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Old 03-16-2020, 07:33 AM
 
166 posts, read 367,820 times
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Hello folks,

While I am asking this question for 5th - 6th graders, any general comment is welcome.

Since the school closed last week, I got some books to revise the school work, we are catching up with school-provided IXL (math), assignments etc. But even after that, we have a good bit of time left. Since we are restricting the kids to play with other kids (extra precautions because of our occupations), the time is getting wasted in unproductive activities (computer gaming, Roblox primarily which I dislike from the bottom of my heart).

I have been reading on some boards that many websites have removed paywall for the kids but nobody seems to be mentioning the names of these websites. Do any teachers or parents know of such websites?

My kid is not good at ELA (comprehension specifically), so I was wondering if there is any one-stop resource that is otherwise behind the paywall is available now for free. If not, what are the resources available for this purpose? I could just use the time to improve these skills a bit.

My kid does scratch coding a lot (school does it as a part of science), but if possible, I would like him to nudge on something more difficult thing (I am not a techie, never done coding). What could he do, any task-oriented website to learn to code (like, they teach the concept first and then the questions/tasks to prove that you got the concept)?

While I would like him to do a reading, being ADHD, the focus is not his forte, so he doesn't really read more than 20 minutes, if at all. But he is driven to learn to code so I am assuming that if that option is offered, he may do it better than reading.

What other ways he can put the time in good use under our supervision? All ideas are welcome.

Thanks in advance.
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Old 03-16-2020, 01:38 PM
 
2,098 posts, read 2,484,718 times
Reputation: 9744
Does he like graphic novels? Like to draw? Those can be great for reluctant readers. Maybe have him check out one he likes from the library (online) then as a project, write a short story of his own in the same style.

Find some books that are on his age-appropriate reading list from the library. If he's not an enthusiastic reader, get some in audiobook form. After reading (aurally), he can discuss the book with you, and write a short summary.

Does he like music? Play any instruments?

Hopefully your school district will be setting up online lessons shortly, but those are some ideas.
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Old 03-16-2020, 04:02 PM
 
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
34,602 posts, read 57,579,010 times
Reputation: 46028
Have them invent / write some code for tracking Covid-19. Utilize the 2 main sites for current data and have them split out different details / growth rates / recovered for different regions, do some research as to why (Such as Germany so low in death, Singapore and Taiwan so fast in controlling new cases, tho each are very close to epicenter and very dense population and proximity to each other.

Have kids present a plan for your community (They are usually most innovative)

Have them do some nutrition qualifications vs expenses / health benefit.

We had our 4-6 graders doing nutrition and food budgeting for our household.
How much does each serving cost? what is nutrition value? What is a 'best' option? How long can we survive on our pantry stock? What might it cost to replenish?

Same if they are interested in finance, have them very engaged in daily finance of the home.
Ours learned a lot from managing their own Roth IRAs from age 12.

Cars / transportation? Calculate sustainability of manufacturing New Electric cars, vs repairing and driving cheap beaters (Mine gets 50 mpg on free fuel).

Building stuff (Hands on)?
Neighbor kids build a huge telescope (and ground their own lense, that took them several months)

We had our kids doing furniture building and wood turning by grade 5.
They designed their own homes using CAD in grade 8, and built their homes in grade 9 (from scratch).
Grade 10... off to college (free for HS kids who pass entrance exam in our state since 1993).

Create a home business. (This COVID-19 should spawn a lot of ideas / need).
Several local families did that, and passed down to younger siblings when the older ones left for college.

ideas used by kids locally.. ... software / apps; maps; event and travel planning; pet car and sitting and nutrition; 4H projects (money making) From clothes to calves. Building (one kid made gable vents for a local builder); CAD / drafting; ...

I so wish the USA had an equivalent app to Campermate (NZ). So easy, so helpful, potentially very profitable.
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Old 03-17-2020, 11:40 AM
 
17,485 posts, read 17,344,147 times
Reputation: 25473
Check with your local area library. Our library has an app that allows you to search for books to check out. If you select a book to check out you can select which branch to pick it up from and our libraries have a drive thru window for pickup and returns. Our app also includes some e-books you can download for a limited time like checking out a physical book. Some libraries do have graphic novels. Other options include craft kits. Craft kits can help with focus. Beyond that, you have to judge what would work based upon age, maturity, interest, and education level.
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Old 03-17-2020, 07:04 PM
 
Location: Northern Wisconsin
10,379 posts, read 10,849,231 times
Reputation: 18712
Maybe its worth switching kids to on line education. The home schooled kids are still in school. Public schools in many places are little more than warehouses and political indoctrination centers.
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Old 03-17-2020, 07:30 PM
 
