Dear Friends
and Family,
Thank you for your continued support and encouraging words on “The
Truth about Parenting: Navigating the Elementary Years.”
School is
quickly coming to a close for students on the traditional calendar. Before the
desks are cleaned out and your kids bring home backpacks full of cherished work
from the year, be sure to ask teachers for recommendations on curriculum guides
you can buy or borrow that will help them continue their learning throughout
the summer. One of the best places to purchase books and more is
A big thank you to those that took the time to write reviews for
the Amazon web site.
Yes, you can still log in and write a review by clicking here. If you haven’t already purchased a copy of the book, you
can order one now. Below are a few of my faithful friends and family who wrote
in star reviews:
|
I found this book to be a great guide for
the elementary years. We are adopting the family constitution! This book
reinforces some of our values we have in our family. I highly recommend this
book to anyone who wants some helpful tips from a "real world"
family! |
A
great guide for parents, 
|
Ms. Weidle's book on navigating the
elementary years includes wonderful ideas for implementing strong family
values, having fun, and fostering academic success for children. Her ideas
about how to create holidays that are meaningful and community oriented was
great. She also deals wholesomely with sexual issues, death, and coping with
an ever changing complex world. This book is well laid out, an easy and
informative read. |
Ideas
for creating good family relations,
|
Reviewer: |
C. Lewis ( |
As a former neighbor of the Weidles, I
could really appreciate the personal stories in this book. Liza shares some
great examples and ideas for developing a strong foundation for keeping
families close, connected, healthy and involved in their communities. I'm not
sure the title best describes this book, however I really enjoyed it.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
June 4 (Sunday)
Special book review feature in the May edition of The North Carolina Journal for Women. Click here to read the review. For more reviews and information,
visit http://home.nc.rr.com/lizaweidle/ . Special note of thanks to Peder
Zane and
BOOK AVAILABILITY:
Ø Borders in Cary still has an exclusive on the sales of my book in the triangle
area. Click here to find out more.
Ø Manny’s Christian Book Store and Snap Dragon Way Cool Toys
in
Ø If you can’t make it into one of these fine stores, you can
send a check for $16.95 plus $3.00 for tax/shipping and handling. Please make
check out to Parenting books by Liza Weidle and, I can have one mailed
to you. Send the check and order to
Ø Order The Truth about Parenting:
Navigating the Elementary Years online. Click here for the Amazon link.
Ø Wake County Libraries has ‘The Truth about Parenting: Navigating the Elementary
Years” available for check-out. Click here to request the book.
If you know of a non-profit organization
that would like more information on using my book as fundraiser, please let me
know.
Keep the Learning Going
Over the Summer
(Special excerpt from The Truth about
Parenting:
Navigating
the Elementary Years by
While summer
vacation gives our children a much-needed break from school and a chance to
play with friends, it does not need to be a break from learning. When my
younger son Nick was a rising sixth grade student, he needed some help with his
writing skills. Trying to fight the irony of him having a writer for a mom, I
took the advice of his fifth grade teachers and purchased Children’s
Spectrum Writing; Grade 6 Edition. This is a good series that offers many
activities to build writing and basic grammatical skills in creative ways.
About half-way
through the summer, I reviewed Nick’s activity book and found he was doing a
great job working through the lessons, writing in his journal, and was almost
done with a book report. The secret to Nick’s motivation was making the summer
learning activity fun and scheduling a regular time for the activity. This was
his fourth summer to include activities to enhance academic skills learned over
the school year. Nick now expects to do something academically challenging
during his long break. One summer he decided to give his summer learning a
name, “The Young Writers Club” and invited one of his best buddies to join. In
July of that summer, Nick and his friend got to celebrate their diligence in
doing their week with an afternoon of go-cart racing and arcade games. Of
course, Nick pointed out he had to try everything so he would have a lot to
write in his journal.
