Come Doodle with MO!
Many GMA lower elementary students recently toured the Mo Willem's exhibit at the Children's Museum. He is now offering a special art time with him, weekdays at 1 p.m., for LUNCH DOODLES.
Words from Mo," With millions of learners attempting to grow and educate themselves in new circumstances, I have decided to invite everyone into my studio once a day for the next few weeks. Grab some paper and pencils, pens, or crayons. We are going to doodle together and explore ways of writing and making. If you have questions for me, send them to LUNCHDOODLES@kennedy-center.org and I might get to answer them. You might be isolated, but you’re not alone. You are an art maker. Let’s make some together. I’ll see you at 1pm ET weekdays for LUNCH DOODLES and I hope you’ll keep making art even after my visit!
MO!"
Supportive Strategies
Supportive Strategies
by Peg Rideout, Special Education Coordinator
As an educator for over 25 years, I have worked with children from preschool through junior high and facilitated classes for post-secondary learners too. While you may say I haven’t seen it all, especially when it comes to your child and his/her issues, I have accumulated many “tools in my toolbox” - ways to provide positive and supportive approaches to many different and unique situations in the school/home setting. I’ll share a tidbit each week and challenge you to consider adding the approach to your toolbox! If you have specific areas you’d like me to address, please email me at prideout@gma.k12.in.us and I’ll be sure to include it in a weekly newsletter (anonymously of course).
What do you do when your child doesn’t want to do something he needs to do?
Everyone has things in life they have to do (brush teeth, chores, tasks for work etc.) but many times we procrastinate and continue doing what we want to do instead. It’s a universal problem for young and old alike! The First__Then__ approach presents the child with the non-preferred task first (multiplication flashcards for 7 minutes) followed by a highly preferred activity (10 minutes to ride your bike). Keep your language simple but direct. Using the visual support below you can write words or show pictures depending on the age of the child. Instead of engaging in a battle, you calmly point to the visual and provide immediate praise when your child follows the direction. Nice job working on those multiplication facts! It takes a lot of practice to learn new things just like it took work to learn how to ride your bike. Let’s go for that bike ride now!
Keys:
Keep language simple.
Make the request visual.
Limit verbal interaction.
Give lots of praise (high five, fist bump, etc) when your child does what he needs to do.
Follow through on the reward immediately.
Which One Doesn't Belong?
Which One Doesn't Belong?https://wodb.ca/
is a website dedicated to providing thought-provoking puzzles for math teachers and students alike. There are no answers provided as there are many different, correct ways of choosing which one doesn't belong. Enjoy!
Which shape doesn't belong?https://wodb.ca/shapes.html
Padlet to Share Ideas
We have already been receiving so many incredible ideas and adorable pictures of amazing projects/learning at home. As such, I have decided to create this Padlet for our GMA School Family: Better Together: Padlet to Share Ideas/Learning
Please feel free to share photos, ideas, or other positive items to this site. You can upload items by clicking on the + sign. This is a fun way that we can all stay connected as a supportive and caring community. I look forward to the posts, and thank you for sharing!
Be Fit with Be Happy Bean Bag
Activity Goals:
I will demonstrate good communication and cooperation with others.
Equipment:
- 2 poly spots/paper plates per 2 players
- 3-4 bean bags per 2 players
Set-Up:
1. Place 1 poly spot (paper plate) on the ground (for your partner to stand on).
2. Hold the spot, ready to begin the game.
Activity Procedures:
- Today’s activity is called Be Happy Bean Bag. Have your partner stand on the poly spot on the ground with their eyes closed.
- Walk behind your partner and place the other poly spot somewhere behind them in the field of play.
- Tell your partner to open their eyes but not to look behind them for the target just yet.
- Communicate how far away the poly spot is from them. (e.g., “It is 5 feet behind you, straight back.”)
- Give your partner 1 bean bag. They will toss it over their shoulder to try to hit the target according to the directions given.
- If they hit the poly spot, switch positions and let them hide the spot. If not, communicate how they missed (e.g., “You threw it 2 feet too far”), hand them another bean bag, and let them try again. (Repeat until you run out of bean bags.)
Tips:
· Add an element of success by scoring points for every beanbag tossed that is closer to the spot than the first beanbag tossed. This emphasizes improvement without perfection.
Find more home physical fitness and healthy tips at : https://openphysed.org/activeschools/activehome
What is Creativity?
Watch this 1 minute videoclip with Bill Gates, and then share your answer on Padlet!
