New Calendars for February-NOW with an EXTRA DAY
Here are the calendars for both schools and early childhood environments. Do not be alarmed, there is supposed to be an extra day this year.
Archive for the ‘Tips for Dads’ Category
01
Feb
2012
Feb
2012
04
Feb
2011
Feb
2011
Strong Fathers-Strong Teachers
Part 5: Why Fathers Count in the Education of Their Children
Although a discussion of fatherly traits that are required for the positive development of our children is necessary, it is also critical to see why those traits make a difference in the education of our children. The father’s own masculinity and engagement with his child, high or low expectations of his child, and ability to teach and challenge through play are three important traits in helping children become educated learners. When fathers become involved in the daily lives and education of their child, they can make a huge difference in the outcomes for that child. Long observation, anecdotal information, and a strong and growing body of research evidence over a period of almost 50 years confirm the value of fathers’ involvement in the education of their children. Researchers have done a tremendous amount of work to show us how fathers continue to count in the education of their children. To illustrate, I have chosen to highlight a few key research findings regarding the influence of father involvement on school readiness, academic performance in the classroom, and social behavior. Read the rest of this entry »
03
Feb
2011
Feb
2011
Strong Fathers as Strong Teachers
Part 4: Fathers as Visionaries for Their Children
Fathers enter a child’s life from outside the sphere of the mother. Fathers thus take on the role of one who prepares a child for life outside that same sphere. A father tends to look at a child not only as a small, helpless human being but also as one who will not always be helpless and small. Fathers have expectations for their newborn babies as well as tangible hopes and dreams for the child and adult they will become. Even as a father may dream of his child becoming a sports star or astronaut, he also envisions the type of toddler he wants this newborn to become. For example, he may envision his child as a bright-eyed baby, an inquisitive toddler, an early reader, a high school honor student, or a successful, educated adult. Fathers who become active and engaged in the life of their young child usually do so because of a vision they have developed for their child. This vision may change as time passes, but by simply having a vision the father begins to develop in his role as the one most likely to help that child flesh out that vision. Read the rest of this entry »
02
Feb
2011
Feb
2011
Strong Fathers as Strong Teachers
Part 3: The Father’s Role in Education
As fathers take on a collaborative role with the school in teaching children, a father’s role can be defined by certain qualities and behaviors associated with being a man and a father. Three key components of a father’s role in the growth and learning of his children include the actual quality of being a man and a parent, his expectations regarding the future path for his children, and the way in which he teaches and engages his children through play and interaction. These elements help to define a father’s role as a teacher of his children and a strong supporter of their formal and informal education.
Fathers, Masculinity, and Learning in the Outside World
Fathers exert a significant influence on children simply by virtue of their masculinity and the interactions they engage in that frame a child’s encounters with the larger world. Fathers and mothers come to their experience with a child some- what differently, in the beginning, simply by virtue of their gender.
From the time a child is conceived, it begins its life in the body of the mother (stop me if you have heard this before) and even from the moment of conception prepares to move away from the mother for the rest of his or her life. The father, who had a role in the conception of the child, primarily has only to wait and furnish support while the child is formed inside the mother. At the birth of the child, the mother typically has a very strong bond and a profound basis for a relation- ship with this child: it is of her and from her. Mother and child have spent a significant amount of time physically together that has contributed to this tremendous personal bond. It is arguable as well that the mother acts as she does and bonds as a parent because she is feminine and has gone through the incredible physical, chemical, emotional, and perhaps spiritual change of childbirth. The father has a more limited basis for his relationship with the child to begin with, as he has been waiting on the outside of the two bodies that were joined together. Read the rest of this entry »
01
Feb
2011
Feb
2011
Strong Fathers as Strong Teachers
Part 2:Schools and Fathers: Same Goals, Different Roles
According to the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Educational Statistics, there are 14,559 public school districts representing more than 94,000 school campuses in our country. Those public schools represent approximately 48 million students enrolled in elementary and secondary cam- puses. Those 48 million students are from 25.8 million married-couple families, eight million single-mother families, and 1.9 million single-father families.1 Even though they may approach it differently, these schools and families are both in the business of helping the same 48 million children.
Fathers and schools play incredibly similar roles in the lives of children. Both care for children and are interested in their becoming independent and successful in the adult world. Fathers and schools both spend an incredible amount of time working to prepare children to possess the skills necessary to be successful. When they do their best work, both fathers and schools are involved in the same endeavor from different angles but working for the same outcomes. Read the rest of this entry »
31
Jan
2011
Jan
2011
Strong Fathers as Strong Teachers:
Part 1-Supporting and Strengthening a Child’s Education
The scene is very familiar. Most of us have been in a public school cafeteria with white walls, tile floors, and drab, laminate-covered tables. These cafeterias usually have windows, are flooded with fluorescent lights, and, as if by federal law, have exposed stainless steel somewhere close to the kitchen. On one particular morning, one of these familiar cafeterias held more than 100 fathers and their children. There were book-laden backpacks everywhere, and most of those in attendance were in some stage of donut, juice, or coffee consumption. Read the rest of this entry »
21
Jan
2011
Jan
2011
Kids and Dads Need to Leap Into Play.
One of my many regrets as my children grow older is that I never played enough with them. Even if I played with them every waking moment, as we move to other dad-kid activities, I begin to miss just all out kids play. Along with my personal grieving over certain types of play, I have also begin to grieve the loss of play for so many kids in our culture. As schools cut recess time for more classroom instruction and lawyers and frantic parents cut play time for all of its inherent dangers, I grieve the loss of play among our children and families.
I do not believe that play is only important for kids to develop it is also important for dads to develop their relationship with their kids. One of the main tenets we promote at Strong Fathers-Strong Families in our workshops and presentations is that dads TEACH through play. If Moms and Lawyers, and Dads who don’t know any better limit play then it limits a dad’s influence. Read the rest of this entry »
15
Dec
2010
Dec
2010
Strong Fathers MUST have the talk.
We at Strong Fathers cannot encourage you enough to have the “talk” with your kids. Thanks to Asylum for this IMPORTANT message for fathers and families.
Do not go another day without this important discussion
30
Nov
2010
Nov
2010
Check In Questions for this week.
Questions from this week’s Check In Calendar:
PLEASE let us know what you think. Good or Bad, Nice or Not.
family.samhsa.gov/get/mealtime.aspx
http://www.pbs.org/parents/experts/archive/2009/09/reaping-the-many-benefits-of-f.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-petrie/family-dinners-bullying_b_786330.html
06
Sep
2010
Sep
2010
First Day of School Lunch Ideas
For many of our friends and clients around the country that will be starting school tomorrow.Here is a great dad and a great lunch idea for the first days of school, especially for some of you like my son who got special back to school wear!
Have a great day and a great year!
