Family Resources

September 

As we begin the school year I thought it might be helpful to talk about sleep and how important it is for our young learners.

Parents often wonder what they can do at home to help students be successful in school.  One of the obvious things, that often gets overlooked, is making sure your child gets enough rest.  Below are bullet points about the importance of sleep and how much children need.  As the school year progresses don't forget about making sure that your children are getting the appropriate amount of sleep each night.  It may also be helpful to try to maintain some kind of sleep schedule even on the weekends.   

Sleep is crucial to a student’s learning and understanding. Even minimal sleep loss can take a toll on children and teen’s mood, energy, effectiveness, and ability to handle stress. If they want to feel their best, stay healthy, and perform up to their potential, sleep is a necessity, not a luxury.

Kids ages 5 to 12 need 10 to 11 hours of sleep each night.

When you get enough sleep you can:

• Pay attention better in school

• Be creative and think of new ideas

• Fight sickness so you stay healthy

• Be in a good mood

• Get along with friends and family

• Solve problems better

Without enough sleep you can:

• Forget what you learned

• Have trouble making good choices

• Be grumpy and in a bad mood

• Have trouble playing games and sports

• Be less patient with brothers, sisters, and friends

• Feel hyperactive and have a hard time concentrating

Tips to encourage health sleep in children:

• Teach school-aged children about healthy sleep habits.

• Continue to emphasize need for regular and consistent sleep schedule and bedtime routine.

• Make child's bedroom conducive to sleep – dark, cool and quiet. Keep TV and computers out of the bedroom.

• Avoid caffeine.

October 

It's never too early to promote good learning habits.  Parent involvement can be simple and can start very early.  When parents get involved in learning, children are more successful.  Help your child get off to a good start in school by creating habits like these at home:

* Remind your child of rules and systems at home.  Such as “Reading before playing”  “Cleaning up before television or screen time.”  This shows them that learning is a top priority.  Also, provide them a comfortable place to read, draw or do homework without distractions.

* Take advantage of car time:  play word games with your child.  Start with something simple like, take turns thinking of opposites (up)  (down), rhyming games - give two words, do they rhyme, thumbs up or thumbs down.  Depending on where your child is at you might ask what rhymes with ___?  Work on counting forward and backwards.  For an extra challenge, have your children count from a number other than 1.  Try an alphabet search.  Look around your surroundings, and find something that starts with a letter A, take turns finding letters (in order or out of order).    Play Eye Spy:  describe an object in clear view to your child and have them guess what it is.  Then let them take a turn.  Expect the obvious!

* Build hand-eye coordination:  Have your child toss a balled up sock into a laundry basket.  Make a ring toss:  Cut the centers out of paper places and let your child toss the rings onto water bottles.  You can make the challenge more difficult by having them take a giant step backwards after each successful toss.

* Sharing at dinnertime is an activity that can go beyond passing the platter.  Ask your children to think of one new thing they learned that day.  It might spark an interesting conversation at the table.  Hopefully these suggestions provide some free and practical ways to promote school readiness and parental involvement.

November 

Ways to Foster Writing at Home

• Read, read, read . . . by hearing and reading stories children learn the patterns, pleasures, and power of written language.

• Encourage your child to observe the environmental print around your home; together read signs, labels, slogans, cereal boxes, junk mail . . . read EVERYTHING!

• Write notes to your child:  welcome home notes, reminders, good luck wishes, riddles, happygrams, thank you notes.

• Whenever possible, involve your child when you write grocery lists, dates on calendars, messages, etc.

• Help your child keep a personal calendar of important dates and events (birthdays, library returns, hockey practice)

• Provide a writing place with plenty of paper, pencils, markers, crayons, stickers, and rubber stamps.

• If possible, encourage the exploration of typewriters, computers, calculators – the tools of modern writing.

• Display your child’s creations with pride.  Show that you value the accomplishment and effort.

• Take the lead from your child.  Writing activities should build on your child’s interests.

• Play games like Pictionary and Junior Scrabble

• Recognize that the stories, lists, messages and projects generated by your child are more valuable than the busy work of workbooks and coloring books.

January 

I have always loved using games in the classroom. I think games are a great way to reinforce the skills we're targeting while keeping our kids engaged. It's really a win-win teaching strategy for so many reasons! 

Math is a great subject as far as incorporating games goes, so I thought I would share some of my favorite games with you that use a deck of cards. 

