Tag Archives: education

Choosing the Right Educational Website

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Online Homework Help with Rusty and Rosy

I have three kids in three different grades who learn thre different ways. Their ages are spaced far apart so homework time is a huge obstacle some nights.
The oldest is almost out of high school so her homework is usually done independently but the two school age kids often need help.

It’s been many years since I’ve been to school so sometimes I’m not the most helpful with “new math”, improper fractions or combining sentences with participles. These examples are true representations that have come about with our 4th grader. I’ve turned to Google, Wikipedia and Facebook for explanations and refreshers. I realize it’s the only way for the kids to stay on top of the skills they are learning each day.

A little screen time each day on select sites and software is how we are keeping minds sharp and fresh. Each company below offers something different than standard workbooks or flashcards. Digital content is updated often to reflect current learning trends and changing information. These are some of my favorite reputable and supportive resources that are helpful for just about any age or grade.

online homework helpSpellingCity.com is a Free (Premium membership available) efficient game-based website focusing on literacy and language art skills for children from Pre-K to 3rd Grade.

Education.com is a comprehensive collection of printables, activities, games and articles for children in pre-k through high school. The fun and insightful content spanning many subjects is a great educational boost to assignments from school.

KhanAcademy.org is a whole different level of learning. This donor supported non-profit resource hosts a library of over 4,000 videos on everything from arithmetic to physics, finance, and history and hundreds of other life skills to practice.

DiscoveryEducation.com offers FREE resources for teachers and student turning lessons inside and outside the classroom into engaging digital learning environments.

RustyandRosy.com is a skill building educational software tool for pre K- 2nd graders. Rusty and Rosy teaches phonics, vocabulary, language concepts and math through games, songs and activities.

No matter what tool, website, software or method you use to enhance your child’s school education make sure it’s a fit for your family. Rely on tools that encourage what they are already learning.

Creating a Daily Schedule for Preschoolers

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At home preschool schedule

With one child in school and the other wishing she was old enough for Kindergarten (one more year), I am finding a need to have a consistent schedule to for both us to keep sane this year. Having a visual schedule helps my daughter know what she will be doing each day and helps me (or she helps me) stay on task.

Since my daughter is over 4 1/2 years old, she has this itch to learn and wants to catch up to her brother. It is great. Really. I love it, but she is wanting more than our “fun and easy” schedule we did last year. She wants a real schedule and to feel like she is in school. Sure, I could sign her up for preschool, but I am not ready to give her up, yet. Besides, she is the only one home right now and this is my last year with her before she is off at school. I may change my mind in December after her baby sister arrives, but until then we will enjoy the time. So, we will be adding some “school time” to our daily schedule.

Here is what we will be using for our schedule below:

Morning Routine: She wakes up with her brother and so she follows his morning routine of eat breakfast, get dressed, make bed, brush teeth and hair.

Preschool Time: We spend 45 minutes – 1 hour a day

Rusty & Rosy Computer Time: 15 minutes every morning. She really enjoys her time on the Rusty & Rosy computer software. She loves to sing along with the songs and always has some paper and a pencil handy so she can practice writing letters. She often asks me to “go away” while she is “playing”.

Reading Time: 15 minutes reading books from the library every morning.

Activity Time: 15-30 minutes of an activity. Every week we are focusing on a letter of the alphabet. The first day we color or decorate the letter with items that start with the same letter. Other days we may do a craft, bake, play a game, learn a song or do a science project based off something starting with the chosen letter of the week. (i.e. “A” Week = homemade apple sauce, apple stamps, etc.)

Fun: Our daily non-preschool activity. It could be an outing like a library trip, a play group, painting with water colors, dance class, Mom & Sister sewing project, etc.

Jobs: She has 2 jobs a day that she needs to do outside of her own Morning Routine. One job is set in stone, feeding the dog. The other job is “Mom’s Choice”. Typically, it is something that needs to be done that day (i.e. vacuuming a room, help cleaning a bathroom, empting the dishwasher, etc.). This is a great opportunity for her to learn some more responsibility. As she improves we may add another job, but until then two is perfect.

