Special Connection Homeschool

Aperture Science and Opera

2012-01-27T05:07:00.000-08:00

I blogged recently about our experience with the Swan Lake Maestro Classics CD. Gess really loved the music and even made up her own choreography for the ballet. Finding interest in the arts was great fun. Well we have found some more music appreciation from an unexpected source. For Christmas Gess got a new game called Portal 2. She just loved the original Portal and we knew this would be a big hit. Well, it just so happens that the voice for the main character in the game, Glados is opera singer Ellen McLain and Gess absolutely loved the theme song she sang during the original version's credits, Still Alive. You have to really understand the game to appreciate the lyrics but it's a still a really neat song.

Well, Ellen McLain sings a few more songs in Portal 2 and they have released the Portal 2 soundtrack and Gess absolutely loves it. Her favorite song is again sung by Ellen McLain titled Cara Mia Addio. This one is more operatic and is just simply beautiful.

In fact, it was so beautiful that Gess was inspired to dance, but she did not want to dance alone. She asked her daddy to accompany her, and he lovingly obliged. Aren't they just adorable?

Another more techno song she likes from the CD is Robots.

I tell you music appreciation can come from the strangest places! I never thought our game would get Gess talking, singing and inquiring about Opera, but hey I will roll with it!

For those wondering what Portal is well it's summed up at Wikipedia as a game that "primarily comprises a series of puzzles that must be solved by teleporting the player's character and simple objects using 'the handheld portal device', a device that can create inter-spatial portals between two flat planes." Here is the trailer for the original game. Enjoy!

What's Wrong With This Picture?

2012-01-21T06:24:00.000-08:00

Back in August of 2010 I blogged about a therapy activity we did to help Gess answer Why Questions. One of those activities was a workbook called "What's Wrong with This Picture?"

We had fun with the book discussing what was wrong with various scenes and Gess was pretty good at pointing them out. Because of that it was something I put away and we haven't really done for awhile. That is why I just had to post about what Gess has been up to this past week.

The other morning we were in the kitchen getting ready to make Gess' breakfast and she points to the tub of butter that had a butter knife sticking out of it and asks, "what's wrong with this picture?" I was like, well, I guess it has a knife in it. Then she starts looking around and finding other things she deemed "wrong" and kept asking me "what's wrong with this picture?" I thought, how cute!

Well, it seems to have become something she loves to play. In fact, yesterday I took a couple of pictures while she was doing because it was just too cute. You know, this is a great hands on way to play the game and teach a child to say why something is wrong or out of place. Seeing a chair on an actual bed stands out a lot more than seeing a picture of a chair on a bed. Here are the pictures I took the other day. Forgive that my bed is not yet made, she seems to like to play this first thing in the morning for some reason.

She actually put the chair on the bed so she could ask me the question, "What's wrong with this picture?"

As she's getting dressed she comes out and asks me again. Ok, that's just silly!

Then she had to have intentionally picked out the socks, they are always mated in her drawer and even when not, she matches them well.

Even after this one she came to me with her shoes on the wrong feet and asked me again. Once she gets started it's hard to get her to stop. I absolutely love that she not only learned how to identify what's wrong in a picture but that she has the creativity to intentionally "mess things up." I tell you what, she's one smart cookie and one amazing kid! (Though she would be sure to inform you that she is NOT a cookie, that would be silly.)

TOS Review: We Choose Virtues

2012-01-16T04:29:00.000-08:00

We Choose Virtues! That's right, we are excited about making good choices because We Choose Virtues has helped make learning virtues positive, rewarding and fun.

We Choose Virtues takes a different approach to character development in children. Instead of focusing on discipline and the negative side of behavior it introduces virtues by having children state them in the affirmative with catch phrases that make memorizing them attainable and fun. Children are not only expected to know each virtue and what they mean but they are encouraged to "choose them and use them" each and every day!

We Choose Virtues focuses on 3 rules:

1. Obey
2. Be Kind
3. Be a Helper

Under those three rules fall the 12 virtues that children are taught.

Obey
I am obedient
I am attentive
I am self-controlled
I am honest

Be Kind
I am kind
I am forgiving
I am patient
I am gentle

Be a Helper
I am helpful
I am perseverant
I am diligent
I am content

Notice how each virtue is not just listed, it's stated as something I already am.

I am gentle.

I do not hope to be gentle, I do not wish to be gentle, I am making a choice to actually be gentle. To reinforce how to do that each virtue has a catchphrase that tells what it means to be that virtue.

I am gentle.
I speak quietly and touch softly.

They also explain what it means to NOT be gentle by adding the antonym in the negative.

I am gentle.
I speak quietly and touch softly.
I am NOT...rough, harsh, or loud, and I don't destroy things or hurt people!

We Choose Virtues has several ways to help implement this method in your homeschool or classroom environment. We received the Virtue Clue Cards along with the Teacher's Handbook, Family Character Assesment Chart, Kids Memory Verses and Bible Heroes list, and Kids of VirtueVille Coloring Book for the purpose of our review. With all these helps, I had everything I needed to help introduce virtues to Gess.

The Virtue Clue Cards are a small pack of cards that lists each virtue, it's catchphrase, and antonyms. On the back of each card is a "challenge" for the child to practice that virtue throughout the day. For instance, the I am Gentle card has you "choose to go the whole day without anyone needing to say anything like 'You hurt me' or 'you're too loud!' " They also come in a plastic carrying case to make it handy to throw them in your purse or bag so you can take them with you where-ever you go.

They have also made a cute character for every virtue that you will find on the front of the cards. These characters are also featured in the Kids of VirtueVille Coloring Book. This gives the child a sense that kids can and do practice that particular virtue. Here is Chuck with his Duck, he's the diligent kid.

