Get Help, Give Help

There are Cooperative Ministries located throughout the county. Most provide food to those who need it. Some provide clothing and a few provide household items.

I haven't spoken directly to the individual groups but I'm pretty sure they could all use donations about now.... It's not difficult to check your pantry for some food items or buy a few things on sale to donate. There are drop boxes at businesses and churches throughout the community or you can donate directly to the organizations. Most people like to donate to the one that would help their neighbors.

Here are some of the local organizations. They accept a variety of donations and provide a variety of services so check their individual web pages for details.

Norcross and surrounding area - Norcross Cooperative Ministry
Buford, Suwanee, & Sugar Hill - North Gwinnett Cooperative
Lawrenceville & Dacula - Lawrenceville Cooperative Ministry
Snellville, Grayson, & Loganville - SE Gwinnett Cooperative Ministry
Lilburn, Stone Mountain, Tucker (parts) - Lilburn Cooperative Ministry
Duluth Area - Duluth Cooperative Ministry

If you know of other food bank types of places, please leave a comment & I'll add them to the list. THANKS!

Gwinnett High School Science & Engineering Fair

More than 250 GCPS High School Science students will show their projects at this year's Science and Engineering fair this Friday (Feb 6, 2009) from 3-7 pm at the Gwinnett Environmental and Heritage Center (GEHC). High schools represented this year: Berkmar, Brookwood, Collins Hill, Dacula, Duluth, GIVE East, Meadowcreek, Parkview, Peachtree Ridge, South Gwinnett and the Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science, and Technology.

Middle School students will show their projects on Feb 21.

For more information and a link to the evite - visit the Gwinnett County Public School or the GEHC website.

This is a nice opportunity to see the type of work our local students are doing. It's also a great chance to take your young scientist to see some examples of science fair work.

I called GEHC this morning and they confirmed that there is no admission charge to see the science fair exhibits. If you haven't been to the center before, they have some nice exhibits on Gwinnett County and water usage. Regular admission to the center for Gwinnett County residents is $3 for children 3-12, $5 for students 13-22 with student ID, $7 for adults. Admission for non-residents is $6 (age 3-12), $8 (students age 13-22), and $10 (adults).

GCPL - Our Library - The price is right!

If you were to assume that our public library offers programs for children and families - you would be right. They do - stories, plays, games, performances, crafts, puppet shows, Doggie Tales (with Therapy Dogs) and more.

Did you know that they also offer programs for those of us a little bit older?

Teens can enjoy book discussions, games, movies, special presentations, and crafts. Feb 2009 includes a wide variety of events: Comic Book Drawing at Dacula, Chocolate Making at Mountain Park, Guitar Hero at Buford and Suwanee, Get Green: Recycle Yourself at Snellville, Teen Gaming Fridays at Mountain Park, Fiber Arts at Grayson, Origami at Five Forks, Book Club Cafe at Suwanee, CSI Program at Collins Hill, movies at Dacula and Lilburn, a Wii Game Day at Mountain Park. All that in only 1 month!


Adults can enjoy movies, book discussions, meeting authors, and workshops. From now until the end of February, check out one of these: Movies at Five Forks, Managing the Economy workshop at Snellville, Let's Talk - (English Conversation Groups) at five different locations, Reading Relay with Alpha Kappa Alpha alumni members on Saturdays in February, meet and spend An Evening with Daniel Black on Feb 24, Peachtree Corners Book Club, History Book Club: A World Lit Only by Fire: The Medieval Mind and the Renaissance by William Manchester, and the Dacula Loop Group to work on knitting or crochet projects. Snellville has Resume Writing and Interviewing Skills coming in February.

If you would like something to listen to during your commute or while doing chores - check out the audio books available on CD, cassette, or for download from the library web site. They also have children's books on cassette and CD - some even packaged with the book for reading along. Family movie night? Check out a DVD. Doing research? Use your library card and pin to access a wide range of research databases.

If you work with groups of young children, check out one of the Storytime A-GO-GO Kit for a set of themed books and activities.

Oh, yeah - they also have books. A lot of them!

With 14 current branches and a new one scheduled to open next winter, it's easy to find a library in Gwinnett.

