Healthy Snacks For School

Since our kids are about to be going back to school soon, it is very important to plan what we should put in their lunch box.

As a teacher, what I observed was, three out  of ten students brought along with them junk food which was so disappointing. I always wanted to raise this issue but was never supported by my heads.

Through this blog , I will definitely make my voice heard ,well to some extent.

Eating healthy food is always recommended even for adults. But for age group 0 to 6 years  it is very important to give kids of this age only healthy food as their body and bones are still growing and very soft that they can absorb anything you give.  And of course that's when you teach them what to eat and what not and it's up to them till when they continue this habit. This is the period where you build a proper eating pattern with regards to timings and menu.

Now regarding snacks/lunch for school, some parents tend to be lazy in preparing home-made food for their kids for several reasons and for some parents, they think that sending junk food with their kids might make them happy when they open their lunch boxes just to find their favorite eatables. No one can deny the fact that kids love junk food or let's say any food that is not prepared in their own homes.

Some of the junk food found in kids' lunch box:

1. Candies

2. Chips

3. Chewing gum- the most dangerous , I think it shouldn't be given to kids at all!

4.  Lollipop

5. Chocolates

Some Healthy Food that you can give :

1. Sandwich - Make a quick spread of boiled eggs and mayonnaise

2. Instant Noodles - I suggest boiled in a chicken stock

3. Mashed potatoes or potato balls

4. Sliced cucumber, carrots or any fruit. Kids love this a lot. My kids love eating fresh veggies and fruits.

5. Roasted green peas-roast or fry green peas in butter for 7 minutes, mu=y kids can eat this for hours.

6. French fries - Personally I think French Fries prepared at home isn't junk at all.

And many more.

The above are some quick-lunch that you can make and send along with any juice. Prepare what you can at night so there won't be any excuse the next day like getting late, busy attending other members of the family because this way, your kid gets neglected.

Set your priorities and this one is one of them.

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Back to School 2012

This time Summer vacations was changed and instead of June/July it was moved to July/August due to Ramadan in the month of August.

Now as Eid is just around the corner, holidays are about to come to an end too and parents' nightmares start again specially parents of pre-schoolers as kids will start crying all over again like they did the first day.

I will not be giving any advise  on what parents should do that their kids don't cry because this is a very normal routine and parents should not worry about it . Handle the situation like the way you did on your child's first day of school.

Image from Clipartof.com

What you can do as of now is, start talking to your child about school and their teacher. Tell them that their teacher is waiting to give them starts.

Take them with you when shopping for their school items like bags, pencils, scales, eraser etc.

Ask them to prepare their bags themselves , with you guiding them.

Check their homework and revise.

Ask them to check whether their uniform is still in best condition and make them polish their shoes.

The above are simple things you can do with your child that will strengthen your bond and at the same time boost up their excitement to be back to school.

Do share some of your tips too. Remember , send your child to school a smile. 

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Checking of Notebooks/Copies- A Problem for Teachers

As a child, I always saw my teacher as a celebrity who wears good clothes, nice shoes, carry a good handbag, who can sing very well as she teaches us how to sing the nursery rhymes , gives us work to do and checks them. Checking was the best part of being a teacher, I thought so. I just loved the idea of being able to mark a tick with a red pen.

But only after I became a teacher myself did I realize , checking copies is no game for kids and in fact the most difficult task for a teacher. Being in this profession, you get to do a lot of checking whether as a teacher or Head. As a Head the main problem with teachers as per my observation is very late checking of notebooks. For me it's a blunder not just by a teacher but from the school too. As a teacher , I had no one to guide me on how to solve this problem but now, I would like to take this opportunity to share what I learnt and discovered to be the best technique in keeping track of your checking.

How to be on time in  checking students' work

After giving the students their work, keep moving around the class and watch out for the student who finishes her/his work first and check it immediately. Continue this till the last copy but don't worry if you are left with few copies to be checked after the period is over because it's normal. You must be wondering how you will be able to check the copies so quickly as it would need a thorough concentration. So there's also a solution to that. When you are on round, don't move blankly but instead keep an eye on what the student's are writing and catch their mistakes and make them correct it there and then. In that way you will only just need to put a "tick" on it.

Another important point is, do not waste your time in chatting while in the staff room and make checking of copies a priority. Once done, you can chat as much as you can. ;)

Voila!! Problem solved.

The above is what I think is the biggest problem but I'll be coming back with other problem that teachers face while working.

Do let me know if you have any problem that you face in the classroom and are seeking for solution.

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Preparation For Class 1 Admission Tests (A Private Teacher)

As I promised to all parents , this post is about the lady who can prepare children for Class 1 admission tests for different schools such as BVS, Mama Parsi, Convent Schools, Beaconhouse etc etc.

First of all a little bit of background. Mrs. Ayesha Naveed was my colleague when I was with White House Grammar school.  Very hardworking and dedicated to her work. Was never hesitant to ask questions and kept learning more and more. Until now she's been in touch with me with queries related to teaching and I highly appreciate that as it makes me feel good seeing dedicated and serious teachers around.

She is no longer with  White house Grammar School and nowadays have started taking students at home to prepare them for admissions in "big" schools. Upon knowing this ,I decided to let parents know about this and check for yourself if you feel comfortable with this set up.

Mrs. Ayesha has a proper syllabus with her that she follows to prepare kids for the tests. Besides this, she uses books from U.S as a teaching aid. She takes up maximum of 5 students at a time for preparation so she can give them quality time and good attention.

I may not be able to do justice to her performance as a private tutor here in my post but I suggest you contact or visit her for your own satisfaction.

I would like to advise parents to relax and take it easy while searching for schools for your child as you may end up choosing the wrong school because of that. I understand the pressure you are in as I went through that but always have patience.

Don't end up like this in search of school :D

For those interested in contacting her may contact me on my page.

Hope I helped. :)

PLEASE NOTE THAT INFORMATION GIVEN IN MY POSTS REGARDING SCHOOLS OR INDIVIDUALS IS SOLELY MY PERSONAL OPINION AND BASED ON MY OBSERVATION AND RESEARCH. I DO NOT TAKE OR ACCEPT ANY KIND OF PAYMENT FOR ANY OF MY POST IN MY BLOGS.

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