Long Time, No See!

Hello again lovely parents! We've been in school for nearly a month now and it's been a blast! I absolutely love teaching your kids, and even the kids I don't teach anymore brighten my day with their smiles!
We have an eensy weensy problem- I forgot to give back your kids' plants. Here they are:

 As you can see, Klowi's lovely plant is growing away happily. It needs a bigger trellis!

They are looking lovely and hopefully will bloom this year! Unfortunately, it takes Mr. Joe a lot of attention to keep them all alive, and he would like to have them returned to their rightful owners. 

Please come get your plants! We are available anytime between 3:30-6:00 most days, so please just stop by! If you'd rather message/email me a time go for it! Just please do it before the end of next week. It would be a shame to have them die here having never known their rightful owners! 

Thank you!! Starting next month (October,) I may plan one activity per month, most likely on a Saturday, just for fun. Look for my emails! 

Jenica Burgan 

(435)-279-5928

nurture.genius@gmail.com

Nurturing Genius.org

Or find me on Facebook @ Nurturing Genius

Monday, August 10th

Monday is Pet Day! The kids have been asking for this since the summer began, so I hope you can all make it!
Here are a few things you need to know:
1. Pets can't come inside. I wish they could... But they can't. Gotta keep that dandruff out of the house!
2. Pets who aren't in cages or carriers need to be on a leash! If you have a dog in a carrier, please bring the leash along so he can be leashed if he wants to come out.
3. Caged pets, such as hamsters or mice, can't come out of their cages unless an adult is there to help handle them. (Kids, I know you probably handle your pets all the time, but if a pet got lost in my yard you would be very sad!)
4. I have said before that cats should not be brought due to allergies, but I'd like to amend that statement: if you have cats and you'd like to bring one, I will have a corner just for them. They MUST be in a cage or carrier, however, because we do NOT want any allergic reactions! If you do have a cat you'd like to bring, please message, text, call, or email me to let me know.
5. Our student who is allergic to nuts will sadly not be there,  but I would still like to keep nuts and seeds away just in case. Thanks!
6. Pets need to be brought in through the back fence. I will have it open so you can see your way through.

PLEASE RSVP for this activity with how many kids, adults, and pets will be coming, along with which kinds of pets. I'd like to have each place set up specifically for the kids and their pets so everything can run smoothly.

Please contact me with questions! There are numerous ways to contact me and I'll answer to all of them! I would rather answer lots of emails, texts, and phone calls than get to Monday and have everyone confused. Thank you so much and DONT FORGET to RSVP!

You're awesome!

Miss Jenica
(435)-279-5928
nurture.genius@gmail.com
nurturinggenius.org
Or find me on Facebook @ Nurturing Genius

Schedule Update- Monday, August 10th

There's been a change in schedule! We won't be having Nurturing Genius on Friday (August 7th) due to an unexpected event in my family that will be taking up all my time that day. I know we will have some sad kids if they don't get their pet day, so pet day will be held on Monday, August 10th instead of a community garden visit*. Please be prepared to bring your pets** and enjoy meeting lots of fun animals!

*I will be visiting the garden on Wednesday, August 12th around 3:00 for those of you who wish to join me. I will also be visiting the food pantry, so those who want to see where the vegetables go may want to come! 

**I am requesting that no cats are brought, as we have a child who is allergic, and if there are any rodents (rats, mice, guinea pigs, etc.) who eat peanuts, please do not bring nutty treats for them, as another child is allergic to nuts. Thank you!

Quick Overview and Catch-Up

Over the last few weeks, we have written, studied Independence Day, Celebrated Shark Week, and made our second visit to the Community Garden! Below are pictures and explanations for each of these activities.

Independence Day (July 3, 2015)

We learned a few Independence Day Facts. Ask your kids these questions to see if they remember!

1. What was the war for our freedom called?
2. What's the name of the letter our country sent to England to tell them to leave us alone?
3. When was that letter signed?

There may be other facts they remember, but these are the basics.

Shark Week (July 6, 2015)
Wow! We learned some cool stuff about sharks. Here are some photos from the activity!

