So to make it easier, I just decided to post the internet links that Stephanie used to get her Bucket List ideas from.
http://littlewonderdays.blogspot.com/2010/05/puple-summer-bucket-list.html
50 summer crafts for kids
http://thelongthread.com/?p=4054
100 free things to do with your kids
http://www.digitalreflections.typepad.com/digital_reflections/2009/06/100-free-things-t0-do-with-your-kids-this-summer.html
Stephanie points out in her notes that you may have to remove some things from the list that don't fit your family, add a few favorites from past years, etc...
She also says that even though some of the activities only take 10-15 minutes, it gives the kids something to look forward to and talk about. She suggests that you can even put your strip of paper from the bucket list and post it on a calendar so you can look back and see what you did over the week/month.
Have fun!
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
The Bucket List-Summer Fun!!
Hi Friends!
Check this out! Great ideas for the family for summer!
Facebook Stephanie Cassel Deininger: Summer Fun: The Bucket List
Thanks for the great idea, Stephanie!
-Lisa
Check this out! Great ideas for the family for summer!
Facebook Stephanie Cassel Deininger: Summer Fun: The Bucket List
Thanks for the great idea, Stephanie!
-Lisa
Thursday, June 24, 2010
More on gifted kids...follow up
A few days ago I blogged about gifted kids and it sparked some very interesting comments and insights on facebook. I love this social networking stuff. This led to someone leading me to a blog that posed the question, "How do you talk about your gifted kid?"
I don't have the answer to that, because as I've stated before, my daughter is only 3 and it's a little early to tell one way or another whether or not she's gifted. Well, I mean academically. I think all kids are gifted in one way or another, but some have the gift of intellect and a very high IQ. And yes, it's hard to talk about your child who's gifted to someone who is just excited their son passed the spelling test he studied so hard for.
I do know that there are kids that will stand out right away as gifted. My friend has a child like that and she has just recently had to face the decision of whether to put him in Kindergarten (where he would be age-wise) or whether to place him at a higher grade level based on his reading skills and critical thinking skills.
When I blogged before, I didn't mean to say I was 100% against skipping grade levels. I'm not. One of my best friends graduated High School two years early and she should have. I guess what I was trying to say-and maybe not as eloquently as I had hoped-was that there are other options besides skipping grade levels. I think when you are trying to decide whether or not your child should skip a grade level, you should consider things like social skills and maturity. I've seen kids fall apart under the pressure of trying to perform, that's all I'm saying. Some kids thrive on it, others-even though they may have a big intellect-are not so emotionally well-balanced.
Case in point-I had this one student named Rebecca. She was smarter than almost any student I've ever seen. Her test scores were off the charts. In fact, it was hard to know what to do with her in a classroom because all she wanted to do was read. I could be giving a math lesson and she'd have her nose buried in a book. I would too if I were 11 years old and read at a college level. But there was a problem--
Rebecca couldn't sit forward in her chair. She couldn't listen to instructions to save her life. Her papers were scattered on the floor around her and extended to the next 2 student's desks beyond. (When we were studying Egypt, some students took to calling her paper trail "The Nile River"). She could never remember to bring the right books to school. She would come to school with her hair disheveled and her clothes a mess. She played with younger kids at recess because no one her age knew what to do with her. She forgot her homework all the time. She could never really look you in the eye.
Rebecca had (has) aspergers. She had never been diagnosed because up until the 6th grade, she had been able to pass these things off as part of her "intellectual quirkiness" to her parents. But we, as a 6th grade teaching team, were terrified to send her to Jr. High.
I'm just putting this out there...I think we have had a great discussion on this topic.
Next let's shake things up and talk about special needs kids. I love this stuff!
I don't have the answer to that, because as I've stated before, my daughter is only 3 and it's a little early to tell one way or another whether or not she's gifted. Well, I mean academically. I think all kids are gifted in one way or another, but some have the gift of intellect and a very high IQ. And yes, it's hard to talk about your child who's gifted to someone who is just excited their son passed the spelling test he studied so hard for.
I do know that there are kids that will stand out right away as gifted. My friend has a child like that and she has just recently had to face the decision of whether to put him in Kindergarten (where he would be age-wise) or whether to place him at a higher grade level based on his reading skills and critical thinking skills.
When I blogged before, I didn't mean to say I was 100% against skipping grade levels. I'm not. One of my best friends graduated High School two years early and she should have. I guess what I was trying to say-and maybe not as eloquently as I had hoped-was that there are other options besides skipping grade levels. I think when you are trying to decide whether or not your child should skip a grade level, you should consider things like social skills and maturity. I've seen kids fall apart under the pressure of trying to perform, that's all I'm saying. Some kids thrive on it, others-even though they may have a big intellect-are not so emotionally well-balanced.
Case in point-I had this one student named Rebecca. She was smarter than almost any student I've ever seen. Her test scores were off the charts. In fact, it was hard to know what to do with her in a classroom because all she wanted to do was read. I could be giving a math lesson and she'd have her nose buried in a book. I would too if I were 11 years old and read at a college level. But there was a problem--
Rebecca couldn't sit forward in her chair. She couldn't listen to instructions to save her life. Her papers were scattered on the floor around her and extended to the next 2 student's desks beyond. (When we were studying Egypt, some students took to calling her paper trail "The Nile River"). She could never remember to bring the right books to school. She would come to school with her hair disheveled and her clothes a mess. She played with younger kids at recess because no one her age knew what to do with her. She forgot her homework all the time. She could never really look you in the eye.
