Take a Trip to a Museum

With spring break approaching, now is the time to consider ways to make learning come to life for your child.  Consider visiting local museums where your child can experience exhibits and galleries that make learning fun.  Museum staff members are able to stretch the visitors' imagination and flex their creative muscles in the interactive, hands-on activities.

                One such place is Amazement Square in Lynchburg, VA.  This museum is Central Virginia's first multidisciplinary, hands-on children's museum.  Visitors get to: climb, slide, and discover exciting activities as they explore global and regional topics, such as: arts, humanities, science, and health related themes.

                Another place of interest is the Science Museum of Southwest Virginia in Roanoke, VA.  Visitors can explore the light and sound arcade, plasma sphere, and a giant "big mouth".

·         in the light and sound gallery, there are over forty interactive exhibits

·         in the plasma sphere, the three states of matter are explored through physics and chemistry experiments. Plasma is a state of matter similar to gas in which a certain portion of the particles are ionized.

·         with the Big Mouth, visitors will learn how the mouth tastes food; how our teeth are designed to bite and chew; and how a healthy body starts.

                Why not schedule a day trip to a local science museum.  Your child's imagination will be sparked and the hands-on learning will create lasting memories.

Plant Beautiful Memories with Your Children

During spring break, your child will want to get outside and enjoy the warmer temperatures and fresh air.  Why not guide your child's energy into making a flower garden in your yard.  This experience will not only teach your child lessons in biology, it will also provide an opportunity to instill responsibility for the care of the plants.

                Here are a few tips to help your child get started.  First of all, select a flower bed or create a new one by clearing out any grass or weeds.  Choose a boarder by placing rocks or terrace logs around the perimeter of the flower bed.  Then smooth the soil with a rake and remove any stones or clumps of hard dirt.  Now that the flower bed is ready, the next step will be to select the appropriate flowers for planting.

              When selecting the flowers to plant, consider these guidelines:

• flowers come in three basic types: bulbs, annuals, and perennials
•  a bulb is one of the easiest flowers to grow but need to be placed in the ground in the fall for spring growth to occur
• an annual dies off each year and has to be replanted the following spring
• a perennial is a plant that dies back to the ground each winter and then grows back in the spring
• you can visit your local gardening store for potted plants, as well as, seed
• ask the gardener for advice on selecting the best plants for your child to grow

                After selecting the flowers your child will plant, help your child to design the layout of his garden.  Place the plants around the garden in different arrangements before digging any holes.  After the plan is decided upon, your child will have fun digging in the dirt to create the holes for each plant.  Follow these steps for planting the potted plants:

1.  dig a small hole deep enough for the potted plant to sit in

2.  put water into each hole

3.  gently remove the potted plant from the plastic container and drop into the hole

4.  cover the base of the roots and dirt with more soil and pat evenly around the flower

5.  water the plants again

                Now your child can become the caretaker of the flower garden, remembering to water and weed the garden as needed.  Enjoy the beautiful flowers all summer long!

Spend the Afternoon with Thomas Jefferson

Maybe during spring break, your family is looking for a day trip that is entertaining and educational. Why not consider visiting the home of Thomas Jefferson in Charlottesville, Virginia. Thomas Jefferson was the third president of the United States. His estate, Monticello, is the image recognized on the back of the American nickel. If you are planning to visit Monticello, be prepared to have good walking shoes and a light jacket, as much of the tour will be outside on the beautiful grounds of the estate.


To begin your visit, stop at the visitor's center and pay a nominal charge for the one hour tour. Visitor guides will suggest walking tours along the grounds and gardens. Take the shuttle bus to the estate entrance. The house tour will take your back in time to the early history of our country, as you witness the well decorated home. Jefferson's library and bed chamber are two rooms of particular interest to guests. From the outside, you will notice the domed shaped buildings that were designed by Thomas Jefferson. Plan to take Mulberry Row and enjoy a stroll to Jefferson's grave. Then you can return to the visitor's center and see the film about the history of this amazing estate. Also, take the children into the Griffin Discovery Room where hands-on exhibits are available for them to explore the inventions by Thomas Jefferson.

Choosing a day trip to a historical place will give your child lasting memories of lessons learned in school. Talk to your child about places studied in school and plan to make "history tours" a part of your child's spring break.

How to Plan a Vacation on a Budget

A family vacation can be expensive with high gasoline prices and expensive air fare travel. But during spring break from school, your family can plan a vacation on a budget. Get the kids involved in the planning and work together to make this spring break a fun time for the whole family. Include your children in making plans for the days off from school. Your child can put into practice math skills by helping to create a vacation budget. Have a family meeting and discuss the expenses that you expect to have each day. Include your child in making suggestions of how to cut costs and save money for special events that are a little more expensive. Here are a few suggestions that can help the family to save money and have fun, too.


