October is a great month for learning together as a family!  Take advantage of the learning opportunities in our community.

Oct. 1 – Kids’ Workshop at Home Depot: Build and paint a firetruck!  Although the hours listed are 9-12, you may show up at any time with your child.  Please register online at: http://www.homedepot.com/l/Hilo/HI/Hilo/96720/8453  *The link will take you to a Honolulu store but will allow you to register for the class in Hilo.

Oct. 3  The Joys and Challenges of Native Bird Photography in HawaiiPresented by Jack Jeffreys at the Lyman House Museum from 7 pm to 8:30.“Hawai‘i’s renowned photographer and biologist Jack Jeffrey shares the experiences, challenges, and joys of capturing on film our Islands’ native forest birds, on two occasions:  Monday evening, October 3, and a “matinée” on the following afternoon, Tuesday, October 4 (3:00 pm-4:30).  Through personal stories and breathtaking photos of these elusive creatures in their habitats, Jack brings us (in every respect) into the real picture of wildlife photography.

Free to Lyman Museum members; $3 nonmembers.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. for evening public programs.
Limited seating; first come, first seated.
Additional parking next door at Hilo Union School ON MONDAY EVENING ONLY!

Oct. 10 – Oct. 14     Keiki Craft Camp 

Available for two age groups:

10:00-12:00 Ages 8-10

1:00-3:00 Ages 11+

Sign-up began Sept. 19

For more information and to register, contact Ben Franklin at 935-0005 or
visit (on the second page of the September calendar) http://www.benfranklinhawaii.com/wpcontent/uploads/2016/08/HiloSeptemberCalendar_final.pdf

 Oct. 28  Live Stargazing at ‘Imiloa

From the ‘Imiloa website:

“Join us for our live stargazing program in partnership with the Onizuka Center for International Astronomy Visitor Information Station (VIS) on selected Friday evenings at 7:00 pm.  View the cold, clear Maunakea night sky from the comfort of the ‘Imiloa planetarium. Join us on a journey to explore the stars and celestial objects from the 9,000 foot-level in real time.  A VIS staff member will orient the program’s participants to the night’s sky via a live feed, as well as introduce the instruments and techniques used to view a deep space object. In turn, the ‘Imiloa planetarium operator will then take the audience to those objects for a more in-depth look.

Each month’s program will focus on celestial objects seen in that season’s sky. For instance, in the winter skies in Hawai‘i we will look at the Orion Nebula, Pleiades, and put them in contexts with Hawaiian traditions.”

http://www.imiloahawaii.org/calendar/day_view/day:October+28,+2016#event_1538

Oct.29 ‘Imiloa’s 8^th Annual Wayfinding Festival

From the ‘Imiloa website:

“‘Imiloa’s 8th Annual Wayfinding and Navigation Festival

by Anna Liu on September 29th, 2015

Honoring the Spirit of the Waʻa and the ʻĀina 

Experience the “Spirit of the Wayfinder” at ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center’s 8th Annual Wayfinding & Navigation Festival sponsored by the Ama OluKai Foundation. This annual community festival explores the art and science of oceanic wayfinding, the traditional Polynesian system of navigating the open ocean without the use of modern instrumentation. Themed He Waʻa He Moku, Honoring the Spirit of the Waʻa and the ʻĀina, this full-day event takes place on Saturday, October 24, 2015 at ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center, from 9:30 am to 4:00 pm. Thanks to generous sponsorship from the Ama OluKai Foundation, the event is free and open to the public.

Special keynote presentations will focus on the ‘āina (land) and the waʻa (canoe) as interconnected symbols of cultural identity and pride. Presenters will explore how the ‘āina gives life and spirit to the waʻa, and how the waʻa in turn inspires us to care for ourselves, each other, and our natural and cultural environments.
Under the simulated night sky of the ‘Imiloa planetarium, experienced navigators from the Polynesian Voyaging Society’s Mālama Honua Worldwide Voyage will unlock the secrets of the stars that guide them along their journey. Activity stations set up throughout the ‘Imiloa Exhibit Hall will focus on critical aspects of open ocean sailing that all crew members are required to complete—packing gear, calibrating your body to become a measuring tool, tying knots, etc.—to challenge attendees to see if they have what it takes to be a deep-sea voyager. Each participant who successfully completes all crew requirements will receive a prize for becoming an “‘Imiloa Crew Member”! Rounding out the day will be climb onboard tours of Hilo’s own inter-island voyaging canoe, Kiakahi, on the ‘Imiloa lawn.”
Mahalo to the Ama OluKai Foundation for sponsorship of the 2015 ʻImiloa Wayfinding & Navigation Festival.

http://blog.imiloahawaii.org/hawaiian-culture/imiloas-annual-wayfinding-and-navigation-festival/

Camping, traveling, sleepovers, sʻmores – and more! Thatʻs what summer memories are made of. While it is true that summer is a time to reconnect and enjoy many moments of laughter and discovery, unfortunately, itʻs also a time of loss. “Summer slide” is the well-documented name of the loss of academic skills gained by children during the previous school year. Here are some research-based findings:

• Summer loss is greater in math than reading.
• The greatest loss has been in math computation and spelling.
• Some students sustain a loss of 1-3 months of academic learning.
• For some students, although there is no to little loss, there is also no to little academic growth across the summer.
• Summer loss across many years will have consequences in the high school years.
• Children who are struggling through the school year will likely lose a disproportionate amount of learning by the end of summer, compared to students who do not struggle.
• Reading 6 books throughout the summer can help children retain their reading skills.

In recent years, educational leaders have begun to look at summers as the perfect time to be innovative with learning opportunities. Here are some sites that might be helpful as you consider your role as your childʻs “summer teacher”:

The Scholastic Reading Summer Challenge: http://www.scholastic.com/ups/campaigns/src-2016

Sign your child up to read every day and log in minutes. As more and more time is logged in, videos and stories from favorite authors (Dav Pilkey, author of the Captain Underpants series, introduces the Challenge) are revealed. The theme for this yearʻs Challenge is “Be a Reading Superhero.” Check it out and sign your child up today! Even if your child doesnʻt participate, this is still a great site to browse lists of books.

Read/Write/Think:

http://www.readwritethink.org/search/?resource_type_filtering=70-72-74-76-80-82-113&resource_type=70&sort_order=alpha&q=Writing&srchgo.x=0&srchgo.y=0&old_q=&srchwhere=par

Here youʻll find activities that will require reading and writing with your child. The activities will take you to different online tools to create book covers, visit virtual museums, etc.

The Summer Math Challenge:

https://www.quantiles.com/content/summer-math-challenge/summer-math-loss/

“The “challenge” of the program is simply for parents and their children to talk about math a little together every day! The program will last for six weeks and will focus on one math concept per week. Parents will receive daily emails which will include fun activities and resources to help kids retain the math skills learned during the previous school year.” This challenge targets those students who have just completed grades 1 through 7.

Global Trek:

http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/globaltrek/

At this site, students are able to keep a travel journal as they trek through different countries around the world.

The following sites suggest a variety of fun learning opportunities to enjoy with your child while holding and building onto the academic growth of this past school year.

Little Scholars:

https://littlescholarsllc.wordpress.com/10-ways-to-prevent-summer-slide/

Parent and Child Magazine:

http://www.scholastic.com/parents/resources/article/developing-reading-skills/three-ways-to-prevent-summer-slide