CraftyHomeschool

Reading Horizons Discovery at Home Software Review

2013-04-23T01:32:00.001-06:00

As you know we have been using the Reading Horizons Discovery program for a while now and I LOVE it (we HIGHLY recommend it)!! We also received the privilege of reviewing the Reading Horizons Discovery software. All three kids have been using the program and we have really enjoyed the extra reinforcement.

First I want to let you know that I don’t think the software program is right for every learner. I have three VERY different kids, each with their own learning style and each with very distinct personalities. Each of my kids experienced different pros and cons in the software and being as it is software it’s not quite as flexible as the print material. Do your children work well on the computer? Do you want a program that takes very little work on your part? Does your child learn quickly or do they have a learning difference? I want you to think about the answers to those question while reading my review.

This is the main tree house (home screen). I like that the screens are easy to navigate and there is not a lot of extra clutter. I was a little concerned that Bean would struggle but she seems to be able to navigate the program very well. The only difficulty we have had is her ability to use the mouse, although nothing to do with the program, it’s something to take into account. Bean now sits in my lap, I control the mouse and she tells me what she wants to do.

The lessons are easy to understand (even for Bean). They present the material in a very straight forward manner. We have dealt with a few programs that are difficult to understand what is being asked but we haven’t run into that with the Discovery software. They are fairly short but don’t seem so short the concept can’t be grasped. The lessons are engaging and keep the kid’s interest. Boo tends to feel the lessons are a little too “babyish” for his liking but he does like the rewards and LOVES getting bags of gold.

I REALLY like the handwriting demonstration and enunciation videos. The handwriting videos have been AMAZING for Sis. It seems that despite me showing her letter formations several time, the computer must know more than Mom because she will now form her letters correctly.

There are lots of phonological exercises which have been great for all three kids. Children with dyslexia and similar language problems seem to really struggle with this and the program is GREAT to build up those deficiencies. The print materials have some games to help build those skills but this has to be one of the major benefits of using the software. If you have a child who is really struggling with phonological awareness, this program just might be the ticket.

One of the things that is beneficial when kids are working in a software program is being able to see what they are working on and how they are progressing. Reading Horizons Discovery at home software makes this EASY! You can check to see exactly what your child is doing and if they “passed” that lesson. The program is pretty customizable and allows for you to pick and choose what you need your child to work on. You decide what “passing” is and if they score above that you will see a green status, if they are really close but don’t quite pass you will see a yellow status and if they don’t understand the concept you will see a red status. This is Sis’s overview and you can easily see that see needs some help with one of her lessons (yellow status).

From there you can double click on the window and get the breakdown of exactly what the struggle was. Sis has been struggling with segmenting her words and it’s easy to see that’s where she struggled. Then I make a note in our lesson planer to review segmenting with her daily.

The parent dashboard does take a little while to get used to but no more than other programs. You also have the option to override lessons if you feel your child has mastered that concept, fantastic for older students, like Boo.

Now I want to try and summarize who I think should use just the software, who could benefit from both and who should use just the print material. I want to make sure that you understand these are my OPINIONS. These are based on what I observe with my three kids and their learning styles. We have been very happy with the software and if you fit in a “category” that I recommend not using the software and you feel your child should use the software, please use the software. You know your child better than any other person, listen to your gut!!!

Who I recommend use JUST the software; kids like Bean, enthusiastic, vocal, quick to learn, seem to “just pick it up” kind of kids should do great with just the software. Kids who seem to have a firm grasp of language. Kids who work well on the computer and retain what they learn without lots of hands on activities.

Who I would recommend to use BOTH; I think kids like Sis could benefit from having both. Kids who like to be independent but sometimes lack the confidence. Kids who have a fairly strong understanding of language but need work on some concepts. Kids who understand reading concepts but need a little reinforcement. Kids who enjoy using the computer and work well on their own.

Who I recommend use the print; Kids like Boo, kids who need lots of reinforcement and practice. Kids who don’t seem to work well on the computer. Kids who are easily distracted (this is NOT a fast paced video game type program). Kids who need hands on kinesthetic type work. Kids who do not retain information well and things “just don’t stick”. Kids who are behind and need extra help. Kids who are toward the older side of the program (say 9/10), because it is a little more “kidish” (if they do well with software you may want to look at this program).

With all that said I do think the program is worth the price IF your child is able to utilize it to it’s full potential. If we were to purchase the program ourselves I would purchase it for Sis and Bean but not for Boo (he just doesn’t do well with computer work).

If you have any question please leave me comment, I’m happy to answer them.

Thanks,

Len

Our Weekend

2013-03-04T06:00:00.000-07:00

I normally don’t wander too far off topic but I want to share our weekend and a lesson in “failed” trips. My best friend of over nine years came up for the weekend so we could visit. I love it when her and her girls come up because we try to do a fun activity while they are here. This particular weekend there was a request to visit a hot springs. We have several hot springs in our area and LOVE to visit them a few times each year. I made the suggestion that we take a hike and visit our favorite spot. The only issue is it’s a two and half mile hike (five total). Most of the hike is gently sloping trails but the very beginning and near the top (pictured bellow) are rather steep. The views are breathtaking and make you feel like your standing on the top of the world.

We had five kids with us (from 12 to 3) and all but one LOVED the trip, the other one, well she wasn't’ to happy (except the swimming). Oh well, you can’t win them all.

I felt really bad on the way down because my friend started having allergy problems that turned into breathing problems. It was a very LONG hike back down and truthfully not much fun. Somewhere between thinking I may have to carry my friend down the mountain and her youngest thinking we were going to die that night, I was very grateful to my parents for our “failed” trips. I recall at least a few “failed” trips, times when despite my parents best planning and intensions things just didn’t go according to plan. I realized that from those trips I learned more about determination, willpower, and attitude than at any other point in my life. “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade". My friend is fine (maybe a little traumatized) but I’m sure she will never go on a hike with us again.

FREE Valentine Calendar Cards

2013-01-28T20:09:00.001-07:00

I was looking through our calendar cards a couple of day ago and realized that we didn’t have any for Valentine’s Day. These cards follow an even/odd pattern. The even days are people and the odd days are animals.

