I'm Bored!

How many times have you heard I'm bored over the break? I would guess multiple times. So what is a parent to do? Well, I have some ideas that I have tried in the past and have worked for me.
Take a trip downtown to the Science and History Museum. Did you know that if you buy a family membership to our museum you can use that membership card to get into hundreds of other museums around the United States. My wife and I have taken our kids to museums in Louisville and Nashville for free because of our membership to the Owensboro Science and History Museum.
We also have a great library in Owensboro with many things to do. If you have not been to the library in some time, you and your family are missing out on some special bonding time. Not only does the library have thousands of books to read they also have a family room located on the second floor. They library also has computers for you and your children to use and have fun on.
But what can I do with my kids at home? Well, the first thing to do is get out some of those board games that have been collecting dust in the cabinet. Monopoly and Life are great games to teach about finances and how to manage money. Stratego is game that I loved to play when I was a child and it teaches children about strategy and decision making. Those games are great for older kids, but what do I do with my younger kids. I can remember playing the game Cootie with my mom for hours. Memory match games provide loads of fun and are easy for younger kids to play. Sorry and Connect Four are both games that young children can play with older siblings. Card games such as Old Maid and Go Fish are great learning games to play with your younger kids.
The one thing I would recommend is snuggling up on the couch with some books and reading to your kids.
Those recommendations require family involvement. What do I do if I need a break from my kids? Besides the obvious go clean your room there are things you can do to help foster creativity and independence with your kids. Give your kids some cardboard and tell them to create the most creative and unique thing they can make. Get out the Lego's and give them certain items to create with the magical blocks. Spread shaving cream on the table and let them design whatever they like on the table. Did you know that the shaving cream actually cleans the table as they play with it? If you have a tablet or a smartphone have your children recreate their favorite parts of a book they have read while you or another person records it.
Enjoy the break with your children and make some magical memories for the whole family!

This Isn't Homework!

I'm not big on traditional homework, so I am not going to give your children homework that is going to kill them with boredom. I am going to give you some ideas that you can do with your children. No, I am not giving you the parents homework too! You might be required to do some things to help your children get the homework completed.
All of these are completely optional and your child is not required to do any of the things listed. 

Reading- 15 to 20 minutes of reading each day. Report back to your parents on what you read. Tell them about the characters, setting, problem and solution. Give your parents a kid rating from 1 to 10. 1 being you hated the book and 10 being you loved the book.

Writing-
1. Keep a journal of what you did each day.
2. When you finished a book you have a couple of options.
     a. Rewrite the ending to make it different. It could be a happy, funny, sad or whatever kind of ending you would have liked to see.
     b. Add another character to the story. Give the character a name and provide background information on the character.

Math- take a trip to Walmart or any other department store. This can be recreated if you have newspaper ads or shop online if you can't venture out to a department store. For younger elementary students they are to write down 3 items that they really want, but it can't total more than $100. Make sure you write down the name of the item and how much it costs. For older elementary students they are to write down 3 to 5 items they really want, but it can't be more than $1,000. You can now go home and do the next part of the assignment. .
Next, have the students calculate how much money they have spent. They then need to calculate how many hours it would take for them to purchase all of their items if they made $7 an hour. Next, have them calculate how many hours it would take to purchase the items if they made $10 an hour. Then have them calculate how many hours it would take to purchase the items if they made $20 an hour.

Sight words- cut out squares of paper with your child's sight words on them. Make sure each word is written twice. Play a game of memory match with them.
Play Connect Four with the sight words. Every time your child gets a word right they can drop a chip in.

These are just suggestions that will help keep your child from saying "I'm Bored!" and help them keep their skills sharp.

Have fun!

It's Snow Fun!

Ms. Ellis's class used some Christmas magic to make exploding snow! They combined baking soda and shaving cream to make a cool, powdery snow, and added in some Christmas magic (glitter). Then they went outside to spray our snow with a magical spray (vinegar) which caused the snow to bubble up and grow! They had a blast!

Merry Christmas

The staff at Estes Elementary would like to wish all of the Estes families a very Merry Christmas. Take this holiday and enjoy every little minute you have with your family. Tomorrow is not promised and we do not need to take anything for granted. We love all of you! Check back in a week and I will have some work for your students to do over the break, but for now their homework is to relax and recharge with you.

Making Snow

Ms. Manqueros and Ms. Lee lead their students in making snow. These classes made snow and snowmen with a couple of different recipes. By the looks on the students faces, they were having a great time! 

The Best Christmas Present Ever!

That is what Kirsten said when she walked into Mrs. York's class. Why? Read the note and you will understand why.

Movie Night

 The inaugural Christmas Movie Night was a huge success. Students who signed up and brought their ticket to the movie night were treated to popcorn and a Hug drink. We hope the parents enjoyed their time away and had a relaxing time.