The Teacher's Handbook offers many helps for not only how to teach the virtues to kids in a positive and rewarding manner but it has many activity suggestions, especially if you are going to teach them in a classroom setting. In fact, they offer classroom, church, and homeschool kits that can be purchased with or without the faith aspect of the virtue.

We have, of course, used these in our homeschool. As I posted at the start of the year, we made a morning devotional as a way to start our day, so these were a perfect fit for that. I would first have Gess choose which virtue card she wanted to work on for the next couple of days. Having her choose the virtue kept me from trying to pick ones I felt she needed therefore making them a struggle. We will eventually do all of them anyway.

So here is how we would do each virtue. After Gess chose a virtue (she chose I am Gentle for her first one) we would use the Kids Memory Verses and Bible Heroes chart to find our bible verse and passage that focus on that particular virtue. On the first day we might read the "hero" passage for the day as well as memorize the catchphrase. For gentle the hero passage was "Jesus Christ and the children" (Mark 10:13-16). . The next day we would work on the the memory verse, which for gentle was Proverbs 15:1 and then she would color her VirtueVille Kid picture from the coloring book.

By then we were usually ready to work on the next virtue. Once we had several virtues memorized (for now Gess is only memorizing the catchphrase, I plan on going back through and having her memorize the antonym later) we would review them by playing games, or matching the virtue to the catchphrase. I also randomly drill her on various virtues during opportune moments like when we are driving down the road.

It has really helped us in dealing with behavioral issues with Gess, in fact Gess has responded really well to them. We have always used key words with Gess and this pretty much gave us some more "keys" to focus on. For instance, sometimes when she gets upset she will speak to us loudly in a rude manner and tone. Now we will say, is that being gentle? Once she realizes it isn't she tends to calm down a little and we can talk about it. Sometimes when she does something wrong we will ask her, what virtue do you think will help you with that? We then pull out the cards and let her go through them and choose the proper response herself, without being told what to do.

I think the key is learning the virtues and discussing them when their behavior is good. It is also really important to acknowledge it when you a see a virtue played out correctly. Gess just started making the bed the other day and my husband informed her that he was happy to see her being virtuous. He went on to say how nice it was to see her "find something that needs to be done and do it." (That implemented the catchphrase into the praise we gave her for demonstrating the virtue of being helpful.) It's so great to see Gess light up over doing something good. The next time she doesn't want to make the bed, she will be more likely to respond to the reminder to practice the virtue if she has had positive experiences doing so. Virtues should be positive things, so we shouldn't only focus on them when they are absent in a child's behavior, they should be mentioned all the time!

I think We Choose Virtues is something we will keep using in our house for a very long time. I will even share this with our Sunday School teachers at church. My husband and I also think these are important for every age group to learn, especially the youth, so we were pleased to see that they offer a version specifically for them. They even have a Youth Mentor Handbook to help you teach teens how to choose and use virtues too.

Right now, the We Choose Virtues Clue Cards are 25% off making them just $5.99, but even at full price they are a handy tool for any parent to have. The other resources I reviewed are also very reasonably priced as well. The downloadable Kids of VirtueVille Coloring Book is only $3.00 while the Teacher's Handbook is $4.99 and the other helps like the assessment chart and memory verse card were absolutely free to download. I do think that their poster prices are pretty high which makes the actual teacher and church kits pricey, but they offer a mini-set which is much more reasonable and all a homeschool probably needs anyway.

You may also use these coupon codes for more discounts (you may only choose one)
VIRTUE15 for 15 % off your total purchase
SHIPFREE for free worldwide shipping.

Through February they are also offering 100 Days of Virtue Poster and Stickers FREE with any Homeschool Kit purchase.

To learn more visit the We Choose Virtues website or see what other members of the TOS Crew had to say.

As a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew I received a free copy of the "Virtue Clue Cards" (plus the other materials listed above) for giving my honest opinion and assessment of this product in my review.

TOS Review: Learn Our History

2012-01-13T04:34:00.000-08:00

Learn Our History was launched this past year by Governor Mike Huckabee and Brad Saft to try and get children excited about American History. They strive to offer fact-based, unbiased presentations of history that children don't always get in school and offer homeschooling parents a tool to add to their curriculum.

We reviewed 2 of their DVD's, one we got in the mail and one that was accessible online. The video series is titled "Learn Our History: TimeCycle Academy." The TimeCycle Academy is a group of children who have turned a bicycle into a time machine and travel back in time to experience history first hand.

Gesserine did seem to enjoy the videos and she actually learned from them. There are animated shows that she just won't sit through, so the fact that she watched them, comprehended what she saw and even talked about them later told me that she enjoyed them.

The first video we watched was the one we received in the mail, The Birth of A Revolution. I did love the historical content and utilizing the time travel aspect of the video did seem to help Gess remember where things took place. In fact, when Gess saw the word Boston in a totally unrelated context she immediately remembered seeing that on the screen in the video and recalled that the kids traveled there in the movie.

Here is a preview of The Birth of A Revolution

The other video that was available to us online was 9/11 and The War on Terror. Here is a preview for it.

While the historical content of both of the movies was relatively good (though I wouldn't call it unbiased), I was generally unimpressed with the quality of the animation and disappointed in the character development. One of the characters in the movie (Connor) is somewhat of a bully and is pretty rude to the other children calling them names like "loser." They even attire him in a shirt demonstrating that behavior displaying "I rule, you drool" on it. Having a special needs child that mimics behavior whether it's on TV or in real life, that's not something I want her spending a lot of time viewing. In fact, she already started to pick it up and giggle at a couple of his comments. I was just very disappointed to see that behavior in an educational video. I also found Barley way too stereotypical in his overalls and southern accent. With that said remember that the content was pretty good and Gess found them entertaining.

The Learn Our History series can be ordered online or by calling (877) US HISTORY (that's 877-874-4786). When you sign up you get an introductory video for $9.95 plus shipping and handling. They usually offer introductory specials so be sure to check their website for the most current offers and pricing.

