Lakewood Cougars

Many parents ask how to keep their children engaged in learning activities over the winter break while keeping a focus on relaxing and enjoying the holiday. When you go to websites to find ideas, the following are what is common amongst the sites.

Math-Focused Holiday Learning Activities

Counting Groceries

Turn a regular trip to the grocery story into a skill-building opportunity. Have kids practice rounding, addition, and mental math skills. They can estimate how much the final bill will be, keeping track of the total as items are added to the cart.

Baking Better Fraction Skills

Combine culinary creations with creative math skills in the kitchen. Measuring cups are the best way to learn fractions in action. Have kids measure out amounts and calculate quantities if recipes were halved or doubled.

Holiday Learning: Writing Skills

Draft a Letter To a Holiday Figure That Is Important To Your Family

This fun tradition improves handwriting, spelling, fine motor skills, and creativity while keeping the season’s magic alive.

Write Holiday Cards

Writing thoughtful messages fosters communication, time management, and writing skills. Plus, it is a rewarding experience to create something meaningful for loved ones.

Seasonal Science Activities

At-Home Science Experiments

Bring the wonder of science into your home with simple experiments. From building a baking soda volcano to constructing paper towers, these activities make science fun and engaging. You can even turn it into a family competition—whoever builds the tallest tower wins the right to choose the next experiment!

Winter Wonderland

Exploring nature is a wonderful way to foster curiosity and observation skills. Visit a park or green space, and ask your child questions like, “How do you think this landscape was formed?” or “What animals might we see here?” You can make it even more interactive by setting up a scavenger hunt and encouraging your child to classify items by color, shape, or size.

Holiday Activities That Develop Reading Skills

Special Story Time

Create new family traditions by reading classic holiday stories together. For younger children, nightly Story Time is a great way to practice reading. Guide them through the text, point to pictures, and read aloud together. Older children can enjoy a novel over the break—set a goal to finish the book before school resumes for an added challenge.

Books as Gifts

Nothing communicates the value of reading more than giving books as gifts. Kids can become more excited about reading when they are gifted the latest book that kids their age are reading. Local bookstores and libraries will know the hottest reads for every age group.

Arts & Crafts & Games

Create Holiday Gift Tags

Put crafting and drawing skills to work this holiday season and create holiday gift labels and gift tags. Homemade is always the best and crafting builds focus and determination.

Learn a New Game

Pick up a new board game for the family to enjoy. Have your child read the instructions aloud to practice reading comprehension and public speaking. Helping them with tricky words will build confidence while making family game night even more fun.

I encourage you to search the web for additional ideas – there is an abundance of resources including local and regional activities. On behalf of the CCE staff, I want to wish your family a wonderful winter break. We’ll see you in 2025.

Last year, in an effort to continue the development of students, parents, and staff having a sense of belonging in the Lakewood School District, the Cougar Cabinet was formed. This group has student representatives from each school (grades 4-12) who come together once each month for activities where they get to know each other, then work as individual school teams on ways they can foster a sense of belonging back at school.

At the beginning of the current school year, 4th and 5th grade students at Cougar Creek were given the opportunity to apply for a position on Cougar Cabinet. We had so many dedicated students apply, and ultimately, twelve were selected by a district-level committee. This group has been getting to know each other and working to determine our mission for increasing a sense of belonging at Cougar Creek. These students have also come up with some great ideas ranging from how to welcome new students to the school, to making guest teachers feel a part of our CCE community.

We look forward to continuing this great work as the year progresses and are very thankful for these students who want to make Cougar Creek an even better place to be.

Dear Families,

Our Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grade students will be presenting a program in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. on Thursday, January 16th, at 9:00 am for our students in grades K - 2, and 10:15 am for students in grades 3 - 5, in the Cougar Creek Multipurpose Room. We would like to invite you and other members of the community to join us as we celebrate MLK Day!

Sincerely,

Kimberlei Rawson and Jacqueline Cully, Music Specialists, Cougar Creek Elementary

krawson@lwsd.wednet.edu jcully@lwsd.wednet.edu

Apply now for Transitional Kindergarten

A state grant will allow students who start kindergarten in the 2025-26 school year to apply for Lakewood’s free, full-day Inclusive Transitional Kindergarten program, which is scheduled to begin January 31, 2025. This new program will provide a strong educational foundation for kindergarten.

The program is designed for students starting kindergarten in fall 2025. Students must be 5 by August 31, 2025. Priority enrollment will be given to students who have not had an opportunity to participate in a preschool program. The priority deadline to apply is December 20th, 2024. The class is open to all students living in the Lakewood School District attendance area. The class will have approximately 17 openings.

The program will be housed at Lakewood Elementary School and will partner with other district early-learning programs. Transitional Kindergarten is a full-day program that follows the district calendar. Hours are 8:35-3:15 and 8:35-1:45 on early release Fridays. Transportation will be provided. Breakfast and lunch are free for all Lakewood Elementary students this year. If you are interested in having your child considered for the program, please complete the application form below. We are excited to be able to offer this opportunity to Lakewood families.

• December 20: Early Release
• December 23 - January 3: Winter Break
• January 10: Early Release
• January 17: Early Release
• January 20: No School