Ready for some Halloween fun?
1 – Grab a die and a piece of paper (or iPad) and use the guide below to choose elements of your story.
2 – Share your spooktacular story with your EY Coordinator. The SUSPENSE is killing us!
All posts by Megan Thompson
L. Arts Mini Spark #50 – Report Writing
The purpose of news report writing is to inform an audience. A report is a story that is currently happening or that just happened. Writing a news report is easy if you report on the subject clearly and write in a style that is clear, concise, and active. One should gather answers to the 5 W’s and H questions while writing about an event or something that happened.
1 – Watch this video about the basics of writing a news report.
2 – Complete the following activities and email a photo of each to your EY Coordinator.
3 – Visit, Scholastic Kids Press. Select an article and identify the 5 W’s in the story.
SEL Mini Spark #3 – Square Breathing
In this video, boost your superpowers of calm and focus by breathing as Puffer Fish keeps time. Try playing this mindful game when you are overly excited or are in a meltdown. It is also helpful to play this game when you feel already feel relaxed to build the muscles of calming down in more stressful situations.
1 – Practice Square Breathing by watching this video and following along.
2 – Remember what you learned about square breathing the next time you feel stressed or upset. Share this technique with a friend or family member.
SEL Mini Spark #3 – Square Breathing
In this video, boost your superpowers of calm and focus by breathing as Puffer Fish keeps time. Try playing this mindful game when you are overly excited or are in a meltdown. It is also helpful to play this game when you feel already feel relaxed to build the muscles of calming down in more stressful situations.
Avokiddo Emotions App
This easy-to-use, friendly app can be great for kids who need help understanding that emotions can be detected by facial expressions. This is particularly important for kids who are nonverbal or on the autism spectrum.
Website for Parents
SENG (Supporting the Emotional Needs of the Gifted) is a nonprofit network of people who guide gifted, talented, and twice-exceptional individuals to reach their goals intellectually, physically, emotionally, socially, and spiritually.
THe SENG website is loaded with resources to help parents and educators guide gifted children. By joining SENG, members can register for online SENGinars, join a parent support group, and have access to the SENG library.
https://www.sengifted.org/
Book Recommendations
Gifted Kids Survival Guide: 10 and Under
An updated, informative book examines the problems of gifted and talented students and explains how they can make the best use of their educational opportunities, get along better with parents and friends, and better understand themselves.
Gifted Kids Survival Guide: Teen Handbook
Written with help from hundreds of gifted teenagers, this handbook is the ultimate guide to surviving and thriving in a world that doesn’t always value, support, or understand high ability. Full of surprising facts, step-by-step strategies, practical how-tos, and inspiring quotations, featuring insightful essays contributed by gifted teens and adults, the book gives readers the tools they need to understand giftedness, accept it as an asset, and use it to make the most of who they are. Teens learn the facts about giftedness, including:
- what “giftedness” means (and doesn’t mean)
- the truth about IQ, tests, and testing (and four reasons why tests can’t be trusted)
About the Author
Award-winning author and publisher Judy Galbraith, M.A., has a master’s degree in guidance and counseling of the gifted. A former classroom teacher, she has worked with and taught gifted children and teens, their parents, and their teachers for many years. In 1983 she started Free Spirit Publishing, which specializes in Self-Help for Kids® and Self-Help for Teens® books and other learning resources. Judy is the author or coauthor of several books, including The Gifted Teen Survival Guide, When Gifted Kids Don’t Have All The Answers, What Kids Need to Succeed, and What Teens Need to Succeed. She has appeared on Oprah and has been featured in Family Circle and Family Life, as well as numerous other magazines, newspapers, and broadcast and electronic media. She lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota
NAGC Parent Resources
As you get to know your sensitive, energetic toddler, watch your 10 year struggle to fit in at school, or agonize with your high schooler about multiple college choices, you may wonder why your child seems different from other children. Is your child gifted? If yes, what next? NAGC works to provide you the tools you need to help your child succeed.
Advice from William Schlitz, father of Haley Taylor Schlitz, on raising a gifted child.
SEL Mini Spark #2 – Guided Meditation
Do you sometimes feel stressed from juggling school, friends, family, and extracurricular activities? If so, don’t worry! You’re not alone. We’ve got you covered! Sal from Khan Academy has recorded a few short meditations to help you relax.
You may be wondering—what is meditation? Why should I do it? Meditation, a simple practice of mindfulness, can help you reduce stress and improve your focus.
1 – Practice by listening to “Guided Meditation for Students” with Sal.
2 – Set some reminders to meditate on your iPad. Maybe begin with a few times a week and eventually find a time each and every day to practice meditation.
3 – Check back here every so often for a new guided meditation with Sal.
Source: KhanAcademy
SEL Mini Spark #1 – Developing a Growth Mindset
1 – Watch this video on Growth Mindset.
This is a story of two seeds – both planted on the same day, in the same soil, in the same garden bed. One has a growth mindset—with a curious desire to grow and reach the outside world—while the other has a fixed mindset—filled with fear and choosing the remain stagnant in its soil.
This video explores the characteristics of a fixed mindset and a growth mindset. It busts the myth of perfection and teaches you to appreciate mistakes and failures. The video explains that fear is a natural universal emotion, how challenges help you grow, and provides tips on how to switch on their growth mindset.
Source: ClickView for Schools
2 – Think of a time that you were challenged and frustrated. What did you do to get through the situation? Write at least a paragraph (on iPad or paper) about this personal experience and what you learned from it. At the end of your paragraph, write some tips for developing a growth mindset.
3 – Keep your story for a reminder when you face your next challenge. If you would like to share your story, email your document or a photo of your written work to your EY Coordinator.