Once you are a member you will continue to get a new DVD each month. They choose a DVD for you and contact you and tell you when it is ready to ship. Each subsequent DVD costs $11.95, plus $3.95 shipping and handling. They always notify customers at least 10 days prior to the shipment so they know it's about to ship. During that time, you have the option to skip the shipment or cancel from the series, both of which are done by contacting the 24/7 customer service department.

As long as your account remains active you are able to stream each DVD title you have purchased directly from within your account on the LearnOurHistory web site. This allows you to view the video from any device, such as a computer, iPad or iPod.

I would have loved to give this a better review because Gess did like it and learned from it but unfortunately not everything she learned was positive. I also personally do not the like membership method of ordering. While the pricing seems to be somewhat reasonable I do not find it convenient to have my DVDs selected for me. I like to order the products I want, when I want them. Besides, having to wait for the next DVD in a series or for the topic you really want makes it difficult to use them as a teaching tool. However, if you find this to be a convenient and easy way to add to your video collection, this might be a good option for you. It's just not for me.

To learn more visit the Learn Our History website.

As a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew I received a free copy "The Birth of A Revolution" DVD for giving my honest opinion and assessment of this product in my review.

TOS Review: Maestro Classics

2012-01-06T05:38:00.000-08:00

Gesserine loves music and while I enjoy classical music when I hear it, it's not something I generally choose to listen to so classical music isn't something Gess has been exposed to very often. Well, I think that is going to change. This month we had the opportunity to review Maestro Classics and it gave us an entirely new appreciation for classical music.

Maestro Classics is a great way to introduce your young children to classical music. While they recommend it for children ages 5 to 12 years old I think even younger children would love it. What they do is put stories to classical music in such a way that really brings the music to life and makes it interesting for children.

We reviewed the CD The Story of Swan Lake which narrated the classic ballet written by Tchaikovsky so the children could understand what was happening in the music.

Gess was captivated by it and when I told her that it was a ballet, she began her own interpretive dance of the story which actually is quite a workout. She would dance so hard that during the narration she would pause often with a big worn out, "Whew!"

Once you have listened to The Story of Swan Lake, the CD continues to tell you about the composer and the music. It was interesting to learn that Tchaikovsky did not study music until after he was finished with school and how he was even told by one music teacher to give it up! There were many other interesting facts too.

There is also a beautiful, though small insert with the CD that offers other information and many activities. We read through it together and talked about each one, specifically those that were mentioned on the CD.

One of the activities explained the difference between major and minor chords and how typically music in a major chord is happy and music in a minor chord is sad. The book shows you some examples and since my son has a keyboard, I pulled it out so Gess could hear what they sounded like. First I had her try to play them. (She had to play one key at a time.)

Then I played them and had her guess whether it was minor or major chord by asking her was it happy or sad. Then of course she just played on the keyboard for awhile which didn't sound anything like classical music but certainly was fun!

The last part of the CD was really neat as it summed up the story in words using music from within the ballet. You first hear the song, then it teaches you the words and tells you how to sing it (the words are also printed in the insert). Then you sing along with only the accompaniment. Gess really enjoyed this part. Actually we both enjoyed learning the song. In fact we have thoroughly annoyed my husband by singing it way too much. :) Anyway, we have a karaoke system on our television/media center so Gess was able to sing along with the CD using a microphone and that was even more fun!

They also offer a curriculum guide on their website that is geared for homeschoolers that helps you tie the music into your other subjects like language arts, history, science, geography, math and others. We did not use these helps but might explore them in the future. For Gess' level we found the information in the booklet and on the CD gave us enough material to cover although we did utilize our library to learn a little bit more about Tchaikovsky and the ballet.

I just honestly loved everything about Maestro Classics and The Story of Swan Lake. Not being very knowledgeable about classical music myself it was a really great way to introduce Gesserine to it. I didn't have to know that much since the CD took care of it all for me. It also inspired us both to want to hear more of Tchaikovsky's music so we rented a CD from our library. Gess even plays the Maestro Classics CD in her room and will listen to it while coloring or playing when she isn't in the mood to dance. It's just really well done and we both enjoyed using it.

Maestro Classics offers 9 different stories and you can purchase them all together or individually. The CD's sell for $16.98 each or you can download the MP3 and PDF Booklet for $9.98. You can also get the entire collection for $128.00 which is a $25.00 savings.

So, as you can see even the pricing is fairly reasonable for what you get, though personally I would buy the downloadable version and save $7.00. In fact once we have thoroughly explored Tchaikovsky, I plan on purchasing Peter and The Wolf next. We loved this way too much not to get more and I can think of no better way to bring music into our homeschool (which is something we haven't done up until now).

We absolutely loved Maestro Classics and think that you might to0. To learn more visit the Maestro Classics website or see what other members of the TOS Crew thought about it.

As a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew I received a free copy of "The Story of Swan Lake" for giving my honest opinion and assessment of this product in my review.

Happy New Year 2012

2012-01-02T07:05:00.000-08:00

Gess was really excited about the coming new year. Every night before she goes to bed she always asks, "What are we doing in the morning?" By that she means, what are we doing for the whole day tomorrow, not just in the morning. Well, the week before new year that question changed to "What year is it?" She knew the year was about to change and she was eager for it to do so. I would tell her it was still 2011 and then tell her how many more days until it was New Years Eve and News Years Day. She was so excited when I finally told her it was New Year's Eve!

Gess has stayed up until midnight for the past couple years, this year we made it, but barely. We had some friends over and sang some karaoke until about 11 and then they all left. Her friend Kayleigh is much younger and was getting tired. Gess started to go asleep but decided to join us in some singing and at midnight I had my alarm go off. She got her hand clapper to make some loud noise, ran out onto the porch to shout Happy New Year and listened to the firecrackers going off. It was really windy and cold so we immediately came back in and Gess was in bed within 5 minutes and asleep not soon after that.

