Tag Archives: learning

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.

Go Fish with a Math Twist

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P1070676

Each year my son’s school throws together a night to celebrate math and play games. We always come home with a new handful of games that we love to play and that encourage him to practice math. The added perk is that his little sister gets a lesson in math, too, as she tries to join us in all the games. A game we have been playing recently is a version of Go Fish with a math twist.

What You Will Need:

  • Deck of cards with numbers (UNO, Phase 10, Regular face cards – remove any cards with letters because that may get a little confusing)
  • At least 2 players that know their numbers 1-10

Directions:

Go Fish

To be able to play this version of Go Fish you must know how to play Go Fish itself first. I would hate to assume everyone knows how to play and leave them hanging. So if you already know how to play, skip to the next section below. 

Object: Collect pairs of matching cards (two 4′s, two 9′s, etc. Having two spades or the same of any other character does not count. For this game the numbers matter)

How To Play Go Fish: Each player is dealt 5 cards. The remaining cards are place in the middle face down for a draw pile. Each player takes a turn asking one other player for a card/number they currently have in their own hand. (The goal is to get matches, so if you have a 4 in your hand, you would ask one of your opponents, “Do you have a 4?”). If the player asked has the card, they must hand it over. If they do not have it, they respond “Go Fish” and the player who asked for the card must pick from the draw pile and their turn is over. Continue play until all matches are made. Common instructions say that a turn keeps going if a match is received, but for my sanity match or no match it is the next player’s turn.

Go Fish With a Math Twist

Object: Collect pairs pairs that differ by a certain number (i.e. if you choose that they differ by one, then a 2 and a 3 are now a match because 2+1=3).

How To Play Go Fish With a Math Twist: Choose what number you want your pairs to differ by. Follow the directions above for Go Fish except instead of each player asking their opponent for a card that matches one that is currently in their hand, they will ask for one that differs by the selected number (i.e. same as above: if you choose that they differ by one, then a 2 and a 3 are now a match because 2+1=3). Keep going until no more pairs can be made.Go Fish with a Math Twist

This is a great way to practice math and have some fun together. As I mentioned above, my soon to be Kindergartner loves to join in with her big brother and although she needs to ask for help, she catches on pretty quick. We have been practicing plus 1′s for now because she is playing with us, but as we get more comfortable or if it is just me and my son, we can start doing subtraction only or numbers differing by 3 (just for example). The sky is the limit on the amount of variations you can have with this fun and simple game.

The art of taking breaks

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boy running

It’s hard to sit for a half hour. Really hard. Especially when there are distractions everywhere.

High school and middle school classes are, usually, about 50 minutes a day, often less, sometimes more. Elementary classes rarely top 20 minutes of sitting and focusing. So when homework for a 9 year old takes 40 minutes, how can we, as parents, help our children?

On Julieverse, I’ve been studying and discussing homework strategies for a few weeks. I’ve focused on ways to overcome stress and help your children achieve success with homework without doing it for them. One of those ways is by taking breaks.

Children are not wired with long attention spans. They play with toys for just minutes before moving on to the next. They can sit, comfortably, at a dinner table for only a few minutes before squirming, thus the necessity of crayons and paper at most restaurants, even white linen restaurants. Even movies are adept at providing to short attention spans as they shift scenes allowing for children to shift positions and take breaks.

The same should be said for homework, seat work, busy work… even reading time. Young children need to learn to create breaks, and parents can help them. After a time of sitting and working, encourage your children to move. It gets their blood flowing and fills their creative juices by allowing them to think differently and see things a different way. Whether a child is reading, practicing handwriting, solving math problems or completing a deep research project, a bit of movement will help children to last longer and stronger in their assignment.

How to take a break

Children age nine and under should take a break every 10-15 minutes. For children who have long tasks ahead of them, break assignments into chunks by agreeing to a stopping point. For example, if a child has two pages of math facts as an assignment that will typically take him 10 minutes per side, agree that after finishing the first side, he may take a 2 minute break, then go right back to completing the task. Not only will the task look less daunting to him in chunks, it will teach him to better manage his time.

What to do during a quick study break

In our house, we have a set of choices for break time.

Have a snack: If it’s snack time, we often set out crackers, cheese and pepperoni or celery and peanut butter for break time. Healthy foods encourage children to keep learning and give them a boost of energy.

