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Summer Resources

Summer Resources for K-2

Summer is approaching and you may be looking for activities to challenge and creatively occupy your child’s mind with the formal school year ending. The following activities have been curated for your student as activities they can do alone. They can also be enjoyed by people of all ages (including adults) as a means of connection for family.

Virtual Summer Camps

Learn something new with a virtual camp experience. The following link offers a variety of camps for you to choose from.

Virtual Summer Camps

Virtual Escape Rooms

What is a Virtual Escape Room? Think of it as a multi-level challenge that allows you to advance to a new level when you solve puzzles and riddles.

Click for: Harry Potter Virtual Escape Rooms

Click below for 20 virtual escape rooms.

20 Virtual Escape Rooms For Kids Of All Ages - The Suburban Mom20 FREE virtual escape rooms - Harry Potter, Marvel, Star Wars, Fortnite, Minecraft, mermaid, educational digital escape rooms kids tweens, teens, adults.

Virtual Field Trips

Staying home will not stop you from exploring. Visit an Aquarium, Farm, or even a National Park to name a few. The following site offers 25 Field Trips for you to choose.

The Best Virtual Field Trips to Take During Spring 2020No permission slips needed.

Build Your Own Toys

For those who want to take a break from “pencil and paper tasks” the following links will get your hands and minds busy with toy construction. Balancing Puzzles, Kaleidoscopes, Toy Design, and more!

Other Activities

If you would prefer to step away from your computer this summer the following sites offer printable activities for your child.

Remember to please take time this summer to step outside and enjoy the change in season. The warmer temperatures and longer days bring out a host of wildlife and plant growth missed during the Winter months.

www.barefootbooks.com/kids/activities-kids/#activities

Screen-free Activities

Burke from HomeVisit the Burke Museum from home with activities and resources for all ages.

Computer Science Curriculum for Grades K-5

Improve your skills as a computer coder!

June 8 - June 12

Counselor's Message - June

Dear Families,

We know that you and your family may be entering the week with frustration, grief, and many other feelings in your heart in response to the recent deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and Ahmaud Arbery. On top of that, we know many of you are feeling bombarded with the media coverage of what’s been happening across the country, and right here in Seattle and Renton. This undoubtedly brings up strong emotions, lots of questions, and concerns about how to navigate those conversations. You are not alone. This is hard, and these conversations may be hard, but they are necessary if we truly want to shift the paradigm that has perpetuated institutionalized and systemic racism and oppression.

This week our primary and intermediate activities will be focusing on hearing, learning, recognizing, and accepting the lived experiences of all voices in our community.

You are the expert in your family and you decide how to navigate this conversation. We are including links to various resources that might be helpful.

Here are more ideas of how to talk to your kids about race and racism:

And lastly, here is a booklist and of more children’s books that support conversations about race and racism:

Best-selling stories to help younger kids:

The Colors of Us" by Karen Katz
"Let’s Talk About Race" by Julius Lester
"The Skin I’m In: A First Look at Racism" by Pat Thomas
Sesame Street's "We're Different, We're the Same" by Bobbi Jane Kates
"Something Happened in Our Town: A Child’s Story about Racial Injustice" by Marianne Celano, Marietta Collins, and Ann Hazzard
"I Am Enough" by Grace Byers
"Happy in Our Skin" by Fran Manushkin and Lauren Tobia
"Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer: The Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement" by Carole Boston Weatherford and Ekua Holmes
"Raising White Kids: Bringing Up Children in a Racially Unjust America" by Jennifer Harvey
"Daddy Why Am I Brown?: A healthy conversation about skin color and family" by Bedford F. Palmer
"A Terrible Thing Happened" by Margaret Holmes
“Antiracist Baby" by Ibram X. Kendi

For teens:

"The Hate U Give" by Angie Thomas
"Harbor Me" by Jacqueline Woodson
"This Book Is Anti-Racist: 20 Lessons on How to Wake Up, Take Action, and Do The Work" by Tiffany Jewell and Aurelia Durand
"Brown Girl Dreaming" by Jacqueline Woodson
"Dear White People" by Justin Simien

More Resources:

Please reach out to me or your child’s teacher if you have feedback, questions, would like more information and to start a conversation. Our partnership is so important, now more than ever.

