The
Words We Speak to Our Children
Bonnie Terry, M. Ed., Educational Therapist, Learning Disabilities Specialist
Director of Bonnie Terry Learning, Auburn, CA (530) 888-7160
www.bonnieterrylearning.com
The Words you speak to your
children are so important! Are you giving your children the 'can do spirit'
or are you giving them excuses? Are your words those of encouragement or of
discouragement? When you look at your children's work, do you say, "you
did a good job," or do you say, "You aren't trying hard enough."
Do you offer constructive criticism such as "You might want to add ________
to make it better, or maybe you could rearrange the sentences in your paragraph
and it will read more smoothly." Do you say, "Your writing is sloppy,"
or do you say, "I know you can write much neater, you have it in you to
do such a nice job." Listen to the words you use when speaking to your
children. Turn the negative statements around into positive statements. Consider
your word choices when choosing the words you use to speak to your children.
When you consciously decide to use positive statements you show your children
you believe in their abilities, and thereby your children learn to believe in
their own abilities. All children can learn.
Yes, all children can learn, whether they have ADD, ADHD, a learning disability,
or a physical handicap. Part of what we as parents need to do is to empower
our children so they know down to their bones that they can do it, they can
learn, they can do better. It may be hard, but they can do it. In addition to
giving the word to our children, we owe it to them to give them the tools they
need to make learning easy. There are two reference guides available to help
students with their schoolwork. The Writer's Easy Reference Guide helps students
with writing a paragraph, essay, book report, and bibliography. The BT Easy
Math Reference Guide contains step-by-step instruction for all grade levels
of elementary and middle school math. These reference guides and other teacher
created materials are available at www.bonnieterrylearning.com.
Free catalog and sampler book: (530) 888-7160 or bt@bonnieterrylearning.com | 
