Educational Internet Games

One thing we do play is internet games.  There are a couple that are our favourites.

http://www.poissonrouge.com/

http://www.uptoten.com/

"Children are the living messages we send to a time we will not see."~ John W. Whitehead 

Transportation Co-Op - Air Travel

 

This Co-Op was on Air Travel. There were stations set up. We read a story about the Wright Brothers, experimented with making Paper Airplanes, labeled the parts of an airplane and a spaceship, and conducted an experiment with an egg.

The egg experiment seemed to be the most fun. It started out with the kids coming up with ways to protect the egg so that when it dropped it would be safe (like it had a safety helmet on). We started with some string, tape, toilet paper, egg cartons and eggs. It evolved into using Styrofoam cups, whole cartons, boxes, and whatever else they could come up with to protect their eggs. There were parachutes that were square, circular, the whole bag intact, long strings, short strings, no strings etc... And they decided that instead of just throwing them up to have them come back down we could hurl them out the window from the second story (I had to move my vehicle). LOL!!! Some broke and some stayed in one piece. When they were done with the egg experiment the kids got to eat the egg (hard boiled).

"Children are one-third of our population and all of our future"~ Unknown

Isn't it funny...

... how you start out with one activity and it just keeps transforming into something new over and over and over again.

I start out with doing math with Austyn and then here he starts to go a creative route.

 

Here Zoe joins in after seeing that Austyn is being creative and she can't resist her creative tendencies.

Then Zoe wanted to try the other Geo Board we had and decided she wanted to flip it over and make patterns.

 

When Zoe decided she didn't want the other blue Geo Board, Austyn put it to use and learned that when elastics went across both, eventually they would lift one board.

 

Then he decided that he could make a picture larger than one board and extend it over both boards as needed.

 

When Zoe saw what Austyn was doing she wanted to join in. At first he wasn't sure he wanted to share and then he changed his mind. He added to his and she used the other side to make a design of her own with his.

 

Zoe wandered off to colour because she finally lost interest and Austyn noticed that when he pulled her elastics off they shot across the room. So he decided he'd make an elastic gun with the Geo Board. He set it up on the floor pointing to a box so that he could hear it hit the box and the elastics would bounce to the floor in front of the box and he wouldn't lose all of them.

 

He tried to maximize the use of the Geo Bord Elastic Gun by putting many elastics overlapping each other on each row of pegs. He learned that although it was a good thought, it didn't work well since the elastics were getting caught on each other and wouldn't shoot.

Seeing his interest and remembering my own childhood, I hesitated, but decided that I would offer to help him make an elastic gun just like the one I had as a kid.

 

This is the target area I made up for him.

I was leery about making him an elastic gun because of safety fears.

Here are our rules with the gun:

1. It is up, out of reach when not in use and unloaded

2. Zoe can't use it under any circumstances (she is just too young)

3. It is used with Adult supervision at all times and he needs to listen when using it or it will be put up

4. It needs to be used only where we set up a designated target area.

Phew!! I hate these kinds of things, but he is so interested in this kind of thing and with proper supervision I guess it's really harmless.

Isn't it amazing how one activity can just keep transforming and eventually ends up to be something totally different. If I just posted the last couple of photos you wouldn't see how a child can use his/her creativity to go from one idea and take that to a whole new level.

"Every child born, has innate goodness."~ Chinese Proverb

Every Child is so Different!

Zoe loves to colour and draw. Just as Austyn loves to build with lego and invent things, Zoe could draw, colour and dress up all day long! It is so amazing how different each child can be. They each have their own personality and interests even from a very young age. And right now we are going through a stage with Zoe where she tells us all how much she loves us many times a day. We all feel so loved!!

"Free the child's potential, and you will transform him into the world" ~  Maria Montessori

100 Books-A-Month Challenge

I had this typed up in the beginning of the month as just a book list but during the month we signed up for 100 books-a-month challenge. I have recorded most of the books we've read. I know I've missed some (believe it or not... LOL) and I indicated when I remembered that we read a book more than once. Or if it is a book we finished or started I put how many chapters were during this month. I think I read that I'm suppose to count each time read as a book and each chapter. On here I just numbered the books but you can find the totals at the bottom. As I read more (since it isn't the end of the month yet) I'll add them to the bottom of the list, which is set up alphabetical. The books that we read from here on won't be in order.

