Sunday Morning Shout Out

Image Source: http://www.happyclippings.com/2012/05/teacher-gift-youre-my-mm-poem-jar-plus-other-ideas.html

Many parents ask what they should get their children’s teacher at the end of the school year.  One year, my daughter’s teacher shared her own gift of kindness when she graciously accepted our homemade, laminated place mats. There have been the other homemade treats, with a side of egg shells, that were also well received.   A few years in a row, there was the gift of clove apples, after a Little House on the Prairie kick. With a nod to reading, my girls’ teacher appreciatively and pleasantly received their fragrant fruit.

My parents always played it safe and sent us in with plants for our teachers. It didn’t hurt that they had a side floral and plant business, outside their regular jobs.  After deciding a large bottle of alcohol was a tacky choice, albeit one some parents and teachers might pick on a bad day, I decided to do some online investigating.   The Great Schools staff at recently featured an article titled ‘If you give a teacher a cookie…‘ that discussed what teachers really appreciate. Some things that were mentioned included nixing the homemade goodies. While the article did not mention my girls’ egg shells, it did mention the fact that many teachers get inundated with baked goods and truthfully do not eat them all. It suggested if you go homemade and edible, to go for something with a longer shelf life, like jam or a sauce.

Similarly, it suggested plants, over flowers because of a longer lifespan.  One year my oldest gave her teacher a potted plant with some personalized art on it. That following fall, the teacher told me how well the flower did in her garden, all summer long.  Another possibility that was mentioned was a gift card. As you may or may not know, teachers spend a lot of their own money on classroom supplies. A gift card to a favorite bookshop, coffee place, restaurant, or store is a welcome treat and break for a weary teacher, whose extra energy and money go into their classroom. Other ideas include the group (I love this phrase) “love bomb” where the class goes in on a large gift for their teacher; classroom supplies-the most practical, if not least exciting gift; and last but not least the heartfelt, sincere card or picture of thanks. Teachers in this article were most touched by heartfelt appreciation and gratitude, that crayola colors and little hands so wonderfully do.  This has been my go-to item many times. In these tough economic times, but really in anytime, where such dedicated people work so hard with our children, and have received a lot of flak from certain segments in society, I think cards/pictures of appreciation are great! Remember great doesn’t have to be expensive or even bought.

The articles ‘Teacher gifts with the homemade touch‘ and ‘Last minute teacher gifts‘ at the Great Schools website offer up some other good ideas for fretting parents.

HAPPY FATHERS DAY!

Adam’s Lessons

Tips For More Tips

Hospitality can be an extremely rewarding career even when you may even be a ‘mere’ waiter or waitress or bartender. Many people may regard these positions in the world as lowly or even unskilled labour. However, I would have to strongly disagree. As with any career option if you are good at what you do you’ll make money, and lots of it!  My brief experience shows this certainly applies to the service industry.  So get ready to get some insider tips on how to gain a higher percentage in tips from a collaboration of some of the top servers that work in top notch restaurants across North America, as well as what Food and Beverage managers look for when they hire these top notch sales people.

Tip 1 – Be passionate! Someone who can show a tremendous amount of passion and initiative of where they work, who they work with and what they serve are bound to do better in this industry. Would you rather have someone who had to look at the menu along with you as you asked them a question, or would you rather sit back, relax, and have someone describe every dish to you and be given personal recommendations? A personal trick of mine is to describe my ideal meal to the customer, I also go through the ideal wine pairings that we have to offer, and I welcome any questions a guest may have at the table whether it be about the property’s history, our Chef’s story or even the tasting notes of the foods and wines we offer. Sure I have other tables, but I appreciate the questions and helping you truly enjoy your experience does get me excited.

