Let Kids Get Bored Enough to Read

As I have mentioned previously, I am a big fan of kids getting bored.  It allows room for creativity, productivity, and . . . reading.

My kids love YouTube, Netflix, and Fortnite as much as anyone, and the pull is strong to drift toward digital distraction whenever they are presented with empty time.  Isn't it the same for adults?  (Looking at you Instagram, Facebook, and - I confess - Candy Crush.)

The moment we run out of things to do, we pick up our phones and settle in.  How many hours are lost that could be spent developing ourselves in some other way?

I do not propose taking it all away - not from ourselves and not from our kids.  I do suggest limiting it for the purpose of producing boredom.  Yes, intentionally.

Before you make any big changes in this direction, I suggest filling your house with a stack of great books.  The library is amazing for this, or Scholastic Book Orders, or even just Amazon.  Here are some suggestions for middle-schoolers.

Here are some concrete ways I am trying to foster time to be bored for my kids:

* No cell use in the car.  Ever.  Bring a book.

*15 minutes of screen time on school nights.  Yup, that's it.  Go get a book.

* Earn 15 extra minutes of screen time by putting in a 15+ minute workout of any kind.

*When the weather is nice, no watching shows on Netflix or YouTube.  Go outside or read a book.

Sometimes they hate it - especially when a friend with much more screen time texts and asks them to play.  And I say no.  But most often they have thanked me for it.  They are too young to choose intentional, productive boredom for themselves, and I am giving them the gift of choosing it for them.

Now, to have the self-control to choose the same thing for myself . . . wish me luck.

Visual Math - Factorization

Students were begging to watch this longer today.  It's a visual representation of factorization and it's REALLY COOL!

Click here to watch.

It's Good to Be Bored

It's good to be bored.

I tell my own children this all the time, to their dismay.


"It is most important to give our children small opportunities to become unhappy or bored.
 
Do these feelings still come our way as adults? The healthiest people are those who learned early in life that these feelings are temporary… and that they can cope and get through them."

Read more about why:

What can little kids learn when they are shopping with their parents in the grocery store? A huge amount!

They can learn about how to find the items and about what’s the best value. They can learn about quantity. They can learn about quality. They can learn about how much you love hanging out with them in the store and how helpful they are to you. They can also learn about boredom. They can learn about not getting what they want. They can learn delayed gratification and self-control.

They can learn a lot. That is as long as they aren’t watching a video on a phone or a tablet.

Many parents of young children allow that. It’s understandable. It makes it easier in the short term. Nevertheless, Love and Logic is really big on what happens later in the kid’s life; what happens later on with your relationship with the child.

We are really big on paying now… rather than paying much bigger later on.

So… the next time you’re in the store, would it be healthier for the child to be helping you shop? How can you make that happen?

•	Before you go, the child can help you draw pictures of the items you need to find. Another option is to print images of these items off the web. Now the child has something to hold in their hand as they help you on your mission.
•	When they find something you need they can feel great about themselves. If they spot something that’s not right you can say, “Oh, that’s really close! That’s almost what we want. Let’s look over here. Oh, look at that. It looks just like our picture. Look, it says ‘Beans.’ The letter ‘B’ stands for beans.”
•	You can ask questions: “Are we going to get the small one for this price or the bigger one? I think we should get the bigger one. It’s a better value. That means the price is just a little bigger, but the quantity is a lot bigger. ‘Quantity’ is just a fancy word for how much you get.”

These things make shopping so much more fun, and think about the lessons learned with respect to vocabulary, math, and other essential skills.

Of course, they are not always going to be happy about this approach, particularly if they have become accustomed to watching videos or playing games while you are shopping. This is okay, because it is most important to give our children small opportunities to become unhappy or bored.

Do these feelings still come our way as adults? The healthiest people are those who learned early in life that these feelings are temporary… and that they can cope and get through them.

Thanks for reading! Our goal is to help as many families as possible. If this is a benefit, forward it to a friend.

Dr. Charles Fay




(taken from the Love and Logic Email Newsletter)

2018 Intro Slideshow

Click here to learn more about Mrs. Haglin as well as info about 7th and 8th grade math policies.

Digital Giving Tree

Working on my web page and I added a wish list for our math classroom!

Are you a teacher and want to do this too?  See a great tutorial for setting this up over at the Teaching with TLA Blog.

Tech in Learning - Can You Help?

This spring many generous people helped us to get 3 Chromebooks for our math classroom.  I personally also purchased 2 more.  The students used these 5 whenever possible!  I am aiming to add 5 more so we can be closer to being able to use them in partners.  (This year my average class size will be around 24-27.)  Consider donating if you can!  Thanks!!

All funds must be raised by October.

***Use code RIPPLE until July 5 to match gifts up to $50.***

Click here to see our project.

Let's Say Thanks

Can You Help Write a Thank You Note?

We received generous donations through Donors Choose in order to provide 3 Chromebooks for our math classroom.  Part of the Donors Choose program includes sending Thank You notes to our individual donors.  The students worked on this at the end of the school year, but I have now realized that we need 5 for each donor and I do not have enough notes.  I cannot submit another project until I complete all steps for my current project, so I would love to finish it up!

Please consider writing a simple, one-paragraph thank you note for our donors.   

Start with "Dear Roxanne" or "Dear Becky".  We need 2 more for Becky and 5 more for Roxanne.  Send me a message in the Remind app or at haglinb@maplelake.k12.mn.us to let me know you can help!  

Please bring all thank you notes to the High School Office by Monday, July 23 

or mail them to 

Maple Lake High School

c/o Beth Haglin

200 Hwy 55E

Maple Lake, MN 55349

Thanks so much!  Happy Summer!

The Best Teacher Gift

What is the best gift for a teacher?

Truly, it is what so many of our Maple Lake parents give every single day.  It is your investment in your child.

The Love and Logic Newsletter this week was about how your parenting is the best gift you can give a teacher at any time of the year.  

From their newsletter, here are a few specific ways to raise a child who is respectful, responsible, and eager to learn:

* Make sure that your kids overhear you saying positive things about their school and their teachers.

* Ensure that they are doing chores without reminders at home, so that they know how to do assignments without reminders at school.

* Allow very little time with technology, including video games, texting, surfing the web, watching videos, television, etc.  These activities make it more difficult for children to remain calm and content at school.

* Have family meals together, where you enjoy each other and talk about all of the things you have learned during the day.

THANK YOU to the wonderful parents here in Maple Lake who make this investment day after day.  Your teacher gift is my favorite!

Quarter 4 - the Home Stretch

Spring is here - kind of.

4th quarter has arrived in spite of the lingering snow.  We are in the home stretch.

Start strong:

Get homework in on time.

Pursue deep learning:

Redo missed questions for deeper understanding.

Finish well:

Work hard all quarter long for the best possible grade.

Read!

Watching Mr. Meyer use dancing to express his love for reading never gets old!  MLHS students are expected to read during all their spare minutes, every school day.