All Ages: Books by Laurence Anholt, who penned several children's books about famous artists including Monet, Degas, Picasso and van Gogh. Books by David Macaulay, whose books have won numerous awards and honors including the Caldecott Medal, about different kinds
Alien Invasion
Adapted from a Chicago City Parks & Rec activity recommendation (used with permission) See a familiar outdoor setting with new eyes as you and your child pretend to be aliens on a mission to explore our planet and report back to
Recommended Summer Reading for the “People Smart” Child
All ages Mirror, Mirror: A Book of Reversible Verse. By Marilyn Singer. Read the poem in one direction and it tells the folktale from one point of view. Read it in the opposite direction and the point of view is
Fall Recipes Your Kids will “Gobble Gobble” Up
Few things are close to cooking for at-home learning activities that don’t feel like learning. There’s math involved in measuring and adjusting recipes; linguistic smarts involved in recipes & reviews; kinesthetic work involved in chopping/kneading/stirring/etc; interpersonal & communication skills involved since
Summer Reading Recommendations for “Number Smart” Kids
Growing Patterns: Fibonacci Numbers in Nature. By Sarah C. Campbell. Crisp design and clear photography introduce and depict Fibonacci patterns in nature. Fever Crumb. By Philip Reeve. A lone girl sets out on a mission to retrieve lost technology in a
99 Days of Summer Learning – Have You Signed Up Yet?
Have you heard that 2/3 of the 9th grade achievement gap is due to Summer Slide? This Summer, we’re helping parents make sure their kids’ mind muscles stay strong and active by emailing a learning activity every day between Memorial
Shape Poetry
A shape poem is one that describes an object and is written in the shape of the object. To get your child’s creative juices flowing, you can look at examples of shape poetry here. Next, have your child pick an object
Starstruck Storytime
There’s no better time than warm, summertime nights to stargaze. Connecting the dots in the sky with the mythology from different cultures can leave your linguistic child star struck. Check books out of the library telling the stories of each
You’ll Hit It Out of the Park with Me In Your Corner
One of the most critical vocabulary elements to “nail down” when learning American English (or any culture’s language) is the use of idioms. An idiom, as defined by dictionary.com, is a group of words whose meaning cannot be predicted from
Remember Which State is Which? Naturally!
Build on your child’s blossoming naturistic and visual intelligence to connect state nature and name. Print out (or purchase) a good sized map of the United States, then decide which of the following to “map” on top of each state: