Watch a short film or movie scene that your child hasn’t seen before with the sound off. Can s/he tell what was happening with Character X in the scene? How did they feel? How about Character Y? What about their faces,
Streams, Sculptures & Screens
Introduce your kids to the visual natural masterpieces of Andy Goldsworthy. Then, go on an outdoor “explore” with your kids and your camera phone with the intention of creating your own natural mixed medium masterpieces. As with Andy’s work, your
Cute “Creepy Crafty”
With October starting this weekend, many of the topics of conversation in our house have started to orbit around Halloween. What should we wear? How are we going to decorate? When can we get a pumpkin? Which neighborhoods are we
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
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
Dance Party!
Choreograph a routine to the chorus of a favorite piece of music and teach the whole family the dance. It’ll be like your own personal macarena! Anytime you hear it on the radio, family members listening have to do 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
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
Backyard Bug Banquet
Use your child’s gifts for observation and analysis and use your backyard or nearby park as a math & science lab. One way Deborah Churchman of American Forests suggests is to mix overripe fruit and honey in a blender, then
article originally written for LessonPlanet by Jen Lilienstein For many kids, annual standardized testing is one of the highest periods of stress1 during the school year. In fact, according to the Kids Health1 website, the number one kid stressor is