A little laughter for this SPLURGE! Friday

#ClassicJokeFriday

High School Student Resource

Happy Thursday Dreamers! Today's program resource is Discovery Education. You may have already seen this in our post last week as we used this as a "go-to" for a middle school social studies resource. Discovery Education is also the perfect resource for high school students.

They have everything from homework help, interactive activities, "live" WebMath Lessons, and digital text books. We find this resource to be so great not only for the variety of content that they offer but they are also "standards-aligned" educational resources. This is perfect for pediatric cancer patients due to the high number of absences that will likely occur.

Additionally the fact that all of their content is free and online also provides your child with the flexibility to get this extra help whenever they choose!


Check it all out HERE!

Feeling inspired

We came across this quote and felt it perfectly captures our posts during high school education week. As we have mentioned before our founder was diagnosed right before he was supposed to begin high school. Obviously, having a typical high school experience was the anticipated plan, but letting go of that plan conceived his inspiration, passion and 13 journey that created Teen with a Dream! 

Tips for the Emotional Transition to High School

Transitioning to high school is an exciting time for teens and a big mild stone. It is common for there to be a little anxiety when making this transition. As we mentioned yesterday, this topic hits close to home for us here at Teen with a Dream because our founder was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma a week prior to starting his freshman year.

Below you will find three categories of tips provided by Cancer.Net that will ensure a healthy emotional transition into high school and beyond...

Key Messages:

• After you are diagnosed with cancer, it’s important for your parents to contact your school to let them know how often you will need to miss school and for how long.
• There are different ways to stay involved with your friends, classmates, and schoolwork. Go at your own pace when you can and when you are ready.
• You may also want to consider what, when, and how to tell your classmates about your cancer diagnosis, treatment, and recovery.

After you are diagnosed with cancer, one of your concerns may be how to handle both school and treatment. Depending on your treatment plan, you may be able to continue to attend school and keep up with schoolwork, with short breaks for appointments and treatment. Or, you may need to take more time off from school.

Staying involved

There may be times during treatment when you can’t go to school on a regular basis. However, staying involved with school can help you feel like you’re missing less and make it easier to return when you are ready. Here’s how to stay involved:

• Keep in touch with your friends online, through texting, instant messaging, video chats, e-mail, phone calls, or visits.
• Ask a friend to take notes for you if you need to miss a class.
• Ask teachers if you can photocopy their notes, record their class, or reduce your homework load, if possible.
• Consider asking for a reduced class schedule if possible – maybe you can skip a gym class or an elective class and concentrate on core subjects such as math and English.
• Ask your teachers if they would be willing to e-mail you assignments or send work home with a sibling or friend.
• Consider getting a tutor or hospital teacher to help you with your work from home or the hospital.
• Try to arrange to attend school for special events that are important to you.

Remember that your health has to come first while you are receiving treatment for cancer and recovering. Side effects from your treatment, such as extreme tiredness, called fatigue, and feeling like you need to throw up, called nausea, may make it difficult to concentrate on schoolwork or to spend a lot of time with friends. Try not to feel embarrassed or upset if you need extra time to complete schoolwork or don’t feel like being with your friends.

Interacting with your classmates

Your classmates will react to your cancer differently. How they react may depend on how much school you miss or if your appearance changes, such as if you temporarily lose your hair. Here are some tips that may help you talk with your classmates and prepare yourself for their reactions:

• Ask a parent or teacher to give the class some basic information about the cancer and treatment. Or, if you feel comfortable, ask your teachers to arrange a time for you to tell the class about the cancer.
• If you decide to tell your classmates yourself, decide what you’re going to say; you may want a parent or the school counselor to be there to help answer questions. If you feel you are in control, you will be more comfortable and the conversation will flow more smoothly.
• If you decide to have someone else, such as a parent or a counselor do the talking, decide whether you want to be there and how much you want people to know.
• If you’re going to be away from school for a long time, consider visiting for a couple of half-days or for a few hours before going back full-time. You can also ask a friend or two to meet you outside school on your first few days back, so you don't have to walk in alone.
• Be prepared to answer questions, but if someone asks you something you don’t want to answer, it’s fine to say, “I’d rather not talk about that.”
• Be prepared for insensitive comments or questions, and try not to let them upset you.

Any information you feel comfortable giving can go a long way toward helping your classmates better understand your situation. Many people are just curious and simply want to help. Don’t forget that you don’t have to deal with any issues with your classmates by yourself. If you need help, talk with someone you trust, such as your parents, a teacher, or the school counselor.

Steps your Child Can Take to Prepare Themselves for High School

Saturday was the start of our High School Academic week and we focused on ways you, as the parent, can prepare your kids to transition into high school [with an emphasis on a child who is also a pediatric cancer patient].

Today, we would like to take a different perspective on this and share tips that your child themselves can take to make this transition a little easier...

1. Prepare yourself for a larger work load
2. Have a discussion with each of your teachers to ensure that you will be able to get your work in  on a timely matter even in the case of missed classes
3. Pair up with a classmate in each class that is willing to communicate what went on in these missed classes, and possibly even obtaining a copy of their notes
4. Challenge yourself academically in the sense of learning new things. Take an elective course that you may not have otherwise thought of taking. Learning knew skills will be beneficial for your mental state.
5. Make a goal to make one school sponsored event or game. Of course, consult with your doctor to ensure your counts and immune system are good to do so. 

