Thanks to contributing author: Christina Vunk Special note from the Editor: There are a whole lot of folks right now finding themselves at home with kids out of school for an indefinite amount of time. One of our resident Stuff finders just happens to be an elementary school teacher and has some great tips for you on how to keep the kids busy while keeping the learning going with some great fun and stealthy moves! And no worries, there won't be a quiz at the end of it. :) Suddenly find yourself with weeks of time on your hands and a house full of kids? Schools in my town as well as many others made the well-informed decision to close for the next few weeks and right now, we're not sure of when we are going back. Even though this may seem abrupt to parents and guardians, the schools have been preparing for this just in case it became a reality. Educators have been working so hard to have packets of information ready to send home so that learning can continue outside the walls of the school. The effort that has gone into this is beyond impressive. When looking through it all today after picking up my kids, I’ll be honest - I was overwhelmed. Being a Type A person, I felt like I needed to get started right away and make sure they were learning at home at the same rate the would be learning at school. Then I got hungry (stress snack!), had a bite to eat, and talked some sense into myself. You know what I realized? That is not what the schools are expecting. They want to offer as much learning opportunities as possible to stay on track, but by no means do they expect it to all be perfect. Then I got thinking in a different direction. Now that I have this extra time with my kids, what am I good at that I can teach them? What would be fun, but still a learning experience? Here’s the list I came up with: Science: Plant some flowers. Talk about what a plant needs to survive, explain photosynthesis, talk about why trees lose their leaves in the winter. Talk about different types of clouds. Talk about the moon and why it waxes and wanes. (It’s been a beautiful moon this week!) Editor's note: try a planting kit that let's kids see how the plants go from seeds to sprouting and beyond! Image by pencil parker from Pixabay Social Studies: Find some old maps and pictures of your town online. Help your kids make connections between what the town used to look like and what it looks like now. Were there cars or horses and carriages? Were the houses all close together or was there more farmland? Was your town always called by the same name or did it go by a different name when it was first founded? If you can find super old photos of buildings that are still standing today, even better! See if the kids recognize them! Historic sketch of street in Stamford, CT Reading: Turn off the volume on your child’s favorite show and turn on the subtitles. They will be more apt to pay attention since it’s their favorite show and it will promote their ability to read at a faster pace. Editor's thought: why not use their favorite movie as a jumping off point for reading as well? Most Disney and kids films are based off books. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory comes to mind. Maybe they will be more interested in the book if they know the story a bit? (that's why I read Heidi over and over again when I was little--Shirley Temple inspired it.) Also, our local library has wonderful digital resources online and since they too have temporarily closed, it is the main resource for readers who'd like to keep busy. Borrowing some kids books will be a great way to keep them occupied and maybe set up a sticker or goal system for every one they read during this school "break". Math: Count all the things! Count steps in your house, count how many steps it takes to get to the car, count how many socks are in the pile of laundry (Bonus points if you also get them to match the socks whilst counting them!) Also, did anyone say brownies? If I need two eggs per batch, but want to make two batches…how many eggs do I need in all? Or for the older kids, help them work on their fractions the same way. If I need ¾ a cup of oil, but want to double my recipe, how much will I need? The possibilities for math are endless!! Image by József Simon from Pixabay Writing: Lots of possibilities here too! Sidewalk chalk is a favorite at our house so after the kids are done drawing and creating their masterpieces, ask them to label all of their art! Instead of writing down your own grocery list, ask them to write it down for you. Not only will you be able to just call out items as you stick your head in the pantry and fridge, but it will be super cute to see how they spell zookini or skwash Get Moving: Here’s another tip. Even during the school day, teachers give the students something called “brain breaks.” It’s usually 5 minutes or so of a silly song or video to help them move around and get some energy out between lessons. Literally giving the brain a break. There’s a great website called Go Noodle that has SO MUCH fun stuff on it. There are even calming exercises and yoga for those times that are just out of control. Editor's thought: play your kids some music you grew up with and tell them why you like it or a story associated with it. My dad and I did this sometimes when I'd be home sick from school. I got to learn more about him and also the music as well! Learned so much about the music from when he was younger and what was popular when he was in school. It's a fun way to do a little family history lesson as well as expose kids to music they may not be familiar with now. Also, on good weather days, really try to get outside in the fresh air with the kids. It can become too easy to just stay inside, but going out and moving around, looking at the Spring flowers coming up, playing ball, etc can help so much for them and for YOU too! While these are things that I like to do, they can be modified depending on the age of your little ones and your own interests too! I say we sit back, take a deep breath, and look at this as a gift of more time with our kids. After all, doesn’t everyone tell us that they grow up too fast?
