Teachers will often deal with students who are telling lies for one reason or another – getting out of homework, not admitting what really goes on at home, not wanting to get into trouble, and sometimes simply not remembering. Understanding why a child is lying is important as this helps the teacher understand the best consequence for the lie.

If a child is trying to hide the truth about something, there could be good reason for the teacher to know what that truth is. Here are some common reasons why a child might lie: about homework:

Lies about homework -

• The child may not have understood the homework
• The child may be struggling with the concept being taught
• The child may not have help at home (or the materials to complete an assignment)
• The child may have forgotten to do the homework
• The child may simply be trying to get out of extra work

Depending on the reason, the teacher should handle the resulting consequences differently. A child trying to get out of the work, for example, may be rewarded with extra work. A child without help at home or who is struggling to understand the work may need extra time with the teacher and modified homework for a time.

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Liven up American history discussions with a bit of USPS fun thrown in. Teach students about the history of the United States with the use of stamps. The National Postal Museum website is a great resource for teachers looking to add some interest to their American History lessons.

Encourage children to bring in old stamps and research the history behind the stamp. Not only will children find a renewed interest in American History, but they might just find a new hobby at the same time.

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• One child may not have time because of other family obligations such as caring for younger siblings.
• Another child may forget to do the homework.
• Another child may do the homework but forget to put it in his backpack.
• Yet another child may not be doing the homework because he or she cannot understand it.
• Another child may not be finishing all the homework because it takes him too long and he runs out of time.

Unfortunately, without understanding the reason behind why a child is having difficulty with his homework, a teacher cannot figure out a solution, and pestering and badgering the child rarely works to change anything. In fact, calling the parent rarely changes anything either. So what can you do?

The first step is to meet with the child’s parent and the child together to find out some answers behind the homework problems.

Stay tuned for more information this week on homework folder solutions. In the meantime, check out this Homework Pad as a great way to organize student’s homework assignments.

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• Make snow men, teaching young children about small, medium and large.
• Catch snow flakes and look at them under a microscope or magnifying glass to see the varied designs.
• Make snow angels and discuss the property of displacement.
• Measure the amount of snow and talk about various forms of measurement.
• Make snow ice cream and involve children in the cooking process.

Here is an article with some indoor and more outdoor snow activities.

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To make paper-mache you need:

3 cups cold water

1 1/2 cup flour

oil of peppermint

Newspaper strips

coat hangers bent into a form or another “form” for the paper-mache

Directions for Making Paper-Mache:

1. An adult needs to cook the flour and water over low heat on the stove. This will thicken the mixture into a creamy consistency.
2. After the mixture is cooked to the proper consistency, it should be allowed to cool before adding a few drops of the peppermint oil to help preserve the mixture.
3. While the adult is cooking the paste, the children should be tearing long strips out of the newspaper.
4. Dipping the newspaper strips into the paste, the children should then begin to cover the frame. As the form begins to take shape, each layer needs to be allowed to dry completely before adding more. This means that this project may take some time.

Some great ideas for paper-mache include creating a bust of someone famous (or the child!), a globe, a pinata, and anything else the child may come up with.

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Teachers need to team together as well and provide support and motivation for each other. Celebrating the small successes and providing ideas for handling the various problems that come up will become invaluable in preventing teacher burn-out.

Read more about how to implement team meetings within the classroom.

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Find lesson ideas for teaching students about the Nobel Peace Prize.

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This is the generation of parents who drop their kids off at school, at soccer practice, at dance lessons, at baseball. These are parents who are too busy dropping their children off to come in and participate.

While there are still many parents who are deeply involved in their children’s lives, there are too many who simply are too busy to do more than drop them off. parents need to consider where they are too busy in their own lives. Where are you dropping your children off instead of participating?

If more parents participated, how many discipline problems would never happen in the first place? How many kid would read more at home? How many kids would have help with their homework and do better on tests?

Teachers, learn tips for how to encourage parents to become more involved.

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Extension Activities for Obama’s Speech

Have students write an essay about one specific goal that they have for the school year. They should include details as to why they have this particular goal and exactly how they plan on meeting this goal.

Students can work together as a class to create a list of “class goals” much like teachers allow students to create “class rules“. Have students share lots of ideas for goals and then condense them into 3-4 really important goals. Once these are decided on, write them on a large piece of paper and have all the students sign the paper, promising to try their best to meet these goals.

Students can create a piece of artwork (coloring, painting, tissue paper art, etc.) that shows the outcome of meeting goals for the school year. Knowing what they are shooting for in the end will help to motivate them to work hard towards that goal.

For lesson plan ideas on preparing students for the speech as well as information on how to listen to the speech, visit Lesson Plan for Obama’s Speech to Students.

Read more extension ideas that will help teachers use President Obama’s speech to bring more appropriate student behavior to the classroom.

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With a few simple ideas, you can start your school day with extra energy and energize your students in the process. Start the day with a smile and an eager “good morning!” Never underestimate the power of a smile and heart-felt greeting to each individual student. Be sure to greet by name those students who drive you nuts and need the most help during the day. The other students you need to be sure to greet by name each day are those students you forget.

You never forget a single student? OK, sit down and write a class list from memory. Did you remember everyone? If not, those students you forgot are the ones you need to remember. If you remembered everyone, pick the last 5 students on the list as your “forgotten” students.

Repeat this activity once a month or so to make sure you are remembering every single student each day.

Consider starting the day with music or a song. This will help bring the students together and help them wake up for the day.

Start the day with a math challenge to get student brains working!

If you are excited about starting the day, students are more likely to be excited too. It is very hard to be grumpy when everyone around you is excited, so plan an exciting start to each day to get every student in the mood to learn.

For more classroom management tips, visit My Classroom Management.

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