Teaching Kids about Setting Goals

The concept of a "New Year's Resolution" is a bit much for a young child to understand.  But it's never too soon to teach your child about setting goals.  Children get an incredible sense of pride when they accomplish even the simplest tasks by themselves.

Why not make your 2013 New Year's Resolution about helping your child celebrate their independence and accomplishments.  Start by helping your child write down something they want to learn in 2013, like learning to tie their shoes or count to 10.  Start with something small you know they can do and then celebrate when they reach their goal.

This just may be a new annual tradition for the whole family!

Click here to download the sock printable.  Don't forget to print one for everyone in the family!

Harmonious Holiday Household

Forget yelling and nagging. Focus on positive discipline to bring out the best in your kids and create a more harmonious household.

Positive discipline, based on love and limits, is common sense. It's often the simple, sensible choices we tend to overlook as options, especially when we're in the heat of a kid battle. Unlike punishment, positive discipline works to maintain the dignity of both child and parent by helping the child want to cooperate because he knows it's the right thing to do, not because he feels he has to comply "or else." It has three main objectives:

• To put a stop to misbehavior (such as whining, lying, hitting, tantrums).
• To encourage good behaviors (i.e., cleaning up, healthy eating, using manners).
• To strengthen the relationship between parent and child.

 read full article on scholastic.com

Get Creative with Author Eric Carle

Learning about authors and connecting with them can be one of the greatest ways to teach your own child about becoming a writer and an inspire them to read! 

Here is a website with lots of great Eric Carle activities to spark some creativity in your child. 

Click here to order Eric Carle books from scholastic. 

Making the Holidays Less Materialistic

"The gimmes" are all around us during the holiday season. It can be hard for kids — and parents — to look beyond all of the product-driven hoopla and remember what the holidays are really about.
It's not the gifts but what's behind them that's important — the spirit of giving. Help your kids learn the fun of giving, and how rewarding it can be to look for, make, and wrap something special — or do something special — for people they care about and others who are in need.

Here are five ways to curb materialism in your kids and reinforce the real reason for the season.

Printable of the Week - Gingerbread Man

Here is a blank canvas for your little artist to go crazy with.  All they need is this printable and a box of crayons and the sky is the limit.

Gingerbread Kids Recipe

It wouldn't be Christmas without the chance to decorate gingerbread cookies for eating and sharing.

click here for the recipe

Book of the Week

In keeping with the gingerbread theme our book of the week is The Gingerbread Man.

About the story:

An old couple carefully bakes a gingerbread man—only to watch him hop out of the oven as soon as he's cooked and run away! Everyone sets off after him, including a butcher, a cow, a pig, and finally, a hungry fox. Children will enjoy the repeating list of all those chasing after the cookie, and they'll also love cooking up their own gingerbread cookies using the recipe included on the back cover of this delightful book.

order the book

Gift Bags Kids Can Make

Kids will love giving gifts in this easy to make reindeer gift bag. 

Check out these other great gift bag ideas:

Christmas Tree Gift Bag

Snowman Gift Bag

Storytime Sweepstakes

Barefoot Books is offering a chance to win two book collections worth $1000.  One collection is for you to keep and the other is to donate to a school or charity of your choice. 

Click here to enter.

Parent Preview and Kindergarent Roundup Events

The course of your child’s education is one of the most important choices you will make as a parent. The choices today are innumerable.  And the level of excellent education is the greatest it has ever been. The same can be said about the Carrollton-Farmers Branch School District.

C-FB isn’t just an ordinary school district. We pride ourselves on offering a plethora of choices to meet the needs of all our students. Your child will receive a world class education – you can count on it.

Why C-FB?
If you haven’t considered C-FB as an educational choice for your child – come explore your course options at one of our parent previews.  Each campus will be holding events specifically designed for parents to explore the opportunities available and see how your child will benefit from an education in C-FB.

For parents with children who will enter Kindergarten next year, we are offering Kindergarten Round Up events to help parents explore the high quality options available for students just beginning their education journey.

click here to see a calendar of upcoming events

Connecting with Cocoa

Grab a cup of hot cocoa with your child and talk about their day, their dreams, and their worries.
Follow the conversation with a good story about hot cocoa like the suggested book.

Lucky Pennies and Hot Chocolate, written by Carol Shields for Puffin Publishing. A grandfather and his grandson share a love of many things, including hot chocolate! After reading the book aloud, ask the students to share who their favorite visitors are. For older children, take the learning a step further by asking them to write a story about a visit with their favorite person - either real or fictional.

Make Your Own Fun

Here is a recipe you can try. Simply mix the ingredients together, and enjoy!