Free Calendar Cards

Please do not directly link to the PDF, link to my blog instead. All graphic used came from MyCuteGraphics.com
Thanks,
Len

Discovery at Home Review and Giveaway

2013-01-25T12:37:00.001-07:00

          Do you have a “struggling” reader? Maybe you have a reader(s) that just needs a little extra help? We have a struggling reader in our house and I know from personal experience how frustrating, disheartening, and tedious reading becomes for both you and your child.

          Toward the end of October I became part of the Reading Horizons review group and had the opportunity to give feed back about their soon to be released Discovery at Home program (the release date is February 4th). We have been homeschooling now for over three years. In that time we have worked with several different phonics programs, trying to find the program that best fits our families needs. We needed a program that was easy for me to implement and understand, and very flexible. I have three kids with three VERY different personalities and strengths/weaknesses. The Discovery at Home program has worked well for all three of my kids. Boo (who is 9 yrs old) HATES handwriting, so we do fewer worksheets and more work at the white board. Sis (who is 7 yrs old) has a very short attention span, so we do our work in chunks. Bean (who will turn 4 in March) is so young I wanted a very hands on fun program, for her we work on the floor with our letters, skip the handwriting, and play lots of games from the “game supplement” book. This program is by far the most flexible reading program I have ever used.

          What makes Discovery at Home different than anything we have ever used? The program not only teaches how to read but how to “see” the words. Other phonics programs are like teaching math using only flash cards, your child may have all their addition facts memorized but they don’t understand why 1+1=2. The Discovery at Home program is like using math manipulatives to teach math. You place one counter on the table and say one, then you place one more counter on the table and say plus one, you push them together and ask you child how many counter there are in all. They of course can “see” why 1+1=2. As they grasp the concept and can “see” the problem in their mind they will move away from the manipulatives. The Discovery program works the same way, it shows your child step by step how to “see” the word by using a marking system. As they become comfortable with the marking system they can “mark” the word in their mind and decode ANY word. If your still not too sure, take an hour and go through the Parent Training Workshop, you will see how different the program really is.

          Another HUGE point for me is the Reading Horizons company itself (you can read about them HERE). There are so many companies out there that sell phonics programs, they put a few instructions in the teachers manual and hope you can figure it out. They don’t actually stand behind their program. Reading Horizons is NOT that company!!! Reading Horizons provides parent training, webinars, games, and assessments. They have a Facebook page where you can ask questions you have about the program. They also have an on-line resource center called Accelerate (included with the program). There is a timeline to help you schedule the program, all the black line masters, worksheets, and tons of additional resources to help you teach your child. It’s a huge help for me not to have to worry about scheduling a program, the “Timeline” does the work for you. Currently there are a few small glitches with the timeline but Reading Horizons is working those out as you read. You can choose if you would like to view a day at a time, a week at a time, or a month at a time. Here is what my “Timeline” looks like for the month of January.

          You can click on any of the lessons (in blue) and it will show the breakdown of the lesson. Below is what it would look like if you clicked on a lesson. Each week I receive an e-mail that gives me a quick overview of what we will work on that week, you can opt out or change the settings to receive an e-mail each day, week, or month based on your preference.

          Another major plus for us was having an “all in one” program. It was frustrating switching between curriculums. We had one program for grammar, another for spelling, another for handwriting, a list of sight words, and another program for phonics. With Discovery at Home it’s basically a full language arts program for the first four years. There are 15 reference lessons through out the program, things such as; contractions, punctuation, capitalization, alphabetical order, sentence structure, antonyms, verbs, nouns, commas, prefixes, suffixes, and much more. The first chapter focuses on the basics of reading and writing (including letter formation) and then it move on from there. It’s SO much nicer not worrying when I need to teach this or that, it’s all right there, laid out in an easy to use format. All I have to do is show up and teach :-). If you go here, scroll all the way to the bottom under “Learn More About” you will find a link for the Scope and Sequence.

Purchase Options are as follows;

When you look at the pricing consider how many children will use the program, how many years each one will use the program, and the fact that the instruction material is not consumable so it can be reused indefinitely. Maybe online software works better for your family, you can create up to two student accounts with each online software subscription.

What is included in the instructor material package;

*Teachers Manuals- There are six teachers manuals, one for each chapter and every aspect of the program is color coded to coordinate with the chapter color. This is one of my favorite parts of the program. It’s REALLY nice for me, having three kids, to have separate manuals and an easy way to organize everything. Boo is in Chapter 3, his “color” is blue. Sis is in Chapter 2, her “color” is yellow. Bean is in Chapter 1, so her “color” is red. It’s nice to look at the color and be able to grab everything that is needed (manual, readers, and transfer cards).

*Transfer Cards- These are an amazing “quick review” tool. When I have one of those “I’m not functioning at full capacity but still don’t want to throw in the towel” days, I grab our transfer cards and have each of the kids do some work at the white board.

*Six Wall Posters- The posters are great for the kids to look at when they need a quick refresher. Included are blends, 42 sounds, vowels, special vowel combinations, 5 phonetic skills, and the two decoding skill posters.

*Game Supplement- I really like this book. The games are quick to set up and don’t require much prep work. There are lists to look at based on the specific skill your child needs to work on. For example; Bean has been working on her slides, for reinforcement I can look in the games manual for “Games that Reinforce the Consonant/Vowel Slides” and look at those games to play during her reading time.
*Readers- The Instructor Material comes with five readers, one for each chapter (except Chapter 1). You can also purchase two additional sets of readers. I ordered both the Kindergarten Little Book set and the Grades 1-3 Little Book set. If you already have a “beginning” phonics reader set (like BOB books) I wouldn’t necessarily recommend purchasing the Kindergarten set. We like them but they don’t have anything more than other beginner phonics readers. The Grades 1-3 Little Books on the other hand I highly recommend. We have an issue creating a bridge that takes a reader from phonics books to pre-chapter books. The Grade 1-3 Little Book readers have engaging stories and slowly build in length and difficulty. As they progress through each chapter the books get a little longer, the print a little smaller, and the word count on each page increases. This helps seamlessly put them into pre-chapter books and then into chapter books. Below you can see how the text progresses from Chapter 2 books to Chapter 4 books and finally to the Chapter 6 books.

