kindergarten is the most important year of your life
Kindergarten

Kindergarten Is the Most Important Year of Life

Kindergarten WAS the Most  IMPortant Year of Your life.

And now …

Kindergarten IS the most IMPortant year of your child’s life. 

Agree or disagree, but the fact still remains: the MOST IMPORTANT YEAR of life is kindergarten.

Kindergarten | Most Important Year of Life
the MOST important year of life

The current research says that our personality is FULLY FORMED by age 7. The only thing that has changed about that statement in 60 years is that in the 50’s and 60’s the experts would say that your personality is FULLY FORMED  by age 6.

One year (from 6 to 7) is the ONLY THING about that statement that has changed PER THE EXPERTS in 60 years.

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Doing Homework
play is the best learning tool EVER

So  who is teaching your child ?

From birth through age 7 ?

Is it Minecraft, Clash of Clans, Halo, or iPhone apps ? Moms and dads, I understand your busy lifestyle.
But YOU GET TO DECIDE what your priorities are. Not what you WANT your priorities to be; but what your priorities ARE BASED ON YOUR ACTIONS. Talk is cheap. But YOUR ACTIONS tell me what your priorities are.

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I thought about being gentle …

… and politically correct in my approach to this topic, but the STAKES ARE TOO HIGH.
Your child’s entire life is at risk.
Our whole nation IS AT RISK as we model value systems for our children.

And being politically correct usually accomplishes ONLY ONE thing. You are politically correct. That’s all.

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And by being politically correct all of your GREAT IDEAS ARE NEUTERED while you A-L-M-O-S-T SAY what you believe in politically correct terms. And NOTHING changes !

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Daniel Jedi Squire in Training
let’s be bold as a Jedi

 So let’s be bold.

The STAKES ARE HIGH. It’s time to take a stand for being involved in your child’s education.
Be aware. When you are bold in this belief, you will have YOUR HATERS. Haters are gonna hate. That’s what they do.

Kindergarten | Most Important Year

Kindergarten | Most Important Year

But the MOST IMPORTANT YEAR of life is kindergarten.

I understand, moms and dads. You are spending most of your life’s energy and resources climbing the CORPORATE LADDER, creating a career, paying the bills, and building your PROFESSIONAL RESUME. For what ? So that you can do what ? Retire well, travel, consult, blog?

And you need some help.

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help me income taxes 400x300 px
you feel overwhelmed and need some help

The fact still remains: the MOST IMPORTANT YEAR of life (your child’s or grandchild’s life) is kindergarten – PERIOD. This is the year when your child learns how to learn, learns how to respond to authority figures and feedback.

Your child also starts to realize that there are other little people who also believe that they are the center of the universe.

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so you NEVER miss anything

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So how involved and proactive are you?

…during this MOST IMPORTANT YEAR ?

readers become leaders || they learn by example
readers become leaders || they learn by example
Being involved is NOT telling your children to go do their homework while you’re sitting on the couch with your iPhone or watching ESPN or Netflix. This is not being involved. This is avoidance.
Or putting the iPad in front of your child instead of doing homework with them. Or instead of reading with them.
Hey, we’re all guilty of doing this because we’re TIRED and MENTALLY LAZY.

But being tired and mentally lazy are not good reasons – just weak excuses. 

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For Dads – Get Off the Couch !!!

Get off the couch. Turn off the video games and ESPN and NetFlix.
Dads and Grandpas, we gotta be proactive.

Being involved in the MOST IMPORTANT YEAR of your child’s life is NOT telling your children to go do their homework while you’re on the couch with your iPhone or watching ESPN or Netflix.

Kindergarten is the…

…most important year of life. 

daniel and libby 300x225 green borderHere’s what I have discovered as a parent and grandparent. Children RESPOND WELL to a structured program of study. Parents, even when your children  complain, after this structure is implemented; they look forward to this time. For us, after school we have a brief (10 minutes) “chill time.” And while eating a healthy fruit snack, we do our HOMEWORK EVERYDAY after school.

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  • SAME TIME and SAME PLACE.
  • SAME STRUCTURE and SAME ROUTINE.
  • Right after school.
  • This system works.
  • The children like this routine because now they have the ENTIRE EVENING FREE.

In fact, just this afternoon, Lucas, my grandson, and I worked on his math homework. When we finished, he was bragging that he was two days EARLY finishing this assignment. This is NOT the way it used to be before we started having a structured time and plan for doing homework.

And right now Lucas and Daniel are enjoying a movie with their mother, because they both have a structured routine of getting their homework done first. 

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America’s Grandpa is a Hypocrite !

I am a hypocrite, and I’m cheating a little.

I do cheat a little by adding some M&M’s to the study routine. For the kindergartener, M&M’s [Grandpa-Approved M&M’s] do help with LEARNING COLORS and COUNTING. 

