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…
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…
For my 5-year-old, being a non-reader is one of his biggest frustrations (following when I tell him to get off video games). He feels left out because the rest of us can read and he cannot. I like to leave little notes lying around with words that he can read . (Cat, t-rex, his name,…
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…
Spiders creep me out. I don’t like them and would just assume never ever see them. However, they do eat mosquitoes for which I am eternally grateful. It’s a conflicting relationship. But the boys are still into creep crawly stuff so I oblige. We actually went to a bug festival a few weekends ago which…
We’ve all heard that music education is beneficial and important. All we’ve also all heard that music education is lacking in many schools. Admittedly, it didn’t make the top of my list either. I know music is important. I grew up a “musical” child, in that I played piano and loved music. As a new…
I’m always searching for ideas to get my kids interested in practicing math. To be honest, 99% of the time that’s a computer game. I’ll take what I can get though! Since starting the LEGO math challenge, we are getting a lot more practice offline too. Phew! So don’t miss the rest of our LEGO Math…
Pumpkin season is full swing. The manager at our grocery store told me it’s time to start stocking up on canned pumpkin because there will be a shortage. Pumpkin spice lattes are everywhere. We even had pumpkin spice donut holes at Dunkin Donuts (they were absolutely amazing too). It just doesn’t feel like fall so…
Logi-Bear is just delving into the concept of place value and I’m finding that extra practice with it is very very helpful. He has accepted that when you are counting and hit a 9, you move up to the next 10. But I’m not convinced he understands why. We’re working with LEGO Place Value a…
Some mornings I can tell we need to get a bit of The Wiggles out. Incidentally, my kids no longer like they song (which is a bummer because I loved it). So I needed a quick and easy way to get them moving a bit before we get started. Of course, I remembered my construction…