School is Over...Now What?

1. Clean out work and papers from the year. With your child, pick the items from the school year that both of you would like to preserve and throw the rest in the trash. I recommend keeping those things that show creativity and thinking. Worksheets do not accomplish that. 

2. Revisit goals from the beginning of the year. Have your child take ownership. Ask them, "How did you do on your goal? Did you meet it? Why or why not? What could I have done to help you? What are your goals for the next school year? What do you want to accomplish this summer? How will we get there?

3. Decide together on the plan for summer reading. Read. Read more. Build time into your daily routine for reading. Allow your child to read books that are on his/her reading level or easier. They will build fluency and confidence. Click on Mrs. Green's webpage for more ideas: http://res.southlakecarroll.edu/pages/Rockenbaugh_Elementary/Classes/GreenJulie 

4. Spend one minute a day to review math facts. This is easy.  First, master all addition facts. Then, move to subtractions facts, then multiplication and division facts. This can be done while brushing your teeth in the morning, driving to baseball practice, or while making lunch. One minute. Easy Peezy.

5. Teach your child about digital citizenship and internet safety. Put a time limit on the use of digital devices in your household. Kids and adults need time to unplug and be with one another. Carefully monitor and watch what your kids are doing on their devices. Follow the Making Sense blog: https://www.commonsensemedia.org/blog .

6. Play! Go outside. Last summer I invited you to join the staff and me in reading Play by Stuart Brown, M.D. We are continuing our efforts in focusing upon development of our Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics learning. I hope this summer will provide you the opportunity to play with your children. Build, explore, construct, make, and investigate together. Play contributes significantly to brain growth and development. Another recommendation to read is Last Child in the Woods, by RichardLouv. This book describes what he calls Nature Deficit Disorder and the positive benefits of outdoor exploration on children’s physical and emotional health. Louv states, "The future will belong to the nature-smart—those individuals, families, businesses, and political leaders who develop a deeper understanding of the transformative power of the natural world and who balance the virtual with the real. The more high-tech we become, the more nature we need.”

7. Be happy. I see overachieving parents constantly putting themselves last. Science shows that in order to raise happy children, we must first be happy parents. Find something enjoyable for you. Read about how to raise happy kids: TIME Magazine article. "Ten-year-olds who are taught how to think and interpret the world optimistically are half as prone to depression when they later go through puberty."

Have a wonderful summer full of fun, wonder, exploration and play!

To the greatest of days,

Mrs. Young