Teaching Kids

Looking for Everyday Opportunities

Home schooling parents are notorious for seeing learning opportunities in everyday life. However, even non-home schooling parents and teachers can find everyday teaching opportunities.

Shapes, Numbers, Colors, and ABC's=

Toddlers can learn to recognize shapes in ordinary objects, such as billboards (rectangles), cookies (circles), and picture frames (squares). They can also learn to count while eating, coloring, and playing with blocks. Encourage them to notice the different colors in their world, and help them recognize their ABC's in books, magazines, and even cereal boxes.

History

Bring history alive by visiting areas of historical significance in your hometown. Tell your kids stories about your own past, and share your memories of historical events.

Environment

Help your kids learn to love the environment. Teaching kids to take care of our planet is as simple as picking up litter or recycling.

Incorporating Character Education

Your children will learn to become good people by providing a service for others. Teaching kids character education helps them become law-abiding, contributing citizens. It only makes sense to incorporate these values into their everyday life. Here are a few tips for teaching kids values and common courtesy:

• Start Them Young: Teach toddlers to say please and thank you. Give them small jobs to do, such as setting the table or emptying a small trash can.
• Teach Them Empathy: Even elementary school-aged children can learn empathy by helping their grandparents with small chores or donating toys to needy children.
• Give Teens a Purpose: [http:www.teens.lovetoknow.com Teens] and tweens are famous for their self-absorption. Help them break out of the monotony of their me state of mind by finding service projects they can do or service organizations they can join.

Handling Money

Teaching kids to handle money can start at a very young age. Because kids often don't understand the concept of making, saving, and spending money, parents need to help them grasp these concepts through chores, jobs, allowances, and even savings accounts.

• Teaching Kids Early: Kids as young as five can begin to understand the concept of earning money. Setting up an allowance system will help them begin to learn about saving.
• Working for Pay: While every child should have some responsibility in the home that isn't done for pay, but instead is expected because he is a contributing member of the family, parents can find opportunities for introducing their children to the world of work and pay. Give your child extra jobs that might need to be done, or encourage him or her to talk to neighbors about extra work.

Teaching Safety

Teaching kids safety involves many different areas. As parents and teachers, our ultimate goal is always to keep kids safe and healthy. We are ever-vigilant as we feed them, clothe them, and take them to school and other places each day.

• Food Safety: With the very real issue of food poisoning, which can occur at home or at restaurants and other places, parents need to teach children about food safety, including keeping foods hot or cold.
• Transportation Safety: As parents, we automatically buckle our kids into their car seats, but as kids get older, they still need to buckle up every time they ride in a car. This should become a habit for them, so that even when they are not with you, they are still riding safely in a vehicle. Teenagers should be encouraged to take a drivers' education course as well.
• Personal Safety: No longer do the words don't talk to strangers keep kids safe. Kids must be taught how to avoid abduction, protect their personal space, and talk to parents and teachers if anything inappropriate has been done to them or someone they know.
• Play Safety: Helmets and knee pads can go a long way toward protecting kids, but children also need to know the safety rules of the road.

Dealing With Negative Peer Pressure

Finally, don't overlook the very real threat of peer pressure for your kids. Teaching kids how to handle peer pressure can be as simple as role playing different situations. You should encourage them to talk to you about any problems they experience. You should also encourage them to just walk away.

Teaching Kids Resources

• Kids and Money
• Character Education
• Food Safety
• Transportation Safety
• Bike Safety
• Safe Kids
• Peer Pressure