Rebecca had (has) aspergers. She had never been diagnosed because up until the 6th grade, she had been able to pass these things off as part of her "intellectual quirkiness" to her parents. But we, as a 6th grade teaching team, were terrified to send her to Jr. High.
I'm just putting this out there...I think we have had a great discussion on this topic.
Next let's shake things up and talk about special needs kids. I love this stuff!
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
The Gifted and Talented Child
Who doesn't think their child is a genius? I think my daughter is a genius and if I ever start to doubt it, she has 5 grandparents that will remind me she's a genius.
Okay, okay, my daughter may not be a genius. In fact, there are some days when I think there might be something wrong with her. Just kidding. Maybe.
The truth is, even if my child is Gifted and Talented, I won't know for awhile. I think it would be very hard for me to diagnose her in such a way by the time she reaches pre-school. Even if she reads before she gets to kinder, is that a sign she's a genius? Or a more likely, a sign that I just took the time to teach her phonics starting when she was 2? If she has a love for reading, it may not be an indication of her IQ as much as it may be an indication that she has loving parents who read out loud to her at least twice a day. And if she's two or three years ahead of her peers because of all this, do I want to start teaching her at that level? And even if she does have a high IQ and it's obvious to others, not just those that love her best, what do I do with that??
I've known parents who believe in "acceleration". Put on the gas and let them go as far ahead as they can. Education is a race and the sooner they can graduate High School the better. Skip a few grades because they can handle the work and they love the challenge. I thought I would be one of those, but now I'm not so sure.
I look at it like this: Acceleration v. Digging Deeper. Full Speed Ahead v. Exploration. My experience has been that the happiest students were the ones who were given an age appropriate lesson, but then given permission to "dig deeper". Create a game, a report, a 3-D display, a movie, etc...anything to "hang out" with that topic for awhile and exhaust it until they were satisfied. Children will join the rat race soon enough, yes? Why force them to do it now?
The challenge for me, the teacher, was to do this in a classroom full of 30 kids. More times than not, I did not succeed. But now I am a parent. And maybe my job as a parent is to make my child a life-long lover of learning, genius or not. Maybe it's my job as the parent to take a lesson and find ways to "dig deeper". After all, parents are the best teachers to their children.
More on this as I process. But feel free to give your ideas and comments...
Okay, okay, my daughter may not be a genius. In fact, there are some days when I think there might be something wrong with her. Just kidding. Maybe.
The truth is, even if my child is Gifted and Talented, I won't know for awhile. I think it would be very hard for me to diagnose her in such a way by the time she reaches pre-school. Even if she reads before she gets to kinder, is that a sign she's a genius? Or a more likely, a sign that I just took the time to teach her phonics starting when she was 2? If she has a love for reading, it may not be an indication of her IQ as much as it may be an indication that she has loving parents who read out loud to her at least twice a day. And if she's two or three years ahead of her peers because of all this, do I want to start teaching her at that level? And even if she does have a high IQ and it's obvious to others, not just those that love her best, what do I do with that??
I've known parents who believe in "acceleration". Put on the gas and let them go as far ahead as they can. Education is a race and the sooner they can graduate High School the better. Skip a few grades because they can handle the work and they love the challenge. I thought I would be one of those, but now I'm not so sure.
I look at it like this: Acceleration v. Digging Deeper. Full Speed Ahead v. Exploration. My experience has been that the happiest students were the ones who were given an age appropriate lesson, but then given permission to "dig deeper". Create a game, a report, a 3-D display, a movie, etc...anything to "hang out" with that topic for awhile and exhaust it until they were satisfied. Children will join the rat race soon enough, yes? Why force them to do it now?
The challenge for me, the teacher, was to do this in a classroom full of 30 kids. More times than not, I did not succeed. But now I am a parent. And maybe my job as a parent is to make my child a life-long lover of learning, genius or not. Maybe it's my job as the parent to take a lesson and find ways to "dig deeper". After all, parents are the best teachers to their children.
More on this as I process. But feel free to give your ideas and comments...
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Teacher's Prayer
Found this at the Old Schoolhouse in Oak Glen today.
Teacher's Prayer
I want to teach my students how
To live this life on Earth
To face its struggles and its strife
And improve their worth
Not just the lesson in a book
Or how the rivers flow
But how to choose the proper path
Wherever they may go.
To understand eternal Truth
And know the right from wrong,
And gather all the beauty of
A flower and a song.
For if I help the world to grow
In wisdom and in grace,
Then I shall feel that I have won
And I have filled my place.
And so I ask your guidance, God
That I may do my part
For character and confidence
And happiness of heart.
-James J. Melcalf
Teacher's Prayer
I want to teach my students how
To live this life on Earth
To face its struggles and its strife
And improve their worth
Not just the lesson in a book
Or how the rivers flow
But how to choose the proper path
Wherever they may go.
To understand eternal Truth
And know the right from wrong,
And gather all the beauty of
A flower and a song.
For if I help the world to grow
In wisdom and in grace,
Then I shall feel that I have won
And I have filled my place.
And so I ask your guidance, God
That I may do my part
For character and confidence
And happiness of heart.
-James J. Melcalf
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