Summer Blog

It is time for KIDS HOPE USA to start training new Directors this summer, which means my blog will not see a lot of action from me. BUT, I would LOVE to hear from you mentors! Please share an idea that has worked for you as a mentor.....what activity, game, book did you use during the past year? Please do share! Let's learn from each other!
Enjoy your summer!

Power of One

I just had to share this song with everyone....it is a great reminder that ONE person can make a BIG difference!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlmOzJ4rGck&feature=PlayList&p=C085B263FC9BCD51&index=0

Planning for Summer

Before long, summer will be here and it will be time to say goodbye to your mentee until next school year. For some children, summer can be a boring time. Help your child make it through the summer months by creating list of things they can do. Here are a few suggestions:
1. Plant something and watch it grow ( provide the seeds for your child)
2. Go to the library and check out some books ( show your child on a map where the closest public library is)
3. Make a wish list for what you want to do when school reopens
4. Play hopscotch or foursquare on the sidewalk with your friends ( provide sidewalk chalk for your child or an inexpensive playground ball)
5. Blow bubbles with your friends ( provide bubbles)
6. Fly a kite ( if you have time, make one together or send an inexpensive one home)
7. Learn how to make a fly paper airplanes
8. Send a postcard to your mentor ( provide self addressed, stamped postcards)

READING TIPS

QUICK TIPS FOR MENTORS WHO ARE HELPING ELEMENTARY CHILDREN LEARN TO READ:
1. Ask the teacher or school librarian to suggest age appropriate reading materials.
2. Know your student and select content that connects to his or her interests and experiences.
3. Preview the reading material and anticipate open-ended questions you can ask to spark discussion.
4. Depending on the age of the student, alternate reading the story aloud to each other.
5. When it’s your turn, read with expression and don’t rush. Pause for expression and allow time for questions.
6. If a section seems hard for a student, help them with difficult words and give them positive feedback.
7. Encourage your student. Praise success!

Bird Feeder Craft

Celebrate Spring AND give your kids a chance to help the birds with this project....

Empty quart sized cardboard milk carton
Scissors
String or cord
Hole punch or pencil
Bird seed

How to make it:

• Help you child cut a hole in the bird feeder – it should be big enough so a bird could come and sit and eat the feed, but not too big or the carton will become unstable.
• Cut a hole using a hole punch in the top of the milk carton and put a string through the hole.
• Tie a knot in the string.
• Fill the carton with bird seed until it reaches the top of the hole.
• Hang the cart on a tree branch and watch the birds enjoy their snack! Check with your child's principal...maybe they can and their bird feeder up on the school playground!

If you need a visual to help you understand this craft check out http://crafts.kaboose.com/milk-jug-bird-feeders.html

Teaching your child how to be responsible is an important lesson. Use this bird feeder as a method to teach this life skill....remind them to check the feeder daily and fill it up whenever it is empty.

You can also extend learning by identifying the different birds that come to eat from the child's bird feeder...bring in binoculars and a book about birds and let the fun begin!

Time Capsule

Recycle an old oatmeal tub and fill a time capsule together that will give you a chance to reflect on your relationship years later. You can even decorate the capsule together and plan on when you will remove it from its location. One year...two years....graduation? Decide together!
Here are some items that can be included, but you and your mentee can add to this list:
* Photo of each of you
* A sheet of information about each of you
* Draw a picture of your favorite animal
* An example of your favorite magazine, game or book
* An object that symbolizes you
* Stuffed animal
* An asssignment from school that the child is proud of

Thank you, Mentors!

Here are two quotes to remind you about the difference you can make in the life of a child when you become their mentor...

" I have a chance to change the world every time I touch the life of a child- in whatver way, no matter how small."

"Long after they forget what you taught them they will remember how you treated them."

Tag....you're it!