During the last
few weeks of summer, parents can help children hone the skills they learned
during the past year and introduce them to some new ones.
Here are ways
to motivate your child to keep learning over the summer:
Language Arts Ideas
Build writing skills by finding creative
ways to encourage your child to write. Writing letters to friends and family is a good way for her to
strengthen family ties and keep relatives informed about your lives. If she
likes letter-writing, arrange for a pen pal in another state or country.
Encourage her to put together a newspaper or magazine by combining articles
with photos, drawings or clipped images. She can report on ordinary events in
her life—including outings—using her powers of observation and description. If
you have desktop publishing software, you can help her print out her writings
in different formats including pamphlets and booklets. Consider saving the
newsletter and sending it out with your Christmas cards instead of the
traditional letter you write.
Encourage reading with regular visits to
the library. Most
libraries sponsor summer reading clubs with easy-to-reach goals for preschool
and school-age children. Check the library calendar for special summer reading
activities and events. Libraries also provide age-appropriate lists for summer
reading. Also ask for suggestions. Our favorite librarian (Carol) recommended
that Nick read the Diana Wynne Jones books. He was immediately interested in
the books when he read the back cover promotion, “If you like Harry Potter, you
will like this series.”
Make reading fun by reading with your
child outdoors, on the front steps, on the patio, at the beach or park. Let your child read to you. For a
younger child who may not be reading well, point out the relationship between
words and sounds.
Math Ideas
Practice mental math. When you are shopping, ask your child
to calculate the total cost of your purchases in his mind.
Turn car time into school time. Teach your child about maps,
directions and distances. Let him map out the course for the trip, keep track
of the miles as you go, and compute the gas mileage.
Learn about statistics. If your child is a sports fan, have her
collect information on player statistics and then follow the game results in
the paper.
Practice measurements in the kitchen. Let your child do some of the cooking
this summer. Learning about fractions can be more fun when the outcome includes
eating chocolate chip cookies.
Help your child start a business. Lemonade stands, mowing lawns, and pet
care are good options for a child in elementary school.
Have your children create a budget for
their allowance or estimates of money to be earned by doing chores for others,
and keep a record of the items they buy each week and their costs. If expenses exceed income, ask them to
figure out ways to reduce spending and/or increase revenues.
Open a savings account at a bank so your
child can watch his money grow.
Social Studies Tips
Turn summer vacations into learning
excursions. Some good
and fairly inexpensive options include touring local, state, and national
historic sites and landmarks.
Watch history unfold on stages. Check calendar listings for outdoor
dramas. In
Create a family tree. This will help your child gain a personal sense of
the past by doing research that can include history lessons on the time periods
family members were alive. Start the project by telling your child what
you know about your family and then have your child contact and interview other
family members.
Science Tips
Visit state Museums of Natural Science. Check the museum calendar in your area
for special programs for children from preschool to grade 12.
Start a bug club. With over one million insect species in
our world, your child will have lots of fun collecting pictures and stories to
share with others in the club.
Turn car trips into science expeditions. Pick up a copy of Diane Flynn Keith’s
book Carschooling for dozens of ideas.
Be the Magic School Bus character Ms. Frizzle and help your kids explore the
world that is just a windshield away.
Explore nature together. A trip to the beach can be an
opportunity to learn about science. Have your child notice phenomena like what
happens when waves crash on the shore. Gather various seashells or rocks to
compare their shapes, colors and structure.
Resources:
- www.scholastic.com/magicschoolbus/games/teacher/
- Summer
Smarts for Cool Kids by
Penny Warner
Thank you for your
continued support, your encouragement and for all you do for the children,
Liza Weidle
http://home.nc.rr.com/lizaweidle/
Parents often talk about the younger
generation as if they didn't have anything to do with it.
The Truth about
Parenting: Navigating the Elementary Years is published by McBryde Publishing Web site www.mcbrydepublishing.com
or http://home.nc.rr.com/lizaweidle/