Virtual Learning Connections

Hats Off to Grads! Celebrate with Edible Graduation Hats

Beth Werrell — Fri, 24 May 2013 09:00:00 GMT

Graduation ceremonies, parties, dinners—there are plenty of ways to celebrate your virtual high school student’s graduation. No matter how you plan to recognize your graduate’s achievements, there’s always a place for food and fun!

If you’re looking for a new decoration, party favor, or snack to prepare for the occasion, you need to try edible DIY graduation hats. These treats are easy to make and customize with a variety of ingredients. Click on the graphic to see the instructions.

View the full version of this Instructographic.

Ways to Use Your Edible Graduation Hats

Serve them as appetizers, snacks, or mini desserts during a graduation party.
Place dessert hats on top of frosted cupcakes, cookies, or pieces of cake.
Place fruit hats on top of yogurt parfaits for dessert at a graduation picnic.
Make hats using vegetable parts. Spray them with cooking spray and sprinkle them with seasoning, then put a couple of them on skewers. Cook them on the grill and serve the skewers to guests.
Fill glass bottles with juice, pieces of candy, or other foods, and then use the hats to seal the bottle tops.
Place individual dessert hats inside cellophane wrappers and give them out as party favors.
Create several dessert hats and place them inside mini cupcake wrappers. Box them up and present your graduate with homemade candy.
Use melted chocolate to secure dessert hats on top of cake pops. You can also use melted chocolate to draw faces on the pops.

How else can you use edible graduation hats? Get creative and share the results with us.

Personalized Gifts for High School Graduates

Dan Reiner — Wed, 22 May 2013 09:00:00 GMT

Congratulations to your high school graduate!

If you’re the proud Learning Coach or parent of a student in the Class of 2013, it’s time to celebrate. You may plan to recognize your graduate’s achievements by giving him or her a graduation gift.

If you are looking for some gift ideas, we’ve come up with a list of personalized graduation gifts that are inexpensive, creative, and long-lasting. Some you can buy and others you can make yourself, but each one has a personal touch to help celebrate this once-in-a lifetime event.

Scrapbook. Create a scrapbook or binder that highlights your son’s or daughter’s achievements in school. Fill it with examples of his or her best work to make it a keepsake worth looking back at.
Book. What books did you read as a young adult that had an impact on you? If you have a favorite you think your graduate would appreciate, present him or her with a copy. Books on careers, finances, and your graduate’s interests also make good choices. Write a note in the inside cover to personalize it.
Friend and Family Book of Advice. Find a small journal or notebook and ask friends and family members to write a personal note or story for your graduate. These notes can include advice for the future, special memories of the graduate’s childhood, and more. Instead of creating a book, you could also record DVD.
T-Shirt Quilt. Chances are that your graduate has plenty of T-shirts from school, clubs and organizations, sports, and more. If your son or daughter has outgrown the shirts or you know he or she won’t wear them again, use them to make a T-shirt quilt. The T-shirt designs are stitched together to create a comfy, warm, and meaningful reminder of your graduate’s interests and experiences. Make your own T-shirt quilt or get help from a local seamstress.
Homemade Picture Frame. There are plenty of things you can do with a photo frame. You can give your graduate a photo of the whole family at graduation, decorating the frame with school colors or “Class of 2013.” Another idea is to frame one of your graduate’s favorite quotes to use as a dorm room decoration.
Summer Coupon Book. Instead of giving your graduate cash or gift cards, make a homemade coupon book that allows you to spend time together celebrating his or her graduation all summer. Using the computer or craft supplies, create “coupons” that your son or daughter can redeem for fun activities, such as having dinner at his or her favorite restaurant or attending a concert or sporting event.
A Favorite Dish and Personal Cookbook. Although families often celebrate graduation by hosting a party or going out to eat, don’t underestimate the importance of a home-cooked meal! Make your graduate his or her favorite dish or dessert. Afterward, present your graduate with a homemade family cookbook. Include family recipes that are easy to make when living away from home for the first time.
Savings Bank. Every penny counts for graduates who are just beginning their lives after high school. Give your graduate a bank to hold his or her spending money or serve as a reminder to save. It doesn’t have to be a piggy, of course—you can choose a different shape or even make your own coin bank out of a bottle or jar and decorate it. Open a savings account in your student’s name as well, and encourage him or her to deposit the money when the bank starts to fill up.

How will you celebrate your graduate? Let us know if you have any of your own creative graduation gift ideas!

Fire Up for a Red Hot Summer of Learning

Beth Werrell — Mon, 20 May 2013 09:00:00 GMT

This summer, make sure your barbecue grill isn’t the only thing that gets fired up—plan now how you will ignite your children’s minds and keep them learning during the break!

The teaching staff of Connections Academy suggests four simple steps for planning educational activities, represented by the acronym FIRE. We hope these easy-to-remember tips kindle your imagination and spark your summer learning fun!

F is for Focus

Decide now on the focus of your summertime learning plans. Set some goals with your children—and on your own. Is there something your student needs to do to prepare for the challenges of the next school year? Are there particular skills you’d like your child to practice? If you start thinking now, you have time to plan activities that will focus on your objectives—and combine both learning and fun! Be sure to consider a reward system for recognizing your student’s efforts.

I is for Interested

Use your child’s personal interests as a motivation for learning. After all, for adults and children alike, it’s more fun to study something that sparks your interest! Think about the things your son or daughter enjoys: hobbies, collections, athletic or cultural activities, favorite books, computer technology … the options are unlimited! Anything that will get your child’s mind in motion—preferably without whining!—could serve as a central theme for a fun summer of active learning.

R is for Resourceful

Think outside the box—or the house! Find ways to incorporate learning that get you and your family out and about! Visit your local library to see if there are any book clubs, workshops, or entertaining events scheduled for kids. Learn something new by helping your children find a subject-matter expert to talk with: a farmer or gardener, a park ranger, a museum guide, or a zookeeper, for example. And, of course, there are many outstanding resources online!

E is for Engaged

Imagine ways to engage your children in fun and interactive learning. Include movement, social interactions, and hands-on activities. Integrate education into your vacation travels by exploring historical sites, museums, and cultural events. Look for clubs and volunteering experiences that will provide opportunities for socialization and developing teamwork and leadership skills. Activities that combine both mental and physical exercise are great for preventing “couch potato syndrome.”

As you consider ideas for your family’s summer of active learning, hold each one to the FIRE and see if it meets these criteria. If the answer is “yes,” then you’ve come up with a winning plan for educational fun!

How have you kept your kids “on FIRE” for learning during previous summers? Share your most successful and creative ideas in the comments below!

18 Ways to Enrich Summer Reading at the Library

Beth Werrell — Fri, 17 May 2013 14:00:00 GMT

It’s time for summer! And that can mean fun activities, including reading.