I mentioned last year how we were going to start a DIY New Year Photo Book that we found at the No Time For Flash Cards website. We made it last year after I went through and found photos for each year.

Here is the book cover and a couple of pages. Gess glued them on and placed the stickers on the pages. We left enough pages so she can do this until she turns 18. What a fun little walk down memory lane that will be!

Now that it is a new year I figured it was good time to put in the photo for 2011. today I let Gess pic out a photo she loved from last year and place it in. Of course she picked one from Special Olympics. Here she is working on it.

It's a fun and easy project and really helps the child get a feel for having grown up and understand the passing of time. It's also fun to look at the pictures and talk about the stories that went with them.

I hope you all had a wonderful New Year's Day and hope that 2012 brings you lots of blessings and joy!

Advent Conspiracy

2011-12-21T07:11:00.000-08:00

This year during the Christmas season we are trying to focus more on giving to those in need than giving and receiving presents under the tree. This video is a great example of why we are doing what we are.

[AC] Promo 2011 from Advent Conspiracy on Vimeo.

Here are some great places to shop and give during this holiday season. These are places that we have purchased gifts to give our loved ones this year. We were excited because it not only will give our loved ones pleasure but the purchase provides help, hope and sustainable income to those in poverty. The products are amazing and the service is incredible so give them a try! (I know it's late this season but keep these in mind throughout the year. They would be great for birthdays or any day.)

Shopping

WorldCrafts "WorldCrafts^SM develops sustainable, fair-trade businesses among impoverished people around the world. Our vision is to offer an income with dignity and the hope of everlasting life to every person on earth."

Rahab's Rope "exists to give hope and opportunity to women and girls that have been forced into the commercial sex trade of India. By creating a safe and loving environment, they are enabled to grow and develop physically, mentally, and spiritually. Our work provides basic education and vocational training for each girl and woman who come through our centers; ultimately, allowing them to integrate into their communities in a positive and constructive manner."

Freeset "Freeset is a fair trade business offering employment to women trapped in Kolkata's sex trade. We make quality jute bags and organic cotton t-shirts, but our business is freedom! We would like to see the 10,000 sex workers in our neighborhood empowered with the choice of leaving a profession they never chose in the first place. "

Glad Tidings - Holy Land Designs "Our Glad Tidings Workshop in Amman, Jordan was started in 2001 as part of an effort to provide training and employment to people who are underprivileged or have physical disabilities."

Giving

Here are some other trusted ways to give to help those in need. This coming year we will be saving our change to buy a goat from Goats For The Old Goat because you get a picture of the family with the goat holding a picture with your name on it. After we buy a goat, Gess wants to buy ducks from World Vision and I want to buy some water filters from Baptist Global Response. My biggest heart is for Human Trafficking so we will also be giving to the International Justice Mission to fight that very thing. There are many other ways to give, the important thing is that we do it.

World Vision Gift Catalog - "World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families, and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice"

Baptist Global Response - "Baptist Global Response (BGR) is a disaster relief and community development organization with a heart for helping people in desperate need...BGR and its partners respond to people with critical needs, whether those needs arise from chronic conditions—like extreme poverty, contaminated water, or endemic hunger—or acute crises—such as natural disaster, personal trauma, or social upheaval."

International Justice Mission Gift Catalog - "International Justice Mission is a human rights agency that brings rescue to victims of slavery, sexual exploitation and other forms of violent oppression. IJM lawyers, investigators and aftercare professionals work with local officials to secure immediate victim rescue and aftercare, to prosecute perpetrators and to ensure that public justice systems - police, courts and laws - effectively protect the poor."

Bookit Reading Program

2011-12-16T14:34:00.001-08:00

For those who don't know, Pizza Hut has a Book It Reading Incentive Program that offers free pizzas to kids just for reading books. This program is available to homeschoolers as well.

We are doing Book It this year and Gess is thrilled getting her pizzas! She has always enjoyed reading, but since her school year is a bit more packed I noticed she wasn't reading as much as she used to. Reminding her she will get a free pizza for reading seems to help her remember to do it.

Today, during a massive amount of holiday and grocery shopping I thought it would be the perfect time to redeem that coupon from last month. Thanks Pizza hut for making our day brighter and reading lots of fun!

Christmas Crafts and Activities

2011-12-10T06:44:00.000-08:00

Gess and I have been reading through the Christmas story in the Bible during her devotional time each day. It is, of course, one that she is very familiar with. The other day, when she had some free time, I asked her to go write her own book about Christmas. I stapled some construction paper together and set her off on her own. I guess it shouldn't have surprised me that she wrote the story from the Bible. While her version of the book wasn't very "wordy" it certainly had every aspect of the story there (and with NO guidance from me). Here you can see, each page (including the cover) in order.

She did a good job, don't you think?

That was just something I had her do on a whim. For actual craft time I went again to Kaboose and found a Craft Stick Christmas Tree Ornament Craft to do. (It is under the Easy Christmas Ornaments craft section.) You can find the directions on their page.

First you paint the craft sticks. You paint one brown for the trunk (it called for a larger one but we just used the same size) and the rest green for the branches. (You must also break these apart so that they scale down to look like the tree.)

Then you glue on the sequence.

Then you glue the sticks together. And there you have an Easy Christmas Tree Ornament. (They had a star on the top of their tree but we had these tiny bows that I thought worked well.)

These are just a few of the activities we are doing this season. To see other Christmas activities we have enjoyed in the past, visit my Christmas section of the blog. I hope you find this season brings you lots of cheer. May each one of you have a very Merry Christmas!

