Thursday, September 11, 2008 |
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How to Help Your Children with Math Your child's math class might appear different from what you recall as a student. Not only do they learn that 7 x 8 = 56, but they are learning when to use multiplication to solve a problem. In this way, children understand that math is useful in their daily lives. Review this quick Q & A developed by PTA and the National Education Association for ways you can best help your children with today's mathematics. Q: My child's teacher says that the mathematics curriculum is problem-based. What does that mean? Parents can help by showing their children when they use math. That may be as simple as
Q: How do I help my child when the homework is so different from what I did in school? Q: I see fewer graded papers coming home than I remember bringing home to my parents. How are my children evaluated? Children may be asked to tell their teacher what they know in different ways. They may have to keep a math journal and write about the math skills they are learning. For example, after learning a new skill, your child might be asked to describe how they would teach what they've just learned to a younger child. Teachers want to use as many ways as possible to evaluate what their students know.
Q: How else can I help?
For more information, download the full guide at nea.org/parents. PTA Asks You... What has your PTA done to boost student achievement? One of the fundamental missions of PTA is to help children succeed in school. Some schools face great challenges in educating their students for a variety of reasons, from lack of funds to large class sizes. Others may have adequate funds but are challenged to combat bullying or get very busy parents involved. We want to know what successes you've had in overcoming challenges to student achievement. How did you do it? If your response is selected for publication in the December 2008/January 2009 Our Children magazine, PTA will send you a $25 gift card. Deadline for submission: Monday, October 6, 2008. When submitting your response to forum@pta.org, please include
By sending an e-mail, you'll be granting PTA the right to publish your response, which may be edited for grammar, length, and/or clarity. PTA Briefs Increase Family Dinners; Decrease the Risk of Drug Use This September 22, on Family Day—A Day to Eat Dinner with Your Children™, see how Dinner Makes a Difference! Your family can participate in Family Day by
Go to casafamilyday.org to learn more. Family Day, created by CASA in 2001 and celebrated each year on the fourth Monday in September, is a national movement to inform parents that the parental engagement fostered during frequent family dinners is an effective tool to help keep America's kids substance free. For more on the research about parents' role in preventing drug and alcohol abuse, visit casacolumbia.org. PTA is proud to be a Family Day partner. Read a Book; Break a Guinness World RecordTM On October 2, 2008, join families, teachers, and community leaders nationwide in reading Corduroy as part of Jumpstart'sRead for the Record Campaign to break the Guinness World RecordTM for the largest shared reading experience and attract national and local media attention for early learning. Local PTAs that host an event to help break the record are eligible to receive literature books valued at $1,000 for their school library or media center, thanks to the collaboration of the PTA national organization and the Pearson Foundation in support of the campaign. The one PTA school in each state with the highest proportion of participation (based on the school's student population) will receive the book donation. Recipients will be announced in November or early December. To find an event in your area, contact your local PTA or use Jumpstart's event finder. Be sure to register your participation through the special PTA sign-up form at pearsonfoundation.org/pta. Learn more at Read for the Record at PTA.org. Three for Me Wants You! For Three Hours This Year With Three for Me, busy schedules and other barriers to involvement are overcome. You can get involved from home, at the school, or in the community—at times that are convenient to you. Here are a few ways you can fulfill the Three for Me promise:
If you don't have PTA Three for Me at your school, there's no time like the present to get it going. Visit three4me.com to learn more. Make Sure Your Family Is Prepared No matter where you live, you need to think about what your family and community would do in case of an emergency. It's unpleasant to think about the things that might bring harm to your family, but the best way to protect them is to be prepared. This September, PTA is again supporting National Preparedness Month, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Ready campaign. For preparedness tips, see the full article online. Make sure your family would be ready for an emergency:
Visit PTA.org’s Child Safety resource for more information. 100 Ways to Help Your Child and School Succeed There are many ways that you can help your child succeed! A few small activities each week will pay huge dividends over the course of the year. Here are a few that you can do this week:
Member Benefit Provider Message Sharp's educational marketing division has developed a fundraising program that gives local PTAs a unique way to raise money for their activities. Sharp offers "Fundraiser Packs" of 40 calculators at a discount to local chapters for resale. By buying in bulk directly from Sharp, the local PTA chapter can re-sell the calculators at a substantial profit.
Sharp is also offering PTA members the ability to own a variety of other audio, video, home appliance, and home office products and accessories. All of the products on the Sharp Electronics/PTA Member Benefits site are offered to PTA members at a level below retail pricing. To learn more about Fundraiser Packs or other discounted Sharp Electronics products visit the PTA/Sharp Electronics member benefits area at http://www.pta.org/benefits Member Benefit Provider Message PTA Schools are Eligible to Participate in Two Kidz IDz programs: (1) The FREE Kidz-IDz Child Photo ID Card Program Each student gets these four (4) products for free!
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE FREE SCHOOL ID CARD PROGRAM! (2) Fundraiser Program
The Ultimate Fundraiser enables students at participating schools to sell their local "Enjoy the City" coupon book. Each book is loaded with more than $2,000 in savings and more than 300 valuable coupons, including free pizza, free movie tickets, free oil changes, and so much more. PTA schools keep $10 per book, and can raise funds, plus win valuable school and individual prizes (such as pizza parties, free coupon books, and gift cards). Schools can earn $500 – $5,000 with the Success Guaranteed Program, whether they sell 1 book or 1,000 books! CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE ULTIMATE FUNDRAISER! |
