Multiplication is the first big fish in the math pond, or that’s how my kids see it at least. When learning concepts like addition and subtraction, they kind of don’t even know that’s what they’re learning. It’s presented from preschool age and then suddenly we tell them “Oh by the way, that’s called addition”. But…
I have the harder time finding fun work for my older kids (especially Baloo, at 10). Sometimes he just wants something fun like his brothers! But if I make something just for him, I have two younger kids begging to join in. So when I can put something together that they can all use, it’s…
What do you do for kids that are having trouble memorizing their math facts? All of my boys are working on memorizing some facts and without motivation, it just seems like slow going. We play games, watch math shows, and even do bedtime math. Sometimes though, I need something that I can just hand over…
I’ve never been very good at Scrabble even though my mom is a whiz. I’m happy to get a 3 letter word down and she isn’t happy if she doesn’t get at least one BINGO in a game. We’re just on different Scrabble levels. So activities like making a word out of a bigger word…
When kids are little they work on sorting all the time but it’s one of those subjects that just gets left behind. However, sorting can become so very complex. Venn diagrams are great for people who learn visually. Venn diagrams themselves are not that complex but it helps to introduce them using familiar ideas. Being…
Sometimes you discover an activity that is perfect for your child in every way. It can be a very rare occasion, but when you find it, you have to just do it. Logi-Bear loves dinosaurs, wants to learn to read, has been enjoying sorting into syllable “teams”, and really likes having little cards and booklets…
There is something magical when kids learn that numbers move in patterns and they really only need to know 0-9. Showing kids the pattern of 10s unlocks a new world of math but it’s kind of confusing. Or really confusing. We recently tried to show Logi-Bear how 9 to 10 is just like 19 to…
Grammar is a really dry subject and I’m going to go ahead and admit that I don’t think I ever actually listened to my teachers when they talked about grammar. For the most part, I could write how I talk and get away with it (I do the same thing now too). Honestly, I didn’t…
Halloween signals the beginning of the holiday season and my kids, at least, are eager to get knee deep into holiday things. Luckily, I’ve had the Halloween printables this week to satisfy their holiday excitement! They’ve already changed their mind about their Halloween costumes about 4 times each. Baloo has decided to save a bunch…
My kids have, historically, had the hardest time with skip counting. I swear, they’ve all given me the same look when I try to explain skip counting. Kind of like “This is so much harder than just counting by 1’s”. That really skeptical look, ya know?. And I get it, they just learned to count…
You want them to memorize their addition facts and they want to play. Just imagine if there was a way to do both. Ah but there is! Making addition fact practice a game can entice them to play and learn longer! We’ve done our fair share of addition games (St. Patricks Day Make 10, Finding Dory,…
We are going to end up carving 6 pumpkins this year, I just know it. I got all excited when I saw pumpkins in the store last week and we bought some. Halloween is a month away still! There is simply no way these will last that long. The holidays have already got me thinking…