July 2010 Inspire!

Making Learning Fun

July 2010 Inspire!

Summer is the time of year that students’ attention may wander and you may have a more difficult time catching their attention. Here are a few ways to “grab” their attention in each of the educational disciplines!

Ideas for younger students:

Children in these age groups absorb anything we tell them without realizing they are learning so you can take advantage of every opportunity!

Simply walking or driving with your child presents many opportunities for comfortable conversation and observation. Use a repetitive drive in the car to test the directions you are traveling to or from your destination. Ask such questions: Now do we turn left or right here? Can you give me all of the directions to get us home? How many streets do we pass before we have a traffic signal? Do you think we are traveling north, south, etc.? How many buildings that we pass display the flag; have signs in the window; have two stories; have three stories; flat roofs; peaked roofs…….? Can you count the stop signs? What is the difference between a 2-way stop and a 4-way stop?

Young children love to cook or to help in the kitchen. Prepare simple dishes for which they use measuring spoons and cups and utensils like wooden spoons or spatulas. Let them wash the plastic ware at the sink. Talk about terms like stirring, mashing, scrubbing, scrapping, and the like to increase their vocabulary. Let them set the table and ask how many of each utensil is needed, whether the knife is placed on the right or the left, etc.

Using pitchers and containers of various sizes while playing in the pool, at the beach, or in a small tub of water will give them the chance to experiment in finding how many of the item it takes to fill another. They can learn to estimate. If sand is available, they can see that the difference in the weight of a container when it is filled with water compared to when it is filled with sand. What kind of things sink or float? Why do you think this item sinks but that item floats?

Compare the sizes of items of clothing as you fold laundry. Which shirt is bigger? Longer? Shorter? Is this color bright or dull? What do you mean by dull? How do you think buttons are made?

As you do this, you will think of many other ways to incorporate learning into everyday life!

Language Arts:

1. Cereal Box Stories - work with your child and pull different words from the cereal boxes. Have your child write them down on a sheet of paper. Now create a silly story using all of these different words!
2. Summer Reporter - Have your child transform into a reporter at a family gathering over the summer. Make sure your child interviews older family members about when they were little and then have them give a newscast at the end of the reunion!
3. Create a family fairy tale - Use the children in the family as characters and continue the story all summer long! Make sure someone acts a recorder and you can even make a mural of the story as you go!

Science:

1. Constellations and Stargazing:

Pre-K - use landmarks and help them find the moon and stars, read nursery rhymes about the stars and the moon.

Older grades – Make sure they know each constellation has their own name and legend, read the Greek myths and discuss where the legends came from. Visit a planetarium to look at the constellations.

2. Bird Watching - Research books to identify the different types of birds in terms of species, calls, habitats, etc.
3. Backyard volcanoes –

Materials needed:
· Baking pan
· Soda bottle (16 or 20 oz.)
· Moist soil
· 1 tablespoon baking soda
· 1 cup vinegar
· Red food coloring
· The great outdoors!

Experiment

Step One: Place the baking pan on the grass, and set the soda bottle in the middle of the pan.

Step Two: Mound and shape the moist soil around the bottle to form a mountain. Bring the soil right up to the top of the bottle's opening, but don't get the soil inside the bottle.

Step Three: Pour one tablespoon of baking soda into the bottle.

Step Four: Color one cup of vinegar with red food coloring.

Step Five: Pour the colored vinegar into the bottle. Stand back and watch red foam spray out of the top and down the mountain like lava from a volcano.

Math:

1. Monitor baseball and soccer scores. You and your children can keep a running total of scores of your favorite team throughout the summer. Keep averages of batters, pitchers, goals scored etc.
2. Summer spending/saving. Create a jar with pictures of things the children want to spend money on or want to save money for and then create a spread sheet on the computer or a chart on the refrigerator to keep a running total of this. If they choose to save, perhaps you could make a matching donation.

Social Studies:

1. Today in history - make this a daily exercise in your house! Each day a different child can read or post the fact for the day in the kitchen or classroom for all to see. You can retrieve this fact from many different sites either online or in books.
2. Culture pizza -

Here's how to make your personal culture pizza. Remember, these 10 categories are just guides for filling in the 10 slices of the pizza. Feel free to include your own ideas for categories. And ask a friend, parent, or grandparent to make a culture pizza too. Then you can compare cultures.

