Entertaining your child for less than $1

Don't we like keeping our kids entertained for as cheap as possible? Well, here is lifehacker link to ten different ideas to entertain your children for a dollar or less: LifeHacker.

Wipe Flash Wash Sign

E.V.E.R.Y. S.I.N.G.L.E T.I.M.E! my children use the bathroom I ask, "Did you wipe? flash? wash?" and E.V.E.R.Y. S.I.N.G.L.E T.I.M.E! their response is "Oops!" and they run back to the bathroom!

It's not the wiping that they forget, but the other two quiet necessary actions :) 

Here's a sign I am putting back in my bathroom today:

 

You are welcome to print it and tape it next to the potty for your little ones to see! :) 

Worksheet: 14 Minus

How Chinese Multiply

I saw this video being passed around on Facebook and I was amazed at how it works! I don't think my 5-year old is ready for it, but I will keep it for the future:

Taking Breaks

I've been under the weather lately. This Texas heat is taking its toll on me... I barely have energy to do anything around the house and even AC blowing all day isn't helping much.

Last night I had hard time falling asleep and ended up very tired this morning. I noticed my little one was in about the same condition. We sent J. off to preschool and her and I just took it slow today.

I felt guilty at first, but then realized that the harmony and calm atmosphere at home was so pleasant and enjoyable, that no guilt should be present.

While I was sorting the laundry in the bedroom, my 5-year old daughter cleaned her room up without me asking or nagging her - on her own initiative! I was on the 7th heaven. Then she wrapped stuffed caterpillar and played "become a butterfly", so we read Animal Encyclopedia laying on the floor. Then we did some grocery shopping and picked her brother up from preschool. So far - it's a nice day off! I think we both needed it.

They are pretending to nap right now. I took a 30-min nap and updating this blog and looking for a new credit card to flip. 

Soon, we will be making dinner together and have some late studying done :) 

I love homeschooling!  

p.s. Last night our neighbor's 4-yr old stop by to get help with her ps Math. She was exhausted and had really hard time understanding the material. Once again - love homeschooling!

13 Minus Worksheet

Once A. completes this worksheet, I will her have her color code all the Fact Family members.

Math for a 1st Grader: Counting from 20 to 10

I thought of describing each day of homeschooling my daughter for at least two first weeks, but it's nearly impossible. In the evenings I have many preparations and housework to complete. I will try to be as descriptive as I can in my # Week of Homeschooling summaries.

In this post I want to talk about Counting from 20 to 10. 

When working on addition and especially subtraction with A. I noticed that she does really well adding and subtracting up to 10. Any problem requiring subtraction from a number above 10 and under 20 is really difficult for her. She can do it, but I can see her struggle. The main stumbling block here is inability to count backwards from 20.

I came up with what I think is a wonderful plan to help her overcome that barrier:

Each week I put together a worksheet subtracting from 11, then 12, and so on. We spent an entire week working on one number. She does additional math problems from other math workbooks, but every day there is one sheet that is the same.

On the first day she takes her time and subtracts at a struggling speed. On the second day she surprises herself how fast she could do it. On the third day I would let her color code Fact Family members. On the fourth day she does the same worksheet in no time.

It's really amazing how a little effort can transform a struggle into a concured problem!

Another thing I let her do daily is do a Connect the Dots worksheet. I would search in google images for Connect the Dots and find one that has numbers up to 20. I let connect the dots with a pencil the first time, starting from the last number and saying each number out-loud. Then, I let her do the same worksheet, the same technique, just with a marker. I tell her I can't see the pencil and that marker would show us better what the picture is :) 

In a few weeks I expect A. to count from 20 to 10 as fast as she does it from 10 to 0 (which is about 5 seconds :) ).

A. was happy to see herself in this worksheet :)

A's Art Work for History

We are learning Egyptian history in our History class with A. and I was so very much impressed with her art work for this chapter. She made the coffin all sparkly with glitter, to symbolize all the jewelry and treasure that actually went in it.