Adapted with permission from Chicago Park District’s “Once Upon a Day Camp” Guide Read selections from an anthology like The Rattle Bag and compare the word choices of the authors from different eras. How has the English language changed over time? What
Forces of Nature
Inspired by 200+ Active Learning Strategies by James A. Bellanca Play some nature-based music (we recommend trying some of George Winston’s Seasons based piano solos from the early 1980s on YouTube). Have your child pretend to be either the forces
Paint by Part of Speech
Brush up your budding artist’s English skills by transforming a paint-by-numbers download into a a paint-by-part-of-speech. (Or rhyming words for the little ones.) 1. Download a paint by numbers drawing off the internet (this one came from http://allkidsnetwork.com/color-by-numbers/) 2. Import
One-Size-Fits-All Doesn’t Work for Education
by Meredith Resnick, M.Ed & MA I have always been skeptical of clothing items that say one-size-fits-all. And for good reason! Although those gloves with the ‘one size works for everyone’ tag may in fact fit my 4 year old
Skillful Singing
For most adults, recalling the alphabet goes hand-in-hand with singing the tune, as do many of the concepts we learned in school. For musical kids, this effect is even more pronounced. Chat with your child about some of the language
Innerspace List Poems
Adapted with permission from the Chicago City Park District’s “Once Upon a Day Camp” Guide, which was adapted from original source “Art & Poetry Projects for Kids”, by Alice George Using a piece of butcher paper, draw an outline of
Money Matters & Markers
In our current age of plastic money, it’s not just our government that no longer grasps the concept of money & budgets…it’s our families and kids, too. While it’s no secret that allowances can help kids to understand the value
After Happily Ever After
Choose a favorite story to act out as a family…but don’t start at the beginning–start at the END! Have each family member choose a different character to play and act out what happens next in the character’s lives. Extra Credit: Every
Using Personality Type to Enhance Music Education
Bonnie TeVelde wasn't always a music school director—she started as an accountant and business operations consultant that helped clients develop their businesses. She was frustrated and started a music education on the side to fill her soul in a way
Family Theme Song
Decide on a piece of music that will be your family “theme song”. What about it made your children choose that song? The lyrics? The tempo? The melody? How about theme songs for each individual family member? Extra Credit: Have your