Showing posts with label Fairmont Private Schools. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fairmont Private Schools. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 6

ARTS & CRAFTS: DIY Projects for Junior High Students

Do-it-yourself (DIY) projects are all the rage and are accessible to people of all ages and skill levels. From home improvement projects to crafting and making everyday items yourself, the notion of DIY sparks subtle development in several skill areas. Encouraging tweens to engage in DIY and craft projects helps build creativity, self-reliance, problem-solving skills, and aptitude specific to that activity. Suggest some of these easy projects to your junior high student!

Headphone Cover - Class up earbuds with embroidery floss!

T-Shirt Pillow - Transform t-shirts into pillows with some quick sewing and polyester stuffing!

Pom-Pom Bookmark - Use up extra yarn and create a simple, fuzzy bookmark!

Waterless Snow Globe - Glue any small figurine to a canning jar lid and add some fake snow for a decorative, simple snow globe!

Paper Mache Bowl - Use up old newspaper and paint a festive design on your bowl!

Lava Lamp - An easy kitchen recipe will create the flow and glow needed for a lava lamp!


Visit A to Z: Developing Hobbies for more ideas and tips for getting your child interested in a hobby!
Contributed by Rebecca Stokes, Fairmont Private Schools
Images by DIYReady, Carrina Johnson, DesignMom, SaltTree, Maria Mercedes, DIYCraftProjectsForTeens   

Wednesday, November 18

A to Z: Best Sports Movies for Family Night

Fall and winter are exciting times for sports fans! Here’s a list of beloved sports movies to share with your family! Stories of inspiration, achievement, and humor remind viewers of the importance of dedication and teamwork.

 Rudy (PG)
An inspirational story about a young man with a big dream, Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger knows that he’s meant for more than just working at the local steel mill with his father and brother. Rudy’s heart and determination lead him to the University of Notre Dame where he strives to achieve his lifelong dream of becoming one of the Fighting Irish. Common Sense Media recommends this movie to children age 11 and older.

Remember the Titans (PG)
Chronicling the true story of TC Williams High School and racial integration, Remember the Titans reveals the struggles of the newly interracial football team of 1971 as teammates learn to look past skin color and achieve a common goal together. Common Sense Media recommends this movie to children age 10 and older.

The Sandlot (PG)
Scotty Smalls, under no volition of his own, makes the local sandlot team and spends the summer developing his baseball skills with the help of his new teammates Benny, Yeah-Yeah, Ham, and Squints. Trouble ensues when Scotty takes his stepfather’s baseball for luck, and accidentally hits it over the fence and into a junkyard. The team creates an elaborate scheme to rescue the ball and bring good luck to the sandlot. Common Sense Media recommends this movie to children age 8 and older.

Miracle (PG)
Outlining the compelling story of the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team, Miracle recreates the practice and strategy used, as well as the struggles overcome by the team of amateur hockey players, to beat the Russians during the 1980 Winter Olympics. In the match that would be known as the “Miracle on Ice,” the Americans strive to upset the heavily favored Russian team. Common Sense Media recommends this movie to children age 8 and older.   

The Rookie (G)
The true story of a Texas high school teacher and coach who, with a pitching arm still full of promise, tells his baseball team that if they win the division title, he will try out for the major leagues. After the teams rallies and fulfills their end of the bargain, Jim Morris takes a chance and becomes the oldest rookie in Major League Baseball. Common Sense Media recommends this movie to children age 7 and older.

The Mighty Ducks (PG)
A fast-lane lawyer is arrested for drunk driving and performs his community service sentence by coaching a group of rag-tag hockey players. The underdog team and their haughty coach learn to rise above individual struggles and work as a team. Common Sense Media recommends this movie to children age 11 and older.

Hoosiers (PG)
Set in 1950’s Indiana, this small town high school basketball team has no chance of a winning season. However, when a new coach arrives in town, everyone must adjust, especially his new players. Coming together with the goal of winning a state championship, Hoosiers tells a story of discipline and second chances. Common Sense Media recommends this movie to children age 9 and older.

When the Game Stands Tall (PG)
A true story about the high school football team with the longest winning streak in football history, When the Game Stands Tall focuses on the season that broke the 151-game winning streak of De La Salle High School in Concord, California. Common Sense Media recommends this movie to children age 12 and older.

