Learn And Grow

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

WHAT'S IN A NAME?

Use your child's name to develop an interest in the world of print.

What you'll need Paper, Pencil, crayon, or marker

What to do

1. Print the letters of your child's name on paper.

2. Say each letter as you write it, "K...A...T...I...E"

3. When you finish, say, "That'syour name!"

4. Have your child draw a picture.

5. When finished, say, "I have an idea! Let's put your name on your picture." As you write the letters, say them out loud.

6. If you have magnetic letters, spell out your child's name on the refrigerator door.

7. Print your child's name on a card, and put it on the door of your child's room or special place. It's hard to overemphasize the importance of writing and displaying your child's name

TOT TALK

What's "old hat" to you can be new and exciting to preschoolers? When you talk about everyday experiences, you help children connect their world to language and enable them to go beyond that world to new ideas.

What to do :

As you get dinner ready, talk to your child about things that are happening. When your 2- or 3-year-old "helps" by taking out all the pots and pans, talk about them. Which one is the biggest? Can you find a lid for that one? What color is this one?
When walking down the street and your toddler stops to collect leaves, stop and ask questions that require more than a "yes" or "no" answer. Which leaves are the same? Which are different? What else grows on trees?
Ask "what if" questions. What would happen if we didn't shovel the snow? What if that butterfly lands on your nose?
Answer your children's endless "why" questions patiently. When you say, "I don't know, let's look it up," you show
how important books are as resources for answering questions.
After your preschooler tells you a story, ask questions so you can understand better. This way children learn how to tell complete stories and know you are interested in what they have to say.
Expose your children to varied experiences -- trips to the library, museum, or zoo; walks in the park; or visits with friends and relatives. Surround these events with lots of comments, questions, and answers.

Talking enables children to expand their vocabulary and
understanding of the world. The ability to carry on a conversation is important
for reading development. Remember, it is better to talk too much than too
little with a small child.

Sunday, February 17, 2008

It's never too early to think about college

It's never too early to think about college -- about the benefits of a college education and about ways to put college within reach academically and financially. Throughout their school years, students make academic and other decisions that affect whether they will be eligible to enter college. You -- working with others -- can help your child make these decisions wisely.

This resource book is designed to help you with that process. It will help you work with your child and with your child's teachers and guidance counselors, to ensure that he or she has the option of going to college. It will help your child to prepare academically for the rigors of college. A good academic record will help ensure that your child has a range of opportunities when the time comes to decide about college. Although this book was written primarily as a long-term planning guide for parents, guidance counselors and teachers will also find it useful and informative.

As we arrive at the 21st century we must ensure that our children are prepared to meet the challenge of the world economy, the obligation of civic responsibility, and the responsibility of attaining their education goals.

Attaining education goals depends greatly on the efforts of the entire community, but especially you, the parents of our children. In helping your child succeed in school and aim for college, you're also helping our Nation produce informed citizens and a competitive work force for the next decade and beyond.

SCHOOL COURSES RECOMMENDED FOR A UNIVERSITY

Although academic requirements differ between colleges, the admissions requirements listed below are typical of universities. The specific classes listed here are examples of the types of courses students can take. Most universities will require students to have attained three good 'A' level grades at these or related subjects.

English -- Types of classes:
English literature
English language

Science -- Types of classes:
Biology
Chemistry
Physics
Mathematics

Mathematics -- Types of classes:
Pure mathematics
Applied mathematics
Algebra
Geometry
Trigonometry
Calculus

Foreign Language -- Types of classes:
French
German
Spanish
Latin
Russian

History & Geography -- Types of classes:
Geography
US history
World history
World cultures

Visual & Performing Arts -- Types of classes:
Art
Dance
Drama
Music

Appropriate Electives -- Types of classes:
Economics
Psychology
Statistics
Computer science
Communications

Saturday, January 12, 2008

EXAMPLES OF JOBS REQUIRING COLLEGE PREPARATION

Examples of Jobs Requiring Technical/Community College
Preparation:

Electrician
Draftsman
Dental Hygienist
Computer Service Technician
Bookkeeper
Commercial Artist
Film Technician
Medical Illustrator

University (Bachelor's Degree):

Accountant
Teacher
Engineer
Journalist
Diplomat

More Than Three Years of College (Various Graduate Degrees
Required)

Lawyer
Doctor
Architect
Scientist
Some teaching posts
Economist
Psychologist
Sociologist
Dentist

Thursday, January 3, 2008

Vehicle License Plates

License plates have numbers and are fun to use to play games while on the go.

What you'll need

License plates

Paper

Pencil

What to do

1. Copy down a license plate. Read it as a number (excluding the letters). For example, if the license is L706 KKY, the number would be seven hundred and six.

2. Find other license plates and read their numbers. Is the number less than, greater than, or equal to yours?

3. Estimate the difference between your number and another license plate. Is it 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 or more?