I imagine that everyone knows the simple game of TAG. You probably even played it during recess when you were a kid! I remember playing tag.....I would get so scared when I was being chased that many times I would just sit down and say, "Time out!"
Well, it's a twist on tag that may help some of the scared kids that you mentor....
Play READING TAG. Choose a book together and let your child start reading it outloud. When they want to stop they can TAG you and it is now your turn to read. This gives the child a chance to stop reading when they get to a word that they may be "scared" to try or will help a child with a shorter attention span. To make it even more interesting sit on opposite sides of the room so you have to run back and forth....it's fun, gets rid of some energy AND gives your child a chance to both HEAR and READ outloud. What more can you ask for??
You can adapt this game to WRITING and build a story together OR ART and draw a picture together.
So.....TAG, you're IT! Now go and have some fun together!

Story plus Snack equals YUMMY!!

Read and share a snack together for a tasty treat!
Choose a book from the libray that is about food. Your librarian should be able to help you find some or try the ones I mention in this post. Then, read the book together with your child and talk about the snack ideas that are mentioned in the book. Prepare and eat the snacks together when you have finished the book.
Book and Snack Examples:
Everybody Bakes Bread by Norah Dooley- make coconut bread OR bring in a bread machine and show your student how to use it. Be sure to have a "finished product" for them to sample!
The First Strawberries retold by Joseph Bruchac- make strawberry applesauce
Cheese Louise! by David Michael Slater- cut up cheese cubes on put them on toothpicks
The Popcorn Book by Tomie dePaola-enjoy a bag of popcorn together!

Stressed Out Kids

Here is a link to a great article I found about kids today. I think after reading this you may understand why your child sometimes struggles in school. I would love to hear your feedback after reading it!
http://www.childrensministry.com/article.asp?ID=2116

HEART LESSONS

During the month of February all you need is a bag of candy conversation hearts and you can fill up the hour doing many different activities with them....

MATH- add, subtract, greater than or less than, sorting by colors, graphing the different colors, estimate- fill a small glass jar with hearts and let them guess how many are in it- then fill a big one and let them try again

READING- read the messages on the hearts

WRITING- have your child grab five hearts from the bag. Use the sayings on these hearts and write a short story together OR cut out your own hearts and let them come up with new sayings to write on them

CRAFTS- Use craft glue and glue candy hearts around a glass votive

HANDS ON- Use the hearts to build a tower...see who can make their tower the tallest OR hide the hearts all around the room and have a Heart Hunt together!

Valentine's Day Cards to make with Boys

Boys may not like lace and pretty pink paper, but they can still make their own Valentine's Day cards. Stop by your local craft store or scrapbooking store and pick up some camouflage paper and try this....
1. Cut a large heart from the camouflage paper and a smaller one from a lighter color paper
2. Glue the hearts together and add a message.
Suggested messages:
You're out of sight, valentine!
I can't hide it: I think you're cool
I can't hide my feelings for you

* Here's a helpful tip....start making your cards early so you only have to make a few at a time.

Read Aloud Favorites

Looking for some new books to read out loud to your kids?? Here are two good ones for you to try....

1. PETER'S CHAIR, by Ezra Jack Keats- Peter is sad because his baby things are being given to his new sister. He hides his old chair before his parents can paint it pink. But when he realizes he has outgrown it, he's faced with an important decision. This is a touching sibling story... when you are done you can talk with your child about their siblings and the feelings that they have about them.

2. HAIRS/PELITOS, by Sandra Cisneros- The characters in this story belong to the same close-knit family, yet each is unique. In both English and Spanish the author describes the family members' hair. The narrator, a little girl, has unruly hair, and her mother's smells warm and comforting. When you have finished reading this you can talk about each member in your family and then let the child describe their family members. Make family portraits together.