High School Education Week Begins [Tips for Parents to Prepare Their Child for High School]

Through out the month of August we have gone through "What Parents should tell their child's teacher" and "What teachers should know if their student is a pediatric cancer patient". We have done so for Elementary School and Middle School.

We feel as though you can easily apply those posts to our high school edition as well. That is why today we are going to change it up a bit and just share a few ways that you, as parents, can prepare your child for a positive start to their high school journey, even with cancer!

This topic hits close to home for us at Teen with a Dream due to the fact that our founder, Spencer, was diagnosed only weeks before he was supposed to begin high school.

Tips to Prepare your child for high school....

1. Maintain a positive attitude towards your child. By showcasing a positive outlook will have residual impacts on your child. When they are able to see how positive you are about it, hopefully they will begin to get excited as well.
2. Make sure to make orientation events a priority. Much like the middle school transition, going to high school also means a change in location. Make sure that your child is extremely comfortable with the layout of their new surroundings.
3. Establish a plan for missed days. [You can read about this more in detail in our Middle School Edition]
4. Sign up for an extracurricular activity that is right for your child. This would be something that you will definitely want to consult with your child's doctor. Due to the physical demands of sports discuss with your child's school alternative options such as clubs or even modified options for sports. By joining in on extracurricular will create a sense of belonging for your child and make them feel more involved and comfortable. This is profoundly important for pediatric cancer patients due to the likely high number of absences they will experience. If your child cannot make a meeting, ask one of their fellow club members to video chat your child!
5. Communicate, communicate, communicate! By maintaining continuous conversations with your child will allow you the opportunity to spot if their is a problem. 

#ClassicJokeFriday

What do you call a dinosaur with no eyes?

A "Doyouthinkysarus"

#ClassicJokeFriday

Core Subject Resources [Middle School Edition]

As you may have seen last Thursday we broke down each of the common core subjects for elementary school. Now, we would like to apply that same layout for the core subjects of middle school.

 

Let's begin,

Language Arts 

ReadWriteThink

Language Arts within this stage of education begins to focus more on comprehension of language and reading while beginning to expose students learn how to analyze what they are reading. All of these topics build on building a strong foundation of creativity and a better understanding of language. Check out this wonderful resource who encompasses all of these traits...

Get started HERE!

Mathematics

Education.com

This is a great resource for any middle school student through their numerous activities that they provide to help your child build their confidence and skill within the mathematic world.

Get started HERE!

Sciences

Middle School Chemistry 

Download free activities, lesson plans, related readings AND view video demonstrations of science experiments.

Get started HERE!

Social Studies

Discovery Education 

This is a great resources, providing you with SIX options of social studies courses. This resource has digital text books, related readings, technological activities. Additionally all of their resources are aligned with core curriculum requirements

Get started HERE!

Foreign Language 

Share My Lesson

Browse through numerous of foreign language lessons created by actual teachers for even more practice!

Get started HERE!

Health

teAchnology

This resource has everything health curriculum related from grades 6-8 including free printables!

Get started HERE!

Inspirational Dr. Seuss Quote for this Middle School Education Week

Moving forward into middle school can be a nerve wracking process. With a new school, new curriculum, new friends...just remember to not let the unknown overwhelm you because....

Emotionally Preparing Your Child for Middle School

The transition to middle school can be a difficult one for most children. When you add being a pediatric cancer patient on top of that, it can add even more nerves and stress. Today we would like to share with you a few simple ways to build on emotionally preparing your child to conquer middle school.

In addition to the list below, make sure to check out our Parent & Teacher checklist as well to help with this process even more!

Emotional Preparation Tips 

1. Study the school schedule and procedures weeks before. Moving from class to class can arguably be one of the most nerve wracking aspects of middle school. By really getting to know the schedule and school's procedures will help your child feel more comfortable through out the day.
2. Discuss expectations, responsibilities and that there will be more challenging school work than before. 
3. Establish an organization plan. We would suggest designating a 3-ring binder for each class that has separate logical sections. Here are some sections you may want to include:
1. Notes
2. Readings/Articles
3. Worksheets
4. Tests/Quizzes
5. Homework TO DO
6. Graded Homework
4. Family Calendar + Child's Planner. Although this is under getting organized, we feel that it is extremely important and therefor should be it's on topic. For your family's calendar make sure you find a system that works to keep track of your entire family's schedule all in one place.-find a system that works for you. For your child's planner, make sure that they are maintaining use of it through out the year. It is easy to be good about it at the beginning of the year and lose momentum as they get more comfortable. By maintaining use of a planner will help your child stay organized and on-top of school work which is profoundly important for pediatric cancer patients who may miss more school than most.
5. Make Family Dinners or Family Time a Priority. By maintaining extended communication will help you stay involved with your child's middle school journey. It provides an opportunity for your child to tell you about the things they are excited about or if they are struggling in any areas [even socially].