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Archive for February, 2007

Author Studies–Fun for All Ages

Tuesday, February 27th, 2007

This is a great link to biographical info on children’s authors as well as links to their websites, related games, and activities. I used to do author studies with my class and had forgotten how much we enjoyed them until yesterday when I saw something on the topic.

I’m going to start a monthly author study with David…You basically read several books by a particular author, learn a bit about his/her life, look at how his books are alike/different, and then do a few related activities. Obviously everything would be tailored to the age and ability of the child. (And interest!)

For younger children I’d recommended authors such as Eric Carl, Laura Numeroff (If You Give a Mouse a Cookie), and Dr. Seuss. Now, in a perfect world, the culminating activity would be an actual VISIT with that children’s author!!! I don’t think we have the funds to make that happen though. Bummer! The point is that author studies are a great way for kids to delve deeper into children’s literature and see that there are “real people” behind these wonderful books and that they were children once too.

Anyway, here’s the link in case any of you are interested:

http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/biochildhome.htm

Posted in Reading and Writing | No Comments »

Thematic Unit Ideas for Young Children

Tuesday, February 27th, 2007

Remember that homeschooling parents can benefit from the many websites run by classroom teachers. I’ve found some amazing resources on non-homeschooling sites.

There are many pages with thematic units for young children. Here are just a couple of my favorites because of the way they are organized:

http://www.kindergartentreehouse.com/Anderson.html

http://www.kinderkorner.com/themes_and_units.html

http://www.thekcrew.net/units.html

Posted in The Unit Study Approach | No Comments »

Roots and Shoots–Kids Working Together to Make a Difference

Sunday, February 25th, 2007

Roots and Shoots began in 1991 when a group of teenagers decided to stop just talking about issues and actually took action to make a difference in their community. With the help of well-known conservationist, Jane Goodall, the group planned and implemented their first service project in their home country of Tanzania. This small group led to the formation of Roots and Shoots which is now made up of thousands members in more than 100 countries.

Roots and Shoots groups are focused on helping people, animals, and the environment, so projects and activities are reflective of this. Jane Goodall’s global organization, Roots and Shoots, reaches out to people of all backgrounds and children of all ages and provides a proven model for success that can be tailored to meet the needs of any group. Group leaders may download the manual which provides guidelines and suggestions, but most of the decisions and planning will be up to the individual group. Since every community is different, no two Roots and Shoots groups will be the same. Ideas for activities and service projects are born as a result of what’s happening in the community as well as the world as a whole. In addition, the children’s interests greatly influence group activities.
Read the rest of the article.

Posted in Science | No Comments »

Helping Children Discover Spelling Patterns

Wednesday, February 21st, 2007

Teaching spelling skills IN CONTEXT is more effective than teaching skills in isolation. Here’s an article with tips on how to help children discover spelling rules rather than just memorize them:

Spelling Strategies: Guiding Children to Discover Spelling Rules

See more of Diane’s articles on spelling here.

Posted in Reading Room, Reading and Writing | No Comments »

Misdiagnosis and Dual Diagnosis of Gifted Children

Friday, February 16th, 2007

Many gifted and talented children (and adults) are being mis-diagnosed by psychologists, psychiatrists, pediatricians, and other health care professionals. The most common mis-diagnoses are: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Oppositional Defiant Disorder (OD), Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), and Mood Disorders such as Cyclothymic Disorder, Dysthymic Disorder, Depression, and Bi-Polar Disorder. These common mis-diagnoses stem from an ignorance among professionals about specific social and emotional characteristics of gifted children which are then mistakenly assumed by these professionals to be signs of pathology.