Hooray for Summer Time!
I'm so proud of all the progress the students in the Baldwin SCORES program have made this year. Each student has done a fantastic job working toward achieving their individual goals. I couldn't be prouder.
I have to extend a HUGE thank you to each of you who made a donation to our DonorsChoose.org project this spring. Wow! What an amazing response. Your generosity purchased an iPad mini for use by SCORES students. I appreciate your support so very much!
As we wind up this school year and look ahead to the 2014-15 school year, I'd like to share a few resources as well as suggestions to help prevent loss of learning over the summer. Yes, I definitely want your child to relax and play. After all, playing is the best way to learn, but also finding some fun ways to slide in practice/review opportunities will also help them be ready for the first day of school.
Once those 100 degree temps hit, it can be really tempting to resort to TV and video games, but please do what you can to limit the screen time and mix in some different play activities. Here are a few links to fun activities (with a little hidden learning mixed in!).
If your child needs a little extra practice on math facts, please use Xtramath.org. It is an easy-to-use site that is automatically time limited to about 5 minutes. So, no need for timers or negotiation. Why not make it a routine to do a quick round of Xtramath before logging onto Minecraft? I promise it will pay off for your child next year!
If your child does his best writing on the computer, consider having him spend a little time on keyboarding practice games this summer. It is very difficult to find time during the school day for keyboarding practice! Practicing at home is the key to using technology effectively at school. The faster he can find the correct keys, the less frustrating writing will be and the more time we can spend improving composition. Click here to view a list of good keyboarding game sites.
Look for authentic ways to encourage writing. Have your child help jot his favorite items on the grocery list, or send an email to a relative, or write a vacation postcard to a friend. If he doesn't have anyone to email, send it to me. I promise to write back!
Finally, I apologize for being a broken record (because I know I bring up this issue at every break!), but please remember that just because the kids are excited to have summer break doesn't mean that anxiety isn't present. Often, having a less structured schedule takes a toll on our kiddos. The use of a basic schedule can greatly reduce this stress. Here's a link to a previous post on how to use a basic, quick, easy-to-apply schedule to decrease anxiety and prevent behavioral issues. Click here for the post.
As always, please know that I check my email a few times a week over the summer, so if you have questions or changes happen over the summer that will affect your child's transition back to school in August, please let me know. I will be spending plenty of time hanging with Jackson & Jacob, reading tons and tons of great books and diving into new writing projects. So, if you see me in my "office" (aka: corner table at Starbucks buried in my laptop), please say hi! My husband, boys, and I are also planning a trip to Europe in August, so I may come back jet-lagged, but will have great stories to share with the kids. I hope you all have a wonderful, relaxing summer and enjoy time with your children!
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