Interesting ways to motivate your kids to do household chores—

Parents carry a plethora of responsibilities on their head—from expenses to familial commitments, to kids’ educations, planning for the future, etc. The least their kids can do to make everyday lives a bit easier for them is helping them in household chores. All over the world, it is one of the prime concerns of every parent to get their kids to do some chores. Well, here are some interesting ways you can motivate your kid to help you with chores—

1.       The WiFi password is your trump card

With technology ruling every heart these days, your kids are quite digitally enhanced and are always on their laptops, mobiles and tablets. One way to motivate them to do chores is by telling them that they will be rewarded with the WiFi password only after they are finished with their chores.

2.       Give and take business always works

If your kids scatter their toys or gadgets on the floor, the best thing to do is pick them up and confiscate them. Tell your kids that they won’t get their stuff back till they finish a chore properly. This way next time, they won’t leave anything scattered fearing their stuff getting confiscated by you.

source: sheknows

3.       Rewards for finishing the chore line

Create a chore pin for your kids’ bulletin board, which will be a kind of “to do list.” As soon as the finish each of the chores, they have to strike it off and paste it back on the bulletin board chore line. Reward them with a prize to boost their enthusiasm on completing chores.

4.       Use technology to your advantage

Kids love games and computers; use the “chore wars” website, which is primary focused on a competition to earn more XP and points for every chore one finishes. Give your kids a boost by playing a “kids vs. adults” concept on this website, and customize it according to your choice.

Snack box dilemma for kindergartners solved

The schools have begun and so have the woes of 'what to pack in the lunch boxes'! Packing something that is wholesome, nutritious, tasty as well as appealing to the little ones is a challenging task for most mothers and especially so when the child is a picky-eater.

Here are a few ideas that you can incorporate and ease out the routine:

Stuffed parathas or wraps: Instead of packing rotis and veggies separately, if you can pack them together as yummy stuffed parathas or as frankies, the kids would have no problem devouring it. You could try various permutations with various veggies and some cheese and panner thrown in for good measure too.

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Fruity accompaniment: Try to combine at least one fruit to off-set a heavier lunch box. Parathas go well with some pomograntes or cut mangoes. Short breaks are thereby easily tackled too!

Include nuts: Goodness packed in the easiest way. Badams, Cashews, Walnuts, and what you may; stuff a handful of these into a airtight box and be ensured of it coming back empty.

Home-made-dips and crunchies: Shallow fried potato wedges with a healthy dips made at home serve as a great indulgent snack. Since its shallow fried, there isn't much to worry too.

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References:

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2. http://bit.ly/1jORE4Q
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We hope you are inspired enough to start this academic year with different menus for your child's lunch box. We wish you all the best :-)

Lawrence High School, located at HSR layout, Bangalore, focuses on educating children with traditional values to adapt and excel in the world. To know more about Lawrence school, please visit the website http://lawrenceschool.in/ and join us at our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lawrence-School/

Enjoy tech-free moments

Life without gadgets seems impossible today with even preschoolers these days being hands-on with the latest gadgets. Online gaming, shopping, socializing, working, almost everything happens through the internet. Given the significance, can you imagine a day without these vital appendages?

Isn't this a sad state of affairs that man is a slave of the very technology he invented? An online game, a chat with a virtual friend, checking mails, or browsing through the net is preferred to sipping tea at leisure or even chatting with the spouse. Even a holiday is experienced less and captured more on the camera for Facebook status and comments.

Perhaps its time to pause; to smell the roses; to hear the birds. A few moments in the day free from technology is all it takes to get rooted into life. Switch off that laptop once you are back from work. keep the phone on the silent mode and listen to what your child has to say to you.

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Kids learn from what they see and not from what is told to them. So, if you want your child to go out and mingle with other kids, stop watching more television or socialize more in the real life rather than on Facebook, then perhaps you, as a parent, need to introspect on the life that is being set as an example for your kids.

