Welcome to Week 3! Change is afoot as we settle in to our new space. I appreciate the flexibility everyone has shown as we adapted to multiple moving schedule changes. We now have all of our things moved into our room and as soon as our IT team gets our tech network set up (on Monday or Tuesday), we will be able to move our furniture into position and begin settle in. We are no longer using the Forum.
 
Last week:

• On Thursday, we traveled to Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area, visiting the Japanese Garden, the Waterfall and the Castle playground. See some photos on the photo page of our DP (coming Monday).
• Friday was a joy! What an amazing group of kids we have. They get along beautifully, include each other in play and are very flexible.
  • joined in some casual fun (building and drawing) to begin to get to know each other
  • took a tour of campus (highlights: chickens, garden, Shelly (the tortoise), ball pit and more)
  • in the Innovation Station…shared about our experiences and observations at Kenneth Hahn and other parks we have visited and drew memories of our parks experiences to be used in an ongoing mural
  • our work in the Innovation Station was briefly interrupted when workmen arrived early to build the base of the ramp into our classroom
    • we went back to our room/the tunnel and moved our belongings into the Forum (JB…I have your sketch book…sorry we missed it)
  • after finishing our time in the Innovation Station, we went out for an extended body break, to give students time to get used to the space, try out a variety of equipment and interact/develop relationships with both Collaborative and Hybrid program students during play
  • back in the Forum, we brainstormed and drew ideas for the design of our new classroom and what we would like to include
    • everyone shared out their ideas
  • we ended the morning with play time on the yard

This week:

• PEC 1: Weds., August 31st…don’t miss it! Heidi, Shiori and Victoria will lead a project-planning workshop for our Homeschool Collaborative families in Session 1 and you will find many other timely workshops in Session 2 and Session 3. See the DVIA newsletter for more details.
• Our Thursday field trip this week will be to the Ballona Wetlands. We will meet there at 10am and spend about 2 hours in a combination of whole group and small group/individual activities. Playa Vista Sport Park is just a few blocks down the street, if families would like to meet up for lunch and play. Sorry for the short notice! RSVP here. A field trip permission slip and Ballona waiver are required. See attachments.
• On Friday, we will follow up on Kenneth Hahn, Ballona and the previous week. We will also explore interests, curiosities and wonderings that will inform the direction of our project.

 
This year we will have a whole school directory posted on the Parent Educator Resource site, along with classroom specific rosters distributed via e-mail. We are using google forms to create these rosters. Please use the following link to participate: Home School Collaborative (Janette).
 
Don’t miss out on the Scooter’s Jungle Fundraiser on Sept. 13th, 5-8pm! It is always a ton of fun. See the newsletter for details and don’t forget to take socks.
 
Would you enjoy a fun math resource to incorporate into your bedtime routine (or anytime)? Bedtime Math sends out fun, daily math problems (free).

Many of you made suggestions regarding the topics you would like to have addressed in home educator workshops. I’ve been able to roll several of those ideas into what I will be offering through the end of September. I hope that you will find some that address your needs.
 
Here is the line-up:
 
Writers Workshop: Small Moment Narratives…a workshop for home educators
RSVP: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0d44ada729a13-writers
This is a 2-part workshop that will give you strategies and tools to use in using Writers Workshop at home.
Part 1 (Friday, Sept. 2nd 12:30-1:30)

• Overview of the Writers Workshop process and resources to learn more about it
• Quick look at good first lessons to use for Small Moment writing
• Mentor texts
• Looking at what to expect at each grade level

Part 2 (Friday, Sept. 16th 12:30-1:30)

• Looking at and discussing student work brought in by home educators
• Quick look at a variety of lessons to continue work
• How to build in grammar and syntax learning

 
Using GeorgiaStandards.org for Math Instruction...a workshop for home educators
RSVP: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0d44ada729a13-using
 
(Friday, Sept. 9th 12:30-1:30)

• This workshop will provide a brief overview of how to use GeorgiaStandards.org at home for math instruction and provide an opportunity to think through the first unit with a grade-level group. 
• Packets with both consumable and non-consumable resources that align with Unit 1 of grades K-4 will be used in the workshop. If families would like to borrow them to use at home, that can be arranged.

