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June 6, 2023
Spring Issue #11
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Weekly activities and lessons to keep your child thinking and progressing all year long. |
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“I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it."
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Hello,
As we approach the final stretch of the school year, I want to take a moment to celebrate the incredible accomplishments of your children. If your child is like the students in my class, this has been a year filled with growth, resilience, and a thirst for knowledge, and I am proud to have been a part of this journey with you.
In these last two weeks of school, it's important to honor the hard work of our young learners while keeping their minds engaged and active. This week's book recommendation is a delightful read and the perfect book to transition into summertime. In addition, the exciting writing, math, and science activities will keep the learning momentum going into the summer break.
Join me and celebrate the achievements of our students and empower them to continue their educational journey beyond the confines of the classroom. Let's make these last weeks unforgettable and set the stage for a summer filled with creativity, curiosity, and discovery. Happy reading and learning!
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.
Peace,
Mr. McManus
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If you feel your child might benefit from an individual group or 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.
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The Talent Thief
by Mike Thayer
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The Talent Thief by Mike Thayer is an exceptional novel that exceeded my already high expectations. Having thoroughly enjoyed Thayer’s previous books, I was eager to dive into this one, and I was not disappointed. I loved this book so much. The Talent Thief is the story of Tiffany Tudwell, an unlucky girl with an unfortunate name, cursed to live in the shadows by her uncanny knack for making embarrassing, highly-public mistakes . . . until the day she realizes she can borrow other people’s talents. Slowly and carefully, Tiffany makes her exit from the shadows, despite the best efforts of Candace Palmer, a girl who lives for stealing the spotlight and making other kids feel insecure. The Talent Thief felt like a heist, hallmark, and heroine story all balled into one satisfying package about confidence, friendship, and self-acceptance.
And it’s funny, too. Thayer’s incredible talent for creating unique and engaging stories is on full display here. The characters are well developed and relatable and the plot twist an ending are better than what we could have imagined. This book is a must read for any parent looking for a captivating story to enjoy with their children. I highly recommend it. Enjoy!
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The road leading to the park's 2,800 acres drops from a ridge top into a deeply shaded redwood forest, offering a hushed getaway from the suburban bustle of nearby Silicon Valley and the South Bay Area. The visitor center, with its couches and fireplace, feels like a wilderness lodge. Eighteen miles of trails follow meandering creeks, where moisture-loving coast redwoods stand tall among ferns and huckleberries. Waterfalls on Fall and Pescadero creeks tumble down mossy banks over rocks and woody debris. |
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Make a Cotton Ball Launcher |
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Introduction
Have you ever stretched and launched a rubber band at someone? Put that energy to good use and build a rubber band-powered cotton ball launcher in this fun activity!
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Tools and Materials
- Short pencil or popsicle stick
- Thin rubber bands (2)
- Cardboard tube (2 empty toilet paper tubes or empty paper towel tube cut in half)
- Packing tape or other strong tape
- Scissors
- Cotton balls
- Single hole punch
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Use your scissors to cut one of the toilet paper tubes in half lengthwise. |
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Squeeze the roll so that it becomes narrower, about half the original diameter, then tape it to hold in place.
Use your scissors or your hole punch to punch two holes in the skinny tube (if you are using a popsicle stick, use scissors to make narrower holes the same shape as the popsicle stick). Make the holes opposite one another, half an inch away from the end, so that you can poke your pencil or popsicle stick all the way through the tube.
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Carefully push your pencil or popsicle stick through the holes. |
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On your second toilet paper tube, cut two slits into one end of the tube, about 1/4 inch long and 1/2; inch apart.
Cut two more slits on the same end of the tube, directly across from the first two.
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Carefully loop one rubber band through the slits on one side, so that it hangs from the cardboard piece in the middle. Put a piece of tape over the slits to reinforce the cardboard tab.
Loop the other rubber band through the slits on the other side of the tube. When you are finished, the tube should have a rubber band hanging from each side.
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Holding the rubber band tube so that the rubber bands are at the top, slide the narrower tube into the wider one, with the pencil end at the bottom. |
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Carefully loop each rubber band end around the pencil. |
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Hold the launcher so that the pencil is at the bottom. Place a cotton ball on the top, so that it rests inside the narrower tube. |
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Hold the launcher slightly horizontally without dropping the cotton ball.
Pull back on the pencil so that the inner tube extends two inches out the back of the launcher. Carefully aim your cotton ball—away from people!
Release the pencil and watch your cotton ball fly!
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What Happened?
In this activity, you used two types of energy to load and launch your cotton ball. As you drew back on the pencil with the cotton ball loaded, you added potential energy to the system. The farther you pulled back on the pencil, the more potential energy was being stored. When you released the pencil, the potential energy became kinetic energy, and the cotton ball should have gone flying through the air!
As you pulled back farther on your launcher, more potential energy was added to the system. And the more potential energy you stored, the more kinetic energy should have been released when you shot the cotton ball. As a result, the farther you pulled back on the launcher, the farther the cotton ball should have traveled.
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Digging Deeper
When you stretch a rubber band, it stores elastic potential energy: the energy stored inside a material when it is stretched, squished, bent, or twisted. This is different from gravitational potential energy, which is the energy stored in an object lifted up off the ground. Both types of potential energy can be converted to kinetic energy, the energy of motion. All moving objects have kinetic energy, and an object that is not moving has no kinetic energy. When energy is converted between forms, the total amount of energy is conserved (some energy may also be converted to heat due to friction, but that is still a form of energy).
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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!
"My little sister thought she’d found the best hiding place in the house..."
"Susan hadn’t expected the hot air balloon to be filled with two dozen baby animals, but when your great uncle sends you a modern-day ark..."
"I heard that familiar jingle coming down the street, I assumed it was the ice cream truck..."
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June 6th
On this day in 1933, the first drive-in movie theater opened in New Jersey. Today there are few drive-ins that still exist. Would you rather watch a movie at a drive-in or a standard movie theater? Explain your thinking.
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Play
Deep Grey
Click this link to play this simple but challenging logic game. The one that picks the last box wins.
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