Don't Get Zapped -Game

We recently made a little game called Zap-It.  I have also heard it called Ka-Boom.  We've been having so much fun playing it.  I made an addition version for my son and a sight word one for my daughter.  It is a fun way to practice concepts that you are learning.

I saved a containter from Parmesan cheese and cleaned it out to hold the game sticks.    I used some Jumbo craft sticks.  Then on each stick, put a math problem (or sight words).  I found a great printable here  (sorry about original broken link... updated) with addition problems ready to go. (She also got creative on this site & turned the can into a frog.)   I printed it on a full page sticker sheet, or you could do address labels, so you don't have to cut them. 

Along with the math problems, write "You've Been Zapped" on three sticks.  We also have some other sticks that say: Trade sticks with another player (they then trade all of their sticks with someone else), Take one stick from another player, and Take an extra turn.  You can put a few of these in as well. 

To play the game, put all the sticks into the can, then take turns pulling them out & answering the questions.  The player with the most sticks at the end of the game wins. 


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Educational Freedom

I just read this article on the Home School Legal Defense website.  I thought it was really interesting- and figured a lot of you are homeschoolers and would find interest in it as well. .   would love to know the thoughts of other homeschoolers.  How do you feel about what Pres. Obama said?  Do we need to stand up, as the article says, and call Congress & the White House?  Will we lose another element of our freedom because of this?

 

Help Stop Obama's Attack on Educational Freedom

Michael P. Farris, JD, LLM
Chairman, HSLDA

Youtube

Watch the president threaten education freedom in last night’s State of the Union speech >>

“So tonight, I am proposing that every state—every state—requires that all students stay in high school until they graduate or turn 18.”
—President Barack Obama
Tuesday’s State of the Union speech

I was shocked when I heard that. Under our U.S. Constitution, education matters are left to the states. Our Founders wanted decisions about education and a host of other matters left to the states and local government so that these important decisions that affect every family could easily be influenced by the real decision makers: parents and the family.

Parents—not the federal government and certainly not the president—are the ones who should decide how children are educated and when they’re ready to graduate from high school.

But last night, President Obama made it clear that he thinks the federal government should be in the business of telling states how long children should stay in school.

Although the president did say that students who graduate early do not need to stay in school, states differ on what constitutes a high school graduate. Thus, a national compulsory attendance requirement would be likely to focus primarily on the age 18 standard, which could seriously harm homeschool freedom. In any event, this should not be coming from the federal government.

Since we were founded in 1983, HSLDA has fought attempts by state legislatures to increase the ages of compulsory attendance in school. We do this because parents—not education bureaucrats—are best equipped to decide how long their children should stay in school.

Now, thanks to President Obama and his willing allies in Congress, we’re going to have to fight this in Congress, too. We need to make sure that the White House and its allies in Congress hear our message loud and strong: leave education decisions to parents.

Call Now!

Right now, please call the White House and your members of Congress, and give them this message:

“Tuesday night, President Obama called for the government to mandate that all children stay in school until they graduate or turn age 18. This is not the federal government’s responsibility. Leave education decisions to parents, not federal bureaucrats. Tell President Obama to withdraw his compulsory attendance mandate immediately.”

• The White House: 202-456-1414, or send an online message.
• Your U.S. representative and two U.S. senators: 202-224-3121 (Capitol Switchboard) or use HSLDA’s Legislative Toolbox to find their names and contact info.

There appears to be no limit to this president’s desire for power. Car companies, banks, doctors, and now schools and the family. But this time he’s gone way too far, and homeschoolers and freedom loving Americans need to make sure that he hears our message.


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Chasing Mona Lisa- Review & Giveaway!!

Today I get to share a great book review- I also get to give a copy to one of you!  How fun, right? 

About The Book:
It is August 1944 and Paris is on the cusp of liberation. As the soldiers of the Third Reich flee the Allied advance, they ravage the country, stealing countless pieces of art. Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring will stop at nothing to claim the most valuable one of all, the Mona Lisa, as a post-war bargaining chip to get him to South America. Can Swiss OSS agents Gabi Mueller and Eric Hofstadler rescue DaVinci's masterpiece before it falls into German hands?

With nonstop action, Chasing Mona Lisa is sure to get readers' adrenaline pumping as they join the chase to save the most famous painting in the world. From war-ravaged Paris to a posh country chateau, the race is on--and the runners are playing for keeps.

My Thoughts:

I loved this book.  Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres to read.  I love learning something, but also having a fun story line to keep me going.  This story was action packed!  I read it really fast- a sign of a good book for me! 

