Broadcaster Press 7 August 6, 2019 www.broadcasteronline.com How to Help Kids Make Friends at School The average student likely spends more time at school and participating in extracurricular activities with classmates than he or she does at home. In close proximity to so many peers, it may seem like making friends would be a snap. However, some students have trouble connecting and can use a little push to make friends. The family and parenting resource Parenting Science notes that research indicates that the most popular children are those who exemplify certain traits. These traits include being caring; a willingness to share; a willingness to offer help; and strong verbal skills. Children who embrace these traits may prove better at making friends. Parents may find that youngsters need some encouragement to build their social circles, and the following are some ways parents can offer that encouragement. • Encourage kids to seek out someone on their own. It may be challenging to walk up to a group and introduce yourself. Encourage students to seek out someone who is alone and then strike up a conversation, which can be less intimidating than approaching a group. Emphasize to kids that other students may also be a little shy and looking to make friends. • Practice conversation starters at home. Children can work with their parents to come up with topics that can help foster communication. These can include ice breakers and common interests, such as favorite television shows or video games. • Teach kids approachable body language. Wearing earbuds or exhibiting negative body language, such as crossed arms or avoiding eye contact, can make a person seem less approachable. Smiling, engaging in conversation and being friendly can make it easier to make friends. • Ask teachers to help. The education resource Understood says teachers can give children responsibilities, such as the opportunity to hand out snacks or papers, which can build confidence and provide opportunities for kids to converse with their peers. • Help children be active listeners. An active listener is someone who makes it clear that he or she is paying attention. Making eye contact, orienting the body toward the speaker and making relevant verbal responses are some active listening strategies that can help kids more fully engage with their peers. Feeling valued and listened to may encourage other children to be more friendly and engaging. • Ask open questions. The social networking advisement site Young Scot suggests having students ask open questions, such as: “How was your summer?” or “What sports do you like to play?” These types of questions can kick-start in-depth conversations. • Join a team or club. Students often make friends in social or extracurricular settings, such as on a sports team. With a shared interest, it’s easy to find topics to discuss. Making friends in school can make time spent in the classroom more enjoyable for youngsters. Metro Creative Connection Popular Classroom Learning Apps It is impossible to ignore the immense popularity of digital learning tools in today’s schools. Teachers routinely turn to online tools and available applications to offer students all the resources they need to become well-rounded individuals. According to research from Grunwald Associates, LLC, 71 percent of parents embrace mobile devices and feel they open up learning opportunities for kids that didn’t previously exist. The research also suggests that a similar percentage of parents would like teachers to recommend apps for students. Navigating learning apps can be daunting due to the sheer volume of apps available. According to Apps for Education, there are more than 500,000 educational apps currently available for download. Apps can be stimulating and fun, but finding quality resources may involve sorting through those that aren’t necessarily valuable. The following are some apps parents may want to consider. • Memrise: Learning a second or third language can be a boon to students of any age. Some schools may be limited in the number of languages they offer. Therefore, an app may be a great resource for students looking to learn a new language. Memrise drills students on vocabulary, phrases, aural recognition, and more. • Kahoot: Kahoot is a platform to create games and review content. Players answer questions on their individual devices, while games are displayed on a shared screen. Kahoot can be an ideal way for several students to prepare for a test in a digital study session. • Reading Eggs: This comprehensive learning system covers essential components of reading: awareness, vocabulary, phonics, fluency, and comprehension. Parents can see progress reports and know if and where extra attention may be necessary. • Edmodo: This app is designed to streamline workloads for teachers and help make it easier for them to stay connected with the classroom and their students. Parents can set up accounts and stay abreast of their children’s activities, grades, messages, and progress. Though it’s not a learning app, Edmodo can be a valuable tool for classroom management. • Epic: This online children’s subscription book service offers immediate, on-demand access to high-quality reading materials for children ages 12 and under. Voracious readers will always have content they can access, in addition to audio books, educational videos, and educational quizzes. • Photomath: This app enables students to snap pictures of complicated math problems and get step-by-step directions on how to answer them. Instead of simply giving the answer, Photomath provides students with the tools to answer the problems on their own. • StudyBlue: Students can create and share mobile flash cards, study guides, quizzes, and choose from other study materials to help reinforce lessons. Educational apps play a vital role in educating today’s students. Metro Creative Connection Tried-and-True Ways to Raise a Confident Kid Fall Registration and Open House Preschool through 5th grade is on Wednesday, August 14th • 4:30 - 7:00 p.m. Registration will take place in the gym and the open house will be in the classrooms. Please come, even if you are pre-registered. Classes Begin: Wednesday, August 21st, 2019 at 8:20 a.m. The Catholic Daughters Ice Cream Social will also be in the gym on Tuesday, August 14th from 4:30-7:00pm. Open for everyone. Contact: St. Agnes School, 909 Lewis Street, Vermillion, SD 57069 • 605.624.4144 in Vermillion Serving Clay, Union, Turner Counties in South Dakota (605) 624-5311 Hands are not for hitting and words were not meant to be cruel Children raised to be confident have the tools to be resilient in a challenging world. Confidence helps children handle peer pressure, stress, obstacles, and much more. There’s a fine line between developing confidence and raising kids who are overly boastful. Parents, teachers and other influential figures can employ various research-based strategies to start boosting kids’ confidence. • Allow children to make mistakes and learn from them. Mistakes happen, and children benefit from making mistakes and learning from them. Children who fail, pick themselves up and try again are learning lessons of resiliency. Their confidence develops as they pick themselves up again, learn from their mistake and ultimately meet with success. • Resist the temptation to “fix” everything. Parents may get hung up on trying to improve on their children’s efforts to make it perfect. This may occur with school work. According to the mental health wellness resource Psychology Today, constant intervention undermines children’s confidence and prevents them from learning for themselves. • Model and teach positivity. It can be easy to fall into a pattern of saying things like, “I’ll never be able to do that” or “It’s too difficult.” But parents must remember that their children take their cues from mom and dad. Parents who stay positive in the face of adversity will instill the same attitude in their children. • Give praise when it’s deserved. Praise children when they do their best, but avoid praising kids when they don’t try their hardest or if they are still working toward solving a problem they haven’t yet figured out. In lieu of praise, provide encouragement and urge youngsters to try again and practice. • Value their ideas. Ask children for ageappropriate advice, suggests the growth mindset company Big Life Journal. Showing kids their ideas are worthy can instill confidence. • Skip the rescue operation. Parents often are quick to swoop in and try to prevent kids from feeling hurt or discouraged. However, according to Robert Brooks, PhD, who coauthored the book “Raising Resilient Children,” it’s alright for kids to fail and feel sad or angry. Success is learned by overcoming obstacles rather than having all obstacles removed. Above all, children who are loved and supported can develop confidence through the years with some well-placed guidance. GET YOUR SPORTS PHYSICAL Your athlete’s path to victory starts with a sports physical at Sanford Vermillion. No matter which sport, our expert physicians will make sure your young athlete is fit and ready to play when the whistle blows. Schedule a sports physical today. Call (605) 677-3500 to schedule an appointment 018027-00532 Rev. 6/19 Metro Creative Connection