So, today, take out a book and read rather than watching the news; urge your child to sit and have dinner at the table rather than in front of the computer; stop the urge to take out that phone to update the status when on a holiday; talk, converse, discuss, play, smile and laugh, and perhaps life will start to look more meaningful.

 Lawrence High School, located at HSR layout, Bangalore, focuses on educating children with traditional values to adapt and excel in the world. To know more about Lawrence school, please visit the website http://lawrenceschool.in/ and join us at our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lawrence-School/

Spotting early signs of learning disorders- Lawrence School

All children face learning difficulties at some point or the other. The trouble is therefore in understanding whether it is a disorder or just a learning phase. Children with learning disorders are unfairly and unfortunately labeled as slow or dumb when in fact the opposite is true. They are equipped with a high IQ and are talented in many ways. With correct diagnosis and proper help, these children are also bound to excel and succeed.

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Note that all children come with their own unique style of learning and capabilities. It is difficult to spot trouble based upon a general observation simply because each child masters a skill at a different time. Also, what can be a stumbling block today can phase out after a few months. Consistency in the problem is a sign of a red-flag and that is when you need to seek help.

Image: http://bit.ly/1hVsket


So, what are the warning signs are a parent or teacher need to look out for?

*Source credit: http://bit.ly/1bc0HcS

*Preschool signs and symptoms of learning disabilities

• Problems pronouncing words
• Trouble finding the right word
• Difficulty rhyming
• Trouble learning the alphabet, numbers, colors, shapes, days of the week
• Difficulty following directions or learning routines
• Difficulty controlling crayons, pencils, and scissors or coloring within the lines
• Trouble with buttons, zippers, snaps, learning to tie shoes

Ages 5-9 signs and symptoms of learning disabilities

• Trouble learning the connection between letters and sounds
• Unable to blend sounds to make words
• Confuses basic words when reading
• Consistently misspells words and makes frequent reading errors
• Trouble learning basic math concepts
• Difficulty telling time and remembering sequences
• Slow to learn new skills

Ages 10-13 signs and symptoms of learning disabilities

• Difficulty with reading comprehension or math skills
• Trouble with open-ended test questions and word problems
• Dislikes reading and writing; avoids reading aloud
• Spells the same word differently in a single document
• Poor organizational skills (bedroom, homework, desk is messy and disorganized)
• Trouble following classroom discussions and expressing thoughts aloud
• Poor handwriting

Lawrence High School, located at HSR layout, Bangalore, focuses on educating children with traditional values to adapt and excel in the world. To know more about Lawrence school, please visit the website http://lawrenceschool.in/ and join us at our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lawrence-School/ 

How to develop fine motor skills in toddlers-Lawrence School

Fine motor skills- the skills that aid a child to pick smaller objects, turn a knob, or use a scissor; basically the use of the finger, hand and wrist for finer movements along with eye coordination- are grossly neglected in the mad rush to churn out students that excel in academics. Fine motor skills need to be well-developed in a child as they are an important milestone and precursor to writing.

Instead of jumping head on into the bandwagon of writing, educational institutions must first focus on developing these skills. They can be developed by engaging toddlers (in the age group of 3-4) in activities that are fun and simple to carry out. One can even carry out these at home to strengthen the toddler’s hand and wrist muscles:

Play dough: Play dough is an interesting activity where the child carves out various shapes using child-friendly dough. You can even let your child help in kneading the dough at home to make rotis, rolling it out and making different shapes with the dough.

Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cooksandbakers/137453678/sizes/m/in/photostream/

Cutting and sticking paper: invest in a pair of kid-friendly scissors and encourage the child to cut out different coloured paper in different shapes and sizes. The child can then stick these pieces of paper on a card paper to make an interesting collage.

Drawing rangoli: The act of using the fingers to draw using rice flour helps to fine tune the coordination between the fingers and hand.

Craft work: any craft work that uses a lot of painting, colouring, cutting and pasting.

Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/flossyflotsam/5483542373/sizes/m/in/photostream/

Fold paper or clothes: Small cloths like a handkerchief or towel or socks can be given to the child to be folded.

Self-help activities: encourage the child to do by self the act of buttoning or unbuttoning clothes, pulling up or down the zipper, eating with hands and spoon, wearing shoes, etc.

While, each child develops these skills at his/her pace, it is imperative to concentrate first on developing these skills and then proceed to teach them write on paper.

Lawrence High School, located at HSR layout, Bangalore, focuses on educating children with traditional values to adapt and excel in the world. To know more about Lawrence school, please visit the website http://lawrenceschool.in/ and join us at our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lawrence-School/ 

Why should children play?-Lawrence School

Children and play are spoken in the same breath since play is as natural to them as breathing. Unstructured play is as important as any structured activity in a child's life. Unstructured play is any activity that the child performs without adult guidance. Children learn a lot from activities that seem futile or wasteful in an adult's eyes. 

Have you observed how a child never tires of the same game. The game gives him an opportunity to unleash his imagination. When the kid struggles with a set of puzzles and gets it right after several attempts. It teaches him the lesson of perseverance. It is their first tryst with problem solving techniques. 

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Give a toddler a pair of scissors and see the magic unfold. Let his imagination and creativity take over and allow him to gain confidence in his skills. Let him play and explore with colours and allow him the freedom to experiment. 

The power of unstructured activity cannot be measured quantitatively. A group of kids playing together might mean nothing to an adult but the kids are learning to play as a team, take lead when an opportunity arises, learn communication skills, understand the power of negotiation, etc. 

Unfortunately, play-time has become a scare commodity in the tech-age life of children. Busy parents hastily thrust gadgets into the child's hands and inadvertently diminish the spark out of the kid's natural being. Schools that stress more on academics than sports and games fail to nurture the child in a holistic way.

We need to take that extra step and effort to let our kids be. It is easy to engage them in classes of various kinds in a bid to productively use their time. However it is necessary to allow for the so-called unproductive activity for that's how they will learn skills that no curriculum or class can teach.

Lawrence High School, located at HSR layout, Bangalore, focuses on educating children with traditional values to adapt and excel in the world. To know more about Lawrence school, please visit the website http://lawrenceschool.in/ and join us at our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lawrence-School/ 

 

I'm bored...Lawrence High School

Children of this generation use this phrase a little too often, isn't it? They are used to having things ready made and have no patience to experience something different, out of the ordinary. They do not know of a life without the computer, internet, mobile phones and now smart phones. Playing games on the phone and chatting discretely over Facebook, it is no wonder that when placed in real-life social environments, many children find it difficult to cope.

A mother of a 10 year old laments that her son does not want to come out in the open to play. He feels that the playground is dull and boring. This, when there is about 2 acre of open space in the gated community with exclusive areas dedicated to playing sports like badminton, football, to run or cycle. Finding same age friends is also not a problem in the complex of 500 odd apartments. 

Is the new age or technology solely to be blamed or are parents equally responsible for such a scenario? It seems like the parents have a greater role to play as care-givers. For, when the child demands a new toy  don't parents rush in fulfill the demand even when it seems a little unreasonable? When the child refuses to eat food, don't the parents easily turn to video games or T.V to distract the child? 

I-phones and I-pads easily find their way into the hands of kids as young as four or five and sometimes this is even talked of proudly in social gatherings. Why should you then blame the kids for falling prey to technology when we ourselves have no control over our usage? Kids after all imitate the parents and they are also sensitive and smart enough to pick up the vibes and unsaid words.

As parents, we have a far more difficult and responsible job in bringing up our children as grounded, happy and thinking individuals who are not slaves to technology but are smart to use them judiciously and correctly. Starting them off on good habits early on is extremely important and a little discipline is expected on the part of the parents too. A good and healthy eating practice, inculcating a love for books and reading, playing outdoors, etc are some of the things that need to be made as a routine in a child's life. And, it is never too late to start too!