About the authors:

Tricia Goyer is the coauthor of The Swiss Courier as well as the author of many other books, including Night Song and Dawn of a Thousand Nights, both past winners of the ACFW's Book of the Year Award for Long Historical Romance. Goyer lives with her family in Arkansas. www.triciagoyer.com Mike Yorkey is the author or coauthor of dozens of books, including The Swiss Courier and the bestselling Every Man's Battle series. Married to a Swiss native, Yorkey lived in Switzerland for 18 months. He and his family currently reside in California. www.mikeyorkey.com

Want to win this book?  You have 2 ways to win it!  The first is here on my blog. The second is through a Facebook giveaway on the 31st.  More details below.  If you'd like to enter to win here, just leave me a comment letting me know. 

For extra chances (leave a separate comment for each):
Follow my blog.
Follow me on Facebook.
Share this giveaway on Facebook.


This giveaway will close Friday February 3rd @ Midnight (Mountain Standard Time)

Now, for more details on the HUGE Facebook Spy Pack Giveaway:

One person will receive:

• iTouch (The must-have device for any spy. Camera, Maps & Music.)
• Starbucks Gift Card (For all those late nights.)
• Moleskin Notebook (For those important notes.)
• Invisible Ink Pen (Don’t want anyone reading those important notes.)
• Chasing Mona Lisa by Tricia Goyer & Mike Yorkey (Great handbook and intriguing tale for any spy-in-training!)

Enter today by clicking onthe link below. But hurry, the giveaway ends at noon on January 31st. Winner will be announced at Chasing Mona Lisa Facebook Party on 1/31. Tricia and Mike will be hosting an author chat (on Facebook and Live from Tricia's website) and giving away copies of their books and a book club prize pack! (Ten copies of the book for your small group or book club AND a LIVE author chat for your group with Tricia and Mike.)


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Homeschool Physical Activity Ideas

Keeping kids active while homeschooling can often be a challenge, but is so important! I have found, that doing it with your kids is the best way to make it happen. Plus, it can be so much fun! I want to share a few things we do in our family to keep active. 

We played Triangle (instead of 4-square), since there were only 3 of us!

• Walks or hikes outside
• Bike rides
• Go to local parks
• Play outside games: kick ball, four square, T-ball/baseball, soccer, hopscotch
• Turn on music and dance!
• Playing classic games like Tag, Mother may I, Red light-Green light, Hide and Seek
• Make homemade relay races- we set up various things- a mini trampoline, things to jump over and climb under, wagons to pull, etc. My kids love this and it is so simple to do.
• There are lots of kids workout DVD's that you can buy online
• Classes- dance, gymnastics, city sports teams, swimming, etc.
• Local races in the summer time
• Wii games- dancing & sports ( I actually haven't tried these, but have hear they are great.
• Simple equipment like hula hoops and jump ropes can keep kids active for a long time. Teach them some of the old fashioned jump rope rhymes:

Candy, candy in a dish, how many pieces do you wish? One, Two, Three...

Cinderella dressed in yellow went downstairs to kiss her fellow. How many kisses did she give? One, Two, Three...

Remember these?? Or did you have some other favorites when you were a kid?

We have a fun little book called:Anna Banana: 101 Jump Rope Rhymes by Joanna Cole. My kids really love looking through it.

Another book that has been helpful is:The Ultimate Homeschool Physical Education Game Book, by Guy Bailey. It has some fun and simple ideas that can be done with kids with minimal equipment. Sometimes you need a little inspiration!

Another fun resource that I have found is Yoga Pretzels- 50 fun yoga Activities for Kids & Grownups. This has cards that you pull out and it teaches you how to do poses in really fun ways. We always really enjoy doing this together. My kids ask to do it a lot.

Invest in some simple equipment- hula hoops, jump ropes, balls- kick balls, soccer balls, baseballs, trampoline (or a mini one) swing sets- or a simple swing hanging from a tree. Small things make a big difference.

For Christmas, I sewed a hopscotch mat for my kids. I sewed the lines with ribbon and painted the numbers- but you could make a simple one by taping it out with masking tape on the floor. It's a great winter activity!

Another thing that has been so wonderful for our family is a homeschool P.E. class that has been organized at our local recreation center. We meet weekly and they have some wonderful activities! Check with your local recreation center, maybe if there is enough interest, you could organize something like this as well. Or, if you want to do it on your own, contact other local homeschoolers and organize a class yourself.

What does your family do to stay active?


