May 20, 2019

Dear JICES Parents,

We are very excited to invite your child to participate in our summer enrichment

program! This is a wonderful opportunity to Blast Out! the summer brain drain. It has

been noted that students can lose 30-50% of their academic growth over the summer

months. Over the course of three years, this can accumulate to a full year’s worth of

knowledge and progress. We do not want this to happen.

This packet includes details about our reading and math challenge to help your

child hone these skills during the summer. You will also find ideas regarding activities

that are happening in town throughout the summer. These activities are a great chance

to get out there with your family and take advantage of all that Colorado has to offer!

Please partner with us to promote and continue your child’s academic growth over the

summer.

There are prizes that will be presented for work done over the summer. So,

please encourage your student to turn in the last sheet of this packet. Remember to

write the student’s name and their 2019-2020 homeroom teacher’s name when

available. We are eager to see their summer triumphs.

JICES Blast out the Summer Brain Drain 2019

Free Concerts:

There are always free concerts being offered throughout the Springs!

Visit www.springsbargains.com all summer long for the most up to

date list on free concerts happening near you!

Free Museum

Days:

Denver Art Museum – the

first Saturday of every

month is free.

Denver Children’s

Museum – the first

Tuesday of every month

from 4-8 PM is free.

For more information on free

days for museums and other

activities visit

www.freeindenver.com

Bowling:

Two free games of bowling per child every week! Visit

www.kidsbowlfree.com for more information

Get out there!

Go camping or visit a National Park! All

current 4th grade students are receiving a free

pass to all of the National Parks. This pass is

good for all children under the age of 16 and

up to 3 adults!

*Did you know that there are 4 National

Parks right here in Colorado?

Thank you to the Every Kid in a Park Program!

www.everykidinapark.gov

Take a hike!

Colorado Springs and the surrounding areas have so many opportunities for

hiking and exploring this amazing place we call home. Did you know that

more “out of towners” take advantage of these amazing trails than those

who live here?

Know your beautiful piece of America! Get out there and take a hike!

For a list of local trails visit

https://www.alltrails.com/us/colorado/colorado-springs

Math Challenge:

Your mission….should you choose to accept it…

Complete 10 hours of MATH work during the summer. After every 15 minutes of math

practice, color in a section on the Math Game Board. Once the word MATH is all colored in,

you have succeeded in completing all 10 hours of math practice! Turn in the game board

when you return to school in August, and you will receive a special math prize!

Parents: If you feel overwhelmed about where to start, rest easy, here are a few resources:

There are grade-level workbooks and flashcards that can be found at Dollar

Tree, Wal-Mart, School Crossing, Mardel, or Target (i.e., Summer Bridge series).

We also encourage you to firm up on the math facts from your current year and

to get in the groove for next year’s math facts! Practicing with these will help

you increase your math fact speed and accuracy.

Completing the math challenge will earn you a ticket in the raffle for the GRAND PRIZE!

JICES Blast out the Summer Brain Drain 2019

Reading Challenge:

Your mission….should you choose to accept it…

Complete 30 hours of READING during the summer. After every 30 minutes of reading practice,

color in a section on the Reading Game Board. Once the word READ is all colored in, you have

succeeded in completing all 30 hours of reading practice! Turn in the game board when you

return to school in August, and you will receive a special reading prize!

Tiered Prizes: There are 3 levels of prizes that can be earned for reading this summer.

There are different prizes for each level, and you could earn all 3 prizes if you complete all 3

levels! Although the prizes are different this year, there will still be a movie night for those who

complete all 30 hours of reading time and all 10 hours of math time!

Each level that you complete will earn you a ticket in the raffle for the GRAND PRIZE!

Prize Level 1 = 10 hours

Prize Level 2 = 20 hours Prize Level 3 = 30 hours

JICES Blast out the Summer Brain Drain 2019

Please visit our website www.jamesirwin.org for a complete reading list.

Easy Readers K-2

Animals Do the

Strangest Things and

other books by

Leonora Hornblow

Bedtime for Frances

and other Frances

books by Russell

Hoban

Bravest Dog Ever by

Natalie Standiford

Carrot Seed by Ruth

Krauss

Daniel's Duck by

Clyde Robert Bulla

Frog and Toad -

series by Arnold

Lobel

George and Martha

by James Marshall

George the Drummer

Boy by Nathaniel

Benchley & other

History I Can Read

books

George Washington’s

Mother by Jean Fritz

Advanced K-2

Abraham Lincoln by

Ingri and Edgar Parin

d’Aulaire

Adventures of the

Little Wooden Horse

by Ursula Moray

Williams

Alligator Case by

William Pene du Bois

And Then What

Happened, Paul

Revere? by Jean Fritz

Angry Giant by Oscar

Wilde

Apple & the Arrow by

Mary Marsh Buff

Bear Called

Paddington by

Michael Bond

Bears on Hemlock

Mountain and others

by Alice Dalgliesh

Benjamin Franklin by

Ingri and Edgar Parin

d'Aulaire

JICES Blast out the Summer Brain Drain 2019

Please visit our website www.jamesirwin.org for a complete reading list.

Literature 3-5

Adventures of Tintin by

Herge

Adventures of Tom

Bombadil** by J. R. R.

Tolkein

Alice’s Adventures in

Wonderland** by Lewis

Carroll

Caddie Woodlawn by Carol

Brink

Call of the Wild by Jack

London

Daniel Boone by James

Daugherty

Dear Mr. Henshaw by

Beverly Cleary

Destination Moon by

James Irwin (our name

sake)

Little Princess by Frances

Hodgson Burnett

Mr. Popper's Penguins by

Richard Atwater

My Side of the Mountain

by Jean Craighead George

Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds

Naylor

Sarah, Plain and Tall by

Patricia MacLachlan

Secret Garden by Frances

Hodgson Burnett

Wind in the Willows by

Kenneth Grahame

Wonderful Wizard of Oz**

and other books by Frank

Baum

Advanced Literature 3-5

Adventures of

Huckleberry Finn* by

Mark Twain

Adventures of Tom

Sawyer by Mark Twain

And Now Miguel by

Joseph Krumguld

Anne of Green Gables by

L. M. Montgomery

Esperanza Rising by Pam

Munoz Ryan

Mrs. Frisby & the Rats of

NIMH by Robert O'Brien

Prince and the Pauper by

Mark Twain

Robinson Crusoe by

Daniel Defoe

Roll of Thunder, Hear My

Cry* by Mildred Taylor

Swiss Family Robinson by

Johann Wyss

Treasure Island by Robert

Louis Stevenson

Twenty Thousand

Leagues under the Sea

and others by Jules Verne

The Witch of Blackbird

Pond by Elizabeth George

Speare

The Bridge to

Terabithia** by Katherine

Paterson

JICES Blast out the Summer Brain Drain 2019