NW Kid Chaser

Don't let this post's title fool you... our family entry to middle school has been amazingly smooth. Our oldest son has been navigating 6th grade like a pro. He enjoys most of his classes, makes the best of the rare class he dislikes, and has embraced new responsibility with an eagerness that makes me smile on a daily basis.

This year, one new addition to our home is a series of whiteboards that serve as family calendar and to-do-list. Every family member has been assigned a different color and, although I write the main events on the calendar each month, each person adds their own info. as needed.

The calendar serves as a reminder of upcoming events. My oldest monitors it regularly so that he knows which nights he can work on homework and which nights are filled with family events (meaning he'll need to complete his work in study hall instead).

I also write chores for the boys on their personal whiteboards, and they can expect a "Is your white board clear?" in response to any request to play the Wii. Our youngest tries to complete the chores as soon as they are listed - so there is no delay to screen-time when he's ready. Our oldest occasionally writes other duties on the board as a way of remembering school/club  tasks he needs to complete. And... the boys have been known to write "Play soccer with your kids after dinner" on the parent white board.

This system takes little work to maintain and has kept me from nagging the boys about chores. Hopefully too, it is the first step in  transition the boys to independently managing their own calendar/schedule. Eventually they'll have busy lives and homes of their own. I'll have to add to their lists -- "Call your mother."

My oldest son spent a bit of time this summer reviewing a few math concepts that he'll need to know for the coming school year. His teachers generously lent us the math book, but I found the books filled with more 'practice problems' than actual explanations and so turned to the web for more resources.

Jackpot!

   Designed by classroom teachers for grades 3 through 12, this fabulous resources offers video tutorials for both Math and Language Arts. The easy to understand videos (which follow a predictable pattern) offered great instruction in the area of probability. I'm eager to explore the other areas as well.

     Free of charge and 'deep' with videos, guided practice, and coach commentary, this video jackpot is a well organized and helpful resource for summer practice AND school year learning for students, parents and classroom teachers!

      My second grader started having “Spelling” homework this year; each week he builds a list based on words he has used (but misspelled) in his own writing. This individualized list then comes home for four nights of practice. By the week’s end, he has a quiz at school determining if he met his goal of 10 out of 10 words.

      Here’s one list from earlier this year.

Loathe.
Really? 
Loathe?

     When I asked him how he used this word in his writing, he explained: “I loathe having to empty the dishwasher.”
    
         I both laughed and rolled my eyes. How will I ever survive this boy in middle school?

    Now that both our boys have spelling lists, we usually verbally quiz them at dinner time; although occasionally the boys choose to write down each word. Back-in-the-day, when our youngest was still in preschool and kindergarten, we involved him in the nightly spelling ritual by asking him to use each of his brother’s spelling words in a sentence (or provide a word that means the opposite). As a first grader, we often encouraged him to quiz his brother – noting each letter as his brother spelled the word out loud.  All that early exposure helped him with his own language development.

    So perhaps, we’re to blame for the flamboyant vocabulary that sneaks into his speech these days. Or at least, that’s what I’ll tell myself the next time I comment on the lunch spilled on his shirt and he replies: “Ah Ma, it’s practically imperceptible.”

     Ugh.

    Marcus offers a behind-the-scenes look at the famous work of several beloved authors. Bruce Brooks, Lois Lowry, and Gary Paulsen are included, among others. When students and I write in the margins, draw arrows to move text, and rework word choice to improve fluency, I tell them we are hard at work- just like the great Judy Blume:

        And... when a student's paper is messy and their handwriting is hard to read: I assure them that Bunnicula started out the very same way, so they must be doing something right.

    Writing is not easy. It is not neat. It's hard work that takes practice and risk. But... when students and I read their writing together, I also find writing to be incredibly rewarding -- because that's what real authors do.

Here's a great craft kit that makes a perfect gift, stocking stuffer, or special treat at Grandma's house.

 
     Browsing the games available, I gasped when I saw Lemonade Stand. This old-time game was available on the chunky apple computer that sat in the corner of my fourth grade classroom. Now updated to fit the hand-held computer (but still similar in format) this game asks players to become the proud owners of their very own lemonade stand (rain or shine).

    Check the weather; decide just how much sugar you want to use; set your price.  Then sit back and hope sales cover all your costs. On a good day, they’ll be a parade and you’ll sell out of your refreshing drink. On a bad day, the feds may come and close you down for failure to have a business license.

    I like the fact that the game relies on a bit of luck and a bit of strategy – and reading! Of course, at our house it also involved a bit of writing. See the review my boys wrote HERE.

       Watching my son learn how to operate this e-reader, I immediately saw that this device is a natural stepping-stone to a phone, which will certainly lead to a tablet, and then transition into a laptop that he will take to college – EKKKKK!!! (Sorry. Every day that my babies get older, I panic at the thought they’ll someday leave me. Of course, occasionally, I panic that they won’t.)

       With this birthday gift, came money from my sister to purchase a Kindle cover. At first, I thought we’d just head to the nearest tech store to buy a cover. However, my son and I soon learned that local stores only carry the covers made for the latest-and-greatest Kindle Fire. That meant we had to turn to cyberspace for a bit of on-line shopping.

     I thought perhaps we could log-in to Amazon and make a one-click-purchase, but that idea didn’t work as well as I had planned. There are a zillion options on Amazon!

      So... I took this opportunity to teach my son how to navigate through the Amazon "product reviews." It wasn't long before he was flexing his skills as a mindful consumer.

During the process, we had many-a-conversation about:
1) Free shipping (with purchase of $25 or more).
2) Reviews that offer only glowing reviews about every aspect of the product. (“Mom, do you think the seller posted this review themself?”)
3) Nasty reviews that can’t find a single redeeming quality with an item. (“Five people loved this cover, but this person absolutely hated it! Which is correct? Or are they all?”)
4) Confused reviews that go on and on about a product – although not the actual one detailed in the listing.
5) Seller ratings.
6) Return policies.
7) Price comparisons (considering individual delivery and included accessories).

Whew!

    Overall, the online shopping experience was a great lesson for my son.  He used critical thinking and decision making skills AND in the end, purchased a durable, reasonably priced cover.