In the next couple of months, children have more time to explore their interests, enhance their knowledge, and broaden their perspective by catching up on reading. If you need books or ideas to encourage young readers, visiting your local library can help you get started.

Besides offering a vast number of books, magazines, movies, and other resources to explore, libraries often give your child the chance to make a craft, listen to a story, join a book club, attend an event, and more.

But your child isn’t limited to reading library books at home and attending the occasional library event. Consider creating your own fun reading activities that utilize the library. These can empower children with more creative freedom and motivate them to plan reading activities that fit their interests.

Library Summer Reading Activities

Below are 18 ways your child can enrich summer reading at the library on his or her own or with your help.

Plan a picnic and peruse a cookbook or food magazine at the library for recipes.
Start a Picnic Book Club. Visit the library with friends to pick out some books to read and discuss during an outdoor picnic. Consider poetry or short stories if you want to read anything aloud.
Before you check out more books at the library, do some summer cleaning by collecting old books and DVDs and taking them along to donate.
Ask your librarian to recommend a book in which summer plays an important role.
On rainy days, check out a movie based on a book you recently read. Watch the movie and compare and contrast it with the book. What changes did you like and which didn’t you like? Consider getting your family involved.
Sign up for a library-led teen reading group. If your local branch doesn’t offer one, host a Teen Book Club at your house.
Use a trip to the library as motivation for getting more exercise. If your library is nearby, walk, jog, or bike there. Another option is to check out an audiobook to listen to while walking or jogging.
Create and go on a summer-themed library book scavenger hunt. For example, search for books on camping, swimming, and the Fourth of July.
Older students can tutor younger students at the library once a week. This volunteer experience is rewarding and keeps the mind sharp over the summer.
Take a summer class offered by your local library. See if it offers instruction on poetry writing, arts & crafts, or a reader’s theater.
Ask your librarian if you can help out during the summer. You can learn more about how a library works and help with shelving books, preparing children’s activities, and more.
Find and use a book to help you identify the various types of trees, flowers, insects, and birds in your backyard or at a nearby park.
With a librarian’s help, identify some local authors and send them letters inviting them to come speak at a summer library event.
Ask for help in finding a book of science experiments. Look up some fun experiments to conduct outdoors.
Explore your entrepreneurial side and check out a book on the basics of business. Read through some of the principles and apply them to a lemonade stand, garage sale, craft fair, or other type of business you can start.
Find a book of campfire stories to tell during a family camping trip, bonfire, or campout in the backyard.
Start your own “Summer School of Fun.” Pick out some books that offer ideas on educational activities and experiments to try with your student’s siblings and neighbors.
Turn your favorite storybook from the library into a puppet show, or put on a performance at a homemade outdoor theater. Invite family and friends to attend the performance.

What else can you do at the library? Does your library offer any unique activities that encourage creativity and critical thinking over the summer? Let us know!

Twitter Chat Recap: The Virtual High School to College Transition

Dan Reiner — Tue, 14 May 2013 14:00:00 GMT

Did you miss our Twitter chat, From Virtual High School to College, last Thursday? Whether or not you had a chance to participate, you can still check out the highlights of our chat led by 2012 Connections Academy graduate Jamie Rose.

At Connections Academy, Jamie was involved in 4-H, swimming, and a variety of clubs and volunteer efforts. Now attending Simmons College in Boston, she keeps busy doing biology, playing rugby, working on campus, and more.

So, how did virtual school help her transition to college? We asked Jamie to share more.

How Virtual High School Prepares Students for College

“Virtual school prepared me extremely well for college coursework,” explains Jamie. “I came into college thinking that the professors would be super-strict and that the homework and exams would be incredibly hard and time-consuming, so it was a pleasant surprise when I realized that it’s not that scary.

“One of the biggest things online school helps with, of course, is time management. Being able to schedule and motivate myself to get things done has been so important. I’m very glad that I learned that skill in high school so that when I came here to college I wasn’t overwhelmed with the fact that I was 100% in control of every aspect of my schoolwork.

“The other thing that has really helped me is knowing what type of learning/studying works best for me. I have my own style of taking in information and practicing skills that works well for me, and in traditional school I didn’t have much freedom to discover that.”

What College and Virtual High School Have in Common

Jamie started attending virtual high school during her sophomore year because it gave her more freedom to learn effectively and pursue her many interests. It turns out that college gives Jamie a similar sense of freedom. “I love the classes, the research, the opportunities available to me, the events, hanging out with my friends, having so much freedom. There is just so much room to grow however I want.”

Below, Jamie shares some of the college-planning tips she learned from her experience.

A Virtual High School Graduate’s Advice on Planning for College

Only apply to schools you’re interested in. “When making a list of colleges to apply to, make sure that even your last choice is a school you would absolutely be happy to go to. I applied to several schools where I would have been happy, so once I was accepted I could compare financial aid packages and other factors.”

Find a school that fits. “I went to a school that embodies the complete opposite of my life in every way because I wanted to experience the opposite of everything I was used to. However, be aware that going to a school that doesn’t ‘fit’ you can be challenging (but a great opportunity for growth!). So I guess my advice is just to make sure it’s what you really want and where you can see yourself living every day.”

You don’t have to know your major before you start. “Almost every single one of my friends (myself included) has changed majors since coming to college.”

Do you have any more questions about the benefits of virtual school for college preparation? Take a look at the resources below for more information on important college topics.

What do you think is the best way virtual high school prepares students for college? Share your experience with us.

Educational Alternatives to Traditional Mother's Day Activities

Beth Werrell — Fri, 10 May 2013 09:00:00 GMT

How do you celebrate Mother’s Day with your family?

Your family may have a variety of traditions. Receiving flowers and gifts, eating breakfast in bed, and taking the day off are just of few of the perks you might enjoy on this well-deserved holiday.

Most of these activities give mothers the chance to sit back and relax. But for those who want to spend the day more actively engaged with their families, there are plenty of alternatives to choose from. Take a look at the list below for some creative ways to substitute common Mother’s Day traditions for hands-on educational experiences.

Tradition: Give Mom Flowers

Alternative: Enjoy Nature Together

Cut flowers and potted plants are wonderful gifts to receive, but they’re just as beautiful in the wild. Take some time to enjoy the spring weather and blossoming plant life by trying these ideas with your child.

Go on a hike through your local park and discuss your favorite things about nature.
Weed the garden or plant your favorite flowers.
Plant a tree and discuss how it helps the environment.
Visit a flower garden, arboretum, or state park you’ve never been to.

If your child needs more stimulation while exploring the outdoors, add some activities to your day that will keep him or her engaged. For example, ask your child to bring along a pad and pencil to sketch the landscape, or teach him or her about the symmetry apparent in nature.

Tradition: Give Mom a Gift

Alternative: Give to Others

Giving cards and gifts is a traditional way to show appreciation, but it’s even more meaningful to spend time helping others, whether they’re friends, family, or strangers. So show your child why giving is so important.

