May 17, 2022

Creating a Summer Adventure List

May 17, 2022/ Contributing Blogger

As eager as your students are for the school year to end, it won’t be long until they are actually bored during their summer break. Yes, I said “bored.” Help your students stay focused and creative while they gear up for that day with this fun and creative classroom activity.

In this blog, I will share an activity that will teach students a valuable lesson as they create their own Summer Bucket List. The catch is that they will create it while working in small groups. As always, you can do as much or as little as you like with this idea. Here’s how to get started.

August 01, 2021

What is cyclical spelling?

August 01, 2021/ Contributing Blogger

Here’s an idea to kick your kids’ spelling prowess into high gear. While it’s true that some kids are just naturally good spellers, my experience has been that most are not. They need a sure-fire way to lock in accurate spelling. Let us introduce you to cyclical spelling. Here’s how it works:

July 27, 2021

Summer Learning: How to create a family storybook

July 27, 2021/ Contributing Blogger

Summer Break is here, and our thoughts are revolving around words like vacation, relaxation, rest, getaway, and so on! Words like homework, project, and assignment instantly turn into bad-words the minute summer vacation begins, so I encourage you to avoid them at all costs! Instead, try to generate creative ways to keep your child/children actively involved in writing, reading, and processing information over the break. One way to keep all these language arts skills at the forefront in a covert way is to develop family storybooks.

Family storybooks are similar to

July 22, 2021

Summer Learning: How to develop your child's communication skills

July 22, 2021/ Contributing Blogger

Have you ever thought of scheduling a weekly family meeting during the summer months? It really is a great way to boost communication skills at home! Kids of all ages, when given the chance, can participate in structured discussions to recap the previous week and plan for the next one. Routine meetings can allow everyone to contribute personal thoughts, feelings, ideas, choices, etc., so that everyone has an opportunity to be heard. Topic possibilities are endless, yet providing this type of platform can build family connections and help children develop their personal communication skills.

Here’s how it works:

July 20, 2021

Summer Learning: Library Time!

July 20, 2021/ Contributing Blogger

I fondly recall the summers I spent taking my son to the local library when he was young. I can still remember his excitement as he perused the library shelves, looking for just the right books to take home to read. Those weekly trips were part of our routine, and we both looked forward to them with anticipation!

Did you know that many libraries across the nation

July 17, 2021

Summer Learning: The Benefits of Downtime

July 17, 2021/ Contributing Blogger

If you’ve been following our Shurley English Blog posts you know we’ve been flooding you with creative ideas on how to continue supporting your students’ academic progress throughout the summer. We are also aware that with the high demands placed upon our children in today’s U.S. classrooms, it’s evident that children (and adults) have fewer opportunities to truly unwind and relax.

Today, my suggestion is to remember to INCLUDE some “DOWNTIME” into your child’s daily summer schedule…here’s why:

June 30, 2021

Summer Journaling with Appreciative Inquiry

June 30, 2021/ Contributing Blogger

Summer vacation is coming soon! So, what are your plans? Have you included any activities that will help your child keep their language arts skills sharp over the break? (Haha! I’m almost positive that most of you just knitted your brows and sarcastically muttered the words: “Ugh, NO!”) Before you stop reading this post, I’d like for you to consider doing some “AND” thinking because there is a way for students to enjoy their time off from school AND continue applying language arts skills! They might just learn to appreciate the experience while they’re at it if we add an additional AND to the list! The key is to cop a good action plan in advance!

Before I get to the suggested activity, I want to tell you about

June 24, 2021

How to Keep Language Arts Skills Sharp During the Summer

June 24, 2021/ Contributing Blogger

Slurpees, sunshine, swimming, sunbathing, relaxing, travel, camping, barbecues, bike rides, fireworks, friends, and LANGUAGE ARTS! Of course, summer vacation might include some of these foot-loose and fancy-free things, but it’s also an opportunity to keep parents engaged in their child’s learning over the summer months.

Remember, the key to success in whatever you want to do is setting goals for yourself. Encourage families to set short and long-term academic goals for the summer. (I've included a great bonus lesson on Setting Goals at the end of this post!)

Here are three great ways to keep your child's Language Arts skills sharp this summer:

June 07, 2021

Creating a Summer Bucket List

June 07, 2021/ Contributing Blogger

As eager as your students are for the school year to end, it won’t be long until they are actually bored during their summer break. Yes, I said “bored.” Help your students stay focused and creative while they gear-up for that day with this fun and creative classroom activity.

July 15, 2020

Summer Learning: Creating a Family Story Book

July 15, 2020/ Contributing Blogger

Summer Break is here, and our thoughts are revolving around words like vacation, relaxation, rest, and so on! Words like homework, project, and assignment instantly turn into bad-words the minute summer vacation begins, so I encourage you to avoid them at all costs! Instead, try to generate creative ways to keep your child/children actively involved in writing, reading, and processing information over the break. One way to keep all these language arts skills at the forefront in a covert way is to develop family storybooks.