One-on-one, in-home tutoring by Knowledge Team
In-Home Tutors, LLC
www.kttutors.com
860-774-0506

779-1554 or magr@charter.net

Dorinda D. Lundin

Professional Educator K-8
Specializing in Mathematics

15 Smith Rd.
Woodstock, CT

860-974-3460
lundlind@mac.com

Don’t answer every question, instead ask what do they think.
Asking questions stimulates conversation between you and your
child.

2. Don’t Criticize.

Criticism invites low self-esteem. Children feel that they have
failed or disappointed their parents when they are criticized.
Find alternate ways of correcting the problem. A child will
likely shut down communication if they feel that their parents
are not supportive.

3. Respect Your Child’s Opinions.

Your child is not an extension of you. Although it is difficult
to accept at times, it is normal and healthy for your child to
have their own opinion. Children who are confident in expressing
their opinions are less likely to join gangs or succumb to peer
pressure.

4. Teach Your Child To Embrace Diversity.

Encourage your child to learn about different cultures and
ethnicities. A well informed child can will understand and
respect other people’s values.

5. Teach Your Child To Set Personal Boundaries.

Children need to have their personal space respected in order
for them to respect other people’s personal space. Help your
child to establish their boundaries and insist that he/she
enforce them with their peers.

6. Establish A Nurturing Environment.

Children thrive in environments in which they know they are
loved and respected. Remind them every day that you love them
and support them.

7. Understand Your Child’s Thinking Process.

In order for you to be an advocate for your child in school, you
must know and understand how your child learns. Is he/she
creative, logical, musical, spatial, interpersonal,
intrapersonal, naturalistic? Know your child’s capabilities and
accept their creativity.

8. Let Them Think For Themselves.

Encourage independent thinking. Let your child decide (within
reason) what is appropriate for them. Give them enough room to
make decisions, but also be there in case their plans don’t work
out.

9. Teach Them Stress Management Skills.

Help your child to effectively deal with stress. Try not to
contribute to their stress with demands and unrealistic
expectations. Make learning fun!

10. Teach Your Child To Trust His/Her Instincts.

In order for children to be successful in life, they must learn
how to trust their decisions. Your child needs to be confident
in trusting his/her instincts and feelings. Children who trust
themselves are less likely to participate in unhealthy behaviors

About the author:
Marie Magdala Roker is a Family Coach and Certified Breakthrough
Parenting Instructor. She is completing her Masters in Health
Education at Columbia University’s Teachers College. She helps
parents to reclaim their lives and students to unlock their
academic potential. She is committed to helping build healthy
families, one family member at a time.

OLD FRIENDS If the child has a lot of stuffed animals that
he/she has outgrown, but just isn’t ready to part with yet? Use a
HAMMOCK or a net that hangs way up in the corner of the ceiling.
The toys can be put up there and they can still be seen but they
are out of the way.

SETTING UP CATEGORIES Kids can organize their toys by category
(cars and trucks together, dolls together, specific types of
games together, etc) in big bins or baskets. If the child can
read, LABEL the bins to help them remember which bins are for
which category. LIDS are usually too much for kids to deal with,
so get containers without lids, or store the lids elsewhere for
when the kids aren’t using the bins anymore.

GET IN THE ZONE Set up ‘zones’ in the room for DIFFERENT
ACTIVITIES; art & craft zone, reading zone, puzzle zone, and a
large play area to play with blocks and whatnot. Get the
appropriate TOOLS for each zone, such tables for the child to
work at in the art and craft zone, shelves for puzzles and games
in that zone, and a comfy chair and a bookshelf in the reading
zone.

GO UP Because kids need a good amount of floor space to play in,
use the WALL SPACE for storage. Hanging sturdy shelves or wall
bins at a height that can be reached by the kids, clear plastic
wall pockets, or stacked milk crates work well for kids to do
their own organizing. Container Store is great for shelves if
you have one in your area. Their Elfa shelving system is totally
ADJUSTABLE, so when the kids grow taller, just snap out the
shelves, and snap them in higher up on the tracks! It’s the only
shelving system I use with my clients, and I love it.

A HOME FOR EVERYTHING Teach kids the benefit of CONTAINERIZING
items by category or by the activity that required; for example,
things you build, things you read, things to draw with/on, or
toys with wheels. Teach them how organizing makes their things
easier to find. So much of what we call clutter is just stuff
that has no home, and even kids can ASSIGN homes to all their
stuff and be taught how to put things away when they’re finished.

DRESSING IN A SNAP For kids clothing, install shelving in their
closets that they can reach and use lots of hooks and HANGING
SPACE. If kids clothes are in a folded pile or in a drawer, they
are more likely to just wear what’s on top, rather than looking
through the pile, so hang as much as possible.