 
Handwriting Without Tears @home
RSVP: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0d44ada729a13-handwriting
 
(Monday, Sept. 12th 1:00-3:00)
 

• DVIA is providing a HWT student book for each of my students to use at home. This workshop will help you get the most from the curriculum and know how to get started. 
  • 1:00-2:30     Workshop for home educators, including practicing leading a lesson
                        Students (and siblings 5 and up) will join Ethel for Art and play
  • 2:30-3:00     Home educators work with their students with support 

 
Number Talks…a workshop for home educators
RSVP: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0d44ada729a13-number
 
(Friday, Sept. 23rd 12:30-1:30)
We will discuss...

• what a classroom number talk is
• how to follow students' thinking and pose the right questions to build understanding
• how to prepare for and design purposeful number talks
• how to develop grade-level specific thinking strategies for the operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division

A follow-up workshop will be scheduled in October.
​
Mathematical Mindsets…a workshop for home educators
RSVP: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0d44ada729a13-mathematical
 
(Monday, Sept. 26th 1:00-3:00)
 
Based on the work of Jo Boaler (author and Stanford professor), we will discuss:

• How the brain processes mathematics learning
• How to turn mistakes and struggles into valuable learning experiences
• Examples of rich mathematical activities to replace rote learning
• Ways to support students in developing a positive math mindset
• Time allowing...examples of how assessment can support real math understanding

 
Have questions or suggestions? Let me know.
Janette

I hope you had a wonderful first week! It was so good to see so many of our families last week at an Orientation meeting, a small group meeting or our Opening Social at Valley Park. We have such an awesome group of positive thinking, dive-right-in families and I couldn’t be more excited to be able to work with all of you.
 
The BIG NEWS! Our bungalow is being installed and we hope to be able to start moving in and getting settled on Wednesday. When we are sure of the move-in date, we will invite you to help with settling in and creating the environment. If you have any suggestions for our space, please let me know.
 
Our first field trip, to Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area, will be this Thursday and The Story of Los Angeles project starts this Friday. See our DP for more details, the sign up for the project and the field trip sign up and permission slip. I’ll send reminders the day before each.
 
PEC 1, our first parent educator conference of the year, will be held on Weds., August 31st at the Hawthorne Memorial Center. See the DVIA newsletter for more info. I strongly encourage you to attend. Michelle Rainey will get the day started with inspiring words and useful information. A team of our veteran Homeschool Collaborative educators (Heidi, Shiori and Victoria) will share their strategies for developing student passion-inspired learning and lead our group in creating your own plan (based on your child(ren)’s interests) to use at home. There will be a selection of mini-sessions intended to fill your toolkit and we will end, as always, with a raffle. 

Reading A-Z and Writing A-Z are two of the resources DVIA provides. Contact me for log-in info.

Appointments for students to learn their ST Math passwords (or for veteran kids to get linked to this year’s class) are available in SignUpGenius. If you want to know more about ST Math, let me know. I highly recommend using it at home.
 
Office Hour appointments for September are available. Please don’t hesitate to sign up to meet, talk on the phone or video chat.
 
New on our DP…I’ve added some features to our DP, which is under construction and growing.

• My twitter feed can be found on the landing/blog page of our DP. You are welcome to follow me @JanetteKiso. 99% of my tweets are related to learning/homeschooling/parenting/neurobiology/mindfulness.
• A slideshow of photos from our Opening Social can be found on the photo page. I’ll add any additional photos you email to me.
• Lists of read-aloud and independent reading book recommendations have been added.

 
Other Social Media news…

• Contact me about our Facebook group, Google group or the Remind app!

​I want to pass on a great opportunity to participate in a project that some of our Homeschool Collaborative students have been working on over the summer. In addition to participating in an important effort, you might also gather some ideas about ways you could develop a project with your child(ren).

Following is the blurb they invited me to pass on. If you have any questions, I can connect you with the parent of one of the students.

