Tips

to Help Your Child: Executive Functioning Skills Recently, I participated in an Executive Functioning Skills workshop that discussed interventions and tips that can be done at home and at school to help students. In this workshop we discussed some essential things that I think could benefit us all to know. What are executive functioning skills? To put it simply, executive functioning skills are things like organization, time management, etc. It is the ability to manage what is around you in order to achieve a goal. Examples: Managing time in the morning to brush your teeth, get dressed, eat breakfast and get school things ready in order to make the bus on time. Planning out what you need to do a research project and how it will look before you start. Planning what to pack before going on a trip. How it affects learning and daily life: Initiating tasks Keeping track of time Finishing work on time Asking for help Being organized When you think about it, we use skills like these every day in our lives: as learners, workers and members of the community. The skill of keeping track of time is necessary in school when you have 10 minutes to finish an activity before lunch, at a job when your boss says something is due by the end of the day, or in daily life when you only have so long to run an errand. Some ideas to help develop executive functioning skills: Keep a consistent bedtime throughout the weekday and weekend. Make sure your child is getting enough sleep every night.

 Make sure your child is getting enough nutrition (food/water) throughout the day. A healthy snack after school before your student does their homework can do a lot to help their functioning. For homework, have a set time to work on homework and an area that they always work in. Help students make a checklist of things they have to get done (pre- planning). This can be done in all areas such as: morning routine, getting ready for soccer practice, setting the table for dinner and homework. For the technology savvy parents, take a picture of all the things your child needs to be ready for something and attach it to their bag. Example: For soccer practice you might take a picture of a soccer ball, soccer uniform, knee pads, shoes and a water bottle (all one picture) and attach it to your childs soccer bag. A huge issue for children and adults alike is time management on the computer. A free program to help with this is iFocus, and its available online at http://www.ifocusonwork.com/ For more information, refer to the articles on LD Online: What is Executive Functioning? http://www.ldonline.org/article/29122/ Executive Functioning Fact Sheet: http://www.ldonline.org/article/24880/ If you have any other questions, feel free to email me at kowen@emsd63.org. BONUS TIP: If your child struggles with spelling and grammar, a useful tool for the computer is a program called Ginger Software that is a free download and works right in Microsoft Word. It helps with misspelled words but also words that are used incorrectly in a sentence. The program is available at: http://www.gingersoftware.com/ ~Ms. Owen

TheSpecialEducationTeamwouldliketothankallofthewonderfulstaffatNelsonforhelpingto makethetransitionintotheLREmodelsosuccessfulforallofourstudents.Thewholestaff hasbeengreatwithmakingaccommodationsandmodifications,usingdifferentiated instructionalstrategiesandworking/collaboratingwiththespecialeducationstafftohelpeducate allstudentswithinthegeneraleducationsetting.Belowisanarticlefrom www.readingrockets.comwhichprovidessomeexcellentactivitiesthatyourchildcanbe engagedinoverthesummerbreak. Withsummerapproaching,hereareafewthingstohelpkeepthoseacademicskillsupand running: Reading: 1.Readatleast2025minutesperdaybooks,magazines,internetarticles,newspapers. 2.Watchafavoritetvprogramandretellwhatyouwatchedtoafamilymemberorfriend. 3.GototheNilesPublicLibraryandcheckoutsomeengagingreadingmaterials. Writing: 1.Keepadailysummerjournal. 2.Writeoutmomanddadsgrocerylistfortheweek. 3.GoontotheScholasticwebsiteandusethestorystartergenerator (http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/storystarters/). 4.TryoutInkleWriter(http://www.inklestudios.com/inklewriter),whereyoucancreate interactivestorieswithmultipletwistsandendingsdependingonwhatyouchoose! 5.Describeyourday/week/tripandmakeanawesomeTagexdotohangup (http://www.tagxedo.com/)! Math: 1.Helpoutwithmatharoundthehouseincludingaddingpricesatthestore!Useeveryday errandsaslearningopportunities. 2.TryoutawebsitelikeKhanAcademy(http://www.khanacademy.org)whichhasmath videosandpracticeactivitiesforeveryage,studenttoadult. 3.PlaygamesatCoolMathGames(http://www.coolmathgames.com/)! Other: 1.ExploreNationalGeographicforKids(http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/). 2.ExploreScholasticssiteforkidsages812(http://www.scholastic.com/kids/stacks/). 3.DoyoulikeScience?CheckoutScienceBobandwatchvideosordoyourown experiments(http://www.sciencebob.com/). 4.Workonvocabulary(inEnglish,Spanish,French,ItalianorKorean)andmanyother subjectswhiledonatingricetotheWorldFoodProgrammetoendhunger (http://www.freerice.com/).ClickSubjectstochangefromvocabularytomultiplication table.

