Which First: Lunch or Recess?

There is an interesting article in the New York Times yesterday discussing the pros and cons of having lunch before recess in elementary schools.  In the article (link here) it mentions that when kids have recess before lunch, they waste less food, eat more fruits and vegetables, and there are fewer health complaints while at school.  One kid said he likes that he doesn't throw up at every recess any more :). 

I have never heard of this schedule before, but I think its a great idea - I've eaten lunch at school with my girls and they have so little time to actually sit and eat before they are being herded off to recess!  I couldn't even finish a small sandwich before it was time to be done and packing up.  I would love to see this change implemented in our area schools so the kids get a chance to play and have fun, but are still allotted a reasonable amount of time to sit, relax, and eat their lunch.  I wonder what the kids would think about it....

Building Science Skills

Tomorrow I get to help judge the 6th graders school science fair projects - I'm excited to see all the innovation and energy the kids put into their work.  As a scientist myself, I am always looking for ways to encourage kids, especially girls, to take an interest in science.  Its such a dynamic field, with so many real life applications. 

I have a few simple suggestions for building simple science skills for kids.  The first is really easy - simply explore with your kids, ask them questions about their surroundings, and help them use deductive reasoning to figure out a problem.  Just a quick walk outside can open up a whole new way of thinking - what creates a rainbow?  Why are some critters camoflagued? 

The next idea is to cook with your kids.  I know, it can be a little messy, but cooking is a great way to introduce experiments, measuring, and interactions between solids, liquids, and gases.  Its like a mini-lab without the dangerous chemicals - and there's usually a yummy incentive to finishing the experiment!

Another idea is to ask your kids to conceptually design inventions to make school work easier, to get household chores done faster, or for other purposes they can readily relate to.  Its a fun way to think outside the box and learn how to put ideas into action.

The last piece of advice I have is to encourage and support your kids with positive comments. Encourage them to join science clubs or attend fun science activities sponsored by schools or local libraries.  Science is fun!

It's a BOOK fair, not a TOY fair!

Tonight I convinced my husband that it would be a great idea for him to take the four older kids to our school’s annual book fair. He was hesitant, but I told him the kids already knew the rule--one book, and it has to be less than $10. So off they went. But when they returned, my husband said, “Next year, its YOUR turn!”
It turns out the book fair really isn’t about BOOKS. It’s all about the stuffed animals and toys they sell *with* the books, like the ones that come with fancy pens with furry heads on them, or that have a pen with dog prints on it since it happens to be with a book about a dog. He said that those were the items the kids wanted, NOT the books. It is sad that in an effort to promote literacy and enjoyment in reading, they promote all the toys just to lure the kids into spending a lot of their parent’s money on toys and do-dads. He said he thinks the ladies running the whole deal probably thought he was the meanest Dad there since he refused to buy the teddy bears.

So, I think next year we’ll skip the book fair…and hit the public library instead!

Top 100 High Schools

USA News and World Report published the 2010 Gold Medal List of the top 100 public high schools in the U.S.  After looking at more than 21,000 schools, they came up with the top 100 based on a variety of rankings.  We are proud to say that we went to school #93 on that list, Saratoga High!  Ok, so all the high school memories weren't rosy, but the bottom line is we had an excellent education that prepared us well for college and life beyond.    Thanks SHS!

Get out your wallet....

So I hate to bring this up during the holidays when we are already stretching our budgets to make this time of year magical for our kids, but have you started thinking about investing in your child's future education?  I know, I know, with what extra money?? 

Here's some good news for you, some experts actually advise against setting up a dedicated college fund, and have some pretty good reasons why its more important to save for your own retirement than for your kid's future tuition.  Check it out at MSN Money Central.  Now back to that Christmas shopping.....

Choosing the Right School for Your Child

We are knee deep into the school year right now, but for some it is time to re-evaluate their child’s school situation and start considering options for next year, especially for those in private settings. Since we have an impending move coming in the next six months, I’m finding myself referring to http://www.greatschools.net/ to check out information on possible schools. I found a great article on that website that outlined some things to ask and think about when considering a school, so I thought I’d pass them on.

