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
Family Activity Friday – World Music!
This weekend, listen to some music from other parts of the world with your family. What different instruments are used? How about harmonies, chords, dynamics or rhythms? Do these differences in the country’s music give you any clues with respect
“Uno Más” Game Repurposing Post
For those of you who have enjoyed playing our repurposed Candy Land and Twister games, here’s one for another game you probably have in your home that may or may not be collecting dust. UNO! Take the subjects in which
Haiku and Tanka
Pick up a child-friendly Haiku collection like If Not for the Cat or Cricket Never Does to introduce your child to the art and science of Haiku and Tanka. Talk about the structure of Haiku (5 syllables in the first line, 7 syllables in
Quick Tips for Error-Proof Writing
A guest post by Brian Patterson of Grammarly For many people, there is nothing more annoying than a typo. Be it a misspelled word in the newspaper or a punctuation problem on a blog post, readers are almost immediately distracted
Get in Gear for Back-to-School :: LANGUAGE ARTS
One day closer to the first day of school… Below, we’ve compiled our favorite 10 language arts activities we’ve featured over the summer (as well as our Summer Reading Lists) to make sure your child gets in gear ahead of
Scripted Summer
If your child cringes at the thought of summer reading lists, try having him/her read screenplays with you from some movie favorites instead on http://www.imsdb.com/genre/Family. (Or, if your child is still an early or pre-reader, read a few scenes from
What a Character!
Adapted from a post on Minds in Bloom by Rachel Lynette. Used with Permission. “If there is beauty in character, there will be harmony in the home. If there is harmony in the home, there will be order in the
Learning Tricks & Treats
In our house, we’re working with my 1st grader on quickly reading letter blends instead of sounding them out. (E.g. ing, ack, ou, tion, kn, etc.) But, flashcards are boring–not just for HER but for ME. Being that I am
Letter-Perfect Park Poems
Adapted with permission from Chicago Park District’s “Once Upon a Day Camp” Guide Go to a park or into another natural setting (e.g. beach, woods, etc.) with your child. Then show your child a letter perfect poem like this one (a poem