So you bought your pre-teen or teen a phone for Christmas. As you watch them navigate their new phone, using data, sending messages, surfing the web, you might be wondering how to set some boundaries. If you are an avid Pinterest user, you may have even taken to this popular website to find some ideas. That's what the kids of my co-worker did. She bought one child a phone and another an iPod. They each created a contract for their device. ,After going on Pinterest, her children and her found 4 contracts they liked and then worked to pull out the items in each they liked. Using highlighters they found the most important pieces of each and then, working together, they created their own phone contract. Click the icon to go to my Pinterest board with the 4 contracts they used. Here is what their process looked like. Basically they put what they were responsible for and then what they would not do with it. Kids will tie more respect to the rules if they are helping to create them. By setting the rules for them, kids are more inclined to want to skirt around them. Let them be involved, but also set your expectations. Doing rules that started with "don't" or "no" aren't as helpful because it just tells them what not to do. Use rules that tell them what you expect.
I recommend including:
In my classroom I started using rules that gave my expectations instead of those that said what I didn't want. It was a more positive approach and it actually told them what I wanted. For example, "No running in the halls" becomes "Walk in the halls". Then "Don't talk out" becomes "Raise your hand to talk". Good luck making your contracts! Happy New Year!
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Kids are home, excited about Christmas, up early...how can we channel that Christmas excitement? By tracking Santa, of course! Check out these great Christmas sites you can do with your kids! Official NORAD Santa Tracker: Follow Santa as he makes his trek across the world! You can also watch movies, listen to Christmas songs, play a new game daily, and read stories about Christmas! Google's Santa Tracker: I really like this one! As Google has counted down to Christmas, new activities have unlocked for the kids to do. Including, coding, searching for Santa, present drop, and more! NORAD's Twitter page: Yep, keep up with Santa on his social media page! North Pole is a site I have used for years! Kids can read books about Christmas, watch Santa dance in the Elf Clubhouse, find recipes, send an email to Santa (and get one back!), and email friends Christmas cards. There is a ton to do on this site!
Enjoy! As posted on my Facebook page:
Follow-up on the After School app...if you have an Android device, you will not see the same things as an iPhone user. They have the ability to comment, see photos, and more posts. It is just part of the interface of the app right now. Also, the app had been taken out of the app store after first coming out in order to add security features. If a student posts something alarming the After School app employees that they may harm themselves, someone comes on that asks if they need to chat. If they believe there is a threat to the school/community, they alert local authorities and the superintendent. Even though this app says it is "anonymous", remember, it must verify a student is a student through Facebook. Meaning, this is not REALLY anonymous. Watch for a report on KOMU (I will let you know when), where I talk with a reporter about this app! Remember, if it isn't this app, it will be another. Stay informed (I recommend commonsensemedia.org) and remember that a child's safety is more important than their privacy. Advertised as a "Funny Anonymous School News for Confessions and Compliments", it is not all it has cracked up to be. Many students in our school have this app downloaded, including 5th graders. After School is a new app available on smartphones that allows teens to share their thoughts anonymously - crushes, anxieties, and gossip. If you can imagine, these anonymous comments have turned into bullying and threats. It allows for students to share their thoughts on message boards that are associated with their high school, but it does not share their identity. This app only allows teens to be on it. How? By verifying their account through Facebook. If parents want to be on it, they would have to lie to say they are a student. But of course, the app has a way of finding those who are posing as students and will block them. Red flag right there that this app is not great. If it blocks adults from seeing it, trouble is going to ensue. Talking about AppsHow can we, as parents, keep them safe and help them make good choices? A few suggestions I gathered from Crosswalk.com may be helpful. I love that they said, "Your child's safety is more important than their privacy". So true.
Further HelpIf you aren't sure how to start talking with your child, or if you are feeling overwhelmed with it all, please get in touch with our school counselors. They have heard of the app and know how to either walk you through how to talk to your kids, or they can talk with them about being safe online, too. Quick EditAfter School has added a piece to their Android description to state they are monitoring posts and have 0 tolerance for cyberbullying. Even IF the monitoring works 100% of the time, it is still important to have open conversations with your child about their cybersafety and kindness online.
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AuthorA teacher turned techie with an obsession with Google, teachers that love learning, and students that love life! Archives
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