You can begin by visiting venues in your home town. Check out a few of these:

1. Visit local museums and parks

2. Bring your own food and have a picnic

3. Plan a barbeque and invite family and friends

4. Rent or visit the movie theaters at a reduced price
5. Visit your local library and check out some great books

6. Use the local media to investigate other family friendly opportunities

The main thing is to include your children in the planning for your spring break vacation. You are helping your child appreciate the value of family time and are building those lasting memories that will last a lifetime.

Black History Month

February is Black History Month. Many schools include the study of African Americans in history as a part of their curriculum. As parents, you may be interested in exploring resources to enhance your child's appreciation of famous African Americans, as well. Here are a few websites that can broaden your child's understanding of the impact of our country's heritage through many African American heroes.


1. www.enchantedlearning.com/history/us/aframer/

This web site includes interactive links for African American inventors, biographies of African Americans, time lines of African Americans in history, and many more suggestions for learning projects.

2. www.timeforkids.com/minisite/black-history-month

This web site includes videos and articles on African Americans like: Martin L. King, Jr. and Rosa Parks. Other features are the "Time for Kids-Kid Reporter" article and the Disney Channel's new hit series, "Shake it Up", with Roshon Fegan.

3. www.gale.cengage.com/free_resources/bhm/activities/

This web site carries links to various activities for elementary to high school age groups. Each activity has a description and procedures for completing the game or project. They also include a list of sources for those who are interested in further study on the topic.

Take a few minutes to examine the suggested web sites with your child. Helping your child gain a positive appreciation for learning about American history instills the feeling of pride for our heritage, but may also spark a "dream" for the future.

Presidents' Day!

President's Day is a national holiday observed on the third Monday in February of each year.  Even though many different presidents could be remembered, we generally set aside this day to remember our first president, George Washington, and our 16th president, Abraham Lincoln because they each were born in February; with Washington's birthday being the 22nd and Lincoln's being on the 12th.

To learn more information about these two historical figures and about the impact their lives made on the United States of America, check out these research websites designed for students from Kindergarten to 12th grade.

http://rogerjnorton.com/Lincoln2.html

This Lincoln Research site is the "one stop shop" for students, teachers, or anyone interested in locating information about President Lincoln

·         for students: a one page summary of Lincoln's life

·         a collection of authentic Lincoln quotes

·          list of Lincoln's accomplishments

·         Abraham Lincoln's first romance

·         Summary of Lincoln's legal career

·         Report on the "Tragedy at Ford Theatre"

·         "The Lincoln Special: including a map of the route of Lincoln' funeral procession

 

www.earlyamerica.com/lives/gwlife/

The life of George Washington

 

http://childfun.com

Crafts and activities that children can make that relate to the lives of Washington and Lincoln.

 

Take time to explore the web for other sites that include information concerning other USA Presidents.  You will be helping your child learn about our nation's history, as well as, building a foundation for patriotism and love for our country.

Valentine's Day

Children love Valentine’s Day at school. They are just as excited to receive Valentine cards as they are to receive Christmas gifts. The nice thing about Valentine’s Day cards is that you don’t have to spend a lot of money to make your children happy.


Valentine’s Day can be a time to teach your child valuable lessons about being kind, sharing, and showing love to family and friends. Even though you could purchase pre-made cards with Disney characters or super heroes, why not consider making this year’s Valentines at home. This can be a fun family project that will create lasting memories for your child.

Gather the following materials for making personalized Valentines: colored paper, white paper, glue, glitter, tape, crayons, markers, colored pens or pencils, scissors, stickers, and photos. You can use family pictures or even pictures cut from old magazines.

1. Lay out the materials on a table. Begin by folding colored paper in half to form a card.

2. Select pictures to be placed on the outside of the card and glue in place.

3. With colored markers, write Happy Valentine’s Day on the front of the card.

4. On the inside of the card, help your child create a message. Think about the person the card has been designed for. If it is for a family member, the message should reflect love and care. If it is for a friend, the message should reflect kindness.

5. Allow your child to decorate the card with glitter, crayon drawings, stickers, or other artistic creations.

6. Sign and date each card. Since these cards have been hand-made by your child, I’m sure the recipient of each card will want to have it as a keepsake gift.

Making Valentine’s Day cards with your child will be a rewarding experience for you and your child. Your child will have the opportunity to bond with you as you talk about family and friends and why these people mean so much to your family. You are helping your child to develop positive ways of expressing love for others. Isn’t THAT what Valentine’s Day is all about?