Top Ten Things Your Child Should Learn by Fifth Grade

1. Manners and etiquette in the classroom is and absolute must. Push in your chair, don't talk when somene else is, personal space etc.

2. Number facts both for both division and multiplication. And I mean know them like the back of your hand, no counting on fingers. Nothing guarantees more success in middle school math then a solid basis in the number facts.

3. Spelling. I don't care if there is spell check, you will always find yourelf in a position where you must write the words yourself and not type them. Nothing looks sloppier and less intelligent that poor spelling.

4. How to use the Library. This is a skill-yes skill-that is invaluable to every successful student. I've worked in some elementary school libraries and it often falls upon the librarian to perform so many administrative tasks that he or she barely has the time to read to the students. Kids need to learn and understand the cataloguing system and how to use it. The key thing they need to learn here is how much information is out there and how to seek out that information in and efficient way.

5. Physical Education is important! Far too mny kids are overweight at this young age and in most cases it can be avoided. But instead of Dodge Ball or emphasis on team sports the gym classes should be running aerobics classes and things like kick boxing or tai bo. Basketball and Soccer should be there also as they involve a lot of physical activiy. The kids need to learn and enjoy moving in their bodies and the importance of staying fit. These days there are a great deal of afterschool sports teams they can play on and they should be encouraged as well both for the fitness and the social beneits.

6. Public Speaking. A huge difference I noticed from when I was in elementary school and now is the amount of presentations or public speaking the kids are required to do. I did very little of it and consequently had a great fear of it. In my kids schools(they each went to two different elmentary schools-both public) my kids started formal presentations as early as first grade. And not just once in a while, quite frequently! Let me tell you both my outgoing one and my shyer one have no problem getting up in front of the class and presenting a report, project or being in a play. Well done and right from the beginning!

7. Read, Read, Read! The reading requirements just keep getting tougher and moved up into the earlier grades. In addition middle school and high school classes assume a level of reading has been achieved when setting up the curriculum. If the skill is not there, the student will continue to struggle in many subjects. The only way to succeed here is to get them to love to read. If they are strugglng get them help right away. It won't clear up on its own. Read to them often and let them see you reading too. Practice sight recognition of key words using flash cards. The teachers will identify the age and level appropriate words for you to use.

8. Community Service. Through things like scouting programs and school activities emphasize the benefits for everyone of participating in community service. Help rebuild the playground, run a food drive, plant a memory garden at the school, whatever is needed. Kids shine in these situations and it will teach them to always contribute and give back and to be more appreciative of what they have.

9. Learn to appreciate Nature. Visit parks, beaches anything outside and appreciate what is natural to the area. As we get older time is not always there to "stop and smell the roses". If they learn about it now it is more likely they will explore it more later. I love a school with an outdoor classroom!

10. Ecology and the Environment. Kids need to be exposed early on to the concepts of balance in nature and the repercussions of an upset in the natural balance of their ecosystem. This will help them gain a sense of respect for the planet and an awareness of how we should care for it.



Obviously kids should and will learn a lot more than this, but I feel these ten points are really improtant to continues success in secondary schools and onward.

Luxating Patella? Does your dog need surgery?

My lovable dog, a mixed breed of Norwegian Elkhound, shepard and a bit of chow, is a terrific dog. He is healthy, sturdy, well behaved, and as my vet told me...he got the best of all his breed. Everything in him was symmetrical and perfectly aligned. When he was about 2 years old, he came in one day from the yard and he was favoring one hind leg. He would hold it up and then kind of twitch it or "kick it out" and give out a little yelp. I figured he must have a thorn in his pad or maybe he stepped on a tack or something. He would not let me near it to take a look, which is very unusual for him. I took him to the vet that afternoon and I could not believe what they told me. She explained that he had a Luxating Patella which means that the knee cap is actually slipping off of the joint and they were not sure why. Most dogs who have this are smaller breeds that are predisposed to the condition and most dogs will have it in both hind legs. My dog is 60 lbs and only has it one knee. The only other way to get it is injury. She asked me if he had fallen or been injured in any way. I said no but.....my dog is a digger. We have several holes in the yard from his digging for stuff and we surmised that he must have tripped in one of his own holes while running in the yard. The only solution to this was surgery. And it's a big one with a long recovery time. If your dog has been diagnosed with Luxating Patella and they recommend surgery let me tell you what you are in for while you decide what to do.

First of all let me begin by saying we did the surgery and it went perfectly. My dog has recovered perfectly with no signs of the injury at all today. There has been no re-occurrence and I am so glad that we did it.

Now I'll tell you how hard it was. First of all it is expensive. My vet could not do this surgery, they needed to bring in an orthopedic vet to do it. Plan on about $1700.00. The surgery involves moving the patella off of the joint and then sawing divot lines into the bone and then re-attaching the patella back over the joint. The troughs or divots as I call them will keep the patella from ever sliding off again permanently. Tendons and bones need to be moved and reattached etc. As you can imagine this takes a long time to recover from. If you don't follow the doctors orders for the recovery time and take it very seriously, the dog will not heal properly and you will have put him through all of the pain and yourself through all of the expense for nothing. Do it right or don't do it at all.

