NEW WEB ADDRESS FOR MY BLOG

Thanks for visiting my blog! KIDS HOPE USA has moved all of their blogs to their home page at www.kidshopeusa.org. Here you can find stories, expert advice, updates on our organization, and of course, more ideas for your mentoring hour. To continue getting ideas from BABBLING BROOKE, subscribe to the IDEAS feed by clicking http://blogs.kidshopeusa.org/?cat=6&feed=rss. It is a simple process that just takes a few seconds to complete. Subscribing means you will never miss when a new idea is shared!

The beginning of the school year is a great time to talk with your child about their role in making this school year a great one. As a mentor, there are also things that you can add to the mentoring hour each week that will help nurture happy, successful students. I hope these tips will help make it a great year for your child!

1- Help your child set academic and behavior goals. Have high expectations and check in weekly to see how these goals are getting accomplished. Share these goals with your child's teacher so he/she can help your child succeed.

2- Teach your child about the importance of SLEEP AND NUTRITION. While they may not be able to control everything that happens in their home, encourage them to get to bed early and to eat healthy food that their school or their parents provide. Research shows that children who are sleep deprived get lower grades and have more behavior issues. In  fact, according to a study conducted in 2003, just 30-40 minutes more of sleep a day can have a significant effect on a child's classroom performance.

3- Set some guidelines on how you will spend the hour together each week. You will go FAR in your relationship as you include Fun, Academics, and Relationship Building activities. Work TOGETHER to plan the hour as research shows that mentors and students who collaborate on how they spend their time feel better about the match.

4- Talk to your child's teacher to gather helpful information about their strengths and weaknesses.

5- Help your child start a hobby or get involved with extracurricular activities. As they develop these interests their self confidence will increase and they will learn valuable lessons about self-discipline, perseverance and social skills.

6- Learn from mistakes. I imagine at some point this school year, you will hear about a poor grade or poor choice that your child makes at school. This is a great opportunity for you to help them learn how to move FORWARD after failure rather than just giving up.

7- Look for ways to make learning FUN! Engage your child in learning by making it active. Include topics that they find  interesting! Play games!

8- Finally, be FAITHFUL. Your gift of time that you share every week can make a difference in your child's life. Enjoy the hour together.

Favorite Children's Books Read by Favorite Authors!

I was so excited when I found this link!  While I LOVE reading aloud to the students that I mentor, I know that this is out of some mentors' comfort zone. I also imagine that some students get tired of hearing my voice and would enjoy a change from time to time! The following website features popular authors reading the books that they have written aloud for children as they follow along with the pictures and text. I believe children will enjoy hearing the voice of a real author and it may even inspire them to write a book on their own!  I will still continue to bring books to the mentoring hour with me, but from time to time I think it will be fun to let someone else tell a story.  Check it out at BARNES AND NOBLE ONLINE STORIES

Learn a little about the child that you are mentoring by using this BACK TO SCHOOL GLYPH.  All you will need to complete this is paper and crayons or markers.

BACK TO SCHOOL GLYPH

Here's a document that you can print and use to help teach your mentee the meaning of different vocabulary words. Vocabulary Builder- Roll and Learn

Let's face it...practicing sight words can be boring! But, since it is SO important why not make it fun by changing things up a bit? Here are just a few ways that you can practice words with your mentee this school year! Laughter and learning go together!

Click on this link for a document that you can use throughout the year to engage your child in learning. https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B9sphekcQ4jedEtyS1RPaGo2UEU

It's that time of year again when I have to stop blogging and start training! As you take time to relax this summer, remind your prayer partner to pray for your child each day. Summer can be a hard time on some of our kids...they may be unsupervised, hungry, lonely. If you get a chance, send your child a postcard reminding them that you care. See you in the fall!

