Mid-June newsletter
June 15, 2015
A quick note
I hope you and your family are enjoying the summer. I am learning this week at the Tots and Technology conference in Galveston, TX. Martha Bowden, the Lower School computer teacher and I just shared a wonderful presentation on project based learning today. My fingers are crossed about the weather arriving in Galveston in the next 24 hours.
This newsletter is packed with information and resources. Please take what you would like and share what you think your child will be interested in completing. I want to highlight, the Primer project and nurses' station sections. In addition, I encourage you to check out the article on shared iPads in the Kindergarten classes. Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions.
Enjoy the sunny days of summer.
Warmly,
Allison
Primer project
Common Sense Media Signature School
Common Sense Media, the national nonprofit organization dedicated to helping kids and families thrive in a world of digital media and technology, has certified The Episcopal School of Dallas as a Common Sense School for educating its students to be safe, smart, and ethical digital citizens.
I want to encourage parents to use this website as a guide in reviewing books, apps, movies, games, websites and TV shows. Use the review tab located in the top left corner of the website.
Letter from the Nurses' Station
Greetings from the ESD Nurses and Wellness team!
The forms for the nurses office are now completed online through CareFlow. Please check the private parent portal for a link and directions.
All students must have completed forms through CareFlow by July 31 to complete enrollment. If the student does not receive childhood immunizations for medical reasons or for reasons of conscience, you must have a signed, notarized affidavit from the Texas Dept. of State Health Services on file. This affidavit is valid for two years. For assistance please visit the following link:
https://webds.dshs.state.tx.us/immco/affidavit.shtm
Students will not be allowed to attend classes or practice with athletic teams until all paper work is complete. There are no exceptions - Texas law mandates this.
Start scheduling those doctor appointments now. Don't wait until the last minute...those summer spots fill up quickly!
If you have any questions, please contact us!
Sincerely,
Marcia Biggs, RN Carla Thomas, RN Cara P. Holmes, Ph.D.
A study on shared iPads in Kindergarten classes
Build-a-thon with Imagination Playground
One way that students can get to know this product is to download the free app Imagination Playground. In this app students can build and explore with the playground equipment.
This summer Imagination Playground is running a contest titled "Build-a-thon." How to Enter:
"Children between 2 and 10 years of age can submit photos of as many physical builds or app screen designs as they like to buildathon@imaginationplayground.com."10 Creative Ways to Keep Math Skills Sharp Over Summer
1. SCAVENGER HUNTS
You don’t have to be on vacation near a golf course to see math take place before your eyes, folks. Any sort of scavenger hunt will do. Head out in the backyard and go on a nature hunt and then count, sort, and group your treasures. Are you headed to the beach? See who can collect the most seashells and then do the same.
2. CARD AND BOARD GAMES
I am a huge fan of board games. Every time you play a game with your child you are working on math skills and boosting those problem-solving abilities. Play Monopoly with your child and let her be the banker. Teach your kids to play chess and they’ll be developing strategic thinking abilities. Dice, dominoes, even the game of War can be educational and fun!
(See The Educated Mom blog on board games and children and the Mindprint Learning exclusive Learning Strategy.)
3.PLAY STORE
My children love to set up our playroom like a store, get out the paper money and plastic coins, grab a few reusable shopping bags, and play store. In addition to teaching math skills, you can sneak in some early awareness of money and finances.
4. CREATE YOUR OWN RESTAURANT
This is one of my kiddos’ favorite activities. And, let’s be honest here, who doesn’t want a little help making dinner? Why not let your children do the work from start to finish. Sure, it might be a little messier than usual but you’ll be creating memories to last a lifetime and your children will be learning valuable math and life skills! Here’s how to do it:
- Allow your children to decide on dinner. They’ll need to find recipes (reading skills) and make a shopping list and a menu (writing skills).
- Take them to the grocery store and let them do the work. This includes actually paying for the shopping order. Think of all the reading, problem solving, and math skills involved in that activity alone.
- Set them loose in the kitchen! Let them follow the recipes and do all of the measuring themselves. Think of all the math involved in cooking and baking.
5. HAVE A LEMONADE STAND
There’s nothing like an old-fashioned lemonade stand on a hot summer day. Your child will learn valuable math skills in the process, including pricing, measurement, making change, and determining profit. Take it one step further and have a lemonade stand for a cause. Once your child adds up all those quarters, decide on a cause that is dear to your family and make someone’s day.
6. START LETTERBOXING OR GEOCACHING
Have you heard of letterboxing? It’s an outdoor recreational activity where folks hide weatherproof boxes in public places (ie., parks, hiking trails, etc.) for others to find, based on clues found online. This is a wonderful way to combine nature, fitness, and problem solving. Geocaching takes letterboxing to the next level by using GPS. There are millions of letterboxes and geocaches hidden around the world and it’s up to you to find them! (A bit of parental oversight, of course, is needed.)
7. MUSIC
Why not spend the summer trying a new instrument? There has been a lot of talk over the years about the link between music and mathematics. Musical training can help with sequencing, pattern recognition, memory, and attention skills. And do you want to know the best part? Music is fun- your kids won’t even know that they are fine-tuning those math skills!
8. EXPLORE MEASUREMENT
I don’t know about your kids, but mine love any opportunity to use grown-up tools and materials. Why not set them loose with measuring cups, ruler, yardstick, and scale- whatever you can scrounge up around the house- and see what happens? Measurement is a fun way to sneak in math, plus it helps with those cooking skills and who doesn’t want more help in the kitchen? Are you planting a garden? Why not involve the kids. Planting seeds and seedlings involves measurement, plus it can be fun to chart how fast those plants grow!
9. PLAY SPORTS
Have a family soccer game and take turns being the scorekeeper. That’s math, folks! Do you have a kiddo who is obsessed with baseball? Talk about all those stats you see throughout the course of a game: batting average, ERA, RBI, CG… I could go on and on and on. Compare your team’s stats to those of your opponent. You’ll be squeezing in a math lesson as you root, root, root for your home team!
10. STEM, STEM, STEM!
You can’t go anywhere these days without hearing STEM talk. And do you want to know why? STEM careers (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) are among the fastest-growing and most lucrative professions around. There are countless ways to incorporate STEM into your home, from books to games to toys.
Hopefully this list has given you some ideas for keeping those math skills sharp this summer.
This article was written by Cait Fitz. Cait is a school psychologist and mom to three.