Fostering Gratitude – How You Can Help
This year at Woodport Public School, we have declared it the Year of Gratitude. You might wonder if there is anything to be gained from that. Well, research indicates that there is.
In recent years, two long-term studies have shown that gratitude may be particularly beneficial to youngsters. One study, linked gratitude to greater social support and protection from stress and depression over time. Another study predicted a sense of connection to others, fostering feelings of being valued and cared for. Later studies suggest that grateful adolescents, aged 11-13 years, are happier, more optimistic, have more social support, are more satisfied with school, family, community, friends and themselves, and give more emotional support to others. It is a powerful tool for children and families looking to build bonds.
Hearing of these benefits, how can we foster such an attitude in our children?
• Model and teach gratitude. Show appreciation for the good things in your life publicly. Help your children to appraise the help they get from others and think gratefully.
• Help your children to focus on and achieve intrinsic rewards. Savour their accomplishments with them along the way and encourage them to thank those who have helped them to meet their goals.
• Model being helpful to others and encourage them to be generously helpful themselves. When children lend a hand, especially while using their strengths, they feel valued and more connected, in turn nurturing friendships and social relationships.
• Help your child find what matters to them. A sense of purpose in life gives youth a compass for creating a meaningful life. Feed their interest in social issues and help them discover ways they can make a difference and contribute positively to society.
• Show your child thankfulness. Saying thank you with sincerity and a joyful attitude reinforces to children that they have done something good and they are likely to repeat the behaviour.
There are occasions when we may need to fake thankfulness. If Grandma gives them a birthday present they don’t like, they still need to show gratitude and thank Grandma for the kind thought and effort she put in. Coaching your children to show gratitude even if they don’t feel it may be needed to show respect for others.
It is important to note that gratitude is not always about giving. Recognition of gratitude comes in faces, attitudes, words and the behaviour of others. Seeing gratitude in others helps to build emotional intelligence and empathy allowing children to show gratitude themselves.
A harsh truth is that unless gratitude has a strong foundation in the parent, it is unlikely to flourish in a child. For children to become grateful, parents must model the behaviour themselves. Children learn by example. Selfish, entitled behaviour in parents often results in the same behaviour being displayed in their child. Alternatively, parents who live in a way that shows gratitude for what they have, fosters gratitude in their child and helps to create long-term life satisfaction.
A book called Making Grateful Kids: the Science of Building Character by Jeffrey Froh has lots of good ideas.
Acing Maths - How You Can Help
Looking for ways to help make your kids’ maths homework a little more interesting? Cards have long been enjoyed as a family activity. They have the advantages of being portable, very cheap, a fabulous way to improve maths and verbal skills. Grab a few decks of playing cards and introduce some of these maths card games to your family. Your kids will have fun in spades!
One of the terrific things about maths card games is that many of them can be customised for various concepts and skill levels.
1. Try for a total of 10.
Play this maths card game alone or as a team. Lay out 20 cards on the table (leave out face cards or change them to equal 0, while aces equal 1). Kids remove sets of cards that add up to 10, ultimately trying to remove all the cards from the table.
2. Do some basic fast facts practice.
Practice number facts with card games. Simply lay down two cards from the deck (remove the face cards first) and add, subtract, or multiply them. Kids can work on this alone, or you can make it a contest to see who can call out the correct answer first.
3. Find a way to make 10 (or 15, or 20 … )
The original goal of this game was to look at the cards you’re dealt to find ones that add up to 10, but it can be changed to 15, 20, or any number you choose. You can also add to the difficulty by allowing addition and subtraction (for example, you could use 8+4=12 or 12-2=10
4. Use Close Call to practise two-digit addition or subtraction.
Each player deals him or herself four cards then determines how to arrange them so they make two two-digit numbers that add up close to 100 without going over. For a subtraction version, work to get as close to zero as possible.
5. Go fishing for pairs that make 10.
Your children probably already know how to play Go Fish, but in this version, they’re fishing for pairs that add up to 10. Have them ask: “I have a 2. Do you have an 8 to make 10?” Change aces to 1 for this game and leave face cards out entirely.
6. Try reading minds to figure out the correct numbers.
Two children draw a card from the deck without looking and hold it up to their forehead facing out. A third person mentally multiplies the numbers and gives them the product. The children then must figure out what number each is holding. You can do this with addition and subtraction too.
7. Use order of operations to get to 24.
Maths card games aren’t just for little kids; even adults will find this one a bit tricky. Each player is dealt four cards, then uses the order-of-operations rules to try to make a number as close to 24 as possible. Simple but challenging!
There are many more games on the internet. You’ll find this game along with dozens of others in a free printable eBook called Acing Math. Check out some dice games too. If you need help ask Ms Yerbury.