Gread Read Aloud Books

Have you heard of Pete the Cat? My guess is that the child you mentor has read one or two of Pete's fun books. Each one has a groovy tune that will make it easy for your child to read along. When you're out and about this summer, look for one of Pete's books to pick up for your mentoring bag. It is sure to be one of your child's favorites! For a sneak preview of the book, check out this video on youtube!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2YwCgtvnNg

ABC Book

Before you throw out those old magazines, STOP and read this blog post... they could help your student learn to read! Purchase a simple notebook and label each page with a letter A-Z. As you look through magazines, let your child cut out pictures from the pages, determine what letter the word starts with, and then glue them on to the correct page. Remember, attention span can be short, so try to do just a few pictures each time that you visit with your child.
If your child has mastered beginning letter sounds, switch things up and look for words that END with certain letters.

NEW GAME ALERT! We tried this game out at my house this weekend and we fell in love with it...I think you will, too! It's called Bear Hunt and it's a wooden game board created by the company Melissa and Doug. What makes it special? First, it's wooden, so it's durable! The pieces are all part of the game board so you won't lose anything. Second, it's fun! If you have played the game GUESS WHO? you will understand the basic rules of this game. The difference is, you won't have to juggle loose pieces and since this is a smaller board the games moves much more quickly. Third, it is educational. It helps develop critical thinking skills, as kids have to figure out which bear they are hunting. It can help with colors and processing, too. In case you were wondering...I lost all three games this weekend against my seven year old, and I really did try to win!
 

Teacher Appreciation

It's National Teacher Appreciation week starting on May 7-11. Take some time with your mentee and write your teacher a note of appreciation. Not only will it put a smile on the teacher's face, this is a great opportunity to teach your child a lesson on gratefulness.

Teacher Appreciation
Anonymous

With a special gift for learning
And with a heart that deeply cares,
You add a lot of love
To everything you share,
And even though you mean a lot,
You’ll never know how much,
For you helped to change the world
Through every life you touched.

You sparked the creativity
In the students whom you taught,
And helped them strive for goals
That could not be bought,
You are such a special teacher
That no words can truly tell
However much you’re valued
For the work you do so well.

Thank you so much for being
So very nice, kind and good;
I like you so much, (Miss Kate)
I’d stay here if I could
I always loved your class;
Your teaching helped me see,
That to have a full and happy life,
Learning is the key.

Write on!

Did you know that March 31 is National MULE Day? Talk to your child about what it means to be stubborn. Are you ever stubborn? Does your child think they are ever stubborn? Is it ever good to be stubborn? Write a short paragraph on this topic and be sure to draw a mule to go along with your story!

For more writing prompts check out this great blog http://www.teachwithme.com/blogs/writing-prompts-of-the-month

Easy Language Arts Activty

SPRING has sprung, so connect your next mentoring session with this new season! Here are some ways to do that...
#1- Write out the word SPRINGTIME on a piece of cardstock paper without letting your child see the word. Cut apart each letter and ask your child to use the individual letters to make new words. Challenge them to come up with a 2- letter word, 3-letter word, 4- letter word, 5-letter word and then ask if they can find the mystery word that uses ALL of the letters. Once they figure out that the word is SPRING TIME, move on to some other activities that are connected with SPRING.
#2- Draw a picture of SPRINGTIME
#3- Take a walk and talk about how things look different in the spring.
#4- Take a book outside to read as you enjoy the SPRING weather.
#5- Use sidewalk chalk to write out spelling words or math facts.
HAPPY SPRING!

Encouragement

Tell your PEEP that you think they

are great with this tag and a bag of PEEPS!

St. Patrick's Day Crafts

Here are some fun St. Patrick's Day ideas for your mentoring hour this week...

* Read the book St. Patrick's Day in the Morning by Eve Bunting.

* Share a GREEN snack together ( if you have permission from the school)

* Hide gold coins around the mentoring room and let your child look for them.

* Make a SHAMROCK CRAFT.... click on this link for directions to the ideas pictured on this page http://www.familycorner.com/family/kids/crafts/10_st_patricks_day_crafts.shtml

Reading Idea- Sight Word Fun

Students who are learning to read need to practice the basic sight words, but let's face it...sometimes that can get really boring! Jazz up sight word practice by playing a game of TWISTER. There are a couple of ways you can do this...

1- Tape a different letter on each dot on the Twister mat. Say a word and ask your child to spell it using their hands and feet. They could also jump from letter to letter.

