Helping one’s children develop character skills has always been on the parenting “must do list,” but in the 21st century it is increasingly difficult and ever more necessary. Our children are growing up in a technology-driven, media-saturated world that is celebrity obsessed; this makes a parent’s job challenging when trying to instill morals and values to their kids, again essential.  

Among the fundamental skills to teach your children is empathy. It not only allows them to go deeper than simple perspective taking; yet, also fosters their capacity to truly appreciate what happens to others. As defined in Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, empathy is the ability to understand and share another person’s feelings and experiences.  With bullying and other cruel behavior becoming more pervasive in our society, our children’s ability to empathize can be the key to combating, callous action.

So, what can you do to teach your children empathy? The short answer is “lead by example.”

Richard Weissbourd, author of The Parents We Mean to Be: How Well-Intentioned Adults Undermine Children's Moral and Emotional Development and co-director of The Making Caring Common project at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education, argues that parents should emphasize caring for others through their own actions.

“The simple reality,” Weissbourd writes, “is that children will come to value what and whom we signal that we value.”

The project he co-directs aims to help parents raise caring, ethical children. It offers a variety of resources and strategies parents can use to guide their parenting efforts.

Here are a couple tips for cultivating empathy in your children, recommended by The Making Caring Common project:

1.    Empathize with your child and model empathy for others.

This takes many forms, including tuning in to their physical and emotional needs, understanding and respecting their individual personalities, and taking a genuine interest in their lives. Children also learn empathy by watching those we notice and appreciate.

Consider regularly engaging in community service or other ways of contributing as a family.

2.    Make caring for others a priority and set high ethical expectations.

If children are to value others’ perspectives and show compassion for them, it’s very important that they hear from their parents that caring about others is a top priority, and that it is just as important as their own happiness.

For more detailed strategies for promoting empathy in children, please visit The Making Caring Common website at www.makingcaringcommon.org.

In recent weeks, reports of measles cases have reached a 100 in the U.S. drawing attention to the anti-vaccination movement. The most vulnerable are children not vaccinated against the disease as it is a very contagious respiratory illness. If your child is not vaccinated and visited Disneyland recently or travelled to the Philippines or Vietnam and displays the following symptoms, contact your pediatrician immediately:

high fever
cough
runny nose
red, watery eyes

white spots inside mouth
rash 

I advise you to familiarize yourself with what the rash looks like, if your child is not vaccinated, so you can identify it quickly and differentiate it from other respiratory illness. 

This time of year we are often filled with feelings of appreciation and thankfulness. As parents and educators, we can use this as an opportunity to teaching our children how to be grateful, now and throughout the year:

1. We can model gratitude by saying "thank you." 
2. We can help our children articulate one thing they are grateful for each morning.  
3. We can have our children write letters of gratitude to those that have positively impacted or influenced their lives.
4. We can express our appreciation towards our children. 
5. We can make lists with our children of what we are thankful for in life.
6. We can serve and give to others as a family or class, providing perspective for our children. 

Giving thanks and expressing our gratitude can be learned through regular practice.
     

In this day and age parents are worried about many things and they are overparenting as a result. They check on their children's every move and micromanage their lives a la "helicopter parent." Yet amidst this anxious cycle is the motivating factor of wanting to provide the best experience for our children. In the following NPR story experts describe this phenomena and provide tips for parents to try, http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2014/05/26/314602190/anxious-parents-can-learn-how-to-reduce-anxiety-in-their-kids. 

I had the privilege of chaperoning the annual sixth grade trip to CELP last week. It was a thrill to snorkel and kayak in Catalina's blue ocean water. We saw Girabaldi and Blacksmith fish in abundance, and laughed as we swam around.  We learned how to live sustainably, including seeing a solar oven in action. The rosemary and basil infused bread was delicious! We bunked in wooden cabins and played "Pillow Hot Potato." It goes without saying we had a great time. 

What an incredible beginning to the 2014-2015 school year! We introduced the Kindness Bench in Mrs. G's office and new stacks in the library. The students settled right in to school, our carline went smoothly (well as smoothly as possible) and our teachers greeted the children with great enthusiasm. We started a new tradition at assembly- birthday cheer. Parents joined me for an informal gathering to get to know each other. Thank you to everyone that was able to attend. I look forward to our work together. 

The campus is ready for students to return. School resumes Tuesday, September 2! 

Thank you to all our volunteers! The school is looking good.

I wanted to thank everyone who volunteered today and throughout this summer. A special thanks to the faculty and staff that helped, the event was a success because of you. The campus looks very different because of all your effort and hardwork. Today I experienced Crestview at its best and I am grateful to join you as the head of school. We completed all the work planned and carried out extra projects due to everyone's efficiency, take a look at the photos above for a peek at all that was accomplished. We also carried out the ice bucket challenge on one of our grassy areas. Please note that we will be turning off the sprinklers in that area this week to ensure that we are also conscientious of our water use. We are donating $100 to the ALS Association as the challenge (made by one of students) was taken on to raise funds for research. For those of you that were not able to join us for the Family Work Day we will have other opportunities for families to pitch in. 

Thank you to all our volunteers! The campus is transformed and looking better than ever. We are looking forward to our Family Work Day to finish our season of volunteering this summer as we prepare for the First Day of School.