4. Record the initial letters of as many different license plates as you see. Which letters do you see the most? Which has the fewest? Prepare a chart or graph to show your findings.

These activities encourage reading, recognizing numbers, noticing symbols, writing, counting, and graphing.

APPENDIX 3: What We Can Do To Help Our Children Learn

Listen to them and pay attention to their problems.

Read with them.

Tell family stories.

Limit their television watching.

Have books and other reading materials in the house.

Look up words in the dictionary with them

Encourage them to use an encyclopedia.

Share favorite poems and songs with them.

Take them to the library -- get them their own library cards.

Take them to museums and historical sites, when possible.

Discuss the daily news with them.

Go exploring with them and learn about plants, animals, and local geography.

Find a quiet place for them to study.

Review their homework.

Meet with their teachers.

APPENDIX 2: What Should I Expect from a math Program?

The National Curriculum and current educational thinking make certain assumptions about the way math should be taught and what parents might see when visiting the classroom. Here are some examples:

1. Children will be engaged in discovering mathematics, not just doing many problems in a book.

2. Children will have the opportunity to explore, investigate, estimate, question, predict, and test their ideas about math.

3. Children will explore and develop understanding for math concepts using materials they can touch and feel, either natural or manufactured.

4. The teacher will guide the students' learning, not dictate how it must be done.

5. Children will have many opportunities to look at math in terms of daily life and to see the connections among math topics such as between geometry and numbers.

6. Children will be actively involved in using technology (calculators and computers) to solve math problems.

APPENDIX 1: Parents and the Schools

Here are a few ideas that might help you support a positive math environment in your child's school:

1. Visit the school and see if the children:

* Are actively engaged in math;

* Are talking about mathematics;

* Are working together to solve math problems;

* Have their math work on display;

* Use manipulative (objects that children can touch and move) in the classroom.

2. Explore the math program with your child's teacher or head. Here are some questions you might ask:

* Are there manipulate able objects in the classroom?

* How are the national curriculum standards being applied in this school?

* What can I do to help foster a strong math program where children an explore math concepts before giving the right answer?

3. If you would like to help out, here are some suggestions for parent groups:

* Make games for teachers;

* Help seek out sponsors who believe in a strong math program for the school and who might provide materials and resources;
* Support math classes for families at your school.

4. Keep a positive attitude even if you don't like what you see. Work to improve the math curriculum by doing some of the things mentioned throughout this book.
5. Share this book with your child's teacher.

Guess If You Can

When children practice asking questions about numbers, they can develop an understanding of the characteristics and meanings of numbers.

What you'll need

Questions about numbers

What to do

1. Let your child thinks of a number between a stated range of numbers while you try to guess the number by asking questions.
Here is a sample conversation.

Child: I am thinking of a number between 1 and 100.

Parent: Is it more than 50?

Child: No.

Parent: Is it an even number?

Child: No.

Parent: Is it more than 20 but less than 40?

Child: Yes.

Parent: Can you divide this number up into 3 equal parts?

And so on...

2. After you have guessed your child's number, let your child guess a number from you by asking similar questions.

The questions asked demonstrate many different levels of math. They can serve as learning tools for explaining concepts. For example, you can take the opportunity to explain what an even number is if your child does not know.

How Long? How Far?

Many times when you are on the go, you are heading somewhere that requires you be there by a certain time.

What you'll need

Information about how far you're traveling and how long it will take

What to do

1. Ask your children how far they think you are traveling. Meters? Kilometers? Miles?

2. Talk about how long it takes to get there. If it is 3:15 now, and it takes 45 minutes to get there, will we make it for a 4:15 appointment? How much extra time will we have? Will we be late?

These types of questions help children see the usefulness of understanding distance and time.

Total It

This is a good game for practicing quick mental computation.

What you'll need

License plates

What to do

1. Call out the numbers on the license plate.

2. See who can add the numbers up correctly. What strategies were used? (Were the numbers added by 10's like 2 + 8; were doubles like 6 + 6 used?)

3. Try different problems using the numbers in a license plate.

For example, if you use the plate number L706 KKY, ask, "Using the numbers on the plate, can you:

Make a 1 using two numbers? Yes, 7 - 6 = 1.

Make a 1 using three numbers? Yes, 7 - (6 + 0) = 1

Make 13 using 2 numbers? Yes, 7 + 6.

Adapt the calculations necessary according to the license plates, and the child's ability.

The problem solving and computation going on in your child's head is very important. It helps your child be creative with numbers.

Number Search

The object is to look for numbers around you: on cars, buses, and on foot.

What you'll need

Some type of transportation or

A place from which to observe

Paper

Pencil

Ruler

What to do

1. Create a chart that lists the numbers from 1-50.

2. Write down each number as family members locate that number
on a car, a sign, a building.

3. Write down phrases that have numbers in them such as "one-stop shopping," "two-day service," or "open 24 hours."

This is a great challenge for family members of all ages, because even young children can learn to recognize numbers.

