Tips for Teaching Your Child Anything

Simply telling your child what you want them to do and walking away is not an effective teaching strategy. You can’t “talk” your child into learning a new skill. The most effective teaching strategy is to do it with them and then have them practice. Research has repeatedly proven that the only way we all learn is through practice, practice, practice.

Prompting is the most important tool in teaching your child a new skill. Prompting is the action of persuading, encouraging, or reminding. There are four main types of prompting: verbal, gestural, visual, and hand over hand.

1. Verbal prompting is standing beside your child while they are doing the task and telling them what to do next.

2. Gestural prompting is when you point or act out the behavior to help your child know what to do next.

3. Visual prompting includes pictures, visual schedules, written lists, etc. An example of this is putting a list of the process of getting ready on their bathroom mirror.

4. Hand-over-hand prompting is when you take your child’s hands in yours and do what you want to see. For example, if you are asking your child which car is blue, you would touch the car with his hand while saying, “This car is blue.” This approach is invaluable because it negates any language barriers, provides an opportunity for the child to get the right answer and earn praise, and it encourages the child to comply.

Shaping is the next tool. Shaping is simply reinforcing small accomplishments towards the skill you are trying to teach. For example, let’s say your goal is that your child sits at the dinner table until the end of the meal. Shaping starts exactly where the child is. If your child walks around eating and has never been forced to sit at the dinner table, start there. Shape the behavior by putting them in the chair for 10 seconds, praise them for sitting, and then let them return to walking around. After a short time, do this again. If 10 seconds occurred without any extreme frustration, you can move up to 15 seconds and then 20 seconds. The next day, you increase the time and continue shaping until your child can sit through the meal. We always begin shaping from where the child will be successful, so if 10 seconds is too long, start at 5 seconds. If that is too long, start with sitting in the chair. No matter how your child behaves, praise them for trying, even if they are angry. If you praise what you want to see, your child will do it again willingly.

I can’t talk about prompting or shaping without conveying the importance of precursor skills. Precursor skills must be mastered before you can move to something more complex. For example, if your child can’t write her name, make sure she has the precursor skills of holding a pencil, writing on paper, writing letters, and attending long enough to write her entire name. We strongly encourage parents to think through the precursor skills a child needs before working towards a goal. Oth erwise, you are setting your child up for failure and frustration.

Practice makes progress, but effective practice must include starting where they are, prompting when necessary, and shaping complex skills.

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THRILL, THEN CHILL.

Opelika Freedom Celebration: July 3

Join the Opelika Parks & Recreation and Opelika community at the Freedom Celebration at Opelika High School on July 2nd! This event is packed full of fun including seeing the Silver Wings Parachute Team, music by Route 66, concessions, and a firework show at dark. There will be hamburgers, hotdogs, popcorn, musical entertainment and activities for the whole family. Opelika High School, 1700 LaFayette Pkwy, Opelika. 6:30-9:30pm. Thank you to our community partners: The Orthopedic Clinic and the Kiwanis Club of Opelika. www.opelika-al.gov/749/freedom-celebration

Summer Swing: James Brown Trio

Come out early to Opelika’s Municipal Park, on July 18, 7:00pm! Bring the whole family, a quilt or lawn chair and relax on the bank of Rocky Brook Creek for an evening of musical fun, fellowship and relaxation. Food vendors available. Free. www.opelikaal.gov/746/Summer-Swing

Summer Film Series ‘National Treasure’: July 13

Nothing completes a summertime movie celebration quite like an action-packed blockbuster, right? Our 2023 Summer Film Series concludes with the edge-of-your-seat adventure National Treasure. In National Treasure, a historian races to find the legendary Templar Treasure before a team of mercenaries. All 2023 Summer Film Series screenings are free and open to the public. Registration is required. Gogue Center for the Performing Arts, 910 South College Street, Auburn. Amphitheatre gates open at 6 p.m.; activities begin at 6:15 p.m.; film starts at 7 p.m. Food trucks will be on-site. Guests are welcome to bring blankets, cushions and lawn chairs. No outside food, beverages or pets are permitted. For more information on our 2023 Summer Film Series, contact the Gogue Center box office at 334.844.TIXS (8497).