Tip 2 – Interact with your guests and be responsive to them. Essentially you are their guide through the process. Always introduce yourself in a polite and fun manner to get the guest warmed up to you. My ideal behind service is to create a friendship; this takes the pressure off of you being impeccable and creating an immaculate experience and creates the atmosphere that you are entertaining friends at your house. You’ll notice that your guests will tend to show their true colours and be more open to conversations with you rather than creating demands for you to fulfill. Another key piece of advice is to not treat every guest the same; if someone is showing interest in everything on your menu then talk to them, if someone doesn’t even look up at you when you first approach their table then try to stay out of their hair, they are most likely trying to have a nice private night out. The key to all service is that once you get into the market of fine dining the customers have selected to come to you, this puts them in your hands and you can guide them in any way that you want, as long as you don’t force them anywhere. This is the difference between you making a reservation and driving down the street, seeing the golden arches and thinking how amazing a burger would taste at that moment.

Tip 3 – Be fashionable! Once you get into the fine dining environment there are certain requirements to personal deportment, but there are some things you can get away with now that you couldn’t about 20 years ago. I have found the new theory to appearance to be that as long as you have no piece of fashion that could offend a guest then you are fine. At my restaurant I am able to have medium-long curly hair, a beard, an earring, and a watch as well as a bracelet. There are ways in which you can make today’s fashion appropriate for work, but you have to learn how, and once you can figure this trick out you’ll soon be able to get the tattoos that you want (I have three myself), the piercings (with some limitations, usually pertaining to facial piercings) and wear your hair in a neat fashion with limited colouring as well. It’s a sad thing to say, but all front of house staff are hired based on physical appearance, fashion and personality.  However, I do know that there are customers that really dislike body/face art and piercings and I can appreciate their feelings.

So take pride in being a front of house-er! Because you’ll find that when you move up the ladder you’ll really be missing the tips, pace and interaction with customers. Many of my ‘back of the house’ friends and managers especially miss the tips that annually can range from a low of $15,000 to well over $100,000/year with their tips (my friend who used to work at a prominent hotel in Toronto was able to amass a small fortune from their time spent in that hotel’s restaurant).

So to anyone who can still look down upon the person who takes care of them in a restaurant, I feel sorry for you, because they work excessively hard to make you as happy as possible, and if something goes wrong nine point nine times out of ten times it honestly isn’t their fault. My advice to students would be get a job as a bartender or server because it’s always nice to walk away with cash in your pocket at the end of every day AND it is a great way to improve your social skills.

Sunday Morning Shout Out

Lately, I have written two blog dealing with media and technology.  To me, it is the proverbial double-edged sword.   It has great benefits, but can also be detrimental if abused.  To me, it completely threatens unstructured playtime and time outside.  I know I am not alone in my concern. A survey or 900 moms commissioned by Busch Gardens® and titled “Natural Fun Takes a Backseat to Tech Time for Kids & Families” found that 85 percent of moms worry that their children don’t experience enough free, natural outdoor time.  In a term popularly coined by Richard Lou, author of the bestselling book The Last Child in the Woods, many parents worry about nature deficit disorder.  May I present the natural antidote? Immerse your child in nature!

Debra Manchester Macmannis, MSW have spent considerable time and research looking at this phenomenon and wrote about it in a blog entry.  In reviewing some of the work on the topic, she first cites the work of environmental psychologists Rachel and Stephen Kaplan, from the University of Michigan.  They are known for their work on restorative environments and health.  They found that office workers are happier and healthier when they have a view of nature at work; hospital stays are shorter when there is a view of nature for the patient; that children do better academically when they are exposed to nature; and that individuals walk longer when they walk outside in pleasant environments. In short, they found that nature serves to lessen the mental fatigue that arises when one must focus and work at length at something. It helps an individual sustain focus and sustain attention to task in academic and work situations, apparently including the exercise variety of work.  Macmannis also looked at a significant study that was done on ADHD.  In a 2004 report that was published in “The American Journal of Public Health,” Francis Kuo, PhD, found that kids with ADHD who participate in activities conducted in natural outdoor environments concentrate better and show less impulsivity.  Nature was found to lessen ADHD symptoms!

