At Aspire Charter Academy, we create an atmosphere that cultivates a caring attitude among our staff and our students. Our individualized learning based curriculum allows students to flourish and find success, motivating them to care about their schoolwork. We also strive to develop an environment that promotes caring towards others. Our coronavirus measures show we care for your children, and hopefully they’ll feel safe and cared for as they embark on this school year.
From school, toys, to friends and family, you want your children to treat their environment, the items they use, and the people in their life with care and compassion. When children learn to care, they possess a love and drive to continue doing productive and good things. Here are four ways to cultivate a caring attitude in your children.
Praise the care.
When children hear their good behavior being praised, they are more likely to repeat it Whenever your child shows care for a person, recognize it, and compliment them for it. When they treat their possessions with care or strive to do their best with a task, reinforce their actions with specific praise. “I like the way you helped your little brother get a snack when he was hungry.” “Thank you for putting your toys away in the bin so they don’t get lost or broken.” “That was a hard problem, but you stuck to it until you figured it out!” These compliments show them examples of care they are doing and reinforce their desire to show more compassion.
Model caring behavior.
Children watch and copy what they see in their everyday lives. By showing caring behavior to your child, they may be more likely to treat others in a similar manner. When your child sees you say “thank you” or show compassion for others, they will soon follow suit. You can also model care and kindness by reading good stories together and discussing the characters and their actions. Providing you with positive and negative examples, the characters offer a fun way to dive deep in conversation with your children. If you need help finding books, this link to the Read Aloud Revival book lists will get you started.
Provide opportunities for children to show kindness.
Being intentional about finding and providing opportunities for your children to show kindness will help develop a caring attitude toward others and the world around them. Some examples include writing a note to an elderly relative, preparing and delivering a meal together, cleaning or working in the yard for a needy friend, joining a beach cleanup activity, walking dogs for a neighbor, folding a sibling’s laundry, and picking up toys without being asked. The possibilities are endless! As children spread kindness, they can begin to put themselves in others’ shoes, cultivating a caring attitude.
Always show patience.
Although adults can become frustrated at times, being quick to anger and having little patience will not teach your child caring behavior. As you already know, children take time to learn new behaviors and develop desired attitudes. Keep teaching and modeling. By showing love, care, and patience, your children will learn faster and more effectively.
At Aspire Charter Academy, we are excited to teach your children this semester. Even with our cautious coronavirus measures, we still strive to have a positive learning environment for our students. We know that there is no such thing as one size fits all, which is why we teach on an individualized basis, taking the whole child into consideration. We want only the best for your children because we understand you want the best for them too.