          Now for my all time favorite part! The giveaway, starting on Monday January 28th. The give away is for; 1 grand prize of the Discovery at Home Bundle (software subscription and Instructor materials) and 10 Discovery at Home software subscriptions.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
The giveaway will end on February 25th

How We Organize Math Manipulatives

2013-01-14T23:52:00.001-07:00

I have a love hate relationship with our math manipulatives. I love the hands on aspect of manipulatives. I love being able to “show” how math works. I don’t like little things that don’t seem to have a specific place to go. I don’t like having a whole bunch of bins I have to sort through to find what I’m looking for. Out of frustration for not finding what we needed when we needed it and a resolution that EVERY “thing” in the school room needed to have a “home” I had an epiphany.

I love how that looks! I know maybe only a homeschooling mom can appreciate that, but what can I say, if the shoe fits wear it. This is our manipulative shelf, nothing new there right, I’m sure you have one. The epiphany came when I need to be able to just look at what I needed, grab and go. If you look close there are now drawer slides attached to the sides of the shelf. Now when we need the little Judy clock I go to the “shelf”, pull it out and there she is. NO more digging and NO more hunting!

Several weeks ago I was sitting with Boo, he had been working on a money problem and was having a hard time figuring out what it was asking. I started looking for our small container of change and had to dig through this:

I had to practically empty the shelf to find that small container of change.The problem is you can’t see were anything is because it’s all crowded onto the shelf. A thought came to my mind, what if I could just slide the whole shelf out, I could put more on it but everything would be visible. Now for the “How to”.

-You will need two drawer slides to fit your shelf (mine were 11.8” and cost around $7 for both). You will also need a measuring tape or ruler, a level, a saw (to cut the shelf with), a screwdriver, and wood screws if those are not included with your slides.

You will need to find out how much “extra” your slides will add to your shelf. Mine didn’t say in the package directions so I mounted one side and dry fitted the whole slide system together and then measured with my ruler. You will need to times that amount by 2, mine came out to 1/2”. This is your slide allowance. That is the amount you will need to cut off your shelf. REMEMBER, measure TWICE because you can only cut once! Once you have that it’s pretty straight forward from there, just follow the mounting directions. NOTE: you will need to check to make sure your shelf will be level side to side and front to back or angled slightly back so it will easily roll back to place. I drew my lines on the shelf with marker and had Boo hold it while I screwed in the screws.

The bins we use came from our local Family Dollar (3 for $1). I attached a small piece of velcro to the bottom of each bin and to the shelf so they will stay in place when I pull the shelf out, plus I can just pull it off if I need the whole bin. Super easy and once the whole thing was done I stood back and did one of those “why didn’t I think of that sooner” thoughts.

Hope that helps you organize your school room also.

Len

Our School Room

2012-09-09T16:54:00.001-06:00

Since moving we have had the blessing of having an actual room just for school. When we have project that are not finished they can stay out and it’s not a big deal. It truly has been a blessing for us and I’m not sure how we ever managed without it. I have rearranged a few times trying to “tweak” it to work best for us, the space we have, and the flow of our day.

Here is the school room overview. I am standing at the top of the school room steps, the dinning area is to the left and the front room is to the right.

This is the calendar area, our calendar themed books, and some calendar themed tot pack work for Bean. Inside the desk are some scrapbooking scissors, colored pencils, crayons, markers, tape, glue, and a small stapler. The large plastic tote under the desk has coloring books, construction paper, magazines and catalogs for cut up, and any “mess-up” printer papers I have. If it’s in that bin it’s fair game to be cut up, colored on, ripped apart and glued/taped/stapled.

Our All About Spelling board (bought at Costco). On the small shelf are a few additional art supplies, bookmarks, our abacus, small chalk board used for handwriting(bought at the $$ store), the long basket on the second shelf has our Math U See blocks, the red plastic tub is our done basket that I check each week, next to those are our Crayola Dry Erase Activity Boards, and on the bottom shelf are some reference material (dictionaries, thesaurus, atlas). On the tall self: Top shelf- the kid’s portfolio binders, acrylic paints and extra craft items. Second Shelf; One Minute Reader sets, Tag reader phonics books, Phonics Tales books (bought at Costco for a lot less). Third Shelf; All about Reading books, school movies case, Bob books, Starfall books, Preschool Prep Sight Word Readers, and Brand New Readers. The middle shelf has our “easy reader” collection, an assortment of books leveled on the accelerated reader system rated from about 1.2 all the way to 3.0 (see this post for more information). The fifth shelf has most of our go to favorite books, such as Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, Snow Day, Hug, The Sagy Bagy Elephant, and MANY more. The bottom shelf has more reference material, some of our chapter books, a few regular Tag books, and all of Sis’s American Girl books.

Here is were we keep our library books (that obviously need a larger tub). The kids each have morning binders and their Drops in the Bucket Math that they do each morning, those are kept in the blue tub next to the workboxes. We have calendar time each morning and sprawl out on the carpet to go through all the different items here (specific calendar post to follow next week). The large red and white poke-a-dot bag is for carrying library books back and forth. The kid’s schedule strips are on top of their workboxes.

The top of the large bookcase is for extras that will be used this year but are not currently needed. Then we have two shelves for games and extras. The middle shelf is for most of our informational books. The next to last shelf is for Montessori type work that is occasionally rotated (when I remember). Bean’s puzzles are on the bottom shelf. I have three puzzles out at all times, I also have three baskets for the pieces. Bean went through a phase where she would take one piece out and put it right back in. So to promote her actually working at the puzzles, I take the pieces out of each puzzle and place them in a small basket to the side. The small shelf houses more Montessori type work (mainly language), our sensory tub, our Mellissa and Doug beginning Pattern block set, sandpaper letters (we have #s, upper and lower case), our ipad is housed in the plastic shoe box on the top (mounted by Velcro to the shelf), the small yellow basket has letter writing material, and there are some trays, and a few other activities to the side. In the corner is a bean bag pillow and blankets so the kids have a small nook to read/play the ipad.

Sorry, I know this picture is hard to see but I tried about ten times to take a better picture with no luck, we have a really bright school room. The white cabinet to the left houses our manipulative material, counters, base ten blocks, balance scale, bug houses, and sensory tub items. On top of the cabinet is my laminator, my box of items that still need laminating/cutting, and our letter sound bins. Each one of the kids has a crate seat and in those are their extra papers (non school papers/art projects that don’t have a home) and magazines. In the back under the window is my cedar chest that has some blankets and our extra books that will not be used this year. The items on top of the chest are my teacher manuals, binders, school games, and extra “Mom” items.

