their research findings reported that:
• Children who eat dinner around the table with their families do better in school. Having this family time together is especially beneficial if the family engages in a conversation about the day’s events or happenings.

• Children who take family trips do better in school. These trips do not have to be long expensive vacations. Simple free trips to a local park and to the public library are just as beneficial.

• Children who are read to frequently read earlier and better. Just 20 minutes a day of reading or being read to will make a difference in your child’s reading ability.

• Children who see their parents, guardians, or caregivers read regularly are more likely to read more themselves. Reading includes, but not limited to: newspapers, magazines, books, and media devices.

• Spending 30 minutes a day with your children can help them achieve better grades in schools. By taking an active interest in your children’s school work encourage your children to take an interest in performing better in school.

• The bottom line is, children LOVE to spend quality time with their parents. So give your children extra time this holiday season and you both will see encouraging results in your efforts.

During the holiday season when your children are at home most of the day, why not begin to put into practice some of these research based practices that will have long-lasting effects on your children’s education. Take some time and give your children quality time with you, their first and most important teacher.