Happiest of Holidays!

To all our parents, we wish you the happiest of holidays! Please remind your child to ask their school when their break is so they can also take a break from their lessons. And then when to start up again so they'll be working in a timely manner to finish when the school year ends.
Take care and have a great New Year!

Happy Thanksgiving!

On behalf of everyone here at the Jefferson County Educational Service Center, we would like to send our best wishes for a joyous Thanksgiving with your loved ones and friends.

Books

Today is National Authors Day. Here is a list of books for Tweens and Teens
Just click on the link and choose a good book that fits your child's interests.
Have a good National Author Day!

Great App Recommendations for Families

Historical Figures Apps and Games

Come face to face with famed men and women of history.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Best Engineering Games, Apps, and Websites for Kids

Software must-haves for mechanical mind

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Best Board Game Apps, Games, and Websites

Tabletop classics, reimagined for the digital gene

55 Best Back-to-School Articles for Parents

 55 Best Back-to-School Articles for Parents
Click on link above for the complete article


By Marilyn Price-Mitchell, PhD 

 Parents, are you ready for back-to-school? Teachers, would you like to share some great parenting articles with students’ families? 

This popular list of back-to-school articles is updated each year. It contains some of the latest thinking and research on learning, achievement, family well-being, parent engagement, special needs children, youth sports, media, technology, discipline, homework, bullying — all the things parents think about at back-to-school time. These articles also support the development of core abilities every child should have — curiosity, sociability, resilience, self-awareness, integrity, resourcefulness, creativity, and empathy (The Compass Advantage). The list is divided by parenting topic, with a short summary of what you will find in each article.

For “big picture” thinking about education and child development, check out my free eBook Reframing Success: Helping Children & Teens Grow from the Inside Out. It shows how grades and test scores are only one aspect of success and how we all nurture vital skills and abilities in young people. For the beginning of the 2016 school year, we’ve added a new section of RESOURCES and free downloads at Roots of Action,including the very popular Parenting Promise, and a handout on the Compass Advantage framework, showing how parents and schools impact eight core abilities in youth.

Please read the articles below that pique your interest now and bookmark others for later. And if you like particular authors, be sure to follow their articles throughout the school year by signing up for their newsletters. I’ve also included links to their Twitter accounts and Facebook pages to make following your favorites easy.

I guarantee you’ll find some meaningful food for thought here – whether it’s back-to-school time or anytime! You’ll also meet some great people who support children’s positive growth and well-being. Happy reading!

100 Summer Activities for Teens

By Denise Witmer

Updated April 27, 2016

If you're tired of hearing, "I'm bored," from your teen, you're not alone. Summer fun can quickly turn to boredom if your teen isn't trying to stay active. 

Print out this list and hand it to your teen. The first time she says she's bored, tell her to do something from the list.

100 Activities for a Bored Teen

1. Invent a new type of pizza.
2. Make a music video.
3. Grow a pizza garden.
4. Walk barefoot through the grass.

1. Build a sandcastle.
2. Play water balloon games.
3. Picnic at a local park.
4. Make the best ice cream sandwich ever.
5. Have an overnight movie marathon.
6. Play frisbee golf.
7. Have a car wash to fundraise for a club or charity.
8. Grab a blanket, spread it out in the grass and cloud watch.
9. Make a card for a friend.
10. Bike five miles.
11. Catch lightning bugs.
12. Take a nap under a shade tree.
13. Go swimming.
14. Have a pool party.
15. Grow vegetables.
16. Make a summer tote bag out of a recycled tank top.
17. Watch an outdoor play in a park.
18. Sketch a flower that is growing in your yard.
19. Bury a friend in the sand.
20. Fly paper airplanes.
21. Volunteer in a community effort.
22. Go fishing.
23. Sleep in your backyard, under the stars.
24. Create a photo journal.
25. Hike a rail trail.
26. Visit the local library and read a book every week.
27. Swap a favorite book with a friend and read it.
28. Make a friendship bracelet and send it to your friend.
29. Write a poem
30. Write a song.
31. Write a play.
32. Start writing a novel.

1. Create a website.
2. Give your Facebook page a summery look.
3. Join a new Facebook group.
4. Have an outdoor basketball free-throw contest.
5. Have a watermelon seed spitting contest.
6. Sketch your pet.
7. Make smoothies.
8. Have a high tea, only use iced teas.
9. Help plan the family vacation.
10. Make a root beer float.
11. Write in your journal, "My Top 10 Favorite Summertime Activities."

1. Make a toe ring.
2. Paint your toe nails.
3. Make a barefoot sandal.
4. Make Hawaiian Pizza for your family dinner.
5. Paint your fingernails with bright sparkly polish.
6. Watch the sunrise.
7. Watch the sunset.
8. Get your community’s events list for the summer and attend an event.
9. Have a summer clothes fashion show.
10. Create a summer safety poster for the local library.
11. Volunteer to read to children at the library.
12. Learn to grill a hot dog.
13. Learn to grill a hamburger.
14. Learn to grill pizza crust.
15. Eat some fruit with fruit dip.
16. Make a collage out of old magazines.
17. Swing.
18. Skip stones at a lake.
19. Surf/boogie board at the beach.
20. Get a new hairdo.
21. Change something about how you wear your make-up.
22. Decide to pick up one good habit, then do it.
23. Make your own popsicles.
24. Watch last year’s hot summer flick.
25. Go to this year’s hot summer flick.
26. Make a list of your favorite summertime movies in your journal.
27. Make a summer sun-shaped collage out of summer fashion magazines.
28. Make a leaf T-shirt.
29. Make an earring holder out of a branch.
30. Make peach lemonade.

1. Make a CD of your favorite summertime songs.
2. Enjoy a board game marathon on your backyard picnic table or on your back porch.
3. Have a scavenger hunt.
4. Make some summer jewelry.
5. Change something in or add something to your room. (You could clean it too.)
6. Give your dog/pet a bath outside.
7. Take your dog/pet for a walk.
8. Run through a sprinkler.
9. Make a whirlpool in a kid's pool or play Ice Cubes and Piggies Game.
10. Visit a flower garden and/or butterfly house.
11. Grow some lavender so you can make your own potpourri.
12. Turn up the music and dance.
13. Go stargazing.
14. Sleep until noon -- once.
15. Tie-dye your bed sheets.
16. See some fireworks.
17. See a local baseball game.
18. Play mini-golf.
19. Learn how to hula-hoop.
20. Create a sidewalk mural with chalk using a tropical theme.
21. Start your own business.
22. Visit a college.
23. Plan and enjoy a luau.

_{Updated by Amy Morin, LCSW. 100 Fun Activities for Teens}

Summer 2016

Parents/Guardians,
We hope your child has had a good experience using our online program. We have online tutoring available. Contact our office for more details. (740)283-3347.

A good website to help students and parents over the summer: http://www.pbs.org/parents/

Have a great summer!

Ohio Means Jobs

Parents,
Check out the Ohio Means Jobs website ohiomeansjobs.com for information on career exploration for your child.   You can search jobs available in your area and create a career portfolio and backpack with all pertinent information that could prove helpful in making decisions about college.