Urban Oak School

05/31/2019

Last Day of School!!!
Water play day + ice cream social
All the fun was had!

05/31/2019

The 21st century has so far been a homework-heavy era, with American teenagers now averaging about twice as much time spent on homework each day as their predecessors did in the 1990s. Even little kids are asked to bring school home with them. A 2015 study, for instance, found that kindergarteners, who researchers tend to agree shouldn’t have any take-home work, were spending about 25 minutes a night on it.

But not without pushback. As many children, not to mention their parents and teachers, are https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2019/03/homework-research-how-much/585889/drained by their daily workload, some schools and districts are rethinking how homework should work—and some teachers are doing away with it entirely. They’re reviewing the research on homework (which, it should be noted, is contested) and concluding that it’s time to revisit the subject.

America’s devotion to the practice stems in part from the fact that it’s what today’s parents and teachers grew up with themselves.

05/29/2019

7th graders working on a memory keepsake book 😍

05/24/2019

Every year, thousands of librarians organize and prepare amazing programs and resources to help children, teens and adults read and learn throughout the summer months. These summer reading programs help to bridge the gap in learning that often happens from the time school ends until it begins again; a time when parents play a critically important role in keeping their young ones reading, even when it is “unassigned”!

Turn super kids into super readers this summer with these tips!

05/24/2019

Here is a great list of podcasts that focuses on the topic of homework from Thriving Children. Check them out and decide for yourself.
Here is a great one with educator, author and advocate Alfie Kohn.
Podcast:
https://thrivingchildren.com.au/episode-124-questioning-homework-with-alfie-kohn/

List of Podcasts:
https://thrivingchildren.com.au/tag/homework/

In this episode the Thriving Children Podcast, Clare revisits the topic of homework, with educator, author and advocate Alfie Kohn. Hear: What the research says

05/22/2019

Craft Day!

Have some favorite spring flowers that you and children would like to enjoy all year round? Try this amazing pressed flower sun catcher!

I developed a love for mactac and pressed flowers when I was a girl. I have fond memories of being given a box of pressed flowers, some...

05/17/2019

:“Not only does Start with a Book recommend excellent age-appropriate books, it makes it easy to make the crucial real life connections to those books that build the background knowledge and vocabulary kids need. I love how this useful tool has helped the parents and volunteers we work with to motivate kids and excite them about books and reading.”
— Eileen Hanning, literacy consultant and founder of Read, Learn, Reach

A ton of topics to choose from!

Twenty-four kid-approved themes with related booklists, hands-on activities, ideas for writing, great kids' websites, and interactive apps.

05/17/2019

Homework, once a staple of public education, is under fire locally and across the nation, as several years’ worth of studies show the practice is not as beneficial as once believed. Nearly 90 percent of students admit to feeling stressed about their homework, the Institute of Education Sciences says, and 45 percent of students above the third grade spend more than an hour after school on assignments. Children and their parents are drained by the daily workload, they say, and teachers and school administrators are taking a hard look at whether the work is worth the hassle.

Elise Dunn, a fifth-grader at Milton’s Collicot Elementary School, had been home for 15 minutes, but she was already back in school mode. Almost as