In Solidarity,

Rachel Larson

School Counselor

Rachel.larson@rentonschools.us

Grades K-2 Counseling/Social-Emotional Lesson for the week of June 8^th

As the infographic above shows, it is never too early to begin having conversations with your children about race. Talking about it is important because they’re learning and hearing about race whether or not you’re directly talking to them about it. These conversations may be hard, but they’re necessary if we truly want to shift the paradigm that has perpetuated institutionalized racism and systemic oppression.

If you are just beginning to have conversations about race and racism with your student, you can start by watching these two videos. They both address similarities and differences and accepting everyone for who they are. This is a building block for being anti-racist.

Video discussion questions to begin a conversation with your child:

We can be similar and different from others. Our differences are what makes each of us unique and special.

What is one way that you are the same as someone that you live with?
What is one way that you are unique or different from someone you live with?
Think about someone that is your friend. What is one way that you are the same as your friend? What is one way that you are unique or different?
Kids in your class at school are all different. They speak different languages, they wear different kinds of clothes, eat different kinds of food, and their skin colors are different too. Is it ok for kids in your class or your friends to be so different from each other?

Additionally, there are two read-alouds that we would love your child to hear:

Video discussion questions with your child for "The Skin You Live"

We all have different skin colors and shades and they are ALL beautiful.

Using the words from the video or your own words, describe your skin color (e.g., ginger snapped, toffee wrapped, cinnamon spice, cocoa cream, dipped sundae, lemon tart, butterscotch, cookie dough, apple pie)
- Example: My skin color is lemon tart and apple pie.
Draw a picture of yourself and another person with a different skin color.
- What is beautiful about your skin color?
- What is beautiful about the other person’s skin color?

Video discussion questions with your child for "I am Enough":

You are enough! You are unique and special just because you are YOU. No one looks like you or acts like you, and that is okay because we all have a right to be here so we can learn from each other, help each other, and accept each other.

Describe what makes you enough or special the way you are.
Draw a picture of someone in your classroom and describe what makes them enough or special the way they are.
If someone was made fun of because of their skin color, what could you say or do to help them feel better and?

June 1 - June 5

Sending I-Messages

“A Bug and a Wish” is a great story about how Tyler uses these tools to solve a problem. Watch this video and then discuss the questions with a family member.

How did Tyler feel about talking to the boys about his bug and wish?
Tyler told the boys, “It bugs me when you tease me, and I wish you would stop.”
- What bugged Tyler?
- What was Tyler’s wish?
When Tyler told them his bug and wish, what did his body look like and what did his voice sound like?
Danae was a good friend to Tyler. Who can you go to help solve a problem?

Next is a video on how kids can solve their own problems. Maybe you can try this some time.

Resolving Problems:

Steps to resolve problems on your own:

Calm Down
A Bug & A Wish
Take Responsibility
Win-Win Solution

Practice using "A Bug & A Wish" in the following situations:

Your sister brings your special stuffed animal outside and leaves it there.
Your little brother knocks down your Lego creation.
Your sister gets in your space when you are angry.
Your sister ate the treat you were saving in the freezer.
At dinner your family laughs about something you did that was embarrassing.
Your brother keeps repeating everything you say.

If A Bug & A Wish does not work, you could talk to a parent/adult to get help.

Learning how to communicate feelings is a skill that takes time. Bugs and Wishes give children a specific format to use, eliminating the need to figure out how to express themselves while they are still just learning to identify what it is they are feeling. The “wish” part helps them focus on solutions and think about what might solve the problem. Bugs and wishes are a tool for children (and adults) to express what is bothering them. It is a simplified form of and ‘I-Statement.” The format is: “It bugs me when , and I wish .”