Volunteer at a park, shelter, or other local organization to teach your child firsthand how to give to others.
Spend time with grandmothers in your family, looking at photos and sharing memories so your child can learn more about your family history.
Help your child make cards and homemade Mother’s Day gifts to send to other mothers and grandmothers, such as women serving abroad in the military or those living in nursing homes.

Tradition: Give Mom the Day Off

Alternative: Help Mom Get Things Done

When your family takes over the chores for the day, you have some extra time to yourself. But you could probably get even more done around the house if you took charge and coordinated a big family cleaning effort. After all, your child has to listen to and obey you without complaint since it’s Mother’s Day!

Need to organize the school area? Have your child practice his or her organizational skills by cleaning up all of the stuff that has accumulated over the school year.
Lead your family in a big spring cleaning effort and make it a learning experience, too.
Keep your child busy with some upcycling projects, teaching him or her to reduce, reuse, and recycle.

Tradition: Make Mom Breakfast in Bed

Alternative: Teach Your Kids Kitchen Lessons

Instead of eating breakfast in bed, get up and get cooking in the kitchen with your child. Passing on important lessons about food and meals could give you and your child lasting Mother’s Day memories. Here are some activities to try.

Make a family recipe. Pass on an important family tradition by teaching your child how to make one of your family’s favorite dishes. Encourage him or her to do most of the work under your supervision.
Cook a new dish together. Choose a recipe that sounds good to both of you, and learn how to make it together.
Teach your child to dine on a budget. Considering cost is important to meal planning. Challenge your child to plan dinner using some of these money-saving tips.
Experiment with Kitchen Science Activities. Show your child the scientific capabilities of common ingredients by making a battery out of a lemon or growing crystals with egg geodes.

You’ll note that none of these fun and enriching activities are gender-specific, so if you prefer to relax, you could ask Dad to take over! And while your family is engaged in learning together, you can enjoy a bubble bath, have lunch with a friend, go shopping, or do whatever it is that helps you recharge and feel happy. It’s your special day, and you’ve earned the right to celebrate!

Make the Most of Your Virtual High School Graduation Announcements

Beth Werrell — Wed, 08 May 2013 14:00:00 GMT

When virtual high school students approach the end of their senior year, they participate in all of the typical graduation activities that students do at brick-and-mortar schools. Virtual students can get their senior pictures taken, plan graduation parties, and receive their diplomas at a live graduation ceremony.

As a virtual school student, you can also send out graduation announcements to remind friends and family members that your graduation is coming up. Your announcements can also double as invitations to your graduation party. But that’s not all—there are countless other ways to use printed graduation announcements. Get creative by trying some of the ideas below.

Announce Your Future Plans

Graduation announcements offer an effective outlet for sharing your future plans. On the announcement, you could include:

The name of the college or university you’re attending
Your course of study or training
The professional opportunities you plan to pursue
Your plans for joining the military or another organization
Your new address and contact information if you are moving away from home
Your summer plans

Save It as a Memento

Sending graduation announcements that share your senior pictures are great for hanging on the fridge. But announcements have a lot more longevity when used in other ways. Here are some of things in which students can showcase an announcement:

A scrapbook
A memory box
A picture frame
A time capsule (write down your goals on the back of it)
A high school collage for your room or dorm room

Include a Thank-You Note

Use the graduation announcement to write a personalized note thanking important people for the support and encouragement they have offered throughout your education. You can write it on the back of the announcement, include the announcement in a thank-you card, or even print out graduation announcements that double as cards. Consider sending a thank-you to:

Teachers
Administrators
Friends
Relatives
Coaches or organization leaders

Parents, Learning Coaches, and siblings have probably helped you put your announcement together, so you might want to create more customized thank-you cards for them.

Network with Your Contacts

Besides informing friends about your upcoming virtual high school graduation, try sending announcements to friends and acquaintances to expand your professional network. Whether you plan to attend college or pursue other opportunities, include a request for the following, if relevant:

Job shadowing opportunities
Career advice
Future recommendations
A discussion over lunch

If you write a note on the back of the announcement or enclose the announcement with a note in an envelope, make sure you explain your future plans and then express your interest in learning more from your contact.

Promote Your Online Identity

Your online identity is an important part of your professional image, so you have to present yourself in the best way possible online. Whether you have active social media accounts or not, now is a good time to use social media to engage in online networking. Here are some of the ways you can use your graduation announcement online:

Post the announcement on Facebook and include it in an album along with your senior photos
Share the announcement on Twitter
Create a professional Pinterest board on your profile and pin the image of your announcement to it
Upload the announcement to your blog or website, if you have one

Share your other creative ideas for using graduation announcements in the comments below.

Create Crystals in this Egg Geode Experiment

Dan Reiner — Mon, 06 May 2013 09:00:00 GMT

From raising chicks to cooking breakfast to decorating for fun, eggs have a wide variety of uses. You can even use eggs to conduct educational science experiments with your virtual school students!

It’s time to crack open some eggs and make your own geodes. The Egg Geode Experiment is designed to help students in grades K–5 discover how crystals grow. Just a few of the concepts you can cover with your child during this experiment include solvents and solutes, chemical reactions, and geology.

Take a look at the Egg Geodes instructographic below to see the directions for this experiment.

View the full version of this Instructographic.

How Much Do You Know about Geodes?

What are geodes?

Geodes are hollow rocks that have a mineral formation inside.

Did you know…

Not all geodes have crystals inside. Some have more colorful formations of minerals such as agate and jasper, and sometimes the insides are solid.

Where do they come from?

Geodes come from sedimentary and igneous rock. They are created when rock forms around a pocket of gas or an empty space in the earth. You can find a lot of geodes in the Midwest, particularly where Illinois, Iowa, and Missouri meet.

How do you identify a geode?

Geodes are typically round or oval with a somewhat lumpy surface, but you can’t determine exactly what’s inside it until you break one open.

Although the eggs are already broken in this experiment, their shells give the homemade minerals a place to form. Let us know how your egg geodes turn out in the comments below!

#AskConnections Twitter Chat: From Virtual High School to College

Dan Reiner — Fri, 03 May 2013 09:00:00 GMT

How does virtual high school prepare teens for college? Can online school help kids get ready for careers? Is the transition to college difficult for a virtual school student? Learn the answers to questions like these by attending our upcoming live Twitter chat, From Virtual High School to College, featuring Jamie Rose, a college freshman and 2012 Connections Academy graduate.

Jamie, who switched to Arizona Connections Academy during her sophomore year of high school, believes that virtual school was extremely beneficial in preparing her for college. She will join us live at #AskConnections on Thursday, May 9, from 8:00 to 9:00 p.m. EDT to share her experiences and answer your questions!

