At Home Support

The dog ate it - he really did!

As you know by now, I have sent home Math Basics duotangs with our class today. Please read my letter in the duotang for further explanation. Many of the children I would have placed in Group B asked to be placed in Group C which is the most challenging group to be in. If the work is too difficult or easy, I can make adjustments. It is essential your child fill out the reflection section of the Learning Log (also in the duotang) to help me determine whether or not they are in the right group. There were a lot of questions on the double sided sheet Group A had. Students in that group may do some or all of the problems for this week.

I am doing my best to keep homework relevant, meaningful, and not so much that it surpasses the TDSB Homework Policy guidelines. A couple of parents have requested more homework. Here are some cheap or free things you can do at home to extend what we are doing in class:

- bring a newspaper home each day (Toronto Star or Globe and Mail) and have your child read and discuss news, sports, or entertainment that interests him/her

- take your child to the local library and check out a great book

- while making breakfast or dinner, discuss the packaging on products and ask your child what techniques/graphics the company uses to make people buy the product

- have your child come up with math problems for you to solve and let them check your work

- write a ridiculous story for the fun of it

- rewrite lyrics to a favourite song

- read to your child and have them read to you

- play educational math games online

There are numerous educational websites I will try to highlight in upcoming posts. You may also visit My Gifted Child http://www.mygiftedchild.com It is very close to Clairlea (2883 St. Clair East, between O'Connor and Victoria Park) and the manager (Samuel) is knowledgeable and helpful. I've bought dozens of books, posters, and other things for the class at this store, not to mention puzzles and crafty things for my son. The prices are reasonable too. There is a jumbo workbook called The Complete Canadian Curriculum (Grade 5), which may also interest parents who want more work for their child at home. It is not fantastic for critical thinking, but it is still decent as a general review of math concepts, etc. It cost $19.99 when I last checked the price, but it may have gone up since then.

Hope this helps,

E. Hawkins