FREE Coding on Wednesdays
Take a Code Break with Hadi Partovi and the Code.org team
With schools closed and tens of millions of students at home, Code.org is launching Code Break — a live weekly webcast where our team will teach your children at home while school is closed, and a weekly challenge to engage students of all abilities, even those without computers.
Tune in Wednesdays at 10am PT / 1pm ET, starting March 25. Learn more at code.org/break
Time for MOntessori
Purpose: Introduce and extend knowledge of the passage of time. Page one: The story. Cut out the story using the guidelines, so you have 8 individual cards. Page two: The pictures. Cut out and paste or draw a simple picture which relates to a story card. Eg. A toothbrush, or car in the first box. Page three: The analogue clock. Again, cut into individual cards. Page four: The digital clock. I pasted these to the back of the analogue cards, so the time card had analogue on one side and digital on the other. Page 5: cutting and pasting guides for cardboard backing. I printed this card 4 times and mounted my cards onto it. I used a blue background and my next story will have a different color backing card.
SEL Resources for Parents, Educators & School Communities Related to COVID-19
Ms. Cindy's Story Time: The True Story of the Three Pigs
Before listening to The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs, retell the traditional story of the three little pigs.
After hearing this story by A. Wolf: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EqjtDVLFm9xXoaK1A6_htlPw98MD6deR/view?usp=sharing make a Venn diagram, comparing and contrasting the two stories.
READ ALL ABOUT IT!
Although The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs is funny, it does make the point that two different newspapers might cover the same story differently depending on who their readers are and on what those readers believe. For example, A. Wolf's story appears in The Daily Wolf. The other news reports (that tell the story of the big and bad wolf) appear in The Daily Pig.
Think about other fairy tales that might change if they were told from a different point of view. For example, how would The Daily Wolf cover the story of Little Red Riding Hood? How would Cinderella's stepsisters tell her famous story? How would Snow White's stepmother explain what happened to her? Write your own versions of famous fairy tales with a twist and post them to GMA's Padlet: Better Together: Padlet to Share Ideas/Learning
Guest Readers needed! Have a story to share? Please send me your video (cschuler@gma.k12.in.us), and it will appear in an upcoming newsletter.
MOre at Home ideas
At home ideas:
- Find the area and perimeter of your bedroom.
- Create a “CampIN’ Day” and make tents/ create stories for camp side.
- Stargaze and draw the night sky.
- Go on a shape hut~ how many rectangles, squares, and circles can you find.
- Call a grandparent or older relative and have them teach you one of their favorite childhood songs or games.
- Make your family tree~ see how far you can go back
- Write and mail a (real) letter/card to a patient in a hospital. Address the envelope yourself.
- Test and time how long it takes for different types of liquids to solidify in your freezer.
- Design and build puppets that perform a show about kindness.
- Draw a map of your neighborhood.
- Make a bar graph of the different types of birds/animals that frequent your yard or windows in a day, week, and month.
- Interview a friend or family member
- Sit silently for 15 minutes while you write down every sound you hear. When you are done, classify the sounds (high/low pitch, high/low volume, man-made vs. naturally occurring, etc.).
- Create a Venn Diagram that compares and contrasts two people in your family, your neighborhood, or class.
- Learn, practice and perform a magic trick.
- Use household materials to make and play stringed, percussion and wind instruments.
- Collect leaves from 10 different (non-harmful) plants. Sort them by size, color and texture.
- Put your favorite book, toy and keepsake on a small table. Draw or paint a full color still life.
- Design a map of every state or country ever visited by people in your family.
- Find 10 rocks smaller than a dime.
- Imagine, create and fly a kite that tells the world something about you.
- If you have stairs, walk up and count them. Walk down and count by twos. Walk up and count by threes. Continue through tens.
- Determine the volumes of 10 different containers.
- Write a poem on your sidewalk using chalk.
- Classify 20 everyday objects by shape, size, color, height, mass and material.
- Create and use a secret code.
- Using one type of paper (constant), build three different paper airplanes (independent variable) and test to see how far they fly (dependent variable).
- Write down every adjective you say for one full day.
- Learn three new jokes and tell them to a friend or relative.
FREE ONLINE REsources
Here is a list of free education resources that you and your student can use to continue the learning journey when classes are cancelled. As long as you have an internet connection, you can use these online resources to unlock hours of learning:
The Smithsonian Learning Lab ( https://learninglab.si.edu/distancelearning)-offers teachers and parents access to millions of digital resources from across the Smithsonian's museums, research centers, libraries, archives, and more. Includes pre-packaged collections that contain lessons, activities, and recommended resources made by Smithsonian museum educators. Includes self-directed learning modules for teens and tweens.