1. Each category can be a combination of pictures and words. (For example, if you play soccer you can cut out a picture of a soccer ball from a magazine and paste it into one of slices.)
2. If the slices are too small to display your choices, you can print out larger slices and paste on poster board.
3. Each slice should correspond to one category.
4. Clearly label each category.
5. Write neatly with a fine tip marker.
6. Firmly attach all magazine cutouts. (If you like baseball for instance, you might want to cut a photo of Mark McGwire out of a magazine and paste it into your pizza).
7. Share and compare your creation with other family members and friends. How are your cultures alike? How are they different? You may be surprised when your culture pizzas are as different as pepperoni and mushrooms!

Suggested Categories:

1. Family Members Slice
Your name, mom and dad's name, siblings?names, and other family members?names.

2. Family Traditions Slice
What language(s) do you speak? What is your religion? What holidays do you observe? Don't be shy! Tell us about your customs and traditions.

3. Clothing Slice
So what kind of clothes do you wear? What are your favorite sneakers? You get the idea!

4. Food Slice
Are you a burger addict or a veggie fan? Tell us what your favorite foods are. It's one more slice of the culture pizza.

5. Job Slice
What kind of job do you have now? What kind of job would you like to have in the future?

6. Sports and Fun Slice
What kind of sports do you like to watch? What do you like to do with your friends? Which sports do you play? Which clubs have you joined?

7. Education Slice
What are your favorite subjects in school? What are your education goals?

8. Technology Slice
What is your favorite type of technology? A cell phone? Television? Computer?

9. Arts and Entertainment Slice
What's your favorite type of architecture, music, art, and dance? What's your favorite movie, TV show, and book this year?

10. Politics Slice
Which country do you think has the best government? What kind of political party would you join, if any?

Art:

1. Clothes line Art show. Have the children create great works of art( are there any other kind?? ) and then wind string between two trees outside and hang the art work with clothespins on the string for the whole neighborhood to see!
2. Natural Art—

Materials needed:

 Clean, dry twigs of varying heights, lengths

 A roll of mural paper or even a roll of unused wallpaper

 Scissors to cut the mural paper to the desired length

 Acrylic paints and a brush

 Pine needles; tiny pinecones; little sticks/twigs, seed pods, flowers, or blossoms to decorate edges

 White glue

 Raffia or yarn for the hanger

What to Do:

Step One: Decide how large you want your mural to be. Lay your paper out lengthwise on a long table or the floor; be sure to lay it over newspaper in case of a spill. Then lay out your paints before you go on your walk.

Step Two: Take a walk in a nearby park or woods and begin collecting twigs of varying lengths; acorns, small pinecones, a handful of pine needles, and some small sticks.

Step Three: When you get home after your walk, clean and dry your twigs. Paint one side of a twig and lay it on the mural/wallpaper to leave a "print"; continue with remaining twigs. Stagger the prints into bunches, leaving space between each "set".

Step Four: Glue the smaller twigs, pinecones, and needles lengthwise along the edges to give the mural a "finished" edge.

Step Five: Braid or smooth out the raffia stings or yarn and knot at either end. Staple the string to the back/top of the mural with a stapler to use as a hanger.

Step Six: Hang the mural on a bulletin board or in your room.

Physical Activities:

1. Gardening-
2. Building sand castles
3. Hiking/camping
4. Surfing
5. White water rafting
6. Horse back riding
7. Fencing
8. Cross country running
9. Swimming
10. Rock Climbing

Recommended Books

For Adults

The Family Manager's Guide To Summer Survival: Make the Most of Summer Vacation with Fun Family Activities, Games, and More! -- Kathy Peel

101 More Drama Games for Children: New Fun and Learning with Acting and Make-Believe (Smart Fun Activity Books) -- Paul Rooyackers and Margreet Hofland

Grades 6- 8

My Side of the Mountain Jean Craighead George

My Brother Sam is Dead James Collier

Grades 4 and 5

Chasing Vermeer Blue Balliett

The Man Who Made Time Travel Kathryn Lasky

Grade 3

There’s An Owl in the Shower Jean Craighead George

Molly’s Pilgrim Barbara Cohen

Grade 2

Three Stories You can Read to Your Cat Sara Swan Miller

The Case of the Backyard Treasure Joanne Rocklin

Louise, Soccer Star? Stephen Krensky

Grade 1

The Hayloft Lisa Westburg Peters

The Outside Dog Charlotte Pomerantz

Gus and Grandpa at Basketball Claudia Mills

Beginners

Cats Larry Brimner

Why a Dog? By A. Cat Robin Koontz

Hanna’s Butterfly Marie Vinje

Footprints in the Sand Cynthia Benjamin

Some ideas on this document are from: http://school.familyeducation.com/summer/family-learning/36089.html