Most (if not all) programs are free - a really good thing in this economy. Let's take advantage of what we have already paid for with our tax dollars...

Under the Big Top - 4 Unique Circuses

The Atlanta area is awesome for circus fans. This winter there are four - each with a distinct personality.

If you like an artistic presentation and incredible displays of human ability - the Cirque du Soleil is for you. Kooza is playing under the blue and yellow tent at Atlantic Station until March 1.

For the classic circus with clowns, performers, and large animals check out Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey. Over the Top is playing Feb 13-22 at Philips Arena in Atlanta. Keep an eye out for fall performances at Gwinnett Center - we saw Boom a Ring this past fall.

UniverSoul Circus takes classic circus elements and sets them to an urban beat. Home based right here in Atlanta with performances all over the US, the show has elephants and tigers along with clowns and performers. Tony Tone and Zeke return to lead this year's show Feb 18-Mar 8 in the parking lot of Turner Stadium. For more info, check out their web site, youtube channel, or blog.

The Big Apple Circus brings Grandma back to Stone Mountain Park Feb 13 - March 7 in Play On. No elephants or tigers here but the shows usually have horses and a small animal act. Every year, they offer a Circus of the Senses show designed specifically for hearing and vision impaired audience members. No idea whether you can still get tickets for this year - the online deadline was Jan 22. More accessibility info is available here. This year, they have some special promotions - meet a clown in the "Little Wow Show" at the Five Forks Library on Tuesday Jan 27th or get your face painted at Bloomingdales on two dates in February.



We have enjoyed editions of each of the four - it's amazing how different each one can be and still include the core elements to be considered a circus. Our current family favorite is Big Apple Circus. We like everything about it from the intimate feel of the tent to the high-quality performances. We have seen performers from here end up at other shows. It was a ton of fun to see Justin Case and his tiny bicycle featured at Ringling Brothers this past fall but we saw him first (and closer) under the big top at Big Apple a few years ago.

See one, see them all - four unique shows - all here at the same time. Go get some popcorn and ENJOY THE CIRCUS!

Camp Invention

Do you have budding inventors in your family?

Check out Camp Invention - a week-long summer day-camp for rising first through sixth graders created by the National Inventors Hall of Fame and sponsored by the US Patent Office.

My children enjoyed the program last year and want to return this year. Be warned that you may need to protect your household goods to keep them from being turned into creations....

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Some of the Gwinnett County camp locations for summer 2009:

Buford - Ivy Creek Elementary School
Dacula - Dacula Elementary School
Duluth - Berkeley Lake, Wilson Creek, and Mason Elementary Schools
Lawrenceville - Craig, Lovin, and KE Taylor Elementary Schools
Lilburn - Knight Elementary School
Norcross - Norcross Elementary School
Snellville - Shiloh, Henry Partee, and Pharr Elementary Schools

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Different schools use different programs each year. It appears that for this year, all the Gwinnett county schools are using the same program:


The DISCOVER Program

Viking Treasure Trek: The Quest Begins™

Children spend the week treasure hunting as they follow the footsteps of ancient travelers in the Viking Treasure Trek: The Quest Begins module. Children hear a mythical story of how the travelers, known for their outstanding seamanship, mysteriously hid vast amounts of gold, and it’s up to them to find the buried bounty! With the aid of compasses, children work together in teams to decipher clues that will help put the gold within their grasp. Children must build sturdy boats that are able to survive the fury of the Atlantic Ocean to successfully navigate their way through the Norweigan Islands toward the buried treasure! Will the lost gold be uncovered?

Comic Book Science: FlyJack and Jill™

In the Comic Book Science: FlyJack and Jill module, children discover that a major comic book publisher’s sales are slumping, and it’s up to them to save the company by developing a new superhero comic book series that features superheroes with science-based super powers! Throughout the week, children perform experiments that explore scientific superhero powers such as the five senses, the ability to change or “morph,” flight, speed, strength, and reaction time. Children then incorporate their findings into their own comic books by giving their superheroes similiar scientific super powers! It’s an allout superhero extravaganza when children bring their power-packed characters to life and craft them into real models!

