With spring break coming up, and state testing coming soon after it, time spent at home outside of school is even more important than usual. Leticia Skae, literacy teaching development specialist at MLK Magnet High School and former Blue Ribbon Teacher award winner and Teacher of the Year finalist, gives some helpful tips for how to best use this extra time at home over the break:
- Provide a quiet space and dedicated time that you and your child can read together. While 20 minutes is recommended, even 10 minutes each night would be impactful. Read to your children and have them read to you as well. Have a quick book talk, and then continue this process regularly. This will build reading stamina, and also allow your students practice in reading comprehension.
- For older students, allow students some time to practice typing if you have a computer at home. It doesn’t have to be rigid; just let them learn how to use the keyboard so that this can become effortless later on when they have to type for their End of Course exams.
- Exercise! A 10-minute walk or 10 minutes of aerobic exercise or yoga – anything! The brain functions best when we are moving. So, have your child take a break from homework or studying and exercise a little bit.
- Eat well. Spinach, broccoli, strawberries, cauliflower, nuts – all of these foods are considered brain foods, and many of them improve short-term memory and brain functions. So, eat up.