She goes on to discuss the other benefit of nature. She cites studies that indicate that children who spend time in nature get along better with other children; have enhanced imaginations; show improved cognitive abilities; better physical health; are less stressed out; show increased psychological maturity; and are more attuned to the environment and to nature.  What isn’t there to like about this remedy?

As summer quickly approaches, children may cheer and parents may wonder how are they going to occupy their children’s time.  Summer is the perfect season to instill healthier and new routines that emphasize open space over screen space.  Technology and media have their limits in most households, but nature is something that can be so limitless and far-reaching in its gains for our children, for adults, and for our families.

American History Today

Father Hennepin’s Discovery of Niagara Falls by Thomas Hart Benton, 1961

I used to love American and global history through high school and it was where I excelled.  Facts, figures, people, excitement, wars and exploration…I sucked it all in like a sponge. That was back in the day when students were told to memorize the facts and not question them in K-12 public education. Problem was that I was a bit naive and blindly believed everything I was told as fact.

That changed quickly in college and I started to see that the black and white of K-12 was actually many shades of gray. I came to understand that history is written by humans and we each tend to put varying degrees spin on what we see, experience, interpret and report. I still love history, but at times I do long to see it through the eyes of my childhood.

I led with all of this personal background, because the recent story in the London, UK paper ‘The Guardian‘  just makes me shake my head. The story reports about my governments order (see order here) for one of its major telephone companies (Verizon) to provide ALL customer records for their domestic and foreign calls.  Basically, spying on each and every American citizen! This really shows how little privacy and freedom those of us who believe we are living in the land of the free now have.  The report is pretty much being confirmed by the White House and they don’t seem to see anything wrong with this and even defend it.  To me it is just another example of our government using the ‘Patriot Act‘ and the far worse but less known ‘Military Commissions Act‘ to protect us from those evil terrorists.  Problem is…where does it stop and who is protecting us from ourselves?

Combine this with the current IRS scandal, attacks on journalistic freedom (thus the reason for a UK paper to break the Verizon news), trials of whistle blowers, covert trade deals, drones OK’d to be used against US citizens, Benghazi, The Great Recession and you certainly have some Obama history. Combined that with the wars and torture of the previous administration and I doubt this will be seen as a very positive era for the USA. In fact some parallels to the Rise of the Third Reich in the 30′s can sadly be drawn.

I suggest we all take a moment to look at all of this material and ask ourselves why we can’t have security and freedom at the same time? Is this the country we want to give to our children? Is it time to repeal the ’Patriot Act‘ and Military Commissions Acts? How accurate is the following excerpt from The Guardian article on this?

The court order appears to explain the numerous cryptic public warnings by two US senators, Ron Wyden and Mark Udall, about the scope of the Obama administration’s surveillance activities.

For roughly two years, the two Democrats have been stridently advising the public that the US government is relying on “secret legal interpretations” to claim surveillance powers so broad that the American public would be “stunned” to learn of the kind of domestic spying being conducted.

Because those activities are classified, the senators, both members of the Senate intelligence committee, have been prevented from specifying which domestic surveillance programs they find so alarming. But the information they have been able to disclose in their public warnings perfectly tracks both the specific law cited by the April 25 court order as well as the vast scope of record-gathering it authorized.

Julian Sanchez, a surveillance expert with the Cato Institute, explained: “We’ve certainly seen the government increasingly strain the bounds of ‘relevance’ to collect large numbers of records at once — everyone at one or two degrees of separation from a target — but vacuuming all metadata up indiscriminately would be an extraordinary repudiation of any pretence of constraint or particularized suspicion.” The April order requested by the FBI and NSA does precisely that.