Mosaic

Here's an easy craft project that can be adapted to any age and can be done together... make a mosaic. Mosaics are usually created using small square tiles, but you can use different shapes, too. To create your project use small, brightly colored squares of paper. Squares cut from magazines can also be used to make mosaics. To make it easier on younger kids pre-cut the squares. Younger kids can work on a simple design where older students may want to make a picture with their tiles. Here are a few web pages that explain the project more....
http://www.ehow.com/how_4674060_paper-mosaics-kids.html ( good for older)
http://www.curbly.com/DIY-Maven/posts/5142-How-to-Make-Scrap-Paper-Mosaics ( good for older)
http://www.artistshelpingchildren.org/kidsartsandcrafts/kids-arts-crafts-materials/Magic-Mosaics-Arts-Crafts-Activity-Idea-Tutorial-For-Kids-l2582.html ( good for younger)

Benefits of Reading Aloud

Do you still read aloud with your child? Do you think they are too old for this? I encourage you to CONTINUE this practice of reading aloud to your child all throughout your relationship....here are just a few ways it helps! Reading aloud....
1. Inspires writing
2. Expands vocabulary
3. Boosts comprehension
4. Improves listening skills
5. Encourages visual imagery
6. Fosters curiosity and imagination
7. Reveals different writing styles

AND, it gives you a chance to just sit together and enjoy the closeness!

CHRISTMAS CARDS FOR SOLDIERS & SHUT-INS

Help your child create cards for soldiers and shut-ins. Talk to the kids about how happy the people will be to receive their special card. Bring in old Christmas cards and let the children cut them up to create new cards on bright colored cardstock or construction paper. Make sure to tell your child's teacher about the kind act that your child did!

Christmas Math Lesson

Use Math Word Problems to help teach the real meaning of Christmas....here's an example.

My mentor and I made 24 cookies for the teachers at my school. I decided to make 12 more to give to my neighbors to show them kindness. How many cookies did I make in all?

Vary these questions according to grade and skill level. To make it a bit more fun try this...create a simple green Christmas tree from construction paper. Everytime your child answers a math problem correctly let them add a Christmas sticker on the tree. When the tree is all decorated let the child choose the next activity you will do together.

CHRISTMAS ENGLISH LESSON

Practice grammar as you teach about the real meaning of Christmas with this simple idea. Make a BINGO board and work together to fill in boxes with different parts of speech....as a mentor be sure to include words that give a greater meaning to Christmas. For example.... Verbs- giving, caring, loving Adjectives-special Nouns- family
As you make the BINGO board together talk about these words. Choose who will be the caller and then enjoy playing the game together.

Teaching kids to care at CHRISTMAS

It's the MOST WONDERFUL time of the year, and even though you are mentoring at a public school you can still help teach your child lessons about Christmas . While you can not come out and share the story of Jesus, you can teach them about giving, caring and loving others with a few simple ideas that I will share throughout this month. If you have a great idea, please share it with me!
Help your child make a list of all the people that help make their school a special place...teacher, principal, secretary, etc. Talk about specific things they do to help at school. Then, decorate cookies for the adults on the list and deliver these together. Encourage your child to say thank you and Merry Chrismas to each adult. Surprise your child by giving them a tub full of cookies that they can take home with them since they also help make the school a special place. Thank your child for CARING for others this Christmas!

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Children's writing can be hard to read sometimes because they SMASH their letters together. Here's a trick to fix that...use an orange marker with a thin point for the spaghetti and brown markers with a thick point for the meatball. Model how you want the children to use their markers when they write letters and words.
* Draw a straight spaghetti line between letters with the orange marker (pointing out that if there is enough space between the letters, the orange color shouldn't get on either letter).
* Draw a meatball shape between words to designate a larger space between words.

LOOKS GOOD ENOUGH TO EAT!!!

Something to think about

"The child must know that he is a miracle; that since the beginning of the world there hasn't been and until the end of the world there will not be, another child like him."
Pablos Casals

POST ELECTION IDEA

Showing respect for our leaders is an important lesson that we can help teach the kids that we mentor. One way you can do this is to help your children write a letter to our new President-elect. Help them include words of encouragement and ideas that they have to help our country.
I am still searching for the address to mail this letter and will post it as soon as I find it...please share it with me if you already know!

Make Math Fun!