Online courses and video lessons
- Crash Course, an online youtube channel started by Hoosier natives Hank and John Green, has 15 courses with up to 75 video lessons for each. Lessons are geared for the middle and high school student.
- Crash Course for Kids follows the same format as Crash Course but with elementary level content.
- TedED has engaging video series for all ages. Sign in with Google to create lessons.
Ranger Rick (https://rangerrick.org/)- The National Wildlife Federation has opened all articles behind its paywall through June 30. This includes Educator’s Guides and Ranger Rick, Jr. Parent Reading Guides in English and Spanish.
Stories Around the World (International Children's Digital Library) Explore tales, fables, and stories from around the world in over 59 languages.
Khan Academy (https://www.khanacademy.org/) – Khan Academy offers free courses of all grade levels to help students master subjects and accelerate their learning. Through these courses, Kahn Academy allows students to personalize their learning and learn at their own pace.
Free tutoring with Rose-Hulman (AskRose) has extended their free tutoring service hours for middle and high school students.
The Encyclopedia of Life (http://eol.org/)- an online database of over one million species and counting, provides a platform for the scientist and citizen-scientist alike to collaborate on scientific information for every living thing on Earth. This “open-science” website aggregates information from over 180 scientific organizations and scientists and as a result, provides rich and detailed text descriptions, photos and video clips, sound files and links to research and associated research.
PBS LearningMedia (https://www.pbslearningmedia.org/) – PBS LearningMedia provides students with free lesson plans, videos, and games aligned with standards they are learning in the classroom.
er lessons around the world. Then, it turns them into shareable animated videos for students.
PowerMyLearning Connect (https://powermylearning.org/learn/connect/) – PowerMyLearning Connect offers curated learning from a variety of online platforms. K-12 students can access free content in all core subjects and many electives, with the ability to choose standard aligned lessons.
BrainPOP (https://www.brainpop.com/) – BrainPOP provides animated interactive lessons, quizzes, and games for core subjects and a variety of electives.
Lumosity (https://www.lumosity.com/en/) – Lumosity offers free brain games to keep student minds actively engaged. For example, the games use problem solving, critical thinking, and memory to keep students on their toes and strengthen their skills.
Duolingo (https://www.duolingo.com/) – Duolingo helps students keep up with foreign language skills. Duolingo offers 30+ languages so students can start learning a variety of languages that interest them. Or, students can use Duolingo to practice the foreign languages they are already learning in the classroom.
Talking to Children about COVID-19, a parent resource (https://www.nasponline.org/resources-and-publications/resources-and-podcasts/school-climate-safety-and-crisis/health-crisis-resources/talking-to-children-about-covid-19-(coronavirus) This provides guidance to parents in teaching children positive preventive measures, talking with them about their fears, and giving them a sense of some control over their risk of infection to help reduce anxiety.
EVERFI (https://everfi.com/partners/k-12-educators/) – EVERFI offers free supplemental lessons for the whole student in areas of Finance, SEL, Health, College/Career Readiness, and related topics.
Visit 12 Famous Museums right from your couch!
Learn to Read Resources
These resources contain sequential, in-depth, systematic instructional activities related to the big ideas of beginning reading instruction identified by scientific research: phonological awareness, including phonemic awareness; alphabetic understanding; fluency; vocabulary; and comprehension (NRP, 2000).
For each big idea, strategy sets target the critical skills that facilitate the teaching and learning of broad and generalizable strategies. For example, in one of the phonemic awareness strategy sets, blending and segmenting are targeted because these two skills are strongly related to early reading success (NRP, 2000; Simmons and Kame’enui, 1998). In addition to “what” to teach or the big ideas of beginning reading, this book uses validated principles of instructional design to illustrate how to effectively teach students with dyslexia how to read. Critical skills are taught in a series of strategy sets. A strategy is a general set of steps used to solve problems. In beginning reading and literacy, problems can include learning how to decode unfamiliar words, how to read with sufficient fluency to maximize comprehension, and how to identify main ideas in narrative texts.
The strategy sets are designed to provide: Explicit, direct instruction that is systematic, sequential, and cumulative.
• Each strategy includes three activities: initial instruction, review/reinforcement, and expansion/integration.
• Strategies provide example wording and specific example selection and sequences to maximize learning opportunities. Individualized instruction that meets the specific learning needs of each student.