Even with a challenging curriculum and Advanced Placement classes, Jamie enjoyed her virtual high school experience and found that she had more flexibility to do her favorite activities, such as swimming, taking care of her horses, and being the vice president of her local 4-H. She appreciated the helpful guidance from her Connections Academy counselors, as well as having a real graduation ceremony and celebration.

Currently wrapping up her freshman year at Simmons College in Boston, Jamie reports that the time-management skills she learned as a virtual school student have helped her manage her busy schedule, which includes full-time studies as a biology major, a campus job, and playing rugby.

Jamie says, “It helps to already know what learning and studying methods work best for me. As a virtual school student, I learned that I have my own style of taking in information that works well, and in my bricks-and-mortar school I didn’t have much freedom to discover that.”

To chat with Jamie, follow us @ConnectionsAcad. Then, on Thursday, May 9, from 8:00 to 9:00 p.m. EDT, sign in to Twitter and tweet your questions using the hashtag: #AskConnections.

The From Virtual High School to College chat will be open to the public to help any parents and teens who are considering virtual school, so feel free to tell your friends. We invite you to even tweet this post! You can also see the questions and answers from our previous Twitter chats by visiting Virtual High School and Beyond and The Parent to Learning Coach Transition.

If your child has graduated from virtual school, please share your experiences and hints for making a successful transition to college or a career! Post your insights in the comments below.

Ways to Say Thank You on National Teacher Day

Dan Reiner — Wed, 01 May 2013 16:00:00 GMT

Engaging classes, thorough curricula, and supportive parents all factor into a quality education. But most importantly, great education takes great teachers. National Teacher Day is coming up on May 7th—and it’s a great way for students to reach out and thank a special teacher.

If your student attends a virtual school, consider celebrating National Teacher Day by sending a creative online thank-you. Here are some different ways you can help your student show his or her appreciation.

Send a Thank-You E-Card

Sending a thank-you card is a traditional but effective way to show your appreciation for a teacher. To send a card online, your student can design his or her own thank-you e-card using a free tool such as Punchbowl.

In the message, encourage your student to be as specific as possible, describing an instance when he or she truly appreciated the teacher’s help with a concept or exercise. The details your student provides will make his or her teacher’s day extra-special!

Create a Teacher Word Cloud

A word cloud is a graphic that visually represents a selection of text. When you use a word cloud website, you type in or paste text in the designated area, and then the tool will generate the graphic for you. The more often a word is used in a selection, the larger it will appear in the word cloud.

To make a word cloud, tell your student to create a list of positive words that describe his or her teacher, such as “fun,” “interesting,” “kind,” and so on. Try some of the following websites and experiment with the different features each one offers. The websites usually allow you to change the font style, color scheme, and basic layout of the word cloud.

Post on the Thanks for Teaching Us Website

Students can easily write a thank-you note to their teacher by uploading it on Thanks for Teaching Us. Just tell your child to click on the “Submit a Story” button on the homepage and briefly describe how the teacher has helped and inspired him or her. Once the story has been approved and posted, click the link at the bottom of the message so your student can email the thank-you to his or her teacher.

You can also browse other students’ stories by category, such as “Inspirational” and “From Around the World.” In the search box, type in the names of familiar teachers, schools, and locations to see if anyone else has posted about teachers you know.

Nominate Your Teacher for an Award

If you think your teacher deserves recognition in the education community, nominate him or her for a teaching award! Plenty of national, state, and local teaching award competitions are held each year. Some allow students and parents to nominate teachers, while others require the teachers to apply. If you can’t nominate your teacher, encourage him or her to apply, providing some reasons why you and your child think he or she does a tremendous job.

Below are just a few examples of awards and opportunities your teacher might be eligible for.

When you visit an award website, look for the nomination criteria and the application deadlines. For local opportunities, visit the department of education website for your state to look for information on Teacher of the Year awards.

Record a Thank-You Video

Help your student record a short video thanking his or her teacher using a webcam, smartphone, or video camera. You can create a simple video file using one of these devices, but you can also use a video app such as Animoto if you want more creative capabilities.

To keep the video short and easy to film, tell your student to describe the number-one reason why he or she appreciates the teacher. If your student is really interested in video and wants to create something more complex, get some tips from instructional websites such as Kids’ Vid. This website offers information on scripting, making, and editing videos for students.

How has a teacher helped your student this year? Let us know why you want to say thank you!

Get Ready to BLAST OFF with Summer Learning

Beth Werrell — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 16:00:00 GMT

Admit it, Mom (or Dad)! When warm weather and longer days arrive, it’s easy to let your mind drift away from education. While you may be tempted to “let kids be kids” this summer, this practice can result in significant learning loss. Most students forget two months of math skills, and many slip in their reading achievement as well. Fortunately, if you start planning now, you can prevent this learning loss by integrating learning into your child’s activities!

Here are some simple steps you can take now to get ready to BLAST OFF into a summer of learning and avoid the “summer slump”!

B is for Brainstorming. Ask your kids to put on their thinking caps and brainstorm about what they’d like to learn! Were there any subjects during the school year that captured their interest? Do they want to delve deeper into a topic related to their hobbies?

L is for Learning opportunities. Learning opportunities are everywhere! Can you work an educational side trip into your family vacation? Are there any historical sites, museums, nature preserves, factories, or other interesting places you can tour? Be sure to also look in your immediate area for any cool educational day trip ideas.

A is for Active! Don’t let your kids become summer couch potatoes! Start collecting exercise ideas and ways to combine fitness and learning, and your family will stay healthier for your efforts!

S is for Suggestions. While your virtual school is still in session, ask your child’s teacher for summer reading suggestions. Your local librarian and other families with kids around the same age as yours may have some good recommendations, as well. You may also want to investigate books online, online reading programs, and any reading programs at your area library.

T is for Talking to the Teacher. Discuss whether there are any specific concepts and skills you should practice with your child during summer break. Starting now gives you time to find learning resources, games, and websites to use.

O is for Organizing. Before your virtual school closes for the summer, network with other parents about organizing a summer gathering of virtual school families for group activities or a “field trip.”

F is for Family project. Think creatively to come up with an enjoyable family project that can incorporate learning. Planning, planting, and maintaining a vegetable garden offers an abundance of opportunities for learning about weather, nutrition, and science. Cooking or building things provides opportunities to practice math and measuring skills. The possibilities for family fun are endless!

F is for Fun! Many games for kids have opportunities for learning hiding beneath the surface. Check out our list of fun and secretly educational games your family can try!

We hope these ideas for extending learning into summer help you BLAST OFF and rocket through a wonderful break. Regardless of which way you choose to keep your kids learning this summer, be sure to make it memorable and to enjoy yourselves!

What creative, fun things have you done to keep kids learning until school starts again? Share your most exciting and enjoyable ideas in the comments below.