A League of Their Own (PG)
A tribute to the All-American Girls Baseball League of the 1940’s, A League of Their Own follows two siblings scouted and chosen to play women’s baseball while Major League Baseball’s players fight World War II oversees. An engaging drama that follows the lives and ambitions of American women of the 1940’s, this movie is especially great for young female athletes. Common Sense Media recommends this movie to children age 11 and older.




Look for these films on Netflix, Hulu, iTunes, at RedBox locations, or your local library! Use Can I Stream It or Go Watch It to view streaming options and availability!

Individual parental discretion will determine which films are suitable for a family’s child.

Contributed by Rebecca Stokes, Fairmont Private Schools
Images by Amazon.com, IMDB.com, Wikipedia.com  

Monday, November 9

BOOK REPORT: Thanksgiving Must-Reads


November is a month of falling leaves, hot cider, and preparations for the holidays. With the onset of Thanksgiving, you might be interested to read several fun and interesting books to your young learner. Check these titles out at your local library and share the spirit and history of Thanksgiving with your child!

Mayflower 1620: A New Look at a Pilgrim Voyage, Peter Arenstam
Readers will learn about the realities of the Mayflower’s long voyage to America with primary sources detailing what the voyageurs wore, what they ate, the dangers of the journey, how they survived, and much more.  

Squanto’s Journey, Joseph Bruchac
A Native American descendant, Bruchac tells the story of Squanto, who, after being kidnapped by Europeans and taken to Spain, returns to his homeland and helps a group of new Europeans bear the harsh winter and create the Thanksgiving holiday celebrated today.

Magic Tree House: Thanksgiving on Thursday, Mary Pope Osborne
On another whirl-wind adventure, Jack and Annie are transported back to 1621 and must work together to help the pilgrims prepare the first Thanksgiving meal!

Thank You, Sarah, Laurie Halse Anderson
Anderson’s book shares the history behind how Thanksgiving became a national holiday! Through the persistence and petitioning of Sarah Hale, Thanksgiving become a nationally recognized holiday with Abraham Lincoln’s signing of the Thanksgiving Proclamation of 1863.  

Milly and the Macy’s Parade, Shana Corey
Based on the true story behind the inception of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, this book tells of Milly, a young Polish girl living in New York City during the 1920’s. Noticing the homesickness of her fellow immigrants, Milly persuades her father’s boss, the Macy’s shop owner, to host a parade in hopes of boosting spirits during the holiday season in a new country.  

Contributed by Rebecca Stokes, Fairmont Private Schools
Images by Amazon & Goodreads  

Friday, November 6

FRIDAY FOLDER: November 6

Weekly Highlights:

 Historic Anaheim Campus

Anaheim Hills Campus

North Tustin Campus

Contributed by Rebecca Stokes, Fairmont Private Schools




Wednesday, November 4

ARTS & CRAFTS: Corn Wreath


The crisp, cool weather of autumn has arrived! Usher in the season of thankfulness by making these simple, quick, and festive wreaths with your child!

Materials:
White and Green Construction Paper
Yellow, Orange, Red, and Brown Paint
Bubble Wrap
Hot Glue Gun
Cardboard
Twine

Instructions:
  1. To create corn kernels, paint sections of bubble wrap with yellow, orange, red, and brown paint. The more sporadic and multicolored the bubble wrap becomes, the better. Press bubble wrap, paint side down, onto a large sheet of white construction paper, then remove.
  2. Once dry, use scissors to cut the painted construction paper into individual corn shapes.
  3. Next, cut husk shapes from green construction paper, matching the husks and corn in length.
  4. Using scissors, cut a doughnut from cardboard and hot glue the ears of corn into their husks and around the inner edge of the doughnut so that the corn is fanned out, spaced evenly, and covers the cardboard.
  5. Hot glue a loop of twine to the backside of the cardboard for hanging.

Contributed by Rebecca Stokes, Fairmont Private Schools
Images and
Craft Instructions by Purely From the Heart  

Monday, November 2

EVENTFUL: Spruce Goose Flies on this Day in History


 Movie producer and founder of the Hughes Aircraft Company, Howard Hughes was a successful aircraft designer and builder who is most famous for the design and creation of the Spruce Goose. Affectionately known as the “Flying Boat,” the Spruce Goose took its one and only flight on this day in 1947 in the harbor of Long Beach, California.