The filing cabinet has Beans All About Reading Pre-level 1 poster on the side, on top is my supply basket (things I don’t want Bean into) and the red basket (for Bean’s tot-packs). Inside the filing cabinet is our Letter of the Week curriculum, You Can Read material, K4 Curriculum material, and other school material organized by subject.

On top of the other white cabinet I have my homeschool catalogs, more games, and odds and ends that seem to multiply. Inside the cabinet is extra school stuff; paper, cardstock, craft foam, glue, baskets, notebooks, binders, glue, and all other supply type items.

The small shelf is more for fun/fill in the time items. We have a child size guitar and the rug basket to the side. On the shelves there are Duplo blocks, wooden blocks (not our exact set but similar), thistle blocks (not our exact set but similar), our marble run (bought used), the kid’s travel books and Bean’s Leap Frog Fridge Phonics set (we have the old set and LOVE them). There is a small magnetic white board to the side of the shelf for Bean to play with them on. The top of the shelf holds our lap desks, CD player, and some school cleaning items (duster, wipes & trash bags). The plastic drawers have hands on extras; play dough, play dough mats, letter stampers (upper and lowercase), audio books, teddy bear pattern and sorting set, and small stuffed animals for the kids to practice reading to. On the top of the plastic drawers is our school music (mainly from here).

Last but never least our favorite “school” item is the cat (and her corner). I’m not sure where she was when I was taking pictures, but she is a regular in the school room. The kids love to “teach” her all kind of things, I’m sure she should be about second grade at this point :-). Do you have a school room “mascot”? I hope you enjoyed our school room tour and if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to ask, I would love to hear from you.

First Day of School 2012-2013

2012-09-04T22:11:00.001-06:00

Today was our first official day of school. We have been working through the summer with small breaks but are now back to full swing. I decided that since we homeschool and have the luxury of taking additional time in the morning we would do an official back to school breakfast. This was our breakfast…..”back to school cakes” (complete with candles for each child's grade).

Bean had one really tiny candle because she is Pre-k. Sis had one candle because she is in first. Boo had four candles because he is in fourth. Needless to say that was the only picture of Boo I got because he was so excited to make his back to school wish and get those candles blown out. I think they all agreed that was the best first day back to school breakfast ever. Do you do anything special for the first day of school? I didn’t get any first day pictures except in the morning. It went relatively well, there were a few melt down, a couple of protests and some really enjoyable moments to the day, all in all a good day!

2012-2013 Curriculum Updates

2012-08-31T00:53:00.001-06:00

Before I start into too much detail about curriculum I wanted to share what we are doing this year for school. We are homeschooling, sort of. The program I decided on is almost exactly like “regular” homeschool, except it’s public. The difference being that I have to send a monthly progress update to our contact teacher and the kids (Boo and Sis) have to take Idaho state tests.

Sis started the program mid school year last year and I really like how it’s setup. We receive a designated allotment to purchase curriculum that they have selected to help meet state standards. I get to pick out all the kids curriculum and if I want to use something that is not in there “catalog” I just purchase it out of pocket. I really like the fact that I still get to decide what curriculum we use, there is not a set amount we have to finish each day/week, and I control the hours. Basically for us at this point it’s what works.

Boo

4th Grade (9 yrs old)

Language Arts- Boo has struggled with his reading since kindergarten. He will be using a program called S.P.I.R.E. for his reading/phonics program, it’s an Orton Gillingham based program designed specifically for struggling readers. He will also be using All About Spelling Level 2, All About Reading Level 2 readers, Week-by-week Writing Curriculum, earobics Home Step 1, and First Language Lessons.

Math- Math Connects, Dreambox, Drops in the Bucket Math, and several ipad apps that I will share later.

Social Studies- Sterling Ties Rendezvous with Idaho History. We will be using the games and audio CDs so Boo doesn’t have to struggle through reading the entire book.

Science- Science Fusion

Other- Cub Scouts (Bear)

Sis

1st Grade (6 years old)

Language Arts- Ordinary Parents Guide to Reading, Starfall, Week by Week Writing Curriculum, First Language Lessons, All About Spelling Level 1, All About Reading readers, earobics Home Step 1, and Explode the Code.

Math- Math Connects, Dreambox, and Drops in the Bucket Math.

Science- Science Fusion

Social Studies- online readers (I don’t think you can get them without being a school, sorry no link) and LOTS of books.

Other- ballet

Bean

Pre-K (3 years old)

This year Bean is “officially” starting school, last year she did “school” for entertainment but this year she will actually have work to do each day.

Language Arts- All About Reading Pre- Level 1, Starfall, tot packs, preschool printables, books, books, books, and Montessori work.

Math- tot packs, preschool printables, Montessori work, and ipad apps.

We don’t officially start school until September 3rd and I’m still not sure I’m completely ready. I have papers to print (does that ever end??) and calendar cards to laminate, last minute details. I’m really excited for this year, Sis will become a more fluent reader and move past some of her readers, Bean is officially one of the “big” kids this year, and hopefully we can figure out how to help Boo read effectively. When do you start? Have you already started?

A Confession, an Apology, and a Dedication

2012-08-27T19:47:00.001-06:00

I know I have been absent for a VERY long time, hence the confession and apology. I have been on an emotional roller-coaster since December. On Christmas eve morning about 9 am I received a phone call from my Mom letting me know that my “big” little brother (Lance) was in a car accident. My brother was on his way home from visiting with friends and hit a slick spot in the road, his car rolled end over end and he was ejected from the vehicle. He was found early Christmas eve morning and was taken to a local hospital. To shorten the story and spare you the details, he didn’t make it. Since then I have been fighting depression and trying to maintain some form of normalcy. I keep telling myself that he was needed for a higher purpose. Boo says God needed him to train the angels in heaven, but that doesn’t make it any easier.

My brother and I fought like cats and dogs but I really did love him, even if I didn’t always show it. He turned into an amazing man and I hope Boo grows up to be just like him. He served our country for eight years in the Marines. He had just finished serving in Okinawa, Japan and came home in October to visit. I dedicate this post to him. To let him know how much he is loved and missed.

My brother (Lance) was able to attend my sister’s wedding in his dress blues.

This is his “yah, I know”, or “and…” look.