To create the schedule, I kept it simple and used card stock and marker. I cut 2 sheets of card stock into thinner strips and on each slip wrote an activity we will be doing. Once finished I taped the schedule at my daughter’s eye level on the wall. If we stay on task, we can have everything done before lunch leaving our afternoons open for more Mom & Sister projects or a nap.

We are still working on completeting the whole schedule each day, but I love being able to tell her “Go look at your schedule and let’s see what is next.” She begs for her “school time” and so it a great motivator to get us going in the morning!

Top image courtesy of: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Learning While on Camera – Be a Movie Star

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Educational Movies

Ready, Action! I have yet to meet a child who does not like to see themselves “on film.” My two young children are constantly asking to see video of themselves and they get such a kick out of it! In fact, they will ask to see the same video clips over and over again.

A great activity is to create a short film and let your children be the stars and even the directors, if they desire. With the wide availability of digital cameras and their video capabilities this can be a pretty entertaining activity for even older children/teenagers. We have made a couple videos so far and have really enjoyed the results. You can base it off a favorite book or recently read story. We usually base our videos off of a nursery rhyme, because it is the easiest to put together with young children and the children also choose how to act out each line. Eventually, we will do something a little more difficult, but for now this is perfect. It keeps them entertained, gets their brains working and they always love the results!

For this particular “film” we made below we captured no more than 2 minutes of video and edited (with software already on my computer) down to less than 1 minute. If you want to do it all in one take to avoid editing, everyone always enjoys bloopers! As you can see, it is not perfect. This was a quick film and by the time I realized we accidentally missed the end of one line, the kiddos were already in bed, but I am sure they will still enjoy this. For another example of a film we have done you can check out our This Little Pig video, too.

 

What You Need:

  • A digital camera or camcorder
  • Actors and actresses
  • Props (optional)
  • A script/plan (we used a nursery rhyme)
  • Editing software (optional)

Directions:

Step 1: Gather your actors and actresses and discuss what you are going to do. Let them gather props they think they need.

Step 2: Practice it once or twice or a lot if you want it perfect. My actors/actresses wanted to do this fast, so we quickly discussed and let them have one practice and then I recorded them right there (personality and all).

Step 3: Lights. Camera. Action.

Step 4: If you would like to edit (cut parts out) it, there are usually programs on your computer and sites that are pretty easy to figure out. I have a free software on my computer called Windows Live Movie Maker and there are free sites, too, like One True Media, that are easy to use.

Step 5: Have fun. I love hearing them giggle every time they watch this film.

This is even a great activity for older children, too. I have even watched my older nieces and nephews create their own short films many times. They will spend hours prepping scripts and props and then recording their short film (usually in one take, so they do not have to edit). They will usually do this all by themselves, too. I can see my 6 year old wanting to do this, too. He really wanted to take charge of the camera with the above video. As soon as I find my camera stand, I will let him have a go at it!

 

Top digital image credit of: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Dealing with Learning Stereotypes

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child writing

My parenting experience started with a child that was yearning to learn. At 3 years old she was reading and since kindergarten she’s been an honor roll student. Just a couple years left of high school and her academic record IS something to write home about it.

My son came along and he was full of energy and personality and lit up every room he walked into. Daycare gushed over his charisma and ability to draw new teachers and other kids in to play. Family loved his over the top sense of humor. I loved his morning cuddles and sweet crooked tooth smile.

Elementary school started and we began to see some troubles. He was easily distracted. He didn’t want to complete assignments at home. He was getting notes asking to work in writing. First grade was rough. He was instantly labeled as a problem child. His behavior issues were on display to the class. He was made to feel that he had a problem and didn’t want to be part of class.

