Practicing Creative Writing

Kids need to practice creative, free form writing. Why do I say this? It's not because kids aren't writing in school. They are and they are often asked to write informational, descriptive,  and short story pieces on a topic. There's a specific outline and I'm grading them according to a certain rubric. I believe to become a better overall writer, kids need to free write on a topic of their choice knowing they're not be graded. A fun way to practice this is give your child an interesting picture (real or cartoon) without a caption and have them write a story to explain what's going on. You can also find story starters that give you a picture and the start of a line and the child has to finish the story. The stories can be outrageous or realistic in content but either way, your child has an opportunity to use their imagination to construct a story without the stress of a grade. You can search "picture story starters" online for pictures. Enjoy the creative process!

Halloween Fun

I like to think of myself as a baker. I enjoy baking and creating yummy treats for my friends. I also have made cookies from time to time for a baptism or wedding. That being said, my cousin Kristen is a bonafide pastry chef and I have to give her a shout out! She has her own blog/website called INK foods- In Nanny's Kitchen, where she creates delicious treats and shares the recipes along with her delightful stories. I saw these Halloween treats the other day and even though they have nothing to do with Common Core or the OAA's, I thought you'd like them. They're something fun to do with your children and you don't have to be super crafty or a pastry chef to make them! Theses treats are called Halloween Cookie Critters and they're made with your favorite store bought cookie. Check out her website for this treat and other mouth watering creations!

Practicing Spelling

Fall is definitely here along with my favorite fall treat- candy corn and peanuts! If you haven't tried this delicious combination yet, get on it! I keep it in a jar at home and it disappears quite quickly! Some people add M&M's to the mix but I like it without the chocolate. It almost tastes like a Payday. Anyway, enough about my sweet tooth and onto educational things! Many parents have said, "My child is a horrible speller. How can I fix this?" Practice! It takes time for kids to quickly recognize blends, prefixes and suffixes and often using a dictionary proves hard because it's time consuming. Kids also don't like writing but they do like playing in sand. I saw this, on Pinterest of course, and thought I would pass the idea along to parents of struggling spellers. Using their SFA word list (their teachers would be happy to give it to you) or words they come across as they're reading, they can practice "writing" in the sand. Unfortunately there aren't sight word lists for kids above 3rd grade so I don't have a specific list for you. If you want to practice Pre-K through 3rd grade sight words search "Dolch Sight Words" on the computer for lists or look here for complete lists. You can practice in the sand by providing a model like the picture shows or giving your child a word aloud and having them "write" it with their finger.

Image and link found here

Star Wars

Do you have any Star Wars fans in your house? If so, I have the event for you! If not, maybe this event will be just the thing to start your obsession! Here is the flyer information for the event taking place this Saturday at the Sharonville library.

The Cincinnati Shakespeare Company will be reading scenes from "William Shakespeare's Star Wars" by Ian Doescher in celebration of Star Wars Reads Day! A Q&A session will follow the performance.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 5 · 10:00 A.M. All Ages 

Sharonville Library

10980 Thornview Drive

513.369.6049

www.CincinnatiLibrary.org