Food Does Count!

     I watch students each day show up to classes with energy/power drinks in hand, soda cans or their favorite Starbucks coffee. After waking up during the first class and "hyper" the second class, it is time to load up with pizza, tacos, fries or other starchy non healthy meal, so the student is ready to be half functioning through the afternoon classes.   FOOD DOES MATTER!  If the student is loading up on fast energy drinks in the morning and fatty foods for lunch, the ability for the student to perform at their best is impossible. The mind needs to be fine tuned.  Eating properly is part of that training to be ready and prepared to learn.
   Often parents are out of the house or rushing themselves and don't have time to make breakfast.  There are healthy foods that a child can have ready to go to solve this problem.  Fruits and some type of healthy cereal and milk are a great start.  Nutrition bars are easy to grab.  Many fruits can be easily packed, from bananas and apples, to various berries and citric fruits.
     Between classes, a student can eat a healthy snack.  This might include cheese and crackers to a banana.  There is nothing wrong with packing a lunch for your child.  It can be made the night before and your child can help do the preparations.  The goal is to control what your child eats.  Keeping a balance between proteins, sugars and carbohydrates is ideal for "good learning".
     When a child arrives home, whether it is right after school or after various school activities, have choices of foods at home that they can enjoy but are still healthy. Encourage your child to eat something small and nutritious before doing homework.  Finally, try as a family to eat dinner together.  This is a perfect time to have dinner conversations.   Include in the dinner well rounded combinations of foods.  Vegetables can be in soups, salads, stews, or by themselves depending on your family's taste buds.  It is always smart to include a starch, such as potato, rice, or a light pasta.  If your family are meat eaters, the choices are endless.  If not, great protein supplements can include:  beans  and tofu dishes. (My family loves my bean and lentil soups).  These habits can be started early so that they last a lifetime.   Happy cooking and even better eating!

Sports and Education

    So, how do you know if your child's athletics and sports are good enough for college?  This is a great question.  It is important for parents to not only understand the A - G requirements for four year colleges, but if your child is an athlete, the student and parent should also understand the NCAA requirements.  Though the two requirements are similar, they are not exact.  Each require a certain amount of rigor in different categories with NCAA requiring an extra year in some academic areas. 
    What this means is the following:
     In order to attend a four a year institution, for instance, four years of English is required.  NCAA may require, however, in one of the main core areas an extra year of English.  Four year colleges require at least 3 years of Mathematics, up through Algebra 2.  To qualify for NCAA rules, the student may meet the extra core requirement by taking four year of math.
     To be sure your child is picking an academic schedule wisely, enroll on two websites.  They are:

     http://www.ncaaclearinghouse/
     http://www.coursecoursegpa.com/

     Both sites can be very informative of requirements and where your child is to be successful. Encourage your child to talk to his/her coaches and academic counselor.   As a team, these experts will help your child in getting to where s/he wants to go.

Academics vs Sports- Does Something Have to Give?

     From a young age we groom our children to play sports, a musical instrument, dance, cheer or some other activity to make them well rounded and maybe even famous one day.  We commit time and money to soccer camps, CYO Basketball, Club Sports, Cheerleading Camp, and music lessons.  So...why don't we do this early in academics?  We assume the schools will prep our children to be the best they can be.  For some students, that is all they need.  For others, individual attention to study habits, organization skills, and indepth practice is critical if you truly want your child to be competitive.  Would you cut short giving your child the competitive edge in the other activities?  Then why would you think otherwise when it comes to your child developing the mind?
     Start early having an organized time to study.  This includes reading and math practice beyond the daily homework that is assigned.  Teach your child early what it feels like to be successful at school.  Other points to consider:
1.  Take your child early to libraries, museums and zoos.
2.  Talk to your child about what they see and make it a fun conversation.  Listen to what they have to say.
3.  Include plays, musicals and other activities early in their upbringing.
4.  Travel when possible.  My first exposure to Europe when I was twelve years old changed my view of the world forever. Help your child understand other cultures and viewpoints to make them well rounded in their opinions.
     My next blog will look at the other perspective.  How to tie in sports and other activities to this complete package.

What? Me Study?

     There is an art to studying.  Often we believe our students when they say:

“I am done with my homework.”  “I am done studying.”

We want to believe our children.  Then of course….the grades arrive.  I hear weekly from parents, “My child is not good at tests.”  What the parents should be saying is that my child is not good at studying, especially for tests.

     As students move into middle school and high school, doing homework is only a fraction of what it takes to be successful.  Parents need to be partners in the learning process.  Here are some helpful suggestions to be part of this process.

