What are you thankful for?

“Joy is the simplest form of gratitude.” Karl Barth

This  past weekend I was able to spend the majority of it outside with my children. I am so thankful for this extended fall weather and the joy it has brought to my kids. At this same time I pondered how I can continually teach my children to be grateful, with the holiday season approaching.  As I thought about this, I read a few parenting articles on helping make our child be grateful and the benefits it has on children. Three ideas stuck out to me as I read the article;

1.      A 2003 study at the University of California at Davis showed that grateful people report higher levels of happiness and optimism -- along with lower levels of depression and stress.

2.      Being grateful is a learned behavior

3.      We can teach our children how to be grateful through modeling, and by having conversations about it.

As we go into this week, a great topic for discussion is gratitude and thankfulness. Next week is Thanksgiving and makes for a good conversation around this topic. Teachers have taken time this week to talk with their advisories about this topics and I encourage parents to continue this conversation at home.  For a link to the articles on being grateful, please see my blog. 

References:
http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/in-praise-of-gratitude
http://www.parents.com/toddlers-preschoolers/development/behavioral/teaching-children-to-be-grateful/

Veterans Day

“The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.” Abraham Lincoln
T
wo goals of Eagle Ridge Academy are to prepare students to be exemplary and knowledgeable citizens, and to foster an appreciation for the United States of America and her unique role in the world. This week marks Veterans Day 2015. We had a ceremony to recognize this on Wednesday. It is a great time to have discussions in class and at home to recognize the importance of Veterans in the United State and bring more awareness to our students regarding why Veterans Day began and what veterans have sacrificed through time to protect this great country.

Please don’t forget that there is math lab available every Monday and Thursday from 7:00am - 7:45am and 3:15pm - 4:00pm. This is a free after school drop in program run by students, which provides support on math questions and homework in grades 6th-10th.
_________________________________________________________________________________