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Educational Minute
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Educational Minute tip sheets are designed for students and parents. They cover a variety of subjects and address different audiences. The tip sheets may be downloaded and distributed as paper copies or included in school newsletters or websites (please make sure to acknowledge The Principal’s Office as the source of the information).
Contribute: If you have tip sheet ideas, please let us know (principal@osu.edu).
This month’s tip sheets address holiday issues for elementary and high school students and creativity for middle school students.
Elementary School
Holiday Fun Can Help Children Learn
Taking time to enjoy the holidays with your children may help them do better in school. Including your children in everyday activities helps make important connections between school learning and daily life.
EXPLORING MATH IN HOLIDAY MEAL PREPARATION
Consider taking time with your children during the holidays to share the fun of holiday meal planning and preparation. Encourage your child to identify math skills that are useful for these activities. Discuss the steps of problem solving, rounding, and front-end estimation. Help your child make the connections as concepts such as proportion, fractions, and logical thinking are used in the process of food preparation.
GROCERY SHOPPING
- Read a recipe and prepare a list of needed ingredients
- Estimate quantities needed of each item purchased
- Estimate serving size
- Compare prices
- Estimate total cost
FOOD PREPARATION
- Expand a recipe to feed more people
- Reduce a recipe for fewer people
- Find the difference between measurements
- Add fractional measurements
- Convert from one measurement to another
CONVERSATIONS BUILD LEARNING SKILLS
Winter break is a great time to learn about different holidays that are celebrated at this time of year. Exploring your history and your family traditions is a wonderful way to build skills for school, to connect with your child and to build lasting memories for both of you.
- Take time to visit the library and find books about Hanukah, Kwanzaa, Christmas, or New Year’s traditions from around the world. It’s fun to search for books with your children and it’s a fun way to practice reading.
- Take turns reading aloud or describing your favorite pictures in a book.
- Talk about your own family traditions with your children. What special things do you do to celebrate? How did Grandma and Grandpa celebrate when they were little?
- Ask your children to draw a picture of their favorite holiday or write a story about their favorite thing to do at home.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Cooking and Learning Together: http://www.cfc-efc.ca/docs/cccf/rs022_en.htm
Science of Cooking: http://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/
Math in Daily Life: http://www.learner.org/exhibits/dailymath/
Adrienne D. Dixson, PhD, Assistant Professor, School of Teaching and Learning, College of Education and Human Ecology, The Ohio State University
Middle School
Unlocking Your Child’s Creativity
Creative play isn’t just for little children. Did your child once draw on the walls and make tent villages in the living room, but now creative play seems to be a thing of the past? Being creative is important at every age. Dr. Vesta Daniel, professor of art education at The Ohio State University, has some suggestions for encouraging your older child’s creativity.
- Find out if there is anything your child would like to collect. Here are some ideas: leaves, rocks, posters, black and white photographs, sports team memorabilia, comic books, or movie trivia. Following an interest and creating a collection develops the ability to discern likes and dislikes, and determine visual preferences.
- You can also help them unlock their creativity through technology at the library or home like writing short stories, making mixed CDs, illustrating a comic book, or doing simple graphic designs.
- Provide opportunities like babysitting where they have to be fun and creative with the kids.
- Your child might want to volunteer with a community group and keep a scrapbook about it. An inexpensive option is to create an “altered book.” Take an existing book or story and change it to be what you want. It’s a great way to use imagination and technology to write, edit, and create illustrations.
- Provide opportunities for nonthreatening activities, such as planting flowers, or taking pictures of interesting things in your community.
Dr. Vesta Daniel, Professor, Art Education, College of the Arts, The Ohio State University
High School
Holiday Time and Relaxation
As the holidays are nearing, many students and families may need to prepare for hectic schedules. This time of year is really a wonderful opportunity to relax and take time to recharge the battery, so students should make time during the holidays to enjoy family and friends.
Throughout high school, the stress of activities, time management, and especially the college application process itself may become overwhelming. Keep in mind the following to help you enjoy life and all of your accomplishments:
- Reflect on the importance of being a good student and perhaps becoming an even better student.
- Renew family ties and support.
- Organize for the second half of your senior year. Review your schedule and curriculum. Make sure all your assignments and task have been completed. Start the second half of the year with enthusiasm and energy!
- Review the admissions application and scholarship deadlines for the colleges or universities you have applied too as well. Create a log of the various colleges and universities deadlines. By doing so, you can better organize and manage the college admissions process.
- Meet with your high school guidance counselor upon your return to school. Keeping your counselor informed of plans and goals will assist you greatly in making the right choice on the college best for you.
Here are a few other educational tips for this holiday season.
- It is never too late to establish new goals or enhance the goals you have in place.
- Think positively about the future and your goals for the future.
- Prepare to take care of business and finish strong in the classroom.
- Make plans to visit your top colleges in the upcoming months.
- Communication is important. Maintain open line of communication with individuals who will influence your college choice.
- Enjoy, Enjoy, and Enjoy the holidays. Remember the ones we love the most when it matters the most. High school will not last forever, but, luckily, family does.
Mikayla Burton, Graduate, Columbus Alternative High School, Columbus, Ohio
