The McManus Files Winter 2023 Issue 7

January 10, 2023

Winter Issue #7

Weekly activities and lessons to keep your child thinking and progressing all year long.

“Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.”

Happy Tuesday,

Welcome back! Winter Break has passed and as usual, I'm amazed at how much my students grew and matured over these past two weeks.

This week's flyer recommends a perfect read aloud book for these stormy, cold and long nights. This beautiful book will keep you on the edge of your seat. It is a bit scary, a bit suspenseful and a ton of fun to read. The Inquiry Quest will be a great rainy day activity. These activities in the classroom are always a huge hit and take up a lot of time ;-) Keep writing, keep reading, keep practicing your math facts and thinking. Have a great week!

If you know anybody who you think would benefit from the weekly learning activities in this flyer, please share it with your friends and encourage them to join The McManus Files mailing list by following the links on this page.

Stay dry and be safe,

Mr. McManus

If you feel your child might benefit from a group or individual tutoring program to prepare them for the next phase of their education, please contact McManus Tutoring.

Programs are structured so that students learn independence, accountability, and self-possession. They will develop a repeatable structure that can be used to build success in the future.

Book of the Week

The Dollhouse - A Ghost Story

by Charis Cotter

Alice's world is falling apart. Her parents are getting a divorce, and they've cancelled their yearly cottage trip - the one thing that gets Alice through the school year. Instead, Alice and her mom are heading to some small town where Alice's mom will be a live-in nurse to a rich elderly lady. The house is huge, imposing and spooky, and everything inside is meticulously kept and perfect - not a fun place to spend the summer. Things start to get weird when Alice finds a dollhouse in the attic that's an exact replica of the house she's living in. Then she wakes up to find a girl asleep next to her in her bed - a girl who looks a lot like one of the dolls from the dollhouse . . . When the dollhouse starts to change when Alice isn't looking, she knows she has to solve the mystery. Who are the girls in the dollhouse? What happened to them? And what is their connection to the mean and mysterious woman who owns the house? The Dollhouse is a page-turner with an ingenious plot, evocative setting, enriching detail and lots of action that will keep your reader involved and guessing to the very end. Enjoy!

Inquiry Quest

Build a Paper Rollercoaster

This project is for those thrill-seeking children who have an affinity for speed. Create a paper rollercoaster and explore how what goes up must always come down. To begin, watch the great video from Exploration Place then hang on for the twists and turns of this thrilling lesson with Educator Erica to craft a paper roller coaster. This activity is fun for everyone.

What you'll need:

Ruler

Pencil

Scissors

Tape

Construction paper

Marble

Three Writing Prompts and an Essay Topic

These prompts and questions will help jump-start your daily writing. Just as it's important to read for at least 30 minutes each day, you should also write for 30 minutes a day. Don't worry about your organization or spelling, just write!

"As she walked along the street the tiny dragon in her pocket stirred restlessly."

"It moved, why was it moving? That should not have been moving, not on its own anyway."

“I had never seen a ghost. But like they say, there is a first time for everything.”

January 10th

January 10, 1920, marks he anniversary of the League of Nations. The League was made of 50 nations that agreed to work together to avoid war. The United States never entered this agreement, and it was dissolved on April 18, 1946.

Prompt:

Do you think the League of Nations was a good idea? Imagine how difficult it must have been for 50 nations to agree! do you think this is why the League of Nations was dissolved? What do we have today that is like the League of Nations? What are they doing to help the citizens of the world and prevent war?

Problems of the Week

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Try a KenKen

Sudoko is too busy for me, and I get overwhelmed with all the tiny boxes. About 15 years ago, I discovered KenKen puzzles which use the same logic as Sudoko but with a math twist. With practice they get easier. Give KenKen a try... Here is a medium and an easy puzzle

Rules For Playing KenKen

The numbers you use in a KenKen puzzle depend on the size of the grid you choose. A 3 x 3 grid (3 squares across, 3 squares down) means you use the numbers 1, 2, and 3. In a 4 x 4 grid, use numbers 1 to 4. A 5x5 grid requires you use the numbers 1 to 5, and so on.

The numbers in each heavily outlined set of squares, called cages, must combine (in any order) to produce the target number in the top corner using the mathematic operation indicated (+, -, ×, ÷).

Here's how you play:

Use each number only once per row, once per column.
Cages with just one square should be filled in with the target number in the top corner.
A number can be repeated within a cage as long as it is not in the same row or column.