You need to prepare a small room for the dog to remain contained for a couple of weeks and it needs to be able to go out without having to use stairs. I cordoned off my dining room with gates so that he could still see all of his family but not be in the hustle and bustle of the family room and kitchen. For the first week or so he will not want to move hardly at all. I had it ready with his food and water bowl and his bed.

When you pick up your dog after this procedure, his entire hind quarters will be shaved and a very large incision will be stitched and uncovered. This is not for the squeamish to look at. He will not be able to put weight on that leg for quite a while so you may need to sling a towel underneath his back end to help him with going out to the bathroom. The doctor will give you medicine for pain in the beginning but after a while you need to let it hurt him so that he won't use it. That's the hardest part for me. He will have a cone on his head (which my dog was afraid of) so that he won't pick at it. You need to watch the incision closely for signs of infection (thankfully none for my dog)and he'll need to keep very low key in the closed off area for about two weeks. Stitches come off in about 10 or 12 days. Then gradually your doctor will tell you to start to increase his mobility in the leg, like letting him walk on it to go out to the bathroom, then taking short walks up and down the driveway. The entire process of gradually increasing his mobility took 8 weeks. That is 8 weeks of very closely supervised WALKING ONLY and only on a leash, for a dog that is used to running around in a large fenced yard with no leash. It's very hard and takes real commitment! After about 3 weeks my dog felt great and just wanted to go! I had do be diligent and stick to the plan or he would have re-injured it and what we went through would have all been for nothing. After the 8 weeks he's pretty much good to go back to normal.

He is five years old now and he has no problems what so ever. He walks 2 miles a day with me and then plays with the kids and the cats. Now, if he had not had the surgery, my vet told me he would be severely arthritic in only a couple of years and he was only 2 at the time. I had no choice but to do the procedure or this active healthy dog would have a life of pain and limitations. That being said, if he was a 11 or 12 year old dog, I would not have done it. Chances are he would be getting arthritic then anyway and he would not be nearly as active as a young dog. I would not put an older dog through this trauma. It's a big decision and it affects the way you live for 8 weeks. No trips, you need to be there for him every day and your family needs to help. But the rewards are there for your pet if you do it right. I owed it to him to do it right....and now we fill all of the holes in our yard!

I hope this helps with your decision on what to do and best of luck to you.

Car Sickness and kids-what you must have with you

Here is a super important tip I will pass along to any of you that are going to travel a long distance with kids. Always take two trash bags and a roll of paper towels with you. Keep them within arms reach of yourself so you can grab them quickly. I keep them right under the drivers seat. I recently took a ski trip with a bunch of 11 year old kids and one of them got sick... and I mean sick. I was in the left lane of a 4 lane busy highway that was merging into another one. Needless to say it was going to be a few minutes before I could safely pull over. I grabbed the bag for him to use until I could get safely off of the road. When we pulled over I could throw away the bag, clean him up with the paper towels and I still had another bag left in case he needed it again. We still had 2 hours left to drive. This travel tip totally came in handy again when I was driving my kids into New York City over the holidays. The traffic was as heavy as it could be and the exhaust backing up made one of my sons queasy. Sure enough, the bag came out. We were on a bridge and there was no way for me to pull over. If I wasn't prepared it would have been a mess. My son handled it all so well and I'm sure it's because I was calm and cool because we were ready...just in case.
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Panini Dinner

The Panini maker has to be the best kitchen appliance I own. I had the George Forman grill and it was ok but very difficult to clean. I had the quesadilla maker, and we had a lot of fun with that but everything you made really wasn't that good for you. Well this Christmas I recieved the Cuisinart Panini maker as a gift. It is the best. My family is hardly ever eating dinner at the same time let alone lunch so I just have all kinds of ingredients ready and the Panini Grill on the counter and everyone can help themselves.

Let me give you some examples. Buy your favorite lean deli meats and cheeses. I also use a store bought pesto and I also use my homemade Italian Salsa, which you can also find the recipe for on this website. Pastene roasted peppers if you like them, a nice italian or french bread and spray oil and you are good to go!

If your family needs things simplified like mine does, just slice up the bread ahead of time and put it back in the bag to stay fresh. I like to make turkey and swiss with pesto sauce and sliced tomato, or the italian salsa with roast beef and provolone. Make whatever sounds good to you and just spray oil on the grill and then right on the top of the sandwich. What I like about it is that your really not adding any fattening butter to do the grilling. The bread comes out toasted just right and the cheese is all melty inside. A nice Kosher dill on the side and its like you have your own deli! Best of all everyone is not eating fast food but still eating fast!!

If you don't have a Panini grill....Get one! I think you can also make them in some grill pans with the grill lines.