September 2009
Realistic, Reasonably Priced & Really Useful
Resources for School Success
By Loriann Oberlin, M.S., LCPC
Beyond the coolest clothes, requisite backpacks and teacher-recommended calculators, the school-year stockpile doesn’t seem complete without technology. Just as computers replaced typewriters, software such as Microsoft Office has made the bound dictionary and thesaurus nearly obsolete. Today, few buy a set of encyclopedias when you can access information on the Internet. iPods, iPhones and iLife put calendars, notes and homework reminders within our touch, too.
Here are some resources for skill enhancement, homework helpers, physical fitness, even restful sleep.
All Ages
Breathe Out, Breathe In
When school starts to stress your child, consider a yoga class. Even the youngest child benefits from taking yoga, and, “teens use yoga breathing and meditation to clear their head before test taking,” says Mary Kaye Chryssicas, author of Breathe: Yoga for Teens. She adds that test anxiety causes kids to lose focus and become less organized. “Meditation and a few simple poses calm the mind. Inversions are useful in stimulating the brain. Just hanging over in rag doll pose in the morning is a great way to get blood flowing to the brain.”
Martial Arts
Martial arts also bring focus to students, especially those with ADHD, says Robert W.H. Price, LCPC, a sports consultant and counselor in North Potomac. “So much energy and brain power is put into these moves that it absolutely focuses the brain to ‘quiet itself’ so the child can be successful.”
Preschool/Elementary School
In this age of discovery and skill acquisition, children learn how to manage themselves and their reactions to the world so they can play appropriately with peers and focus in school. Phonics and math aside, other skills develop the whole child—body, mind and spirit. YogaKids DVDs (ages 3-6) help youngsters de-stress, relax and concentrate. Using the multiple intelligences theory of Harvard educator Howard Gardner, each pose launches kids toward learning, tapping the senses in a playful, positive way. Kids learn their ABCs in one DVD, along with facts about nature, animals and the history behind yoga. Teachers can use yoga in the classroom by linking to “tools for schools” on the yogakids.com website.
Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood (fci.org) explores how to make friends and what to expect in school with DVDs that won iParenting and Parents’ Choice awards.
Sleep
New situations or other concerns may weigh upon your child, making sleep difficult. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), children need at least 9 to10 hours of sleep. A lack of proper sleep impacts memory, behavior and mood and impairs performance, concentration and reaction time and the consolidation of learning. “Sleep is part of a daily biological rhythm,” says Dr. Michael Twery at NIH. “Bright light from TVs, computers and lamps before bedtime can suppress the production of melatonin, which helps initiate the normal nightly patterns of hormonal changes and body temperature as the body prepares for sleep.”
Sleep remedies include quiet routines and behavioral modifications. Technologically, some have relied upon the HoMedics SoundSpas. Parents report that listening to the six nature sounds often helps children sleep. The least expensive model appeals to the traveler and has heartbeat sounds for infants, while other models feature a dual-alarm clock and ceiling projection.
Write Right
If your child struggles to express thoughts on paper, Kidspiration software runs on Mac/Windows for grades K-5. This graphic organizer, using more than 3,000 symbols and words, helps the visual learner communicate using webs, concept maps and Venn diagrams improving reading, writing, social studies and the sciences. Math tools aid in counting, recognizing pattern blocks and understanding equivalencies and fractions. Personal Trainer: Math makes math fun on the Nintendo DS for kids 6 to10 years old. Typing Instructor for Kids teaches proper hand positions, with speed increasing drills and games in both English and Spanish. It’s rated highly on the Top Ten Reviews website.
Solving puzzles aids a child’s cognitive growth, and Crayola Colorful Journey transforms your Wii remote into crayons and paint brushes in this 3-D world, as the child solve puzzles creatively with no “right” answers.
Smart Buy: Use your membership or store rewards at Barnes & Noble or Borders, and register through Upromise.com for more savings and money that can be distributed into a 529 College Savings Plan. Online pricing can save 35-40 percent off retail.
