From the Principal Week 5 Term 2 2014

Dear Parents, Friends and Caregivers,

As parents we are easily tempted to do things for our children beyond the age that they can do things themselves.

Sometimes we become a bit too comfortable with doing things for our children, when it would be actually better for them to do it themselves, and even for them to have the consequences of not doing it correctly (eg repeating the task, or missing the reward).

I remember with lots of young children getting the housework done. It took years of engaging the whole family in tidying together, putting the timer on and doing a ‘funny pickup’ in which we went really fast to pick everything up before the timer went off, and in cleaning together, giving the youngest one a sock on her hand to wipe the windowsills with.

Now, on Saturdays, we divide up the jobs, put the timer on and get the work done!

Last week I attended a professional development day in which I was reminded of a great guideline that I found useful as a parent and is also very valuable for us as teachers.

This is a simple model of success for all learners (cleaning or writing):

I DO IT                            Parent or teacher shows how

WE DO IT                         Child and parent or teacher
                                      do it together

YOU DO IT TOGETHER     Child does it with their sibling
                                      or while parent is
                                      watching and encouraging

YOU DO IT ALONE           Child does it independently

It is worth the effort at the beginning!

Helen Pearson

Principal