Land Sled X-Treme™

The Land Sled X-Treme module is an exciting fusion of racing and engineering. Children work in teams to complete daily challenges such as designing shields to keep from getting wet in the H2O Throw game. By winning challenges, children earn points to use to buy materials such as duct tape, boxes, and skateboards that they transform into one-of-a-kind land sleds! At the end of the week, teams participate in the highly anticipated X-treme obstacle course to discover whose land sleds can cross the finish line victoriously. They swerve around cones and dodge water balloons to win the title of X-treme Land Sled Racer.

I Can Invent: Fantasy Inventions & Complicated Machines II™

The I Can Invent: Fantasy Inventions & Complicated Machines II module illustrates the joys (and frustrations) that real inventors face during the process of creating totally new inventions. Creative problem solving is fostered as children imagine and assemble the unthinkable! Younger children create fantasy inventions using pieces and parts of broken appliances and other recyclable materials. They further explore the process of invention as they market their inventions and apply for (and even receive) mock patents. Older children work in teams to build complicated, multi-step machines that solve a challenge. A participant favorite, children of all ages find this module incredibly challenging and exciting!

Recess Remix™

Twist it, turn it, shake it, and reverse it! This summer, children mix up and fast forward traditional playground games to concoct unique recreational experiences that will have them rolling on the floor laughing! In the Recess Remix module, children are challenged to use nontraditional equipment (such as water balloons) to play classic games. Each day features fresh ideas that will have children mentally and physically engaged and completely entertained. The laughter is contagious as children use fun ways to enhance their level of cooperation and coordination in these innovative, team-building exercises. Children's minds are put to the test as they combine physical activity and creativity to transform the ordinary into the extraordinary!

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Check out Invent.org for more information on inventors, inventions, and the inventing process.

Vampires

So I visited the vampires today.

You know how there are things that you feel like you ought to do but you don't do nearly enough? This is one of those for me.

It took
- less than an hour including travel time
- about 33 cents worth of gas.
- answering lots of questions
- two small needle pricks
- sitting in a comfortable reclining chair watching bad daytime television for about 10 minutes
- wearing a huge purple band to cover a tiny spot that could easily be covered by a baby bandaid...

So why don't I do it more often? Dunno.... but I do know that I feel proud of me today.


American Red Cross - Donate Blood Today

The Robots are Coming!

So what do NASA and Robots and competition have in common?

It has to be another FIRST tournament!

In the “Lunacy” game, robots are designed to pick up 9" game balls and score them in trailers hitched to their opponents’ robots for points during a 2 minute and 15 second match. Additional points are awarded for scoring a special game ball, the Super Cell, in the opponents' trailers during the last 20 seconds of the match. “Lunacy” is played on a low-friction floor, which means teams must contend with the laws of physics.

(This year's game is like driving on the moon and tossing rocks at each other...)

Mark your calendar for March 12-14, 2009 for the Peachtree Regional FIRST tournament (47 teams currently scheduled to compete) at Gwinnett Center and for April 16-18, 2009 for the FIRST Championship (worldwide finals) at the Georgia Dome.

FIRST: For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology
NASA Robotics Alliance Project

(FIRST was founded by Dean Kamen of Segway fame who has a ton of medical inventions including the first insulin pump for diabetics)

FOCUS - Gwinnett County and Gifted Education

I have been asked by a couple of parents for more information on FOCUS - what it is and how it works. This blog post is my attempt to provide information to those parents and any others who might be interested. I've tried to make it as accurate as I can but it may contain errors. Please see the referenced web sites for more detailed information to help you make decisions about the program. I have no official relationship with the school system except as a parent of students in the system. All opinions are purely my own. This blog is long and dull so feel free to skip it if you aren't interested in the topic.


What is FOCUS and is it worth it?

FOCUS is the gifted education program for elementary schools in Gwinnett County, Georgia.

The Georgia Department of Education prides itself on being a leader in gifted education. According to Davidson Institute's GT-CyberSource, Georgia is one of only eight states that mandate gifted programs and provide full funding to support them. In addition, Georgia was one of the first to use the multiple criteria option for identifying gifted students. The state's Gifted Education Specialist, Linda Andrews, gives a great talk about how Georgia's program compares to programs in other states.

All that being said, the program is only as good as your local teacher. My children have had great FOCUS teachers but we know that not everyone has had the same type of experience.

