Summer Reading - For Parents!

Our amazing summer reading suggestions are now in place for each of our classes at HTS.  This summer, our faculty will also be undertaking a summer reading assignment, and we thought we'd pose a challenge to you, our parents, as well.  Following are a few titles from our teacher summer reading list, and a few others that come highly recommended... So pick up a couple of these titles, or download them on your eReader... and head to the beach :)

Teach Your Children Well: Parenting for Authentic Success

By Madeline Levine

Psychologist Madeline Levine, author of the New York Times bestseller The Price of Privilege, brings together cutting-edge research and thirty years of clinical experience to explode once and for all the myth that good grades, high test scores, and college acceptances should define the parenting endgame. 
Teach Your Children Well is a toolbox for parents, providing information, relevant research and a series of exercises to help parents clarify a definition of success that is in line with their own values as well as their children’s interests and abilities.

Teach Your Children Well is a must-read for parents, educators, and therapists looking for tangible tools to help kids thrive in today’s high-stakes, competitive culture.

http://www.amazon.com/Teach-Your-Children-Well-Parenting/dp/0061824747/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1369852899&sr=1-1

Article Alert: The Touch Screen Generation - How Children Use iPads (and a list of suggested Apps!)

My flight was delayed on the way home from Spring Break in Florida yesterday, so I set out to buy a pile of magazines to pass the time.  Though I was briefly tempted by People Magazine's account of how Kate Middleton's pregnancy is progressing, the cover story of the Atlantic magazine caught my eye as a slightly more useful read: "The Touch Screen Generation: How Children Use iPads," by Hilary Rosen.  It's a fascinating piece for parents of young children (and their teachers!)  The link to the article can be found here.

Rosen says: "Norman Rockwell never painted "Boy Swiping Finger on Screen" and our own vision of a perfect childhood has never adjusted to accommodate that now-common tableau. Add to that our modern fear that every parenting decision may have lasting consequences—that every minute of enrichment lost or mindless entertainment indulged will add up to some permanent handicap in the future—and you have deep guilt and confusion. To date, no body of research has definitively proved that the iPad will make your preschooler smarter or teach her to speak Chinese, or alternatively that it will rust her neural circuitry—the device has been out for only three years, not much more than the time it takes some academics to find funding and gather research subjects. So what’s a parent to do?

Videos to Enrich the Mind

As I am a visual learner, and have a relatively short attention span, I have always loved educational videos. Schoolhouse Rock and I are old friends... and you all know how I love BrainPop.

This week, I discovered some neat new sources of educational videos on YouTube - to include Bill Nye the Science Guy and Schoolhouse Rock.  And I love the idea of Crash Course History and Biology.  Enjoy:

Crash Course History
This is a series of 37 fast-paced ten to twelve minute overviews of major concepts and themes in World History. These might be a fun way to kick-off or reinforce a unit in the Upper School.

Introducing Mathletics

After much research and discussion, the math teachers of HTS have decided to purchase a subscription to Mathletics for the 2012-13 school year for rising 1st - 8th graders.  The great news is that we are able to begin to use it over the summer.

As described in a previous blog entry,  I have heard wonderful things about this site from my friends who teach in International Schools.  It is a program that is aligned with the core curriculum.  Students are able to play online games to work on each math topic taught in a given year... and practice math facts by playing live against students from around the world.  It's incredibly engaging, and for kids who are competitive, it can be very motivating.

If you are interested in enrolling your child in the program before school begins in August, please contact Polly Sileo on psileo@htsdc.org.  She will need to know your child's full name and his or her homeroom teacher from last year.

10 Ideas for Practicing Math Skills This Summer

Last summer, I provided links to CoolMath4Kids and series of games to build skills in multiplication, such as Multiplication.com and Johnnie's Math Page.  I'd like to offer a few more ideas of websites that have activities spanning many of our grade levels:

1. IXL - this site offers comprehensive dynamic lessons and activities for every grade.  It is possible to take a look at the IXL, and try a series of sample problems, but to get full use, you must purchase a membership for a nomimal fee. A few of our teachers use this site, and love it.  The activities are engaging and the kids find it to be fun.   We will be looking into using this website next school year,  so please let me know if you try it and have any comments.

2. Mathletics - I have heard wonderful things about this site from my friends who teach in International Schools.  It's incredibly engaging, and for kids who are competitive, it can be very motivating.  This is an Australian website.  Again, it is a paid subscription, and we will be exploring it's use at HTS next year.  One of the elements of the site I love is a page called Rainforest Maths.  If you decide to subscribe, please let me know if you have any feedback!

3. Dreambox - We use this website with our 1st - 4th Graders, so they should be familiar with it, and be able to link to our school's page here.  Our younger students love the colorful, imaginative and challenging  games on the website, but never seem to have enough time to play it in school.  Perhaps over the summer would be a good time to work on reinforcing their math concepts!

4. PBS Kids Math Games - PBS Kids offers dozens of free games designed primarily for Lower School students in mind.  I would like to point out a particular group of games that tie into the Cyberchase show.  These games are designed with students aged 8-12 in mind, and our students (especially the 4th and 5th graders) find them to be incredibly fun.  The site is free of advertisements.