The law on which the order explicitly relies is the so-called “business records” provision of the Patriot Act, 50 USC section 1861. That is the provision which Wyden and Udall have repeatedly cited when warning the public of what they believe is the Obama administration’s extreme interpretation of the law to engage in excessive domestic surveillance

Adam’s Lessons

Life: Post High School All-Star

From the time I was 14 until I was 17, I ruled my High School. I got along with everyone, I could do anything and succeed at it and I loved every minute of it. But, does an A+ GPA, dozens of awards and certificates, being a top football recruit in your state or even an involved and well-rounded student really get you anywhere in life? The answer would be a big fat NO!

For all of those who are looking to begin their application process, or who are beginning to be recruited by universities be prepared. Your high school resume can be as pretty and as pompous as can be, but what you need to be able to do is be outstanding in person. This is where everyone either rises to the occasion or falls to their demise. If you’re going to make yourself sound like the World’s greatest person on paper, GREAT.  However, can you imagine how many other people can do that? It is in the tens of thousands.  What matters after the paper is getting yourself known to the people who are in charge of your admission to your next stage in life.

I hate to brag, but I like to think that I have a tremendous resume, especially for being so young, but I still remember that there are many gifted writers in the World who can create the greatest hyperboles that you could ever imagine.  So to make myself stand out without my paper report, I meet with every single person I have to in person.  And even with this new exciting career I have in Kelowna technology blessed me by being able to have a video call interview with my new boss when I was in Toronto. Technology is your friend, but it can also be an extreme enemy of yours (I’ve had an encounter with this which nearly demolished my future). So let me precaution you because you don’t want to regret something you did when you were still a teen that follows you through the rest of your life and career.

Getting back on track though, how do you make yourself stand out in a crowd?  Well one of my favourite (pardon my Canadian spelling) stories of this comes from a new friend and co-worker I have, who I’ll refer to as Homer.  Homer is a delightful man who has quite the background from being a physical therapist, to then being a traveling salesman in Australia for a year to now being a leading individual in the restaurant industry.  But even still, all of us who came to the Winery are the best at what we do, so how did Homer stick out?  Well, he decided to post a video resume online along with his paper resume.  What this did is it gave the employers a chance to see what Homer was about, he showed his passion for the work, his keen sense of humour, as well as his moustache.  Even though I already let you know, we hired him within about five minutes of watching that video.

So what can you take away form this entry? Well, for starters don’t boost yourself up on paper if you can’t impress someone in person.  Also, you have to stand out from the crowd, and the best ways you can do that are based on simple psychology, do something different.  I mean think about it, you wouldn’t know Nikki Minaj without her ridiculous hair or her obnoxious “Roman” voice, yet her music is currently all over the radio (time will tell if she is just another passing fad).  Elvis wouldn’t have been the icon of Rock’n’Roll had he not been considered the Devil for shaking his hips in such a scandalous manner.  So what will you do to make sure that your intended school or place of employment will remember you and make them beg for you to come to them, rather than you competing against thousands of others?… That my friends, will be up to you.

Sunday Morning Shout Out

I came across a great quote recently about electronic devices and children. In April,  “The Atlantic” ran an article on electronic devices and their effect on the toddler brain.  In the article “The Touch –Screen Generation: What’s this technology doing to toddler’s brains?” Hanna Rosin states that, ” Norman Rockwell never painted Boy Swiping Finger on Screen….:” a ubiquitous  site if there is one. I do believe this quote captures some of the anxieties and complexities of modern parenting and the parental sense of “grasping at straws” when it comes to dealing with the use of technology and our children.