Traditional Hot Cocoa Mix

• 8 ounces of powdered non-dairy creamer
• 2 1/4 cups of powered sugar
• 16 ounces of powdered chocolate drink mix
• 10 cups of dry milk
• mini marshmallows
• 1 cup of warm water per child

In a large bowl, use a wooden spoon to combine all of the dry ingredients together, except for the mini marshmallows. When you are ready to drink the hot cocoa, provide each child with 1 cup of warm water. (Do not use hot water and risk the children burning their tongues or throats.) Add 4 tablespoons of the dry mix to the warm water, and stir with a spoon. Once completely mixed, add the mini marshmallows for a delicious treat!

With leftover mix, store in a dry, tightly sealed container. This mix also makes a wonderful holiday gift! Fill a small Ziplock bag with the dry mix and top-off with a handful of mini marshmallows.

Teaching Kids the Gift of Giving

Six Ways to Get Going on (Guilt Free) Giving

Read more on FamilyEducation: http://fun.familyeducation.com/holidays/christmas/29608.html#ixzz2DSUxNRuN

Six Ways to Get Going on (Guilt-Free!) Giving

Read more on FamilyEducation: http://fun.familyeducation.com/holidays/christmas/29608.html#ixzz2DSUxNRuN

Source: familyeducation.com

1. Get honest. Okay, so your kids have never seen the inside of a homeless shelter, nor donated a single item for a charity toy drive. Talk about it! "You know, we really haven't made this a priority as a family, and that was a mistake, so now we're going to." Done. Now move on...

2. Remember the 2 Gs: gratitude and giving. "You can't have one without the other," says Kendrick. "They go hand in hand." Giving kids a chance to help others is how they learn to appreciate what they have (and children who appreciate what they have are not only happier people, they are less likely to whine and moan for every last item they see in the mall!)

Christmas Card Holder Craft

Here is a cute paper plate Christmas card holder to make together with your kids. 

If you haven't already purchased Christmas cards to send to friends and family, check out the cards available through the C-FB ISD Educational Foundation.  All of the artwork was done by C-FB ISD students and the funds raised go back into C-FB schools. 

click here to see the C-FB Kids Cards

Printable of the Week

Countdown to Christmas Calendar

Here is a website with a month full of activities to do with your kids for the month of December.

click here to print the countdown calendar

Thanksgiving Table Crafts

Here is a website with printable table crafts for the kids table at the family gathering. 

Printable of the Week

Curious to know what your children are thankful for?

Here is your chance to find out.

What are Parents Saying About C-FB ISD?

“Ms. Carr has made a great impact on not only my life but my son’s life. He is now able to sit down with such confidence and write his name. He has been learning so much and its because of her. Every time I speak with Ms. Carr, she has a big bright smile on her face and assures me that she really cares about each and every student. I would like to thank Ms. Carr and the Blair staff for welcoming my family with open arms and smiles.”  -Aimme Jordan, via Facebook

Got Orchestra? C-FB ISD Does!

C-FB Blogabilities: C-FB ISD is rated as one of the "Best 100 Communities for Music Education in America.” Come and experience the award-winning C-FB ISD Or...

Community Literacy Night

C-FB Blogabilities: Mark Your Calendar for Literacy Night: C-FB ISD Literacy Night December 3, 6-8:30 p.m. At Newman Smith High School Free books for all secondary students who attend.  All C...

Music and Development

Facts on Growth: Babies to Young Adults

While experts warn that it's too early to get excited about magically turning children into superlearners with a wave of the baton, here's a sampling of what some researchers have observed in their experiments:

• Preschoolers who had keyboard training did better at math reasoning than another group that had computer training instead.
• College students who had received musical training before age 12 remembered significantly more words from a list than other students.
• Infants can distinguish differences in pitch, melody and rhythm from very early on. In fact, they even seem to recognize music they were exposed to repeatedly in the womb.
• Students who received daily music training for seven months had higher reading scores at the end than did a control group. A year later, their scores were still higher than the control groups.
• Preschoolers were able to learn body parts better in a lesson that used music and dance as opposed to conventional lessons, or even one including movement but no music.

source:  www.eduguide.org

Thanksgiving Holiday

This is a time of year when we are reminded how thankful we are for the students, families and staff at C-FB ISD.

In observance of Thanksgiving, C-FB ISD campuses will be closed Monday, November 19 through Friday, November 23. Classes will resume on Monday, November 26.

Have a safe and restful holiday.

What are Parents Saying about C-FB ISD?

Miss Davis and Evan Acevedo

“My son is a 1st grader at Country Place Elementary in Miss Davis’ class. He is having a fantastic year so far, but this week Miss Davis went above and beyond. We have been working on handwriting skills and I sent her an email asking if she had any ideas or strategies we could work on at home. Not only did she send me an email with several FREE websites to go to for ideas, she sent home a packet the next day with personalized worksheets and a new spiral for him to practice on! He was so excited and I was so touched at the individual attention she paid to him!!  It is moments like these where we are without a doubt positive we made the right choice with C-FB ISD and Country Place Elementary!”  - Paige Acevedo

Read more parent testimonials about C-FB ISD here.