Go for a run. I love to challenge my kids to run around the house 4 times, or as many times as he can. Movement is key when a child has been sitting for a long time, as it allows the blood to flow.

Do yoga or meditate. Most basic yoga moves can easily be practiced by children, and most children love to try yoga stretches. Another great way to move your blood, stretching allows creative development and meditative breathing allow for oxygen to enter the brain.

Draw. While all children should move, some may be energized and encouraged using the creative sides of their brain. Having a coloring book and crayons near by allows children to see things in a different light and use their fingers in a different method.

Sing and dance. Another opportunity for movement and using our minds differently, children who dance and sing will use their lungs and body.

Get a breath of fresh air. As with meditating and yoga, allowing fresh air to enter the body pushes new oxygen into the brain and, with it, new spaces for ideas. An excellent opportunity for an easy break, we often encourage the children to “just step outside.” A walk, a quick slide down the sliding board or swing on the swings, and the kids come back inside ready to work, and finish, their assignments.

More Than Just Breakfast – Learning With Letter Pancakes

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Learning Letters with Pancakes

I am always on the lookout to squeeze some learning games into our day. Lately, my two children have been craving pancakes. They love to help make them, too. So, when I got the idea to make letter pancakes, I knew it was right up their alley. They loved playing with their food this particular morning!

What You Need:

  • Pancake mix (from scratch or box…it doesn’t matter)
  • 1 or 2 squeeze bottles
  • Funnel
  • Greased frying pan or griddle
  • Plates
  • Eager helpers/learners

Directions:

Step 1: Purchase your squeeze bottles or wash and clean other empty bottles from your fridge. (i.e. ketchup or mustard bottles) I found these two bottles below in the kitchen section of my local store for under $1 each.

 

Step 2: Prepare pancake mix and fill the above squeeze bottles with the finished mix. This can be a fun adventure to watch, too.

 

Step 3: Now let the fun begin! Slowly squeeze the bottle of pancake mix onto a preheated greased griddle or frying pan. Keep the heat low as the pancakes will cook fast.

My children wanted to be involved in every aspect, so I let them have a try at making and frying their own letters and/or words. They, of course, loved it!

But most of the time our griddle looked like this below. I went through most of the alphabet, as much as possible, and created two of each letter (one for each child).

 

Step 4: Once cooked, let them cool and separate one of each letter on each child’s plate.

 

Step 5: Now the time for “the game”. This is just one suggestion on what you can do…I said a word out loud and had my first grader figure out how to spell it and my preschooler had to find the sound the word started with. Then I would ask my first grader what other words he could make by switching one letter/sound. The preschooler understands rhyming, so she added her two cents, too, and would switch her letter pancake to change the beginning sound when needed.

Eventually, it led to my 1st grader teaching/helping his little sister figure out how to spell each word by him sounding out each letter of the word for her until she found  the right letter.

 

Step 6: Eat and enjoy. This had to be their second favorite part to actually cooking these letter pancakes, as you can see below. They devoured them!

 

Playing with our food has never been more educational! My favorite part was when my older child stopped and patiently helped his little sister learn. I think she is gaining a love for letters and words because of him. Again, gotta love that!

Make Learning Letters and Sounds a Game

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Playing Match to Learn Letters

Now that my son is in first grade and almost reading on his own, my 4 year old daughter is eager to catch up. She is still learning her letters and gets a little confused with the sounds they make. We recently discovered a fun way for her to practice figuring out which letters go with which letter sounds. In fact, even my 6 year old enjoys to playing it!

What You Need:

  • A favorite game with many word options, like Match
  • One or two eager learners

How To Play:

The game is simple, and I am really surprised we have not started this sooner.

We play the game as normal, except that when it is each player’s turn they say out loud what is in each picture (practice for the sound and letter match). i.e. “Balloon and Dragon”

When a match is found, the player says out loud what the match is. Then I ask what the first sound is. Once they answer that, I ask what letter makes that sound. If they run into an issue matching the letter sound to the letter, we will run through the alphabet together and if more help is needed, we will then run through the alphabet again saying the letter sounds for each letter.

