Inspire Insider
Bringing families together, one newsletter at a time!
Tuesday, January 21, 2020
Quote of the Week
School News and Important Dates
Learning Period 4 Ends This Week
Celebrate 100 Days of School
Don't Miss Our Vendor Fair!
Last Chance to Sign Sign Up for Kindness Day Events!
Parents' Night Out
Inspiring Parents
Parents learned a bit during last Wednesday’s Inspiring Parents webcast which asked the questions: Am I Doing Enough? Am I Doing This Right?. The session was recorded. It helps a lot if you click on the link below which automatically collects your email into a spreadsheet which makes it easier to respond to the hundreds of requests for the link to the webcast recording and resources. http://bit.ly/InspiringParents_010820
Inspiring Parents meets the first Wednesday of each month from 1-2 where homeschooling parents can learn tips to grow their teaching toolkit. On February 5, we focus on writing.
Field Trip Tip
1. Log in to www.icsinspirationstation.net and you will see “Hi (your name)” on the top right, with a little drop down arrow next to it. *Tip: if you're on your phone, just turn it horizontally and this will show.
2. Press the arrow and it will offer the option of viewing “My Account.”
3. Click on "My Account" and it will list all of the field trips you have signed up for. This includes all the links to the pages where you signed up, so you can find the lead teacher's name, email address and phone number!
An Important Message About Field Trips
Inspire Planners Feedback
It may feel too soon, but Inspire is already planning their 2020-2021 school planners and we'd love to hear your thoughts on what you thought of this year's planners!
If you missed the Bravewriter webcast
Julie Bogart, creator of BraveWriter shared techniques for how to incorporate writing across the curriculum and ways to make it fun.
If you missed the live webcast, click on this link http://bit.ly/BraveLearnerFreeResources to add your email address and receive Writing Across the Curriculum, Writer's Jungle and High School Writing Help, as well as the Brave Learner Companion Guide.
Parent Testing Resources Website
Academic Video Library
Instructions to access Academic Video Library can be found here.
Orange County History Day - Natural History Day
To learn more about this unique opportunity, please visit https://ocde.us/EducationalServices/STEMandHumanities/History/Pages/History-Day.aspx
If your child is interested in participating in this year's contest, please contact Chuck Glowacz: chuck@inspireschools.org
California Homeschool Parent Association
Click here to view the Statewide Executive Board New Officers!
Field Trips and Events
Click on the flyer to view the event!
All new field trips open on Wednesdays at 8am for ticket bookings.
Community Connections: park days, high school hangouts and more!
Below is the newsletter for January and the new one for February. We’re looking forward to seeing you as we continue to build relationships within our community. Please RSVP in the Field Trip and Events website.
January OC Community Connections Newsletter
February OC Community Connections Newsletter
We would like to ask that if you are unable to attend an event that you have RSVP’d for, please cancel your ticket and let the coordinator for that location know. It helps with supplies and planning. Thank you!
If you need any assistance, please reach out to the CC in that area or to our Regional Community Coordinator, Gina Garland: ggarland@inspireschools.org
Educational Tools
Sassafras Science
The Sassafras Science Adventures series is designed to work with a variety of ages. This is possible because:
- The novels are on a 5th-grade reading level, so a middle school student can read it on his or her own. Alternatively, the whole family can listen to the novel as a read-aloud.
- The activity guide provides you with suggestions for older (middle school) and younger (elementary) students, so it will help you as a teacher pull out the key concepts and provide you with options to enhance what the students are learning.
- The logbook is very open-ended so that you can tailor the program to the individual student's needs. We also offer a lapbook as another option for recording what your student is learning.
The series offers multiple options so that you can provide a quality living books education in the sciences for a range of students.
The following articles will help you see how you can use living books to teach science to the different age groups:
- How to use living books for science with elementary students
- How to use living books for science with middle school students
When you use the series as your main science curriculum, you will:
- Read a chapter in the adventure-style fictional novel each week.
- Then, you will choose one or more activities from the activity guide or lapbooking guide to enhance what the students have learned from the novel.
- The students will record what they have learned in their own SCIDAT logbook or lapbook.
The novel and supplemental materials work together to create a full homeschool science curriculum. Check out this post for more information.
You can read the Sassafras Science Adventure novels at whatever pace you choose. That said, each book is 18 chapters long. So, if complete a chapter and the corresponding activities per week, you will need two books for a full school year.
You can purchase all five audiobooks here for $75. Charter funds may be used.
Homeschooling Advice
Literature-based Learning vs. Online Lessons for Elementary School
How much technology should be part of a child’s elementary homeschool curriculum? New homeschoolers wrestle with this question quite a bit. Even experienced homeschoolers weigh the pros and cons year by year as they choose new curriculum.
Should you opt for online classes and digital learning programs?
Or should you stick with physical books?
Should you turn the teaching over to a sophisticated software, or should you sit with your kids and direct their learning yourself? Sometimes an online approach seems more modern, more measurable, and far more convenient since the parent doesn’t have to invest as much time.
Kids love playing with smartphones and tablets, so it seems natural to make the most of that fascination when it comes to homeschool, right? Apps and games claim to teach preschoolers a wide variety of necessary skills: the alphabet, phonics, colors, numeracy, etc. There are subscription-based, online programs that offer to take the teaching off your hands and guide your children through all the skills they need in an orderly sequence. But for my elementary learners, I choose literature-based learning as the foundation of our homeschool instead of mostly digital options. Before handing the tablet to your preschooler or putting your grade schooler in front of a computer screen, consider these pros and cons.
Read the rest of the article here.
Local Events
Junior Ranger Day at the Bay
Come earn your Junior Ranger Badge and Certificate at Upper Newport Bay. Participants will go on a guided hike, complete a short service project, and take the junior ranger oath. Activities will be designed for learners in the 9-12 age range, but everyone is welcome.
Minors aged 16 and younger must have legal guardian present at all times. Rain will cancel the event.
When: January 26, 2020
Where: Peter and Mary Muth Interpretative Center, Newport Beach
Registration required here. For more information call (949) 923-2250 or email unbic@ocparks.com
Festival of Human Abilities
Celebrate the Creative Spirit of People with Disabilities
Join the Aquarium of the Pacific for its seventeenth annual Festival of Human Abilities, a celebration highlighting the creative talents and abilities of people with disabilities.
This event will feature wheelchair dance, live music, sign language choirs, art demonstrations, and accessible SCUBA diving demonstrations. Participate in free classes led by people who have disabilities. Sign language interpreters will be present at all major shows, and an audio tour and a visitor guide in Braille are available for those who are blind.
When: January 25, 2020 – January 26, 2020
Where: Aquarium of the Pacific, 100 Aquarium Way, Long Beach
Cost: Included with general admission to guests. Free to Aquarium members; 20% off for their guests.
The Revolution - Living History in Huntington Beach Central Park
When: February 15th & 16th, 2020
Where: Huntington Beach Central Park
Cost: Free!
Find more details here.
Your Orange County Team
Community and Connection
Facebook Page
Instagram Page
Orange County Parent Resource Site
Ladan Rashidi - OC Family Liaison
Shaemanique King - OC Family Liaison
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