Here’s Michalko’s five-step process:

• Defer judgment. Get your juices flowing, but wait to decide which ideas are worth developing.
• Generate lots of ideas. Most of your ideas may end up being discarded, but all it takes is one or two good ones to make a difference.
• List ideas as they arise. A good idea can disappear the minute you get dis tracted by your daily routines. Keep a written record of your ideas and musings.
• Keep on tweaking. Elaborate and improve on the ideas you and your coworkers have generated. Look for novel combinations, surprises, and new perspectives.
• Do something different. Good ideas need time to incubate. Tap into your subconscious. Take a walk. Visit an art gallery. Then return to thinking about the problem and see what new ideas emerge.

Obstacles to Communication
Fear: It can be difficult for parents to hear unpleasant news about their child.
Defensiveness: Parents naturally want to protect and defend their children. When uncomfortable information is shared with parents about their child, their first response may be defensiveness.
Anger: Uncomfortable feelings can turn into anger. A parent’s feelings of fear and/or defensiveness can manifest in angry outbursts.

Steps to Effective Communication

Institute a parent Involvement plan: A well written plan…

• Helps to ensure communication occurs on a regular basis.
• Articulates the important role that the parent plays in the child’s development.
• States the program’s goals and philosophy in working with children.
• Puts into writing how communication will occur.
• States the times that the teaching staff will be scheduling conferences.
• Lists the volunteer opportunities and how parents can become involved in the program.

Validate the parent’s role: When speaking with a parents, it is important to remind them of the positive effect they have on their child.

• Share some real life classroom stories that reflect this.
• Help parents recognize their attributes and that together a stronger team is formed.
• Call on parents for their knowledge of their child.

Provide proof: When there is a need to speak to a parent about a child’s behavior or development, provide support for what you are saying.

• Share information/observations gained during class time.
• Have developmental screening and assessment data available.  (Remember, you should never make a diagnosis unless you are licensed to do so.)
• Be specific when describing the child’s behavior and/or your concerns.
• Show the parent work samples or observations.

Be positive

• Separate the child from the behavior
• Remind the parent that your goal is to help their child be successful
• Consider the child’s strengths when developing an action plan
• Stay on task – describe the concerns or unwanted behavior, discuss appropriate expectations,  and then develop a plan on how to get there together.

Help the parent be successful

• Have ideas ready that parents can use at home to help their child.
• Bring written information or handouts to the meeting.
• Encourage parents to spend quality time with their children.
• Invite the parent to volunteer in the classroom.

Create a safe place

• Set an appointment time that is convenient for the parent, with a low chance of interruptions.
• Provide a safe and respectful environment.
• Ensure that others cannot overhear your conversation.

Use open communication

• Maintain an open stance both physically and verbally.
• Show the parent that you are actively listening and understanding.
• Repeat what you hear the parent say (active listening).
• Document what is said and any decisions made during the conversation.

Availability of resources

• Offer parent support groups
• Invite local specialists to come in and talk
• Offer a resource library
• Have staff regularly attend workshops and conferences to ensure that they have the necessary skills to work with families.

By welcoming parents onto our team, we help eliminate barriers and gain allies who have valuable information about the child and the motivation to do what is necessary to help their child succeed. As parents grow to appreciate that your goal is to help their child be successful, they will become more open and willing to work with you on your focal point, the child.

Source: www.ccie.org

More than 60% of employers say they are experiencing tension between employees from different generations and more than 70% of older employees are dismissive of younger workers’ abilities.

Young workers move in and out of jobs faster and put more emphasis on individual satisfaction and development. Movement, change, and challenge become the motivating factors behind job selection and retention.

Strategies for working with Generation Y

• Provide access to technology. Generation Y-ers know how to use technology and they are good at it. They can use this ability to improve their (and your) work environment.
• Establish mentoring as a means of providing supporting direct feedback. Generation Y-ers have grown up with more parental involvement and structured time from adults. Therefore a ‘community if learners approach,’ where workers are supported through activities such as mentoring, job shadowing, and shared product assignments may be viewed by Generation Y-ers as less intimidating. They want to participate in tasks and learning experiences that support their growth, are relevant, and can be applied immediately.
• Support their values by inviting input in decision making. Generation Y-ers are used to being active participants in family and other decision-making matters from an early age. They bring a similar expectation of active participation and decision making into their work environment.
• Individualize and customize career and growth opportunities. Generation Y-ers are innovative. They are used to change, personally and professionally, and have experienced change at home, school, in the community, and at work.
• Provide training and skills development that can be connected with broader work applications. Generation Y-ers are goal oriented. They have high expectations for themselves and those around them: employers, family members, and peers.

Creating a supportive work environment

• Above all else, involve your staff.
• Upgraded use of technology in the program
• Rethinking use of current technology to facilitate conference calls among staff, parents, and professionals to save time and travel, and technology-based games – to ass dimension to children’s learning opportunities.
• Involve Generation Y-ers in policy-making processes.
• Use 15 minutes of staff meetings for staff sharing of innovative ideas they would like to explore.
• Create a staff training plan that includes transferable skills such as customer relations, team development, public speaking, and critical thinking.

Source: ccie.org

• 93% of Americans believe a company should have a presence in social media.
• 85% believe a company should not only be present but also interact with its consumers via social media.
• 56% of American consumers feel both a stronger connection with and better served by companies when they can interact with them in a social media environment.

Read more…

Fire Up a Bubble Machine!
 (Real.)  Though I suspect that this tip was actually submitted by a 5-year-old who desperately wants to improve their bubble output tenfold, mosquitoes have been found to be repelled by soap solutions. So it’s less about bubbles and more about the suds.

https://www.facebook.com/parentconnect

Source: DIYlife.com

1. Comment on new words as they come up in stories, on TV or on the radio.
2. Introduce synonyms – words that mean the same thing. If your kids talk about “the day after today,” introduce the word “tomorrow.”
3. Correct word errors with simple examples or corrections. If they say “We runned home!” you could say, “Wow! You RAN home?” Or, more simply, “You could say that you RAN home.”
4. Find books that your kids like at the library. You can then use subjects they’re interested in to add new vocabulary to their conversation.
5. Open a dictionary and pick a word they probably know. See if they can guess the word by reading them the definition. Help them understand that some words have several meanings, like ‘watch.’ Check out our tips in “The Big Book of Words.”
6. Write out pairs of opposites on bits of paper and get your kids to match them up.
7. Introduce a new word and ask them to guess which definition is right? Is HALIBUT a fish, a game or a President? They’ll want to learn more when they’re having fun!
8. Include kids in your conversations with other adults by using words they can mostly understand. Then they will be able to learn any new ones by getting the meaning from the surrounding sentence.
9. Pick a new word every day and teach it to your kid. Use it so they hear it in context. Encourage them to use it, and use it yourself. Even over-using it will be fun. Pick a word like ‘outstanding’ and use it whenever something is ‘good.’
10. Play vocabulary building games like this one: pbskids.org/lions/games/wordplay.html

pbskids.org

http://www.e-myth.com/cs/user/print/post/six-factors-that-shape-customer-satisfaction

Poor listening is one of the most common concerns expressed by parents of toddlers and school-aged children. Parents often say that they need to repeat requests, raise their voice, or threaten to get their child to do what they have asked. Behold, a few simple changes in the way you teach your child to listen can make a big difference.

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