It took many conferences with his teacher and other staff we realized he was just bored. He needed to have hands on learning. Sitting in a chair for 7 hours a day was not working for him. He needed to have interaction. He needed engagement. He needed to be the class helper. Simple tasks such as handing out papers and sharpening pencils woke up his mind enough to easily move onto the next educational step.

His grades and behavior improved drastically. He wasn’t just an over active boy who wasn’t interested in learning. He wasn’t immature and didn’t know how to communicate effectively. He wasn’t refusing to cooperate in class. He was bored. He needed a different kind of learning process. He needed to be vocal and participate and be a part of the learning. He loved learning. He was curious about everything, asking question after question of the world around him.

Boys are often coined as trouble makers and difficult to teach. It’s an unfair statement that can often lead to children being lumped into categories. Children, especially at younger ages need to be watched for their own learning tools and tricks. The education system needs to open not just their eyes but their minds to help encourage children to find out what works best for them.

Photo courtesy of Holtsman/Flickr

Making Personal Valentine’s Day Cards

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Valentine's Day Cards

What are your plans for this Valentine’s Day? Better yet… what are your kids’ plans for this Valentine’s Day?

How about making Valentine’s Day cards? It’s fun and educational, and it may help you get rid of some of the odds and ends around the house you don’t know what to do with.

Thinking about how fun it would be to make my own Valentine’s Day cards, I sifted through my craft box, which includes the usual papers, ribbon, markers, and crayons as well as the not so traditional canning lids, bracelets, and other odds and ends.

I then set to work to create a few different Valentine’s Day cards, just for variety.

This turned out to be a very simple task and one that you can easily do with your child to celebrate Valentine’s Day.

To get started, make a collection of materials your child can use to create his own Valentines. Then set them out on the carefully prepared table (so you don’t get marker or glue stains on the pretty surface). Let your child go crazy, using his imagination to create his own Valentine’s Day cards to give to you, grandpa, Aunt Lucy, Uncle Ned, cousin Jenny, the neighbor across the street, teacher, or a friend.

As your child creates Valentine’s Day cards, he is building his dexterity and other fine motor skills. Let your child cut out hearts with safety scissors just for kids. Let your child glue on ribbon or stick stickers on his cards.

Making Valentine’s Day cards is also a great way to practice writing skills. Your child can write a Valentine’s Day letter or write simple phrases on a card.

Plus, you can help your child be creative with how the picture and the words relate.

And, last but not least, you can teach your child about shapes, more particularly the heart. Help your child cut out heart shapes or use heart-shaped stickers on his cards.

Dont’ forget to download a Valentine’s Day coloring sheet for your child. You an also get a fun Rusty and Rosy background for your desktop. Click here.

Do you have any great tips for making Valentine’s Day cards or for making education a part of your child’s Valentine’s Day fun?

Choosing Apps for Your Kids

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Family Playing Apps

When choosing educational apps for your kids to play on the computer, tablet, or smartphone, you want to make sure the apps are safe and easy to use so you can be worry-free and your child can have fun while learning. Here are just a few tips:

Apps to Look For

Reading apps can include ones that focus on letters of the alphabet, reading (some apps will read the story to your child or help your child read on her own), blends such as “bl,” “ch,” “sl,” etc., rhyming, sight words, vocabulary, and more.

Math apps can include ones that focus on counting, recognizing shapes, measuring, adding, subtracting, time, money, fractions, and more.

Other educational apps include ones that focus on colors, geography, history, languages, and more.

Features to Look For

Easy to use: Look for apps that are easy for your child to navigate through. Something with simple commands are best for younger children, such as dragging a finger across the screen to complete an action. Be sure to keep your child’s age in mind when choosing apps. You want something that challenges your child without being too easy or too difficult for your child’s ability.

Child Friendly: Be sure the app fits your child’s age in animation and content. Also, you’ll want to be sure the app does not contain pop-ups that link to the Internet or the App Store or anywhere else you do not want your child to access.