• Strategy sets are designed to align with critical skills and the components of classroom-based assessment.
• Each set includes how to formatively monitor students’ progress and build student success. Intensive, highly concentrated instruction that maximizes student engagement.
• The purpose of the lessons is to provide greater opportunities for students to produce, practice, and master content.
• Activities are specifically designed to maximize opportunities for students to respond and to receive feedback. A variety of response formats is infused throughout the lessons. Multisensory instruction that incorporates use of multiple sensory pathways.
• Strategy sets employ multiple channels of input and require children to process information at a variety of levels: phonologic, alphabetic, orthographic, semantic, morphographic, and syntactic.
Counselor's Corner with Mr. Michael
Hello GMA Families!
I have received a few career assignments so far as we continue our eLearning journey together. So far so good! I have seen great insight on different potential career paths for students. Thank you all for getting that information to me. If you have any questions about this assignment, please let me know.
I know this is a strange time being away from GMA physically. I hope everyone has been doing well and I have a few social and emotional tips as we continue another week of eLearning.
- Take some time for deep breathing. I like to use my 3 types of breathing techniques. Meditative breathing, cake breathing, and bee breathing. For meditative breathing, simply breathe in for 4 seconds, hold your breath for 7 seconds, and breathe out slowly for 8 seconds. It does not matter how you breathe in or out for this one. For cake breathing, breathe in through your nose to "smell the cake" for 4 seconds, hold for 8 seconds, and breathe out, "blowing out the candle" through your mouth for 8 seconds. For bee breathing, breathe in for 4 seconds, hold for 7 seconds, and breathe out while making a slight humming sounds like a bee for 8 seconds. These are the breathing techniques I like to use with students at school. Each breathing technique follows the 4-7-8 rule.
- Keep a journal. Write down how you are feeling about things and some things that are important to you. Write about something entertaining or a "funny of the day" to keep a positive attitude during these tough times.
- Take advantage of technology. Use this time to use social distancing effectively. There are so many ways to stay in communication with friends, family, and staff members. Email, texting, Face Time, Duo App, and Google Hangouts are just a few of the ways to stay connected. It may be tempting to hang out in person with our friends, but keep in mind that quarantine is meant to keep people from spreading the virus. Staying home and communicating in other ways is ideal.
- Take up a new hobby! Try drawing, sketching, painting, jump roping, slime making, writing a story, writing poems, doing yoga or Pilates. Anything that you may have not had time to do in the past. These ideas might stem into a wonderful new way to take your mind off of things! For me personally, I am dusting off my treadmill and am starting to run each day to help my physical and emotional health.
- It is okay to relax! We don't need to be doing work the entire time that we are away from one another. Take each day as it happens. You don't need to get everything done in one day. The flip side of that is to not procrastinate and be sure to make time for everything that you need to get done. Make a schedule for your work. Decide a time that works best for everything that needs to get done. Once you are finished with your work for the day, take some time to relax, just like after a day of school. Use effective time management skills! This is an important part of life! Helping others learn the importance of time management is crucial.
These 5 things can be helpful for our social, emotional, and physical health. Know that we are all in this together and if there is anything we can do to help during our time of eLearning, please let us know.
Thank you!
Michael Skiles
Geist Montessori Academy
School Counselor
317-813-4626 EXT: 104
Assignment: Upper Elementary and Middle School eLearning from Mr. MIchael
Career Exploration Activity
DUE DATE: MONDAY, MARCH 30th.
Please see the attached sheet with website and more details.
DIRECTIONS FOR THE ASSIGNMENT: At the top of the page, write your top 3 RIASEC traits and the numbers and the names of the 3 jobs that you read about. I also want to see 1 paragraph (5-7 sentences) about what you learned when doing this activity. Things to discuss in your paragraph: Did any of this information surprise you? Did you learn anything new about yourself when doing this activity? Do you agree or disagree with the careers they recommended to you? If you have any questions, please email your teacher AND Mr. Michael at mskiles@gma.k12.in.us. DUE DATE: MONDAY, MARCH 30th.
Notes from the Nurse
Hello GMA Family!
Congratulations on making it through your first week of e-learning at home and social distancing. This certainly has been an adjustment for us all, and we are just in the beginning stages of this unknown territory. Even as a Registered Nurse with 14 years of NICU experience, I have never experienced anything like this. The uncertainty and progression of this virus is what concerns me. I am a firm believer that knowledge is power, but with so many different types of information being published, the credibility lacks and then creates even more fear amongst us. So, I wanted to give you my take on the COVID-19 situation and how I am handling it as a nurse and mother.