Auburn Independence Day Celebration: July 4

Celebrate Independence Day with the entire Auburn Community. En joy great food and treats for pur chase while listening to amazing music from a live band and D.J. Free inflatables. Special Guest Aubie. Families are encouraged to drive to Duck Samford Sta dium, 1840 East Glenn Avenue, Duck Samford and Bo Cavin Baseball fields, 333 Airport Rad for parking. The fireworks will be set off in a centrally located area, the old water tower site on East University Drive, next to Duck Samford Park. Duck Samford Baseball Fields 1-3, 1720 East University Drive will be closed to the public to accommodate the fireworks shoot site. Gates open at 5:00 p.m. - Fireworks begin at 9:00 p.m. www.auburnalabama.org/4th-of-July/

Lake Martin Songwriter’s Festival

Various locations in Dadeville and Alexander City, July 26-30. The multi-day songwriter’s festival features over 20 artists, including Charlie Argo, Kensie Coppin, Claire Cunningham, Goldpine, William Michael Morgan, Keith Stegall, Kyle Wilson and more! They will be featured at multiple venues ranging from intimate listening rooms to spacious outdoor stages all around Alabama’s Treasured Lake, Lake Martin, such as Chuck’s, The Local at 41 Main, Russell Crossroads, Niffers at the Lake, Wind Creek State Park and more! www.lakemartinsongwritersfestival.com

Alabama Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday: July 21-23

18th annual sales tax holiday for school-related items begins at 12:01 a.m. Friday, July 21, 2023, and ends at midnight Sunday, July 23, 2023, giving shoppers the opportunity to purchase certain school supplies, computers, books and clothing free of the state’s four percent sales or use tax. www.alabamaretail.org/ resources/salestaxholidays/back-to-school/

Tracy Byrd with Jo Dee Messina on July 21

Tracy Byrd became a household name on the Country Music Scene in 1993 when his third single, called “Holdin’ Heaven”, off of his MCA Records, self-titled debut album, hit #1 on the Billboard Country Charts. The Album also included the remake hit of Johnny Paycheck’s “Someone to Give my Love to” cementing Byrd as a Traditional Country Troubadour! The Debut Album went on to be certified Gold, an award signifying sale in excess of 500,000 copies. Sweetland Amp, 100 Smith Street, LaGrange Ga. 6:30pm. Visit www.sweetlandamp.com/events/tracybyrd-with-jo-dee-messina/

AG Heritage Park Farmer’s Market

925 Camp Auburn Road, Auburn University. 3:006:00pm. Hosted by the College of Agriculture, The Market features area vendors offering fresh, locally grown fruits and vegetables, herbs, ornamental plants and cut flowers as well as locally produced jams and jellies, baked goods, soaps, honey, goat cheese and more. Dates are July 6, 13, 20, 27. Vendors change weekly based on produce availability. Vendors this year include Granite Knoll Farms from Waverly; Well’s Produce from Cottonwood; Macy’s Favorites Dog Treats from Auburn; Paradise Plants from Opelika; Leo’s Produce from Tallassee; Hale Farms from Clanton; Jimmy Dykes “The Corn Man” from Beulah; Longshore Farms goats’ milk and soaps; Pulliam Farms from Lafayette; AL Hooks Produce from Shorter; Flowers to Bless from Lafayette; Maywick Candles from Valley; Lee County Master Gardeners; and the Cake Lady. In total, nearly 30 different vendors are present through the summer. www.agriculture.auburn.edu/outreach/ag-heritage-park/the-market/

Family Discovery Hikes at Kreher: Pollinators

Join the monthly guided hikes through the Kreher forest, on July 11 at 3:30pm. Hikes offer excellent opportunities for the entire family to learn about nature and see wildlife up close, while enjoying fresh air and exercise in our beautiful outdoors. Free –donations are welcomed and we will meet at the covered pavilion. Kreher Preserve & Nature Center. 2222 North College Street, Auburn. www.wp.auburn.edu/preserve/events/