How to Raise a Reader

Common Sense Media is an online resource I use a lot. It posts timely reviews of new books and movies. It describes new apps and games. It posts links to technology-related research. It helps me keep up with what's going on with kids and technology.

Their back-to-school issue featured a short article called How to Raise a Reader. In it are are good tips for nurturing a love of books and reading in your child. Reading the article reminded me that kids of all ages like to be read to, even after they are able to read by themselves. I'm hoping to hook some readers myself this year by reading very short snippets of books at the start or end of ICT classes!

Private Information

4Mc has been learning about instances where private information is asked for on the web (like on that Read for Our School site!). Fourth graders know the rule: Always ask a trusted adult before giving out information that is private. What's private information? Check out our word cloud!

Read For Our School

NHCS is participating in a wonderful opportunity for students to earn books for our school library. The Pearson Foundation is currently sponsoring a reading initiative called “Read For My School” where participating schools are eligible to earn up to 500 free books for their libraries, just by reading. The program runs from February 14th through March 14th and is open to all students.

Registration is necessary in order to participate in the program. The online form can be found at http://www.wegivebooks.org/pf/rfms/register.php  In order to register, students will need to create a username and a password, and provide an email address, his or her birthday, state, and our school name (there is a New Hampton Elementary School registered which is not our school - look for New Hampton Community School!)  Please assist your child with this registration. Once the registration is completed, students can begin reading the online books.  There are over 150 books to choose from at various reading levels. After the book is read, click “Give a Book” for it to be counted towards our school’s total.

In order for NHCS to be eligible for books, we must cumulatively read 50 or more books.  We hope that you will consider registering your child for this program. Please feel free to call or email with any questions you may have. Have fun reading!

Research!

Fifth graders have started a research project, with each student choosing their own topic of interest. As we work on this from week to week, we'll be reviewing all that we know about searching the internet, identifying credible resources and obeying copyright law. Watch this place for some examples of finished products!

Kindergarten Paints!

In ICT class, kindergartners have been painting! Using a free paint program, they've learned about brush sizes and color selection and how to use "Magic" to fill color inside the lines.

This student made a scuba diver swimming under water. In the coming weeks, children will be drawing and painting a picture that will become the first artifact in their digital portfolios!

The program we use is called TuxPaint and it's free! You can download your own copy right here!