May 26 - May 29

Perspective Taking

The week we are covering Perspective Taking! Perspective-taking means to understand how someone is thinking, feeling, or how something is affecting them. When you understand someone’s perspective or point of view, you are paying attention to their face and body and listening to how they feel. It also helps to think about a time when you felt the same way so you can empathize with how they are feeling.

Now it’s time to practice! Scroll through the next few scenarios and choose a feelings word, this will help you practice taking someone else’s perspective!

May 18 - May 22

Social Awareness- Empathy

Empathy means understanding what another person might be feeling. If you have empathy for someone, you can imagine what that person is going through. For example, if a classmate tripped on the way to school and fell into a mud puddle, getting their clothes wet and dirty, would you have an idea about how that made them feel? If you said yes, then you can show empathy. When you have empathy and can tell when someone feels sad, that can lead you to do or say something nice to them to help them feel better.

Watch this video about Empathy “Think about how someone else is feeling”:

Choose one of the feeling words, try to answer all the questions for that one feeling word.

Can you think of a time when you felt...
How do you know when someone is feeling...
What does their face do?
What does their body do?
What do their words sound like?
What would you like someone to do for you if you were...?

How can I show empathy?

Example: When a classmate is frustrated because the schoolwork is seems too hard, I can offer to help them.

Your brother/sister is angry because he/she cannot see his friends, I can…
Your neighbor is crying because they fell off their bike, I can…
Your friend just found out that he won an award, he is proud, I can…
Someone is your house is sick, I can…

Practice: Role Play

Pick one or two of the examples above and ask a family member to role play or “act it out” with you. Remember to pay attention to what your family member’s face and body looks like, and what their words sound like.

May 11 - May 15

Perseverance and Positive Self-Talk

This week we are focusing on a strategy, or tool, that can help us with perseverance. Perseverance is a big word that means to keep trying, even when things are frustrating, hard, or uncomfortable. I’m sure there are many times that you had to persevere in order to learn something new. Some examples might be learning how to ride a bike, practicing tying your shoes, memorizing a new dance, and even school tasks like reading! What we say to ourselves, even in our own heads, is called “self-talk.” Positive self-talk is what we say to ourselves that can help us stay calm and keep trying (or persevere) to finish a hard task. Negative self-talk is what we say to ourselves that can make us feel bad and can stop us from staying calm and trying to finish a hard task. This week’s lesson is about practicing using our positive self-talk tool in order to persevere!

Here is an example of negative self-talk and positive self-talk:

Negative Self-talk: I’m never going to see my friends again.
Positive Self-Talk: I can see my friends during our class video chat each week.

When Sophie Thinks She Can't...

Watch this read-a-loud about a girl named Sophie who uses negative self-talk, but her classmates and teacher help her to think about what she CAN do. “When Sophie Thinks She Can’t”

What does Sophie say she CAN’T do?

What do Paula and Andrew tell her that she CAN do?

What did Mrs. Murray say is the most important word to say when you feel like you can’t do something?

You are right, it is YET! Yet means that you have not learned something now, but you will at another time.

Think about all the things you learned this year that you could not do (yet) last year.

Examples:

Last year, I could not tie my shoes yet, but this year I can.
Last year, I could not write my name yet, but this year I can.
Last year, I could not read a book yet, but this year I can.

Talk to a family member about some of the things you learned this year, and who are the people who helped you learn them?

Now with a family member, change the statements below from negative self-talk to positive self-talk. You may even want to use the word, "yet."

Negative Self-talk

There’s nothing to do at my house! I’m so bored.
I’m so bad at math. I’m never going to understand it.
Since I don’t have my reading buddy at school to read with, I don’t want to read anymore.

May 4 - May 8

How to Solve a Problem

When you have a problem you first need to decide, is it a BIG problem (dangerous and scary) or a small problem? If you have a BIG problem, tell an adult you trust. If you have a small problem, try one of Kelso’s Choices. Here are the nine Kelso’s Choices for solving a problem – maybe you saw them this year.