Summer Suggestions

I can't even believe it's summertime already!  This year has gone by so quickly! I have truly enjoyed working with all of you and your children this year and am amazed at their growth.

Summer is always a time where academics slide a little bit, so I wanted to give you some suggestions on things to do and ways to keep their minds sharp for third grade.  However, as a big fan of summer myself, I am also a big proponent of resting, relaxing, and having fun, so don't overdo it on the summer work.

READING.  Any and all reading is great!  Audio books are a great way to keep up the reading, and having them follow along in the book is a great idea if that's available to you.  The Denver Public Library has free downloads and you can also get books on CD from them.  Audible from Kindle is also a great resource.

Our subscription to Raz Kids will continue throughout the summer and I have adjusted all of their reading levels on the site to reflect their current independent reading level.  Use this website:  https://www.kidsa-z.com/main/Login.  The teacher code is kstratman1.  They then find their name, click on it and then click on the spoon as the 'password'.   There is also a free app you can download to utilize Raz Kids on a mobile device.

MATH FACTS.  A little bit of practice goes a long way with math facts.  There's always the old fashioned flashcards or calling out a fact, but if you'd like to explore some websites, my favorite is Sheppard Software.  I'm a big fan of 'Fruit Splat' and 'Monkey Drive'.  You can also print out the Rocket Math sheets from the downloads section of the 2nd grade webpage.

TYPING.  Our Typing Pal subscription will also continue throughout the summer.  Use this link to get there.  Then click on 'Typing Pal School Login'.  Our school code is gralandc.  The students' usernames are their first name and last name with no spaces and no capital letters (katiestratman) and the password is graland (all lowercase).  If your child would like to use Typing Pal, just make sure to check in with them that they're using home row.

WRITING.  Any kind of writing is beneficial over the summer.  Writing letters to family members, sending postcards from vacation (I love postcards!  My address is 1784 S Sherman St Denver, CO 80210), writing out the grocery list, and keeping a journal are all good ways to make writing seem fun instead of like a chore.

GRALAND WORKBOOK.  The Graland Workbook will be online this year. You can print out any or all of the pages.  You can access that on the resource page of the Graland Website.  An email will go out soon with a link to it as well.

Let me know if you have any questions!  It has been a pleasure working with you all this year!

Katie