DISPLAYING THEIR ARTWORK Hang a clothesline along one wall of
the child?s room, a few feet down from ceiling level, and use
CLOTHESPINS to display artwork that kids bring home from school.
Once it’s been displayed, if the child can’t part with it, use
clear UNDER BED containers for longer-term storage.

Kids can be taught organizing concepts and tactics, which will
serve them well through school and into their adult years. And
who knows, with their creative little minds working, you might
learn something new about organizing from them!

About the author:
Monica Ricci has been an organizing specialist since 1999, and
her motivational presentations teach effective organizing and
simplifying techniques for home and work. She also offers free
email tips and ideas on how to make life simpler and more
organized. Her topics include clutter control, paper management,
time management, organizing space and procrastination.Contact
Monica at 770-569-2642 or Monica@CatalystOrganizing.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

a) Have to Keep b) Maybe.Not 100% Sure c) Definitely Not

Once you have completed this part of the project, you will more
than likely find the “Definitely Not” pile is the smallest one.
What is it a professional might call this “Separation Anxiety”?
However, don’t worry, almost everyone ends up this way, after
all it is not easy parting with our things, even if it is
something you have not used in years. 3. Re-Sort Once More Try
to be as realistic as possible here, remember the goal is to
“Clear The Clutter”.

a) Not Sure Group This group is easy: If it is already here,
more than likely, you will never use it so into the “Definitely
Not” pile it goes.

b) Have To Keep This could be the hardest pile to sort, so a tip
to remember: If you have not used something in the last year,
chances are you probably will not use it again. This applies to
everything from shoes to car cleaners; however if there is
something you never use but has a special memory attached, keep
it.

Gifts can be a tricky area, one thing to keep in mind just
because someone gave you something, it does not mean you must
keep it forever. So that figurine that great aunt Edna gave you
years ago or the bird made of shells from a friends vacation
does not need to keep collecting dust on your bookcase.

Now, you may wonder about things from your children. I use to
keep everything my daughters brought home from school. Finally,
I decided to go through and keep one or two items from each
grade, put them into a plastic storage box labeled Sherri &
Ashley – School – K-12. Now all school memories are safe and in
one place, this is a useful idea for grandparents.

Once you have finished your resort, you have a couple of choices
for those “Definitely Not” items, depending on their condition,
either just pitch them, give them away or have a tag sale and
make yourself a little money. 4. Organize & Store What Is Left
Now is the time to put what is left away, by organizing you will
not only have tidy shelves, closets and cabinets but you will be
able to put your hands on what ever it is you need.

There are numerous storage options for every room in your home.
Plastic boxes come in a variety of sizes and colors and are
inexpensive. Stacked on a closet shelf, clear smaller sizes make
perfect storage for extra shoes, winter gloves, pictures or how
about extension cords, nails, packages of hooks or hand tools.
Larger sizes can keep extra winter coats, blankets, odd season
clothes or seasonal decorations neat and in one place. Baskets,
hampers even seldom used suitcases can be useful, stacking
plastic milk crates are perfect for kids room.

How about those cluttered kitchen cabinets, plastic tiered
risers work wonderful for stacking cans of soup, veggies or
spaghetti sauce, this makes use of wasted space and you are able
to see at a glance what you have. One area everyone has is the
famous “Junk Drawer”; these can be kept organized with
silverware trays. By buying individual pieces in different
sizes, you can customize each drawer to fit exactly what you
need. The lesson here is that by having a little patience,
taking your time and giving some thought to your storage needs,
you can not only “Clear The Clutter” but also have an organized
home.

About the author:
Bonnie P. Carrier is the creator of Savvy Home Decorating. She
is the mother to two grown daughters and a very spoiled 4yr old
Blue Merle Sheltie named Toby. She has been a homemaker for over
23yrs, with lots of experience at budget decorating and
organization. Stop by Savvy Home Decorating for ideas and tips
on budget decorating.

Many parents today really try to be better parents than their
parents were. They attempt to be there for their children – to
listen to them, support them, spend time with them, as well as
hold and nurture them. Their children grow up feeling loved and
valued by these loving parents, yet often these same children
struggle as adults in many areas of their lives. I have numerous
clients who tell me that they had wonderful parents who truly
loved and nurtured them, yet these clients are struggling with
their work, their relationships, or their lives in general. Why
is this?

The common issue is that their parents did not role model for
them personal responsibility for their own feelings, needs, and
physical health. They did not teach them through their own
behavior how to take good care of themselves physically or
emotionally.

