Recently in city island Category

          The end of the school year and the advent of summer vacation can be a cherished time in the life of a child. I can still picture in my mind being 9 years old, on the last half-day of school, coming home at noon and realizing that I could play baseball every day until September. I was sitting in front of my house, my baseball mitt and a brand new ball in my hands, waiting for my friends to arrive. I can still feel that sense of joyful anticipation, with a wide-open sense of possibility.  It is, in fact, a feeling I still yearn for over fifty years later.

          Parents may celebrate the end of the school year too, but there are also challenges for working families: child care needs, camp costs, and the logistics of getting everyone from one activity to the next. How can we make the most of this time, given the realities and stresses of our lives? How can we join our children in this celebration of summer, even in the midst of our daily responsibilities?

          Here are some hopefully helpful ideas to ponder for a joyful and productive summer vacation:

 S - spend time together that's unstructured: "wasting time"

       sitting outside together may be just what you need...

U - upbeat attitudes are contagious: there's more time
       to share positive thoughts and feelings...

M - making time for what we value remains important: read

        more, learn more, do community service, make art...

M - memories come from "stupid life stuff": activities like

        sidewalk art or a water fight can be the most fun...

E - enter into the natural world every chance you can:

      we live on an island - get out there!

R - remember that life is a journey, not a race: slow is

       better than fast, so we can stop along the way...

T - thank the universe every day for all of your gifts: an

      attitude of gratitude is contagious...

I - invest in the future by making goals now: read books

     together; learn about birds; start a children's garden...

M - meet new people and make better friends with those you

     know: we all need a community of caring individuals...

E - enjoy your kids - they grow up fast, you know!

 

 

The Morris Junior Sailing Program and School Success:
Why having your child learn to sail can help in the classroom, too
Learning to sail is a complex activity. Sailing uses all part of the brain, engages visual, auditory, and tactile/kinesthetic learning styles. Sailing also develops resilience, cooperation skills, and a sense of environmental awareness. Here's why you should enroll your child in The Morris Junior Sailing Program:
• Current brain research suggests that activities that engage both sides of the brain - the language-oriented left hemisphere and the spatially-oriented right hemisphere - lead to better overall brain health. Sailing involves the language and sequencing of maneuvers (like tacking and jibing) as well as the spatial awareness of you, your sails, your boat, and the surrounding waters. You are constantly switching sides, using each hand on the tiller, and re-orienting yourself in space-time. You are also making lots of decisions, a process which engages the pre-frontal lobes (the last part of the brain to fully develop).
• Visual learners are always monitoring the scenery, tracking the boat and its movement through the water. Auditory learners are engaging crew members with commands, listening for the wind and the luffing of the sails, and maintaining vigilance for auditory aids to navigation. Tactile/kinesthetic learners feel the wind on their face, move their bodies across the cockpit
when the move the tiller, and experience the physical thrill of gliding through the water on a wind machine.
• Resilience is a vital skill for life-success: the ability to bounce back from adversity with positive outcomes and optimism. Sailing provides multiple chances to bounce back - from a poor tack, from a dropped winch handle, or from a wrong way maneuver on the tiller - and provides an immediate opportunity to "get back on course."
• Cooperative learning is an increasingly valuable learning skill in our inter-connected world. With two students in each boat, there is an on-board classroom for teaching how to communicate, how to get along, and how to work together to achieve a goal.
• A love of the natural world is a gift you can give to your child through sailing. In an era where children are spending more time indoors using computer/screen devices, sailing is the perfect opportunity to get outside, be active, and enjoy this beautiful planet.
So - what are you waiting for?
Morris Yacht and Beach Club member John Scardina is a school psychologist, parent educator, and child development specialist who lives on City Island. He is a certified sailing instructor (American Sailing Association) and the owner of his beloved 30' sloop Sunbow. Check out his website www.ThinkLaughLearn.com.
© John Scardina 2011

Join an ongoing and free-wheeling discussion of the joys and pains of parenting led by Teacher John (parent, grandparent, school psychologist, parent educator). Learn to stop yelling, get what you want from your family life, and create opportunities for your children to become responsible, loving, and independent.  Eight sessions - once per month - from 7:30 til 9:00 PM at the City Island Community Center (190 Fordham Street). $20.00 per session. Contact John Scardina @ 718-885-9305 or through his website www.ThinkLaughLearn.com.

 

Dates: Monday, October 18^th

            Tuesday, November 16^th

            Wednesday, December 15^th

            Thursday, January 20^th

Tuesday, February 15^th

Monday, March 14^th

Wednesday, April 20^th

Thursday, May 19^th  

The P.T.A. is proud to sponsor parent presentations by certified school psychologist, parent educator and City Island Resident John Scardina:

 

How to Make Your Home into a Learning Laboratory: Executive Functioning Skills for Home, School and Life

Where: P.S. 175- The City Island School

When:  Thursday, January 21st -

             geared for parents of K-5^th graders

            Thursday, January 28^th -

            geared for parents of 6^th -8^th graders

Time:   7Pm -8Pm plus additional time for Q & A

Suggested donation of $5 to PTA of P.S. 175

Light refreshments will be served

Holiday Stress/Holiday Joy

Simple Ideas for Parents to Create Healthy Family Celebrations

A FREE Parent Presentation by John Scardina

John Scardina is a certified school psychologist and parent educator with over three decades of experience working with children. He is delighted to be living and working on City Island.

WHEN: 7:30 PM

            Monday, Dec. 14^th

WHERE: City Island

              Community

            Center

             190 Fordham Street

             City Island, NY 10464

QUESTIONS: call 718-885-9305 or e-mail  

                @ john@thinklaughlearn.com