All posts filed under: The Teacher is Talking

The Teacher is Talking: THE SPARKLE BOX, a Book Review & Holiday Tradition

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By Leslie Lindsay When a glittery little book arrived on my doorstep recently, a feeling of awe and wonderment filled my heart. “The Sparkle Box,” by Jill Hardie is absolutely a timeless treasure. Designed for children (and their adults) this holiday season, “The Sparkle Box” is sure to incite warm feelings of nostalgia for the true meaning of Christmas. With the vast commercialization of the season, the desire for more and better, families–and children–may forget the real reason for the holidays: family, love, Jesus. Open the book, and you’ll immediately be transported to Sam’s world through richly painted artwork by illustrator Christine Kornacki. Like most children, Sam can’t wait for Christmas. He’s excited about the food, the parties, the gifts…yet there is one very curious gift: a sparkly box sitting atop the mantle. Sam’s parents tell him that it’s an important gift that can only be opened together; but they need to fill it first. Throughout the holiday season, Sam and his family give back to their community. He begins to see just how fortuante …

The Teacher is Talking: FALL series–#2 Making Friends

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By Leslie Lindsay Long ago, a wise person once told me, “When you arlook back on your life, and you think of all of the relationships and people who have come and gone, you’ll see that the number of true friends will fit on the fingers of only one hand.” I looked at my right hand, flipping it over so I could see the ridges and swirls of my palm.  It was pink and youthful.  I counted my friends, wiggling each finger as I did.  More than five.  I looked back at this person, my eyes full of questions.  At the time, I was young–about to graduate college.  My whole life lay out ahead of me.  How could it be possible to only have five individuals to name as ‘true friends’ as I became an old lady; there was a lot of living left between now and then.  And how it is that we teach this lesson to our youth?  Perhaps, we don’t.  Maybe it’s intended to be one of those mysterious life’s lessons that we …

The Teacher is Talking: Fall Series–Self-Esteem

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By Leslie Lindsay Welcome to a NEW fall series on THE TEACHER IS TALKING!  This is an 8-week “workshop” covering a huge amount of social skills tips and ideas our kiddos may struggle with.  We’re starting with my personal favorite–SELF-ESTEEM because I believe it underlies all of the other skills we’ll be covering.  Eight-year old Kate identified the word self-esteem, as “Self as teem.”  She probably had never seen it in print, only heard others pass the trendy term around, yet I was particularly struck by how she transferred the information.  SELF AS TEAM.  Love that!! It’s kind of like saying, responsibilty is your “ability to respond,” or history is “his story.”  So you take this information and you think, “Yeah, I am sort of like a team that works together to create a whole, interesting, happy, proactive person.”  As a parent, how do you teach this to your child?  Waves of recent researach are crashing into what we thought we previously knew:  parental/teacher praise will increase a child’s self-esteem.  Well, not so fast.   In fact, overpraising …

The Teacher is Talking: Luca’s Lashes

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By Leslie Lindsay Being a former Child Psych R.N., I am super-excited to share this great new series from husband-wife team  Nicole and Damir Fonovich.  Cute, fun, whismical, and necessary…these stories help soften the blow to many “firsts” kiddos are sure to endure. What’s more, it’s multilingual and interactive. This is the eighth installment in the App and eBook series Luca Lashes Visits Mommy in the Hospital.  I am honored to present this helpful “tip sheet” for easing your child through the sometimes scary and traumatic experience of visiting a parent in the hospital.  There are a few occasions in life where a child is going to have to visit a parent in the hospital. Accidents happen, surgeries become necessary…life happens. When these occasions require extended, or even just overnight stays in the hospital, children will want to visit their parents. Sometimes just to be reassured, other times to make the parent feel better. Here are some tips to help get you through this. 1. Get Crafty Children can be very creative, especially when they make something for their parents. This can …

The Teacher is Talking: Special Back-to-School Series–Organizational & Memory Strategies

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By Leslie Lindsay As a kid–and even as an adult–I love to be organized!  Give me a three-ring binder and some tab dividers and you might as well put me in nerd-heaven.  Wait?!  What’s that you say?  Your child is anything BUT organized?  They have a junky room?  Backpack is over-flowing with notes, papers, Kleenex?  Ah…I see.  I have one of those, too.  I call her my oldest daughter.  How is it that the Queen of Organization gave life to the Princess of Junk?  It baffles me, too.  But there is a little hope in the Kingdom of Clean.  Princess Junk is entering 3rd grade.  And from what I can tell about 3rd grade, it’s the year of learning to be organized, resourceful, and independent.  That said, this post will cover all grades–early education through elementary school. ORGANIZE IT! EARLY EDUCATION/PRESCHOOL: Teach what goes in and what stays out of the backpack each day.  Take actual photos or make your own visual reminders by either drawing or priniting out Clip Art from your Word program. …