I have decided I'd keep track of the Children's books we read each month. This is something I've never done before. I figured this would be a good time to start to keep track. Why not do it here?! I will try and update it daily. This list is from the month of November. I'm sure we are missing some. This list also excludes any books read to the kids from Story Time at the Library. It also doesn't include any of the reading done from our history, art or language books.  Some reference books we only read interesting parts and leave the rest or we may have started the book this month but it isn't finished. If any reference books are interesting I may add them to the end but we may not have read the whole book. If I put it in this colour it means we don't own it and it's worthy of our wishlist. If we read it more than once or if I could specify chapters read I put it in this colour.

Children's Books: 

1. A Beautiful Girl by Amy Schwartz
2. Alice and Greta by Steven J. Simmons
3. Alice the Fairy by David Shannon
4. All Aboard! A Traveling Alphabet by Bill Mayer
5. Amelia Makes a Movie by David Milgrim
6. Angels watching over Me by Julia Durango
7. An Orange in January by Dianna Huts Aston
8. Ant, Ant, Ant! (An Insect Chant) by April Pulley Sayre
9. Are You My Mother? by P.D. Eastman
10. As Luck Would Have It by Robert D. San Souci
11. Baby Happy Baby Sad by Leslie Patricelli - 3 times
12. Ballerina Dreams by Lauren Thompson
13. Big Dog Little Dog by P.D. Eastman
14. Big Little Otter by Lillian Hoban
15. Big Smelly Bear by Britta Teckentrup
16. Bill and Pete to the Rescue by Tomie DePaola
17. Billy and Milly Short and Silly by Eve B. Feldman
18. Bird, Bird, Bird! (A Chirping Chant) by April Pulley Sayre
19. Boats Speeding! Sailing! Cruising! by Patricia Hubbell
20. Bone Soup by Cambria Evans
21. Bunnies on the Go by Rick Walton
22. Casting the Gods Adrift by Geraldine McCaughrean - 7 chapters
23. Celestine Drama Queen by Penny Ives
24. Chugga Chugga Choo-choo by Kevin Lewis
25. Crazy Hair Day by Barney Saltzberg
26. Curious George and the Dump Truck by Margret and H.A. Rey's
27. David by Bible Pop-up
28. Dog's Colourful Day by Emma Dodd - 5 times
29. Do Kangaroos Wear Seat Belts? by Jane Kurtz
30. Down on the Farm by Marrily Kutner
31. Fancy Nancy Bonjour, Butterfly by Jane O'Connor
32. Ferryboat Ride! by Anne Rockwell
33. Flora's Blanket by Debi Gliori
34. Freight Train by Donald Crews - 3 times
35. Get Busy Beaver by Carolyn Crimi
36. Gods and Godesses of Ancient Egypt by Janeen R. Adil
37. Gone with the Wand by Margie Palatini
38. Hello, Sun! by Dayle Ann Dodds - 2 times
39. Hickory Dickory Dock My First Clock by Robyn Bryant
40. Hieroglyphs by Kremena Spengler
41. How People Learned to Fly by Fran Hodgkins
42. If you were a Noun by Michael Dahl
43. I Knew You Could! by Craig Dorfman
44. I Love Planes! by Philemon Sturges
45. Insect Soup by Barry Louis Polisar
46. It's a Baby Meerkat by Kelly Doudna
47. Jesus by Bible Pop-up
48. Jonah by Bible Pop-up
49. Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert - 2 times
50. Let's Go for a Ride by  Maxwell Newhouse
51. Mary Had a Little Lamb by Mary Ann Hoberman and Nadine Bernard Westcott - 2 times
52. Mother Goose Numbers on the Loose by Leo and Diane Dillon - 2 times
53. My Dinosaur by Mark Alan Weatherby
54. My Freight Train by Micheal Rex - 2 times 
55. My Plane Book by Ellen Kirk
56. Mysterious Monsters by John Townsend
57. Noah by Bible Pop-up
58. Oak Tree by Gordon Morrison
59. On the Road by Wade Cooper
60. Oú est ma poupée? by Les tout-doux Usborne - 2 times 
61. Over in the Meadow by Jan Thornhill - 2 times

62. Owls by Gail Gibbons
63. Pinata! by Rebecca Emberley
64. Poppy Day by Rosemary Moore
65. Puff the Magic Dragon by Peter Yarrow and Lenny Lipton
66. Rabbit and Squirrel A Tale of War and Peas by Kara LaReau
67. Ribbon Rescue by Robert Muncsch
68. Rumpelstiltskin's Daughter by Diane Stanley
69. Sail Away, Little Boat by Janet Buell
70. Sailing off to Sleep by Linda Ashman
71. Ships by Mighty Machines
72. Silly Sally by Audrey Wood
73. Sleep Tight Ginger Kitten by Catherine Walters
74. Snog The Frog by Tony Bonning
75. Ten Apples Up On Top! by Theo. LeSieg
76. The Airplane Ride by Howard White
77. The Amazing Pop-Up Geography Book by Kate Petty and Jennie Maizels
78. The Birthday Tree by Ethel Collier

79. The Boy Who Drew Cats by Margaret Hodges

80. The Caboose Who Got Loose by Bill Peet - 2 times 

81. The Chronicles of Narnia, The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis - 14 chapters
82. The Dream Tree by Winfried Wolf  - 2 times
83. The Ferryboat Ride by Robert Perry
84. The Fire Station by B.A. Hoena
85. The House in the Night by Susan Marie Swanson - 2 times
86. The Midnight Unicorn by  Neil Reed
87. The Mightiest by Keiko Kasza
88. The Night Eater by Ana Juan
89. The Princess and the Pea by Suçie Stevenson
90. The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown
91. The Sense of Touch by Mari Schuh

92. The Tale of Two Bad Mice by Beatrix Potter
93. The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle
94. The Tooth Book by Theo. LeSieg
95. Things with Wings by The Nature Company
96. Tiger, Tiger by Dee Lillegard and Susan Guevara - 2 times
97. Too Many Toys by David Shannon
98. Top 10 Dogs for Kids by Ann Grahm Gaines
99. Toy Boat by Randall de Séve and Loren Long
100. Trains Steaming! Pulling! Huffing! by Patricia Hubbell
101. Tugga-Tugga Tugboat  by Kevin Lewis
102. Tyson the Terrible by Diane and Christyan Fox
103. Wacky Wednesday by Theo. LeSieg
104. We Wish You A Merry Christmas by Playmore Waldman
105. What's so bad about Gasoline? by Anne Rockwell
106. What time is it Mr. Crocodile? by Judy Sierra
107. When Royals Wore Ruffles by Chesley McLaren and Pamela Jaber
108. Where do Chicks Come From? by Amy E. Sklansky

109. Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Book? by Lauren Child - 2 times

110. Who's Chick are You? by Nancy Tafuri
111. Mee-An and the Magic Serpent by Baba Wagué Diakité
112. Wild Tracks! by Jim Arnosky
113. The Sea Chest by Toni Buzzeo
114. The Flyer Flew by Hill, Lee Sullivan
115. Your Body Battles a Cold by Vicki Cobb
116. The Squirrel Wife by Philippa Pearce
117. Dreams Under the Sea by K. Emily Hutta
118. The Princess and the Frog retold by Vera Southgate
119. Christmas Mice by Richard Scarry
120. The Mitten by Jan Brett
121. I Love You Too! by Eve Bunting
122. Pots and Pans by Ann Rockwell
123. Rabbit's Woolly Jumper by Mark Birchall
124. Dinosaur Bones by Bob Barner
125. The Fantastic Flight of the Silver Dart by Linda Brand
126. Cars by Nancy Smiler Levinson
127. Leatherback Turtle by Kersten Hall
128. mimi cracra l'imagier by Abés Rosenstiehl
129. My Friend, the Starfinder by George Ella Lyon
130. Ella Fitzgerald by Andrea Davis Pinkney and Brian Pinkney
131. Jack and the Beanstalk by E. Nesbit
132. When Stella was Very, Very Small by Marie Louise Gay
133. ABC Dentist by Harriet Ziefert