* Does your child require special attention due to learning or physical disabilities?

* How close do you need to be to the school? If you live far from the school, is there after school care to watch your child before you get off work?

*Do the facilities meet your expectations? Are they clean, safe, and are there ample supplies/resources for the children?

*What kind of extra-curricular activities are offered (sports, music, art, theater, etc.)?

*How much homework is required of older students? At what age is homework sent home?

*What does the school expect in terms of parent involvement? Does it accommodate to your schedule and ability to be involved at school?

*What is the school’s discipline policy?

*What are the teacher to student ratios? Are teachers appropriately educated, certified and credentialed?

*What does it cost?

Kids spend a large portion of their day at school, and school greatly affects their development. It is where they learn social skills, academics, and how to follow directions--life skills that need to be taught in a way that will work for you and your child. I know for us finding the right preschool was very hard to do. One of the best ways I have found good schools have been by word of mouth. Make a list of questions that are important to you and don’t be afraid to ask them. Good luck finding the right fit for your child---happy learning!

Go to http://www.greatschools.net/ for more information...

Science Fun with Glow Sticks

Now that the candy is all eaten and Halloween is a distant memory, its time to go to the dollar store and pick up some discounted glow sticks for an easy science lesson! This easy experiment shows how energy and rates of reactions can change depending on temperature.

What you need:
Glow sticks
Cups for water
Hot water
Cold water

The Experiment:
Bend and snap the glow stick and shake it so that it starts to glow.  Fill one cup with hot water and one cup with cold water. Put the glow stick in the hot water for a few minutes and take a close look at it.  What happens?  Now take the glow stick out of the hot water and place it into the cold water, allow it to cool down for a few minutes and take notice what happens.

How it works:
The reaction between the different compounds in a light stick causes a major release of energy.  Atoms in the material are excited, causing electrons to rise to a higher energy level before returning to their normal levels.  As the electrons return to their normal levels, they release energy as light, a process called chemiluminescence.  A typical commercial glow stick contains a hydrogen peroxide solution, a phenyl oxalate ester, and a fluorescent dye - when you snap the glow stick, the chemicals are allowed to mix, react with each other and the atoms start emitting light.  Immersing the stick in different temperatures changes the rate of the reaction, or the rate at which the atoms excite.  Heating the light stick will speed up the reaction, causing it to glow brighter, while cooling it down slows the reaction.  We've had a few glow sticks in the freezer for that very reason, just trying to make it last!

To make your very own ultra-cool glow stick solution, check this out at PBS.org!  Happy glowing....

American Education Week

The National Education Association (NEA) celebrates American Education Week from November 15 – 21st by promoting quality public education for all children from kindergarten through college as a basic right and the need for communities to stay involved to help public schools excel. NEA President Dennis Van Roekel recently stated that “a great public school for every student starts with a great teacher.” How many of us, 10, 20, even 50+ years after attending public school recall with fondness some of our favorite teachers?

The dedicated teachers who make significant impacts on the lives of our youth, who shape interests and future career choices, who encourage our children to reach their true potentials, are doing one of the hardest jobs in America these days. Crime, disrespect, lack of support, and low salaries in the public school system are just a few of the reasons that it is hard to recruit the best and brightest to the profession of teaching. Despite these challenges, we are lucky that there are people like Mrs. Ono, Mrs. Davis, and countless others who are giving 110% to their students every day in classrooms across America to give our kids what they deserve – a solid education that will allow them to grow, prosper, and achieve in the 21st century.

The NEA website has a lot of valuable information, including user rated lesson plans for math, geography, history, English and much more, as well as ideas for classroom management. This is a great resource for parents and teachers alike.

Who was your favorite public school teacher growing up, and why? How can we as parents help public school teachers to succeed?