Today we did some multiplication and addition and subtraction using M&Ms. And word problems. By the way, the student gets to eat his successes. And the teacher gets to eat any mistakes. So the student is motivated.
And I have convinced our kindergartner that chocolate provides ADDITIONAL BRAIN POWER for reading and counting.
Hey, criticize me, but I believe (for me) this is an ACCEPTABLE COMPROMISE for now while we are building a CONSISTENT ROUTINE and work habits.

Just for fun, buy some [Grandpa-Approved M&M’s] here. 

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Kindergarten | Most Important Year of Life

This important year is when our children learn the ENJOYMENT of reading and the ENJOYMENT of learning. And the comfort and satisfaction of routinely getting the job done. The kindergartener is learning very IMPORTANT LIFELONG VALUES.

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Kindergarten children need to…

  • need to learn Sight Words,
  • learn to create sentences 6 words or longer,
  • learn to count to 10 and
  • know their basic colors, and
  • learn to take turns and share.

Ask Yourself these Tough Questions.

Do you want your child to know how to read, write, and know some math ? At least, learn enough math to balance a checkbook or to give proper change at McDonald’s ?

How many times have you met a high school student at McDonald’s that can not give the proper amount of change if the exact number is not on the cash register ? Frustrating and embarrassing, isn’t it ?

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Flat Screen GODs

Beware of the “Flat Screen Demons.”

Here’s another tough question.
Do you want the “flat screen demons” to educate your children ?

Do you want your children’s major skill sets to be learned from Clash of Clans, MineCraft, and the newest version of Halo: Guardians ?

Let’s tackle Kindergarten with some new tools. 

Kindergarten | Most Important Year
Kindergarten | Most Important Year

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You Get to Choose

Choose to change. And your children will follow.
Choose to change. And your children will follow.
But, remember, the stakes are high. You do NOT GET A SECOND CHANCE at the first 7 years of your child’s life.

And you’re NOT going to teach them effectively while you’re sitting on the couch watching ESPN and Netflix.

Let’s tackle Kindergarten with some new tools. 

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Computer Games and Apps

Have some fun electronic time at Panera Bread.
having some fun electronic time at Panera Bread
I’m not against all computer games and apps. Or ESPN, NetFlix and Amazon Video. In fact, I AM AN AVID BELIEVER in using technology – computer tablets and computer apps and games and iPhone apps and games. I am concerned about the number of hours playing video games and apps and NetFlix.
And you thinking that you are interacting with your children while you are watching NetFlix together. You are not interacting.

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And if your child is going to CREATE APPS and GAMES some day, they will need to know how to read and think and EMBRACE CONSISTENT WORK HABITS.
Remember, as you watch ESPN and Netflix and play Candy Crush instead of reading with your children, you are now actively TEACHING THEM HOW TO PARENT their children.

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Kindergarten | Most Important Year of Life

to the dads

Dads, it is time to become fully engaged in your child’s educational process.
Your obsession with watching sports and chillacking on the couch.
This is NOT engagement with your children. This is conscious avoidance.
  • Football,
  • basketball, and 
  • your favorite Netflix series. 
  • It can all wait until later. Years later. 
There are a lot of changes expected of your 5-year-old kindergarten child.
This is  when clear expectations and structure and schedules at home become even more important.

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Celebrate

Celebrate with a HASHTAG SELFIE.
Praise | Celebrate with a HASHTAG SELFIE.
Clear expectations and structure and schedules at home become even more important. And having some good habits like…
  • A regular sleep schedule is paramount.
  • A regular study schedule is paramount.
  • Praise for doing well.
  • Praise often. 
  • Celebrate with a special event. 
  • Celebrate with a hashtag selfie. 
  • Put their BEST SCHOOL WORK on a Wall of Fame.
  • Healthy eating – WITHOUT all the sugar – aids in this learning environment.

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Kindergarten is …

… the most important year of life.

The stakes are high. You do NOT GET A SECOND CHANCE at the first 7 years of your child’s life.
Kindergarten | Most Important Year
kindergarten is the MOST IMPortant year of life

Jon and Stephanie Weiss

Infomercial  – America’s GRUMPiest Grandpa is supporting Jon and Stephanie’s trip to Tanzania. No, it’s not a pleasure trip. Jon and Stephanie and their 4 young children are going to Tanzania for 5 years as linguists and translators for Wycliffe Bible Translators. And half of Grandpa’s net revenues (any purchases via links on Grandpa’s website) will go to supporting Jon and Steph on their way to Tanzania. Learn more here about On Our Way to Tanzania.

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America’s GRUMPiest Grandpa is writing …

  •  … on behalf of America’s children who deserve a quality education and on behalf of America’s educators who deserve to have parents who are daily advocates of education and supporting their children’s educational experience.
  • And grandpa’s comments are directed at dads who need to be more involved in their children’s education.
  • America’s GRUMPiest Grandpa is also writing on behalf of my daughter who is an educator and would appreciate (along with all educators) parents being more engaged in their children’s education.

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