Extras: You can also look for apps that are continually updated with new content, such as more levels or more books. Also, memorable music that helps your child remember what she has learned is always a plus.

Do you have any advice or tips for other parents who are looking at getting educational apps for their child? Please share.

Feature image courtesy of Ambro / FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

 

Learning on the Go

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produce

It’s easy to offer learning opportunities for your child when you’re on the go. Trips to the store, long car-rides, and even outings to the playground or park are great backdrops for education. There are thousands and thousands of things with which we come into contact each day that can serve as a quiz or learning prospect.

In the Car

The license plate game might be a bit old-school but it’s a great way to get little eyes moving rather than pasted on a tv or device screen. 20 Questions is an easy one do with a larger age range of people. Each person takes a turn with a random object and lets everyone guess. The little ones might give up more quickly but they’ll get the hang of it by listening to others. Children can learn about new animals and places around the world and new questions to ask for the next game.

Grocery Store/Market

As you peruse the produce or meat departments with your child in tow, ask your child if she knows what a particular product is. Can chickens fly? Do brown cows give chocolate milk? Are carrots REALLY good for your eyes? Teach colors to toddlers, math to grade-schoolers, and the basics of budgeting to teenagers

Playground/Park

Pick up leaves, examine rocks, and count flower petals. These are all ways to get your children to not only enjoy nature but learn some new things. Teach them how clouds aren’t really pillowy balls of cotton but are made up of water and ice. Identify colors in the flower garden or odd shapes at the playground.

Walk around the Neighborhood

Does your child know his street address? Does he know how many blocks to the closest school? How many houses have the same color front door as yours? These are just a sampling of questions that you can ask your child as you take a walk around your own neighborhood.

Learning doesn’t always have to be at a desk or kitchen table. Worksheets, technology, and good ole’ flashcards are great tools, but the learning and FUN can continue when you walk out the front door.

Photos courtesy of mjecker / Flickr.

Getting Involved in Your Child’s Education

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Father and Son

On Tuesday, I had well over 100 e-mails to catch up on. I had five backlogged posts to write, in addition to several planned for the next few weeks, a conference call to prepare for, four proposals to write, doctor appointments that I never schedule, and a career in Social Media that is busy 24/7.

But I looked the other way, because I had offered to read a book to my daughter’s preschool classroom.

Reading a book became making cookies, which became entertaining, which became hand washing and hosting a community coffee for the PTO to help our community of families to become more of a community.

The hours of work? They could wait. My child’s classroom and school community came first, just as they always have.

Volunteering in my children’s classrooms and schools has always been important to me.

My oldest was two-years-and-20-hours-old when his brother was born.  Six days later he started preschool and I signed up to be a room parent. I recall a friend laughing that she wasn’t about to sign up to be a preschool room parent. She had better things to do.

“Oh,” I said, “but you have to find ways to let your kids see you’re involved in their education. They need to see you around the school, interacting with the teacher. They need to know you care.”

She promised she’d find other ways to be involved.

I haven’t been a room parent every year since. Instead, I’ve found other ways to be involved, from directing committees to being the Parent Teacher Organization director. At my older son’s elementary school I do a lot less volunteering. But I still make sure he knows just how interested I am in his education and in being active and involved in his schooling.

As an elementary school teacher (I taught grades 2, 4 and 6), I saw the difference in students’ behavior and education when their parents were actively involved. Now, as a parenting blogger at Just Precious and at Rusty and Rosy I share ideas with other parents, showing them how simple it is to be involved in your child’s education.

Kids believe what they see. They believe you’re invested when they see that you’re invested. Here, at Rusty and Rosy, I’ll be sharing ideas that you can do both in your home and in your schools that help you to have an active role in thier child’s education.

It doesn’t have to be hard. It doesn’t have to be time consuming (though, I can promise that an hour in a classroom full of four-year-olds is a lot of fun). But it does have to be done. And it has to be done with a smile.

There is nothing better than a hug from your child and a big smile of Mommy-pride plastered on her face.