Family Chat: How to Discuss Switching to Virtual School

Beth Werrell — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 09:00:00 GMT

Changing schools can be scary to children—even when the new school is at home! While with virtual school there’s no fear of getting lost in a big new building or walking into a classroom full of strangers, the idea itself is unfamiliar and strange. We suggest taking a few minutes to plan how you will discuss this change and calm any anxiety your student may have. Here are some ideas for talking to your child about making the switch.

Be a good “reporter” for your child. Just like an adult reading a news story, your child will want to know the “who, what, when, where, why, and how” up front! When communicating your decision to switch schools, make sure you first provide a simple summary of these basics, including when the change will take place.

Explain your reason for switching schools. Try to phrase your explanation in terms of your child’s needs—and how the new virtual school will meet those needs. Often, parents have several reasons for making an educational change. For example, here are a few common reasons why parents choose to enroll their children in virtual school:

Children who learn at a different pace from their classmates—either faster or slower—can benefit from the personalized learning and pacing options of online education.
Students who are distracted or have trouble focusing in a traditional classroom may do better working in a calmer environment.
Kids who have difficulty fitting in or who have experienced bullying can recover self-esteem and improve social skills in a more controlled setting.
Student athletes, performance artists, and children who travel frequently may find it easier to keep up with their studies with the more flexible schedule of virtual school.
Children who have health issues can arrange their schoolwork around doctors’ appointments, therapy, and other physical needs.
Kids who were previously homeschooled will still be able to learn at home with a lot of parent involvement, while their parents will appreciate having a high-quality, preplanned curriculum and the support of state-certified teachers.

Stay positive. Even if your reason for changing to virtual school includes dissatisfaction with your child’s previous school, keep your explanation simple and limited to the facts. Try to avoid assigning blame for any negative situations. Instead, focus on the positive elements of virtual school that excite both you and your child, such as having more time together or being able to study outdoors.

Let your child ask questions. Because virtual school is probably new to your child, he or she may have many questions! Reassure your child that there’s no such thing as a “dumb” question—and that many grownups have questions about online education, too. Here are some great links with answers to some of the questions families ask most frequently about virtual school and how it works:

What is the online classroom like?
What is a Learning Coach?
How do students communicate with their teachers?
How do virtual school students get enough socialization?
Do virtual schools offer clubs and activities?
What is a typical day or schedule of virtual school like?

Listen for the underlying concerns. Sometimes kids don’t have the vocabulary—or the courage—to talk about the issues that worry them. Careful listening can help parents find clues to what’s bothering their children. As your child asks questions about changing schools, think about what he or she is really asking. Listen to hear if there’s a pattern that indicates what your child is worried about. Once you find a clue, ask your child about his or her concerns—and listen to them seriously. It’s important to acknowledge that you understand and respect your child’s feelings before providing reassurance.

Involve your child in the transition. Doing something positive to get ready for the new school experience will help build your child’s confidence. If you can, attend an in-person school event together to meet teachers, staff, and administrators. Let your student help organize your learning materials. Practice computer skills together and complete your orientation early. Taking these steps will also help a first-time Learning Coach prepare!

Taking time to talk with your child about school change is time well spent. Clear communication—and attentive listening—may involve some extra effort, but this should help ensure a smooth transition and a positive start to your virtual school experience.

What handy hints do you have for explaining the advantages of virtual school to a young child? Share your clever explanations and ideas in the comment below.

Find Volunteer Opportunities for Kids

Beth Werrell — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 16:00:00 GMT

Although this quotation doesn’t mention education, it does make a great point about how we teach our children. In school, we encourage students to learn so they can eventually succeed on their own in the world. But do we teach them how to “make a life” by giving?

Giving help, love, kindness, and guidance are just a few ways we can give to others, and these forms of giving can result in some of the most rewarding experiences of our lives. But sometimes parents and teachers don’t spend enough time emphasizing the value of giving for its own sake. An effective way to help children learn how to give fully is through volunteering.

It’s National Volunteer Week, so take this opportunity to help your child give back to the community. Try some of these volunteer websites to find an activity near you.

Volunteer Match

Volunteermatch.org helps volunteers, business leaders, and nonprofit organizations find ways to give back to the community. On the homepage, all you have to do is type in your location and a few keywords. To find volunteer opportunities for kids, try using keywords such as “children,” “kids,” “students,” “families,” or “learning.”

Habitat for Humanity

People of all ages can join Habitat for Humanity to help build a house for a family in need. In the Habitat for Humanity Youth Program, there are different teams and opportunities for children ages 5–8, 9–13, and 14 and up. There’s also a team for teachers, parents, and youth leaders. Children can find ways to get involved locally and even join the Youth United program, which is run by kids. Another benefit of joining early on is that children can stay involved in the organization when they are adults.

Humane Society

Does your child love animals? Looking for opportunities at the Humane Society is an effective way to get him or her interested in volunteering. Browse the website’s resources for students to learn about free online courses and learning ideas that blend art, music, science, and more with animal advocacy.

GenerationON

GenerationOn is the youth division of Points of Light, a large volunteer organization. With sections for kids, teens, parents, teachers, and organizations, the website directs users to information on service clubs, project ideas, family volunteering, and service stories. Children can visit the “Pick Your Project” section to browse fun volunteering activities, such as creating thank-you art for service members or a doing trash cleanup to make parks safer for dogs.

DoSomething.org

DoSomething.org is a nonprofit organization for volunteers ages 13–25. The website has plenty of information on campaigns and causes that volunteers can get involved in, and the organization even offers internships and scholarships. The coolest feature is the Action Finder, which allows you to filter activity results by cause, location, time, and whom you want to volunteer with.

Other Ways to Volunteer

If your student wants to try a specific volunteer activity in your area, look online for websites of local organizations. Here are some community volunteering opportunities to look for.

Work at a food bank or soup kitchen
Tutor younger students
Participate in community cleanups
Visit a nursing home
Work at an animal shelter
Help out at the library
Walk or run for a fundraiser

Have you had a good volunteering experience with your child in the past? Tell us about your experiences.

Earth Day Activities for Students

Dan Reiner — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 16:00:00 GMT

Don’t let Earth Day go by without celebrating! Earth Day is a wonderful opportunity to help your child learn about a variety of environmental issues. Some of the significant topics you can explore on Earth Day, April 22nd, include:

Food
Water
Energy
Waste
Deforestation
Transportation
Global warming and climate change

Reading books, watching documentaries, and having discussions are a few ways you can cover these issues. But if you have some time and flexibility, engage your student in hands-on learning. Here is a list of Earth Day activities you can try.

Purify Polluted Water

Nearly all of the water on Earth is saltwater, and some of our freshwater is “trapped” in glaciers. That leaves a small portion of usable fresh water, which decreases as pollution increases and population grows. Help teach your student about these issues by trying this water filtration activity created by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Organize a Community Cleanup

On Earth Day, coordinate a group of people to spend a few hours picking up trash in the community. You can clean up neighborhoods, local parks, or roadsides that are a safe distance from moving traffic. This is a great opportunity to gather friends, family members, or other virtual school students in your area.