As the United States entered World War II, Hughes was commissioned in 1941 by the United States government to build an aircraft capable of carrying mass amounts of soldiers and supplies across large distances. With a wingspan larger than a football field and costing over $28 million ($453 million in 2015 dollars) to construct, the Spruce Goose project resulted in an airplane made entirely of spruce and birch wood (due to wartime restrictions on heavy metals) capable of carrying over 700 men. Powered by eight propeller engines, the massive machine was finally completed in 1946, following the war’s conclusion.

Piloted by Hughes, who personally tested each of his own designs before manufacturing, the Spruce Goose was put into flight on November 2, 1947. While thousands of spectators crowded around the Long Beach harbor to observe the test flight, the Spruce Goose taxied on water, then lifted 70 feet above the water’s surface and remained airborne for one mile, turning disbelievers into true believers.

The largest plane ever constructed, the Spruce Goose never made it into production after critics doubted the plane’s ability to withstand the wear and tear of multiple flights. A tribute to American industry and ingenuity during World War II, the “Flying Boat” is currently housed in the Evergreen Aviation Museum in McMinnville, Oregon.

Contributed by Rebecca Stokes, Fairmont Private Schools
Images by History.com, Mediamerge.com, & Fridrichdesign.com  

Wednesday, October 28

EVENTFUL: A Grown-Up's Guide to “Treating” Trick-or-Treaters


"Trick or treat?" How you answer that question on Halloween night will impact your household’s reputation for the entire year. Children have a sixth sense when it comes to scouting out the best candy houses and are quick to discover which houses to swarm and which to avoid during their night of scavenging. Since this is the only time when taking candy from strangers is socially acceptable, remember to play by the rules in order to become the beloved Willy Wonka of your neighborhood. As any trick-or-treater will tell you, not all candy is created equal.
Golden Rule – While “fun size” is fun, “king size” is better.


Rule #1 – No Popcorn Balls or Homemade Pinterest Attempts

Popcorn balls are good for two things: pelting siblings and gunking up a child’s candy receptacle. And unless you’re hosting a Halloween bash, refrain from dispensing homemade treats to wandering children. Popcorn balls do not belong in a pillowcase or plastic pumpkin. No parent is going to let their child eat treats made by the hands of a stranger, no matter how nice and unassuming you seem. Give Pinterest a rest and don’t waste your time in the kitchen. Think pre-wrapped and store-bought.

Rule #2 – Chocolate > Hard Candy
Not only is chocolate far superior in taste and satisfaction in comparison to hard candy, chocolate also has the bonus of being less of a choking hazard. Lemon Heads, Jolly Ranchers, and the like are delicious, but no kid can resist the smooth taste of a Snickers or Hershey's Kiss.
Rule #3 – Fruit Spoils Happiness
Unless you want to be known as the Grinch of Halloween, do not answer the door holding a bowl of fruit. Nothing makes a child’s gleeful smile disappear quicker than an apple or clementine on Halloween night. The same goes for toothbrushes and raisins. Save yourself the embarrassment and keep the fruit for your own kid’s lunches.  
Rule #4 – Protect Your Candy
For one night only, candy is king. Like a scene from a zombie movie, parents allow their children to wander the streets in search of these nutrient-lacking nuggets. So, protect your stash. Don’t leave your candy bowl unattended on the porch. It only takes one punk teenager with a heart full of greed and a mouth full of cavities to ruin the fun for a gaggle of tiny trick-or-treaters. No one wants that.
Rule #5 – Stay Away from Wax Lips & Wax Fangs
No one knows what these are, or why they were created. Enough said.
Rule #6 – Mom & Dad Tax
Think about being the house on your street that caters to the Mom & Dad Tax. Candies such as caramels, Almond Joys, Good & Plenty, and Mounds are usually lower on a child’s candy-trading scale and therefore act as acceptable payment for the Mom & Dad Tax at the end of the night.
Rule #7 – Accidental Lighting
Don’t be the person who is clearly home and has left the porch light on, but refuses to answer the door. If you run out of candy or don’t wish to be greeted by ghouls and goblins, turn off the porch light. Think of those little tykes patiently waiting for candy, and then realizing there is none.


Have a happy Halloween!

Contributed by Rebecca Stokes, Fairmont Private Schools
Image by Clip Art Sheep