Math on the Go

In this busy world, we spend a lot of time in transit. These are some projects to try while you are going from place to place.

While you're moving, have your children keep their eyes open for:

* House numbers;

* Phone numbers on the sides of taxis and vans;

* Dates on buildings and monuments; and

* Business names that have numbers in them.

Put It Away

Now, the sorting begins as you put away the groceries.

What you'll need

Your bags of groceries

Counter top or table to group items on

What to do

1. Find one characteristic that is the same for some of the products. For example, some are boxes and some are cans.

2. Put all the items together that have the same characteristic.

3. Find another way to group these items.

4. Continue sorting, finding as many different ways to group the items as you can.

5. Play "Guess My Rule." In this game, you sort the items and invite your child to guess your rule for sorting them. Then, your child can sort the items, and you can guess the rule.

Sorting helps children develop classifying and reasoning skills and the ability to examine data and information.

It's in the Bag

Here's some fun estimation to do with bags full of groceries.

What you'll need

Bags of groceries

What to do

1. Have your child guess how many objects there are in a bag. Ask: Is it full? Could it hold more? Could it tear if you put more in it? Are there more things in another bag of the same size? Why do some bags hold more or less than others?

2. Estimate the weight of the bag of groceries. Does it weigh 5 pounds, 10 pounds, or more? How can you check your estimate? Now, compare one bag to another. Which is lighter or heavier? Why?

This activity exposes children to the experiences of counting items and comparing qualities, as well as to judging spatial relationships and capacity. It shows how to estimate weight by feeling how much the bag weighs, comparing it to a known weight (such as a bag of sugar),

Check Out

The check out counter is where we commonly think about math in the grocery store. It's where the total is added up, the money is exchanged, and the change is returned.

What you'll need

All the items you intend to buy

What to do

1. Have your child estimate the total.

2. Ask, if I have 10 one-dollar bills, how many will I have to hand over at the checkout? What if I have a 20-dollar bill? a 10 dollar bill ? How much change should I receive? What coins will I get?

3. Count the change with your child to make sure the change is correct.

One way to make estimating totals easy is to assign an average price to each item. If the average price for each item is 25 cents and if you have 10 items, the estimate would be about 2.50

Get into Shapes

The supermarket is filled with geometric shapes.

What you'll need

Items from the supermarket

What to do

1. Show your child pictures of the different shapes -- cubes, rectangles, squares, cylinders, etc., -- before going to the supermarket. This will help to identify them when you get to the shop.

2. At the supermarket, ask your child questions to generate interest in the shapes.

Which items are solid? Which are flat?

Which shapes have fiat sides?

Which have circles for faces? Rectangles?

Do any have points at the top?

3. Point out shapes and talk about their qualities and their use in daily life.

Look to see what shapes stack easily. Why?

Try to find some cones. How many can you find?

Look for pyramids.

Determine which solids take up a lot of space and which ones stack well.

Discuss why space is important to the shopkeeper and why the shopkeeper cares about what stacks well.

Boxes, cans, rolls of toilet paper or paper towels, ice cream cones, lush produce such as oranges, grapes, and tomatoes are all geometric shapes. Recognizing these shapes helps children connect math to the real world.

Weighing In

One fun place to try out estimation and measurement skills in the supermarket is the produce section where everyone can have the opportunity to participate.

What you'll need

The grocery scale

What to do

1. Help your child examine the scale. Explain that pounds are divided into smaller parts called ounces and 16 ounces equal a pound.

2. Gather the produce you are purchasing, and estimate the weight of each item before weighing it.

3. Use sample questions to foster thinking about measurement and estimation. You might want to ask your child:

How much do you think 6 apples will weigh; More than a pound, less than a pound, equal to a pound? How much do the apples really weigh? Do they weigh more or less than you predicted? How about the potatoes? Will 6 potatoes weigh more or less than the apples? How much do potatoes cost per pound? If they cost ___ cents per pound, what is the total cost?

Some grocery stores have scales that tell all the answers to these questions, so in that case, estimate using the same procedure to make sure the machines are accurate.

Activities like this help children develop number sense for weight and foster the ability to compare items when measuring.

Scan It

Shopping is a part of life, which really necessitates our being mathematically informed to be good consumers.

What you'll need

Prices

What to do

1. Notice whether the supermarket has prices on the items or whether the pricing is dependent on scanners.

2. If there are no prices on the items, notice the prices listed on the shelves.

3. Assign each child the job of remembering the price of a few items, particularly those listed as being on special offer.

4. Being aware of the prices of items will help you verify that the scanners are working properly and that the total is accurate when you go to the checkout.

The ever-increasing use of technology in the supermarket puts the burden on you to beware. Your protection lies in having strong mental math skills.

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