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P age A3
“Write” tips for parents
Remember the film clips o t I iger
Woods as a toddler, swinging around
a wee-sized club, grinning grandly ?
Little Tiger, w hodidn’t know how to
play golf, learned to play by playing
golf.
Think about how children learn to
walk: By walking! they arrive hard
wired with the formula: Grab a table
leg. Pull up. A tentative sideways
step. Boom-the bottom hits the tloor
Let's try that again!
Trying over and over is, in tact,
the fun of it. (Much later we get this
odd notion that trying-but not quite
getting-is negative “failure. ) Simi
larly, children who are around people
who talk to them pick it up them
selves.
Experts say that we aren f taught
to talk, we do it on our own.
Writing researchers have noticed
that we happily encourage young ones
to operate their “Hard-wired talk
ing and walking formulas for learn
ing: Try, try, and try again. We even
heartily applaud attempts tailing tar
from the mark
So why, when it comes to writing,
do we expect children to get it right
off the bat writing researchers won
der?
not sure I spelled this right. Will you
hand me the dictionary please?
• E ncourage letters Letter writing
is a great way to encourage your
child in the writing process Pen pals
can be fun, and notes to relatives are
treasured.
What happens if w e’re uncom
fortable with punctuation? T here’s
no need to get in a frazzle about
commas and semicolons and where
to put the darn things.
W riting is about e x p re ssin g
thoughts,
says Spandel, author o f a
• Let your ch ild see that you en joy
paren
ts’
guide,
and the only reason
w ritin g, she advises, anti that it is an
for
a
c
o
m
m
a
-o
r a period, for that
important skill lor everyday lite.
m
a
tte
r-is
to
help
make the thought
• Let your ch ild see that w ritin g is
and
m
eaning
clear
to the reader.
really th in k in g -it’s thinking out
Good
writers
think
of punctuation
loud on paper (a notion that many
marks
as
traffic
signals
at an inter
adults may not have realized).
section.
They
keep
ideas
from
crash
. Be a w riter you rself Be a writer,
ing
into
each
other,
or
to
prevent
the
and get help from your child. You
reader
from
getting
into
the
wrong
probably do lots of writing of various
lane.
kinds in the normal course ol living:
W riting well is important to your
grocery lists, to-do lists, postcards,
c
h
ild
’s adult future, but th a t’s not
reports, letters.
the
most
im portant reason to en
• Ask for help Ask your child to
courage
your
child to w rite. For
help you plan your writing: How
now,
your
c
h
ild
’s jo b is learning,
should we begin? What should we
and
an
im
portant
reason tor a kid
say ? How do we end it? Is it too long
to
w
rite
is
that
it
helps them to
or wordy? Did we say enough ’
think
and
to
learn.
Should we use this word here? I'm
Kids are natural-born writers
From an amazingly early age, they're
willing and eager to scribble you
their very best thinking, their very
best analysis of their pint-sized world
They, in fact, are learners at work,
and parents and caretakers can help
keep it going.
Here are some writing tips that
parents can use throughout the year
from Northwest Regional Educa
tional Laboratory writing-assessment
expert Vicki Spandel.
Tracking children’s well-being
The Federal Agency Forum on
Zhild and Family Statistics released
n Washington. D C., a new report
hat off ers a composite picture ot the
well-being of the nation's children.
“A m erica's Children: Key Na
tional Indicators of W ell-Being,’
presents 25 key indicators on critical
aspects of children’s lives, including
their behavior and social environ
ment, economic security, education,
and health.
The National Science Foundation
(NSF) is one of eight agencies con
tributing to the new report.
“This highly informative report
on our nation’s children represents
an important new use of statistical
information available from many
sources in the federal government,
says Bennett Bertenthal. a cognitive
development psychologist and head
'
of N SF’s directorate for Social. Be
havioral and Economic Sciences.
"As researchers, we know that data
measuring our children s lives are
like individual stars: only by study
ing the stars, or statistics, in relation
to each other, do we begin to see
important patterns - a constellation
that is far greater than the sum ol its
parts,” says Bertenthal. “By combin
ing information on numerous topics,
this report enables us to gain a better
perspective on the whole of our
children's lives, and to understand
how each facet is related to the oth
ers.
"The value of the report will be
realized in future years, as we moni
tor these and other indicators to learn
how children's lives are changing
with changes in theirenvironm ents,"
Bertenthal says.
The Federal Interagency Forum
on Child and Family Statistics was
founded in 1994 and formally estab
lished by Executive Order I 3045 to
foster coordination and collabora
tion in the collection and reporting ol
Federal data on children and fam i
lies.
Statistical agencies within the de
partments of Agriculture, Commerce,
Education. Health and Human Ser
vices, Housing and Urban Develop
ment. Justice. Labor, the National
Science Foundation and the Office
of management and Budget.
For copies of the full report, con
tact the National Maternal and Child
Health Bureau Clearinghouse, (703)
356-1964. or see the National Center
for Health Statistics home page:
http://w w w .edc.gov/nchsw w w /
nchshome.htm
Standing tall. Boots
are back-to-school
“shoes" o f choice
for juniors this fall.
Sears features the
Canyon River Blues
"Humbug" camel
nubuc boots.
Scholarship Auction
Jd Support H>| Children will be holding all „Helionun OL-lobci IX. 1997 al The T itbinyC enler in Portland. Oregon.
e purpose ol the auction is to raise scholarship funds to aid graduating seniors statewide who are experiencing
uncial difficultv attending college due to the non-payment ol child support. Individuals and businesses ■•’terested
lonat.ng either items, services, gdl certificates lor auction or funds, can call Child Support H»r Children a (503)
M5XX All donations are tax deductible anil must be received no later than September I 1997. I.ckets.for e
„ o n will be available beginning in August The children of Oregon need cveryones help. Child Support to r t hildren
, statewide non profit organization which deals with the issues of child support through education and advocacy to
individuals in need ot assistance.
f " ---------- ------------------------------------1
COOL SAVINGS!
Isaiah Alexander Talton
Male; July 1, 1997
81bs 2oz; 21 Inches
Mother; Anita Bailey
Father; Idris Talton
SAFEWAY
FOOD & DRUG
Lucerne 18-ct.
Large AA Eggs
Beef
Round Steak
• Valu Pack 3 or more per pack.
• Smaller packages $1.27 lb.
• Tenderized Round Steak $1.37 lb.
Savana Sylest Brogdon
Female; June 22, 1997
6lbs 12oz; 19 Inches
Mother: Patricia Center
Father; Harry Brogdon
. SAVE up to $1.32 lb.
• Farm Fresh White Eggs
• First 2 cartons
. S4I/F up to 77f
Conner Christian Nelson
Male; July 2, 1997
8lbs lOoz; I9&1/2 Inches
Mother: Judith E. Slayden
Father: Cleon N. Conner
Brandon DeVal Redeau
Male; July 11, 1997
71bs 4.5oz ; 20 Inches
Mother: Tania Louise McPherson
Father: Terry DeVal Redeau
Happy
Birthday
Duane
Washington!
IH U IU Iw
Savings Guide
Picked at ¡ft Peak
Golden Ripe
Cantaloupes
• Whole Melons
• Grown in California
• SAIZF up to $1.34 on two
9$1 I
M or