Our conversation went a little like this:

Player: I found a match!
Me: What is it?
Player: Pizza.
Me: What sound does Pizza start with?
Player: Puh.
Me: What letter makes a Puh sound?
Player: P!
Me: Good job! You can take your match.

The first few matches were a little trial and error for us, but she soon got the idea. Her brother was able to skip right to telling me the letter before I even asked him.

Here is a short video demonstration of our new learning game:

Ever since the first time we played this game, my four year old often stops me throughout the day to tell me what sounds and letters the words she is saying start with. I love to see her so excited about learning!

Smiles, Slime and Learning Can Go Hand in Hand

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World Smile Day activity

 

October 5th is World SMILE Day. I must have Halloween on the brain because when I saw this I automatically thought of how SLIME brings a smile to my childrens’ faces. In actuality, the day is more about encouraging everyone to “devote one day each year to smiles and kind acts throughout that world.” So, I am taking this opportunity to bring some smiles to my family’s faces and make some learning fun at the same time. We we will perform some acts of kindness that day, too.

Monster Goo

I believe that this first activity goes by many names and was told it is typically called “Oobleck”, but we have always known it as “Monster Goo”.  It is super simple to make and loads of fun.

What You Need:

  • 1 part water
  • 2 parts cornstarch
  • Bowl
  • Mixing spoon or fork
  • A large cookie sheet or a clean flat surface to play on.
  • Food coloring (optional)

Directions:

Step 1: Add water and cornstarch together into the bowl. If you want color, add it before  you add the cornstarch – just a couple drops.

Step 2: Stir together slowly. The faster you stir the harder it will get to mix it up. Be patient and just dig in it nice and slow. It should mix up quickly and will look like liquid in the bowl when it is mixed completely.

Texture Tip: It is ready when it is firm when picked up and liquid like when it is not moving. That sounds confusing, but you will know what I am talking about when you have it right.

Now the Fun Begins…

Here are some ideas of things that you can do with it:

  • For children who are learning letters, numbers or learning how to spell, have them write letters with the goo. My 6 year old son has never been so excited to spell words and my 4 year old was fascinated by watching him.
  • Roll the goo into a ball in your hand and then see what happens when you stop.
  • Create a monster. Roll it up again and then lay it on the table (or pan) and add 2 marbles for eye balls to create a monster. Watch him turn into “Monster Goo”.
  • Talk about the texture of what they feel. Is it hard? Soft? Sticky? Slimy? Are your hands soft or rough?, etc…you get the idea!
  • Give each child a couple of bowls/cups and/or spoons and let them transfer the goo from one to another.

Fun Tip: If the goo gets too dry and is not turning into liquid as fast as before, just add a little water and the fun will continue.

For a cool Halloween look, add some glow-in-the-dark paint for coloring and turn off the lights. We didn’t have to add much and because we used pink it did not seem to leave any after color. The kiddos loved it!

Flubber

Another fun and definitely more SLIME looking recipe that we attempted was for Flubber.

What You Need:

  • 2 tsp Metamucil
  • 2 cups water
  • Small pot
  • Stirring spoon

Directions:

Step 1: Add Metamucil and water together in pot.

Step 2: Stir together and begin to heat on med-high. You will want it to start to boil, but not be on a high boil. Keep on heating while stirring occasionally until a lot of the moisture is gone. We heated for 5-10 minutes 3-4 times, letting it cool in between heatings to see if it was the texture desired. The original instructions we used (found here) encouraged the use of the microwave, but when we followed them, we literally dehydrated the mixture to nothing. So we decided to go with the stovetop where we could observe it better and it was much cooler to watch transform.

I will admit that it turned out very cool to make and look at, but it was not as handy for spelling letters as I had hoped. And for us, once it got pulled apart a bunch, it never really looked like it’s starting form…”Slimey”. It was still a fun project, though!

Monster Theme Day

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Monster Theme Day - RustyandRosy

Halloween will soon be knocking on our door, and as it has to be one of my kiddos favorite holidays we thought we would share our Monster Theme Day with you. Monsters can be scary, but they do not have to be. We picked a fun monster themed book and a couple of easy crafts to go along with it.