From all of us here at SWF, Good luck, be safe and enjoy your kids!
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Image byGerd Altmann for Pixabay Edited by CEC from SWF
Thanks to contributing author: Christina Vunk
This time of year it is hard to escape the hundreds of ads and reminders about back to school shopping deals and must haves. Kids are getting excited to head back to school, (parents even more so) and teachers everywhere are getting ready to start what they hope will be the best year yet.
What many people don’t realize is that the workday for a teacher goes well beyond the school day hours. It goes home with them; wakes up with them; it is constant. Teachers are continually wondering what they can do to make each day better than the last. With all of this on their plates, why not create something with your child that can act as a little encouragement along the way? Have some fun with your kids and assemble a teacher’s “Survival Kit.” In your kit, include a list of the items and why they are there. I once had a student give me a set of Chapstick with a note that said “You’re the balm.” I loved it!
Image by 3D_Maennchen for Pixabay Edited by CEC from SWF
With that in mind, here are a few other examples to get you started:
Tea bag or infuser: to inspire “creativi-tea” Smarties: because you are a “smartie” Toothpick: to always pick out the best qualities in your students Mint: because your commit-“mint” is strong String: for when you get to the end of your rope (and need a little extra) Paperclip: to hold it all together Googly eyes: for the times when you need eyes in the back of your head Puzzle piece: without you the class wouldn’t be complete
Now comes the part where you get to decide what container to put them all in. A Ziploc bag or brown paper lunch bag decorated by your child is totally acceptable. Want to make it a little fancier? Try a pencil case or a little organizer basket that the teacher can use on his/her desk!
The best part about this is not only that it is fun and easy to put together, it’s economical too. Don’t have time before school starts to put one together? No problem...any teacher would appreciate this any time of the year. Have fun brainstorming and let us know what other ideas you came up with!
Summertime is here and the kids are out of school...now what?
These days it's way too easy to throw them onto a screen and let them occupy themselves. And getting them out of the house to go places like a zoo or amusement parks are set aside for special days because let's face it, they can get expensive. So now is the time to get creative! Here's a couple of ideas to give you some inspiration and make the Summer a little more interesting: Make a Parks Map: If your town has multiple parks and/or schools, why not make a map of them and make it a project to try and hit all of the local playgrounds before the Summer vacation time is over! In our area, we have many and almost every one of them is free to enter. Can try for one or two a week, or when the spirit moves you to find a new slide to conquer! (NOTE: Make sure you check your local gov't center. In our city, some require a blanket permit but for a $25 sticker, it's unlimited entry to all of them until the season is over--after the season, they are free again).
Image by Annalise Batista from Pixabay
Scavenger Hunt: Scavenger hunts are so much fun and they can be done both indoors or outdoors! Not only are they fun, but you can also sneak a little learning into the game as well. These hunts can get very creative and you don't need to have the kids actually take an item. They can 'collect' items by crossing them off a list so you won't need to actually hide anything, but instead, hand them a sheet of paper. (so easy)
There are many ways you can approach a scavenger hunt as well. Give them a list to collect things all season long and then whoever has the most items when school starts wins a special prize, or maybe when you're at one of the playgrounds or a zoo/aquarium/museum, you come up with a list for while you're there...really, the possibilities are endless. Add some clues that will lead to a lesson learned and you've got what I call "hidden learning." Maybe add a little local history clue to the mix. Is the park named for someone? A clue could be, "find the dedication plaque" and have them really read it, not just say they saw it. Then buy them ice cream. #becausesummer :)
Old School Board Games: While game nights have become a thing (which is great!), why not do them more often or on rainy Summer days and use some older board games from your childhood. I know there's tons of new games out there to play, but playing something from when you were a kid not only gets them off screen, but gets the conversation started by sharing how you used to play this when you were their age! What's great too is that so many games from decades ago are now considered 'retro' and can be found again looking all bright and shiny. (Although if you held on to your original or found one at a yard sale, that would be really cool too.) Games like Sorry, Candy Land, Connect Four, etc are all back and still so much fun!!!
Need to find some to add to the collection? I've already done the searching for you...just click on the link:
Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay
So there you go! I hope this gives you a nice jumping off point to get the Summer going! Of course these ideas are year round fun -- just think of how much fun a Halloween Scavenger Hunt could be?? Hmmm...that may be a future Seasonal Stuff post!
Have fun guys! :) |
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