The Teacher is Talking: Special Back-to-School Series

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By Leslie Lindsay Will it be the Benetton sweatshirt or the Hyper-color tee for the first day?  Tight-rolled or bootcut?  Acid-washed, or ripped?  Zippers on the ankles?  Oh wait–this isn’t the 1980s anymore!  Fast-forward several years and now you’re getting your children ready for the first day of school.  Times have changed, or have they? Just this past weekend, we ran into my daughter’s former 1st grade teacher at the ballpark.  Her first question, “Are you ready for the first day of school?  Do you have a first-day outfit all ready to go?”  My daughter did a polite eye-roll and then looked to me for direction.  Yes, of course we do!  Making a good first impression is vital to kids at school–and perhaps for adults too (think first dates, first day at the new job, etc.).  In fact a novel I just read, Jeanette Walls’s THE SILVER STAR, sisters Bean and Liz have a similar discussion about what to wear on the first day of a new Virginia High School: “…Liz kept saying it was important to …

The Teacher is Talking: Back-to-School Transitions

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By Leslie Lindsay Whether your child is started a new grade or new school, there are bound to be a lot of transitions.  Here’s a fast guide to helping your kiddo navigate the new things that may be coming down the pike (and if you read last week’s post on anxiety, you’ll understand how transitions and stress go hand in hand.  The more you know, the better the transition).  A year ago, my then-kindergarten student was all bubbles and sunshine about her upcoming kindergarten experience.  We went to the open-house, meet-the-teacher nights, and all seemed good to go.  Even the the first day offered easy sailing.  It wasn’t till the third or fourth day that she completely refused to get in the school bus.  I mean, really refused.  She clung to me and kicked her legs, “I am not going to school today.”  It held up the line of other kindergartners and their parents as they said their final good-byes at the bus stop.  I scratched my head and worried what could possibly be going on.  Was her teacher mean?  Did someone say or do something …

The Teacher is Talking: Special Back-to-School Series

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By Leslie Lindsay Has your summer flown by…or are you counting down the days till your wee ones head back? Perhaps you’re worried about a few things–maybe your child is starting a new school…or, she’s not very good at making first impressions, staying organized, or playing fair.  Now’s the perfect time to begin working with your child on some of those skills as you polish up the back-to-school shoes and shop for glue sticks.  Follow along as we discuss a different topic related to school readiness each week now through the August.  Topics include: Back to School Stress & Anxiety Easy Transitioning to a New Grade or School Social Skills & 1st  Impressions Organizational & Memory Strategies Self-Esteem & Positive Behavior Playing Fair & Respecting Others [if you have a child with apraxia, or another special need, please remember to follow along on http://www.speakingofapraxia on Mondays for apraxia-specific back-to-school tips beginning 8/5/13.  With a combination of these and the apraxia tips, your family will be ready for success!] Without further adieu…here’s a little refresher on back-to-school stress & …

The Teacher is Talking: Miss Moore Thought Otherwise

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By Leslie Lindsay It was a steamy day in Chicgaoland.  Too steamy for the pool, but just the right amount for an air conditioned library.  My 6 year old, 8 year old, and I headed to the library where we stumbled upon this book, MISS MORE THOUGHT OTHERWISE, an endearing story about the first children’s librarian, Anne Carroll Moore.  Written by Jan Pinborough and whimisically illustrated by Debby Atwell, this new book (May 2013) is sure to become a treasure for young and old book lovers alike. In a time when children were thought to be seen and not heard–or educated–Anne (Annie) Moore grew up the youngest of 7 older brothers.  But she loved to be read to by her attorney father.  As she grew older, her love of learning and reading remained.  Instead of marrying or taking care of the home for her parents as many young unmarried women did, Annie became a lawyer studying the profession at the heels of her father.  It’s hard to believe that books were once kept away from young …

The Teacher is Talking: Seven Men and the Secret of their Greatness

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By Leslie Lindsay You may be thinking red, white, and blue this time of year in light of American Independence Day (better known by the familiar moniker, 4th of July).  But, have you ever stopped to think about the qualities within Americans that make the USA truly great?  In New York Times Bestselling author’s Eric Metaxas’s recent book, we delve right into that.  While there are gads of influential women, this one focuses on seven widely known–but not well understood men.  Each exquisitely crafted short portraits of these men showcase a commitment to live by certain virtues found in the gospel.  Of course you are curious–just who are these great men and what can I learn from them?  Within the covers of this beautifully written, highly engageable book is seven men from all walks of life–politicians, founding fathers, baseball all-stars, athletes, and men of faith…George Washington, William Wilberforce, Eric Liddell, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Jackie Robinson, Pope John Paul II, and Charles W. Colson. While not all of these individuals are American, we can certaintly see how their impact on …