Attend an Event or Volunteer

The EPA has a list of Earth Day events and volunteer opportunities all over the country. Recycling drives, festivals, and hikes are just a few of the events you could attend. If you can’t find an event near you, consider organizing one yourself!

Make Earth Day Crayons

Creating Earth Day crayons can teach your student how to recycle objects around the house. It’s just like the Super Crayon activity we shared in our previous blog post about rainy day crafts for kids, except this one uses certain colors to make the crayons look like Earth.

Visit a State or National Park

The National Park Service offers several resources to help you and your student learn more about nature. You can take a nature walk, explore ways to get involved, and see if a forest ranger can help you learn more about local ecosystems and what you can do to preserve them. Find a park near you, and don’t forget to show your child the WebRangers site for kids.

Go on an Earth Day Scavenger Hunt

A scavenger hunt encourages students to explore environmental concepts through hands-on learning. If you have children from different age groups, this can also be a good way for them to work together. You can set up the scavenger hunt or have your older children create it for their younger siblings. Some ideas are to look for endangered animals at the zoo; plant and animal species at a park; or even eco-friendly—or not-so-eco-friendly—products and practices around the home.

Build a Homemade Solar Oven

In this activity, your children can make a solar oven out of a pizza box and actually cook food in it! By making the oven, students can understand the benefits of solar power firsthand. You can extend the lesson by discussing other kinds of natural, renewable power resources, such as wind power and hydro power.

Plant Real “Family Trees”

Help your student understand the benefits of trees by planting one. After finding a lot of seeds from the same type of tree, plant several seeds in one spot. Then divide up the rest and mail them to relatives across the U.S. (you may want to choose a hardy type of tree that grows almost everywhere). Encourage your child to record the “family trees” on a map and keep track of their growth by staying in touch with distant family members.

Do you and your family have any traditional Earth Day activities? Let us know what your plans are this year!

Learning Coach Secrets: Dos and Don’ts of Virtual School with Young Kids

Beth Werrell — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 16:00:00 GMT

Starting out as a Learning Coach for an elementary school student can seem a bit overwhelming, particularly if you have preschoolers at home. But it can be done, and done successfully! First-year Learning Coach Alyssa Erickson, who hosted our recent Twitter chat, “The Parent to Learning Coach Transition,” says that virtual school is a great way to enjoy time with your children, while making sure they’re learning. She offers these pointers for helping your little scholar succeed while keeping younger siblings content:

Do practice computer skills before school begins. Children in early grades will have a smoother start in virtual learning if they have fundamental computer skills. Find some child-safe online sites or games where your little one can get the hang of using a mouse, scrolling, clicking, and using pull-down navigation menus.
Don’t try to maintain a separate “classroom.” Placing your student in a quiet school area, away from the sounds and sights of frolicking preschoolers, sounds good, doesn’t it? In reality, doing this quickly becomes unmanageable for the Learning Coach, who has to hop back and forth between the classroom and the “play” room.
Do pick a central location for doing schoolwork. Find a space in your home where all of you can coexist. You’ll need a work surface for school—and room for preschoolers to spread out. For some families, the kitchen table becomes the classroom; others choose the family room or another area with ample space.
Don’t save school for a sibling’s “nap time.” Trying to squeeze in school for a big brother or big sister when a younger child is napping could end up frustrating everyone involved. By afternoon, your student may be tired, too—and feeling rushed tends to make both Learning Coaches and children cranky!
Do set a routine. Your schedule needn’t imitate the traditional school day, but establishing a routine is important for children. Try starting with a standard plan, but feel free to adjust and customize until you find an agenda that fits your family’s needs.
Do schedule challenging tasks early. Tackle the longest lessons and subjects your child finds most difficult early in the day, while you’re both fresh.
Do plan self-directed activities for younger siblings to do while you and your student work on lessons. Puzzles, LEGOs, and simple arts and crafts projects work well.
Do print out worksheets to complete offline. Divide up longer lessons by doing worksheets separately. This will give your student a break from the computer, plus the opportunity to work in a different location.

Despite the challenges, educating your children at home can be one of the most rewarding experiences you will ever have. Be sure to make the most of your time together!

What creative solutions have you discovered for balancing virtual school and multiple children? Share your most effective ideas in the comments below.

Learn from Reducing, Reusing, and Recycling

Dan Reiner — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 16:00:00 GMT

Your child is undoubtedly familiar with the concept of recycling. Perhaps he or she owns something “made from recyclable materials.” Or maybe your family recycles empty bottles and cans, and your child knows to put these items in the recycling bin. He or she probably even recognizes the recycling symbol on the bottom of these recyclables.

So, does your child have a thorough understanding of recycling? What else can he or she learn from the three R’s, Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle?

Knowing the importance of conservation, the science of composting, and the difference between renewable and nonrenewable resources is just a start. Most importantly, the three R’s can also help your child develop his or her creative thinking and strategic skills—and gain a deep respect for the environment.

Take your child’s understanding of recycling to the next level with a hands-on strategy.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Before you and your student take action, review the three R’s and discuss any concepts that are new to your child. Make sure your child develops a solid understanding of this concept by reviewing the vocabulary. What does reduce mean? If you have a younger student, discuss each term in familiar contexts. For example, you could discuss these different uses of reduce:

Reduced sodium snacks, which are more healthy because they contain less salt
Reducing fractions to their simplest form in math
Reducing a fever by taking medication

For extra vocabulary practice, you can ask your student to come up with a sentence using the term. Ask older students to define each word in their own words.

Here are the definitions:

Reduce — to limit the amount of resources you use and the waste you create

Reuse — to use something more than once

Recycle — to use something again for a different purpose or after it has been changed into something different

Once you and your student have reviewed the definitions, discuss renewable and nonrenewable resources. What are some examples of each? What do the three R’s have to do with renewable and nonrenewable resources? How are the three R’s related to each other?

Next, discuss ways that you and your family can reduce, reuse, and recycle.

Ways to Reduce

Walk, ride a bike, carpool, or use public transportation instead of riding in a car.
Turn on the lights only when necessary, and switch them off when you leave the room.
Collect rainwater in a bucket and use it to wash a car or bike instead of using a hose.
Hang clothes outside to air-dry on a nice day.
Make your own natural cleaning solutions.

Help your student practice logical thinking skills by writing down what resource is being reduced in each of the above examples.

Ways to Reuse

Take a reusable bag to the grocery store.
Donate old clothes or toys to secondhand shops.
Keep empty glass bottles to hold water or other beverages.
Choose reusable school items such as dry-erase boards.
Buy rechargeable batteries.
Collect small items such as pop tabs, milk caps, old buttons, etc., and use them as math manipulatives.

