Summer 2018 Newsletter

SKT• 888.758.8976 • www.SKTMainstreet.com Learning doesn’t need to stop just because the school year did. If you have young children or grandchildren in your life, study these suggestions from Reading Rockets—a national multimedia literacy initiative—to keep the learning process moving forward over summer break. Check out local summer opportunities. From camps to concerts, see what events are taking place nearby that would help children pick up new knowledge and explore new experiences. Encourage writing. This could include having children write up grocery lists, send letters or postcards to family members, start a blog, or keep a journal. More ideas can be found at www.startwithabook.org/ summer-writing. Read, read, read. This is the single most valuable learning activity for kids and can be done at home, in the car, or while on vacation. Make library or book store visits part of the summer routine, and guide kids to age-appro- priate websites for additional reading opportunities. Watch a garden grow. Kids can learn a lot by researching, planning, planting, and caring for a vegetable or flower garden. Have them keep a garden journal to record their observations. Take advantage of interactive online learning. There are many great educational websites for kids of all ages. They include: • PBS KIDS Lab – Educational games, activities, and mobile apps for kids PreK to grade 3 • National Geographic Kids – Great nature videos, activities, games, stories, and more • Discovery Kids – Videos, games, and activities to explore dinosaurs, sharks, space, pets, history, and more • Smithsonian Kids Collecting – How to start your own collection and see what other kids collect • The Last American Dinosaurs – From the National Museum of Natural History • NASA Kids’ Club – A place to play games and learn about NASA through interactive explorations • My Wonderful World – A multimedia tour of our seven continents Is your home’s Internet speed fast enough to successfully handle all the online learning (and online entertainment) going on with multiple users and devices? If you’re experiencing annoying slowdowns, call us at 888.758.8976 and ask about getting a speed upgrade. Smart Ways to Keep Kids Learning Over the Summer Know the 5 Steps in the 811 Process Any type of digging on your property requires a call to 811 to have under- ground utility lines marked. This prevents you from unintentionally damaging lines and causing service outages in the neighborhood. 1. Notify your local one-call center by calling 811. The one-call cen- ter will transmit information to affected utility operators. 2. Wait 2-3 days for affected utility operators to respond to your request. On average, between 7-8 utility operators are notified for each request. 3. Confirm that all affected utility operators have responded to your request by comparing the marks to the list of utilities the one-call center notified. 4. Respect the marks (flags or paint) provided by the affected utility operators. They’re your guide for the duration of your project. 5. Dig carefully. Avoid digging near the marks and remember that some utility lines may be buried at a shallow depth. You may need to move your project to another part of the yard. SKT thanks you in advance for your cooperation. To learn more, visit call811.com/before-you-dig.