His final resting place, where he can watch the sunset each evening.

I look forward to getting back to blogging and I’m sorry I just disappeared for so long. It’s taken a long time to come to terms with his death. I plan on sharing a school room update, curriculum updates and very over due house pictures. Have you ever lost a loved one? How long did it take to return to some form of normalcy?

Sensory Tub Organization

2012-01-16T15:10:00.000-07:00

I have been asked a couple of times how I organize our sensory tub material, so I thought I would share how we organize our material. When I decided to start using sensory tubs I knew the material could get out of control quickly and I needed a way to organize it. I finally came up with a solution that makes switching the tubs REALLY easy.

This is our sensory tub shelf, it’s one shelf in a cabinet that has doors (to keep Bean out). I have 12 different bags of medium material that are in Ziploc baggies (we don’t have quality generics locally, so I just buy Ziploc) with the month written in marker. The current month is folded up and sits next to all the others.

In the white dish pan is our items that go into the sensory tub. Item are grouped and placed into baggies and also labeled.

Then sitting on top in a large baggie are all of our “utensils” that go into the bin. I put spoons, ladles, tongs, chopsticks, cups, and pitchers into that bag to store on top of the dishpan.

Now when I run across something that will work for one of our tubs, all I have to do is put it in a bag. It stays somewhat organized, and is contained to one shelf. When I switch out tubs I have bags for everything, I put the medium back in it’s bag, zip and put away, sort out all the items and reload the new tub. I was definitely intimidated by making the tubs at first but they really are EASY, the kids LOVE them, and even Bean follows the “rules” so I can get a little work done. It truly has been amazing seeing all that has come from that simple container of items to explore. I hope that helps give you an idea of how to organize the material.

Thanks,

Len

Our week

2012-01-13T22:07:00.001-07:00

This week has been more productive than I expected (and previous weeks). I think (hope) we are settling into a new routine. I’m finally “done” with the school room, the layout seems to flow now. I had the floor layout very open before and the kids seemed to think it was a rumpus room instead of a school room, I couldn’t get them to focus, so we now have a small shelf dividing the room. I revamped our old dinning table, painted it and shortened the legs, I’m now in LOVE with it (I HATED it before), it works perfect for us and all it cost was a few cans of spray paint and a couple days of work.

Boo has been a cooking fool this week. He has cooked dinner once (with out any help, just supervision), cupcakes once, and a cake once. He has always enjoyed cooking and I am more than happy to take “school” into the kitchen so he can see first hand why reading and math are so important.

He has been making great steps with wanting to do his reading work, which says a lot.

He also decided that he needed a lesson in how to iron clothes.

There was lots of art this week (some still in our PJs).

Bean started her own water transfer activity in the kitchen sink and rather than tell her no I decided to humor her a little and set up an activity for her, it kept her busy for almost an hour. She has been working with same/different and she now has a daily chore to help reinforce the concept, putting the silverware away. We have a divided tray, I lay one utensil in each slot, make sure there are no knifes in the basket and let her sort the silverware, she loves being helpful.

I have been working on putting together several different types of Montessori material for the kids. I was able to finish our movable alphabet. The sandpaper letters are almost complete and several are already on the shelf and in use.

I was cutting out our pink scheme material and Sis decided she had to snatch some of the cards to read, she was able to sound out all the words and I was very impressed. I am so amazed that two siblings can have such different reading experiences, Boo struggles and has to spend so much time “learning” and practicing his reading, and Sis who spends almost no time “learning” and just absorbs everything, reading just seem natural to her.

I hope everyone has a great weekend. I get to spend the weekend with my best friend, who lives four hours away. She and her girls are coming to get the grand house tour, so my weekend should be great.

Thanks,

Len

January Sensory Tub

2012-01-09T06:00:00.000-07:00

     I got our January sensory tub all put together the first part of last week and thought I would share.


     The medium for this month is cotton balls and silver glitter, aka “snow”. There are the two Christmas tree branches, a ribbon, green garland and tinsel from Decembers bin, “buttons” from our snowman kit (those little black round things), several “winter” animals (a penguin, an elk, a mountain lion, a bobcat, deer, and a bear). I put chopsticks with a chopstick helper on them so the kids could use them like tongs, there is a small pair of garnish tongs, and a small ladle for them to scoop with.

   The kids have been enjoying the change in the medium. They decided they would try and make a “snow man”, I had to laugh a little because he looks a little sad but they tried.


    Bean was having a blast making “snow” mountains. Sis was very adamant that she needed to put the cotton balls onto the black buttons, I’m still not completely sure why but she was very entertained by it.
Thanks,
Len

Crafty Homeschool is 1 year old

2012-01-04T23:13:00.000-07:00

It was one year ago today that I started Crafty Homeschool as a way to share what we were doing. It has been a fantastic year! I want to thank all my “followers” first and foremost, thank you for all the nice comments.

My first post ever was “Movie Mayhem”. It was our movie organizer. I was sick of having DVDs and cases all over, I would have a DVD in the machine and the case would end up under the couch.

Everything has remained relatively the same with the exception of, all the “house” DVDs/CDs are in one case, not two like before. We do have another case with additional DVDs/CDs for school and that stays in the school room (the kids don’t have access), I also have a stack of Christmas DVDs that are brought out when we put up the Christmas tree and then packed once the tree is put up. I am still as much in love now as I was then. I did change the tabs to the labels folded over, it looks a little nicer that way then with the tape.

I made new check out cards I would like to share. Each member has a card, write there name at the top, cut apart, laminate, place in a central location or let each person be responsible for there own card (depending on there age). Then when they want a movie/game they take the DVD out and put the card right in, I know who has what when we’re looking for it, it’s self maintaining, and no cases (more shelf space).

Thanks,

Len

Christmas Tree Decorating, for two year olds

2011-12-21T01:47:00.000-07:00

     I know, nothing fancy here, but with a two year old “helper” there’s a LOT of helping going on. Last year we had the tree on a table that Bean couldn’t reach and that worked well but since she is a “big” girl NOTHING is out of her reach. I decided I would work with it rather than against it because frankly I just don’t have as much energy as she does :-). See the gift box next to the tree, that has non-breakable (or not so breakable) ornaments in it, just for the kids to put up and take down over and over.

