Shopping Day

I know there is some debate about allowance....should they work for it, should they just get it because they are part of the family....and I don't know the answer.

I'm too unorganized to keep track of what I owe someone so we have chores and allowance, but they are completely seperate things.

$1 goes to savings, $1 to church, the rest on whatever...

decisions, decisions, decisions.  We've learned a lot from this.

Finding something that you can afford, liking what you buy, math, change, taxes, regret, joy.

One of the girls dropped another's water bottle in the pond at the park today, so her allowance went to replacing the water bottle....(and I stand corrected, they were $13, the smaller ones were $8.)

One magic wand ($5), one pink princess Bible($9.99), and one set of magnets you paint(4.99).....priceless???? We shall see.

Grid Art

Last year for Christmas we got a page-a-day calender.   I realized that I had not torn off the pages since February, so I had quite a few! These have a grid on the back- I'm not so sure why but the tiny grids make me want to start coloring.


Today we did grid art. I told them they could do anything they wanted, they just had to fill in the squares- no curved lines.

This makes you think a little harder....

use fine motor skills,


some math skills,


creativity,


problem solving.


Well, it was fun anyway!

oh, and by the way- check out the page-a-day origami calender! definitely on my list for next year!

Place Value Folder

Here is a hands on way to teach place value:


You need a folder, 30-40 index cards, glue or stapler


1. Cut 4 index cards small enough so that you can place them across an open folder, 2 on each side but long enough to be able to stick a card in the pocket.

2. Glue or staple the sides to make pockets.

3. On each of the 4 cards, write the place value in a word and numeral, e.g. thousands (1000's), hundreds (100's) etc.

4. Write a single digit on each of the remaining cards so that you can read them vertically. 3-4 of each number, including 0.

5. The child can either use this when learning with worksheets, or you can practice with them by asking them to show you a number. For example, show me 3,460. Then they put the cards in the correct pockets. You can then ask, "which number is in the ten's place?", etc.

6. When you are done, just fold up your folder

and put it in a file until later!

In Case You Wanted to Know...

Right now, we are loving math. Yep, MATH!



I like to incorporate math in everyday life from counting to cooking, measuring, more or less questions, games, etc. I think this has given somewhat of a foundation for learning math concepts.



Recently I have found some super math programs that are working for all 4 of my girls (pre-K to 1st Grade currently)



Kid Zone- many worksheets and learning ideas- not just math but I like to be able to just go somewhere and print something off as needed. It eliminates piles of math books lying around.



Giggle Learn- for 1st-3rd grade. This teaches technique for addition and subtraction. I wish I would have learned from these people in elementary school, not the stupid point system. Up until now I have had to count the points on numbers for several equations. I love this program so far and so do all of the girls! (All with different learning styles!)



ixl math- online practice based on state standards. This way I know I'm not leaving anything out and the kids love "playing math" on the computer. You can do this for approx. 15 minutes a day for free, but if you subscribe they keep records of what your child has accomplished, give virtual prizes and e-mail certificates, all which motivate my kids. I think it is well worth it!



I am struggling with either sending my kids to bed on time or letting them stay up a while and do math. Since I am a night owl, the math usually wins.

Cheap Homemade Learning Game Math Fun

Here are some ideas for early math learning:



1) The charting game- Draw 2 inch grid over an entire poster board. Cut in half the short way. Have the kids help stamp (get the cheap foamy ones from Hobby Lobby), one stamp per column on one half of the poster board. Cut in squares. On the other half, stamp one of each of the stamps on the bottom of each column.



To play, turn the squares upside down. Have each child hypothesize which stamp will get to the top first. Then, go around the circle and take turns drawing a square. Place the square in the column that matches the stamp on the square. Play until one stamp column is full.

Discuss:

• Which column got to the top first? Was your hypothesis correct?


• Which column had the least amount of squares? How many did it have?


• Did any of the columns have the same amount of squares?

You can do a similar game with a smaller grid and a bag of skittles or M&M's. Put some in a small bowl, have the children sort the colors and fill in the grids accordingly, using skinny markers.

2) Chutes and Ladders. We made this game one time when I felt too poor to go buy it. Draw 100 squares, 10x10 on a poster board. Number 1 to 100 starting on the bottom from left to right and then the second row right to left, etc. Then discuss with the kids a few good choices and a few bad choices and what the consequences might be. Draw a picture of the scenario- it doesn't have to be great, stick figures work just fine- and then draw chutes for the bad choices and ladders for the good choices. You can use any household item for markers- coins, pop bottle caps, whatever. Use dice for rolling how many spaces to move. First one to the 100 square wins.

This teaches counting and numbers 1-100. Each time they land on a number, ask the child to tell you what that number is. Also, it is important that they follow the correct sequence when turning directions to a new row. It will teach greater and less than and number sequence.

3) The Guy Game. I got this idea from another homeschooling mom. I can't remember her name in order to give her credit, but it is such a good idea! Have a deck of flash cards numbered 1-100. It could be bought or made out of index cards. Every eighth card or so (doesn't really matter) put at stick figure of a "guy".

Mom or another designated person holds up the flash cards. Go around the circle and have each child say the number. If the card has a guy on it, they have a designated action. If you are outside, it could be run around the house, jump 5 times on the trampoline, go touch the fence and run back, or set up a field like in t-ball and have them run around the bases. Inside, a little more creativity is needed, maybe jumping jacks or running down the hall and back. You can use this also for learning ABC's, dolch words, numbers in Spanish.....endless possibilities.

This teaches number recognition and involves physical activity. (yay!) Brookie (turns 4 tomorrow) recognizes most numbers to 100.

4) Star numbers. Have the kids crouch down in a standing tuck position, spread out a bit. Pick a number to skip count- say 10. Count by one's but every time you come to a multiple of 10, jump up with hands out and feet apart like a star. Then crouch back down until the next multiple is counted.

This teaches skip counting and involves more activity.

5) Greater or less than dice. Have one or two die, depending on skill level. Go around the circle and each player takes a turn rolling. The greatest number of that round wins the round. Keep score by tallying. The winner of the game has the most tallies.

Teaches greater and less than and tallying.