I think there is a spectrum of parental comfort and discomfort   with electronic devices  and feelings among parents about their proper role and use. In this household, we have been wrestling with the issue. Recent events led my husband and I to allow our nine year-old to purchase an iPod Touch with her saved money. As we foisted limits on her with it, left and right, it has still left me a little unsettled and conflicted about the issue.  I try to see its advantages. It has many neat capabilities, that she can navigate.  Navigating these devices makes her a leg up on technology and builds a comfort zone in her rather than a fear of using it.  The games she likes seem very innocent. For example, they are games in which she simulates making cakes and cookies; buys dragons; and makes her screen turn into fireworks. She can check the weather; look up information: and takes notes on it. Yet when  she immerses herself in it, I get this visual of her turning into too many children I have seen who are engrossed with them; do not play with other toys; do not go outside; do not respond to conversation, etc. etc.  For us, strict limits were the plan from the outset. Currently, she gets 30 minutes on it a day. She cannot save time from the other days. When behavior goes south, so do her privileges on it. We will also probably institute a screen free day.  She has to ask before she gets on it, each and every time. All in all, this has worked out okay.

While it seems part of my Norman Rockwell version of childhood has been permanently altered; I never wanted to make the technology that is available with these devices forbidden either. Our world is awash in technology and its many exciting opportunities. But as the saying goes, with knowledge comes great responsibility. Our daughter must behave and follow our wishes with this privilege, or it is gone..

In the article “Sound Advice on Managing the Media from Parents’ Choice,” at the Great Schools.org website, they list some helpful hints for successfully dealing with this issue.  Advice ranges from time limits and place limits to parents going on these devices  with their child and having some fun. I would like to hear from you and ask you how you handle this important issue in your home.

Adam’s Lessons

Will Learning Ever End? … When I was growing up I was a silent kid. I would sit back at family events and school and just absorb everything. I played sports, had friends and was quite extroverted amongst those I was comfortable with (somehow not being my own family until I was about sixteen), but for some reason I would just learn from my environment and adapt to the people around me. I did this for the full fifteen years of pre-collegiate school. It is astounding now that doctors and child psychologists have finally established that what I did in high school is now a sign that kids are bored and under challenged by their schooling… something I find to be entirely true.

The repetition involved, at least in the schools of the USA allows children to learn the facts at a very young age and keep regurgitating this information back, just adding slightly more specific details to the events. However, this shall not be an entry about the lack of efficiency that I find in present day American education.  Instead, I’ll explore the joy you can find in everyday lessons and this is where the link from my silent childhood comes into play.

I am proud to say that I was a silent kid, it is what first got me interested in psychology. I was able to adapt in every social environment, I was a social chameleon, which is a beautiful thing. This skill allows me to be friends with everyone I meet which further allows me to expand my knowledge about everything. When I studied Astrophysics and Astronomy I got to meet some of the greatest minds in the World, including Alexi Filipenko, who may not ring a bell with most people, but who is a man that I truly idolized because he could talk about phenomena in the universe on the History Channel and he got to live in Hawaii while he was doing his research with some of the World’s most expensive telescopes that are on the peaks of dormant volcanoes. I could actually hold a conversation with this man, while at the end of that day, go out to one of the cheap bars in downtown Toronto and talk to the drunken fool about his life experiences. Both conversations engaged me, were authentic and added to my knowledge!

Even now after being in Kelowna, BC for just about a month I have learned an impressive amount of information about food, wine and have had the pleasure of meeting the man responsible for introducing Mike’s Hard Lemonade and Corona to the prominent American marketplace. I have also had the delightful pleasure of meeting, and working with a TV personality Chef, a Chef who was invited to cook for the Queen of England by her own word, as well as meet the new generation of outstanding North American Chefs.

So what would my lesson be for today? Well, to summarize everything that I have described that makes me feel quite proud of the way that my young career has turned out, I would say that you simply can’t rely on the education systems to put you where you need to go to be successful and happy. At the end of the day, whether it’s college, university, high school or one of the top schools in the World, you are merely getting a piece of paper that hundreds of thousands of others will be getting at that exact same moment. To be where you need to go and be happy and successful you have to be willing to expand your knowledge beyond that of your program, you have to be willing to drive for change in your life and be willing to go where no one else is. That is certainly what Gates, Jobs, Dell, Brin, Page, Zuckerberg, Ford, Edison etc. did as they changed the world.