Save the Sea Lion Fundraiser for the Pacific Marine Mammal Center, this Monday, August 22 from 11am-3pm at Metlox in Manhattan Beach
 
The students and some other homeschool friends have been working on another sea lion rescue for the Pacific Marine Mammal Center (PMMC) and have raised $240 so far. Please join us Monday, August 22 for a fundraiser at Metlox in Manhattan Beach!
 
A family was kind enough to donate many boxes of high-quality stainless water bottles that the dad designed, himself! We also have many bags of sea animal and letter beads to make "save the sea lion" key chains and bracelets.
 
Schedule for Monday, August 22:
 
11am--We will meet at the Metlox courtyard cafe tables (outside Le Pain Quotidien) at 11am to make bracelets/key chains/decorations for the water bottles. (they already made some posters and brochures, but we can always use extra!). 
 
1230pm-3pm--Sell bottles and "save the sea lion" jewelry, walking around with backpacks filled with bottles and also manning a small table with information about PMMC and the fundraiser
 
Links:
 
Pacific Marine Mammal Center
http://www.pacificmmc.org/
 
Directions to Metlox in Manhattan Beach
http://metloxmb.com/directions/
 
Once the kids meet their goal of $300, PMMC will let us know which sea lion the kids will adopt and they can go visit it during its rehabilitation. We also highly recommend the field trips and educational classes at PMMC (in Laguna Beach), which anyone can attend!
 
I hope you are able to attend and support this project! 

I’m so excited for our school year to get started on Monday! Summer Break and the two weeks of professional development and preparation time we have in the beginning of August are always appreciated but having kids and families on-campus is when things really fall into place and we get happyJ
 
Ethel and I have started to settle in to our home base in the Da Vinci Forum (located on-campus) which is where you will usually find us, until our new classroom arrives. We’ve been told that it may arrive earlier than expected, so as soon as we know when we will be ready for help in setting up the room and outdoor space, we will let you know.
 
As you know, we had planned to have our Opening Social and Overnight Camp Out at Wilderness Park on Friday, August 19th. Unfortunately, not many families are available for the overnight, which makes the cost of the facility rental prohibitive. We hope to be able to try this again, later in the year. Instead, we will meet up at Valley Park in Hermosa Beach on the 19th, 4:30-7:00pm. We will find an open area to congregate in. If your family is interested in leading us in some whole-group fun (songs, skits, games…), let me know! Please prepare/bring:

• A quick 30-60 second family introduction. This can be a basic introduction, a skit, a song, a joke, etc. Please include the entire family. Think fun, not stressful…no performance pressure!
• Blankets/chairs to sit on
• A main dish for your family and a side dish or dessert to share with everyone
• Frisbees, balls, park toys, etc.
• Sign up for the Remind app (optional - see next paragraph) to get a text from me, letting you know where to find us

 
This year, in addition to sending email and posting information on our digital portfolio, I will be using the Remind app to send messages when texts are more appropriate (for example, to let you know about changes in plans, where to find me at the park or on a field trip…not lengthy info). You can go to this link to download the app on your smartphone or text “@k4ec9” to 81010. This app will make it easy for me to send a single text that will reach everyone.
 
Curriculum resource pick-up is scheduled for 9:00-9:30 and 2:45-3:30 on Monday and Tuesday. For your convenience, Ethel and I would be happy to get your items to you at the end of our meetings that are scheduled this week. We want to save you from having to make a special trip. For those of you who might not know, in addition to teaching in the Homeschool Collaborative program, Ethel and I also manage Curriculum Resource requests and distributions, as well as organizing our Parent Educator Conferences and Workshops.
 
We are excited to see you at our Orientation and Small Group Meetings this week. Here are some things to know…

• The meetings will be held in the Da Vinci Forum
• If you want to sign up, go to Orientation or Small Group Meetings
• Please enter and exit through the DVIA front office, where you will sign-in and sign-out. If you are more than 5 minutes early, please wait out front or in the front office (we are not set up to accommodate a waiting area, yet).
• Follow the posted signs to the meeting location (you will not need to enter the high school side of campus)
• If you are bringing your child(ren) with you
  • DVIA students should adhere to the dress code
  • Bring water bottles (we have Sparklett’s dispensers and avoid using disposable cups)
  • Bring a quiet activity to keep them engaged. We are next to other classrooms which need our group to moderate our volume. There are also robotics materials in the Forum which are not available for exploration. Our materials are not yet unpacked and we don’t have things out and available.