Making Science (Doing experiments)

2011-12-06T08:22:00.000-08:00

Gess' favorite subject is Science. It just so happens that it is not mine. Granted we found some curriculum that makes it easy enough. Still, I always had trouble getting around to the experiments. I just have so much else to do and messing up my kitchen during the time I usually am about to start cleaning it isn't really motivation for me. So, we came up with a solution. We now study the material during the school week and daddy and Gess do the experiment for it on the weekend!

This semester we were using the Real Science 4 Kids Pre-Level 1 Chemistry book. I had blogged previously about how we were using this but because I never got around to the experiments I gave up and went with other Science options. However, now that daddy is helping, we will have this book completed by the end of the semester! (I had also mentioned how you could purchase this product by the chapter, but they don't allow you to do that anymore.)

Gess looks really forward to the experiments each weekend. (Well, we do go through the material slowly so she doesn't do one every weekend, but she sure looks forward to it when we do.) There are times she will even try to do them on her own. The other day she was in the kitchen and spreading cups out all over the table. When she was asked what she was doing she said "making science," hence the title of my post. Here is the experiment she was trying to copy that day.

In chapters 4 and 5 we learned about acids and bases and how they are different and how they react to each other. We learned that acids taste sour and bases are bitter. So for our experiment we had several liquids and were going to determine which ones were acids and which were bases and which were neutral (neither an acid or a base). Our experiment called for the following ingredients:

white grape juice
lemon juice
grapefruit juice
milk
baking soda water
mineral water
alka-seltzer water

Then we had to boil red cabbage in distilled water to make some cabbage juice to use as our indicator (what will tell us whether they are acids or bases).

Once we have our indicator ready, we line up all of our liquids in marked cups.

First we guess what we think the results will be. She has to guess which she thinks will be sour, bitter, or neither. Now it's time to do the taste test.

After tasting them (I am thinking she did not like the taste of the alka-seltzer water) we write our results of the taste test.

Next, we use our indicator to see if they change colors. When we add the cabbage juice a base should turn green, an acid should turn pink, and a neutral liquid will remain purple.

Now we have our results, notice their color changes.

Gess absolutely loves doing Science experiments and these are pretty easy to do. I could even do them myself if I had the mind to, but it is nice to have daddy involved some. It gives them some quality time to look forward to each weekend and gives her a much thorough explanation of the experiment than I could ever give!

Toydle Fort Christmas Giveaway!

2011-12-01T05:32:00.000-08:00

How would you like to get one of these forts for your kid for Christmas absolutely free? Well, Toydle has teamed up with the TOS Homeschool Crew to give away, not one, not two, but THREE of these forts which are valued at $240.00 each! As a member of the Crew, I am not eligible, but I would be thrilled if one of my readers won one.

Visit the TOS Homeschool Blog to find out how to enter your chance to win this Toydle fort for that special child on your Christmas list. Good luck! I hope one of you wins!

Hands on Math Game: Can I buy that?

2011-11-26T04:31:00.000-08:00

In my recent review of Math Mammoth Money I shared how Gess was getting good at counting coins using dimes and pennies. To practice that skill we came up with a silly little game I called "Can I buy that?" I didn't even actually come up with the title or call it a game until we were playing it for awhile. However, it was something Gess enjoyed and now she will ask to play the game "Can I buy that?" whether we are doing school or not.

I got the idea from an online friend who also homeschools their child that has Down syndrome. She said they make up a store around the house and have the kids spend their play money there. So far in money all we had done was recognize coins and know how much each one was worth. Now that we began counting coins in math I decided to implement the shopping idea into our lesson. I wanted Gess to see counting coins in an every day life situation however, instead of just pretending to play store, we acted as if it were a game to see how many things we could buy with our money.

So first I had her fetch about 6 to 7 toys. Then I took little stickers and priced them all under a dollar in ways that would help her practice counting using only dimes and pennies. Once I had the stickers made I let Gess put them on the toys. I noticed she did it randomly, the toy that was cheapest in real life was priced much higher than her most expensive and favorite of all the toys. So as we play, we are also trying to teach her about value.

Now that the toys are priced I then place her coins out in a way that makes it easy for her to count them. We start by counting the coins to see how much money she has to begin with.

Then she makes her first purchase. We confirm that she can "buy that" with the amount of coins she has. Then she counts the coins out and pays me that much money. Of course eventually she discovers that no, she does not have enough money to buy that, which is an important lesson every kid needs to learn!

That's all there is to it. As we add more coins in our math work we will add those in our game. We will eventually get fancier and have the shopping cart and actual groceries and all that. I think she will love setting up the store herself. As I have mentioned before, I already try to make our grocery shopping educational and this just adds a whole new aspect to that. For now I figured I would share phase one of our little shopping game called "Can I buy that?"

Easy Thanksgiving Crafts

2011-11-22T07:21:00.000-08:00

Each year I am usually lucky enough to find this really cool craft book titled 175 Easy-To-Do Thanksgiving Crafts at the public library. I think someone else finally stumbled upon that gem so my easy thanksgiving crafts had to come from somewhere else. In googling easy crafts, I entered another site that I have used before; Kaboose. I love their craft section because they have a holiday section titled easy, and this craft certainly was. (I search for easy because I am not very crafty, it has nothing to do with Gess!) We went with the Spoon Pilgrims craft, though we made some Wampanoags too.

First you print the patterns and trace them on paper and then cut them out. They were simple and easy for Gess to cut by herself.

Then you glue the outfits on the spoons.

Then you glue on some eyes (we used marker to make hair too).

And there you have your spoon figures.

Now we can have a puppet show of the first Thanksgiving!

For other easy craft ideas you might visit my past blogs Thanksgiving 2008 where we made a Thanksgiving Turkey.