10WeeksofSummerReading AdventuresforYouandYourKids
By:ReadingIsFundamental It'snothardtohelpyourchildrenkeeptheirinterestinreadingandlearningduringthesummer break.Herearetenweeksofsuggestionstoencourageyourchildrentoopenbooksevenafter schooldoorsclose.

CheckoutReadingRockets'newsummerwebsite,StartwithaBook.You'llfindatreasure troveofthemedchildren'sbooks,parentchildactivities,andothergreatresourcesforsummer learning. Childrenacquireskillsthroughouttheschoolyear,buttheycanlosegroundiflearningstops duringthesummerbreak.Fortunately,learningneverhastostop.Childrenwhoreadthroughout thesummergainskills,canstartthenewschoolyearwithabetterunderstandingoflanguage andtheworldaroundthem,anddiscoverthejoyofreading.Themoretheyliketoread,themore theywillread. It'snothardtohelpyourchildrenkeeptheirinterestinreadingandlearning.Childrenlearn throughavarietyofactivities,andalmosteverythingwedopresentsanopportunitytoread. Whenyou'reeatingbreakfast,readthecerealboxifyou'reinarestaurant,readthemenu.Read thenewspaperwithyourchildrenanddiscusswhat'shappeningintheworld. Readingeveryday,evenifit'sforjustafewminutes,improveschildren'sabilitytoreadandlearn allyearlong.Hereare10weeksofactivitiesthatinvolvereadingandrelatedskills.There'sno specialorder,andyoudon'thavetodoeverythinglistedinaparticularweek.Justpicktheones thatlookinterestingandfun!

Week1:Celebratesummer
Writealistofthingsyouwanttodothissummer.Don'tforgettoincludereading! Makeacharttokeeptrackofallthebooksyoureadthissummer. Writedownonyourcalendarthetimethesunsetstoday.

Startasummerscrapbook.Includesouvenirsofanytripsyoutake,photos,ticketstubs, andprojectsyouworkonduringthesummer. Listallthebooksbyyourfavoriteauthor.Seehowmanyyoucanreadthissummer. Swapbookswithafriend.Keepsharingbooksthroughoutsummer. Takeawalk.Writeaboutordrawthethingsyouseethatshowsummerishere.

Week2:Keepintouch
Makeapersonalphonebook.Listphonenumbersandaddressesofyourfriendsand relatives. Designyourownstationeryandwritealettertoafriend. Startajournalwithafriendorrelative.Taketurnswritinginitallsummerlong.Youcan evendothisbymailoremail. Writealettertoyourfavoriteauthor.Alibrariancanhelpyoufindapostaloremail address. Drawapicturepostcardofanimaginaryplace.Ontheback,writeamessage.Mailittoa friendorrelativeorputitinyourscrapbook. ThefirstU.S.postagestampsweredesignedin1847.Beaphilatelist.Designyourown stamp. Wordgame!Inventacode(A=1,B=2,forexample).Sendamessageincodetoafriend.

Week3:Discoverrecipesforfun
Listalltheicecreamflavorsyoucanthinkof.NowputtheminABCorder. Inventarecipeforacoolsummerdrink.Writeitonarecipecard.Servethedrinktoyour friends. Gotothelibraryandfindacookbook.Makethemostinterestingdishinthebook. Readthedirectionsonaboxofgelatin.Askaparentifyoucanhelpmakedessert tonight. Workupanappetitebyreadingastoryaboutfood.Makeandeatthefoodyoureadabout. Wordgame!Howmanysmallerwordscanyoufindinthewordwatermelon?

Week4:Traveltheworld
Ifyouaregoingonafamilyvacationthissummer,readaboutyourtrip.Markyourtravel routeonamap.

Pretendyouaregoingtovisitanothercity,state,orcountrywithafriendorrelative.Write tothetouristbureauformoreinformation.Ifyouplantovisitaforeigncountry,writetothe embassy.Visitthelibraryandfindbooksabouttheplaceyouwanttovisit.Orsearch onlineforinformation.Planyouritineraryanddon'tforgettochecktheweather! Pickanimportantnewseventfromanothercity,state,orcountry.Findasmuch informationonthetopicaspossiblereadnewspapers,listentotheradio,andwatchTV news.Talkaboutwhatyoulearned. Wordgame!Lookforoutofstatelicenseplates.Makealistofallthestatenamesand slogans.Decidewhichonesyoulikethebest.Askfriendsandrelativeswhicharetheir favorites.