2- Tape a different sight word on to each dot. Follow the rules for a normal game of Twister, but before your child places their hand or foot on the dot they must read the word.

Have fun! Make memories! LEARN!!

Reading Idea

Since it's Reading Month, I wanted READING to be the focus during my mentoring hour with my six year old today. With very little effort, I was able to help him with all five components of reading AND have fun at the same time... in fact, his giggles were contagious! I enjoyed laughing with him. Here's what we did.
First, I gave him a few options and let him choose the book we read. He was excited about the book and was engaged in the learning process.
# 1- Phonemic Awareness- the book we read had a rhyme and a rhythm to it that was easy to follow. He picked up on it and could mimic it easily. From time to time I would pause and leave out a word to see if he could figure out what word came next.

#2- Phonics- Before we turned a page, I picked out a sight word that we had just read and asked my friend to spell it using letter tiles from the game Bananagrams. He loved looking for letters and even called me out when I accidentally skipped.

#3-Fluency- To help my child learn how to read fluently, I read part of the book aloud to him. On some pages I asked him to echo me, but just by hearing me read smoothly, he was learning!

#4- Comprehension- To make sure my friend understood what we were reading I simply stopped and asked questions like, "What do you think will happen next?" "Why do you think she said that?"

#5- Vocabulary- The book that we read had pretty simple words in it, so to help develop vocabulary we played the game HEDBANZ. If you have never played this game, you can check it out at http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=hedbanz+video&view=detail&mid=F7624FD6F78459AA42F7F7624FD6F78459AA42F7&first=0&FORM=LKVR2
I changed the rules and let my friend describe the card that was on my head. At first, the only way he knew to describe it was by spelling it, but he finally got the hang of giving me clues about the word that was on my head. His clues not only made me giggle, they also showed me he knew the meaning of each word.

SIMPLE, FUN & IMPORTANT!

Tim Tebow reads Green Eggs and Ham

"Invite" a guest reader into your next mentoring session by clicking on the link below to hear NFL quarterback, Tim Tebow, read Green Eggs and Ham. Even if your students do not know who Tim is, they will enjoy listening to him read this fun story. If you mentor a boy, it is especially important that they hear men reading, so they will be motivated to read, too. Did you know that Tim has dyslexia, so reading was not easy for him when he was a young student? Despite this challenge he went on to win academic honors in college as a student athlete. Share this inspiring story with your child, if they struggle with reading.

http://www.bookitprogram.com/biggeststorytime/teachers.htm

READING...Dr. Seuss Books

With so many great Dr. Seuss books out there, have you ever wondered, "Which one is right for my child?" This list will help match books with grade levels for students who are learning to read. If you are choosing a book to read out loud to your child, find one that they enjoy and read it again, and again, and again!

Dr. Seuss Books for Kindergarten Students-

* The Foot Book

* The Ear Book

* The Eye Book

* Great Day for Up!

Dr. Seuss Books for 1st Grade Students-

*Inside Outside Upside Down

*Hand Hand Fingers Thumb

*Snug House, Bug House

*Fred and Ted Go Camping

*Fred and Ted Like to Fly

*Go, Dog, Go!

*Put Me In The Zoo

*The Nose Book

*Hop on Pop

*Are You My Mother?

*A Fish Out of Water

*Sam and the Firefly

*Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can you?

*Oh, the Thinks You Can Think!

Dr. Seuss Books for Second Grade Students-

*Flap Your Wings

*Stop, Train, Stop!

*Fox in Socks

*I Am Not Going to Get Up Today!

*The Cat in the Hat

*The Tooth Book

*There's a Wocket in My Pocket

*It's Not Easy Being a Bunny

Use the Newspaper to Teach Reading

The comic page in your newspaper is full of lessons to teach to your child. Here are just a few ideas to get you started...

1- Did you know there is a date on each and every comic strip? Look for one with your student and talk about it...for example, in tomorrow's paper you will find 3-2 in each strip- somewhere. After the child has found the date talk about what the digits mean. Then, teach them how to SCAN the paper to find the dates in every comic strip. SCANNING will be a skill they need throughout life, and comic strips are a fun place to learn this technique!