The older kids thought it was great the first couple of times but it got old fairly quickly. Bean however is more than happy to “help” Mom decorate the tree, she likes to show me an ornament and then put it on the tree, have me inspect then announce “me helping, Mom, me helping” (jumping up and down), she has been very proud of herself.

     She struggled with being able to get those little metal hooks to actually hook onto a branch right at first but after several tries and a small fit she manages just fine. I’m glad it makes her happy and it makes Mom happy when I don’t have to keep her out of something, a win win in my book.
Thanks,
Len

Decembers Sensory Tub

2011-12-15T21:09:00.000-07:00

     Since I was so late posting November’s sensory tub I decided I had better share our December sensory tub, before I forget (new house+holidays=forgetting).

     There is a cup from our stacking set, several non-breakable ornaments, a bell, a spoon, some tree branches, a poinsettia, pieces of a green necklace, a piece of ribbon, the polar express conductor from our train set, and a strainer.

     This months tub is a huge hit! The medium was red/green rice and glitter (both silver and gold)and they have been loving it, it comes out at least twice a day.

Thanks,
Len

November Sensory Tub

2011-12-14T13:56:00.000-07:00

I just realized that I didn’t post Novembers sensory tub. I’m trying to get all caught up, seems like time is flying by. November’s tub was pretty simple but the kids seemed to love it.

I wanted to find some additional items to put in the tub but that just never happened. The medium was popcorn and there where plastic leaves, tongs, a small Tupperware pitcher, a spoon, one of the stacking cups (left in there from October), a scoop, and a homemade funnel (2 L bottle with cap removed and the top part cut off).

The kids had a friend visit a couple of weeks ago and he was madly in love with the funnel and the sensory tub. Please excuse the girls clothes, they have been in a dress up phase here of late and wear all sorts of interesting combinations :-).

Thanks,

Len

Easy Reader Self

2011-12-13T00:25:00.000-07:00

Over the last couple of weeks I have been in the process of unpacking LOTS of books. Some of them just reading books, some are school books, and some are reference/future use books. More than any other category I want to utilize the “reading” books. Sis and Bean can’t keep there noses out of books, Boo on the other hand is more of a challenge. He no longer fights me to read one on one but still doesn't “like” to read. He will sit with books for extended periods and look at pictures, but reading, forget it. If he wants to know what something says he asks me. I think the majority of the problem is he picks books that are too advanced for his reading level, as an aid for Boo (and Sis) to know what books would be a better fit I made an “easy” reader self on one of the bookcases (they call them the blue books).

I started by looking up the AR reading level here, and writing that number in the upper corner of the title page. Then I took blue painter's tape and ran it along the edge of the shelf so it could be seen easily (but easily removable at a later time). Next I cut a 2-3 inch strip of tape for each book and put in on the spine. It was that easy. I put books between a 1.0 (I think that’s the lowest) and about a 3.4 (third grade, fourth month) on the shelf that gives the kids an assortment of reading levels, some easy and some more challenging. On the self there is also our Bob book basket (a big hit in our house, we have 5 sets), our Starfall books (another love for us, especially with the web site) and the kid’s “magic” pointers, (a chop stick with glitter mod-podged on the end of it) so Boo will look at the word he is trying to read, rather than everywhere but.

Thanks,

Len

Our Schoolroom, a work in progress

2011-12-01T15:26:00.000-07:00

We have restarted school, thank goodness. The school room has been fantastic! It’s separate enough to have a defined space but not so separate that we feel isolated from the rest of the house. We’re all in love and the kids have really been enjoying the extra room to play and horse around.

We have our All About Spelling board up (bought at Costco) and the books on the shelves but not organized. That’s my next step and I need to get one more short shelf, and make a work table so we have a large space to work. I hope to have everything organized by New Years but things always seem to take longer than expected. I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.

Thanks,

Len

Finally Ours

2011-11-16T23:14:00.000-07:00

It’s official, the house is ours! We just signed the papers today. We will not get the keys until tomorrow or Friday, but it’s final. I can breath a sigh of relief, I’m REALLY excited now. I have been a little hesitant to let myself get too excited because you never know until the final papers are signed. The kids are very excited for things to get back to normal and to finally have a room just for our school work. No more fighting the front room VS school room battle.

I have a few posts written in my head that I will hopefully get together before Thanksgiving. One is a turkey activity, I just have to figure out which box the hot glue gun is in when we’re done moving, and I need to add the rest of the items for the sensory bin once I unpack them, I thought I had everything I needed still out for our November bin, but I didn’t. Our school room is #1 on the “put together” list, besides the kitchen and I will post pictures as I finish.

I posted about our Halloween sensory bin but I have not shared the kid’s costumes. Sis was a fairy (last minute change), Bean was a ladybug, and Boo was a ninja (not his top pick, but it was the only costume that would fit). I really wanted to make them this year but it’s been a little crazy here, so we just used what we had on hand.

Thanks and have a great weekend.

Len

Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T07:01:00.000-06:00

I wanted to quickly share our October sensory bin before I change it out and pack our sensory bin items. The kids have been having a blast with this bin. I didn’t get much of a chance to decorate for Halloween this year because we will be moving in a week or two so this has been the one item out that was Halloween.

I sorted through our words to find ones that I thought related to Halloween. I put in some of our Halloween cookie cutters, scoops, and a few others black and orange items. I found a bag of Halloween items at a local store and threw a few of those items in the bin.

I hope you have a safe and fun Halloween.

Len

A House to call HOME

2011-10-18T23:29:00.000-06:00

I have been up to my knees in number crunching, paper signing and phone call making. The last couple of weeks have been a blur, it all started out with me getting a whim that I should try to see if we could get prequalified for a home loan. Now honestly I’m not exactly sure what urged me to apply, but I did, not expecting much. We have been looking at buying a place for years but it never seemed like the right time, then the recession hit and I’m very glade we had decided to wait.

We currently live in a 720 sq ft, two bedroom, one bath home. We have NO room and I am tired of tripping over everything!!! That may have been my breaking point, I have been siting on a fence balancing between loving homeschool and hating it, not because I hate homeschool (I LOVE spending time and teaching my kids), but I am overwhelmed by the amount of “stuff” homeschooling requires. I have debated sending both of the two older kids to public school, not because I thought that was better but because 720 sq ft is just not enough room for a family of 5 who homeschools. I NEED organization, every thing has a place and every thing in it’s place, except when there aren’t enough places to put those things.