Thanksgiving Craft for Little Hands

Create a lifetime of memories in 15 minutes or less with this turkey potholder craft.  

Printable of the Week

Here is a fun color by numbers printable for Thanksgiving featuring the numbers 1-5.

Great Books for Thanksgiving

'Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving
Cheerful and lighthearted, this familiar holiday rhyme gets an inventive retelling as a class trip to a turkey farm turns into a daring rescue.

Thanksgiving Rules
This giddy guide offers playful instructions for how to stuff oneself silly during a Thanksgiving feast.









Find these and other Thanksgiving Books on Scholastic.com

The Benefits of Parent Involvement

Students with involved parents have greater academic success, better attitudes about school, and fewer behavioral problems.

Here are some tips on how to get involved:

· Share your child’s strengths, talents, and interests with teachers.
· Share expectations and set goals for your child with his or her teacher.
· Attend parent-teacher conferences with specific questions you want to ask.
· Ask teachers or school counselors about how to talk with your child about tough topics.
· Seek out classes or information on child development, learning styles, discipline, etc.
· Attend parent education fairs and other special events at school.
· Start a parent book club to discuss current publications.



Check out this brochure produced by the National PTA about parent involvement.





 

C-FB ISD has an Award Winning PTA

Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD Council PTA was organized in 1959. It currently supports 36 PTAs, including 1 early childhood PTAs, 24 elementary PTAs, 6 middle school PTAs, and 5 high school PTSAs.

Visit the PTA website for more information.

Check out this video about the C-FB ISD PTA

Teaching Kids about GERMS!

Help stop the spread of the flu by talking to your kids about germs.  Here is a website designed for kids to learn about the flu and other health issues.

kidshealth.org

Here is a printable newsletter with more information about the flu from healthwaveinc.com.

Easy Turkey Craft for Toddlers

Have you looked at our Pinterest Board lately? 

This turkey craft for toddlers could also been done with older kids but toddlers get an extra kick out of squeezing and spreading the glitter glue as well as the sticky texture of the contact paper.

Find this and other cool crafts on our Pinterest Board

National Young Readers Week

November 12-16 is National Young Readers Week.

Here is a free website for young readers where they can hear a story read to them or select a story to read independently. 

Printable of the Week

Monday, November 12 is Veterans Day.

Here is a patriotic printable to spark a conversation. 

Helpful Halloween Safety Tips for Parents

With the advent of little ghosts and goblins imminent, here are some safety tips from Consumer Reports that serve as a good reminder for parents. NSPRA is a member of the National School Safety Coalition. For more information on keeping kids and schools safe, check out these social media sites.

Consumer Reports National Kid Safety Coalition - Twitter
Consumer Reports National School Safety Coalition - Facebook

Alternative Halloween Treats for Kids

Don't get stuck handing out just candy to trick-or-treaters. Prevent the sugar overload with these edible and nonedible Halloween treat ideas that are healthy but still fun for kids.

Visit Parents.com for some creative treat alternatives.

Printable of the Week - Minibook

Mr. Allgunky and the Missing Monster

When author and illustrator David Hyde Costello was looking for ideas for a new monster story, he turned to the experts -- kids! For several weeks, we collected story ideas from students around the country. Here, you can see how the author transforms thoughts about scary characters and fun plot twists into an exciting picture book.

click here to print this minibook

Perfectly Pumpkin

Food For Thought: Yummy Pumpkin Casserole: Pumpkin Casserole 2 cups pumpkin puree 1 cup evaporated milk 1 cup white sugar ½ cup self-rising flour 2 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla extract ...

Techno Toys for Kids

Stocking stuffer idea!

The AppCrayon stylus enables kids to practice proper pencil holding techniques while using a tablet and works with over 300,000 apps and is compatible with iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, Motorola Xoom, Galaxy Tab, and many more!

click here for more information

Introducing the New CFB-TV

The district cable channel has received a much needed makeover.  It has a new format with a fresh look. Information is being added daily so check back often to see news and announcements.

CFB-TV can be seen on cable television in Carrollton and Farmers Branch or can be viewed live on a computer by visiting www.cfbisd.edu/cfbtv.

Here is how to find us on your TV:

Time Warner - channel 15.5 (without a cable box)
Time Warner - channels 95 and 98 (with a cable box)
Verizon - channel 38

TELL US WHAT YOU THINK OF THE NEW LOOK!
click here to fill out a short survey about CFB-TV