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
Color De-Coding
Depending on your child's reading level, use color coding to help kids see patterns in spelling, vocabulary or grammar. For instance, if your child is learning to read, find an article in a magazine at home or print out a
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
Thumb Ball
Via Childrens-Choice.org (used with permission) Blow up a multi-colored beach ball, then using a sharpie, draw an “equator” on the ball, then number each section from 1 to 12. Toss the ball to different family members and call out the operation to
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
Now You’re Cooking!
It most likely won't take much convincing to get your linguistic child to read or verbally practice language arts over the summer. But you can stretch both your child's verbal and math skills by trying “worldly” recipes together. Whether you
Sing Like a Bird
Pop Quiz: How many cereal brands can your child name? How about fast food restaurants? Now ask him/her to name all the birds s/he can remember. There are probably just as many bird species in your neighborhood as fast-food brands,
Poetry Puzzle
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
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
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