Drilling math facts is important for ALL ages, but it does not have to be boring. First and Second Grade students can pratice their addition and subtraction facts, while third through fifth graders can add multiplication and division to their list. Whatever facts you are practicing, jazz up drill time with a few of these ideas....
1. Let students write on a white board with bright color markers
2. Clap as you say the problem- snap as you say the answer
3. Build up some confidence by starting easy and then work up
4. Whatever day of the month it is, ask your child to answer that many math facts correctly ( i.e., if it is November 6, complete
six flashcards)
5. Let your child quiz you...let them correct your work when you have
finished. Make sure you get a few wrong to see if they notice. Give them
a grading pen and stickers to make it more exciting!

READING OUTLOUD

Children who can read can succeed, and here is one way to make sure that happens....read out loud to your students! Many of us read to our kids when they are young, but as they grow older and are able to read independently, we stop. Jim Trelease in The Read Aloud Handbook tells us that this is the most critical time to continue reading to your child. You not only model an important practice for them to continue when they are parents, you introduce them to new types of books and vocabulary they many not encounter on their own. Children can get in a rut and read the same type of books over and over. You can be a source of other choices.
So, build some time for reading out loud to your child during your next mentoring hour....it DOES make a difference!

Keep Halloween Safe for Children

Children are eagerly awaiting the chance to go out door to door and collects tons of candy. Here are some tips that mentors can TEACH to their kids so they will be safe as they head out to trick or treat.....don't assume children already know this info.
1- Add reflective tape to costumes ( Mentors will most likley need to provide this for their child)
2- Masks make it hard to see--try a hat instead
3- Avoid sharp and dangerous weapons
4- Use a flashlight
5- Stay with a buddy or a group
6- Only go to homes with a porch light on
7- Stay on the sidewalk or hug the curb. Walk facing traffic.
8- Never cut across yards
9-Do not go in to a stranger's house or car for a treat
10- Eat only wrapped candy
11- Cross the street with a group of people or at a crosswalk

Lessons

"Experience is a hard teacher because it gives the test first

and the lesson afterwards." anonymous

Fall Fun

I don't know about you, but I LOVE fall. The colors in Michigan are simply beautiful right now, but sometimes I get so busy and so preoccupied that I forget to take the time to just LOOK and ENJOY! Take some time this month to look at and enjoy fall with your child...each time that you go to mentor take a picture of them by the same tree. As the weeks progress, talk about the changes you see happening in that tree. This may lead in to a great discussion on the entire subject of CHANGE....while it will be easy to spot the change in the tree, how is the student changing? Encourage them that they are changing every week when they listen to their teachers, show kindness to their classmates, or read a new book.
For those of you who do not have permission yet to take photos of students, let the child draw the same tree each week over the next month. Save all these pictures in to a book and add words together.
And, since we are a national program, I recognize that some of you do not get to enjoy the fall season like I do! If you still want to talk about fall with your child, a good read for lower elementary students is We're Going on a Leaf Hunt, by Steve Metzger. And, be sure to take time to find something else to just look at and enjoy this week!

JAM PACK JAM

I just found a GREAT game that kids of all ages can enjoy....no reading required, but it still holds the interest of older kids. The game is called Jam Pack Jam and you can find it at the big retail stores...WalMart, Target, Toys R US. You can also go on to Amazon.com, type in Jam Pack Jam, and there is a video description of the game. Kids will get to practice several mathematical skills as they play this fun game AND it fits easily in to your mentor bag. To top it off, it should only cost $15.00. Remember...games are a GREAT way to teach kids social skills as well as academic skills. After you play the game, write a story together about a place you would like to pack a van and go to on vacation. Bring in pictures of this place for your child to look at during your next visit together or take a pretend vacation to this place!

Welcome to my new blog!

It's been about five months since I last wrote in a blog, and I have missed it! I am looking forward to talking....blogging....babbling with you! Expect to find some ideas, encouragement, and information that you can use as you work with elementary students when you visit my blog. Talk to you soon!