 
Questions or suggestions? Let me know!

​I’m looking forward to seeing everyone at Holly Glen Park today! It will be great getting to meet so many of our new families and reconnect with continuing families.
 
Ethel and I are developing a draft copy Homeschool Collaborative Guide that we hope to get out to you soon, for you to access as a reference guide. We hope to get your feedback on it before hitting “publish” on the final draft. In the meantime, I want to share two documents to help as you get started.
 
A document we affectionately call the Parent Educator Survival Guide outlines some ideas and strategies for the first weeks of the year.. We’ve included organizational tips, ideas on what to do to get started and some resources. We hope that this will be helpful for everyone, regardless of your homeschooling experience. It can be accessed on my digital portfolio (the DP link is always in my signature line) here.
 
Work Journal #1 is also available on the DP here. If this is Greek to you, don’t worry. We will explain it in our Orientation meetings.
 
Please pay especial attention to the challenge at the end of the guide. We hope that everyone will participate.
 
See you soon!

Our project, The Story of Los Angeles, will unfold on Thursdays and Fridays from August 25th - November 10th. See end of email for registration link. We will be looking at a variety of historical time periods of the Los Angeles region, from prehistoric times up through today, as well as developing an appreciation for the wide variety of ecosystems present in our area. While we clearly can’t cover this everything in a semester, we will focus on high-interest topics that relate to learning goals for all grade levels. This topic will be rich with possibilities in all subjects for those who would like to connect it to their homeschooling and/or develop ancillary projects. Staff is still fine-tuning projects and I will be able to send you more details at the end of the week. In a nutshell:

• As a group, we will develop our own inquiry questions and wonderings related to specific time periods and geographical features.
• On Thursdays, we will have field trip experiences that address our inquiry question(s).
• On Fridays, we will synthesize the information and data gathered through our research to address our inquiry questions and perhaps develop more questions. We will also decide as a group how we want to share our research with the larger community and work on creating the vehicle to do so.
• While the goal will be for the project to evolve as a series of interrelated inquiries, I am also open to it developing in a different manner, if our work takes us in another direction.
• We will present our work during the Fall Exhibition. Details TBD.

​Field trip sign-ups will be sent out individually, with as much notice as possible. Field trip permission slips will be required for each event that I organize, even if students’ families are present.

On Fridays, we will meet 9:00-10:25 in the Innovation Station (also called our makerspace). After a body break (snack and play) our work will resume in our classroom space (10:45-11:50). Students may be picked up at 11:50 or they may stay until 12:20 to participate in outdoor play with students from the hybrid program. We will not have an organized lunch eating time, however, students are welcome to eat at lunch tables during playtime. More details about Friday logistics will be sent out to those participating.

I look forward to working with your children in this project. I hope everyone is able to join me. Please sign up here to indicate your intention to have your child participate. The registration deadline for this project workshop is August 21st.

If you have questions or suggestions, please let me know.

​We are wrapping up our first week of professional development and I am excited about so many things…connecting and reconnecting with all of you, the field trips and projects in store and being back on the DVIA campus! I hope I will see you tomorrow at our DVIA Work Day.
 
My apologies for the slew of emails you have received/will receive from me and others over the next few weeks. There is so much information to share and we want to get it to you in a timely way, while doing our best to avoid overloading you. Please keep an especial eye open for emails from Ethel Brown (my teaching partner). We often send out joint invitations to meetings and socials, so don’t miss outJ
 
My digital portfolio (website) is under construction but I will be uploading the information I send out via email to the site, for easy access. You can also find a helpful calendar there. www.dviak-3homeschoolcollaborative.weebly.com. I would like to make our digital portfolio more user-friendly and more esthetically pleasing, yet have not found the time to do so. If this type of work is enjoyable for you and you would like to help, please let me know.
 