This taught us about pollution. The oils, chemicals and garbage from us humans gets in the ocean- nasty! Nobody wants to live in that!

 This is our awesome spyglass. We used it to peek into the ocean bottom to see some amazing things!

 We made origami sharks... And boats... And all sorts of things. It was a fun day.

Community Garden Visit (July 13, 2015)
More weeding! The plants grew tons!! It was so cool to see how big they got. :) Once I figure out where the pictures have gone, I'll post them, too!

Catching Up

Phew! Between moving, holidays and school coming up, we've all been busy! I don't think I've seen your kiddos since our World War One activity last Friday. I'm super excited to see them today and do some Science!
Here are a few photos from the WW1 activity. Enjoy!

 This rice bowl was a representation of how many people were killed in World War One. Each grain of rice represents 100 people.
One of the most shocking things about this visual for me was that in World War Two, the amount of deaths was four times this many.

 Showing them where WW1 took place.

 They went home with little bags of rice (that hopefully didn't explode) to remind them of the magnitude of the war. With eacf grain representing 100 people, this pile of rice is 1\15 of the people who died in the war.

 They built scenes from the war.

 Wondering what a rice plant looks like?

We also learned about many types of animals used in the war. Here are a few:

See if your kids can tell you what they were used for! Thanks again for letting me borrow your amazing kids. I have a blast with them and I'm learning tons!
Keep up the good work!

On Friday...

Note: Somehow I didn't post this when I wrote it! This was Friday, June 26th.

We started our books! We spent most of our time writing and had some tired brains by the end. We're learning that writing a full-length story is harder than we thought!

Lola and her cousin. You can see Harli poking her cute head out too!

Sofia was practicing the letters of the alphabet. We love her!

Roman, furiously taking notes on World War 2 to use in his writing.

I think they might have had a sleepy brain episode halfway through.

Lola sharpening her pencil.

Klowbug spied out the window while she wrote about 'something suspicious'...

Hannah barely stopped for 'breath' writing about the last tiger on earth... The suspense is killing me!

We made a list of her favorite things and which letters they start with.

Jared was deep in thought writing about the kittens at his house.

Zach's story about Kings and dragons was very enthusiastic.

Harli worked hard writing about her dog, Mookie.

This cutie wrote all about her dog, too- named Lucey! She's a dog lover for sure.

So much fun! We saw some stories begin to take shape today. Loving this journey!

Our Last Days

Hello there!
     As I mentioned briefly on the event description on Facebook, we won't be dedicating any more full days to writing. Some of the kids no longer wish to go on with the writing of books, and as I promised they could opt out of any activity they wished, I have decided to use our last few activities in the ways the kids have requested. These activities are listed below.
     Those kids who do want to keep writing will absolutely have the opportunity to do so. They may write during activities, or they can set an appointment with me to come and have some one-on-one writing time. (The sign-up sheet for this will be available on Friday, or you can email me what time out of my available times would be best for you. Available times will be emailed out shortly.)

Friday, July 17th: World War One. This request was put in by Roman and echoed by quite a few. I think it's going to be pretty darn cool!

Monday, July 20th: NO ACTIVITY. This day is our moving day, and we won't be able to host anyone.

Friday, July 24th: Lego Day! A day dedicated solely to Legos. We'll have ideas, instructions, and plenty more exciting Lego activities. We will also take a short time to learn about the 24th of July and why it's a holiday.

Monday, July 27th: Klowi's Science day. Klowi has volunteered to make a list of the science experiments she tries at home, and show us here at Nurturing Genius. (Don't worry, she will have help.)

Friday, July 31st: Minecraft Day! Mr. Joe has requested that we have not one, but two Minecraft days as he has plenty to show us. (Keep in mind that those who don't want to play Minecraft will be able to join Miss Jenica outside for some bug, plant, and possibly small animal study.)

Monday, August 3rd: Bees*! I am attempting to set up an appointment to visit my neighbor, who owns a beehive, and see her bees. If we are unable to visit a beehive, we will have some awesome activities at headquarters.
I would love to try some honey on this day, whether or not we can visit- let me know if that is a concern!
*We will need seven seats in addition to our car, which seats three.

