Learning Tools
The story of Zeke was born in the classroom when the alphabet chart that runs horizontally in letter panels across the wall in her room was not long enough to include the Z because her desk covered the panel. Zeke, the Alphabet Zebra that hides under Ann’s desk, inspired her to write Off the Chart! The Amazing Story of the Alphabet Zebra. The Alphabet Zebra acts as a loving aide to teachers and parents by helping bring imaginative fun, encouragement, and discipline to young learners.
What Began as a Classroom Behavior and Reading Aide, the Off the Chart! Package contains an approach to elementary, reading, academics, socializing, love, care positivity and manners. You use the program that best suits your child's learning style. There are many ways to make Off the Chart! work in a fun and positive way to create a better environment in schools and at home. Make sure your child's zebra is ready to work and play!
I decided to create this book and learning material because I developed this with my own children and I wanted to share my success in the learning process. The genesis of The Off The Chart Program developed in my classroom to help my students learn and be courteous. This has been a useful tool for parents and teachers alike through the years. If you are interested in this tool and would like more information, please head over to: www.offthechartkidz.com.
Happy Learning!
Ann
ABC's PARENT RESOURCES FOR THE Off the Chart!
IN THE HOME
The Off the Chart! program was built on the foundation of the ABCD's. In the home Off the Chart! Is used to enhance Academic performance, while helping build a foundation for positive Behavior. Further, the Off the Chart! program helps parents to lay a solid basis for virtuous Character building and also assists parents in their child's Development by developing good habits and conquering anxieties More Information about the ABCD's In the home can be found below.
Academics
Off The Chart! and the zebra can improve your child's academic performance.
Reading to the zebra helps encourage your child to read and improves test scores.
The zebra supports the parent by acting as a loving third party to help motivate and encourage the child. The parent no longer has to fight argue, negotiate with judges whether that expectation was met The child is not able to argue with the zebra, because he is an unbiased judge. The zebra lovingly watches in the day and at night motivates with a kind note of encouragement or rewards when a goal is attained. The zebra makes hard work fun because he sparks the your child's imagination, acknowledges their effort and rewards the their achievements. The child loves the zebra and understands that the zebra is a friend that only acts out of love. The zebra's sole purpose is to help the child perform their personal best The zebra helps change the environment for the child and makes academics no longer seem such a tedious task. The child is motivated to do their personal best because the zebra is fun and holds the child accountable. The zebra lovingly cheerleads the child by a system of reasonable goals and rewards. The zebra helps your child develop good work ethics and attain academic success.
Incentive charts are a great way to motivate the child and track academic success. The parent can team up with the zebra to tailor make an academic incentive chart for the child. When a task is performed properly the chart can be marked by the zebra. The zebra has a heart on each paw and a heart is the zebra's official symbol. The zebra can mark the chart with a tally or a heart. The parent and zebra can decide how many marks are required for the child to receive a reward. When the goal is met the zebra can reward the child with a parent-approved prize.
The zebra can leave the child kind notes of encouragement and acknowledgment that help motivate the child to perform their personal best academically.
Daily reading is extremely important for your child, but it can be very difficult For many parents, getting the child to read daily can feel like pulling teeth. The zebra can help by motivating the child and giving the child a purpose to read. The child wants to please the zebra. The child understands that the zebra is powered by love and wants to be read to, held, and hugged. The child is motivated out of love to read to the zebra knowing that reading makes the zebra happy and powerful. Reading to the zebra makes reading fun and helps a child no longer see it as a daunting task but instead an important gift to share.
The parent and zebra can team up and make a reading log for the child. Together they can set reading goals and the zebra can reward the child when the goals are met.
The use of the zebra and the Off the Chart! package can greatly enhance academic performance and reading specifically. Studies have shown that reading 20 minutes a day greatly improves test scores. Additionally, studies show that reading to a stuffed animal helps encourage reading and improve test scores.
Behavior
The zebra can improve your child's behavior at home.
The zebra can help parents easily create good habits in their children.
The zebra helps support the parent by acting as a loving third party and can reinforce the household expectations of discipline. The child understands that the zebra loves the child and expects the child to behave their best, follow the rules, and to act lovingly.
