Volume 7 | July 2020
MONTHLY NEWS & UPDATES
A Touch of Praise
THE POWER OF PARENTING
PRAISE
"Praise, like sunlight, helps all things to grow."
-Croft M. Pentz

Praise is one of the most powerful tools we have in our parenting backpack. It's free, weighs nothing, and we all have an endless supply on demand. When used effectively, praise increases the likelihood that a behavior will be repeated and is used by behavioral scientists to promote behavior. Praise helps shape a child and adolescent's character by establishing a gauge of what behavior we want to promote.

For praise to be effective in promoting repeat behavior, the praise should be given as close to the good behavior as possible. The longer you wait to give praise, the weaker the memory will be of what the child did to deserve the praise and will lessen the likelihood the behavior will be repeated.
To further increase the connection between the positive behavior and verbal praise, consider adding a physical connection like a high 5, fist bump, or hug. John Keats points out that "touch has a memory," and when a positive touch is added to the praise, more neurons in the brain are stimulated which reinforces the pathways that connect the good behavior to a positive result.

Amy Morin at VeryWell Family outlines some of the different ways you can positively reinforce behavior:
  • Giving a high five;
  • Offering praise;
  • Giving a hug or a pat on the back;
  • Giving a thumbs up;
  • Clapping and cheering;
  • Telling another adult how proud you are of your child’s behavior while your child is listening;
  • Giving extra privileges;
  • and giving tangible rewards.

It's also important to be specific about why the praise is being given. If you don't tie the praise to the behavior there is no transfer of learning that the behavior should be repeated.
Remember to be enthusiastic with your praise! When you can create a positive emotional state for your children, you further reinforce the brain pathways that tie a given behavior to a good outcome.
NEWS
MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD
ON SCHOOL REOPENING!
The School Board will vote on Thursday, July 9th to decide the school reopening plan this fall.

Please email your Trustee to let her know your opinion on masks, number of days in the classroom and use of online learning. Your voice matters!

CCSD SCHOOL BOARD MEETINGS
Trustee Emails:
Deanna Wright - wrightdl@nv.ccsd.net
Chris Garvey - garveca@nv.ccsd.net
Linda Young - youngle@nv.ccsd.net
Irene Cepeda - cepedia@nv.ccsd.net
Lola Brooks - brookla@nv.ccsd.net
Danielle Ford - forddl@nv.ccsd.net
Linda Cavazos - cavazlp@nv.ccsd.net
Jesus Jara - jarajf@nv.ccsd.net
WCSD SCHOOL BOARD INFORMATION
To find your Trustee, precinct, and district information, please visit the  Washoe County Registrar of Voters  site. Just enter your street address (all caps) and click on "submit."

TOOLS & RESOURCES
CONSIDERING HOMESCHOOLING?
Do you have questions about homeschooling and wonder if it might be right for your family? Considering homeschooling and just don't know how to get started? Come learn about homeschooling in Nevada from the woman who helped write Nevada's homeschool laws. Elissa Wahl, co-founder of the Nevada Homeschool Network and RISE Education Resource Center , will be on hand in an informal gathering what will allow you to get all your questions answered.

INTRODUCTION TO HOMESCHOOLING

Thursday July 9th, 7pm-9pm, Click here to register

Monday July 27th, 7pm-9pm, Click here to register

If you’re contemplating homeschooling a high schooler, you may also want to attend our Record Keeping/Transcripting class. This will go over how to make a transcript, graduation, scholarships and more…all information you’ll need to successfully homeschool high school!

Monday July 13th, 7pm-8:30pm, Click here to register
OTHER SCHOOL OPTIONS
Regardless of what the School Board decides for a school reopening plan, you always have other school options for your children. Here are some alternatives to get you started:


Microschooling - Typically, there are ten students or less in a setting. Microschooling is flexible, the need of the learners drives the decisions around content and approach.

Click here for a list of 100% online schools in Nevada


Private School - Private schools can determine their own schedule and reopening plan


Charter School - Charter schools are independently-operated public schools that have the freedom to design classrooms that meet their students’ needs. They can determine their own school reopening plan.