After some paperwork, getting prequalified and a few phone calls we decided to start looking. We picked an agent, explained to her what we wanted and gave her a list of five or six we wanted to look at. Thursday, last week we set out with Bean to look at about 8 houses. The realtor decided that we needed to look at one that was not on our list, so we humored her. The minute my husband and I walked in the front door we felt at home. There was no disputing the fact we had feelings for that house, it seemed to welcome us. Honestly I would never have even looked twice at it from the outside, but I could hug our realtor for showing it to us.

So here is what will become the front room. We are all set except the final paperwork and the keys (still three to four weeks away). If you look at the area behind the small bookcase there is a drop down area, that will become our “schoolroom”. Off to the left will be our dinning area. The closet doors are a pantry and the open door is a bathroom and way to the left, out of the picture, is the kitchen.

You are looking at the front door while standing in the dinning area, off to the left will be our new school room area, and the kitchen is to the right.

This would be standing in the “schoolroom”. That’s a propane stove and the only carpet in the whole house, not sure if that will be good or bad at this point. The French doors lead to the back yard.

The kitchen, defiantly a HUGE improvement from our current one. This is so long overdue I really want to cry out of gratitude, I think things are being rushed by the man upstairs, the pieces seem to be falling into place. So now that you have seen what we’re praying will become our new home I’m going to make an apology. The next few weeks will be VERY busy here so please excuse me if my posts are few and far between. I am starting to pack so someone can move in our current home as soon as we are out, filling out more papers, more phone calls, and trying to maintain some sanity. We are hoping to be in before Thanksgiving, so by then we may be back to “norm”.

Thanks!

Len

How to Separate Salt and Sand

2011-10-13T06:00:00.000-06:00

I’m sure you’re a little curious about the title because it sounds a little odd, bear with me for a bit it will all make sense here soon. I have really wanted to do more science with the kids but we still don’t seem to have enough hours in the day, my goal is now one experiment each week or one “unit” each month. Last week I presented the kids (meaning mainly Boo) with a challenge to see if they could think about a problem and try to solve it rather than reciting facts back to me. We do memorize but I think kids need to learn to solve and think also, so last week that was the goal.

I’m sure you are asking yourself why I have a picture of mud in a measuring cup, well that’s part of our experiment, we basically made mud, not just any mud though, it was salty mud. Here was what I presented to Boo, a bag of sand and salt mixed together. The next step was for him to figure out how to separate the two, leaving sand in one pile and salt in another.

I mixed 1/3 cup salt and some sand in the bag, and handed it to Boo to separate, and stood back to see what he did. First he found our strainer and tried that way, no luck, so I suggested trying to add water. He then added water and thought the salt disappeared, until they stuck there finger in and tasted it.

Then he wanted to run the muck through a cloth, his point was that the cloth had smaller holes, so he used cheese cloth to “strain” the salt out.

The kids again tasted the water, still salty. They had how ever managed to separate the sand and the salt with very little help from me. Next they had to figure out how to get the salt out of the water. Boo’s solution to the problem was if the cloth caught the sand then we just needed something with smaller holes to catch the salt. Now for his “filter”.

He used a pair of Sis’s holy tights, a scrap of terry cloth, and lots of cotton balls. I pretty much let the kids figure out what they wanted to use as the filter (within reason). The filter got the remaining dirt out of the water and it almost looked just like it did to start with. The kids at this point thought they had solved the problem and got really excited, until I asked where the salt was. Boo took the filter apart and could only find dirt. Then he tasted the water, salty. They where stumped for a little while until I suggested they put the salty water in a pan on the stove and see what happens.

Once we got the water boiling I took the opportunity to talk about evaporation and condensation and put a lid on the pan. Once the condensation started to build on the lid I took the lid off and let the water drip into a clean container so the kids could taste the clean water.

I think at that point it created more questions because the water in the pan was still salty but the water that was evaporating wasn’t salty. I ended up turning the burner on high to speed things up because the kids where starting to get distracted.

Once almost all the water was evaporated we just let it sit out to finish drying. When it was fully dry (a couple of days latter) we decided to measure it and got almost 1/3 cup back, I was impressed, I thought we would loose more than we did.

The kids now know how to get clean water, what evaporation and condensation are, and how to separate salt and sand. It was defiantly a successful experiment.

Thanks,

Len

Scrapbook Software Giveaway Winner

2011-10-10T06:00:00.000-06:00

Thank you to everyone who entered the My Memories Suite software giveaway. Congratulations to Tanya, she said she likes the Hints of Autumn Pack.

For those that didn’t win you can purchase your own copy of My Memories Suite by using the coupon code STMMMS70503. You will receive $10 discount off the purchase of the My Memories Suite Scrapbook software (making it $29.97) and a $10 coupon to purchase kits or other digital scrapbook download (usually allowing you to purchase two or three kits).

Thanks!

Len

September Sensory Bin

2011-10-05T08:00:00.000-06:00

Last week was our final week for our September sensory bin. The girls have been enjoying playing with all the item in the tub.

This is the final addition to the sensory tub. The foam letters came out of the $1 section of our local store, I removed all the letters and put them in the bin. There was also large foam sticker that I had bought at Joann’s a while back and small letter stickers that I have had for a long time.

I cut up some paper and made little books and a few sentence strips for them to put the stickers on and glue things to. The medium is shredded paper and letters that I cut out with some scrapbooking letter makers.

Here are a few of the items the girls put together from the items in the tub, and a few fun pictures.

Len

Simple Sushi Making 101

2011-10-04T06:00:00.000-06:00

Last week for geography we learned about Japan. Most of what we learned were not new to the kids. They did learn that Japan is an archipelago or string of islands, and we have been reviewing that word since as a vocabulary word. We played continent hop with the continent printables from Spell Out Loud, I LOVE the printables and the kids love “traveling” to each continent.

I tell them left/right and hand/foot and call out a continent, then they have to “travel” there with the correct part. Even Bean gets to participate which she loves (as long as the older two don’t plow her over). She is quickly catching on to which page to put her hand/foot on and even the left/right part.