Photo courtesy of Ambro / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Love for Reading

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Nadia-Craft

Hi everyone! Justice Jonesie here of JusticeJonesie.com.  I am a wife, law professor, and happy mom to three wonderful children. I was so happy when I learned that I was chosen to become one of Rusty and Rosy Star Bloggers.  I’ve been blogging now since 2006 and it is always wonderful to work with brands that have products and missions that  are in line with my beliefs and values, especially when it comes to my family. I earned a degree in elementary education, later attended law school, and after practicing law for a few years, decided to become a law professor. I am passionate about education at all levels, but I especially believe in early learning programs for children as they really do help create a foundation for success in education later on.

I think my passion for education started with my love for reading. I have been an avid reader ever since I was a little girl. My favorite thing to do on the weekends was the weekly trip to the local library to check out new books. I would get so into the stories that at night I would turn my light back on after my mom put me to bed just so I could finish reading that chapter or the book. As an adult, I still love to read and to find myself absorbed in a story with characters I feel like I know and cities I imagine visiting one day.

As a parent, I have worked on fostering a love for reading for all of my children. I remember cradling my ten-year-old son in my lap when he was just six-months-old and reading stories to him before bed.  He had a collection of picture books, short stories, and nursery rhymes and he would really “listen” to the stories we read him. I did this with all of my children and know that this has helped foster their own love for reading now.  When I pass by my seven-year-old daughter’s room and see her reading a book on her bed, it just warms my heart. I know that reading to my children early has helped create a lifetime of reading enjoyment for them.

Letter of the Day Box

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Letter Box

Are you feeling a little crafty but want to do something educational for your child?

The Letter of the Day Box is a great project for your crafty hands and fun activity for your beginning reader. Each day, choose a letter of the day and have your child put objects in the box that begin with that letter. For example, if the letter is S, your child might put in objects such as snake (toy), sand, sewing needle, or star. You can even write words (swing, sorry, sit) on paper and stick them in the box for those bigger or more ambiguous objects. Or you can put in objects that represent the word your child thinks of (sing – picture of music note, seat – doll’s chair, sip – cup). You can have all sorts of fun with this activity.

Let’s get started.

What you’ll need

Wood box (buy from craft store)
Scrapbook paper
Ruler
Pencil
Scissors
Markers
ABC Stencils
Mod Podge
Sponge brush
Velcro

What to Do

  1. Box: Measure your box. Be sure to measure lid separate from base. My box had a low-hanging lid and a lip to measure.
  2. Measure and cut out paper that matches the size of your measurements. When I did my box, I had a total of 10 papers I cut out—four for each side of the base, four for each side of my low-hanging lid, one for the lid, and one for the lip.
    Note: Since the lip rose upward from the top of the box, I traced the box on a paper and cut it out. Then I measured the lip, cut that much around the square I had just cut out, and cut the paper so I had a square snake that wrapped around my now-smaller square.
  3. Begin gluing your pieces to your box.
    Tip for using Mod Podge: With your sponge brush, put a layer of glue on the area you are decorating; be sure to cover ever corner. Place the paper; then put a layer of glue over the paper you just place on your box. The glue will dry and leave a glossy or matte finish, depending on the type of glue you bought.
    Note: You may need to let a side or two dry before continuing with the rest of your box. Also, your paper may bubble, but it should flatten out as it dries.
  4. Letters: Cut out 26 pieces of paper to fit the size you want to display on the top of your box. Mine turned out to be squares about 3”x3”.
  5. On each cutout, trace a letter of the alphabet using your stencils and markers.
  6. Decorate your alphabet.
  7. Place the softer side of Velcro in the middle of your box lid.
  8. Place the harder side of Velcro in the middle and on the back of each of your ABC cards.

You are done! Now you can start the activity.

If you feel one day isn’t enough for one letter, make the activity a Letter of the Week.

Do you have any fun education and crafty ideas? We’d love to hear about them.