Hello Book Bums families!
In our newsletter this week we are focusing on the positive and drawing attention to ideas and behaviors we want to see more. You can try this at the dinner table or during a car ride with the questions you ask.
• How were you a helper today?
• Who is someone you're grateful for today?
• What is something fun that happened today?
• Tell me about a little success you had today.
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Word of the Week
perspective: (pur-spek-tiv) noun/person, place, or thing - a particular way of looking at a situation
Astronauts have a unique perspective of Earth.
Literary Calendar
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- February is Love Your Library Month!
- Libraries offer books, of course; but they also provide access to technology, free programming for all ages, and knowledgeable, helpful librarians.
- Write a note to your library staff or say thank you in person the next time you're there.
From our Bookshelves
Dr. Christy has purchased and shared this book, Transforming the Difficult Child: The Nurtured Heart Approach, by Howard Glasser, more than a dozen times because it has so greatly impacted how she approaches building the culture of her classroom, Book Bums, and all the relationships she enjoys with the children she loves the most.
Curious? Here’s a short video you may find interesting.
https://www.yout-ube.com/watch?v=4y6TVvXsRd0
In this clip, Glasser invites us to learn about the three stands of the Nurtured Heart Approach. The Three Stands are:
1. Absolutely No! I refuse to energize negativity. I will not accidentally reward negativity with my energy, connection, or relationship.
2. Absolutely Yes! I will relentlessly create and energize positivity and success. I’m going to energize and nurture first-hand experiences of appreciation, recognition and
acknowledgement.
3. Absolutely Clear! I will set and enforce clear limits and clear consequences in an unenergized way. I will always provide a true consequence.
Tips for Families
Since we recommended The Nurtured Heart Approach, above, I’m including a parenting tip that leans into the Three Stands I learned from him at a conference.
What gets acknowledged gets repeated.
Glasser shared a story about a teacher who had a classroom filled with students who were busily working on a project. The teacher was laying low because everyone was on task and working well. When a couple of kids got off task and began acting silly, the teacher walked over to those students, put one hand on each of the students’ shoulders, and kindly said something like, “Boys, you know what the expectations are. I am disappointed in you. I need you to get back on track, or you’ll have to come in during your recess time to work on this project.” Sounds pretty good, right?
Wrong.
Glasser said that the students were rewarded with the teacher’s attention (aka energy) when they were off task rather than on. He shared that if the teacher wanted to keep the kids working well, she should have been walking around and quietly acknowledging what the kids were doing well. The expected behaviors are the ones to which we should be calling attention.
As parents, how often do our kids receive the highest levels of intensity from us for their wrong behaviors? Too many.
In short: Praise BIG. Correct small.
What gets acknowledged gets repeated.
Put your finger under the letters, moving from left to right, and "Make the Sounds You See.”
Tips for Readers and Writers
When your kids are reading to you and they misread a word, rather than saying,
“No. Sound it out,” say instead,
“Make the sounds you see. Remember, it’s a no guess zone.”
Eliminate the word no because it’s a demotivator. Not many of us enjoy being wrong, and saying “sound it out,” is vague.
At Book Bums, we encourage students to put a pointer finger under the first letter (or letter combination) of each word, make the corresponding sound right out loud (so their brains can recognize it more quickly), and continue sliding those sounds together, moving from left to right across each word.
We make the sounds we see. This is a No. Guess. Zone.
Practical Grammar
Which is written correctly?
“If you have any questions, please see Joe or I.”
“If you have any questions, please see Joe or me.”
It can be confusing when deciding which to use: I or me? But there’s an easy way to know what you should write or say in a situation like this one.
If you eliminate the other person, what sounds right?
We’d never say, “If you have any questions, please see I.” Rather, we’d say “If you have any questions, please see me.” The second sentence is the correct one. There are grammatical rules about why it’s true, but you don’t need to know them to know this trick works!
If you know someone who would benefit from our newsletter or tutoring at Book Bums, please share this email with them! Thank you.
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