Japan thus far has been our favorite country to “visit”. I wish we would have done more with some of the other countries but we just didn’t have the scheduling worked out like we do now, so things took longer the first several weeks. I think another reason that we enjoyed it was we know the basics of Japan due to my husbands cultural interest in the country, my WW 2 history obsession, and the fact we seriously LOVE Japanese food. So as a family, Friday night we had a sushi night, the kids love when when I announce sushi night and get to go shopping to pick everything out.

When my husband and I where first dating he informed me that he loved sushi and I had to try it. My response was NO WAY in ….!!, we’ll he did insist and I finally recanted and tried it. It has now become one of our families favorite foods. The whole family gets involved in making it. Now that I now how to prepare it it’s much easier then I ever expected. Now with that note, there is some trial and error involved but it’s a fun process.

I do have a disclaimer to share; I am NOT a professional, I have had no training, this has become a family passion and we have learned using trial and error. I am going to share how we prepare a few dishes that we enjoy when we go to a sushi restaurant.

The first is edamame. Edamame is soy beans that are usaly steamed and then sprinkled with salt. You can buy them already shelled, but we enjoy picking the beans out of the pods, and I also think it keeps them more moist.

I have used several different brands, both the generic and the expensive brands and we see no difference. I buy bagged frozen edamame and throw them in bowl, microwave a few minutes, and sprinkle them with salt. Note on the salt I do not use regular table salt, we prefer margarita salt (I know strange but it tastes the best and sticks well), I have used sea salt and it works ok but doesn't stick to the pods well.

Yes edamame is really that easy, it tastes great and the best part is it’s really healthy and the kids love picking them out of the shells.

Next is sunomono salad. We have only been able to find this particular recipe one time several years ago, but we love it so much I had to share even though I could not find the link.

You will need; 2 cucumbers, a 6 oz package of blueberries, a 16 oz package of strawberries, and a half of a cantaloupe, mirin*(rice seasoning), sugar, and soy sauce.

*mirin, there are other brands, this is one we can get locally at a reasonable price.

You will need a small microwave safe bowl. Add 5 tbsp mirin, 3 tbsp sugar (regular table sugar), and 1 tbsp of soy sauce. Microwave for 15 to 30 seconds and stir well, you don’t need it hot it’s just to dissolve the sugar. Rinse all produce well cut cucumbers VERY thin, if you have a slicer it’s much faster (that’s what we use). In a large bowl mix the syrup and the cucumbers, add the blueberries and mix well. You will need to cut your strawberries and mix in and then add half a cantaloupe cut into small strips. Mix everything well and let sit in the refrigerator for at least an hour. This is the kids all time favorite. It stores well in the fridge if you want to prepare it a day ahead of time or if you have left overs.

The last food I would like to share is the sushi. There are different ways to prepare sushi and different types but this is what we make at home. It’s simple and delicious.

What you will need; imitation crab (the small package works fine for our family), one cucumber, one avocado, mirin* (see above), rice*, Nori wraps* (one package is more than enough), wasabi* (optional), soy sauce (optional), sugar, a thin magazine, plastic wrap and cheese cloth or other lint free towel.

*DO NOT use regular white/brown rice, it will NOT work!!! You have to buy special rice, it will usually say right on it for sushi, it’s relatively easy to find, our local store caries this brand and I have seen this particular brand in several different stores in other cities.

*Nori wraps, there are lots of different brands, this particular one was not our favorite but we can’t get them locally so we have to stock up when going out of town. Do not buy soy wraps or any other wraps, you have to get the seaweed wraps, usually they say Nori wrap or sushi wrap right on the front.

*wasabi powder, we love wasabi powder but it’s not for everyone, especially young children! It is spicy, not the same spicy as say a jalapeño but spicy, remember less is more. Another note on the wasabi powder, not all are created equal, we have seen a lot of powders that say wasabi on the front and are just powdered horseradish, check the label, we have to get ours at the local heath store. You want it a thick paste, so just add a drop or two of water at a time.

Now that you have had a sushi terminology lesson, I’ll explain how to make the rice. For our family of five (and some lunch left overs) we use 3 cups rice. Rinse VERY well in cold water, until the water runs clear. I put the rice in the pan I’m going to cook it in, add cold water, swish with my hand (the water will turn cloudy) then dump into a strainer to drain, repeat a few times, drain the final time and add back to the empty pan, add 4 cups cold water.

Bring to a full boil, cover, turn to low, and DO NOT touch for 20 minutes. Turn off heat, remove from burner and let sit for 5-10 minutes. Then stir well, the bottom of the pan will have rice stuck to it (but shouldn’t be burnt on), I have not figured out a way to not have the bottom layer stick. Just let your pan soak for a bit and it will scrap right off. Now you need to get your rice cooled off as quick as possible. I have found that putting it in a glass dish on a cooling rack or trivet covered by a damp cheese cloth works the best with what we have on hand.

While that is cooling you will need to make a “sauce” to cover the rice in. In a small dish mix 3 tbsp sugar and 3 tbsp of mirin, microwave for 15-30 seconds, again just to dissolve the sugar, stir well. Pour the syrup evenly over the rice, and mix the rice well. Let the rice finish cooling and get the crab, avocado, and cucumber cut into long strips. Note on the cucumber I don’t use the inside seed part I let the kids graze on that while they’re helping.

Now you will need the magazine and plastic wrap. You need to cover the magazine with plastic wrap to make a sushi roller. We now use a bamboo sushi mat but the magazine works just as well.

Now lay your magazine in front of you, place a nori wrap on top of it and start adding rice in a layer on top of the nori wrap. Note, the rice will stick to everything, place a small dish of cold water to dip your knife and hand into.

Place the fillings in the middle (one of each or any other combo, just don’t over fill it) and start to slowly roll and squeeze so it sticks.

This is what they should look like, basically a log. There should not be any cracks, one of the packages of wraps was too dry and cracked, normally they would look like the one on the right.

Slice with a very sharp long knife. The rice will stick unless you keep the blade damp with the cold water. My hubby usually does this part and his tip is to wipe the rice off the blade then dip into the water and then cut with a wet blade.

You can also put the rice on the outside of the nori wrap and the fillings inside the wrap. Add the rice the same as before but instead of adding the fillings on top of the rice you will flip it over so the nori wrap is facing up, add the fillings, and roll like before. You can add your wasabi and soy sauce and enjoy. If you have any questions or something was not very clear feel free to send me an e-mail or leave a comment and I will get back to you.

Len

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