Or visit my Thanksgiving 2009 blog where we made a Pumpkin Pie Game and a Thanksgiving Wreath.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Overruled: Docudrama exposing dangers to parental rights

2011-11-18T05:48:00.001-08:00

Overruled is a 35 minute docudrama that examines real cases in American courts in which parental rights were denied to parents.

Can you imagine having your child taken from your custody simply because you make them attend church 3 times a week? One judge in America did just that. He ordered that their child (who had already been taken from their custody) not be returned to the home unless the parents agreed to only take him to church once a week! A JUDGE decided how much church was too much church! An AMERICAN judge had the power to make that decision!

And parents of kids in school, did you know that you are checking your parental rights at the school door? Want your child opted out of sex education that might conflict with your personal views? A parent in this video was arrested for trying to opt his child out and the school never consented to do so!

Or what about medical information for your child? Do you know that you must sign for permission for medical treatment for your child and even must pay for that treatment but unless the child gives you permission you do not have the right to see the results of tests from that treatment!? Parents in this movie were denied access to the results of a drug test given to their son because of the new HIPPA laws we now have in place.

These are REAL cases that have happened in US courts. In the country where we thought we had the right to raise our children according to our own values, how could this be possible?

Here is the trailer to the Overruled Docudrama (in case you don't have time to watch the full movie now) and below that is the full version of Overruled. Please, make sure you make the time to watch the entire movie when you have a chance. Then please share it with everyone you know! This information needs to get out! We need to fight for our rights before they are long gone! Also, be sure to "like" the videos (if you agree of course) or comment below them.

Official Overruled Trailer

Overruled 35 Minute Docudrama

Visit Overruled Movie or Parentalrights.org to learn more of how you can help to protect parental rights.

TOS Review: Time Timer

2011-11-16T05:11:00.000-08:00

We had the opportunity this month to review the Time Timer which is a handy little tool for children with special needs, but has many other applications as well. The Time Timer can be used in education, business, special needs or every day life. Basically it's great for anytime you need to keep track of how much time is spent on a task.

What is so neat about the Time Timer, is that unlike a typical timer, it has a visual element that highlights how much time is left. So rather than just ticking down and ringing when something is done, it slowly fades the red area to white. There is also an optional quiet beep that beeps twice when the time is all done.

With my daughter having Down syndrome, we were interested in utilizing this timer for special needs situations. See, if a child can not yet tell time, the Time Timer can help them to keep track of a segment of time for various purposes. While I was excited to get this product now, I think it would have been even more beneficial for us when Gess was younger, but it still has practical uses for many things.

When Gess was younger we had many frustrating issues in which time was a factor. Before she had a concept of time she used to constantly ask when something was going to happen. If she knew we were going somewhere she would constantly ask when, so we could have set the timer and she would be able to see how long before we left, etc. Maybe that would have kept her from being so aggravated or "buggy" about needing to know when something was going to happen.

I would have also used this to teach her manners. In the past when Gess would ask for something inappropriately we would set a watch for 3 minutes time and tell her to come back in that time to ask again, this time using her manners. Well, she hated wearing a watch and while the beeper helped, I think seeing that 3 minutes tick away would have been wonderful. Still, there are uses for the timer now.

One fun thing is when we cook together. Gess loves helping in the kitchen. Before she used to have to go look at the oven timer to see how long until something was done. Now, she can take the clock to the room where she is playing and visually see the time tick away until the cookies, pizza or whatever we are making is done.

The main thing I have used it for was her reading time. Gess is entered in the Book-It program, where you read for so many minutes a month and get a free pizza coupon if you make your goal. Well, keeping track of her minutes had been a struggle for me. I would set her to reading and go do something else. When I came back, she was not reading anymore and I was trying to figure out just how long she had read before she stopped. It wasn't even that she got tired of reading. If she finished a book, she figured she was done. She did not really understand reading for a set amount of time. The Time Timer has helped her to learn to focus on how long she read, rather than how much.

Now when she reads, I lay out several books and explain that she must read until the timer goes off. If she finishes a book, she must start another one. The timer has really helped her understand the concept of what we are doing in a visual way. When the timer goes off, I can reset it if she wants more time. This has certainly made it much easier for me to keep track of the time.

Another thing I used it for was independent study for school and computer time. I have some educational computer programs that I use for later in the day that help Gess review or learn concepts without supervision. Sometimes, however, I would find she had quit the game before she was supposed to. This timer was the perfect solution for that. Now, I sit the timer on the desk and she knows she has to play or do that particular educational task until the timer goes off. This assures me she is getting the amount of practice that she needs. (You could also use it to make sure they didn't play non-educational games too long.) Here she is playing one of the games with the timer set behind her.

There were a few things that we did not like about the timer, but I suppose some of it couldn't be helped. Well, part of it is that the child can simply adjust the timer themselves if they wanted to end the session sooner. Thankfully for me, Gess only did this to extend the time if she wanted to play or read longer! I just fear one day she will try to speed things up too.

The other problem is that the beeping on the timer is very soft. You can set the timer to either beep or be silent. I understand having a quiet beep is best for children with aversions to louder noises or if you are going to use the timer in an office setting or something like that. However, it was so quiet sometimes neither of us realized the time had expired. I wish it had options for silent, quiet and loud.

Otherwise I found it to be very practical and helpful in many situations. The timer is somewhat expensive, at least on my budget, but sometimes these helps are worth any price if they address a specific need your special child might have. If it fits your budget and your need, it certainly is a handy thing to have around.

The Time Timer comes in three sizes. The 3" timer is $30.00, the 8" timer is $35.00 and the 12" timer is $40.00. I can see the larger timers being beneficial for younger kids, children with vision problems or in a classroom setting. We had the 3" one though and it worked really well for us. It's also really portable. The timer has a solid plastic cover that protects the timer when not in use and doubles as a stand for when it is, so you can toss it in a bag for travel and not have to worry about it.

If you would like to learn more about the Time Timer visit their website or see what others from the TOS Homeschool Crew thought about it.

