Learning Doesn't Stop Over Spring Break!

As I know I have mentioned before, learning does not stop when a child leaves the classroom, and spring break is the perfect time to create unique learning opportunities for children.  With our families and students looking forward to spring break next week, I cannot help but reflect on many of my own spring breaks as a child.  Every year until I was in eighth grade, my mom, dad, two sisters and I would pile into the family minivan and drive to Ohio for a week-long stay to visit family.  Having grandparents in a suburb of Dayton as well as in Sidney, Ohio, a small town about an hour north of Dayton, made for some less-than-exciting stories to share in comparison to some of my peers who went to Disney World, Arizona, and other exotic places.  However, I always truly enjoyed the time I spent with my family during that week in Ohio.  I would get to read books (still one of my favorite parts about having a day off school!), play checkers with my grandpa, and get frozen yogurt from TCBY with my grandma.  We would go visit the farm where my dad grew up and explore local parks.  When I was younger, I would keep a spring break journal to document these different activities, which was a great way to hone my writing skills and now provides some good laughs when my family and I look back at the journals together.

So how can spring break be an opportunity to further your child's learning, whether you are staying around home or traveling afar?  Here are a few ideas!

• Traveling over spring break?  Have your child write in a travel journal to document adventures, or perhaps he/she can create a photo journal if a camera is readily available.
• Read, read, read!  Encourage your child to use car rides and/or time on airplanes to cozy up with a good book.  This Huffington Post article provides some ideas for how to keep your kids reading over spring break as well.
• Experience another culture.  Whether it is listening to music, taking an art class, or trying a new type of food for the first time, there are always great learning opportunities embedded in exploring new points of view.  ChooseChicago.com has some itineraries compiled to help you to plan a fun cultural day in the city.
• Go for a walk or a hike to explore the great outdoors!  The Forest Preserves of Cook County have a helpful website with hiking trails for more information or check the DuPage County Forest Preserve website for upcoming activities.
• Visit museums.  Here are a few Chicago favorites:
• Art Institute of Chicago - free to Illinois residents on Thursdays from 5:00 - 8:00 PM
• Chicago Children's Museum - free on Thursdays from 5:00 - 8:00 PM and first Sunday of every month is free for children 15 and under
• Lincoln Park Zoo (kind of like a museum of animals) - free every day!
• Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum - Thursdays are "donation" days for Illinois residents
• Check out all the Free Chicago Museum days here!

Finally, I need to make one more plug for our Summer Academy program!  We have extended the registration deadline to April 7 in hopes that more students will take advantage of the fun classes our talented teachers have created this year.  Please take a look at the program book with your child over spring break to see the learning opportunities available for this summer!

What: Pleasantdale District 107 Summer Academy

Who: Pleasantdale 107 students currently in grades PreK - 7
Where: all classes held at Pleasantdale Middle School
When:  June 12 - July 7 (no class July 3 or 4 in observance of Independence Day); courses offered between 8:30 - 11:45 AM
Why: "To create a community of inspired learners"

Fostering a Growth Mindset at Home

One of my most vivid memories from my late elementary school days is the day I got a math test back from my fifth-grade math teacher, Mrs. Johnson, with an F on the top of the paper.  To say I was devastated would be an understatement.  At the age of 11, this was quite possibly the most traumatizing event that had happened to me in school.  Fast forward eleven years later, and I ended up graduating summa cum laude from Miami University (OH) with a degree in Middle Childhood Education, with concentrations in math and English, and a job teaching sixth-grade math and reading.

So what happened following my moment of failure in fifth-grade math that allowed me to bounce back rather than continue down a path of academic strife?  Although the term "Growth Mindset" had not yet been coined, that is exactly what my parents and teachers helped me employ to move past my mistakes and to realize I had the great capacity to learn and grow, despite what I felt was a tragic setback at the time.

Carol Dweck, PhD., a professor of psychology at Stanford University, coined the phrase "growth mindset" after spending years researching students' attitudes about failure.  Ultimately she and her colleagues found that students who rebounded from failure and were resilient did so because they embraced failure as an opportunity for learning, which is now known as having a growth mindset.  On the other hand, students who seemed devastated by setbacks and struggled to bounce back had what is called a fixed mindset approach, meaning they believed their learning potential was fixed.  The sketchnote above by Sylvia Duckworth  shows a great comparison between statements showing a fixed versus growth mindset.

Many teachers now integrate growth mindset conversations into their classroom in conjunction with goal setting and reteaching opportunities.  But how can a growth mindset be supported at home?  There are so many learning opportunities presented outside of school, which means there are a plethora of ways that parents can help promote a growth mindset in their children.

Parenting "Say This Not That" from MindsetWorks

As a starting point, it is important to let children make mistakes, whether this is related to chores, homework, or handling conflict.  Providing guidance and support through mistakes, as well as praising efforts for improvement and hard work, are all opportunities for parents to foster a growth mindset in their children.  The MindsetWorks website provides a helpful parent resource page, including an interactive list of "Say This Not That" statements that can immediately begin to transform the way conversations occur at home.  When you hover over each statement on the list, an explanation appears of why each statement may be helpful or a hindrance.  In addition, it is important for parents to model how they work through mistakes and setbacks for their children since it is important for kids to understand the growth process continues into adulthood as well.  MindsetKit offers a free 30-minute "course" for parents on the Growth Mindset, which consists of 10 online lessons to provide additional information on the topic, as well as how to model mistakes and how to use growth mindset language in conversation with children.