Students who are really interested in reducing the resources they use can try measuring their progress. For example, students can weigh a week’s worth of trash before making an effort to reduce the amount of waste in the house. After a week, measure the garbage bag again. Does it weigh less than it did before?

Ways to Recycle

Set up recycling bins at home and take empty plastic and glass bottles, aluminum cans, cardboard, and newspaper to the nearest recycling center if your community doesn’t have recycling pickup.
Start a compost pile.
Make crafts using paper bags, milk jugs, cereal boxes, and other items from around the house. One fun idea is to recycle crayons.
Take old phones, computers, and other technological devices to a recycling center.
Buy recycled paper.

Start a Three R’s Project

Once your student has reviewed the three R’s, it’s time for some hands-on exploration. Work with him or her to plan an independent project using the guidelines below.

Figure out how to reduce, reuse, and recycle more often, and set a specific goal you can measure.
List the specific tasks you will do to achieve your goal and when you’ll do them.
Decide how you want to keep track of your progress. Will you use a notebook, calendar, computer, etc.?
Decide how long the project will last. Figure out how it will have a lasting impact.
Create a plan for getting others involved in your project.
Form a list of strategies and activities you will do to learn more about the three R’s.

Planning and completing a project makes the three R’s personally relevant to your student. This is how to truly teach the importance of conservation and convey our role in protecting the environment.

How do you and your family reduce, reuse, and recycle? Share your experiences and strategies with us.

How Virtual School Works for Military Families

Beth Werrell — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 19:00:00 GMT

Between the frequent moves and stress of parental deployment, the children of our nation’s military families make many sacrifices. Often they’re the new kid on the block, adjusting to a new school and making all new friends. That’s why, in honor of the 1.8 million military kids in our country, the U.S. Department of Defense celebrates April as the Month of the Military Child.

Fortunately, with the additional option of virtual school available today, the one thing military children won’t need to give up is a quality education. Here are a few reasons why virtual schools can be an excellent solution for military families:

Portability. Depending upon your school, you may be able to continue with the same online school in a new location, avoiding a stressful transition. Public online schools like Connections Academy are available in many states, and private online schools like International Connections Academy are available across the country and worldwide.
Long-Distance Involvement. Virtual school means that lessons, assignments, and grades are all accessible online, so a parent stationed overseas can remain up-to-date and involved in his or her children’s education. This connection to the family’s daily life can help lift spirits and keep family ties strong during a period of separation.
Access to rigorous curriculum, exciting electives, and Honors and AP courses. Not all school districts are created equal. By enrolling in a high-quality online school, you can ensure your child receives a top-notch education filled with opportunities to explore his or her interests—even if you are relocated to an area where budgetary issues have led to program cutbacks.
Flexible schedule. With virtual school, your kids needn’t fall behind while moving to a new duty station. You have the ability to rearrange your child’s daily agenda according to your family’s needs. This flexibility also makes it easy to schedule school around doctor’s appointments, music lessons, and other family commitments and activities.
Flexible location. With online school, children can attend virtual classroom sessions and do schoolwork wherever there’s an Internet connection—on base, at home, at the library, or during a trip to Grandma’s house.
Parent involvement. In virtual school, an adult, typically a parent, acts as the Learning Coach. This can add much needed stability and consistency for a child whose family moves frequently. This participation in your child’s education also demonstrates how highly you value learning—and that’s a lesson your child won’t forget. You know your child best, so your input and feedback to his or her teacher can really support the learning process.
Close family ties. Many families that do online school find the experience draws them closer together. Parents also find it tremendously rewarding to see their children’s “aha!” moments and watch them grow daily. The teamwork and bonds this shared experience builds can strengthen the family during deployments and other stressful times.

If you’re a member of a military family, have a relative who serves, or have close friends in the Armed Forces, then you should discuss the importance of service with your child. Understanding the responsibilities and the possibility of deployment can help children prepare for the ever-changing lifestyle of a military family. Here are some resources that can help:

The Department of Defense’s Real Warriors Campaign website offers tips for talking to kids about deployment and other military family concerns, plus coloring pages.
American Academy of Pediatrics offers videos for military kids dealing with stress management, family separation, and reunions.
Military Kids Connect offers helpful resources for parents and fun games for kids of all ages.

If you are part of a military family—or if know a military family—please remember to thank the kids for doing their part and supporting their loved ones in the service!

How has virtual schooling helped your family—military or not—meet your children’s needs? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Creating Coin Creatures to Practice Counting Money

Dan Reiner — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 16:00:00 GMT

Using coins to solve real-world math problems is a lifelong skill that students learn early on in school. With a little creativity, you can make coin counting more entertaining and imaginative when you practice with your child. Try creating coin creatures with your student in this fun money activity.

Creating Coin Creatures

Print out the templates provided and challenge your student to build one or more of the “coin creatures” using pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters.

Once your child is finished with an animal, ask him or her to count the total amount of money it took to fill it in. If your child is just beginning to work with coins, simplify the activity by helping him or her complete these steps:

Count the total number of coins used
Make a list of how many coins of each type were used
Use pencil and paper to reduce this part into a series of math problems

Children who have had more coin counting practice can try adding the total of the coins in their head. If your student has filled in more than one animal, ask him or her to determine which animal is worth the most money and which is worth the least.

Try More Coin Creature Activities!

Add the animals. Prompt your student with some simple addition problems. How much money would the lion and the giraffe add up to? How much would the fish and the lion be worth? Which pair is worth more, the snake and the fish or the fish and the giraffe?

Challenge question: More coins are used to create the giraffe than the lion, but the lion adds up to more money than the giraffe. Why is this?

Build on a budget. Lay out all of the animal templates in front of your student. Give him or her a specific amount of money to stay under or match exactly. Challenge your student to determine which of the animals he or she can build.

Create your own coin creatures. Ask your student to design his or her own animal or object out of coins. Consider trying these modifications:

Give your student a specific amount of change to create a template with.
Introduce silver dollars to the mix and have your student create a template that incorporates five types of coins instead of four.
If you have more than one virtual student, ask an older student to create a new coin template for a younger sibling to fill in.

Hunt for hidden coins. Gather all of the coins needed to fill in one of the animals and hide them around the room. When your student returns to the room, tell him or her to hunt for the coins, and add them to the animal as they are found. You can also:

Time your student just for fun.
Double the amount of coins you hide and have two siblings or friends race to finish their animal.
Modify the Coin Collection idea in our list of indoor P.E. activities for K–5 students by asking your child to find as many coins as he or she can in 1–3 minutes. Then see what kind of animal template he or she can create using these coins. Try this activity a few more times to create additional animals, then see which one is worth the most, which uses the most coins, and so on.