Middle School
Pressures mount in middle school, with greater organizational demands, peer influences that can trump parental authority and physical growth sparked by hormonal changes. No wonder kids gravitate toward technological recreation to take a break from it all, while benefiting from software to improve scholastics. Both Inspire Data (grades 4-12) and Inspiration (grades 6-12) software allow kids to manipulate data and use the e-Survey tool, along with bar, stack, pie and axis plots, to interpret information and draw conclusions. “Inspiration allows students to create diagrams that show relationships between different topics and ideas,” says Derek Kelley, instructional technology coordinator for Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS), where students use it to brainstorm ideas and create diagram maps. Kelley reports FCPS also uses Geometer’s Sketchpad mathematics visualization software.
Hands-On Gaming
By middle school, kids haven’t tossed their spelling or vocabulary lists. In fact, with the PSAT approaching, games like My Word Coach, Wordfish Spelling Challenges and Scrabble offer language arts practice while providing hands-on gaming via the Nintendo DS or other platforms. Ubisoft also produces Word Coach in Spanish and French. For the computer, Typing Instructor Platinum (ages 8+), available in Mac/Windows, steers students away from hunt and peck keyboarding, giving them a productivity advantage in years to come.
Smart Buy: Many brick and mortar stores accept gently used merchandise. Defray the cost of new games by trading. E-mailed bookstore coupons also reduce costs.
High School
Another transition occurs in 9th grade, a year that humbles some who rode high socially in 8th grade and where academic competition and perfectionism set in, as well as occasional teen attitude and lingo (OMG PAW or, “oh my gosh…parents are watching”). Parents may do well to back off some while providing the resources their kids need.
Technology
Purely academic technology includes the right hardware and software to complete school assignments and pursue academic interests on the side, including word processing for writing papers and constructing slide presentations with Microsoft Office Home and Student editions or Apple’s iWork.
Computers are also a platform for entertainment, with iLife Garage Band, the Internet and games! Entertainment Arts (EA) launched “The Sims 3,” nearly a cult phenomenon. The game shifts from having the player focus on the physical requirements of her Sims characters to their psychological needs. Yes, the overemotional Sim will have ever-interesting family dynamics, and the player can give it obsessive-compulsive traits, kleptomania, forgetfulness and other psychological traits. These Sims explore the town readily, work at careers (the player selects life wishes and goals) and interact with others. Could it be that “The Sims 3” may be this generation’s more complex game of Life?
Smart Buy: Beware of third-party discounts when you might go directly to the Microsoft, Apple or Adobe websites to search for educational pricing or incentives. For back to school, Apple offered a free iPod Touch after rebate with the purchase of a Mac. Microsoft offered $20 off Office for the Mac; other discounts are available with a student ID. Rather than toss old computers into the landfill, sites like sellamac.com and gazelle.com offer you money for old equipment, which can be used to defray costs for an upgrade. Coverdell Education IRAs often view educational technology purchases as part of one’s qualified distributions.
Parent Priorities
Mom or Dad: You know how much you orchestrate a school year. Without you as cheerleader, chauffeur, cook, shopping consultant, nurse and financier, success wouldn’t occur. So . . . you need to take care of you, too!
The home fitness product (Wii compatible) Sports Active gives you a personal trainer for your own motivation and encouragement, a 30-day challenge that adjusts to your own fitness level, even tracking calories, intensity and progress. Try a variety of exercises and cardio dancing, volleyball, basketball, baseball, tennis, walking, running, steps and kick ups. It’s also a compatible Wii Balance Board.
My Healthy Cooking Coach contains more than 250 recipes, allowing you to plan meals within your budget, use prepared shopping lists and cook with ingredients you have in your pantry. There’s even a virtual kitchen to walk you through each recipe before actually preparing it.
Loriann Oberlin runs Loriann Oberlin Counseling & Mediation, LLC, offering individual, family and group therapy including parent support and school/success groups in the Washington, DC metro area. She’s the author of The Angry Child, Overcoming Passive-Aggression, and Surviving Separation & Divorce. Reach her through her website loriannoberlin.com.
The National Center on Sleep Disorders Research at NIH offers Sleep Well. Do Well. Star Sleeper Campaign to teach kids, parents, educators and healthcare providers about the importance of adequate nighttime rest. The Sleep, Sleep Disorders and Biological Rhythms and Awake at the Wheel curricula assist older teens and young adults. Parents may like reading Your Guide to Healthy Sleep. Visit: science.education.nih.gov/Customers.nsf/HSSleep.htm and nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/sleep/index.htm.