Great Games and Simulation Tools for teaching STEM Content
We are always looking for new games to help kids learn. Check out these ideas:
Ryan’s Well Foundation – How One Child Changed the World
How One Child Changed the World
In 1999, seven year old Ryan Hreljac’s first well was built in a Ugandan village. Now the Ryan’s Well Foundation has grown into a family of people committed to delivering access to safe water, as an essential way to improve the lives of people in the developing world. We empower citizens of all ages to take action and effect change in the world.
Conversation: Talk About Core Curriculum
Check out Anderson Williams’ blog post. It starts with a couple of questions: What was the last good conversation you had? What made this conversation “good” for you?
To read more, here is the link: http://bit.ly/r0yV3p
Professional Resources for Service-Learning Practitioners
Check out Volunteer Tennessee’s Inaugural Issue of the Tennessee Journal of Service-Learning and Civic Engagement for research and practical ideas regarding service-learning for K-12 and Higher Education.
Take the music outside and play!
This blog post, Take the music outside and play!, is full of pictures and ideas related to music & play-based learning. I love the way they suggest using everyday things to make music outside! (FYI, the post is written for preschoolers, but I can totally see the ideas working well for elementary age too!
Healthy Snacks for Kids
Helping kids choose healthier snack foods – tips and easy recipes
Scholarships Available for Top Notch Leadership Train-the-Trainer Event!
Empower young people to become community change makers by becoming a goLEAD Facilitator!
goLEAD (generationOn Leadership, Education, and Development program) is a signature youth leadership opportunity that inspires teens to engage in meaningful service-learning and leadership skill-building to effect real community change. During goLEAD Facilitator Training, generationOn certifies adult Facilitators (educators, non-profit professionals, and those focused on youth leadership and service) to deliver the goLEAD program. goLEAD is designed for high school students, but has been successfully modified for elementary to college level youth.
Join us for the goLEAD Facilitator Training in Washington, DC on June 17-18, 2013. Space is limited, register today by clicking here!
Discounts and Scholarships are available.
Picture Books that Challenge Kids to Care
Picture books can be a powerful way to teach life lessons to children. Here is a list of books that we like to use to teach children about caring for others. We’d LOVE to hear your favorite books too!
- Berenstain Bears: Lend a Helping Hand by Stan and Jan Berenstain.
- Berenstain Bears: Think of Those in Need by Stan and Jan Berenstain.
- What if Everybody Gave? by Janet Wakefield.
- Clifford Helps Out by AppleJordan
- Clifford’s Good Deeds by Norman Bridwell
- Maisy Cleans Up by Lucy Cousins
- Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch by Eileen Spinelli. (kindness)
- December by Eve Bunting (homeless outreach)
- Private and Confidential by Marion Ripley and Colin Backhouse.(penpals & blindness)
- City Green by DyAnne DiSalvo-Ryan (environmental)
- Weslandia by Paul Fleischman
- Just a Dream by Chris Van Allsburg
- Miss Rumphies by Barbara Cooney
- Save our Park Trees by Barbara Adams
- The Giving Chest by Dick Van Dyke
Map Puzzle Game
We created a new map game today, and I thought you might like to try it to. Get a map of the USA (or any country, for that matter). Take turns giving each other clues to guess which state you are describing.
For example, my 8-year old gave the clue NAORI.
The answer?
Nevada, Arkansas, Oregon, and Rhode Island
My 11-year old gave the clue: GVURF
The answer?
Georgia, Vermont, Utah, Kansas, and Florida
My daughter challenged her brother to find her initials (AKS) twice on the map.
The answer?
Kansas and Arkansas
Finally, we asked our son Daniel to find his name in one of the states.
The answer?
Rhode Island
The kids had a blast playing for 30 minutes!
Have fun learning,
ann
10 Practical Ways to Boost Your Energy Level
Know anyone who doesn’t need an energy boost?
http://michaelhyatt.com/10-practical-ways-to-boost-your-energy-level.html
Pleasant View Kids Care Club – Cupcake Kids
Pleasant View Kids Care Club kids report their yummiest service project as their partnership with Cupcake Kids, a national organization that engages children in raising money for imprisoned children in Africa. They baked and decorated dozens of cupcakes, and hosted four cupcake sales in our neighborhood. 7-year-old entrepreneur Brendan asked almost every day if they could host another Cupcake Kids sale. They were proud to donate $150 to help African children.
It’s easy to host a Cupcake Kids event in your hometown – check out their website – www.thecupcakekids.org
Dr. King on Excellence
“Whatever your life’s work is, do it well. A man should do his job so well that the living, the dead, and the unborn could do it no better.”
Martin Luther King, Jr.
The 13-Year Old Who Is Foresting the World (repost from DailyGood)
Susan found this story in her email from DailyGood.org. If you don’t subscribe to their news feed, you should do it. Be inspired!
Felix Finkbeiner’s stringbean physique is complemented by a pair of wire-rimmed glasses and a pudding-bowl haircut. At 13, he is an environmental superstar at the helm of a global network of child activists whose aim is to mitigate climate change by reforesting the planet. Behind his apparently unprepossessing facade, Felix is really an action hero. His organisation, Plant for the Planet, recently achieved its target of planting one million trees in Germany; now, Felix is spreading his message around the world. Plant for the Planet is up and running in 131 countries.{ read more }
Toddlers Aren’t Playing At Child Care – And Here Are Some Reasons Why
I was shocked to see these statistics – we need to change this trend!
27 Non-School Skills Children Need (repost from DailyGood)
Here’s another great story that Susan found at DailyGood.org:
“When you got out of high school, did you know everything you needed in order to survive in life, let alone succeed? If you were lucky, you knew how to read and had some basic history and math skills, and if you were even luckier, you had good study habits that would serve you well in college. But were you prepared for life? Most likely not, unless you had parents who did you that favor. In fact, many of us screwed up our early adult lives because we didn’t know those skills — and we’re paying the consequences now. That’s a part of life, you might say, learning these lessons. But it’s also possible to prepare your child a bit before they go out on their own, and if we can’t get the schools to teach these skills, then let’s do it ourselves. What follows is a basic curriculum in life that a child should know before reaching adulthood.” Leo Babauta shares further. { read more }