I was raised in a town where my graduating class was 100 students, I moved to one of the largest cities in North America, to a school where I would only be a number on one of three sprawling campuses that had over 60,000 students. I then made the change to use my life-long skill of adaptability and understanding to decide that I need to study Hospitality and not the Sciences. I then made the move across the country to one of the most under rated beauties of the New World, to a World class winery where all I have to do is learn about food and beverage. This is how I believe need to live your life. Take into account what you’re amazing at, even if it seems like a simple skill that everyone should have, mine was being able to make people happy, and squeezing every last essence from that to get to where you want to be. My path is still winding as I pick up the skills and knowledge needed for my future and even then I know I’ll be squeezing!

My high school quote was that “Flying is nothing more than falling and being able to miss the ground.” This quote has given me more insight into what I needed to do with my life than anything, but I won’t be giving you my interpretation, that I leave to you, but the answer to the lead question of this post is … Learning never ends!

Fluency

Reading over the summer is a great way to keep your child’s mind engaged! (Image Credit: http://library.brunsco.net/)

One of the terms parents will hear more of as the Common Core Learning Standards (CCLS) are implemented across the USA is Fluency.  It is associated with the English Language Arts (ELA) standards that bridge courses such as English, Social Studies and Science.

But, just what is fluency?  Fluency is the ability to read a text accurately, quickly, and with expression. Fluency is important because it provides a bridge between word recognition and comprehension.

How can I know if my child is ‘fluent’? When reading silently, fluent readers recognize words automatically. They group words to help them understand what they are reading. Since fluent readers do not have to concentrate on decoding words they can focus attention on what the text means. They make connections among the ideas in the text and their personal knowledge. When reading aloud fluent readers do so without effort and put expression into what they read. Their reading sounds almost like they are speaking.

What are signs my child needs to improve their fluency? When fluency is not fully developed the child tends to read slow since they are continuously trying to understand what they are reading. It is almost a word by word challenge for them to comprehend what they are reading. They need to focus attention on figuring out the words thus leaving little time or energy for understanding the text as a whole. Reading aloud tends to be slow, choppy, filled with silence and lacks emotion. As a result of low fluency the reader, both children and adults, find reading to be boring, challenging, and a chore. Thus, they tend to avoid reading and books because it is not pleasurable. When they do pick-up a book they will tend to see if there are pictures in it.

How can I improve fluency? Improving fluency is best to start at an early age. It starts with the parent reading aloud to their child and discussing the meaning of the words and story with the child as questions arise. This models fluent reading to your child and also creates a desire to be able to read and be a part of the story.

As they get older have them read along with you.  Try to read with emotion and attend to punctuation in the text.  Take time to ask questions that help the child express what they think is meant by the words and story.  Remember to let them know what you think it means.

As they get even older have your child read aloud and reread to add emotion and tonal color to their reading.  Trade off reading and challenge each other to see who is the more compelling reader. When reading is interrupted by word-solving or self-correcting help your child understand this is OK.  Answer the questions and then go back and have them read it again. Recording their reading can also be fun and is a good way to help them feel more comfortable with their voice. Also remember that storytelling around the table or campfire without books is also a great device for improving fluency as well as memory, creativity, acting, diction and so many others!

Don’t forget to teach your child how to use a dictionary to find the meaning of words they don’t know.  This can also be done very easily on Nooks, Tablets and Computers, but remember they should still know how to do it with a printed book.  Remember that you are the best teacher for your child and getting the basics down. School and teachers build off what you give to your child so the more you give them the better for your child.  Sure it takes time but it is rewarding!

 

 

Are Glasses Needed?

Image Source: http://www.drkroger.com/other_services.html

An epidemic of mypoia (shortsightedness) is sweeping Asia. 80 to 90 percent of students are leaving school afflicted by the disease and a small percentage of these (10-20%) will have high myopia which could result in blindness. Unlike the preventative measures we take with the dentist, we generally only go to the optometrist when we think we may need glasses.  With children, it’s difficult to tell whether they have trouble with their vision as they may just get used to the blur and not vocalize their issues.  Luckily, there are telltale signs that can help you to identify when your child needs to take a trip to the optometrist.