UPDATED: CCSD FOOD DISTRIBUTION
The Clark County School District (CCSD) will continue providing breakfast and lunch to students during the closure of our schools. Student food distribution pods will be set up at school locations throughout the district.  Parents and guardians will now be able to pick up meals for their children without their child/children present.


WCSD FREE FOOD DISTRIBUTION SITES
Working in partnership, the Washoe County School District and Food Bank of Northern Nevada are providing free meals for all children, aged 18 and under, at the following sites. You do not need to provide identification or information about your family to receive these free meals.

NO MORE 4TH OF JULY?
In 2018 the Nevada State Legislature voted to significantly revise the Social Studies curriculum in grades K-12. The updated curriculum will no longer teach patriotic holidays or the 4th of July. It also eliminates reference to the Pledge of Allegiance and a significant part of American History will no longer be taught until the 10th Grade.

If you would like to teach your children prior to the 10th grade, here are some resources you can use at home:

From Colonies to Country by Joy Hakim

Rush Revere and the American Revolution by Rush Limbaugh



You can obtain a free digital library eCard here  to find American history resources for use at home
POGO PASS IS BACK!
Pogo Pass Lets you visit all of the top family attractions across Las Vegas for one low price. Instead of purchasing memberships, or paying full price admission at each location, Pogo Pass grants you admittance to each venue a set number of times in this all inclusive pass.

Purchase a pass for each member of your family and access the passes from your mobile device.


Use code "P2P" at checkout to get an extra 20% off each pass!
POWER2TEACH
MONTHLY GIFT CARD WINNER
CONGRATULATIONS LANEY ULRICH!
Laney is this month's Power2Teach winner of a $50 Amazon gift card and will be entered into our end of year $500 grand prize drawing.
Laney is currently a 4th grade teacher at Grass Valley Elementary School in the Humboldt County School District in Winnemucca, Nevada.

Laney was nominated by Valerie Gildone who had this to say about her:

"Laney is energetic, keeps the kids moving from task to task (she taught my son in kindergarten), and brings out their full potential and beyond. The kids know how much she cares and this causes them to want to please her and do their part. I have 5 boys and one graduated three years ago in June so I have encountered quite a few teachers, and I think she is the best. I really could go on and on, but I’ll end with results. My son went from not reading to reading at a second grade level and third grade comprehension. Also, he scored in the 99th percentile for math and reading for MAPS the year that he had Mrs. Ulrich."

Thank you, Laney, for being an outstanding teacher in Nevada! We love our Nevada teachers and want to show our appreciation in a BIG way.

WHO IS YOUR CHILD'S FAVORITE TEACHER?
What teacher makes your child excited to go to school each day? What teacher has given your child a love of learning?

Each month we choose an outst teacher in Nevada who receives a $50 Amazon Gift Card who is then in the running for our yearly $500 grand prize!

THE POWER OF COMMUNITY SERVICE
WANT TO GET INVOLVED?
Do you feel a call to become more informed and involved in advocating for your children? There's a lot of ground to cover and we can use your help! Much of the help we need can be done from home.

Join our private Facebook group:   P2P Volunteers

We follow school board meetings and agendas to communicate news to parents that will affect their children in schools. We monitor state legislation to make sure we have a heads up on any bills that will impact our ability to parent our children. We advocate for school choice, so parents are able to choose the education option that best fits the needs of their children. We work with schools and community groups to give parents tools and resources to help them with parenting, and much more!
GAME LIBRARIES IN SCHOOLS
Help us build family game libraries in local schools for students to check out and take home to play with their families.

We are collecting new and used board games.

Email us at  info@power2parent.org  and we'll come pick them up.

Are you interested in building a game library at your school? Email us at info@power2parent.org and we can help.
AMAZON SMILE DONATIONS
When you shop on Amazon.com using the link  smile.amazon.com  the AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the purchase price of eligible products to the charitable organization of your choice at no cost to you! 

To select "Power2Parent," as your charity, visit smile.amazon.com and type "Power2Parent" in the search box "Or pick your own charitable organization". When our name appears, click on the box that says, "Select" and you'll be all set.
LIKE WHAT YOU SEE?
Power2Parent is a non-profit organization that operates entirely on donations. If you like what you see, please consider contributing to us, so we can continue our work to help parents and families.