They’re called open classrooms & I don’t like them either! We have a quiet household so my daughter finds them distracting & I, as a teacher, did as well. Yuck!

I do a lot of afterschooling. I clarify, reteach, & extend PS material when needed. She got turned off from math in 3rd so I’m still working on turning that around. The rest is interest-led and reflective of our family culture. I place an emphasis on heritage language learning (Spanish & French) and music & the arts. History & geography are also important. Since she’s getting older (an incoming 5th grader) she resists too much ‘mom work’ so I catch her quickly when I can. Many topics arise organically & those are some of the best moments! I am a PS teacher—now Spanish but previously ELL, math, G/T, social studies & elementary. I think it’s absolutely wonderful parents want to extend and supplement their children’s education. It’s pretty rare I get asked about working in tandem with parents/students but I revel in the opportunity to do so! I believe PS does not allow kids too much time to own their learning & I’m currently figuring out how to incorporate a ‘genius hour’ into my Spanish classroom. Ultimately, I believe in being proactive & also following my spidey sense as to what she’s missing & needs in order to get a well-rounded education that encourages passion.

Can anyone recommend a book for young natives (say 9 yr old) to teach grammar, vocab., literacy, etc.? If you know French, like the Hachette or Magnard programs....except for Spanish speakers? I’d need it through Amazon or another company in the US.

LOL! I have those bookmarked already but had forgotten them until you mentioned them.

I’m still mulling over my situation & how to best approach it. I like all ideas so far & can see incorporating bits of all of them. I have been ‘hovering’ more lately & asking questions (‘have the birds been fed/watered?’ & ‘have you brushed your teeth?’, etc.), which seems to be helping her get back on track daily. She decided to wait until 9 PM to fold clothes & was tired & therefore absolutely sobbing while doing it. I’m proud I stayed out of it. The next load got put away a whole lot quicker though. I’ll keep up this vigilance for a bit more & then see if scaling back will yield better results in the future. I really like this idea of making short-term goals & steps to reach them (along with plotting out days) so I shall also try that tomorrow, when we’ve got a block of time to do so. This idea of her grabbing the reins on managing her time (while I facilitate the planning) is appealing to me. She’s also a visual kid so a tangible weekly calendar may prove quite useful.

I’d like to promote my nearly 10 yr old’s estimation skills through everyday living (so no worksheets). When she was younger, we did estimation jars & I could do that again quickly but am looking for everyday, easy activities to refine these skills (in various contexts) so she can build the ability to estimate in a variety of ways (items, time, etc.). Do you have any ideas (I’m brain deade at the moment, LOL)?

I need some age appropriate ideas on how to help my nearly 10 yr old develop her time management skills. I’m trying to scale back on overseeing her small daily goings-on. She’s not too successful in getting some things done. For example, clean clothes will move from bed to chair for several days (despite gentle prodding to fold & put them away). She has a couple small pending projects that have gone undone for 2 weeks & are due quite soon—she will likely rush through them, get stressed, & not produce her best work. She’s currently on summer vacation so is NOT overwhelmed with other activities. I start off gentle & provide reminders, etc. but this rarely works. I end up being mean & threatening consequences—not my best self & not the path I want to take. I want to encourage self-direction, etc. so don’t want to ‘hover’. What other tactics can I use and what else can I do to promote more responsible timeliness?

I’m glad I asked for ideas b/c there are some really good ones here! I’m learning a lot too! Honest Ads is hilarious! Thanks for all the suggestions!

No, I didnt’t know about either. Neat! Thanks!

Here’s a link with many pre-made number talks. http://bps.solutions/MATH/Grade3-5_Number_Talks.pdf

Anyone doing anything interesting for the upcoming anniversary of the moon landing? Us, we’re reading a book, watching a film/docu, going to a library presentation, & will moon gaze that night (weather permitting). Since my child’s into fake news, etc. it’d be nice to tie in something retro like that, so any ideas are welcome. Whatcha up to for this event?

Thanks for all the tips, folks! In mentally prepping for Saturday’s Apollo anniversary I wonder if I could tie in the conspiracy theories? (I’m just spitballing right now (& haven’t had my 1st cuppa so cannot think cohesively) I know conspiracy theories & fake news are different but wonder if I could somehow use it w/ this upcoming event. Any ideas?

Number talks....it’s all mental math.

I’ve got a nearly 10 year old who’s quite interested in logic, fake news, & advertising (tricks). We talk about such things as they come up but I’d perhaps like more resources to address these topics. I have ‘Bad Arguments’. Other than reading it bit by bit, how do you use it &/or extend its contents? ‘Fallacy Detectives’ is on order at my library so I will use that in the future as well. We have a book on fake news but I’m stumped as to how to approach it in real life—where to get examples to dissect? I think this is an important topic but I listened to NPR & read the Washington Post so don’t believe I come across many examples of fake news (I also don’t ‘do’ social media). We have another book, ‘Made You Look’, which deals with advertising & its tricks. We have also watched food stylist videos. I try to point out commercial & magazine ads’ take on things (but we don’t watch too much TV). What else do you use? The above are great topics to explore & my child seems to crave tons of examples of each so please share your resources & teaching ideas!

Excellet ideas!! I shall look into our local zoos and rescues right away. Thanks for the head's up about the 'too graphic' nature of some resources--good warning.

This summer, my 9 yr old daughter would like to learn more about endangered animals. Other than books & videos on the subject, do you have any other learning ideas--perhaps hands-on or basic research ideas?

Hey I looked on the Kids Art Hub channel but couldn't find those paid lessons you mentioned. Any more specifics on how to find them?

Anyone?

Thanks! I tried to look on their site for these free games but had no luck. Do you know under which tab they'd be?

I'm looking for a series of (free) online vidoes that teach drawing techniques in a fun & simple format. My kid likes Kids Art Hub so something like that but with explicit instruction in technique (shading, etc.). We tried the Virtual Art Instructor but he's too verbose & serious--it fell flat. Anything less talky, more showing geared to kids--9 yr olds (& me, a complete novice)?

Can anyone recommend any science board, card games, etc. for 4-5th graders? I'd love to supplement my child's science education with some fun games/activities.

I may be late coming to the party but I just acquired a set of base 10 blocks for my 4th grader. I'd like to know how I can use them with thpical 4th grade math topics. Most online guides are geared towards primary. Can you suggest both pertinent activities as well as additional online ideas?

Thanks, folks! We're making some progress! Now, any simple but concrete ideas on converting fractions to decimals & vice versa?

I'm looking for historic fiction chapter books-novels for a 9 yr old who loves action. We're going through a rough time in life and so I don't want heavy topics (i.e., Holocaust, etc.). She has no preference as to time periods or events but she adores suspense & action. Suggestions please!

She is still cloudy on decimals so I need additional ideas please.