Friday, August 7th:  Pet Day*! This is a day when everyone brings their pets! Keep in mind, pets are limited to the outdoors, (pets aren't allowed in the house,) and I am requesting that no one bring cats, as Roman is allergic.
If there are any other animal allergies or concerns about this activity, please let me know!
*Large pets, such as dogs, will need adult supervision. Any pets in a cage will need to stay caged unless an adult is present to supervise the petting/holding of the animals.

Monday, August 10th: Community Garden*! This will be our last visit! We will get to help weed, harvest and possibly visit the food pantry to see where the food is donated. We will also take our plants home.
*We will need seven seats in addition to our car, which seats three.

Friday, August 14th: Minecraft! Second and final LAN party, Me. Joe will be teaching more Minecraft skills (and secretly teaching life skills too! Don't tell the kids!) Bugs, plants, etc. will also be available.

Monday, August 17th: Show-and-Tell*. We will show books, projects, or whatever we have to show.
I understand that this is a busy day; thus, this activity will begin at 3:00 and end whenever the kids are finished showing their work. I will also hand out information pages detailing the future of Nurturing Genius, so please make sure you each receive one!
*You'll need to be present in order for your child to show you their work.

Please let me know at least a week in advance if your kids cannot make it to any of these activities. I will be sure to make an event on Facebook and invite each of you. 

     I have placed an asterisk (*) next to those activities that will require drivers and/or volunteers, and details are listed underneath the activity description.
     Thank you for letting me borrow your kids! They've been a blast!

         Miss Jenica

Ready To Blast Off!

On Monday, we visited the library! We did a scavenger hunt of sorts- I asked the kids to find one fiction and one nonfiction book on the subject they wanted to write about, and then to find one book in the same genre. The main purpose of this was to give them something specific to search for- because nobody gets anywhere just browsing!

There are a few things we learned very quickly-

First, there's a real scarcity of children's books about spies. When I asked Klowbug why she thought that was, she rolled her eyes and replied, 'Duh, Miss Jenica. Nobody wants to encourage children to spy on people.' Klowbug quickly gave up the search for spy books and decided to gain her own experience by looking out the library window at some curious people with equipment and instruments... Standing on a table? You'll learn more about it in Klobug's upcoming book!

Another thing we learned is this: It's incredibly difficult to find a nonfiction book about dragons! Zach (unfortunately) has given up his idea of Longworm the Snail in favor of dragons, castles, Kings, and Queens, and had a very difficult time telling me which of his stacks of books was nonfiction. Jared, who, for the time being, has teamed up with Zach, answered it: 'None of them, because dragons aren't really real!'

Hannah found a good stack of tiger books (one of them was even entitled, 'Can We Save the Tigers?') that spurred her imagination. Unfortunately, she's been studying tigers so much at home, her nonfiction books didn't give a large amount of new information, but they definitely got her excited!

Harli learned that there's no scarcity of dog books to be found! She found all sorts; one where the author used household items to model his family (including his dog,) one that told what kinds of activities this person's dog did whike he wasn't home (including painting portraits,) one that taught how to train a dog, and quite a few others! She was very excited to go home and try out some of the things she'd learned with her own dog, Mooki!

Sofia learned that there are lots of alphabet books in the world! We read one about animals (the varieties of monkeys were her favorite,) and one that made letters out of city objects, like handrails and staircases. Sofia is going to write her own 'ABC Book!' With things from her everyday life. 

Also, here are some bonus pictures from our play time before we hit the Library- Mostly from play testing Mr.Joe's (almost) finished project.

 Harli playtested first, and had a fabulous reaction with lots of giggles. Can't say too much in case I spoil the surprise for Joe's papa!

 Our three playtesters- Harli, Hannah, and Sofia.

 Every time Sofi made something happen, she jumped up and yelled, 'I did it!'

Allow me to introduce 'Mr. Finger'. He is Sofi's favorite friend in the Lego box!

Thanks for popping in! I sure love your kids. We missed the handful who couldn't make it! See you Friday!