Diane Searle

SERVICES OFFERED

Homework Support and Study Skills

Homework is checked for accuracy and completion of the assignment. Study Skills are emphasized.

Content Tutoring                    

One-on-one coursework tutoring and re-teaching of concepts for elementary, middle school, high school, and college students.

Standardized Test Prep

Educational Therapy                                                            

Remediation of Identified Learning Disabilities:

r  Reading, Spelling, Writing, Mathematics

r  Processing Skills

r Receptive and Expressive Language Skills

r  Visual-Motor Integration

Diagnostic Testing                                                                     

Screening and assessment

Includes a summary report with recommendations and conference.

Comprehensive Educational Evaluation                                    

A full educational evaluation to identify learning problems that hinder school success. Cognitive processing and achievement tests are administered, educational needs are assessed, and recommendations and strategies for home and school are provided. A conference is included and an individualized educational program is developed. 

MCA and New Life Campus

1370 S. Novato Blvd., Rm 305,Novato, CA 94947

Phone 415-609-5770

mrsdianesearle@gmail.com

Unity in Discipline

My previous blog covered the importance of couples showing a united front when dealing with children.   Another important ingredient in successful parenting is deciding how you are going to handle discipline.    That was our saving grace.  Well, if I was really honest we stumbled across the concept as our children matured and our knowledge grew through reading parenting books and input from mentors.    Boy did we make a lot of mistakes, but with four kids, practice makes perfect.    We had to decide what behaviors, limitations, curfews, language, attitudes, chores, and consequences were going to be acceptable.   Since the expectations were set; the outcomes would not be a surprise to either spouse or child.   These guidelines removed the ambiguity of why the child was punished and created a spirit of unity in the home.  The guidelines also helped me avoid being reactionary and kept my emotions in check.   In Psalm 38:1 David petitions the Lord to not discipline him in anger.  “O Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath.”

Children thrive with boundaries (rules & regulations).  Freedom might be their battle cry but ultimately children want and crave boundaries.   Boundaries express to the child that you care and value them and want them safe.    Sure, they will kick and scream the whole time, but secretly they crave it.   How do I know?  Not only have I read it, seen it work in the classroom, but I have witnessed it in my own children.   Recently, I had a teenage child of mine come to me and admit they were glad we didn’t let her spend the night at some friend’s houses during her freshman year.   Apparently, by keeping her home we protected our daughter from doing ecstasy (designer drug).   I have personally witnessed dozens of kids, who where kicked out of public schools due to behavior issues, thrive when enrolled in a private school.    Those kids wanted to know someone cared enough to hold them accountable to rules and follow through with the consequences.   It is amazing how well most of them adjusted to a stricter environment and miraculously changed their character.

So, set some ground rules and age appropriate consequences for misbehaviors and by all means stick to them.   I have to laugh a little when I think about this and an incident we had with our oldest and most independent daughter.    When she was about 5-6 years old, she told my wife with a very petulant voice, “You said if I threw the toys out of the basket and didn’t put them back one more time you would give me a spanking and you didn’t.”  Wow, talk about strong willed!  At the age of 6 she knew justice had not been served and disrespected my wife for not following through with it.   She knew she had gotten away with something.  What’s even more humorous is that as I am writing this, my oldest daughter just now called me and asked me what I was doing (she works for a big 5 accounting firm).  When I mentioned the story she gave me the exact quote above.    My wife and I are a good balance for each other.  She was very forgiving and loving and I was way over zealous in dishing out discipline.  Your home may be the same way or you may be parenting on your own.  Guidelines take a huge burden off of you and help keep the emotions out of the process.  Much of the material I am covering can be found in a wonderful book or DVD series called Parenting with Love and Logic, www.loveandlogic.com.

Stay tuned for Part II on the topic of Unity in Discipline

Tuesday-Friday, February 7th-10th

Get Ready for an outstanding opportunity to purchase books right here at MCA!  The book fair will kick off on Tuesday for the students Preschool through 8th grade and will be available to parents at our Open House. More information will be included in your homeward bound folders on Monday.

Bring in the flyer below and 20% of your purchase will be donated to our 8th grade mission trip.  This applies to Dine-In, Take-Out & Delivery orders, all day.

Mary’s Pizza Shack January Flyer

to our next Open House Thursday, March 1st at 7pm.