Encouraging Gifted Children

My kids attend public elementary school in a state that just cut the number of instructional days by 17 per school year in order to help balance the budget. Unfortunately, education is an easy target when it comes to cutting costs, which are usually caused by overpaid administrators. Children are clearly being short changed in public schools across America, and quite often the best and brightest students are not being challenged in the classroom which leads to boredom, apathy, and a feeling among students of ‘why bother.’ The 2004 publication of A Nation Deceived: How Schools Hold Back America’s Brightest Students was seen as a watershed event in the national debate about acceleration and gifted students. This two part publication highlights the disparity between the scholarly research on acceleration and the educational policies and practices that often run contrary to the research.

How can we help our kids excel academically when they are not encouraged to do so at school? Skipping a grade level is not always an option, and while it might alleviate boredom and foster advanced academics, it has associated social and developmental concerns. Teachers who are allowed to offer differentiated instruction where they can adapt lesson plans to accommodate different ability levels are far and few between.
The Institute for Research and Policy on Acceleration has an excellent Questions and Answers forum, a few of which are highlighted here:

Should I accelerate my child? 

Research indicates that acceleration is a social and academic success story; in many cases, it is the right intervention for students whose needs are not met in age-grouped classrooms.
The more relevant question might be "what form of acceleration is most appropriate for my child?" For many people, acceleration is synonymous with grade skipping, although grade skipping is just one form of acceleration. Early entrance to kindergarten or 1st grade, dual enrollment in high school and college, and subject matter acceleration are different forms of acceleration that may work for some students.

Choosing an accelerative intervention requires careful consideration of many factors, and the type of acceleration that works well with one child may not work well with another. The support of family and friends, the student’s level of academic and social-emotional development, the student’s age and physical development, and the beliefs of local school personnel are all factors to consider. For example, students who skip grades need emotional maturity as well as academic ability in order to succeed. With single-subject acceleration, however, the more important criterion is academic ability, and social-emotional maturity may be less of a concern.

Will my accelerated child fit in socially and have friends? 

Parents and caregivers are deeply concerned about their child’s social and emotional health and want to ensure that their child has membership in a peer group. Many intellectually advanced children have experienced the social isolation that comes not from having a true intellectual peer in the same grade. Acceleration can benefit some children socially because it allows them to socialize with older peers who are more likely to share interests and are closer to the intellectual level of the accelerated child. For some children, acceleration may finally provide the opportunity to make a friend. The social fit of the child is a larger issue for grade skipping than for forms of acceleration that keep the child in the grade-level classroom (such as subject matter acceleration).

How important are the age and school grade of siblings when considering acceleration? 

An important rule of thumb in acceleration is that a student not be skipped into the same grade as an older sibling. Such a move will introduce the accelerated child into the social and academic territory of the older sibling. Even if a school offers more than one class at the given grade level or if the accelerated student could be moved to another school, acceleration into the same grade as an older sibling is not recommended.
Students who are not accelerated due to a sibling’s age or grade still need to be challenged, however. Alternative methods for increasing their academic challenge must be identified and implemented. One method that can be used is to pair the student with a mentor who works professionally in a field that is related to the student’s academic interest areas. Other ways to increase challenge can be found in books such as Re-Forming Gifted Education: Matching the Program to the Child (Rogers, 2002) and include participation in regional or national competitions based upon individual or group projects, through programs such as Destination Imagination™, Knowledgemaster, Invention Convention™, Math Olympiad, and Future Problem Solving. The key is to find ways to provide meaning, usefulness, and structure, and thereby motivation, to a student’s extended learning.

Are there support groups for parents and children who participate in various forms of acceleration? 

There are many websites that deal with issues of gifted children. A few popular sites developed by parents are:

http://www.gtworld.org
http://www.tagfam.org/
http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/


These sites provide listserv and other resources for a variety of issues and concerns common to gifted children and their families. The Hoagies’ site has a section dedicated to personal stories and research on acceleration.

What are some of your solutions to helping your gifted child succeed?