Lawrence High School, located at HSR layout, Bangalore, focuses on educating children with traditional values to adapt and excel in the world. To know more about Lawrence school, please visit the website http://lawrenceschool.in/ and join us at our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lawrence-School/ 

Teaching your kids the value of money-Lawrence High School

Most children (from middle-class families and upwards) these days get whatever they desire in terms of materialistic goods. Even before the demand is placed, parents rush in fulfill their fancies. Given such circumstances, it is difficult to expect children to respect money and use it thriftily.

However, as parents, we need to inculcate this important trait in our children as early in life as possible. It is possible to teach this value by incorporating a few changes in the lifestyle and implementing certain rules early on.

Do not give in to every demand: just because you can afford it, or because you are unable to handle the tantrums, do not buy anything off the shelves. The child must learn to accept a ‘no’ gracefully and eventually understand the reason behind the denial.

Attach value to everything at home: An item may not be expensive in terms of sheer money value; however its worth could be priceless because of the sentiments behind it. Help your children understand this emotion. This will help them value their belongings irrespective of its cost.

Money does not come easily: it is natural for children to assume that parents can and will do whatever it takes to see them comfortable. It is therefore necessary to teach children early on that money is hard earned and one cannot and should not blow it away recklessly. As a way of play or conversation, let your kids know that everything comes with a price tag and every penny is hard earned and does not deserve to be squandered away. 

Save away: a piggy bank is a great gift and a perfect way to teach children to save money. Age- appropriate pocket money can be given to the kids to encourage the art of saving. This will also serves as an incentive wherein they can reward themselves with a coveted item after they have saved enough money. 

Practice what you preach: children are a mirror-image of the parents. Since they learn by observation, it is a good idea to practice what you preach. A certain level of austerity will help children to remain grounded.

Lawrence High School, located at HSR layout, Bangalore, focuses on educating children with traditional values to adapt and excel in the world. To know more about Lawrence school, please visit the website http://lawrenceschool.in/ and join us at our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lawrence-School/ 

Why is it necessary to stress on emotional quotient or EQ?- Lawrence High School

The newspapers these days are wrought with news about youngsters committing suicide over things like having being reprimanded by the parent or teacher or being ragged or bullied at school/college. While educational institutions and the society stress on being well-equipped to lead a successful materialistic life, the more important aspect of developing a healthy attitude towards self is sadly ignored.

Taking one’s life or of others’ is an extreme step that is probably the result of many years of anguish and trouble brewing in one’s inner mind. While the outburst or trigger might seem sudden and uncalled for, it indicates a deeper issue that went unresolved in time.

Our social structure is unfortunately designed outwardly where a person’s self worth is determined by how he is perceived in other people’s eyes. To a large extent this view can be negated with the support and help of a close family structure and a broader educational system. An educational system where a student is not judged by his/her social or financial background or the marks procured in an exam; where a student’s weaknesses are not held against him, rather is dealt to turn these weaknesses into strengths.

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 Families are shrinking these days and parents are struggling to keep up with the crazy schedules of balancing work, life and family. Yet, it is imperative to give quality time to the children and be tuned in to their thoughts, responses and aspirations. Children must be taught to put their thoughts into words and express what they feel. They need to be reassured that their thoughts will not be held against them and it is sometimes OK to feel negative.

 A school should not be merely a place to learn the ropes of livelihood. It needs to embrace the young minds and mould their thoughts and beliefs to develop self-confident and mature adults who are equipped to deal with the harsh realities of life and the real world outside.

Career and success are broad concepts and should not be restricted to include just a few professions and materialistic growth. The earlier this thought is seeded, the better the mind is conditioned to accept failures and disappointments in the right manner. 

Lawrence High School, located at HSR layout, Bangalore, focuses on educating children with traditional values to adapt and excel in the world. To know more about Lawrence school, please visit the website http://lawrenceschool.in/ and join us at our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lawrence-School/