Eighth Grade

Attention and Focus - Practice classroom behavior: for example, you could give your child longer tasks that require them to focus for longer periods of time with multiple step directions. A 12-year-old might be able to give 40 minutes of focus to a project when it's broken into two 20-minute chunks with a five-minute break in between. This all helps your child get ready for school. 

Social-Emotional Learning - This is the time that kids start to find their leadership skills and begin to understand the idea of giving back to the community. Encourage this by letting them take part in decision-making processes in the home and supporting involvement in community or school activities.  

Listening & Speaking - Engages effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher led) with diverse partners on topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly. Comes to discussions prepared, having read or researched material under study; draws on that preparation by referring to evidence on the topic, text, or issue to probe and reflect on ideas under discussion. Follows rules for discussions, tracks progress toward specific goals and deadlines, and defines individual roles as needed. Poses questions that elicit elaboration and responds to others’ questions and comments with relevant observations and ideas that bring the discussion back on topic as needed. Acknowledges new information expressed by others and, when warranted, modifies their own views.

Reading - Actively engages in reading with purpose and understanding.  Independently reads books like The Book Thief.

Writing - Writes multi-paragraph texts to inform, to tell stories and communicate arguments using effective techniques and descriptive details.  Is able to develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach. Is also able to edit for conventions.

Discover a new hobby or interest!

Tell stories.  Engage in debates.  Teach others about their interests and skills.

Read books and listen to stories.

Write about everything.  Keep a journal.  Write letters.  Create their own graphic novel.

Create adaptations of board and word games like Bananagrams, Scrabble, Hangman, Scattergories and Apples to Apples. Video Tutorial

Move their bodies as often as possible!

Subscribe to a new podcast like Eleanor Amplified or Flyest Fables.

Take a virtual writing class through UCLA (fee-based)

Free online summer camps

Design their own font style; Video tutorial

Create a vision board

Curate a book of favorite recipes with short videos showing "How to" make the recipes

Record favorite family stories using photographs off a phone

Record videos of read alouds for younger children; Video tutorial

Begin a Passion Project