Reference books:

Animal Planet Bugs as Pets by Jay F. Hemdal

Highest Longest Deepest by John Malam
Across the Wide Ocean by Karen Romano Young
Keeping Unusual Pets - Rats by June McNicholas
Fairy Dust and the Quest for the Egg by Gail Carson Levine - 12 chapters

Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll - 5 chapters

The Magic Book by Jane Bull

Thirty Stories Retold by James Baldwin - 2 chapters  
Our Island Story by H.E. Marshall -1 chapter

Home on the Moon by Marianne J. Dyson

Super-Size Bugs by Andrew Davies - 11 pages 
Insect Facts and Folklore by L. Patricia Kite


 

 Totals:

Books finished this month: 133

Book count including extra times read and chapters: 192

Karaoke? Isn't this music, reading... ?

What subject is this? Ya, it may be the class of "Karaoke" but really isn't it music, reading, creativity (making up words), public speaking, history (learning about times through songs), and I'm sure the list goes on! Don't you agree!! LOL!!!

BTW... these are Christmas songs to get ready for Christmas Activities.

“Always keep a song in your heart - it's like karaoke for the voices in your head.”~ Robert Fulton Abernethy

Puppet Theatre!

 

Zoe and Austyn started out wanting to do a theatrical play of some sort and it evolved into a puppet theatre. So we took a box that was already painted on the outside and made it into a theatre. We didn't finish it yet, but they wanted to use it right away and couldn't wait for it to be completed. I'm sure this will be an on going project. Austyn cut out stars for the night sky he wanted in the background and Zoe painted the inside since she loves to paint and she is the smallest. After they were done and it was just about dry they attempted a play with no script. They had so much fun with this. I think we now have a puppet theater and probably don't need to keep that on their Christmas list. LOL!

“The most sophisticated people I know - inside they are all children”~ Jim Henson

Music fun!

 

They wanted to play with musical instruments so we experimented with a few songs to try and use the instruments in the song and try and make it work. They seemed to have fun even though it didn't last all that long.

“Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and cannot remain silent.”~ Victor Hugo

Educational Ideas For Christmas!

Well, here in Canada we are in full Christmas mode. Unlike Americans who are thinking about Turkey dinners and stuffing with pumpkin pie right now, we had our Thanksgiving last month. Many houses on our street already have Christmas lights up and on. Some homes have Christmas Trees up and in the front window already ready for gifts to be placed. The community lights are being turned on. Wreaths hang off street lights. Stores are full of Christmas items. Our TV's are bombarded with Christmas commercials.

My Dad has been asking what the kids want for Christmas for a couple of weeks already. So, I'm researching what the kids might like that falls under more of an educational status rather than just regular toys. I have updated our book list on our blog and plan on adding a spot near the bottom to show some toys and games of interest. I don't know about your kids but with our kids they each have their own personal interests and skills. Austyn is a building and Science. Zoe is anything creative and games! So in each instant they have definite educational interests that we can encourage through some educational toys that I know they will be very excited about having.

Here are some ideas I came up with that I think our kids would love.

For Austyn: Meccano RC Race Car, Architecto, RushHour, ZomeTool, Science Magic, Straws Connectors, Crazy Forts, Snaptricity... legos and megnetics are also always welcome in this home!

  

For Zoe: Some of the building sets above she'd also love to have for her own (straws and crazy forts) along with Cranium Cariboo, Sequence for Kids, A puppet Theatre, Puppet making kit, More dress-up clothes, tierra making kit.

 

 

There you have it! Some educational toys that my kids would love. Hopefully this helps out the grandparents. What would your kids love for Christmas?

I love this site for ideas: http://www.youtube.com/user/MastermindToys

“Do not train a child to learn by force or harshness; but direct them to it by what amuses their minds, so that you may be better able to discover with accuracy the peculiar bent of the genius of each.”~ Plato