This idea all started when my mom reminded me of a favorite childhood book…”Sesame Street: the monster at the end of this book.” I suddenly wanted to share it with my kiddos, too. I did a quick search and discovered that this book was in our county library and requested it to our local library. The kids were so excited to have a monster book. I will admit, they were a little nervous the first time they read it, but by the end they were super excited and asked me to read it over and over again and even tried to read it to each other. That has not happened in a while. Oh boy, how they love monsters!

Preschool Halloween Activities

If you do a quick google search, I discovered there is a copy of this book right now available for viewing online through the illustrator, Mike Smollin.

To extend the monster fun, try one of these fun and easy crafts:

Hand Ghosts

What You Need:

  • Paint – we went with white, black and red
  • Paper – we chose black
  • Paintbrush

Directions:

Preschool Hand Ghost Craft

Step 1: Paint palm and fingers of hand with paint.

Step 2: Quickly place hand paint side down on paper. Gently press and slowly remove hand.

Step 3: Turn the paper around so fingers are pointing towards the bottom of the paper. Paint eyes and mouth on.

Super simple and took less than 5 minutes to make. My son decided to get creative by painting red angry eyes and to make extra ghosts with his finger tips.

 

Shape Monster

Preschool Monster Craft

What You Need:

  • Paper – a variety of colors and scraps are great!
  • Scissors
  • Glue

Directions:

Create a variety of shapes in different sizes and let your child’s imagination go crazy. My kiddos started with a body shape, the older one traced his using a bottle he found in the pantry. They used the scraps we had available on the table and requested certain shapes as they went along. It was a fun way to practice shapes and use shapes to make other things (like their monster shoes). As they were creating their monsters they started to talk about what their monster was like and what it did. I absolutely loved hearing their discussion! We spent a good 20-30 minutes making our monsters. This was a huge hit!

Have fun with your Monster Day! I would love to hear how it goes, if you give it a try.

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

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

“Secret Missions” – Sneaking Reading and Math Into The Day

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Making Chores fun

Just using the phrase “Secret Missions” spike curiosity in my two young children and they eagerly want to be a part of whatever it is. Every now and then we all need a change of pace. That is where “Secret Missions” come in! Give some variety to your regular routine and sneak in some number, letter and letter sound recognition, along with some writing and reading practice. You can even sneak in some math for an added challenge, if you want. Right now we use “Secret Missions” as a part of our chore routine, hence the lovely hairdos my kiddos are styling with in the picture above.

What You Need:

  • Paper
  • Pencil or pen (or markers, if your children are obsessed with them like mine are)

Directions:

Step 1: Create an encryption code. Keep it simple or make it as complicated as you like. I recommend starting simple and making it more complicated as needed. For now, we assigned a number to each letter of the alphabet in numerical order. It is a good review for my almost 1st grader and a little bit of a challenge for my 4 year old. The 4 year old gets a chance to practice her letter/sound recognition and is able to put a name to some new numbers. She can currently go to 12, so going to 26 is fun little push for her. Plus, she loves to do what her older brother is doing and he loves to help her.

Ideas For Variety Or To Make It More Challenging:

  • Assign each letter a number not in numerical order like the above example.
  • Add math to the code. Instead of 1, 2, 3 for each letter make it all addition for the code or a variety of addition and subtraction. (i.e. 0+1, 1+1, 2+1 or 2-1, 1+1, 5-2, etc.)
  • Add shapes to the code. For additional options you can use patterns (star star or square circle, etc.)
  • Or use a variety of above.

Step 2: Create your secret code. This can be whatever you would like…a list of chores, something fun to do, a place you are going, a list of items to pack for a trip or a day out, etc.

Step 3: Decipher the code!

Like I said above, we are currently making our morning chores into “Secret Missions”. We have started with only 3 Missions for now and the current reward is 15 minutes with their favorite computer game. Each child deciphers one mission at a time, then they sound out the words (with help, if needed) and complete the job before they can work on the next Mission. Even though my 6 year old grumbles at the idea of chores and always starts grumbling through the start of figuring out his mission (because that is work for him, too! =-) ), I am amazed at how fast he runs off to do his job and comes back to the table to conquer the next Mission. Even my 4 year old cleaned up her room without me reminding her and did it without asking for help. That never happens!

This is what my son’s final mission looked like when he was done. The next time I write the code I need to make it in lowercase letters, so he does not get in the habit of writing in all caps. (His teacher did not like that last year. =-))

Enjoy!