Week5:Enjoythegreatoutdoors
Pickwildflowersandpressthembetweenthepagesofaheavybookuntiltheendof summer. Planabackyardcampingtripwithafriend.Listallthethingsyouwillneedtosurvive. Planafamily'booknic'atyourfavoriteoutdoorspot,suchasthebeach,apark,orthe woods.Packlunchandplentytoread. Collectshellsatthebeachorrocksalongatrail.Useanatureguidetoidentifythem. Findsomethingsmallenoughtoputinyourpocket.Writeortellastoryaboutit. Lookforshapesanddesignsintheclouds.Drawthem. Wordgame!Makealistofwordstodescribefireworks.

Week6:Visitfunplaces
Ananimalhasescapedfromthezoo!Makeupastoryaboutit.Tellittoafriendorfamily memberorwriteitdown.Addpictures,ifyou'dlike. Whatmuseumsareclosetoyourhouse?Arethereanyold,historicbuildingsinthe area?Findtheseplacesonamap.Findoutwhatisonexhibitatthemuseumsandwhy theoldbuildingsareimportant. Gobackintimeandpretendyoulivedinordidbusinessintheoldestbuildinginyour area.Writeastoryabouthowyouspentyourtime. Makealistofzooanimals.Sortthembydifferentcategories,suchastypeofanimal (mammals,fish,etc.)orcoloring(green,brown,striped,etc.). Visitthezoowithfriendsorrelativesandfindtheanimalsonyourlist. Visitamuseumorhistoricalbuildingwithfriendsorrelatives.Writealistofthingsyou seethatyoudidn'texpect. Wordgame!Thinkofthesoftestanimalortheoldestthingyou'veevertouched.Writea poemaboutit,butdon'tusethewordsoftorold.

Week7:Becomeapublisher
Makeyourownjokebook.Collectjokesandriddlesfromyourfamilyandfriends. Cutoutpicturesfromanoldmagazineorcatalog.Writeastoryaboutthem. Createarebusstory(astorythatusespicturestorepresentwords).Writeashortstory, andthensubstitutepictures(thatyoudraworcutout)forsomeofthewords. Startaroundrobinstory.Writethebeginning,thenaskfriendstoaddtoituntilithasan ending.

Week8:Watchtheskies
Learnwhatbirdsliveinyourarea.(BirdsaredescribedinbookscalledFieldGuides.) Wakeupearlytogobirdwatchingandlistthebirdsyousee. Whichconstellationscanyouseeonaclearsummernight?Lookattheskyusingastar guidetohelpyoufindtheconstellations. Peoplehavebeenlookingattheskiesforgenerations.Askagrandparentoramucholder friendtotellyouastoryabouthisorherchildhood. ThefirstUFOwasreportedin1947.Readasciencefictionbookinhonorofit. Wordgame!Baseballsalsoflythroughtheskyinsummer.Findalistofbaseballteams inthesportssectionofthenewspaper.PuttheminABCorder.

Week9:Designsomethingbig
Inventatooltohelpyoudochoresmoreeasily.Drawapictureofitormakeitfromsome oldjunk. Readaloudthenamesofsomeofthecarsintheclassifiedsectionofyournewspaper. Designanewcarandnameit. Walkaroundyourneighborhoodandlookatthehouses.Designahousethatwouldbest suityourlifestyle. Designyourownboardgameandwritetherules. Everythingweusewasdesignedbysomeone.Startacollectionofthingsyoulike,oradd toacollectionyoualreadyhave.Useaguidetolearnthevalueofyourcollection.

Week10:Honorsummer'send
Rememberthewildflowersyoupressedbetweenthepagesofaheavybook?Remove them,andputtheminyoursummerscrapbookorpastethemonheavypapertomakea

bookmark. Reviewthechartyoumadetotrackthebooksyoureadthissummer.Picknewbooksto read. Noticewhattimethesunsetstoday.Compareittothetimethesunsetduringweekone. Makealistofthesuppliesyouneedforschool.Startshopping. Plananendofsummercelebration.Writealistofthe10bestthingsyoudidthis summer.Designamenuofyourfavoritesummertreats. Wordgame!Summerdaysarethelongestdaysoftheyear.Listthelongestwordsyou know.