This post was originally posted at Latter-Day Homeschooling.

School for my toddler, what?

I used to think "Tot School" was just to keep your tots busy while you were busy teaching your older children, but I was WRONG!! It teaches coordination, memory practice, creativity, muscle strength, math, and of course loads and loads of general knowledge!

What is Tot School? it is basically starting at a very young age teaching your child to LOVE LEARNING! My daughter, now 14 months, knows all about the school room. She knows it is a fun place. If she notices that the door is closed she will bang on the door until she gets let in to explore!Tot school should be FUN! So if it is not, time reevaluate what you are learning!

Tot school on the beach: making friends and learning about texture!


What do we do for Tot school? There are so many ideas for crafts and motor skill builders out there, check google & Pinterest! Just pick things that use materials around your house, no need to start spending money on a one-year-old's curriculum! Give them a box of many different objects and let them play at first, then encourage sorting or patters etc. The possibilities are endless!

***Soon to come: some wonderful ideas (and cute pictures, of course!) to keep your tot busy for HOURS!

What age do I start? I do "tot school" for my 14 month old, and my 3 & 5 year old children join in sometimes...they just cant be left out of the fun! Really any age that they show interest in playing with, throwing, scooting, or pushing things around!

Me and my Tot:

Is it really Necessary to teach my baby? NO!! but is sure is a lot of fun to see just how smart your child is, especially before they can really talk! I find that we really do communicate, brain to brain, if that makes any sense!? I first show her how to put the pom poms into the cup, then put one in her hand, and watch her do the same. Then we empty out the cup one pom pom at a time, all the while not really talking at all. Its amazing how smart and wonderful our brains are from birth!


I will start posting more pictures and "tot school" activity ideas for you to get started with your toddler!

Homeschool Blog Roll

If you are a homeschool blogger, be sure to come by and link up on my brand new blog roll.  It's a great way to find the other homeschoolers and share all of our creative ideas!!

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Artist Study- Jackson Pollock

Last week we studied Jackson Pollock for our Artist studies. My kids really enjoyed learning about him.  They think his art work is a little funny. 

This is the same as other Artist units we have done.  We used the book Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists- Jackson Pollock, by Mike Venezia.  We also use the World's Greatest Artists curriculum from Confessions of a Homeschooler. It's free & it's great!

This time we also found a fun Jackson Pollock website.  You can paint in splatters like him all with a click of a mouse.  There is also an app that does the same thing in iTunes.  We tried both out and had so much fun with them. 

For our Jackson Pollock art project, we painted with eye droppers.  I watered down the paint and the kids squeezed it up with the eye droppers and painted with it.  It's a pretty messy painting job- so wear smocks and cover your surface!  It's cold & snowy here or we would have done this one outside!  Another fun out-door project related to Jackson Pollock is Splat Painting.  We did this one a while back & my kids also had a blast. 

I love this picture of my son.  It's when he figured out that he could suck the wet paint back up from the paper & mix the colors.  Such excitement!!

Homeschool is So Cool!

Because we can have school here:

Amazing that making a simple change in the routine- such as pulling out the hide-a-bed from our couch- can make school so much cooler that day.  My kids loved it! 



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Seven Lies about Homeschoolers

Just had to share this.  It gave me some good laughs! 

What Equals What? With Math Fables

Today we were reading a book called Math Fables: Lessons That Count, by Greg Tang.  It is a fun book that works with the concept of adding different numbers to equal the same thing.  It tells little stories with numbers from one to ten.  As we were reading I was thinking of ways that we could turn it into a math learning activity.  We pulled out the dry erase board & did a little practice.

I wrote a number in the center and circled the number- then drew lines out from it (like a web).  At each line, he had to think of a math sentance that equaled that number. 

At first I thought we would try it with just addition, but my son thought it was so fun that he incorporated subtraction as well.  He kept adding more lines and making the chart bigger.  I was surprised by how eager he was to do the math problems.  Funny how you can trick your kids into thinking it is something fun and different :) 

Learn to love where you live

We live in Utah. We love it, but do we really appreciate it? It is our family's new years resolution to "Be outside more" and by outside, we mean in the mountains and exploring the lakes. We want to really learn about the place where we live! We recently took a trip to the Utah Museum of Natural History. Who knew Utah had such cool history? Were there really dinosaur bones buried here? YES! LOADS OF THEM!




I am eager to learn more about the Native American history in Utah, which is also plentiful!

Now about the mountains...have you ever been on a hike with someone who seems to know the name of every flower and tree? My dad is one of those people. I would love to say the same about myself...add it to our "someday i want to learn..." list!!