2-One frame cartoons like Marmaduke, Ziggy and Dennis the Menace can help your students learn about CONTEXT. As they look at the cartoon talk about the 5 W's...who is in the picture, what is happening? when is it happening? (time, seasons), where is it happening? and end with why is this funny?

3- Cartoons are like short stories. After reading a strip together, ask your child to write a 5 sentence paragraph of complete sentences to make a story from what they read.

4- As you are looking at a comic strip, ask your child to be a word detective for words that they are learning about...contractions, pronouns, verbs, spelling words. Let them circle words as they find them.

5- Finally, help your child build their vocabulary as they read the cartoon page. Ask them to look for one word they don't already know and write this in a vocabulary journal. Talk about the meaning of this word in the cartoon.

One KEY reason why using the comic page to teach reading is a good idea....it's fun and different, and when your child is engaged, they are more likely to learn!

A special thanks to director, Sue Ann, for these great ideas!

March is Reading Month!

Celebrate National Reading Month with your student as you read together during your mentoring hour. During this month I will blog about books that you may enjoy with your student and share ideas that may help you as you work to develop their reading skills. For now, let's look at a list of things you can do with your child every time you meet together...
1- Read the Title, Author's Name, and Illustrator's Name
2- Ask your Child to Make Predictions...what do YOU think is going to happen?
3- Ask Your Child What is Happening in the Pictures...pictures can help increase comprehension
4- Move Your Finger As You Read...or try using a fake finger to make it FUN!
5- Ask Questions...just enough to keep them engaged and check to see if they are understanding what they are reading.
6- Reread the Same Books Again and Again...kids love this!
7- ENJOY READING THE BOOK WITH YOUR CHILD! Laugh together, talk together, learn TOGETHER!

Social Skills

Here's a great lesson to teach your child about the words that they use. Remind them to THINK before they speak and teach them what this means using this acronym for the word THINK.

Before you speak, THINK

T- is it True?
H- is it Helpful?
I- is it Inspiring?
N- is it Necessary?
K- is it Kind?

Active Game

Stress can interfere with learning, and sadly, there are many children who deal with stress on a daily basis. Experts say EXCERCISE will help reduce stress in a child. As a mentor, how can you include exercise in your hour? If you have access to the gym at your school spend a few minutes in there kicking a soccer ball, throwing a football or shooting some hoops. If it's good weather take a walk around the playground together. Another option for indoor exercise is a game of balloon Ping-Pong. Simply make paddles out of paper plates and Popsicle sticks, blow up a balloon and you are ready to go! You can have some fun together AND reduce stress at the same time, which will help your child's brain get ready to learn!

Check out this link if you would like to read about brain research and stress.

http://www.greatschools.org/parenting/5286-how-stress-affects-your-child.gs

GO APE!

If you have enjoyed playing the card game Go Fish, you will love playing GO APE! It's basically played the same way as Go Fish, but instead of asking "Do you have a card?", you ask for cards by mimicking the action that is on your card. For example, if the monkey's hands are up in the air you will say, "Do you have a" and put your arms up in the air. Check out this seven year old and an adult playing the game that is sure to bring giggles. It also sneaks in learning!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyH5oIFTPX8&feature=youtu.be

WORD PIRATES

Help a child learn how to build words by playing WORD PIRATES together. It's a fun game that is quick and simple to play! The best part...if you can build a word that has 4 letters or more you get to wear a pirate patch! That is pretty motivating when you are a young student!
Click on this video to watch a first grade student and his mentor play this fun game together.
I found this game at Barnes and Noble, but you can also find it at Amazon.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1idM3KJYwU&feature=youtu.be

The Eagles Are Back!

