Wednesday, June 18, 2014

My Summer Letter

Many parents have asked me for advice for keeping their scholars engaged in learning over the summer... here is a copy of the letter I sent home with report cards today.  This has been a fantastic school year and I feel so proud of all of the growth I saw in your children.  I hope you all enjoy your summer!!!

Dear Room 8 Families,

        I believe that summer should be a balance of unstructured play time that allows kids to be kids as well as some academic guidance to prevent the dreaded “brain drain.”  Having a gifted child presents a special challenge as they tend to have so much energy and curiosity, especially at this young age.  I would like to offer some suggestions for how to keep your child academically engaged this summer.

*Visit museums, zoos, & aquariums.  You can have your child choose a particular animal or artifact in a book beforehand and they can make it their mission to find it and learn all they can about it during their visit.  The Discovery Science center is always a fun choice!

*Spend time outdoors.  We are so lucky to live in a place with beautiful beaches and parks nearby.  Check out the Bolsa Chica Wetlands, Irvine Regional Park (in the city of Orange), or the Crystal Cove tide pools for a family day that will help your child to “think like a naturalist.”

*Keep a journal.  Writing every day (or a few times a week) will help your child practice their handwriting, writing skills, and summarizing.  Drawing pictures is an important part of journaling, too.  They will enjoy having a collection of summer memories afterwards.

*Write letters to a pen pal.  These letters can be handwritten and mailed or typed on the computer and emailed.  Do you have a friend with a child the same age?  There’s your instant pen pal!  As a challenge, they could write letters from a stuffed animal’s point of view like we did with Curious George this year.
*Read, read, read.  Ask your child questions about the books they are reading.  Let them see you reading, too.  Your children admire you and the example you set.

*Practice math applications in everyday life.
-Shopping?  Have your child add up the cost of a few items.  Ask them how much change you will get back. 
-Practice identifying two and three dimensional shapes (ex/ a baseball is a sphere)
-When they ask what time it is, remind them that they know how to read the clock.
-Give them simple equations to practice their mental math (ex/ We have 4 plates.  There are 10 people coming over for dinner.  How many more plates do we need?)

*Use www.swunmath.com or google “math magician” and click the first link to practice math facts.  If your child did not have a “4” for addition or subtraction facts they need to practice these facts every day.  Gifted students often resist this type of drill, but it is a necessary skill that they must master for success in the upper grades.  There are also flash cards in the dollar bins at Target if you prefer.

*Practice identifying depth and complexity in real life.  Look for patterns, details, big ideas, trends, etc.  Don’t forget about our theme of ORDER this year, or next year's theme of relationships.  Some examples are cause and effect, opposites, and families.  Help your child to identify the relationships around them to relate their own lives to the theme.

*Join a club, organization, or take lessons.  I know many of your children attend Vietnamese school, Sunday school, and instrumental lessons.  Those are all great choices, but don’t forget about the valuable character skills and all the fun that can come from being part of a sports team or club.  2nd grade is a great time to get involved with an organization like sports or scouting.  Many of our scholars can use help building their social skills and establishing strong friendships.  These types of organizations provide a structured, fun, environment that can contribute to a well-rounded child.  I especially recommend this for children without siblings who need to spend time with other kids and get some of their energy out.

*Be artistic.  Many of your children have great artistic talent (far beyond mine!) and can channel their energy into beautiful art.  Provide them with opportunities to draw, paint, make collages out of old magazines, even sculpt out of clay or playdough.  They can write a story to go with their art like we’ve often done in class.

*Practice typing skills.  With the new set of Common Core standards, students will be expected to type more work and even take tests on the computer.  Have your child practice proper typing by keeping their fingers on the home row.  This is a very valuable skill that takes time to develop.  They can use the free “dance mat” typing site or you can have them practice typing into a word document.  Again, they can benefit from watching you type correctly.

*Give your child an independent research topic.  This year we researched many topics including butterflies and ecosystems.  Choose a topic and have them use varied resources to learn about it.  Some ideas for topics are famous people, countries, and weather.
*Practice applying the reading comprehension skills to real life.  The 5 main skills are:
-Predict & Infer (ex/ We’re going to Grandma’s house.  What do you think we will do there?)
-Question (ex/ What would you like to learn about that animal?)
-Summarize (ex/ Tell me about your day.  What did you do first, next, and last?)
-Monitor and clarify (ex/ Do you understand what he said?  If not, how could you find out?)
-Evaluate (ex/ Did you like that movie?  Why or why not?)

I have enjoyed getting to know all of you this year and I hope that you will come back to visit.  I am so happy to be able to send your children to two truly amazing teachers, Mrs. Wells and Mrs. Fox, to continue their learning next year.  Enjoy this wonderful time with your brilliant, creative, imaginative, sweet children.

                                                Sincerely,
Mrs. Smith

lgravessmith@ggusd.us

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

The end of the year is almost here!!!

It was wonderful to see all of you at Open House last week.  I hope you enjoyed visiting our classroom.  I know how excited your children were to share their work with you!

Your scholars have been working very hard all year and we have several fun activities coming up to help us celebrate. 

The Ethan Allen Dance Festival will be on the morning of Tuesday, June 17.  All families are welcome to attend this fun event.  Each grade level will perform a dance.  The first graders will be singing and dancing to the Hukilau, a Hawaiian dance.  On that day, please remind your scholar to wear Hawaiian/surf/vacation style clothing if possible.


On Monday, June 16, we will be having a special "talent sharing time."  This will be a chance for students to show a special talent or share a project completed at home with their classmates.  We discussed in class what kinds of acts are appropriate (singing, dancing, magic, etc) based on the space and equipment available in the classroom.  Students need to be able to carry all of their own materials.  They may work in groups if they like.  This is not required, but many scholars have asked for a chance to perform or share special work so this is their time to shine for their friends!  I've asked the scholars to keep their sharing to about 3 minutes and to choose just ONE special thing to share.  Please let me know if you have any questions.

In addition, please check your child's Friday Folder for a note about the last day of school.