3S — Sunday, August 22, 1999 —

From j1g¢ 23

notes cn trips or outings and to
describe what (s)he saw. This
could include a description of
nature walks, a boat ride, a car
trip, or other events that lend
themselves to note-taking.
@ Brainstorm. Talk with your
child as much as possible about
his/her impressions and
encourage the child to describe
people and events to you. If
the child’s description is espe-
cially accurate and colourful,
say so.
@ Encourage keeping a jour-
nal. This is excellent whiting
practice as well as a good outlet
for venting feelings. Encourage
vour child to write about
things that happen at home
atid schuol, about people (s)he
likes or dislikes and w! hy, things
to remember or things the
child wants to do. Especially
encourage your child to write
about personal feelings — plea-
sures as well as disappoint-
ments. If the child wants to
share the journal with you,
_ read the entries and dis:uss
them — especially the child’s
ideas and perceg.ions.
@ Write together. Have your
child help you with letters,
even such routine ones as
ordering items from an adver-
_ tisement or writing to a busi-
ness firm. helps the child
to see firsthand that writing is

’ important to adults and truly
useful. ; :

at home...

North Shore News

READING and drawing wiil help develop writing skills.

G Suggest making lists. Most
children like to make lists just
‘as they like to count.
Encourage this. Making lists is
_ good practice and helpe a child
“to become. more eet

“to do, ‘ak dates tins

" stereo/tape play

dows the words whenever the,
‘ I

*

tests, social events, and other
remindets.

B Encourage copying. If a
child likes a particular song,
suggest learning the words by
wniting them down —- repiay-
ing the song on your
of, jotting

fa

ncaillige opying

BE votite poems or quotations
from books and plays.

ree Give jon ‘child sree Advantoge|
cer P Back'esen

a

Deana Lancaster

News Reporter
deana@nsnews.com

IF you have an hour per
week to spare, you can
have a positive influence
on a North Vancouver
school child.

This
Brothers of Greater Va
is expanding its success
School Mentoring Program
from the Coquitlam School
District to the Vancouver and
North Vanceuver school dis-
tricts,

*Tke difference with chis
program from the traditional
program is the time commit-
ment,” said program coordina-
tor Suzan Musleh. “The tradi-
tional program requires about
three to four hours a week. A
lot of people shy away from
that level of commitment.”

As well, the In-School

Mentoring Program is avail-
able for boys and for girls,
while the traditional Big
Brothers program is for boys
only. The program works in
partnership with the school
board. Children are chosen for
the program who hav7 a mod-
crate level of need.

“They could be from a sin-
gie parent family, say a boy
with a single mother and need
a2 male role model,” id
Musieh. “Or ic might be a
child new to the country, who
is hang trouble fitting in. It
helps boost their self-esteem
and they have fun and enjoy
schaol.”

‘The mentor visits the child
for an hour per week during
school hours.

“We try to match common
interests for the mentor and
the child.”

If they both enjoy sports,
they might play basketball
together, if they share an inter-~

What is the difference

between a train

rothiers com
North Van sche

est in computers they can
spend their hour in the com-
puter fab. Or they can play
games, do crafts, or simply
hang out and tal

Big Brothers is looking for
volunteers who are retired,
work at home or can spare an
hour from their work week.
Marching will take place into
the school year. If you are
interested in becoming an JIn-
School Mentor, call Big
Brothers at 876-2447,

School
Shoes
With Fit,
Flare &
‘Ne Fuss?

Sapvane i Mall

et Pacific Linen & Se

x Suitable for inath suceris fom K to Grade]
“Teach via daily homework & multimedia math software :

‘selection.
of science,
teckzology Cr