Physical symptoms
Eyestrain can cause headaches, red eyes and excessive tearing. Children who are reading may rub their eyes repeatedly. Squinting, covering an eye or moving further from or closer to the object may indicate that your child cannot see the object clearly. If your child exhibits any of these symptoms regularly, you must have their eyes checked.
Wanting to sit really close to the television or computer screen and sensitivity to light are also important indicators that your child may have a visual impairment.
If your child exhibits a short attention span for their age or struggles with hand-eye coordination, it may be a sign of poor eyesight. You can also test your child’s reading to ensure that they are able to recognize letters. If they hold the book too close or too far away, rub their eyes, have trouble concentrating, mix up letters that look similar to each other (like a C and an O), they may have trouble seeing the text clearly.

When to get your child tested
Babies should have their eyesight tested just after being born and then again at 6 months. Test your child’s eyesight every two to three years by taking them to a registered optometrist. Myopia is mainly caused by a lack of sunlight and by too much reading and computer time. Ensure that your children eat a healthy diet and get outside for at least two hours every day (weather permitting).
When students are studying or working on the computer for hours at a time, getting up and walking around can really help their posture and give their eyes a chance to rest. Have your students look up into the middle and far distance regularly (getting them to look out the window at things which are nearby and far away) helps to keep eye muscles toned and healthy.
Too much of anything is not good for your children, so make sure that they have a healthy balance of TV, computer, study and outdoor time, healthy meals and regular exercise. If your child already wears glasses, have their eyes checked annually for changes in their prescriptions.

Note: This entry is adapted from a post on the Tutor Doctor Corporate blog from 5/18/12 titled ‘How to tell if your child needs glasses.’

Five Gift Ideas For Any Graduate

There is no better motivation for continued success than great rewards. If your child has been working hard and has done a really great job this academic year, then a reward is in order. This will help to motivate them to work just as hard next semester. Here are some practical ideas for gifts your graduate will love.

Green Gifts
From solar powered cell phone chargers to solar panel backpacks, you can help your energy-conscious graduate to reduce their carbon footprints with solar powered tech accessories. If your graduate isn’t into gadgets, consider organic clothing, and recycled material shoes.

Tech Crazy
A new smart phone, ebook reader, tablet computer, laptop or desktop is the perfect gift for your graduate. You will definitely score some brownie points with the latest tech gadget and your graduate will be able to use this technology to improve their academic performance next year too! A new camera is also a good idea if your graduate is going somewhere special over the summer break. Opt for a camera that’s robust and can withstand the summer vacation bumps.

Gear Idea
Whether your child is graduating from elementary school, high school or college, they will be entering into a new phase in their lives. You can support this transition by giving gifts that reflect their new roles. Buy a leather work bag for college grads who are about to transition into a job, or buy an electric scooter for students who will have to commute to high school next semester.

Excellent Experiences
Sometimes the best things in life aren’t things. Giving your child a new experience and a happy memory is the best gift in the world. Send them on a summer camp, or take them on a trip to a new destination. You don’t even have to travel to provide amazing experiences; you can give them a camping trip, hiking adventure, diving experience, zipline tour, white water rafting holiday or a hot air balloon ride.

Gift certificates
These cards will allow students to select their own gifts. Give gift cards to book stores, their favorite coffee shop, the iTunes store, Amazon, or a clothing store that they frequent.

When your children graduate, rewarding all their hard work will help to motivate them to do even better in the next phase of their academic careers. When considering a gift, make sure that its representative of their interests and hobbies or that its something they really want. Giving great gifts takes thought, but it will be well worth the effort!

Note: This entry is adapted from a post on the Tutor Doctor Corporate blog titled ‘Top Ten Gifts for Grads.‘