When Kids interrupt...

Kids should not be allowed to

interrupt their parents.

When children are allowed to control whether or not their parents converse, they're at great risk for developing the notion that they have more importance and power in the family than their parents. While we believe that children should be given plenty of love and attention, we know that kids who believe that the world revolves around them…well…grow up to be adults who believe that the world revolves around them.

Part of the solution involves being very careful to avoid interrupting them when it's their turn to speak. In my book, Parenting Kids To Become the People Employers Really Want and America Desperately Needs! I discuss the immense power of modeling. Kids who learn these skills via example enjoy far happier lives as adults.

Another piece of the puzzle involves setting and enforcing clear limits. Some parents experiment by calmly yet firmly saying, "I will listen to you when I am done talking with Dad."

When children continue to interrupt anyway, there must be a consequence delivered with loving empathy. Many possibilities exist. Perhaps the simplest involves doing your best to finish the conversation…then calmly saying, "This is so sad. You interrupted us when we were trying to talk. Now we don’t have the energy to do the things you wanted us to do today."

One couple commented on their unique strategy:

Our kids had gotten so bad about interrupting us that we decided to hire a baby sitter…at their expense. We said to them, "This is such a bummer. You guys haven't been letting us talk. Now we need to go out and get all of our talking done. You'll be staying with Mrs. B. She's going to ask you how you plan to pay her for her time." After we did this one time, our kids were far more careful when we said, "We'll listen when we are done talking."

Thanks for reading! Our goal is to help as many families as possible. If this is a benefit, forward it to a friend.

Dr. Charles Fay

SMART board!!

Auction time!

Highline’s annual auction is on Saturday, March 10 at the Cherry Creek Marina. This is a very important fundraiser for our school. Invitations came home last week. Please RSVP ASAP.

See you there.

Jumprope for Heart

Congrads to our top three jumpers!!

3rd place Tyler Barclay
2nd place Zoe Henke
1st place Logan Smith

Study guide for Astronomy unit

Astronomy test study guide

The Astronomy unit test will be on Thursday, February 23, 2012 for Ms. Wetzel’s class and Friday, February 24, 2012 for Ms. Whalen’s class.

One theory that scientists believe is that the universe was created with a “Big Bang”. There are other theories about how the universe was created.

Our universe is so large, it is beyond imagination. It continues to get bigger all the time.

Ptolemy believed that our solar system revolved around the Earth. This was believed until Copernicus (scaredy cat) published his book in 1543 that stated we were heliocentric (sun centered).

We live in the Milky Way galaxy. Milky Way galaxy is a spiral galaxy. Other types of galaxies are barred, elliptical, and irregular.

A star is a huge hot ball of glowing gasses. When a star dies it implodes creating a supernova. Black holes are created when a large enough star dies. The mass of the star packs into a dense ball but its weight is the same. This causes an extreme pull of gravity. Any thing that comes close will be pulled in. Nothing can escape its pull.

Our sun is the star that gives us light and heat. Life would not be possible without our sun.

Gravity is the force that holds our universe together. Gravity keeps our planets in their oval orbits around the sun. The amount of mass something has determines how much pull its gravity has: The heavier the planet/star/moon, the stronger the pull of gravity.

It takes the Earth 365 days to revolve around the sun (one year). It takes the Earth 24 hours to rotate on its axis (one day).

Our nine planets orbit around the sun (eight planets and one dwarf planet). My Very Excellent Mother Just Served Us Nine Pickles: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto. The inner planets are the rocky planets. Past the asteroid belt, we have the gas planets. Pluto is an icy ball.

There are other things that orbit around our sun such as asteroids and comets. A comet is a ball of ice, dust and gas. As it gets closer to the sun it speeds up and begins to melt. As it melts, the solar winds of the sun create a “tail” on the comet. When we see a comet, the light is seen for days or a week at a time. A meteor is space dust. As this dust enters our atmosphere the friction creates a spark that we might call a “shooting star”. The spark only last a few seconds. There are two times of year when meteor showers happen: August and November. An asteroid is a large chunk of rocky material in space. There is a large collection of asteroids orbiting the sun between the Jupiter and Mars called the asteroid belt.

An eclipse occurs when something blocks the view of something else in space. A lunar eclipse is when the view of the moon is blocked by the shadow of the Earth: Sun, Earth, Moon. A Solar eclipse happens when the moon blocks our view (perspective) of the Sun: Sun, Moon, Earth.

Constellations are groups of stars that create a picture. Constellations are used as a map of the sky. Explorers used the North Star to help guide them. Constellations appear to move as we travel through our season because we are revolving around the sun. The northern and southern hemispheres of Earth can see different constellations.

Study guide for Social Studies Quiz

February 14^th Ms. Wetzel’s Homeroom

February 16^th Ms. Whalen’s Homeroom

During the Ice Age, Beringia was the land bridge that connected Asia with North American. These people that lived there were hunters and gatherers. One animal they hunted was the wooly mammoth.

The Inuits live in Canada near the Artic Ocean.

The Mound Builders lived in the Midwest and may have been killed by diseases from the Europeans.

The Anasazi lived in cliff dwellings, high above the ground, to protect themselves from their enemies.