Throughout the year, I will be utilizing an app called SignUpGenius to have you sign up for a variety of things (meetings, field trips, workshops, park days, etc.). You will receive “invites” via email for each sign up and I will also embed links in email newsletters. I recommend creating a SignUpGenius account (they are free) because you will then be able to easily access everything you’ve been invited to and any appointments you’ve made. www.signupgenius.com
 
Things to know for your schedule
I hope to see you at our Homeschool Collaborative Back-to-School Social next Thursday (8/11) 10:30-11:30 @Holly Glen Park. The park is very near DVIA: 5255 W 137th St., Hawthorne. If you missed the evite, let me know.
 
Field Trips and Workshops: Field trips and workshops will begin the week of August 22nd. More info and sign-ups will be sent out by next Monday.
 
As you know, attending a work journal meeting each work journal period is required. For this first work journal period, you may meet this requirement by attending one or more of the three following meeting opportunities. In subsequent work journal periods, our work journal meetings will be Student-Led Conferences.

• Orientation Meetings: Ethel (the 4th-7th grade Homeschool Collaborative teacher) and I are holding Information Meetings to provide an overview of the program and to give you some of the nitty gritty details you need to get started. While these meetings are primarily geared toward new families, returning families are encouraged to join us for a refresher, hear what is new and meet new people. There are two options to choose from.
  • Location: in the DV Forum (enter through the DVIA front office)
    • Monday, August 15…10:00-12:00
    • Tuesday, August 16…12:30-2:30
  • Please RSVP here.
• Small Group Meetings: I am hosting hour-long meetings with 3-4 families who have similar-age students. These conversations are designed to build connection, mutual support and collaboration. You are welcome to stay longer than an hour to continue your conversation with your group.
  • Location: in the DV Forum (enter through the DVIA front office)
  • Various appointments available on:
    • Thursday, August 18th
    • Friday, August 19th
  • Please RSVP here.
• Office Hours: I am available to meet with you or talk via phone or Skype to provide you with support in your homeschooling. I typically offer 10-20 hours of appointment time per week (and can schedule alternative times, if needed). Please don’t ever feel that you are imposing…I enjoy meeting with families and I am here to support you. If you are using Office Hours as your work journal meeting, please make an appointment during the week of August 22nd.
  • Location: in the DV Forum (enter through the DVIA front office)
  • Appointments available on and following:
    • Monday, August 22nd
    • Tuesday, August 23rd
  • Please RSVP here.

 
Please reach out with any questions or ideas you have! I love to hear from you.

Just checking in with a DVIA Homeschool Collaborative K-3 update. I know that some of you are beginning to plan your year and I want to let you know what I have in mind, so far, for the summer and first semester. While this is not written in stone, I don’t anticipate significant changes.
To see the DVIA 2016-2017 calendar, go to: http://davincik8.org/wp/calendar. You can scroll through month-by-month.
If the following feels like an avalanche of information (and it is!), I would suggest reading it through and then coming back to it again in a few days (and then again in a few more days). Please let me know if you have any questions. I am just sending this out now to meet the needs of those who like to plan and calendar a few months ahead.
One of the ways Ethel (the 4th-7th grade Homeschool Collaborative teacher) and I support our homeschooling students and families is by offering social events and workshops. Choosing to participate in socials and workshops is always optional but I hope you will join in. We offer a variety of workshops for students and families.
Socials (Is anyone interested in being the Social Coordinator for our group? Let me know.)

