children's play Archives - Page 3 of 7

Jul 06 2021

Nature Walk

The dew drops were still glistening on the leaves as my grandnephew and I began our nature walk one early morning in Edgewood Park. We decided to take a trail through a wooded area that led uphill to a grassy meadow and beautiful rolling hills. [Read more…]

Rosemarie Perez, Parenting

Rosemarie Pérez has worked with English learners and their families in public education for more than twenty years. She has served as a bilingual teacher, professional developer, and district administrator. Administrative roles included serving as the Director of English Learners for an elementary school district and as a Coordinator of Reading and Language for the San Mateo County Office of Education. Rosemarie continues to work with families as she leads the Santa Clara County Office of Education’s Parent Engagement Initiative during the past three years. Ms. Pérez provides expert guidance to teachers, school site staff, and school administrators in creating culturally sensitive parent training modules and academic curricular units. She facilitates parent education and Common Core Standards workshops. Engaged parents are further trained to become parent leaders and advocates. Rosemarie is the mother of five adult children and three grandchildren.

Jun 22 2021

Heroes Among Us Family Activities for Preschool and Elementary School

The summer season is a wonderful time for many families to catch a great family-oriented movie, share popcorn together, and bond over some quality time. Watch a new release at a movie theatre, or view an all-time favorite in the comfort of your own home. Go have some fun!

Current Family-Friendly Movie:

Incredibles 2, rated PG

Other Current Movies

(may be better suited for older elementary students):

Solo: A Star Wars Story

Ant-Man and the Wasp

Teen Titans Go! To the Movies

All-time Family Movie Favorites, all rated PG:

The LEGO movie

Ferdinand

The Sandlot

Despicable Me

Kung-Fu Panda [Read more…]

Jaime Koo, Encouraging Literacy

Discovering the joy of teaching while in high school, Jaime pursued her B.A. in English at Santa Clara University. She also received a teaching credential and a M.A. in Education Administration from Santa Clara University. Jaime taught English Language Arts at Rancho Middle School, motivating and inspiring young people to become effective communicators and contributors in their community. From being a Middle School English Language Arts/English Language Development teacher to becoming a stay-at home mom, Jaime is an education consultant who presents literacy workshops. Her workshops focus on a combination of her ten years of teaching expertise with tried-and-true experiences that she uses with her own children. Jaime is also a Teacher Consultant with the San Jose Area Writing Project. Jaime’s mission is to share effective reading and writing strategies with families to encourage literacy.

Dec 22 2020

Winter Break Activities that Reinforce Kids’ Learning at Home

What can parents do with their kids during winter break this year with persistent COVID-19 pandemic recreational challenges? The teaching strategies featured in Student-Engaged Assessment (Rowman & Littlefield: 2020) can be adapted to reinforce learning at home during the pandemic winter break.

Parents can support their children’s learning with relevant and engaging family play and household projects. Parents can help their kids (1) define an academic goal when organizing a family activity, and (2) show their learning through games, family projects, writing, illustrations, videos, performing arts activities, and pictures of completed projects. Children can reflect on what they learned while completing an activity and share their project with parents and teachers. [Read more…]

Mary Ann Burke, Digital Education Expert

Mary Ann Burke, Ed.D., Digital Education Expert, is a substitute distance learning teacher for Oak Grove School District in San Jose, California and the author of STUDENT-ENGAGED ASSESSMENT: Strategies to Empower All Learners (Rowman & Littlefield: 2020). Dr. Burke creates digital language arts and substitute teaching K – 12 activities for teachers and parents. She is the Cofounder of the Genparenting.com blog. Burke is the former Director II of Categorical & Special Projects for the Santa Clara County Office of Education that supports 31 school districts serving 272,321 students in Santa Clara County. She is also a previous Director – State & Federal Compliance for Oakland Unified School District, the former Director – Grantwriter for the Compton Unified School District, and was the initial VISTA Director for the Community Partnership Coalition in southern California. Much of her work focuses on creating innovative digital trainings and partnership programs for teachers and families to support students’ learning. These programs were featured as a best practice at a National Title I Conference, California’s Title I Conferences, AERA Conferences, an ASCD Conference, the NASSP Conference, and statewide educator conferences.

Oct 20 2020

Recreating COVID-19 Holidays

October is an important month in our household. My grandson, Kenji, will have a birthday in a few days. Then we have Halloween at the end of the month. My grandson typically enjoys a birthday party with friends and celebrates Halloween at a school celebration. With COVID-19, we are redefining how we will celebrate the following holidays:

We will celebrate Kenji’s birthday with a small family party. He has already received a new larger bicycle for this event. Kenji will celebrate his birthday with his aunt and uncle and a special bike ride. We will then enjoy cake and ice cream as my grandson plays with his other gifts.
Kenji will wear his Halloween costume while attending his remote classroom on Halloween. Some schools will celebrate Halloween with a car parade at the school site while students wear their costumes. Other families will celebrate with their neighborhood pod of two to three families. Several families are decorating their homes and will host a Halloween party with their children. They may also Zoom with other school families and friends.
Thanksgiving will be a challenge as we may need to leave our home for a long-awaited construction project. We are looking forward to eating a take-out Thanksgiving dinner in our hotel room.
Christmas will be celebrated with a Christmas tree, gifts, and a visit with a couple of family members.

[Read more…]

Joyce Iwasaki, Early Parenting

Joyce Iwasaki has over thirty years of educational experience working with diverse students in grades from preschool through high school. Joyce’s extensive background includes teaching elementary school, serving on early childhood advisory boards, and advocating for educational initiatives as a legislative aide. During her tenure as a legislative aide, she helped create legislation that allowed incarcerated mothers to keep their newborn babies with them while in prison. Additional legislation was enacted to allow incarcerated pregnant mothers to remain unshackled during labor and delivery. Ms. Iwasaki established and served as the president of an educational scholarship foundation for fifteen years. Her foundation awarded college scholarships to emerging student leaders who provided service to their schools and communities. Joyce is active in performing arts and cultural organizations. She also provides ongoing support to her daughter and family by raising her grandson in her home.

Nov 05 2019

Learning About My Grandson When Cleaning

A couple times a month, I help my grandson sort out school papers and clean his room. Although it looks like we are helping mom accomplish a difficult task, I love helping my grandson because I am able to learn more about his interests and what he is learning in school.

A Shared Experience

Our room cleaning project has provided the following insights:

We occasionally sort through his toys to identify what he wants to keep and what he no longer needs and would like to donate to other children.
As we sort the toys, we discuss happy memories playing and what we would like to do in future on various play dates.
We discuss various interests and how his toys can help him explore new interests. For example, Lego can be used for various science explorations.
My grandson is able to reflect on what he values and I can share my experiences.
We brainstorm new activities and outings we can share together to explore new and expanding interests.
Sometimes, we sort through his book collection and talk about our many memories of reading various books together. We may start reading the book together again and relive various interests and outings that are relevant to the story. My grandson may also decide that some of the books should be donated to other children.
When sorting artwork, we discuss how he felt when making the art piece and what it represents. My grandson may describe a wonderful adventure that he was thinking about when creating his masterpiece. Other times, he will share a silly story about how his art piece was developed and what it represents. We have wonderful laughs and discussions as he selects which artwork he wants to hang up in his room.

[Read more…]

Joyce Iwasaki, Early Parenting