The parent and zebra can tailor make a behavior incentive chart for the child. The child can earn tallies or hearts on a behavior chart with every good choice or act of kindness. The child can also earn a tally or heart on the incentive chart when they show great effort and avoid a bad choice or behavior. The zebra can leave the child notes of love, guidance, and support.
The zebra can reward the child when the zebra observes a behavior that is especially good and reward when a child meets a behavior goal. Children respond to positive reinforcement and acknowledgment. Positive reinforcement and an earned reward system help create good habits. The zebra's presence makes the child mindful of their behavior and less likely to act without thinking.
When used by parents and teachers, Off The Chart shows amazing and positive changes in children. The child wants to please the zebra by behaving properly and knowing that the zebra is watching and will positively acknowledge their good behavior.
Character
The zebra helps make good manners a habit.
The zebra makes the practice of virtues fun for children.
The zebra partners with the parent by laying a solid foundation for building a strong and virtuous character in the child. The zebra can help the child be mindful of their manners by reinforcing good habits of cleanliness, virtue, and politeness. If the zebra notices the child does not say please and thank you, the zebra can give the child a gentle reminder in a note and set a goal for the child to be mindful of manners. When the child is aware and makes a real effort the zebra can acknowledge the effort and reward the child's good manners by helping make good manners a habit The zebra can help install healthy lifelong habits and help build a strong moral character in your child.
Beaumont Etiquette founder Myka Meier, who runs the Plaza Elute! Finishing Program, says, "I teach children that good manners simply means to be kind, thoughtful, and respectful at all times." She says you can start teaching etiquette as soon as your child becomes verbal. °Your zebra can make learning proper etiquette fun. The zebra can encourage and make your child mindful of their manners. Your zebra can help make manners a habit.
Thomas LIckona who wrote Character Matters, states. "Virtues are habits of mind, heart, and behavior. They develop through deliberate practice." The zebra can help the child practice virtues helping to build a strong and virtuous character.
Development
The zebra acts as a loving 3rd party to conquer fears and bad habits.
The zebra can be a source of calm and motivation for a child's anxieties.
The zebra can team up with the parent to help a child's development. If a child has a bad habit or anxiety, the zebra can act as a loving third party to help conquer the bad habit or fear. Many times, a bad habit and fear become so ingrained in the child that the child tunes out the parent.
The parent understandably is concerned for the child and can get angry or frustrated with the child for keeping the bad habit or having unreasonable anxiety issues. If the parent is frustrated and upset because the child is not listening, the habit or anxiety can manifest itself as a battle of wills between the parent and child and further harm a child's normal physical, mental and emotional development.
Numerous studies have shown that a child's anxieties are directly related to the parent's anxieties, so if the parent's anxieties are high, the child's anxieties will most likely rise too. If this is the case, the situation is not going to get better and the zebra can help.
The zebra can take the parent out of the equation by acting as a loving third party. The parent can give
the job to the zebra. The zebra can help the child break the habit or conquer the fear. The zebra can
change the environment by making an old argument look fresh and different. The zebra works because
most likely the child wants to get rid of the habit or conquer the fear and the child wants to please the zebra.
The zebra is fun, and the child knows that the zebra loves and believes in the child. The child is highly motivated because the child understands that the zebra will give the child a prize if they break the habit or conquer the fear. The zebra does not put pressure on the child, he instead sets reasonable goals. The zebra motivates, gives positive encouragement, and support. The zebra rewards with kind words to acknowledge the child's effort and gives a prize when the goal is met. The zebra makes a deal with the child and sets a goal. It is no longer the parent nagging or telling the child to do something. Because the zebra is doing the hard work, the parent's anxiety will decrease making for a less stressful environment for the child. Which in turn will help lower the child's anxiety, creating a peaceful home environment.
The zebra's all-knowing presence helps make the child more aware of their actions and helps with focus.
The zebra can help with bad habits like sucking thumbs, biting fingernails, toilet training issues and help ease anxieties like staying in his/her bed at night. Every child is different, and every child has his/her own bad habits, quirks, and anxieties. Luckily, each alphabet zebra is a special individual too and is tailor-made for each child. The zebra will lovingly go to work to help the child break bad habits and conquer fears. The zebra changes hard work to fun.
Sources Supporting ABCD for Parents: