Tag Archives for " elementary "

Help reluctant writer motivate to write homeschool

How to help the reluctant writer

It can be soooooo painful!

You sit down and ask your kid to write ONE sentence … one little sentence …

And it turns into begging … “PLEEEEASE … anything … something …”

Help reluctant writer motivate to write homeschool

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It can be soooooo painful!

You sit down and ask your kid to write ONE sentence … one little sentence …

And it turns into begging … “PLEEEEASE … anything … something …”

And they look at you like you with a blank stare -- or they start to cry -- OR they throw their pencil across the room.

BUT - it doesn’t have to be that way! You can work on “writing” without having it turn into a battle or a cry fest.

To do it, you have to break writing down into its parts and pieces, figure out what’s working and what isn’t, and then focus your efforts on what’s going to make the most different.

And today -- I’m going to tell you how to do just that!

NOTE: I mention LOTS of different resources in today’s video. If you want to check them out, here are some links:

Spelling Resources

Sequential Spelling Books

Sequential Spelling Online

All About Spelling

Handwriting Resources

Handwriting without Tears

Storytelling Resources

Tell Tale Game

Rory Story Cubes

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Confident Homeschool Secrets

7 Ways to Create a Homeschool That Works (and you LOVE!)

Transcript

Hello, my name's ToriAnn Perkey, and from my homeschool to your homeschool, today I want to talk about what you can do and think about if you have a reluctant writer.

I'm talking about those kids who are in elementary school particularly who you say, “Okay, just write a sentence. Just write a sentence.” And they're like, “Oh, I don't want to write a sentence.” And it feels like you are extracting blood from a stone if you ask them to write anything.

Or they get started, and they just seem to sit there forever, and you know that they have great ideas because they can tell them to you, but they won't write them.

Well, today I want to talk about how writing is actually divided into four different sub-pieces that all have to come together to make a writer who can write. And sometimes what happens is developmentally a kid will be ready for two of the four but not the other two. 

So even though you know they can write, they're actually not ready to write.  So, we're going to talk about that today. This is a topic I feel really passionate about because I know that if you push writing too soon, and you're too hard on it, you'll have a kid who - when they hit an age when they might have an amazing thing to say - will hate writing, and they'll just say, “I hate it. I don't want to do it.” And you don't want that to happen.

You want your kids to graduate into an age and a mental space where they like writing and they're excited to write because there's so much good that happens with writing.

So, let's talk about this. What are the four different subtopics that go into writing?

They are spelling, handwriting (or typing is kind in there) … but spelling, handwriting - because most kids don't type at this age - sentence and paragraph structure, and then ideas. And as you can see, you need all four of those to be able to write a sentence on a piece of paper.

You say, “Hey, tell me a sentence about what we did yesterday.”  They have to be able to spell - or at least they think they have to be able to spell - but they have to be able to spell to some extent or you won't have any idea what they're writing. They have to be able to write it - physically write it. They have to be able to structure the sentence in such a way that it actually translates from their brain into something coherent on the page, and they have to have an idea of what to write.

That's a lot of different skills for kids to wrap their brain around, and you might have a kid who's fabulous with ideas. I mean, FABULOUS with ideas, right? They will tell you stories and their dreams and this happened and this happened, but when you ask them to write, they can't because handwriting is hard. Or maybe they're worried about their spelling, even though you've told them it does not matter what it's spelled like, you just want them to put it down! You don't know.

And so my recommendation is this. If you have a kid where these four skills are not coming together seamlessly -- and it does happen -- some kids just kind of pull these skills together and they just write. Yay, for happiness and easiness! But for the kids where it's a little bit trickier, my recommendation is to pull the skills apart and work on them one-on-one, because you don't want to have ideas stagnate while handwriting is being worked on.

So you want to be able to work on them separately, have ideas continue to grow, have the handwriting catch up, or get to the point where the kid can type and then that helps, and then you can put all the skills back together.

There are resources that specifically target each one of these. You don't need to do all of these resources if things are working or if you see that the skill is already developing, but if it's not developing, then finding a resource that specifically targets one of these skills is a really great idea.

For example, if you're working on spelling, then you're going to go find a curriculum just for spelling, and there's a couple that I'm really, really fond of.  One is called Sequential Spelling, and you can do that with workbooks, or they now have an online version. Yay, that we're using.

I really like sequential spelling - and this isn't a review about that - but I like it because it just approaches spelling in a different way for holistic learners, and I guess I'll leave a link to that so you can go check it out. Another one that's super popular with spelling is "All About Spelling," which is a very different style of teaching spelling, but it uses a method that works well with dyslexics. So, these are some different resources. 

If you're struggling with handwriting then the bar none hands down best way to work on handwriting for a kid who's struggling is a program called Handwriting without Tears, and I'll leave a link to that as well. In Handwriting with Tears, we have now been using it with just a couple of my kids. The other ones didn't have any trouble, but a couple needed to work on handwriting, and it is definitely the best program I've seen. I don't get any pushback. Super, super simple, and I'm not even using the teacher guides. We're just using the student manuals. Just a little side note.

If you're working on sentence and paragraph structure, then the best way to work on that is to actually practice having them tell you the sentences and then watch you write them or type them. Have them practice speaking the sentences before they have to write the sentences.  Say, “You know what? I need you to say that in a complete sentence.” Help them learn to structure. Correct their grammar. Correct those things as you're talking to them. So, narration and dictation - and there's lots of resources out there for that, and you can even just use the scriptures or a picture book.  Narration and dictation are really, really good for that. I don't have a specific curriculum for that. I just wanted to let you know.

And then ideas - oh my goodness - I don't know of anybody really struggles with kids having ideas and things to write about when you pull these other skills out. But on the off chance that you want to just burnish those skills a little bit, I love using storytelling games for this.

Storytelling games are all verbally done. They're not written, and they allow the kids to definitely, definitely, definitely practice creating stories, being creative, pulling their ideas out of their head and into a space where they can be enjoyed and experienced together without all of the other things. I have reviewed several storytelling resources over the course of doing this - making these videos - and I will link to those so you can go check out my reviews in the review section, and my videos that specifically talk about those resources.

So, there you have it. There you have it. Break down those writing skills into four separate distinct categories, and if you do that, you are definitely going to find that you can augment the ones that are working, take away the ones that aren't - not take them away, but actually focus on them and help supplement them and bring them up so that in good time all of those skills will come together and take a reluctant writer to a writer that's actually writing.

I'm ToriAnn Perkey, and I make these videos every week so that you can be a super successful and confident homeschool mom.

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Help reluctant writer motivate to write homeschool
Help reluctant writer motivate to write homeschool
Help reluctant writer motivate to write homeschool
writing for dysgraphia and dyslexia
Happy Atoms Review - Magnetic Molecular Modeling Set

Finally! The Chemistry kit I’ve been looking for YEARS! {Happy Atoms – Review}

Atoms … molecules … for kids!

I know there are kits out there, but I didn’t like how they were put together or I didn’t like how they didn’t feel durable and kid friendly.

Well …

I finally found a kit that meets all my requirements.

I found it while I was presenting at the Winter Homeschool Conference this last weekend, and it’s going at the TOP of my Amazon Wish List.

AFTER I made this video, I did more research and I’m even MORE excited … because they have an app that will help kids of all ages engage even more.

(Forgive the quality of this video … the noise at a conference can be pretty crazy!

And, if you’re in Utah and are interested in getting help with school expenses and want onsite classes, check out Education Evolution that I talk about in the video. https://eevmo.com/)

CLICK HERE to check it out for your homeschool:

https://amzn.to/2En7F5q

Ignite the Love for Science! The Disappearing Spoon Review

How to use a disappearing spoon to ignite their love of science {Review}

A little dash of history … a sprinkling of periodic table … and a great story … all mixed together —

THAT’s what makes this particular book that I’m sharing with you today such a great way to mix things up for science in your homeschool.

CLICK HERE to check it out for your homeschool: https://amzn.to/2iEJBDE

The 20th Century Children's Poetry Treasury Book Review

The secret ingredient to creating great writers … {Review}

Grammar … punctuation … spelling … organization … structure …

All of these are so important when it comes to helping my kids communicate effectively with their writing.

They have to be able to put their ideas down on paper in a way that makes sense.

But there’s something else … and it can be a little elusive at times.

Over the years, I’ve discovered a sneaky, secret way to helping my kids become great writers that takes almost NO time out of our homeschool day.

CLICK HERE to check it out for your homeschool: https://amzn.to/2vopoIs

My favorite math game that makes learning division much easier

My favorite game to make learning division soooo much easier {Review}

I’ll admit it … I’ve never been a fan of long division.

And except for my one “mathy” kid, none of my kids have been either.

It’s hard. It makes your brain work. And it has soooooo many steps!

Fortunately, you can make division a little bit easier for your kids (and yourself) by playing games that introduce division skills BEFORE you get to long division.

And today I want to share one of my FAVORITE pre-division games with you!

CLICK HERE to check out Prime Climb for your homeschool!

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Transcript

Hey guys, it's ToriAnn Perkey here. From my homeschool to your homeschool, is long division or division in general something that your kids love or something that your kids not so love so much? Yeah, in my home, division is just one of those things that is not a beloved topic, and I get it.

One of my memories from elementary school is doing long division and just dreading it because it is hard. It makes the brain work. It's like [makes sound] so many steps, so many places to make mistakes.

Division is tricky, but today I want to share a resource with you that can make it just a little bit easier. Division, fractions, primes, factors -- all of that is going to be easier with this game that I want to share with you today.

It is called Prime Climb, and I love this game. I have loved this game since it showed up as a Kickstarter campaign in my newsfeed. It was about 3 or 4 years -- no, maybe -- yeah, 3 or 4 years ago. We grabbed this game. I have never regretted it.

This is one of my absolute favorite math games that we play in our house, and let me tell you all the reasons why I love this game. First of all, it's completely visual, and I was looking for visual games because I wanted games that my kids could play regardless of whether they were reading well or not -- because some of my kids have some of those struggles. And so they were old enough to be starting to learn more difficult math concepts but they couldn't read yet. So, I love the fact this math is completely visual.

Second, I love the fact that it's so visual that it works for visual learners as well as more right brain thinkers as well as the left brain thinkers -- and I have both. 

So, let me just give you an idea here. This is the game board, and let's make sure you guys can see it and this -- it's beautiful. It's absolutely beautiful. And it was put together by a couple of genuine mathematicians -- really strong ones.

And what's really, really -- oh my gosh, this is so cool -- is you'll notice down here the #2 is all gold, right? The #3 is all blue. Well, when you get to 4, you'll notice it's gold … and let me show you -- let me see if I can do this. It's got a divider in between that.

So, what you see is they've taken 2, and they've shown how by division it makes 4. If we come up to 6 -- ah, this game board. If we come up to 6, what you can see here -- maybe I can do this. Aha. If we come up to 6, it is the blue -- I can't do my colors. It's the green and the yellow combined. Did you see that? So, it's like yellow and green combined which is the 2 x 3. And then we get to 5 which is another prime, right? So, there's no -- it's just a solid prime, and then 7's a prime.

But if we come over here to say this red one, red's a 37 -- these are the prime factors. So, they don't get to be red. But once we get here ... once you get into the higher numbers ... any number that's completely prime is red, but any number that's created by other numbers is a division and a colorful combination mathematically -- visually with those.  So, 36 is a 3, a 3, and a 2, and a 2, and you'll notice that's factor trees.

Factor trees visually represented with colors.  Thirty five is your blue 5 and your purple 7. Okay, when I realized what they had one with every number up to 101, I really, really just sort of wigged out.  I was like [crazy happy sound 🙂].

So, what you do as you play this game is your goal is to move your piece all the way from the start to the center. And there's cards that give you different instructions about how fast you can move. There's dice that you roll. There's going backwards. There's going forwards. And there's the additional added step that you have to do factoring math to move forward or to move back. And depending on how complicated you make it determines how much math your kids need to know to be able to do this game. 

So, you're able to do at different levels. My 6 year old was able to figure it out, but my 10 year old and my 12 year old still enjoy playing. And as an adult and as teenagers, we still enjoy playing because it's one of those games that grows with you. It stretches your brain. It gets you thinking, so all the family can play.

So, Prime Climb is one of those games that is so packed with math at the same time it's fun, it's visual, it's going to keep you moving forward. And it's by people who understood that if they could take a math concept that was a little hard to understand and primes, factors -- all those things that go into division, into fractions -- and they could make it simpler, it was going to make everything after primes and factoring so much easier.

And this is one of those games that when my kids then get to division, get to those higher level things, they already understand what's going on. When they look at fractions, and they're trying to figure out how to come up with multiples, how to come up with all those things, these concepts that we've learned in Prime Climb and in other games like this are now embedded in their brain and moving them forward faster because they can see the concepts.

I love it, love it, love it.  So, if this is something you're interested in, fortunately you don't have to wait for another Kickstarter campaign. You can pick it up on Amazon. Just check up the link up above or down below -- wherever it is based on where you're watching this video. It's definitely going to be worth your time to check this out.

I'm ToriAnn Perkey, and I bring you these videos every week so that you can be a super successful and confident homeschool mom.

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My favorite math game that makes learning division much easier
My favorite math game that makes learning division much easier
My favorite math game that makes learning division much easier
Homeschool math game Prime Climb review
Homeschool science curriculum elementary magic school bus

My no-fail science plan when I’m too tired to do science … {Magic School Bus Videos Review}

For six and half years, I never got a full night’s sleep.

My oldest had sleep issues and would wake up … every … single … night.

I was soooooo tired.

Homeschool science curriculum elementary magic school bus

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But we were still homeschooling. And even AFTER she slept through the night, the other three children took their turns waking me up.

Aching legs … bad dreams … croupy coughs.

It seemed I went FOREVER without sleeping.

And we still homeschooled.

But there were times when I was soooo tired, that the thought of doing ANYTHING extra was more than I could handle.

Enter today’s science resource! (duh duh duh!!!!)

I’ve used this awesome series over the years to feel like we were “doing” science when I just couldn’t muster the effort to “do” science.

And even if you’re sleeping blissfully through the night, these are amazing for those days when kids are sick or you just need a little extra time to do something … anything!

Seriously … who doesn’t need that?!?

CLICK HERE to check it out for your homeschool.

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Register below to watch my FREE CLASS

Confident Homeschool Secrets

7 Ways to Create a Homeschool That Works (and you LOVE!)

Transcript

Hey guys! It's ToriAnn Perkey here. From my homeschool to your homeschool, I get it! Sometimes you are tired. I know because sometimes I am tired. As a homeschool mom, we are doing so many things, and sometimes, well, the days don't go as planned.

The baby doesn't sleep through the night. We don't sleep through the night. The teenagers are coming home late. Whatever it is, and we are exhausted.  We've had kids yelling or running, or it's just not been a good day, and we realize we've got to do some science.

Whether you're trying to hit all of those earmarks every week for your curriculum or your report that you need to do, or you just realize that you'd like to shake it up a little bit and you've got to fit some science in. But you are too tired to get out all of the equipment and doing a science experiment, and like …. okay ... just the thought of it when I'm tired is way, way too much for me.

Which is why I'm going to show you a resource that I use on the days when I'm so tired that science is not an option.  It is called Magic School Bus. Oh yes.

So, these were books. They were turned into movies, and they are on DVD, and you can buy the complete set. You guys ... this is a lot of science! Now, for some of us, we grew up with Magic School Bus, right? And we know all about this. But for those of you who didn't, let me tell you a little bit about what makes Magic School Bus so amazing. 