I am going to leave you this week with the video below of Carol Dweck's 10 minute TED talk, titled "The Power of Believing that You Can Improve."  It is a great starting point for understanding some of the basic brain research behind the growth mindset, as well as an overview of how to start transforming fixed mindsets into growth mindsets.  Pleasantdale District 107 appreciates the partnership we have with our parents as we strive "to create a community of inspired learners" together!

All a Part of a Balanced Diet

Every few weeks, we like to revisit the topic of technology use.  Technology is so prevalent in our daily lives, ranging from work and school to personal usage, that it seems critical to constantly reevaluate how we and our students are leveraging the benefits of our devices while also maintaining a healthy balance.

In a recent conversation, the comparison was made between technology and food.  The key to a healthy nutritional diet lies in prioritizing the nutritious foods that sustain our energy and promote physical and mental health while limiting those treats that, while tasty, ultimately are harmful when consumed in excess.  The same goes for technology.  We need to prioritize technology usage that is beneficial to our minds and bodies, which may entail using a device for learning purposes or to track a workout, while limiting technology usage that may be detrimental in excess.  Essentially what we need is a "healthy technology diet".

This balance is important for both us, as adults, and our children to learn.  Upon Googling a "Healthy Technology Diet", I found there were quite a few articles on the topic!  The Huffington Post suggests treating technology as you treat food.   Moderation is the key, the author believes, and she suggests leveraging techniques like setting a timer for 20 minutes when going on social media if you notice you have been spending too much time browsing social media sites.  The Chopra Center, which is dedicated to health and wellness, gives tips on "5 Ways to Start a Healthy Technology Diet" with ideas like taking a technology vacation for a window of time each week, turning off your phone for short time periods, putting your phone on airplane mode for a period of time when you need to be productive, turning off notifications, or even simply creating a "device-free" zone in your home for times like when the family is gathered together at the kitchen table for a meal.

In Pleasantdale District 107, we are conscious of the fact that providing our students with access to technology also means teaching responsible usage of the tools.  However, it is important for us as we strive "to create a community of inspired learners" that we also educate our parents, too, on the tools we use with our students!  Therefore, on Thursday, March 16, from 6:00 - 8:00 PM we will be hosting our first Parent Tech Night in the Pleasantdale Middle School library.  Our library director, Mrs. Steinmetz, and our Innovative Teaching Coach, Steve Braband, will be leading the night.  All parents in the district are encouraged to attend to learn more about the websites and apps our students are using in school, as well as the online educational resources available to access outside of school.   Please mark your calendars and RSVP today!

Triggering Lightbulb Moments

One of the most exciting parts of being an educator is seeing a "lightbulb moment" flash across a learner's face; it's that moment of sudden understanding, realization, or inspiration that you can see sparkling in the learner's eyes.  Our dedicated Pleasantdale staff members strive day in and day out to provide students with opportunities for these moments in school.  Active, engaging, and collaborative learning activities tend to yield such moments, making educators revel in the amazing potential we have to inspire our students.

Students make a carrot keyboard in 3M Club.

However, we know these lightbulb moments are not confined within the walls of our schools.  Quite the opposite, in fact.  Rich learning occurs on a regular basis outside the classroom setting as learners explore new interests, meet new people, and encounter new situations.  District 107's goal is "to create a community of inspired learners."  This goal is not restricted to 8:20 AM - 3:22 PM, nor to mid-August through early June.  We want to trigger these lightbulb moments before school, after school, and all year round.  This is why we encourage students to take part in our many before and after-school clubs and athletics.  Likewise, we provide community resources for parents/guardians to help them continue to learn about interacting with their child, and we provide professional development to our staff members to help them further their learning as well.

As we continuously look to provide our students with educational opportunities outside of school, we are most excited about the revisions we have made to this year's Summer Academy (aka "summer school").  Although we are a small school district, we felt the absence of exciting enrichment classes in our Summer Academy program was a deficit area deserving attention.  After looking at other districts' summer school programs and talking to our dedicated Pleasantdale staff members about their own passions, we were able to create a Summer Academy program which includes a rich offering of enrichment classes for students currently in grades PreK - 7.

Students can explore their interests in crafting, sewing, reading Rebecca Caudill books, and creative writing through this summer's enrichment course options.  Classes like cooking, woodworking, coding, and photography may trigger new passions!  These exciting courses and more are available in the Summer Academy program book, which is also posted on our district and school website.  Registration for these Summer Academy enrichment classes is open now through March 24 (spring break), and we hope to have many of our students participate!

As this blog post points out, the opportunities for learning nowadays are limitless if we take the initiative to pursue our interests and passions.  It is time to "start learning from [our] own mistakes, adventures, achievements, and bold actions."  Let's give our learners more opportunities to engage in experiences that will trigger lightbulb moments!

What: Pleasantdale District 107 Summer Academy
Who: Pleasantdale 107 students currently in grades PreK - 7
Where: all classes held at Pleasantdale Middle School
When:  June 12 - July 7 (no class July 3 or 4 in observance of Independence Day); courses offered between 8:30 - 11:45 AM
Why: "To create a community of inspired learners"... Let's trigger more lightbulb moments!