I am a bibliophile to the core (that’s ‘book lover’ for those of us who like to appear fancy) and always expected that my kids would automatically be book lovers, too. I thought that would just be genetic. And while my kids do love books, it took time and effort to get us to that…
Practicing our math facts, addition and multiplication, has been a big priority over here lately. We have been using every technique I could possibly think of! Mostly games, of course. But I wanted something that was a bit more portable, fun, engaging, and that they could really own. So I had to make interactive booklets….
I have two kids memorizing multiplication facts now and they have both improved by leaps and bounds since we started introducing fun and engaging ways for multiplication practice! The code breaker multiplication was probably the favorite, but the scratch off multiplication wasn’t far behind. I’ve been worked on games, activities, printables, and much more for multiplication….
My kids hate writing. I hear this from parents and teachers over and over and over. My kids hate writing. Typically people mean the physical act of writing, not the process of thinking of words to put on a paper. And this activity handles the physical act without the process part. My kids will dictate…
LEGO is the key to all learning. Okay, not literally, but my kids flip out when I grab the LEGO Bricks during school time. They get so excited. So of course we had to do LEGO Place Value when that topic came up! Let me back up a bit. I took a challenge to minimalize…
Royal (7) hit multiplication in our math curriculum and shut down immediately. He thought it was too hard, too early, and he would never get it. I didn’t know someone could have such strong emotions over something they have never tried to do before! He’s even seen Times Tales and picked up some multiplication facts….
Math practice, especially just rote math practice, can be very boring. But I’ve found that presenting math on new and interesting mediums can persuade a pretty reluctant child to practice their math. We regularly find new ways to practice. I remember the first time I saw a dry erase board. Vividly. It was Take Your…
Learning a language, at any point in life, can develop brain pathways that make a significant difference throughout our lives. And don’t for one second believe the myth that it’s easier for kids to learn a new language – untrue! In fact, when using immersion programs adults and kids learn at the same speed (same…
I am a big fan of anything that makes learning to read a bit more fun and engaging. Reading is so challenging but so totally worth that, and many kids can see that from the beginning. Logi-Bear wants to read so so badly and he tries so so hard, but I still want him to…
I love playing board games with the boys and I hate it at the same time. On the one hand, it’s great for learning how to take turns, losing to lose, learning to win, and it’s great family time. On the other hand, it’s heartbreaking to watch your kid getting more and more frustrated by…
Sometimes it can be hard to get kids to go along with an activity that seems educational, even if it is a fun activity at it’s core. However, I’ve learned, when LEGO® Bricks are involved, they’re game. Every.single.time. So when I saw a book for Learning with LEGO®, I knew it would be awesome. This…
We are well into summer which means the regular kind of cool activities are no longer cutting it. I’m having to up my game. A few years ago I did a bunch of activities featuring water and I thought I wanted to do more like that. Well, the activity morphed beyond water play, but it…