5. Internet4Classrooms - This site lists hundreds of games and challenges for students across all our grade levels - in all subjects.  It helps to know exactly what you might need practice with (say fractions), as sometimes I find it takes a bit of hunting to find the perfect game.  The good news is that all the games are free. The downside is that the advertising can get distracting.

6. Khan Academy - Khan Academy is a free website.  Students can set up an account using their HTS Email and password.  They can do activities to strengthen their skills from early learning through Calculus.  They can also watch videos to learn new skills or review old ones (it's great for parents to have a resource to brush up on skills learned years ago as well!)  If students enter their parents' information under the "coach" tab, parents can sign in as the coach and get useful information about activities completed as well as strengths and weaknesses.

7. EdHelper - This site provides hundreds of worksheets to help review skills.  Again, it encompasses all subjects and grade levels.

8. BBC Maths Key Stage 2 (through age 11)

I love the BBC websites because they tend to be very engaging and colorful - and always free and without advertisements.  The links to math sites are offered here, but BBC offers games and activities across a range of disciplines.

9. BBC Maths Key Stage 3 (through age 14)

 
10. Summer Skills - This is not a website, but a series of books recommended by Upper School Mary Shannon to help review skills.

Do you have any other amazing ideas to reinforce math skills?  If so, send me a comment below:

Globetrotting via Cyberspace!

I'd like to introduce a selection of websites that help you explore the world...
1. Google World Wonders Project

I found this new project to be so incredible.  This website allows students to explore palaces and castles, cities and towns, and archeological sites.  From the archaeological areas of Pompeii to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial, Google’s World Wonders Project aims to bring to life the wonders of the modern and ancient world.  Using Street View, 3D modeling and other Google technologies, Google has made these amazing sites accessible to everyone across the globe. With videos, photos and in-depth information, you can now explore the world wonders from your armchair just as if you were there. Check out the video below:

2. Free Rice - Geography

My students have played the Free Rice vocabulary games in class, but there is also a cool section devoted to geography.  It is possible to quiz yourself on World Landmarks, Flags of the World, World Capitals and  Identify Countries on a Map.  For each correct answer, you  earn 10 grains of rice to help end world hunger through the World Food Programme - how great is that?  Free Rice also offers a number of articles to help students understand the latest issues in the fight against hunger. Be sure to select the "Subjects" option at the top of the Free Rice home page to find the Geography options:

3. Toporopa

Wishing you could pack your bags to go to the Olympics this summer?  Intrigued by European monarchs or history? This site provides dozens of challenges to quiz students about all things European.  I found this site is particularly colorful and fun.  See how much you know!

PBS Kids - A great resource for kids - and parents

It is one of those too-hot to be outside for long kind of days, so I thought I'd introduce you to the PBS Kids Website, which has a tremendous range of games and activities for our younger students.

http://pbskids.org/

As you explore, you will see Sesame Street has a particularly strong site:
http://pbskids.org/sesame/

An Arthur has always been a huge favorite in the Morell home:
http://pbskids.org/arthur/

Be sure not to miss the Cyberchase site, which teaches strong math and problem-solving skills:
http://www.pbs.org/parents/cyberchase/index.html

And parents, if you have a moment, be sure to explore PBS Parents, which has resources on raising kids, education and planning activities :
http://www.pbs.org/parents/

Does your child have a favorite PBS Show?  Share it below! 

Exploring News Websites

A handful of news organizations have created wonderful learning sites for kids.  These sites often mix current events and games.  Let's start with our local favorite, the Washington Post KidsPage - nice in print, but the interactive games are great online:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/kidspost

I'm a big fan of the Newseum in DC.  Their website doesn't have a huge number of options for kids, but the interactive news trivia game is fun - probably for fourth graders and above:

http://www.newseum.org/newsmania/

The New York Times Learning Network is a comprehensive site for 7th and 8th graders - and high school students.  The site includes daily updates, including 6 Q's in the News, A Daily News Quiz, A Word of the Day, and This Day in History.

http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/  

I am particularly fond of the student crossword puzzles, which are topic specific.  Think Life in Colonial America, The 50 States, or The Revolutionary War.  You can print them out to play during a roadtrip, or play online.

Time Magazine for Kids online also has a number of games for kids:

http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/kids/games 

Ideas for Summer Learning from Common Sense Media

Parents,  if you haven't had a chance to get to know the Common Sense Media website, you should.  It is a great resource to help determine what media is safe and appropriate for your children.

According to their website:
"Common Sense Media is dedicated to improving the lives of kids and families by providing the trustworthy information, education, and independent voice they need to thrive in a world of media and technology.

We exist because our nation's children spend more time with media and digital activities than they do with their families or in school, which profoundly impacts their social, emotional, and physical development . As a non-partisan, not-for-profit organization, we provide trustworthy information and tools, as well as an independent forum, so that families can have a choice and a voice about the media they consume."

I received this posting of their ideas for summer learning today.  I haven't had a chance to preview all your suggestions, but it might be interesting for your family to explore.  Comment below if you have found something amazing!

The link:

Common Sense Media Summer Learning Ideas