Spring break is that, a break from school but not a break from learning. Parents can inspire their children to want to learn even when away from school. Consider these great activities for your kids and family!
Send your Child Outside
Nature is full of creation and science. Tailor the goals with your location and age of the child. They are naturally curious.
For young children visit a nearby pond or lake. There are mommy ducks with their babies. Discuss habitat. Consider visiting the Bluebonnet Swamp, LSU Lakes, or take a longer trip to Lake Fausse Pointe State Park in New Iberia! Butterfly gardens are also a great place to visit.
Make this an opportunity for rich discussion. Discuss:
· What flowers attract butterflies?
· What colors, textures, and shapes are the flowers?
· Pick a flower, dissect and investigate.
· Along with pollen comes secondary effects on our eyes and sinuses.
If a trip is not within reason, hang out in your back yard or at a local park. Older children should get outside and exercise. Enjoy a walk or bike ride.
Visit Museums
Make a habit of visiting museums no matter the age!
Baton Rouge Museums
· Louisiana Art and Science Museum
· Southern University Museum of Art
· Knock Knock Children’s Museum
· USS Kidd Veterans Memorial and Museum
New Orleans and Other Locations
· Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame
Be Amazed with Science!
Visit LIGO or the Highland Road Observatory ! Load the sky gazer app and go out at night. Talk about the Greek or Roman gods named in the sky.
Enjoy Math…Make it an Edible Experience
Cook and eat together! Cooking is a great way to learn fractions. Try these great recipes or celebrate a place and cook their local cuisine. Dress up!
· Pancakes
Critical Thinking
Watch a documentary about a particular timeframe, nature, or science. Look at a map or globe for reference. Maybe buy a big map for your wall!
Current Events
Talk about current events and build content knowledge and vocabulary. The tragedy of the Notre Dame fire, Charlemagne, Passover, Easter, Measles vaccine and possible epidemics are all current events and topics of interest.
READ
Buy a new book on your child’s favorite topic. Let your child read silently and aloud. Listen and discuss. Check out these recommended spring reads from LKA
Have Fun!
1. You want someone who understands dyslexia and understands a child’s strengths and their weaknesses. Teaching them to read and write can be hard so a tutor must let them show off their strengths. It might be a sport, art, music, or loving their pet. Reaffirm constantly. Be patient.
2. A child must learn they need to pull words apart and connect the written text with the sounds of spoken language. The tutor should understand that dyslexic children can have difficulty with word retrieval, especially if anxious.
3. Your child needs more than an Orton-Gillingham lesson/tutor. These lessons are good but these alone will not suffice. Your child needs to read books that are of interest and that are grade appropriate out loud with the tutor. Gentle correction from a trusted tutor is important. The tutor should encourage the student to talk about the story after a few pages or a chapter, discuss the vocabulary, and relate it to the child’s interests. Maybe they can write about the story together. Let the child dream about the story and hopefully understand the treasure of reading a book.
4. The tutor needs to understand that dyslexics often have difficulty in math. Math has language too. It is not a separate process. Spelling is difficult for dyslexics but reading out loud will help. Tutors should not give spelling tests or spend precious time on spelling.
5. The tutor needs to see your child several times a week for an hour or ninety minutes. Good tutors know dyslexics often have ADD/ADHD and can tutor a child that wiggles or wonders. A good tutor loves and laughs and understands the tremendous potential of your dyslexic child.
Without screening and identification as dyslexic, these children have a greater chance of dropping out of high school, not enrolling in college, earning decreased wages, and a greater likelihood of incarceration. Waiting does not improve their outcomes.
There are two important reasons for universal screening of children in kindergarten and first grade:
1. An achievement gap is present in the first grade between dyslexic and non-dyslexic students. This gap does not go away and will widen if not the child is not identified as dyslexic and addressed specifically.
2. Children with dyslexia can be identified in kindergarten and first grade and should be enrolled in an evidence based program like Louisiana Key Academy.
Dyslexia is defined as an unexpected difficulty in reading for an individual who has the intelligence to be a much better reader; and most commonly due to a difficulty in phonological processing (the appreciation of the individual sounds of spoken language), which affects the ability of an individual to speak, read, spell, and often learn a second language.
School is about reading, writing and speaking. Dyslexia affects all of these. It looks slightly different in each child, but it is that inability to match the smallest part of the spoken word, the phoneme, to the letters and letter groups comprising written language.
With all of the articles available on the internet, it can be hard to discern which facts are well researched and which ones are fake. Here are four facts about dyslexia that every parent should know:
Self-esteem is defined as a confidence and a belief in one’s own value. Children spend the majority of their time at school. This environment shapes a sense of worth for many kids. However, school can quickly wreck the self-esteem of a dyslexic child.
We know that the achievement gap between dyslexic and non-dyslexic children is present in the first grade. Non-dyslexic children are rapidly improving their reading skills while dyslexic children are struggling to read simple words or learn the alphabet. Since most parents and teachers equate reading skills with intelligence, the dyslexic child often feels inadequate at school.
These bright students do not read at a level that matches their intelligence and they are often called lazy or dumb. When we founded the Louisiana Key Academy it was to help students not only excel in school but also sustain or improve their self-esteem. Since then we have helped hundreds of kids and parents. The parent story below is just one of many amazing child experiences.
At Louisiana Key Academy, our mission is to provide an innovative and effective learning curriculum to children who have been diagnosed with dyslexia. In doing so, we align ourselves with a vision where all children are given the tools they need to thrive. We believe that dyslexics should be identified and given the education necessary to reach their full potential. LKA is here as a champion for dyslexics as they engage in an excellent and accessible education.
LOCATIONS
Baton Rouge Campus
Grades K - 10th
Phone: (225) 298-1223
Fax: (225) 384-5485
Northshore Campus
Grades K - 6th
2391 Privette Boulevard
Covington, LA 70435
Phone: (985) 635-0351
Fax: (225) 384-5485
Caddo Campus
Grades 1st - 5th
261 Arthur Avenue
Shreveport, LA 71105
Phone: (318) 752-6257
Fax: (225) 384-5485
KEY RESOURCES
GOVERNANCE
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