• Weds., July 20th …a morning at Polliwog Park in Manhattan Beach
  • We will meet up in the lower (pond) area of Polliwog, near the big climbing structure
  • I will be there 9:30-10:30
  • I’ll send an evite soon
• Another in the first 2 weeks of August, date TBD

Workshops
In planning our (optional) workshops for the first semester (Aug. – Dec.), I took the following into account:

• I want to move back to a more project-based student workshop format (which will be easier now in our new space)
• Families requested more field trips next year
• Big, long-term workshops need to meet the needs of all K-3 learners
  • Our Fall project will focus on social studies
  • Our Spring project will focus on science
• I want our student workshops to work as springboards to deeper, personalized learning, for families interested in pursuing related topics at home (to address student interests, content standards or both)
• I want our student workshops to involve creating (in a variety of ways)
• I want our family educator workshops to provide the information, learning and support you want

More detailed information will be available in August. Please feel free to send ideas my way, as I’ll be building our plan throughout the summer.
​
Los Angeles Project (working title)
We will be looking at historical time periods of the Los Angeles region, from prehistoric times up through today. While we clearly can’t cover this much history in a semester, we will focus on high-interest topics that relate to all grade-level learning goals. Much of our learning and research will be “in the field.” This topic will be rich with possibilities in all subjects for those who would like to connect it to their homeschooling and develop ancillary projects.

• August 25th through November 10th
• We will present our project work at Exhibition
• Many Thursdays will be field work/field trip days. Locations and times will vary. I will have a “best guess” schedule to you by the start of school. Most field trips are for the whole family. Parents provide transportation for themselves and their kids. While a docent or I will lead the experience, parents supervise their kids during the trip and participate. A few may be more “traditional” teacher + students, if we need to fit into a venue’s format to visit.
  • Students can attend the field trips without participating in the Friday Project classes. Just know that the depth of learning will be different.
  • These field experiences will require a bit of coordinating. Please let me know if you are interested in helping (or “co-helping”) with scheduling visits, collecting RSVPs, sending out info, collecting permission slips, etc. I would appreciate any and all help. No experience neededJ
• Fridays will include
  • 9:00-10:15 – Project-related art class on-campus (in the Innovation Station)
  • 10:30-12:00 – Project work time on-campus (based in our classroom)
  • 12:00-12:20 – Students may stay for lunch-time play (outside)
  • This will culminate at Exhibition with a play, a living history museum, or ???

 
Monday Workshops
A variety of workshops will be scheduled on Mondays through the year. Topics and times TBA. These will include:

• One-time or short-term student workshops
• Workshops for family educators (to share how-to’s, resources, etc.)
  • During these workshops, we will provide learning activities and supervision for students and DVIA-age siblings. Younger children will remain with parents.
• “Family Educator and Me” workshops for you and your child together

December Workshops
After Exhibition and Thanksgiving Break, we have a sweet little 3-week period of time that is “just right” for a mini-exploration. While I have an idea I am excited about, I’m not ready to commit to it, yet. You can expect it to fall into the same Thursday/Friday timeframes.

Family Educator-Led Workshops
During this past year, a number of parents sponsored and led some student workshops. I hope to see this tradition continue. If you are interested in offering a workshop, let me know. We can always find time for you to have space on-campus to do this, if you are interested.
Thanks for hanging in through this long letter! And if you are new to homeschooling, don’t worry! Ethel and I are planning meetings in August to help you get launched. 

This was the Summer Welcome Letter...

Welcome to the DVIA full-time independent study program! I am looking forward to collaborating with you this year. There will be quite a bit of information to take in as we get started together, so I will try to make it as accessible as possible. Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions you have. I am here to support you.

Here are some tidbits to get your feet wet…

• “DVIA full-time independent study program” is quite a mouthful and our program needed a new name. We are now the (DVIA) Homeschool Collaborative program.
• The Collaborative will be located in a new bungalow that is being placed on the DVIA campus in July. We will reach out during the summer to let you know how you can help us get settled inJ
• Our program currently serves students in grades K through 7. In 2017-2018, we will add 8th grade.
• I support families and students in grades K-3. Ethel supports families and students in grades 4-7.
• I will be offering workshops for students and family educators during the year. You can expect an email in a week or so with a schedule and more details. This is separate from the DVIA Enrichment program.
• The Collaborative will hold a few social gatherings during the summer to help establish connections and community.
• If you are new to homeschooling, don’t panic! We will help you get started and even have a “First Weeks Survival Guide” to offer guidance.