14,206 posts, read 11,483,620 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by victimofGM View Post
Check with your local area library. Our library has an app that allows you to search for books to check out. If you select a book to check out you can select which branch to pick it up from and our libraries have a drive thru window for pickup and returns. Our app also includes some e-books you can download for a limited time like checking out a physical book. Some libraries do have graphic novels. Other options include craft kits. Craft kits can help with focus. Beyond that, you have to judge what would work based upon age, maturity, interest, and education level.
Unfortunately, libraries in many areas including mine have closed. I have several holds that I can't pick up. My daughters do check out e-books, but the wait for those can be even longer than the wait for physical books.
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Old 03-19-2020, 12:46 PM
 
1,413 posts, read 1,279,556 times
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I'm disappointed with the way my district has responded. I have a 1st grader who is a very eager learner. He already spends most of his time at home studying subjects that interest him, which at the moment are space and geography. Every few weeks I go to the library and get him a new stack of books on those topics. I knew I library would end up closing and went to get him a new stack of books, but I was too late and they were already shut down. I have tried to find things online, but our library's e-book selection is quite lacking.

Our school on the other hand has been very disappointing. His teacher has sent out a few links to videos and that's it. I'm not expecting a full virtual school day for a 1st grader on short notice, but at the very least I was hoping for a packet of work either physically, or electronically so we could print at home. I have two sisters that have children in elementary school in other districts and their response has been much more robust. I understand this is a unique situation, but I hate that he may be missing several months of education.

We have tried piecing together our own curriculum at home, but we are not teachers and also have other responsibilities to handle.
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Old 03-20-2020, 12:47 AM
 
11,565 posts, read 12,583,757 times
Reputation: 15674
Quote:
Originally Posted by clawsondude View Post
I'm disappointed with the way my district has responded. I have a 1st grader who is a very eager learner. He already spends most of his time at home studying subjects that interest him, which at the moment are space and geography. Every few weeks I go to the library and get him a new stack of books on those topics. I knew I library would end up closing and went to get him a new stack of books, but I was too late and they were already shut down. I have tried to find things online, but our library's e-book selection is quite lacking.

Our school on the other hand has been very disappointing. His teacher has sent out a few links to videos and that's it. I'm not expecting a full virtual school day for a 1st grader on short notice, but at the very least I was hoping for a packet of work either physically, or electronically so we could print at home. I have two sisters that have children in elementary school in other districts and their response has been much more robust. I understand this is a unique situation, but I hate that he may be missing several months of education.

We have tried piecing together our own curriculum at home, but we are not teachers and also have other responsibilities to handle.
For children's ebooks, have you tried the Digital Library of America? It's free and you don't need a library card. I am not sure about the availability of books.
For read alouds, see if your library card is good for BookFlix
For coding for elementary and middle school levels try code.org and mouse open projects.
Middle School students can learn python or JavaScript code through Code Combat (block coding like Scratch)
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Old 03-20-2020, 12:49 AM
 
11,565 posts, read 12,583,757 times
Reputation: 15674
Quote:
Originally Posted by noelm View Post
Hello folks,

While I am asking this question for 5th - 6th graders, any general comment is welcome.

Since the school closed last week, I got some books to revise the school work, we are catching up with school-provided IXL (math), assignments etc. But even after that, we have a good bit of time left. Since we are restricting the kids to play with other kids (extra precautions because of our occupations), the time is getting wasted in unproductive activities (computer gaming, Roblox primarily which I dislike from the bottom of my heart).

I have been reading on some boards that many websites have removed paywall for the kids but nobody seems to be mentioning the names of these websites. Do any teachers or parents know of such websites?

My kid is not good at ELA (comprehension specifically), so I was wondering if there is any one-stop resource that is otherwise behind the paywall is available now for free. If not, what are the resources available for this purpose? I could just use the time to improve these skills a bit.

My kid does scratch coding a lot (school does it as a part of science), but if possible, I would like him to nudge on something more difficult thing (I am not a techie, never done coding). What could he do, any task-oriented website to learn to code (like, they teach the concept first and then the questions/tasks to prove that you got the concept)?

While I would like him to do a reading, being ADHD, the focus is not his forte, so he doesn't really read more than 20 minutes, if at all. But he is driven to learn to code so I am assuming that if that option is offered, he may do it better than reading.

What other ways he can put the time in good use under our supervision? All ideas are welcome.

Thanks in advance.
See my suggestions on coding to the other poster. If you think he can focus enough, let him try HTML or Python.
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Old 03-20-2020, 01:35 AM
 
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
34,602 posts, read 57,579,010 times
Reputation: 46028
Go to the Thrift Store and buy a set of Encyclopedias! (before they close them down)
Also grab a 2' tall stack of free National Geographic magazines

As kids, (after our farm chores) we laid on the floor in front of the woodstove every night reading books, encyclopedia's Caper's Weekly, Reader's Digest.

Since we are in a border region of state, we have access to both state's vast library resources (free). but... We still frequent the monthly 'Friends of the Library book sale. At 4PM special rate, fill a paper grocery bag for $1. I usually get travel and reference books, and historical Biographies.

Granted... I am going to really miss the local university library if it closes for Covid-19. I go there every night from dark till midnight.
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