What's it like to live in an environment that is constantly moving and changing? For a child, this type of setting can make it hard to pay attention, which can interfere with the learning process. Help your child slow down the pace of life by connecting them with nature...go on a walk on the school grounds and look at the surroundings or look at pictures of of nature or if you have access to the internet check out the DECORAH BALD EAGLE PROJECT website. This is an amazing website where you can view via a live webcam two bald eagles as they prepare their nest, lay eggs and take care of their little eaglets once they have hatched. Each week when you mentor your child, check in to the website to see what the eagles are doing. Right now they are making their nest, but it gets really fun when you can see them feed fish to their little babies!
And, there are many extension activities that you could do with your child after viewing this...read books about eagles, make a bird nest, decorate eggs, talk about caring for something and more! It is also a great lesson in patience as you wait for the eggs to hatch!
Check it out at
http://www.ustream.tv/decoraheagles

Over Christmas I found a fun new game that would be excellent for the mentoring hour! It's called Jungle Speed and it's similar to the game of "Spoons" if you are familiar with that one. Basically, you and your child are laying down cards from your deck one at a time. As soon as you spot a match, you need to be the first to grab the yellow totem that is in the middle of the table. What makes this tricky is that some of the pictures look very similar, so you need to pay close attention. This will help your child develop those important visual discrimination skills which are necessary for reading.
Let me make a suggestion to keep this game fun and simple...take out all of the "special" cards, which can make the game confusing at the start. Once you have mastered the basic game, you can add those back to the deck. Also, since the object of the game is to be the first to get rid of all of your cards, you may consider dealing fewer cards to a younger child so the game is a little more fair. I'll admit...even though I did that when I played this with my seven year old son, I still won, BUT, we were having so much fun playing together that it didn't even upset him! Now, that's a good game!

Prayer

Here's a question for mentors....when was the last time you connected with your prayer partner? I hope you can say that you talk to them every week before or after you mentor your child, but since I am also a mentor I know that it is sometimes easy to forget to connect. This Christmas, give your child a gift that is life changing...give them prayers offered by you and your prayer partner. I just read a quote from Jodie Berndt that says, "When you pray for God to work in your children's lives, you can trust His promise to finish the job." Your KHUSA child needs that promise. As a mentor, you need that power that prayer can provide.

I was reminded of this as I played a game with my own child that I am sure many of you have played before on your phone or Ipad...Angry Birds. For those of you who have not played, the purpose of this game is to knock over structures with your birds. For a whole year now, I have been perplexed by this game because I couldn't beat any of the levels even though my seven year old son could! I just didn't understand why I couldn't knock over the structures. Well, I just found out that the birds have special powers that you can tap into, which make it MUCH easier to play the game! Why didn't I know this??? I could have done SO much better if I have tapped in to these powers! Do you see my connection to prayer yet? YOU can go so much farther in your mentoring relationship if you tap in to the power...GOD'S POWER through prayer! Missing out on the special powers in Angry Birds is really not a big deal ( though it was humbling to lose over and over again), but missing out on the power of prayer in your mentoring relationship is a very big deal. Connect with your prayer partner today so they can pray for God's work in your child's life!

Santa Hat Game

Here's a Christmas game to try that will help build vocabulary and critical thinking skills, all while having fun together! Here's what you do...

1- Purchase 2 Santa Hats at your local dollar store so both you and your child can wear one. They will love being silly with you!

2- Next, write different words about Christmas on index cards or post-it notes. Words could include joy, candle, frosty, stocking, present, santa, family, caroling, etc.. For young students who are not reading yet, include a picture next to the word.

3- Now, you are ready to play! Without letting your child see, put a word card on their Santa hat. They will need to ask questions to try and guess what word is on their hat. For young children, you may need to give hints.

4- If they guess the correct word, they can keep the card.

5- Continue taking turns guessing words until all of the cards have been used.

6- At your last mentoring session before Christmas break, give the hat and word cards to your child so they can play the game with their family over break.

This HO-HO-HO game will be sure to bring lots of Ha-Ha-Has!

Money

Help your kids learn about money with this simple idea.Your child will enjoy sorting the different coins and then counting the money with your help.

Christmas Craft- Name Ornament

Here's a fun craft that you can make with your child this Christmas Season. Look for the letters in their name and hot glue it on to a wooden scrabble tray. Add a ribbon and you are done! This is an easy activity and is a great reminder that their name is special, just like they are!