For our Secondary Kids

Being home with Elementary kids requires a energy, planning, and engagement, but there seems to be a never ending storage of ideas for activities to do with them. And honestly, for the most part, they are excited about learning.

It's the secondary students that are more independent and on their own that will get left behind on this home school quarantine time. Let's face it. I haven't thought of anything for them to do other than, "go see what your teacher has posted." But now that we are on Day 5 and my college kids are walking around like they are sooooooo tired. It's time I give them something to get over being:

I just can't anymore. So they are going to join our schedule at the Lovely Day Academy with some modifications. 

News reports: They will find a current event on the many trusted sites available, read it, and create a video about it and send it to the family Marco Polo account. I have a few children that despise seeing themselves on camera. So hopefully, they will get creative. 

A few sites I like as a teacher that parents can set up a few account with is NewsELA. I love this site because you can find news that lines up with your teens reading level. 

Another source is the NY Times Learning Network . There are lessons, stories, current event articles, and activities for students. 

Journaling: I am big on journals. So I will be thinking of prompts throughout the week to get them to reflect. Today's topic was :I am lucky because............. (we are extending St. Patrick's Day lessons until the end of this week.) 

Math: They will be logging on to the Kahn academy if they have nothing else to do. 

They have classes online and will need to get those finished. But after that, they can work on these activities. And then they can: 

clean the garage

create a scavenger hunt (outside) for their little siblings

update their resume (for the job they need to look for when all of this blows over) 

Study how to interview

clean 

and they will each take turns making a meal. 

St. Patrick's Day without coins

Day 1 of Lovely Day academy. I had to go to work. The kids were so excited. They flew through everything, but no one argued and in fact, they were happy all day. And then we had to make the leprechaun trap. And this momma is not fully prepared. I have no gold coins. And I wasn't planning on going to get them. Not during this time of health in question. 

So, what am I going to do? I have some Hershey Kisses. I can wrap them in yellow paper. Done. 

We set a trap, I let the youngest take the lead. 

Thankfully, I have laminated large sized clovers from my classroom days. If you don't have those, use square paper. It doesn't have to be perfect, it's about creating memories.



This is what I did around the house 5 years ago. And now they are older and smarter. What will I do with the clues?

I think I am going to use those Ceasar's English Vocabulary words. For example: 

"I am not going to placate you, but I am near the place you ................" 

"I am so vivacious ...........

Forget it, It's 10 p.m. Google is my friend. 

Found these cute clues, yes, I am about to use.........

Thank you Tauni Everett !

Preparation for school at home

Tomorrow will begin the first official day of school at home for many around the country. I know the key to a successful day is preparation and setting expectations. A few things I am aware of:
1. Many students won't have a parent at home
2. If the parent is at home, they will have to try and work from home.

I fall in both categories. Right now, as an administrator, I have to report to work to try and figure out how I am going to help families in my District get in some Distance Learning. Our State announced the school closures on Friday at 4 p.m., so it left us scrambling a bit.

Here is how I am setting up our Homes School. We had a homework station that looked like this and with a checklist for them to get through. It helped me get dinner ready and created some independence:

But let's be honest, I will not come home to a neat house if they are in my living room. So I moved them to the unfinished basement. And our set up and schedule is ready to go! I didn't assign times to the activities because some might take more than others (we hope) and let's be realistic, school at home will NOT be able to hold to the rigorous schedule that a real school has (unless you have been in the real, real Home Schooling business).  I also did an important thing: I included the kids in what they want to be in charge of so it is not left to me. If they feel ownership of leading the others with activities, they will stay engaged longer and take it more serious. 

Welcome to Lovely Day Academy!!

With many schools canceled for 2 weeks or more, I thought I would hop back on here. It has been a while, but I have been posting on the FB page here and there. It is really fun to keep my kids engaged in learning at home. I have a few friends that even home school, so many are prepared for situations like this. For those that don't have teaching in their blood or even second nature, no worries. I already see many teacher friends sharing ideas and home learning activities to keep your family sane, together, and most importantly not tearing your house up. I hope to work on sharing those ideas here and many of my own K-12.

I still have to report to work as an administrator for the next two weeks to make sure my school district has families and students supported, but I have to make sure my children don't argue too much.

Best of luck, enjoy this time with your family. Remember, while you need to be informed, try not to keep the news on 24/7, the kids can become anxious as well. They need to understand what is going on, but they do not need to be overwhelmed with adult concerns.

A quote from Special Ed Resource:

Still Around :-)

Hi all! I am still around if anyone has come to this page. I have been working to re-invent the page and how I give literacy information. I have seen so many websites and then took some time away from posting. I am posting more on facebook now, which you can find at : MLove-Day: Integrating Literacy .

I have also taken a leap and and secured the name "Integrating Literacy" as a business name. I am super excited and scared, but I know this love of literacy is something I enjoy sharing with parents and teachers alike.

I hope you stick around, leave comments on what you are looking for, and let me know you are out there!

52 week savings plan:Integrating Money

My children are getting older and are understanding more and more about money. Last year, I tried the 52 week challenge to save money. I didn't follow all the way through with it. But I did try it a little different. It just didn't seem to help me by spending more money as time went on. So, I alternated the weeks. Week 1-$1, week 2-$52, week 3-$2, week 4-$51 and so on.....
I didn't have want to spend my time re-creating the sheet, so I just crossed off the top and bottom to keep track. Even though I wasn't consistent last year, it was my first year, I wanted to try it again. And involve my child in saving her pennies, instead of dollars.

My goal is a vacation, hers will be a special toy. Together, we have goal.

Here is a link I saw that had three other ideas : 3 new 52 week

So, how would I motivate my children? I have a few books we will be reading and using.

 

 

 

 

 

Wish us luck! Good luck if you join. 

Be grateful

During the Thanksgiving season, we like to express our thanks. Each day a person gets to share what they are thankful for and then we write it on a feather for our family turkey. On Thanksgiving day, I then had my daughter and cousins write what they were thankful for. For the little ones, I had them draw a picture and I would add the words to it. 

Small steps for writing.