Color the coin creatures. Encourage your child to color in the coin creatures and draw the animals’ natural habitats in the background. You can also have your student color in the templates he or she created.

How Coin Creatures Reinforce Skills

Creating coin creatures helps a child build both math and counting skills. Children practice adding change, comparing different amounts of money, and recognizing coins by their size and amount.

This money activity also offers children the opportunity to think creatively about coins. Take this activity to the next level by exploring other ways that coins are used in art and more. Check out these examples:

Coin furniture
A Penny Mosaic of Abraham Lincoln
Coin jewelry made from ancient treasure!

Take this time to explain to your child what you can and cannot legally do with money. Do some research together to find more information on the prohibitions and exceptions. If your child is interested in learning more about coins, give him or her some time to visit the United States Mint H.I.P. Pocket Change™ website for kids.

Getting involved in counting practice with your child can help you prepare to raise a financially fit kid. Tell us any other ideas you have for coin or money activities!

The ABCs of Challenging Gifted and Talented Kids

Beth Werrell — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 16:00:00 GMT

While raising a gifted and talented child can be rewarding, it can also cause anxiety and self-doubt, even for an experienced parent. How can you ensure that your bright, advanced student is receiving enough challenge to make the most of his or her gifts?

Naturally, you’ll want to connect your child with Gifted and Talented courses and specially trained teachers who know how to inspire gifted and talented students. But particularly for a gifted kid, the brain doesn’t “turn off” when schoolwork is done! To keep your young Einstein happy and fully engaged in learning, try the following simple yet effective techniques in your daily life together:

Accelerate

Once a gifted child grasps a concept, move on! The drill and repetition used to reinforce learning for most students will only frustrate a gifted kid.

Broaden

Encourage your student to make mental connections and draw conclusions by using broad, guiding questions. You might ask, “What is friendship, and why do we value it?” after watching The Lion King. A walk in the woods might be a great time for questions like, “What role does a dead tree play in its ecosystem?” Teachers use this technique to encourage class discussions, but you can also apply it to spark lively conversations about books, movies, local or national news, family events, and more!

Curiosity and Creativity

Often gifted children generate a seemingly endless stream of questions. While this behavior can be exhausting to an overworked parent, try to encourage the curiosity and creativity behind it. Don’t feel that you must always have all the answers—that’s more pressure than any parent deserves! Instead, coach your child on finding his or her own answers in books and on Internet sites you’ve found to be child-safe. Or, the next time your child asks, “What would happen if…” encourage your budding da Vinci (or Picasso) to show you what he or she imagines!

Deepen

When a subject captures your talented student’s fancy, let him or her dig in! If your young mathematician is fascinated by infinite possibilities of pi, let the calculations begin! Or if your future historian is fascinated by George Washington, suggest a biography to read, researching the clothing, food, and lifestyle of his era, or tracing his genealogy. The flexibility of the virtual school or homeschool schedule is a particular advantage for kids who love to dig deep.

Encouragement and Exploration

While parents of gifted children dread the science experiment gone awry—or even scarier, a kid who can outwit them!—it’s important to keep that fear hidden. Your encouragement and support of your gifted and talent child’s explorations of the world are critical to his or her confidence and future success.

Free Time

Although signing up your shining star for nonstop enrichment activities may seem like the right course of action, resist the temptation to over-schedule! While your child’s brain may be years ahead, remind yourself that your scholar is still young emotionally, socially, and physically. So provide a healthy dose of mental stimulation, but be sure to allow time for your child to play, goof off, make friends, and just be a kid.

To learn more ways to help your kid succeed, visit the links below:

Find organizations and resources for gifted and talented education here.
See what other school-from-home families do to inspire their advanced students.
Read informative articles about the growth and development of talented children.

Although the challenges of raising gifted and talented kids can be great, overcoming them is always worth the effort. With healthy doses of creativity, patience, and humor—plus good resources and hints like these—you can rise to the challenge and help your child achieve his or her highest potential!

What creative ways have you found to help enrich your child’s learning? Share your most imaginative and successful ideas in the comments below.

Spring Field Trip Ideas for Virtual School Students

Beth Werrell — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 09:00:00 GMT

Everyone is eager to leave the house and enjoy the outdoors when spring arrives. Winter weather keeps everyone inside and sometimes prevents us from traveling far, making spring even more welcome—especially to virtual school students, who learn and play at home. You and your student, however, can get out and learn beyond the virtual classroom by going on a spring field trip.

To explore your options, check out this list of spring field trip ideas. The list is organized by spring-related themes to help you decide what subject you want your trip to focus on.

Plant Life Field Trips

Spring plays a significant role in the life cycle of plants. Investigate spring plant growth and reproduction by visiting one of the following places:

A botanical garden
An arboretum (Check when Arbor Day is scheduled in your state!)
A greenhouse
A plant nursery
A flower garden or plantation
A bulb farm
A produce farm
A local park or nature reserve (Take a hike and identify new plant growth)
A local flower market or festival
A florist
A grocery store
An agriculture program department if one is offered at a local university

Make the most your visit by calling ahead. Ask to speak to an owner or manager to see if anyone is willing to give you a tour or grant you an interview.

Baby Animal Field Trips

If your student is interested in animals, take a field trip to learn more about the reproduction and parenting of wildlife. Plan a visit to one of the following:

A zoo
A wildlife park or reserve
A local farm or farm park
A petting zoo
A bird sanctuary
A fish hatchery
A pet store
An animal shelter

Consider volunteering at an animal shelter with your child for a rewarding hands-on experience. At a pet store or shelter, you could always surprise your student by saying that he or she can pick out an animal to take home as a pet!

Spring Weather Field Trips

Spring weather can be sunny or stormy, warm or cold. Learn more about weather on a field trip to one of these places:

A local news station (See if you can meet a meteorologist)
A National Weather Service office
A science museum (Check if they have children’s activities that focus on the weather)
A windmill farm or wind turbine farm
A kite-making class

On spring days when you can’t take an outdoor field trip, stay in and try these fun rainy day crafts for kids.

Field Trip Worksheets and Other Activities

An easy way to enhance your field trip is to take along these field trip worksheets, which were created by the Smithsonian Center for Education and Museum Studies. There is a worksheet for museum visits and one for zoo visits. These worksheets can help students think critically about new concepts to make field trips more educational.

If you want to do something else during your field trip, make sure you plan it in advance. Here are just a few activities you could try:

Sketch plants, animals, exhibits, and more
Do a scavenger hunt
Take pictures for a field trip photo album, slideshow, or scrapbook

Spring Field Trip Follow-Up

After the field trip, try some activities at home to reinforce what your student has learned. If you need ideas, ask your teacher, or look for additional spring activities on Pinterest or on other websites.

Where will spring take you and your student this month? Tell us where you plan to go. Let us know if you have questions about planning a school field trip with other students, parents, and teachers!