If you don't have many cards, I would really recommend going to the Dollar Store/Dollar Tree and stocking up...and by that, I mean I would get at least one deck per child, so you'll have more than enough to make your games a success.

Using cards to play math games is a great way to improve math skills.  A simple deck of cards can yield countless math games for kids at varying levels.  Card games offer the flexibility to make the play easier, harder, or more challenging - you get to decide.  A deck of cards can bring math learning into your home, enjoy a card game today with your family.  Below is a video with variations of the game War.  There is also a math card games link that your family may enjoy.

How to Play War (The World's Best Math Card Game)

Math Card Games

February 

Using the arts can boost literacy skills in young children.  It can also cultivate a deeper love of learning.  Below are some suggestions of ways to use the arts, these were written by Jasmine Gibson, an educational consultant.

Reading and Writing

• Invite your child to paint a self-portrait and write (or dictate) a description. Do this monthly, and ask them to embellish both the portrait and descriptions with details like favorite color, game, or food.

• Write in clay, play dough, or shaving cream. Children love getting messy and using their hands. This is a great way to practice forming letters, words, or even sentences.

• Create poetry using a simple prompt. For example, writing "I like…" on each line and providing your child with different topics (food, animals, travel, etc).

• Model journaling. Share different ways to keep track of thoughts, ideas, and feelings.

• Practice letter-sound awareness by painting your own animal alphabet. Write each letter in marker and then have your child illustrate the card with a corresponding animal (e.g., M for monkey).Invite your child to carefully examine the illustrations in picture books. See how they tell a story. This is a helpful pre-reading skill as children learn how words are connected to pictures.

Listening and Speaking

• Notice patterns in songs. Identify rhyming words, repetitive lines, and clap or dance to the rhythm of the song.

• Sing along with songs to encourage vocabulary development and improve memory.

• Ask your child to describe what they see in paintings, illustrations, and photographs.This will help them use adjectives and will support language mastery.

• Invite your child to narrate a story as they play. This encourages creative storytelling.

• Act out or retell familiar stories. This will help children practice sequencing skills.

• Plan out bigger projects allowing your child to lead. This will provide valuable practice in presenting and sharing ideas with others.

March 

In honor of Dr. Seuss' birthday, March is designated as National Reading Month - a month to motivate Americans of all ages to read every day. 

Reading is fun and has many benefits, regardless of your age. It's a key component of education and professional development. It also has immediate and long-lasting health benefits such as increased cognitive function, memory, vocabulary, empathy and decreased levels of stress.

By America's Charities on March 1, 2022

Please see the attached calendar for fun daily activities throughout the month of March. 

April 

April is Month of the Young Child.  In 1971, the Michigan Association for the Education of Young Children (MiAEYC) declared April the Month of the Young Child.  Years of research has shown the importance of the early years in shaping how children grow, learn and form relationships. Most parents spend day-in and day-out, making efforts to ensure their children are getting what they need to grow up healthy and happy. During the month of April, many in Michigan are taking time to celebrate some of our youngest citizens, children ages birth through age eight.

Information provided by Michigan State University Extension. 

May 

May is National Physical Fitness and Sports month.  As we all know and doctors advise, movement is an important part of our health.  Getting students moving at a young age promotes good physical health and can be lots of fun. 

Physical activity keeps you fit, but it also reduces stress and the risk of chronic diseases.  Exercise can make us less anxious.  Plus, it can help develop leadership and relationship-building skills early on.  Make this month a month of activity, whether you enjoy a walk, competitive sports, or dancing, get you family moving this month. 

At Mitchell we will be holding our annual field day event on Friday, May 26th.  Come join us to move with your child or help out at a station, we hope to see you there.

NATIONAL PHYSICAL FITNESS AND SPORTS MONTH ACTIVITIES

1.    Join a sports league or group

Check for community sports leagues where you are. Whether it’s soccer, basketball, or frisbee — sign up and have a blast.

2.   Exercise with family

Depending on fitness levels, take some time to help everyone work up a good sweat. Power walk with parents and dance with grandma. Help everyone feel good about themselves today.

3.   Make fitness fun

Toss a ball around the yard. Shoot some hoops. Show kids that fitness can be fun and not a drag. Cap each session with fresh juices and a tasty, healthy snack.

NationalToday.com