The 7 Keys to Helping Your Child Transition Successfully from Preschool to Kindergarten

The transition from Preschool to Kindergarten is the biggest change your child will experience in his or her academic life. Come and learn how you can support your child through this transition.

Location: Teleclass (call from the comfort of your home)
Date: 2 May 07
Time: 7-8 pm PST
Who: Parents whose children attend full time Preschool Daycare
Speaker: Dawn-Marie Cook
Parenting and Life Coach
www.Parent.Family-Rx.com
Cost: $15
How: Go to www.Kinder.Family-Rx.com or send an email to dmcook@family-fx.com

Bonus: The first 5 people to show up will be able to attend the class for $5.

Carpooling

I heard a parent speaker once regarding carpooling and I thought it was excellent advice.

She suggested that parents always volunteer for carpooling; especially the ride home from the event. This is when you get to be the silent listener. The kids are so excited about what went on at the event, they forget you are listening. Not only do you get to hear what happened but you also might hear other things going on in your kid’s world.

Do you do this? Do you have other ways of finding out what’s going on in your kid’s world? I’d love to hear about it.

Friendship

My son made a new friend, B, lately who seems to have more in common with him than a young man, W, he’s been hanging with for the last two years.

B came over and my son called W to get a game going. W lambasted B and refused to come over. My son hung up on W because he thought his excuses for not liking B did not hold water. From my view point, W is jealous because of the easy camaraderie my son has with B.

The following day I asked my son if he was calling W. My son replied that he was still mad at W for what he had said before. I commented to my son that I really like how he stuck up for his new friend and his statement “I can accept that he doesn’t like B, but I don’t believe any of his excuses.” I also told him that he shouldn’t throw a way a long term relationship on one incident.

I’m reminded of the scout song “Make New Friends” –

Make new Friends
And keep the old
One is silver
And the other gold

Have a conversation with your friend. My goal is to have my son understand you can have friends that are different and don’t care for each other, but that does not mean you have to make a choice between them.

Have you helped your child deal with bumps in the road of friendship?
Please comment I love new ideas.

www.parent.family-rx.com

Listening

My son, in particular, does not say whatever is on his mind. In fact he doesn’t say much about what goes on in his world at school; unless I ask questions. Of course, even then, I don’t hear as much as I want to hear.

What I have noticed though, is when my son begins the conversation, it’s either something he thinks is really cool and he’s excited about it, or something happened and it is bothering him.

Per the excitement, I'll listen and ask questions to figure out what is driving his excitement.

On the latter, I typically drop what I am doing and try to name what he is feeling about the situation. We talk about how things could have gone differently. Depending on the situation, we discuss what he needs or what his friends need from him.

Does your kid have a pattern of talking about things that happen to him? Have you been able to listen to your kid lately?

I’d love to hear about the patterns you’ve noticed.

Dawn-Marie
www.Parent.Family-Rx.com