So, what are you teaching your children through your own
behavior? Do you role model following your passions, or do you
spend your spare time watching TV? Do you role model taking good
care of your health, or do you smoke cigarettes, eat badly and
get little exercise? Do you have a spiritual practice that is
meaningful to you and moves you into your heart, or do you stay
mostly in your head? Do you have a process for managing your
conflicts with others, or do you tend to withdraw, get angry,
resist or comply as a way to control or avoid conflict? Do your
children see you avoiding life’s difficulties with alcohol,
drugs, gambling, spending, TV or other addictive behavior, or
learning from life’s challenges? Are you boring because you just
try to be safe and maintain the status quo, or do you extend
yourself and take some risks that result in aliveness and
vitality?

A client of mine was recently struggling with the lack of
passion in her life. I asked her if her parents were passionate
about anything. “No,” she said. “The smoked constantly, drank
beer, and watched TV. They were nice to me, but they were both
sick a lot and both died at young ages. I never saw either of
them excited about anything.” This woman in her late forties had
no idea of how to discover her passions and her life felt dead
to her. Her husband had expressed a lack of interest in her
because he actually found her to be boring, and was no longer
sexually interested in her. This is what brought her to work
with me.

Let’s take the role modeling a little further. Are you honest,
or do you let your children think it’s okay to withhold the
truth or even lie outright. Do you role model integrity, or do
you behave in ways that you would not want announced in a
newspaper? Do you stand up for yourself, or do you let others
walk all over you? Do you tolerate abusive situations or do your
children see you take action in your own behalf?

It’s very important to realize that, while being there for your
children is vital, it is only half of good parenting. The other
half is being there for yourself with honesty, courage and
integrity. It’s not enough to treat your children with love. You
need to treat yourself with love as well if you want your
children to grow up knowing how to take loving care of
themselves.

If your parents did not role model treating themselves lovingly,
the chances are you don’t know how to do it for yourself.
Treating yourself lovingly is something that is a learned skill.
The six-step Inner Bonding process (see our FREE course at
www.innerbonding.com) was developed specifically for this
purpose. The best thing you can do for yourself and your
children is learn these six powerful steps and practice them on
a daily basis. Your children will naturally learn how to take
responsibility for themselves – for their health and emotional
well-being – as you learn to do this for yourself. Give yourself
and your children the gift of the joy that comes from truly
loving yourself!

About the author:
Margaret Paul, Ph.D. is the best-selling author and co-author of
eight books, including “Do I Have To Give Up Me To Be Loved By
You?”, “Do I Have To Give Up Me To Be Loved By My Kids?”,
“Healing Your Aloneness”,”Inner Bonding”, and “Do I Have To Give
Up Me To Be Loved By God?” Visit her web site for a FREE Inner
Bonding course: http://www.innerbonding.com

To be fair, yes kids might spend a couple minutes discussing
their school assignments. But for every 30 seconds of actual
work, another 30 minutes are lost in useless chatter with the
hundred or so “friends” on their buddy list! And if your child
consistently pulls the “I didn’t know the assignment” excuse,
then bigger school problems than instant messaging are on the
horizon.

You can easily stop the hours upon hours of instant messaging
with one simple gesture. PULL THE PLUG! Now, I don’t really mean
to literally pull the plug out of the computer on your child.
The last thing we want to do is get into a power struggle with
your child, or break your $1500 computer.

No, what I mean is simply lay down the law. Allocate a specific
period of instant messaging time per day. One hour of IMing is
not going to kill anyone or their social life. And in that one
hour time slot they will have plenty of time to discuss
homework, their teacher, the new kid in class, or whatever.

Right now you might be saying, “That sounds great Chris, but
what happens when my kid refuses to adhere to the allotted
time?” When your child disregards your house rules it simply
means they have too much free time on their hands. We all know
that idleness is the devil’s playground. It might be time to up
their chore responsibilities. Or sign them up for an after
school art class or even a sport or karate. Sometimes the best
answer is to simply spend some quality time with them. Set up a
time each day to play scrabble, take a walk or cook something
together. It really doesn’t matter what it is, just play to your
kids interests and keep them busy.

The internet is a great tool, especially when it comes to
education and homework. In the future we can expect to see an
even greater merger of it with our every day lives. However,
right now it’s the great stealer of time. Getting sidetracked is
very easy, (as some of you might know) and with the media
induced, shortened attention spans of our children, whole young
lives could waste away online. Teach your kids to use the
Internet and Instant Messaging as intended. Sometimes we use it
for work; sometimes we use it for play. Just be sure your kids
know the difference between the two.

=======================================

Chris Pizzo is the President of Noble Learning Systems Inc. and
the developer of the NEW “Amazing Homework Motivator” program.

Why are thousands of kids happily sitting down to do their
homework each and every night?…Without a fight, an argument,
or even a reminder? Click here now ==> www.HomeworkMotivator.com

About the author:
Chris Pizzo is the President of Noble Learning Systems Inc. and
the developer of the NEW “Amazing Homework Motivator” program.