Try some sentence days at your house

I have yet to meet a child who doesn't benefit from writing practice. How about instituting Sentence Days at your house? Each day, declare a number of sentences that will be written. You can have One-Sentence Days and Two-Sentence Days for the very young, just-getting-started writers, and Ten-Sentence Days or even Twenty-Sentence Days for older students. Then sometime during the day, have everyone stop and write their sentences. You can offer a topic, like what happened during the day or describing a favorite TV show or video game, or you can let them have at and come up with their own topics. The point is just to keep them writing. And remember that while the Sentence Days can and should have different numbers to keep everyone guessing, it's important that the average number keep increasing gradually. We want the kids to become more fluent writers, and practice like this is a great way to do that.

Gearing up for Summer Vacation

Well, we're heading into the home stretch of school-three more days around here. It will be nice to see the kids kick back a bit and enjoy their extra time at home. I know mine always very much look forward to it.

I do know, though, that many children have academic trouble after such a long break. How about a pledge this summer that you won't let that happen to your kids? Promise me that you'll get them using their brain on some academic endeavor at least three times each week. You can try out some of the learning ideas that I'll be giving you, or you can come up with your own. However you do it, though, don't let those brains get rusty over the summer!

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Add a little bounce to your math fact practice. Use a basketball or bouncy playground ball to give some rhythm to reciting the math facts. The gross motor action will make the activity more fun for the kids, and even will help with memorization. Do it like this: choose a math fact (any will do) like 6 x 7 is 42. Say 6 (and bounce the ball), say times (and bounce), say 7 (and bounce again), say is (and bounce one more time) and say 42 (and shoot the basket or throw the ball to another player). Try it! Your active student will have a great time.

Good Morning!

I'm playing catch up today-I've been neglecting my classes and my students for about a week now, and I'm feeling REALLY guilty. So this morning's job is to get everything graded and everyone's questions answered. And new lesson plans prepared for the coming week, and a few articles written for my site (http://www.reading.allinfoabout.com), and, and, and, and!

Is school out yet in your area? Our kids have to go until next Wednesday, but I know that a number of districts around us have dismissed already. In a few days, kids around the country and maybe even the world will be saying "I'm BORED!" Here's a response:

Check with your child's school and get a list of books that they feel kids this age ought to read. If you can't find one at school, try the children's librarian in your hometown, or check online. Once you've found the magic list, have your child choose a book to read.

Reading is only part of the battle, though. In order to get the most out of the experience, your student needs to respond to the book in some fashion. Bookreports are the old-fashioned way to do this, and many kids will balk at doing them, especially in the summer. Instead, try challenging them to write a screen play for the book, create a newspaper edition about it, or write the diary of the main character. When you use more creative response options, you'll tap into different learning styles and will help kids to see that a cursory reading isn't enough to be truly literate. True literacy involves deeper thinking than that. Here are a few more response ideas to try: create a story web (connected shapes that show relationships), make a poster of graffitti that includes quotes and applicable sayings, write a version of the story that tells what happened after the last page, and take a pivotal event in the story and rewrite the ending as if the characters had made a different decision.

Keep reading!!

Summer is almost here...

It's hard to believe, isn't it? Another school year come and gone. I've been quiet because my oldest dd just graduated. Been pretty hectic around here, with all the celebrations and all. But hopefully now I can get back on track and give you some fun ideas to keep your kids learning all summer long.

And that's what we're aiming for, isn't it? Just because school is out doesn't mean that learning should grind to a halt. Study after study has shown that if academic skills are not practiced regularly over the summer, kids actually regress with their skill level. Teachers know this and often the first several weeks of school are spent in review! You can give your kids a head start simply by having them use their brains a bit over the next few months. Believe me, it's well worth the effort and even the occasional fight.

You probably won't have much luck with sitting them down to do traditional book work unless you become the schoolwork enforcer. However, there are ways to sort of sneak the learning in while they're not looking. Those are the types of activities that you're looking for and those are the types of activities that you'll find here. Not everything will suit everyone, but chances are good that you'll find something a few times a week that will intrigue your kids, or that something I say will spark an idea of your own.

And without further ado, here is one to try:

Go on a photo scavenger hunt! Make a list of things for your child to snap pictures of. This can be as simple as names of objects or items in your yard or neighborhood, or it can be trickier. Try riddles, making an alphabet book, taking pictures of items of certain sizes or shapes, or other creative groupings. Match the level of difficulty with your child's needs. Arm the kids with cameras-the digital kind, the disposable kind, or whatever you have around the house. If you have more than one child, try a competition. Or make the game cooperative. The finished products can be gathered into a scrapbook for even more learning fun.

Phone Book Math

Looking for a quick and easy way to have the kids practice big math problems? Just grab your phone book and have your kids add or subtract phone numbers. How much bigger is your phone number than your neighbor's? How much do the pizza place's phone number and the gas station's phone number add up to? How many phone numbers do you have to add up to get past ten million? Past a billion?

Good Morning! (and a study aid for your older student)

Hi and good morning! Sorry to have been away for so long. I've been pretty sick, actually, and awfully tired. Had bronchitis (again!) and that really wears on a person. I'll be glad when this bout is over, since I'm barely keeping up with the things that *have* to be done each day.

Eldest dd had her senior prom yesterday-the gang is currently snoozing in the basement after the after-prom party she held late last night. The other two are currently in Lansing at the state Science Olympiad competition-I hope they're having fun!

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Is your older student doing that last-minute push to get ready for finals? Show him or her how to outline chapters. This vital study skill isn't being stressed in most classrooms, and many haven't a clue how to do it. By making a written outline of the material to be learned, your student will be tapping into several different learning modes and so make the information more memorable.

Is it Monday already??

Yes, I guess it is! Off we go in another week. What are you planning? I'm busy setting up summer tutoring schedules and trying desparately to keep up with my kids. Seems like they're heading in opposite directions more and more. It's the age, I'm sure. Teenagers are constantly on the go.

We're all registered for summer camps, and busy planning Vacation Bible School and summer Scout activities. School will be out before we know it! And that means my oldest dd will graduate, too. The first one to leave the nest. **sigh!** Fifteen years ago I couldn't even imagine this moment, but here it is. I'll have to be careful not to blink, or the other two will disappear, too!

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Get them writing (or at least telling a story) with this fun activity: Check the personals section of your newspaper's classified ads. Pick an ad and tell the story of what led up to its being placed and what happened after the ad appeared in the paper. How did the situation end?