So, the idea is that there's this crazy teacher called Ms. Frizzle, and the kids in the class -- whenever they have a science question or something that they're learning about -- rather than sit in class, she takes them. She puts them on the magic school bus, which can shrink or grow humongous or can sprout wings or can go in the ocean or can fly in outer space ... whatever ... and the bus takes these kids on adventures, so that they are embedded into whatever science topic it is that she wants them to learn about.

Oh, it's so much fun. Every episode ran on PBS, so it's like a 30 minute -- well, it's probably like a 25-minute episode. Perfect amount of time. I used these when I was too tired for science. I was also using them for a long time when we ate lunch. I would just put in the DVD. We'd watch it while we ate lunch.

It was an easy way to slide science into the day. They were learning so many things. And what I love about Magic School Bus is except for the solar system one, which was made before Pluto was declassified as a planet, every bit of the science is really strong science.

They're going to be talking about photosynthesis. They're going to be talking about molecules. They're going to be talking about the physics of simple machines. They're going to be talking about the geography of volcanoes and the different parts of the earth. It covers the gamut of elementary science and every disc -- so, if I open this up, you'll see that there are 1, 2, 3, 4 -- oh, there are numbers at the bottom. There are eight discs in the complete set. Eight discs and every disc has 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 episodes. So, 8 x 7 is a lot of episodes, right? Fifty six. That's like an entire year of science plus some!

Aaaah, I love it!  But what we would do is when the kids were sick, or we were tired -- we would watch when we're tired. But if the kids were sick, sometimes they would watch several in a row because during the day I'd say, “Well, if you're sick. You need to watch something educational.” And so they would pull out Magic School Bus.

My teenagers still pull out Magic School Bus because it's that much fun. It's fun. It's engaging. They've got lots of characters. I love the fact that they can be watching something. They can be learning the science. And then we can follow up with that with more knowledge --  with maybe, if we want to do some kind of experiment later on. I'm not saying you have to, but if you wanted to.

There are lots of extensions to this series because it was so popular, but you don't have to get any of the extensions. But I highly recommend that you check out the DVDs because they are really, really helpful for being, honestly, a successful homeschool mom, because there are times when this is all you can do. When all you can do is open up the DVD player, put the DVDs in, and close it. And Magic School Bus is one of the things that's really tricky to find online. Believe me ... if I could find it on YouTube, I probably would just watch it on YouTube, but you can't. They religiously, religiously make sure that this content is copyrighted and protected. So, if you really want to have access to it, you got to buy the DVDs. Totally worth it.

Ahhh, okay, I love it. So, if you're interested, make sure you check out the link up above or down below or wherever it is based on where you're watching this video.

I'm ToriAnn Perkey and from my homeschool to your homeschool, I bring you these videos every single week so that you can be a super successful and confident homeschool mom.

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Homeschool science curriculum elementary magic school bus
Homeschool science curriculum elementary magic school bus
Homeschool science curriculum elementary magic school bus
magic school bus review science curriculum
Bananagrams game review to teach spelling

Toss the dreaded spelling list and play this game instead! {Bananagrams Review}

Spelling … how’s it going in your homeschool?

I look at spelling a lot like learning basic math facts. Absolutely important as a building block to higher level schooling -- but not always as exciting to learn.

Bananagrams game review to teach spelling

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Over the years, I’ve tried so many different approaches -- memorizing basic lists, using copywork, playing tons of games -- and each has pros and cons.

What I’ve found is that the type of learner that I have really determines what kind of approach works best.

My wholistic thinkers do really well with games and spell check and copywork. Each time they see a word misspelled, it gets filed away … and over time their spelling continues to improve.

I’m always amazed because these wholistic-thinking kids are also the ones who seem to be allergic to lists and memorizing anything … it’s almost as if they need to just absorb the spelling through everyday exposure.

On the other side are my linear thinkers. They LOVE lists … and really need them to do well.