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How does Gwinnett County choose students for the program?

Most of the following information is paraphrased from the Georgia Department of Education policy related to gifted education. As a parent who has gone through the process both successfully and unsuccessfully, it appears that the county follows the state guidelines very closely. My experience is that Gwinnett County elementary schools use the fall ITBS and CoGAT testing scores to identify children who should be tested for the gifted program. Teachers and parents can also recommend individual children for testing.


The state defines four evaluation categories:
* mental ability
* achievement
* creativity
* motivation

There are two paths to become eligible for the program. The first is to have very high scores in both the mental ability and the achievement categories. The second is to have high scores on 3 out of 4 of the categories. The requirements are slightly different for K-2 versus grades 3-5.


You are eligible if you have qualifying scores in 3 of the 4 following categories:

Mental Ability - Score 96th percentile on a standardized test of mental ability. My school typically uses the CoGAT for this measure.

Achievement - (a) score 90th percentile in math, reading, or overall on a standardized achievement test OR (b) have produced a superior product or performance. My school typically uses ITBS scores for this measure.

Creativity - (a) score 90th percentile on a standardized test of creative thinking or (b) on a standardized creativity characteristics rating scale or (c) produced superior creative products and/or performances. My school gave the GIFT test as part of the evaluation process.

Motivation - (a) score 90th percentile on a standardized motivational characteristics rating scale or (b) have a GPA of at least 3.5 on a 4.0 scale using an average of grades from the previous two school years (for grades 3-12). My school gave the CAIMI as part of the evaluation process.

(In order to use student work to qualify in the achievement or creativity categories, it must be judged at least 90 out of 100 by at least three qualified evaluators.)

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You can also qualify if you score 90th percentile in the Achievement category (a test like the ITBS) AND score either 99th percentile (for grades K-2) or 96th percentile (for grades 3-5) in the Mental category (a test like the CoGAT).

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The following sections are purely my opinion and should be valued for the proverbial 2 cents they are worth...

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Why would my school recommend not testing my 2nd grader?

If a child goes through the testing and does not qualify for FOCUS, they cannot be tested again for 2 years. Many teachers and other school personnel will recommend waiting for 3rd grade since there are changes in the criteria for 3rd grade and above. Whether you should test or wait is a tough decision you should make using the advice of school personnel who know your child the best.

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What if my child doesn't qualify?

First, just because your child doesn't qualify for the FOCUS program, it doesn't mean that your child isn't smart or gifted - it only means that on those particular days with those specific tests, your child didn't qualify.

If you know that your child is smart or gifted or talented, look for other opportunities for him or her - there are a lot of them available. I can tell you as a Mom that it was very hard to hear that my child wasn't "good enough" for the program. You know your child. YOU are responsible for creating a customized education plan for each of your individual children. Don't let this one decision slow you down. You are not alone!


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For more information:

Georgia Department of Education - Gifted Education

Rule 160-4-2-.38 Education Program for Gifted Students - effective March 9, 1998

Gwinnett County Public Schools - Gifted and Talented Education

Interactive Neighborhood for Kids

If you have small children, be sure to check out Interactive Neighborhood for Kids (INK) in Gainesville, Georgia. It's a hands-on museum that lets children role play in the bank, grocery store, beauty parlor, diner, post office, animal care center, dentist office and radiology lab as well as use their imagination with the trains, fire truck, sheriff's car and stage.

They offer special programs throughout the year. Check their web site for the latest information.

As of this posting (January 2009), admission is $8.

If you like visiting different children's museums, pick one and join at a level that will give you reciprocal membership in the Association of Children's Museums. This will give you free admission at any of the member museums.

Georgia has 3 on the list: Georgia Children's Museum (Macon), Imagine It! The Children's Museum of Atlanta (near Centennial Park in Atlanta), and INK. Other museums in nearby states include the Creative Discovery Museum (Chattanooga, TN) and EdVenture Children's Museum (Columbia, SC). We've also enjoyed the Children's Museum of Oak Ridge, TN.

Links:
Interactive Neighborhood for Kids (Gainesville, GA)
Association of Children's Museums -- Reciprocal Programs


Interactive Neighborhood for Kids
999 Chestnut Street
Gainesville, GA 30501
770-536-1900