People come into my office and ask, "What makes a happy marriage?"

People come into my office and ask, "What makes a happy marriage?"

I am asking you to help me answer this question. (Please share what makes a marriage happy.)

Listed are some helpful tidbits in answering the question.

1.  Communication

2.  Date night once a week

3.  Forgiveness

4. Humor

5.  Commitment

6.  Appreciation

7.  Respect 

For a relationship to work, both people must willing to share. 

Building Resilience in Children

Raising resilient children can help them respond to life's challenges. Parents can help children develop strengths and skills to succeed in life.

The tools that can help children to respond to challenges are found by Dr. Ginsburg, who identifies the seven "C" of resilience.

1.  Competence-Being able to handle situations
2.  Confidence-Developing belief in one's abilities
3.  Connection-Being close to family and community
4.  Character-Developing a set of morals and values
5.  Contribution-Making a difference
6.  Coping-Learning to cope with stress
7.  Control-Being in control of one's decisions

For additional information or questions about Dr. Ginsburg's seven"C" of resilience, send me an e-mail. Also, you can order the book on-line pertaining to Dr. Ginsburg's seven "C" of resilience:

"Building Resilience in Children and Teens: Giving Kids Roots and Wings"
Ginsburg, Kenneth R. MD

My Child Is Going To College

Tidbits on what to expect when your child goes to college:

1.  You may experience happy/sad emotions at the same time!

2.  Texting is another form of communication.

3.  Be a good listener when your child calls home to talk to you.

4.  Encourage your child to get involved in a social group, exercise daily,
     and a healthy diet.

5.  Praise child when he/she balances schedules and academics well.

What Are The Basic Stages Of  Language Learning?


The three stages are listed below:

1.  Learning Sounds--Phonemic awareness
2.  Learning Words--How sound goes together with meaning
3.  Learning Sentences--How to create sentences


To discover how your children develop langauge at different rates, send Dr. Strecker a message at the following e-mail address. (crs@hbcomm.net)


Language Development

Language develops at different rates in children. Listed below are common stages that most children follow:

Birth
Six Months
Eight Months
Twelves Months
Eighteen Months
Twenty-four Months
Thirty-six Months

How do we encourage children to like school?

Sometimes a little encouragement is what
children need to become interested in school.

Here are some tips to give children a boost in liking school:

1. Homework.   Let children know how important it is to complete their homework at night.
2. Sleeping & Eating.  Be sure they are getting a good nights rest and eating properly.
3. Build self-esteem.  Provide praise.
4. Learning.  Knowing their learning style and understanding that it may be different from the teachers.
5. Boredom.  Encourage children to join extracurricular activities that are offered at their school.  Encourage children to read books that interest them.

As loving and supportive adults we can help change children's lives!

To learn more about Learning Style contact Dr. Strecker @ 620-564-2510 Email: crs@hbcomm.net

Are you a positive or a negative person?

Positive attitude is a state of mind
Are you a Happy Person?
1.  Do you spend time with your family?
2.  Do you have a hobby?
3.  Do you see the best in others?
4.  Do you volunteer to help others when needed?
5.  Do yo implement exercise daily?
6.  Do you desire to learn a new skill?
7.  Do you find ways to eliminate stress?


Keys to a Happy Attitude:
Life is an attitude, How to Grow Forever Better, Dottie Billington, Ph.D.

1. Decide to be happy.  To a certain extent you create your own happiness from the inside out.
2. Happiness can survive the loss, suffering, and grief that are part of all our lives, and make us stronger.  What matters most is not what happens to you , but how you react.
3. Since no life can always be happy, when sometimes you feel miserable it helps to remember, this to shall change
4. True happiness consists of getting out of yourself, of focusing your attention on the world instead of yourself.  That means having an active life and absorbing interests.

10 Ways to Cheer Yourself Up:

• Pat yourself on the back for all the many things you have done right in your life.
• Listen closely to the advice of loved ones
• Ask everyone you know to tell you stories about miracles in their lives
• Attend a benefit for a worthy cause
• Learn to laugh at yourself
• Make definite plans for your immediate future
• Say grace before each meal
• Practice looking on the bright side of life
• Let go of regrets
• Go somewhere you've never been

VAK Learning Styles

Do You Know Your Learning Style?

Understanding the VAK Learning Styles can help improve your skills and learning at school and at work.

We learn in a variety of ways, visually, auditory and tactile or (kinesthetically).  These ways of  learning are activated through explicit or cognitive learning like lectures, textbooks, discussions and research.  However we also learn implicitly through physical and experiential means.

People commonly have a main preferred learning style, but this will be part of a blend of all three.  Some people have a very strong preference; other people have a more even mixture of two or less styles.

When you know your preferred learning style(s) you understand the type of learning that best suits you.  This enables you to choose the types of learning that works best for you.

There is no right or wrong learning style.  The point is that there are types of learning that are right for your own preferred learning style.

 Visual
     29% OF US PREFER TO LEARN BY SEEING.  We will enjoy communicating best through pictures, graphs and visuals artifacts.  We may at an early age show an ability to visualize remembered or constructed scenes.  Our spelling and memory strategies may utilize pictures rather than sounds. 
For example, in reading:   Do you like descriptive scenes or pause to imagine the actions?

Auditory
        34% OF US ENJOY COMMUNICATING WITH AND LEARNING BY SOUND INCLUDING THE SPOKEN WORD.  Discussion, audio tape, lectures, debates, orals, and spoken languages exercises will suit those of us with an auditory preference.  It may also be that we remember names rather than faces and we spell by recalling the patterns of sounds. 
For example, in reading:  Do you enjoy dialog and conversation or hear the characters talk?
    
Kinesthetic
     37% OF LEARNER'S PREFER TO ENGAGE WITH THE EXPERIENCE PHYSICALLY.  In communication we will model our point with our hands and bodies and become animated as we do so.  We learn through experience, movement and feel frustrated more readily with other forms of learning.  Learners of this sort are most critically disadvantaged by schooling which requires physical stasis for extended periods of time.
For example, in reading:  Do you prefer action stories or are not a keen reader?
B.A. Lewis and F. Pucelik, Magic Demystified: A Pragmatic Guide to Communication and Change, Metamorphous Press.

To know more about VAK Learning Styles and for a Learning Style Inventory contact
Dr. Catherine Strecker.