My dyslexic linear thinker must methodically and logically taught spelling -- helping her see the patterns and the connections. Her spelling is slowly improving through consistent focus.

My other non-dyslexic linear thinker uses the lists and immediately sees the connections on his own. He LOVES words. He also LOVES word games because spelling comes so naturally to him.

So with this mix of kids, I’ve found that a mixed approach to spelling has been effective. Some get lists, some get copywork.

But games are one way that we all can come together -- adjusting to accommodate the different skill levels.

I want to share with you one of my favorite word games that we’ve been able to adapt in several ways into our homeschool.

Play it straight -- or modify it to teach and review specific words. So much fun no matter how you to do it!

CLICK HERE to check Bananagrams out for your homeschool.

Ready to feel Confident and Successful as you homeschool?

Register below to watch my FREE CLASS

Confident Homeschool Secrets

7 Ways to Create a Homeschool That Works (and you LOVE!)

Transcript

Hey everybody, it's ToriAnn Perkey. From my homeschool to your homeschool, do you have dreaded spelling lists? 

Do you pull out the spelling list and your kids go, "Oh Mom, not another spelling list!" 

Spelling is one of those things that we know our kids need to do when we're homeschooling.  Is there a way to do it that's more fun, more engaging, more exciting? Because I'm going to tell you that anything that is more fun, more engaging and more exciting is going to work so much better in your homeschool.  And throughout all the different homeschooling things that we did, I was always looking for ways to make the boring, the mundane, the write-it-down-5-times type of spelling list thing ... is there a way to make it more fun?  There almost always is. Which is why today I want to tell you about a really cool game that we used in our home instead of dreaded spelling list. And it's so multipurpose that we used it far beyond and continue to use it far beyond the ways that it's designed. And it is ... Bananagrams.  Yay!

Okay.  So, have you ever seen Bananagrams?  This is the cutest little package. It's a banana, right?  And when you open it up inside are these letter tiles. I'm just going to pull out a few.  And here we have like an F, and a V, and an I, and in a lot of ways at this point it seems a lot like Scrabble, but this game does not play like Scrabble.

First of all, these tiles are made out of plastic.  You probably can hear that, and they're smooth. I love the tactile feel of these tiles. And they're a little bit smaller than Scrabble tiles.  The second thing that I like about them -- or I like about this game -- is that when you're just playing the straight rules, it is so much faster than Scrabble.

I don't know if you ever get bored playing Scrabble.  I know there's lots of people who don't, but I do because I have to wait for everyone else to take their turn. And if you're playing with younger kids, and they're waiting, it's not going to work.

So, what's cool about Bananagrams is the gameplay. Everyone's playing at the same time.  They're building their own, individual Scrabble boards with the same cross patterns and things like that, but you are building them all at the same time. So everybody gets to play. And you can modify the rules for the younger kids versus the older kids so that everybody has an equal chance depending on where they are.

Now, when I first saw Bananagrams, I was really excited for my kids who knew how to spell because I knew we were going to have fun playing it and practicing spelling words. Practicing how to spell any word while you're playing a game is way more fun than learning a spelling list.

But how do you use a game like this ... a bunch of random letter tiles ... how do you do that if your kids can't spell?  Well, the letter tiles themselves become these fabulous, fabulous kinesthetic tools to help kids spell. So, you can be laying out the tiles, you could have the spelling list, and you could say, "Okay, take the list and create me a grid like a Scrabble grid or a Bananagram grid using these words.  Can you do it?" Or you could take the tiles and you could lay them all out and you say, "Can you just find all the letters that go to your words?” Or what else could you do? Anything where the kids have to look at the word and spell it but they're doing it with tiles instead of with their hand writing on a piece of paper.

And I found that for my kinesthetic kids, those kinds of games were so, so, so much more effective.  We would even play games where the tiles are spread out across the floor and you have to run and get the tile, so there's that high movement.  So much better, so much more fun. And then you still have the game that you can play as they get to be better spellers, so it's multipurpose. You don't just have a manipulative sitting on your shelf waiting to be used for this one part of your curriculum or your one part of school, and then when it's done, you're done.  I like multipurpose. Way more effective. Yes!