This is a great night of meeting the teachers and staff. A great opportunity to look at the different classrooms and visit the school.

New families who attend will receive $50 off the application fee.

Refer a family that registers, get a free MCA new logo’d sweater!

Contact the office (415-892-5713) for any questions you may have.

We look forward to meeting you!

My wife and I have found the most important ingredient to successful parenting, beyond a faith in God, is a united front.   The quotes relating to this subject are innumerable:  “United we stand, divided we fall”; “Teamwork makes the Dream work”; “Behold, how good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.”

It’s really amazing how ignorant we were in parenting skills when we had our first child.  Don’t get me wrong, we read all the new baby books you did when you were expecting so we could keep our child alive and from crying all night.   But, how many books teach you the skills of surviving a self centered, ego-centric, all consuming little human being?   Fortunately we found some great mentors and books that helped us in our 23-year journey through the trials and joys of parenting.

My wife and I (she’s the smart one) understood that our children where temporary renters destined to leave the nest and that one day Lucia and I would still need to be friends.   At all costs we needed to keep that in perspective and build our relationship as the number one priority.   All this will make more sense in the teenage years when nothing makes sense.  Let’s save that for another blog.

One of the most important concepts we were taught was that you should never argue with or counterman your spouses directives in front of the kids.   If you do they will take advantage and learn to play dad against mom.  It is really amazing how naturally they pick up this skill.   So if one parent says no to something that the other parent feels isn’t quite right, like playing on the roof, you approach your spouse in private and share your input.   Then the original parent can approach the kids and say, “Come to think of it, you’re only six you might get hurt playing on the roof.”   This approach keeps one parent from undermining the authority and respect by the other.  Spouses need to be champions for their spouse in what they say and do in front of the kids.    If you don’t respect each other the kids won’t either.  Disrespect is very contagious and attitudes are caught more then they are taught.  Although, this may be a difficult task, separated and divorced parents need to invest more energy into maintaining unity in front of the kids.   In all my years I never let my children sass or disrespect my wife in front of me.  Oh, they might do it behind my back, but my wife would tell them your dad is going to find out about this when he gets home and they would straighten up in a hurry.

Remember to take the road of unity as it applies to your child’s teachers and coaches.   All to often I have seen parents take the side of the child and verbalize their dissatisfaction for a teacher or coach in front of that child.  Your child will take your dissatisfaction and translate it as disrespect in the classroom or team environment.

Blessings till next time!

Christopher

The feature painting of Kadinsky inspired ”Trees” was done by the four year old class.

This painting of “Friendship Bouquet” inspired by Picasso was painted by the Kindergarten class.

Both were auctioned off at our annual fundraiser last November.

Second Grade made puffins inspired by the book “Keep the Lights Burning, Abbie” by Peter & Connie Roop.

I am officially kicking off our Marin Christian Academy Blog today and invite all of you to stay tuned for helpful information in regards to navigating the mind field of parenting, your child’s schooling, and creating a growing love relationship with your family that inspires personal growth.

Like many of you I grew up in an average American family that provided a nurturing environment but one I definitely wanted to improve upon for my own children and spouse.   Many of us swore to ourselves as children we would never do “that” to our kids and find ourselves following the same footsteps as our parents.  I remember vividly my mom grabbing the stinky washrag from the sink to wash off my face and thinking how gross that was and I would never ever do that to my child.  Only to find myself 25 years later reaching for the washrag to wash of my child’s face.   Fortunately, I caught myself and laughed in amazement how patterns learned in childhood are hard to break.

Some of the topics guest bloggers and I will cover are:

1.  Helping your child achieve academically – Why do some kids succeed easily in school?
2. Improving the child parent relationship – Who is the boss?
3. How minor improvements in my own relational skills can have a huge impact on my child’s attitude and performance.
4. How to partner with childcare providers (family, schools, friends) to raise your child to be a productive, healthy, and Spirit filled member of society.

As a parent of four children (22, 18, 16 & 9), school principal for 12 years, and husband of 24 years I have failed miserably many times.  It was only through much soul searching, self-development, counseling, and input from wise friends and literature that I was able to become a better parent and spouse.   I still apologize frequently to my loved ones and find myself continually on the journey of becoming a better parent.

Please join me as we laugh, cry, and ponder how to become a better parent.

Blessings!

Christopher