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]]>Back to School is an important time to set habits that last throughout the school year. Journal writing is essentially a question of just developing a habit. Once the routine is established, keeping to it is easy, and its rewards are so valuable that it can become like distance running—those who do it can’t do without it. If you can get your youngster started, he’ll thank you for the rest of his life.
The trick (and huge reward, of course) is to fill the diary, to have it to look back on—and, as kids soon discover, to be able to draw upon its content for school assignments all year long.
Around ages seven, eight, nine, children usually love the idea of keeping a diary. And, changes to everyday life – like the start of a new school year – present lots of new things and ideas to write about! So, let’s talk about how to help your child get started.
Materials:
Getting Ready
Observe for a week or so how your child uses his time. When might be a convenient time for him to do his journal writing? If he can use your computer, consider whether he might prefer to keep his journal electronically instead of in a book. If your child will write in his own book, browse in a book or stationery store to select a blank book or diary that will be visually appealing to him. Whether he writes on the computer or in his own personal book, get him a pocket-sized notebook to use for quick jotting when he’s away from the computer or his writing time, so that he can refer to it later when he writes his journal entry.
Think about whatever exposure to diaries and personal journals you may have had.
Consider keeping a journal yourself and buy yourself a blank book you like—or plan to do it on your computer.
Brainstorm together a long list of all the possible things he could write about at some time in his journal. As you brainstorm, have him write the list on the inside back or front cover of his journal.
Brainstorm also all the different kinds of entries he could make—lists (10 best…, top 10 reasons for…), jokes, poems, narrative accounts of true events, stories he makes up, letters to himself or others, drawings, copying in something he’s read or heard that he likes or objects to, pros and cons of doing something or making some choice, etc.
And if you can, try journal writing yourself. Then share some of what you write with him. Schedule some of your writing to coincide with his so that you can both be sitting there scribbling together—fellow diarists!
Activity from Kaplan’s Making the Grade: Grades 3-4, Creating a Successful Learning Environment at Home.
Getting Ready
Select a couple of books you know your child is likely to enjoy. Get advice from a teacher or children’s library or ask your child what book she’s heard about that she’d like to read. You might consider a book from which a popular movie has been made such as Little Women or Aladdin or The Incredible Journey.
If you haven’t read aloud to your child for a long time and feel a bit rusty about getting started again, try reading a little of the story aloud on your own, just to see how easy it really is.
Think about the best time of day to set aside 15 minutes or so for reading together on some kind of regular basis.
Activity: Reading Aloud
Activity from Kaplan’s Making the Grade: Grades 3-4, Creating a Successful Learning Environment at Home.
]]>Check out these favorite kids’ books recommended at the #KaplanKids Twitter Party! Don’t forget to comment to add your recommendations to the list.
Book List
What are your kids’ favorite books?
]]>Getting Ready
Decide whether you are going to make number cards (index cards work well) or use a modified deck of playing cards for this game. You will use four of these number cards to build each of your numbers. Then make your two sets of place value labels using 3” X 5” index cards or something just about that size. Write one of the place value words—ones, tens, hundreds, or thousands—horizontally on each of the four cards. You will use these place value cards to label the digits as you build numbers.
With your child, select a flat playing area—the kitchen table is fine—and let the fun begin!
Activity: Build the Bigger Number
Shuffle the number cards and place the deck number-side down on the playing surface where both of you can reach it. To demonstrate game play, go first and take the top card, turn it over, and put the card below any of your place value labels. For example, you draw a 6 and place it in the tens column. Keep in mind that you want to build the biggest number you can with your four cards; but once you place a card, you cannot move it.
At the end of the round, each of you should read your four-digit number out loud and compare the two numbers that you’ve made. Determine which number is bigger. That person gets one point for the round. The person with the smallest number gets a penalty point for the round. Remember that the person with the fewest points at the end of five rounds wins. Clear the number cards, shuffle the deck, and play again.
Play as many rounds as you want. When you finish, put the cards somewhere handy so you can easily play some more at any time.
What activities do you use to give the kids math practice in a new and fun way?
Activity from Kaplan’s Making the Grade: Grades 3-4, Creating a Successful Learning Environment at Home.
]]>Materials
Getting Ready
Talk with your child about books that he likes and books he doesn’t like. Think about ways to describe books that would help other kids know what was a good read. Think up a set of questions about books and write them down.
Make a book report form. If your child likes to write, set up questions that he can write answers to. If writing will get in the way of his doing more reading, make up a form like a report card for the book. You and your child can assign letter or number grades for quality of story, interest of characters, illustrations, or whatever else the two of you agree should be noted about a book. You could even set up scales of 1-10 for different aspects of the book. Leave space at the bottom for at least one sentence of general comment. The report can then be photocopied, printed from a computer, or individually created. Make at least five copies to begin with.
Activity: A Report Card for Books
Take turns reading the selected book to each other. How much each of you reads can depend on your energy as well as that of your child. Depending upon the demands of the book and your child’s reading skills and comfort level, adjust how much each of you reads. The important element is the sharing back and forth of both reading and listening.
After making sure there is a mention of the author and title, be flexible about how your report form is used. Change what is on your report cards to make them work for you, your child, and the books you choose. The goal is to have the evaluation belong to your child, but you could decide together to have you add your thoughts, too, perhaps in a different color.
Activity from Kaplan’s Making the Grade: Grades 3-4, Creating a Successful Learning Environment at Home.
Activity from Kaplan’s Making the Grade: Grades 3-4, Creating a Successful Learning Environment at Home.
]]>Smart Track is the perfect way to start the summer strong. It’s a fun, interactive way for your child to continue to build critical math and reading skills all summer long.
With the Kaplan Kids Smart Track program, your child will benefit from:
All this for just $4 for your first 5 weeks! So what are you waiting for? This offer is only good when you enroll today and enter promo code 4JULY4 on the Payment Information page.
*Offer valid for new customers only for first 5 weeks of program. After 5 weeks, enrollment is $29 per month. Must enroll between Friday, July 1, 2011 and Monday, July 4, 2011.
]]>Smart Track is the perfect way to start the summer strong. It’s a fun, interactive way for your child to continue to build critical math and reading skills all summer long.
With the Kaplan Kids Smart Track program, your child will benefit from:
All this for just $4 for your first 5 weeks! So what are you waiting for? This offer is only good when you enroll today and enter promo code 4JULY4 on the Payment Information page.
*Offer valid for new customers only for first 5 weeks of program. After 5 weeks, enrollment is $29 per month. Must enroll between Friday, July 1, 2011 and Monday, July 4, 2011.
]]>Materials
Getting Ready
On windy days, talk with your child about what can be seen (or heard, or felt) that gives some indication of how strong the wind is blowing. Look in the weather section of the newspaper for reports on wind velocity. Do this activity during or after a stormy period when your child’s interest in the wind’s power is likely to be high.
Help your child assemble the materials he’ll need for making his wind measuring machine. Then assist him as needed in the following steps.
Activity: How the Wind Blows
People talk about averages a lot in a casual way, but the term has a precise meaning in math, where it’s also called the “mean” or “arithmetic mean.” To calculate the average of a set of quantities, you add them up and then divide that total by the number of quantities or items in the set.
Materials
Getting Ready
Think of some areas of interest for your child (baseball? basketball? a favorite team?) and then make a list of some ideas for what kinds of averages might be calculated related to them.
Activity: On the Average…
Your role in this activity is finding frequent opportunities for your child to practice finding averages, whether calculating them in her head or using a calculator. At the same time, she can come to realize that figuring averages can be useful, providing interesting information and even some fun!