As a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew I received a free 3" Time Timer for giving my honest opinion and assessment of this product in my review.

TOS Review: Math Mammoth

2011-11-11T04:56:00.000-08:00

While Gess is an excellent reader, one area that she really struggles with is math, which is pretty typical for children with Down syndrome. Because of that I planned on tackling some life-skills math topics such as time, money and measurement this year. So when I saw I had the chance to review Math Mammoth I jumped at it. I was hoping to be able to review at least one of the topics mentioned above, but was pleasantly surprised when they allowed me to review all 3 of them! So what is Math Mammoth?
"Math Mammoth offers affordable, yet quality math worktexts and workbooks for grades 1-8, available as both downloads and printed books. These books concentrate on conceptual understanding and are strong in mental math. The directions in the worktexts are written directly to the student, and are often self-teaching, thus requiring little preparation and involvement from the teacher."
I can certainly vouch for the affordability, quality and ease of teacher preparation. Each of these books allowed us to jump right on in and begin learning. They are visually appealing, engaging, and offer some hands on work to make it perfect for special learners like Gess. As for affordability I would imagine you could not find a better deal anywhere. You can get the Math Mammoth books in a downloadable PDF format for under $5. The Money book is only $3.25, the Clock book is just $4.00 and Measuring 1 is still a bargain at $4.50. You can also purchase the printed book version for a little bit more if you truly want a text book in front of you.

Math Mammoth also offers a complete math curriculum titled the Math Mammoth Light Blue Series which is a full elementary mathematics curriculum for grades 1 -6. The supplemental materials, such as the ones I reviewed, are organized into categories by colors as well. The Green Series are worksheets by topic while the Golden Series offers worksheets by grade. The Blue Series are worktexts by topic and focus on a few specific topics (this is the series that my products came from). They also have a Making it Real Learning series that teaches you to solve problems from real life and States by Numbers that is basic practice using real life data.

So, what did we think and how did Gess like it? Well, I have only had them for about a month and since Gess moves slowly in math (and we had 3 topics to cover) we didn't get that far, but what I can say is that Gess has enjoyed and comprehended every lesson that we have done so far. Let's start by taking a quick look at each one.

Math Mammoth Money

"Math Mammoth Money is a worktext that covers U.S. money-related topics usually encountered during grades 1-3. The book contains both textbook explanations and exercises, and is designed to be very easy to teach from, requiring very little teacher preparation (you do need to find some practice coins before the lessons)."

On the Math Mammoth Money website you will find more information about what all it entails including the following sample pages: the table of contents, practicing with money, adding money amounts, counting change and quarters.

Here Gess is doing one of the hands on activities in the workbook. We have some plastic coins that came with a game we picked up for a buck one time. They work perfectly for this but any fake money or even real money will work. We started with dimes and pennies. Here Gess had to put the appropriate amount in each box. You can also draw them if you wish, but I think this is much better.

I was really impressed with how well she was able to count out money. Here she is counting out change using only dimes and pennies.

This week we added in nickels and she counted pretty well. We have been working on skip counting for quite some time and it has paid off. She has been able to transition from counting in tens (dimes) to fives (nickels) and then ones (pennies) to see how much money she has. There are still times she gets mixed up and tries to keep counting by tens when she hits nickels, so we are taking it slow. Still, this material has her moving along fairly well and I am pleased with it.

Math Mammoth Measuring 1

"Math Mammoth Measuring 1 is a worktext that covers measuring length, weight, volume, and temperature as they are typically covered during grades 1-3.
The book contains both textbook explanations and exercises, and is designed to be very easy to teach from, requiring fairly little teacher preparation; however in several lessons you need to find beforehand measuring equipment such as a ruler or a scale or measuring cups.

This book is NOT organized by grade-levels nor with increasing difficulty. Instead, I have grouped together first of all the lessons on measuring length, then measuring weight, then measuring volume, and lastly temperature."

The Math Mammoth Measuring Page tells you all the other information you need to know and has the entire equipment list needed for these lessons, most of which you have laying around the house anyway. It also offers sample pages of the contents, centimeters and millimeters, weight in pounds, using grams, volume, and measuring nearest 1/2 inch.

I really loved the opening lesson that helps explain to the student why a standard form of measurement is important. First we have the student try to measure the length of the table using a shoe (representing a foot). But what shoe do we use? Does it matter? Well, we found out that it did. Here is Gess measuring the table using a big shoe (mine) and a little shoe (hers).

We discovered that our little table was 3 big shoes in length and 4 little shoes. Now we have to see about measuring liquid. It wanted us to fill a bucket or something with cups of water. Again, we want to use a little cup and a big cup.

It took 20 little cups to fill that up! I wonder how many big coffee cups it will take.

It turned out it only took 6 of those! What a difference. Next we logged our answers. I had her fill this in on the board to really see what happened.

Now that we know how important it is to have a standard method of measurement we went on to learning to measure things. So far we are measuring by inches. Gess is really getting handy with a ruler and can tell you to the inch how many inches long something is.

This past week they introduced the 1/2 inch to her. That may take some thinking but I am sure she will get it. I love how the pages are so easy for her to read and use. Just look at the measuring to the nearest half-inch page for an example.

Math Mammoth Clock

"Math Mammoth Clock is a worktext that covers telling time and reading the clock, telling time intervals, and understanding the calendar. It is suitable for grades 1, 2, and 3.

The book contains both textbook explanations and exercises, and is designed to be very easy to teach from, requiring very little teacher preparation...
You will need a practice clock, such as an alarm clock, where the child can turn the clock hands."

The Clock page also has more information and sample pages covering the contents, whole and half hours, half and quarter hours, how many minutes pass, and using the calendar.

I had already purchased a practice clock at a homeschool convention awhile back so we were prepared and ready to start.