1. Ask to see the homework and what was assigned.
2. Expect to see thorough explanations with full sentences.
3. Ask your child to explain to you what the answer means in his/her own words.
4. If the child is preparing for a test, have the child teach you the subject.  You don’t have to be an expert or know what the subject is about.  Just be willing to learn and ask questions.  A person will remember 10% of what they hear.  But s/he will recall 90% of what s/he teaches someone else.
5. Encourage 3 by 5 cards for terms, major events, concepts…
6. Use post its to take notes within the book while reading.  Revisit the notes and translate on 3 by 5 card is necessary.
7. If a teacher lectures, when the student comes home, have them type up the notes.  The process of doing this helps the student revisit the lesson.
8. Encourage your child to keep a good dictionary near to look up difficult words and terms.  My favorite book is my Synonym book.

     The process can be part of a daily routine.  Eventually your child will be rewarded with those great grades that colleges want to see.

College - How to Choose

                     

     From campus to campus, colleges are completely different from each other.  Since this will practically be your child’s home for the next four or more years, this will be one of the biggest decisions your child and you will make.   So, how do you decide?

     The first step is to talk to your child.  If you are a college graduate or have experiences you want to share, this is the first big step.   Talk to family members, friends, and encourage your child to do the same.  But always remember, you and your child ultimately need to form your own views.  This is why it is critical to do road trips early.  Look at the environment, the students and all the features you feel are important for a successful college life.

     There are many things to consider when visiting and picking the college that fits your student.  Here are some:

    

·        Type of  University:  public vs. private; two year vs. four year

·        Location of University:  City, country, by the beach

·        Admissions criteria

·        Academic programs and majors

·        Student activities

·        Campus Safety

·        Campus Philosophy

·        Cost/Financial Aid Availability

·        Athletics

·        Housing Options

·        Size of Student Body

    

     To broaden your search, meet with your High School Counselor to get information on college catalogues, guidebooks, college fairs, visitations from colleges to the High School and more.  Here are some helpful websites to guide you:

·        www.cpec.ca.gov/collegeguide/

·        http://www.ecampustours.com/

·        http://www.csumentor.edu/

All of the above can give you further insight as you plan your road trips.  Good luck and happy travels.

Financing College – “If you build it, they will come.”

     The above title, a quote from the movie, Field of Dreams, best describes the importance of preparing your child for college.  If you “build” your child to be prepared with good grades, community service, a solid foundation in some activity – music, sports, clubs, leadership, volunteer work – the colleges will come.  And with the colleges, opportunities for financial aid will also be possible.

     Of course, my first advice to parents is to start budgeting early.  But as the fees for college continue to escalate, it becomes more and more difficult to put away enough for your child’s education.  For this reason, parents need to know about websites that can help financially in this area.  The most important website to sign up for is:  http://www.fafsa.gov/.

     This is a government website to provide grants and other possible financial aid packages to help pay for a student’s education.  There is no charge for this website.  There are many websites that look like this website but they will ask for a credit card, often at the end of the application and after you have spent hours filling out the form.  Should this occur – RUN!!  You are on the wrong site.  Also, it is critical that it is filled out whether or not financial aid is needed right now.  Should a parent lose a job, a parent dies, or some other unforeseen crisis occurs, and it is not filled out for the upcoming school year, you will have to wait until the following year to apply.

     Besides applying on the federal website for financial aid, private colleges in particular, are especially willing to work with you if they want your child.  On the web there are a multitude of scholarships that have specific criteria.  The scholarship may be providing money for students who major in a field, who are a specific race or nationality or that are left handed.  The list goes on.  Our local cities also have programs and scholarships for the students.  Check with the high school career center and they can guide you.  And remember: “If you build it, they will come.”

When do You Start Talking "College"?

     As a child I remember my family talking "college".  I wasn't sure what college was, but I knew I would be going one day.  Just like elementary school and high school, I knew I would one day be attending college.  It was never assumed otherwise.  If college is part of your vocabulary and your child's vocabulary from a young age, it will become an expectation that you and your children will automatically shoot for.  I never asked "if or when". I only asked "where".
     As part of this way of thinking, my family, and I later with my own children, included colleges when possible, on our road trips.   If we went to Disneyland, we visited UC Irvine, and UCLA.  If we traveled to the East Coast, we visited Boston College, Georgetown and Harvard.   When it came time for my own children to visit colleges to pick for themselves, they already knew what they were looking for.  Just like when we start our children in soccer, T Ball, Dance, Swimming or Gymnastics at 4 or 5 years old, we want them exposed to and be used to the plays, the vocabulary, the rules, and all the other things that come with early activities.   Why would we expect less of our children's education?