Hot Town Summer in the City!

A few years ago I stumbled upon the website kizclub.com. On the website they have a ton of activities, crafts, games, and lessons and best of all it is completely and totally free. Music to my ears and bank account! The crafts are some of my favorite and are easy to use since the blackline masters are always provided. One of my favorite crafts for the summer is the Fancy Sunglasses. The website offers a color pattern and a black and white pattern. I recommend printing the pattern on cardstock since that helps with the durability of the glasses. The website recommends you then use colored cellophane or plastic wrap for the lenses of the glasses. I use both hot glue and white glue and both seem to work well to attach the cellophane to the glasses but you want to make sure to be careful with the white glue as it can smear.

The kids love to wear the sunglasses outside and will actually last for a while since they are almost unbreakable! Every year I take a class picture of us in our shades – me and my stylin’ group of students. J

It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood!

Growing up in a small-town in the Northeast, I knew every corner of the area and took advantage of every local resource during the summer months when I was off from school. I think I participated in every library program from the time I was in preschool through high school - I really did just love to read. When I started teaching I was amazed at how many kids didn’t take advantage of the opportunities around them. I had kindergartners who had never been to the library and parents who couldn’t find the local museum for our annual field trip. With all the fabulous opportunities in the community, it seemed a shame for kids not to be able to participate. One year I spent as much time learning about the local area as I could, and compiled my findings into a parent friendly local area guide for my students and their families over the summer. I included summer library program schedules and area tricks, such as the fact the local museum let families in free on Wednesday afternoons. I also included schedules for arts opportunities, such as free concerns in the park, and local traditions, such as the farmer’s market every Saturday morning.

To help my students become familiar with the library, we walked to our neighborhood library (fortunately only a few minutes away) and filled out library card applications. We looked at the games, CD, DVDs, and toys the library had (in addition to the books, of course!) to try and help raise the students’ excitement level. Our local library also has done a great job expanding their bilingual and Spanish sections which is fabulous for supporting our Spanish-speaking families. We also attended one of the story programs and left with a simple craft the kids could take home.  I was hopeful that if the kids liked it, they would ask their parents to come back again. Every community has events, places, and people that make it special. Exposing children and families to these opportunities can help everyone – including you!