There's Nothing To Do

We're approaching the 4th of July, so most of you have been out of school for.... about a month?


And you're bored already, right? Because while you might say you hate school, once you're out there's "nothing to do." For instance, you couldn't do these:

• Learn to cook or bake, and then make something for your family or friends
• Try a new sport or learn more about one you think you aren't good at

• Take a walk.
• Take pictures, maybe with an old film camera. See how creative you can get: take pictures close up, try for cityscapes, notice the odd thing on the ground, try making videos.
• Get a book or find a source online about another language and learn to say 10 sentences in that language.
• Learn all the words to three songs.
• Pick a new word from the dictionary every week and learn it:Pronunciation, meaning, origin.
• Volunteer someplace---and be creative, find a business or organization that's not necessarily looking for a volunteer but you find it interesting, go in, introduce yourself, and see if they'd like some free help.
• Give yourself a reading challenge: Three books a month? Five?
• See if you can lose 5 pounds-research the healthy way to do it
• Build something. From whatever. Make it up.

• Set a goal of walking a certain number of miles per day, week, month, or for the summer. Keep track and see if you got it done.
• Do you know someone who's a good dancer? Ask if he/she will teach you the moves.

• Start tracing your family tree: Ask questions of parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles. Write down what you learn. Get names and dates. Make a chart, and do some research. Here's a good free resource: https://www.familysearch.org/ask/partners/myheritage

• Visit the library and see what treasures it holds. They sometimes have free classes, too...
• Try a no-social media day: Could you do it? What about leaving your phone behind as you go about your day?

We interrupt this can't do list to give props to your local library...…. Did you know they offer..

• Gaming activities
• Storytime for little ones, including an evening family story-telling
• STEM activities
• Cooking activities
• Bike fix-it clinics
• Exploring outside activities
• Graphic novel design activities

-All at a cost of exactly 0 dollars, which is pretty hard to beat.. Go to the library websites and check it out:  Anoka County- https://www.anokacounty.us/1758/Libraries and Hennepin County: https://hclib.org/




Here are links to various summer ideas for all ages.

https://www.edutopia.org/blog/summer-learning-resources-matt-davis

https://www.pbs.org/parents/thrive/simple-tips-for-summer-math-learning

 https://www.tynker.com/parents/#/ts/courses/learning-paths/advanced-languages  *Tynker has a fee

 https://thekrazycouponlady.com/tips/family/online-activities-keep-your-kids-busy-summer

 https://www.education.com/resources/

https://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/profdev073.shtml 

Free online games for high school age https://www.commonsense.org/education/top-picks/10-great-free-games-for-high-school-students

But of course, these are all things you couldn't do. Because.. you're busy??

Tell This Story

Write a story. For fun. You did read that right, for fun.
How? You ask. Just start with an idea, where you want the story to go, a basic plan.


Remember when some teacher at some point tried to suggest that an outline is really important, but you were bored and looking out the window trying to think what to do after school or whether you had enough time between classes to catch up with your buddy, or if you could make to your locker before your next class in time?


Should have paid attention. Just sayin'. 

An outline is going to be really helpful in any writing project, so instead of thinking of it as a chore, think of it as an interview. Ask yourself:

• What is the overall story?
• Who is the 'hero' of the story?
• Who are the other characters?
• Where does it take place?
• When does it take place?
• What is the problem the character(s) face?
• How does the main character solve the problem?
• Does the main character have a mentor or close friend? Who is that?
• Do you want to write in first-person; as if you are in the story? ("I first saw him when I stepped off the train. He was odd-looking, and I tried not to stare.") Or third-person ("Jack could see right through people. He had a sort of frightening instant insight.")

You get the idea. Now try making a simple drawing that shows the path of the story. It could look like this:

***Whether writing on paper or on the computer... Save your work!!***

As you tell the story, you'll think of details to add. Most stories have a 'bad guy' character. Do you want to 'analyze' why this person is a negative force, or do you simply want to have a suspicious person lurking around? Do you want to place several suspicious characters in the story, to make the reader guess who the true bad guy is? When you start the story, how will you fill in your reader as to the background of the main character? Do you want to simply describe who he or she is, how the person got to be where he or she is today, etc., or do you want to let that be known a bit at a time?


Here are some ideas to get you started:

• Listen to a song that tells a story, and tell that story in richer detail.
• Use a story one of your parents, grandparents, uncle or aunt has told you. You could just stick to the straight story... or meander off into a fantasy of it.
• Write about a building you think is interesting but know nothing about.
• Write about a pet that taught you something.
• Write about a friendship that helped or that disappointed you.
• Bring up a memory from when you were younger and start a story with that.
• One of the traditional writing 'rules' is, write what you know. You'll be surprised how much you know about a favorite subject-an activity, your background, or sport. Use that in your story.
• Sometimes a true story is even more interesting than fiction. You could start with, "I would never have believed this if someone had told me...."
• Don't forget the value of surprise in your story. You might not even know what that is until you're in the middle of writing it!

Try a prompt:(these could also be the opening line of a story: entice your reader to know more)

• I'm so bored right now that....
• When I heard it, I couldn't believe it.
• It looked bad, really bad.
• She didn't know her best friend as well as she thought.
• What was that doing there?
• I just stepped off the train, not knowing where to go.
• I never thought this would happen.
• My little sister or brother is impossible, really impossible.
• People think I'm crazy, but I actually do hear stuff no one else seems to hear.
• Everybody else thought he was a good person, but I knew he wasn't.
• When I first saw it, I didn't realize it was a hand.
• It was over. Wasn't it?

Or, try one of these pictures for inspiration:

The best thing to do when writing is to just start writing. You will probably toss out some of your starts, and that is fine. There will be re-writing, editing, and frustration, but when you're done, you'll have invented something that wasn't there before. How cool is that?

"We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: we have the power to imagine better."

                                                  -J. K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series

If You Give a Graduate a Diploma

If you give a graduate a diploma, she's going to be proud of her achievement.

If she shares her pride in achieving, people will suggest she continue to achieve.

If she wants to keep achieving, she's going to want to go to college.

If she wants to go to college, she's going to need guidance, stubbornness, and optimism.

If she takes guidance, stubbornness, and optimism to heart, she's going to register for college.

If she registers for college, she's going to start classes.

If she starts classes, she's going to work very hard to finish them and get her best grades.

As she finishes one semester of classes, she'll move on to the next, and then the next.

Once she has completed all her classes, she'll realize she has gained knowledge about the world and about herself.

If she learns more and more about the world and about herself , she's going to find out what she's passionate about, and that will be the thing she is good at.

If she finds out what she's good at, she's going to find a way to make a living doing it.

As she makes a living doing what she loves, she's going to keep concentrating and learning forever.

If she graduates and makes a living doing what she's good at, she's going to want to share her knowledge with others.

If she shares her knowledge with others, she's going to inspire others to go to college like she did.

If others go to college, they're going to get diplomas.

If others go to college and receive their diplomas, they'll share their pride in achievement.

Here's a shout out to everyone graduating this year!