What is COVID-19?
First off, this virus is scary because it originates in animals and not humans. When the
virus mutated the first time in China, and transferred from animal to human, this was a
huge cause for action. This virus has since then mutated into several different strains,
and continues to have the potential to mutate further. Scientists and doctors are
working tirelessly to get ahead of the virus to anticipate its next move. There is no cure,
vaccine or other treatment to rid someone of the virus, rather it is symptom
management. In addition, because this virus is causing significant lung damage in
humans, the resources within hospitals to address these critically ill patients are limited.
Ventilators to provide respiratory support are all in use and medications that would
normally treat lung conditions, are now showing to cause more issues because of the
way they react with the virus. The rate of diagnosis and the amount of people infected is
rapidly increasing and we as individuals must do what we can to help protect ourselves
and the more vulnerable.
How do I protect myself?
Hand washing with soap and water is the best way to prevent transmission of the
disease. If you must go out among the public, use hand sanitizer, wipe shopping cart
handles down, keep a social distance of 6 feet from others and use good hand washing.
The belief that wearing gloves and masks when out in public will not protect you from
the virus. More importantly, it actually increases your chances of contracting it.
COVID-19 is a respiratory virus that spreads by droplets and can be found on any
surface or within the air. Only special respirator masks and equipment worn in the
hospital will actually filter out these germs. Wearing a mask only stops the virus at the
point of reaching the mask, but if you touch your face with your hands, all of the germs
you have collected on your hands, gloved or not, are now transferred to your face and/or
mask. Gloves do not prevent the spread of infection. They protect your hands, but
everything you touch with the gloves picks up germs and transfers them to the next item
you touch. It is a vicious cycle. Please reserve gloves and masks for healthcare
providers as there is a major shortage of personal protective equipment in hospitals
where COVID-19 patients are being cared for. For those that are medically fragile, a
mask and gloves could be beneficial, but good hand washing should still be used and
he/she should avoid touching his/her face if possible. In addition, being knowledgeable
of your exposure and the signs and symptoms to watch for is important. The self-
quarantine period is 14 days. It is this long because it is taking up to 14 days for COVID-
19 symptoms to appear. Symptoms in children can be different than adults, so being
aware of this is also important. Below is a link to a CDC website article on COVID-19
and children. It is a great resource to be in the know about how to protect your kids.
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prepare/children.html
Social Distancing
Social distancing is new to all of us and most of us have never experienced this in our
generation. Above and beyond good hand washing, avoidance of social interaction with
others is THE BEST way to prevent the disease from spreading. This means no
playdates, no visitors to your house, not going to school or work, etc. Social isolation is
not easy and it is definitely difficult to explain this to our children. They are all missing
their friends and mom and dad are in need of a mental break. Just know that by staying
at home, that you are protecting yourself and the world from this virus. E-learning isn’t
meant to hold anyone hostage, so let those kids get outside or play and use their
imaginations. Try sticking to a schedule because little minds thrive on structure. If you
need a resource to help explain the virus to your kids, I found this great resource from
PBS kids that answers the tough questions in a kid friendly way.
https://www.pbs.org/parents/thrive/how-to-talk-to-your-kids-about-coronavirus
Please know that I am available by e-mail everyday at jsterrett@gma.12.in.us. I check it
frequently and am happy to answer any questions that you have.
Good luck and stay healthy!
Nurse Joy
Better Together: GMA School Board Supports our School family~ they volunteer countless hours and work at all times behind the scenes
2020-2021 Calendar Approved
A special thank you to the creative and dedicated calendar committee!
The 2020-2021 Calendar was approved by the board on 2/19. Please make note that all snow days will be eLearning Days on the day of the occurrence. As such, all of the typical FLEX Days are now DAYS OFF. The committee was also mindful to put Professional Days/eLearning Days next to already scheduled breaks to keep the learning more fluid and to aide parents in scheduling.
In addition, start and end times will remain the same, Pre-K and Kindergarten: 8:30-3:00 and 1st-8th grades: 8:30-3:30. We hope you enjoy that your input was heard and the majority vote on both surveys was used to build the calendar. Again, we are so appreciative of your feedback on the surveys and the dedicated team who created the calendar.
Meet Geist Montessori Academy's Executive Director: Cindy Schuler
Email: Cschuler@gma.k12.in.us
Website: gmacademy.org
Phone: (317)813-4626
Twitter: @GeistAcademy
