honeymoon, etc.

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Home : 2003 : November : 26

honeymoon, etc.
By Carolyn

Kids always start the year out with a great deal of enthusiasm. They have sat home for a couple of months, and they have become bored. School offers them the structure and purpose that is lacking during the lengthy summer
vacation.
Eventually, you see your kids "slacking off." School is no fun anymore, and they become tired of the day-to-day grind, especially with state testing dominating the scene and putting pressure on them. It isn't unusual this time of year for kids to start thinking that Christmas vacation has already begun. After Christmas, they will settle down again for awhile, then they

will become restless again. I have my worst behavior problems in the spring--March to school closing. You also notice that more kids are "forgetting" homework and grades begin to slide downhill.

When all of this happens, I let the kids know that I am as involved as ever. I call their parents to get them on track again. I may actually send home an interim report with the bad grades so that the parents will "get on" their child. One thing that I do to help the kids stay on track is to send home the students' papers each week. This includes classwork, homework, and graded tests. I attach a note each week to allow the parents to know what we are doing in class and what their own child needs to do to improve.

As far as your smelly child, perhaps you could get the school nurse involved. This is actually a health problem that I think she should deal with. Set aside some time to speak with the nurse about the child, then have her meet with him about good hygiene. The school nurse can take it from there--contacting the parents, etc.