So, if you are looking for a way to get rid of the boring way to do spelling and liven it up a little bit, then this little game right here is one that I would highly, highly recommend. And you can check it out on Amazon.  I'll put a link up above, down below, or wherever it is wherever you're watching this.

From my homeschool to your homeschool, I'm ToriAnn Perkey, and I'm here to help you be a successful and confident homeschool mom.

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Bananagrams game review to teach spelling
Bananagrams game review to teach spelling
Bananagrams game review to teach spelling
Practice math facts addition subtraction fun game

Your Kids Will WANT to Practice Math Facts {7Ate9 Review}

Do you ever get bored?

Whether it's the same meals over and over ... or the same clothing in your closet ... or the same homeschool workbook.

If you're like me, your brain at some point starts to say ... "Seriously ... can we do something different!?!"

Practice math facts addition subtraction fun game

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That's why I'm constantly on the lookout for new and interesting ways to teach the same subjects.

And after 4 kids, basic math facts are DEFINITELY something that I want to do differently.

That's why I LOVE 7Ate9 ... a simple card game that review addition and subtraction in an exciting and different way.

While it's designed to be a speed game (which is awesome because I want those facts to be automatic), I've also slowed it down for kids who are still learning or who get stressed over having to go too fast.

Now that my kids are older, it's still a game that we pull out and play -- because it's fun even when you already KNOW your facts.

And who doesn't need a good basic review now and then?

Click HERE to check out 7Ate9 for your homeschool.

Ready to feel Confident and Successful as you homeschool?

Register below to watch my FREE CLASS

Confident Homeschool Secrets

7 Ways to Create a Homeschool That Works (and you LOVE!)

Save for later by pinning to your favorite Pinterest board!

Practice math facts addition subtraction fun game
Practice math facts addition subtraction fun game
Practice math facts addition subtraction fun game
Practice math facts addition subtraction fun game
Practice math facts addition subtraction fun game
Libertys Kids - The Complete Series DVD | Review

Your kids will BEG to do history! {Review}

School is out for the summer … or you’re awfully close.

(If you’re like me, you haven’t done a ton for most of May. I just shift into a different head space when the weather gets nice!)

But that doesn’t mean I’m not thinking about learning and how my kids can STILL be learning amazing things even when I’m not planning a complete homeschool day.

And I’m already starting to look toward fall (just a little!) and think about what we’re going to do next year.

That’s why I LOVE resources like Liberty Kids. They’re fun to grab and watch during the summer … but I can also put them on during the school year when I can’t bring myself to plan one more subject.

And I’m always on the hunt for resources that work for all my kids — and all their ages. Because I’m busy just like you. And I need things that work for my homeschool without fail — even when I’m tired, or the kids are sick, or we’re burned out from our regular stuff.

As you begin planning for next year, build in some of the “fun” stuff. They take the pressure off you and helps your homeschooling be just a little easier. 🙂

Click HERE to check out Liberty Kids for your homeschool.

Think Fun Laser Maze Review - Logic Game and STEM Toy

Your Kids Will Be Problem-Solving Ninjas {Review}

Do your kids solve problems well? Or do they tend to get stuck and fall apart?

Problem-solving is an essential skill to be successful in school and in life — and it’s one you ABSOLUTELY can help teach.

In our family, I use hard work and games to reinforce problem solving.

My kids like the games more than the hard work … go figure!

Problem-solving games require perserverance, learning how to deal with failure and frustration AND the ability to look outside the box.

Good thing games are also fun!

We have these kinds of games scattered around our home … and different games appeal to different kids.

The game I’m telling you about today — Laser Maze — is one that has really appealed to my mathy 10 yr old, but the others enjoy it too.

And I don’t mind playing, which is totally a win-win!

Click HERE to check Laser Maze for your homeschool.