And for those of you living near the ocean, i desperately envy you! But seriously, there is so much adventure to be had for you as well! Think of how many more warm days you have a year to explore the land around you!



I encourage you to visit the local Museums and farms to perk up your learning from time to time. But more importantly, nature is free. It does not take long to go on a walk, or learn the name of a flower and plant it in your garden. I look forward to March when we will be able to plant our little seeds inside! Happy Hiking!

~Mara and crew~

Books for Young Readers

I have a son who is an AVID reader.  I basically have to tell him to stop reading to eat.  He would read ALL day long.  I am not complaining...not by any means.  I am really glad he enjoys it so much.  The only problem I run into is keeping up with his reading appetite.  We utilize the library, a lot.  I thought that I would compile a list of some of the books he has read and enjoyed.  I know it can be challenging to find books for kids to read.  These books make great read-alouds as well.  Lots of these I have read TO my kids.

Magic Tree House- series by Mary Pope Osborne

The Spiderwick Chronicles-series by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black

How to Train Your Dragon - series by Cressida Cowell

A to Z Mysteries- series by Rony Roy

Secrets of Droon- series by Tony Abbott and Tim Jessell

The Adventures Of The Bailey School Kids- series by Debbie Dadey

The Littles- series by John Peterson

The Hardy Boys- series by Franklin W. Dixon

Time Warp Trio- series by Jon Scieszka

Encyclopedia Brown- series by Donald J. Sobol

Beverly Cleary- author with lots of great books for young kids- Ramona & Beezus, Henry Huggins, Mouse and the Motorcycle, etc.

The Boxcar Children- series by Gertrude Chandler Warner

Key to the Treasure - Peggy Parish, there are a few books in this series, too. 

Magic School Bus - by Joanna Cole- there are books for young readers and chapter books, these are SO educational, but fun, too.

Berenstain Bears books- there are younger story books and chapter books, by Stan & Jan Berenstain

Childhood of Famous Americans -series by various authors- these are fun non-fiction stories

Roald Dahl- author with lots of fun children's books including Charlie & the Chocolate Factory, and James and the Giant Peach

Flat Stanley- series by Jeff Brown

Beast Quest- series by Adam Blade -about a boy who saves his country from and evil wizard

Dragon Slayers Academy- series by Kate McMullin

Lighthouse Family- series by Cynthia Rylant

Henry & Mudge stories- also by Cynthia Rylant

Believe and You're There- series by Alice W. Johnson and Allison H Warner- about children going back in time to scripture times

My Father's Dragon- series of three books by Ruth Stiles Gannett, darling story

Little House on the Prarie- series by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Fablehaven- series by Brandon Mull, also Candy Shop War by the same author is a fun book.

Little Britches- series by Ralph Moody

Chronicles of Narnia- series by C.S. Lewis

Animal Adventure Books by Thornton Burgess- a HUGE favorite in our family!!

Pippi Longstocking books- by Astrid Lindgren

Stuart Little- by E.B. White

Shel Silverstein books

Adventures of Captain Underpants- by Dav Pilkey- not my favorite, but my son really liked them.  Full of bathroom humor, if you are alright with that.

Arthur Chapter Books- by Marc Brown

Mr. Popper's Penguins- by Richard and Florence Atwater

Swiss Family Robinson- by Jean Rudolph Wyss (free on Kindle)

Alice in Wonderland- by Lewis Carroll

Wind in the Willows- by Kenneth Grahame

Peter Pan- by J.M Barrie

Pinnochio- by Carlo Collodi (free on Kindle)

Frog and Toad stories- by Arnold Lobel

Charlotte's Web- by E.B. White

Little Bear Books- by Else Holmelund Minarik and Maurice Sendak

39 Clues series (various authors)

Mysterious Benedict Society - by Trenton Lee Stewart

13th Reality series - by James Dashner

Amelia Bedelia books by Peggy Parrish

In Grandma's Attic series by Arleta Richardson

Ivy & Bean series by Annie Barrows

Uncle Wiggly's Story Book by Howard R. Garis

Among the Pond People by Clara Dillingham Pierson (Free on Kindle -there are other books in this series, too)

Dutch Twins by Lucy Fitch Perkins (Free on Kindle, more in this series as well)

Betsy Tacy series by Maud Hart Lovelace

The Adventures of Munford by Jamie Aramini

Dinosaur Cove by Rex Stone

I am updating this list periodically as we read more...

What are your children's favorites?