Gess also was already familiar with the hands on the clock and could tell time to the hour. What I loved about this book is how it explains more about what the hour means at least relative to other time. For example this week we not only worked on how to tell the time on the clock now but then we had to find one hour or a half hour later and write that time down too. I think it really helped Gess to watch the time pass on the clock.

First I had her set the clock to what the problem called for which for this problem was 6:30.

Once she finds 6:30 we can do the problem. Now it wants us to find a 1/2 hour later. She finds and writes down 7:00. But we are not done yet. Now we have to find yet another 1/2 hour later.

Ok, now we look at the clock and see what time another 1/2 hour later is.

Then we write it down on the worksheet.

Here you have the final answer. Another 1/2 hour later is 7:30.

Eventually you will do it without the clock, but it has been extremely helpful for Gess to see it and move the hands herself.

As I mentioned above Math Mammoth offers many other math topics including a full curriculum for grades 1 through 6. This supplemental material has worked really well for us. To learn more about Math Mammoth visit their website or see what other TOS Homeschool Crew members have to say about it.

As a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew I received a free digital PDF copy of the Math Mammoth Clock, Money and Measuring1 books for giving my honest opinion and assessment of this product in my review.

TOS Review: Keyboard Town PALS

2011-11-07T05:31:00.000-08:00

We had the opportunity to review Keyboard Town PALS this last month and I have to tell you, I am absolutely amazed with the results! Keyboard Town PALS is a program for teaching children to type and it worked really well for us! Typing is a skill that I feared would take Gess (who has Down syndrome) forever to learn. In fact, we had tried other typing programs and teaching her myself, but it never seemed to take. So Gess has been doing what many kids (and some adults) do; hunt and peck.

Gess has been on the computer enough to where she actually knows where most (if not all) of the letters are. It's her motor skills that were the most challenging. So the first time we logged on to Keyboard Town PALS I couldn't believe how easily she picked it up! This program is so child friendly and very helpful for kids with special needs like Gess!

Here is how it works. You are guided through "Keyboard Town" by a fun and bubbly character named Sunny (OK, my husband said she was sort of creepy, but Gess liked her well enough).

She maps out the neighborhood by naming the three streets you will visit; Home-key Street, Uptown and Downtown.

Then she introduces you to some adorable puppet friends who make up the town. Each letter has a character to help you remember where the key is located. You immediately begin typing with each character that is introduced and by lesson 3 you are typing actual words! Here is Amy teaching how to type the letter a. Notice how you type underneath the video as it prompts you. The backspace and delete keys don't work so there is no correcting, which sometimes frustrated Gess. However, I actually like that it doesn't focus on perfection. It just wants you to practice as you go.

Now the program claims that it can teach you in just one hour, and for many kids that is probably so. I can certainly see how that would be possible. However, I intentionally took it much slower with Gess. Each lesson focuses on all the letters you type with that finger and I did not want Gess getting confused by doing too many lessons together. So each day we only did one lesson and I repeated each lesson one time before going on. Since there are 8 lessons that means it took us 16 days to complete them all twice. Still, learning to type in 3 weeks for a kid who has special needs and specifically motor skill issues is pretty amazing to me, especially since each lesson is not very long (I would say 5 to 6 minutes on average). Next we plan on trying to do them all together, or at least one hand of keys at a time to review and practice what she learned.

Even though the pace was much slower for Gess, with the motor skill issues she has I was absolutely amazed at how easily she picked it up! She was typing right away! Just look at her go!

Granted I would stand over her and make sure her hands were in the right place. In fact sometimes I caught her cheating by using the wrong finger. There are definitely muscles she would rather not use! But most of the time she did just fine.

I would highly recommend this for any family who has a child with special needs but I am sure it would work great for any child. Typing is one of those things I wondered if Gess would ever be able to do well. I certainly thought it was going to be much harder than this to teach her, especially when other methods had failed. I have to give a big thumbs up to this program and I am certainly recommending it to everyone in our local Down syndrome support group too!

Keyboard Town PALS is available on a CDRom for $35.00 or as a web based program for $30.00 and it is available in English, French or Spanish. There are also options to get a card game and stickers to go along with it. If you want an easy way to teach your child how to type I suggest you give it a try! For more information visit their website or why not see what other TOS Homeschool Crew Members had to say.

As a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew I received a 30 day subscription to Keyboard Town PALS for giving my honest opinion and assessment of this product in my review.

Allergy Medications and Behavior Problems

2011-11-03T05:44:00.000-07:00

Were any of you aware that allergy medication has the potential to affect a child's behavior? I had read about Singulair some time ago so when Gess was suffering with allergy problems I refused to give her Singulair because of it. According to their own website the potential Behavioral side effects of taking Singulair are:

Behavior and mood-related changes have been reported. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you or your child have any of these symptoms while taking SINGULAIR:

agitation including aggressive behavior or hostility
bad or vivid dreams
depression
disorientation (confusion)
feeling anxious
hallucination (seeing or hearing things that are not really there)

irritability
restlessness
sleepwalking
suicidal thoughts and actions (including suicide)
tremor
trouble sleeping

Well, what I didn't realize is that ANY allergy medication has the potential to affect a child's behavior! Do you recall last year when I blogged about some behavioral issues my daughter was having? She seemed to suddenly just turn into a very obstinate and rebellious child and I was trying to help her through it. Well, over the course of this last year we figured out what the problem was. It was not Gess going through a "phase" it was her allergy medication!

See, when Gess had her tonsils out we had to take her off medications before her surgery. She got sick for some time after and she ended up off the medication for awhile. We noticed that as she healed her behavior was much better! We thought, maybe the whole problem was her breathing issues and not resting well and that the surgery helped that out. Then, her allergies began to act up so we had to place her back on her meds. Then the behavioral issues suddenly reappeared! It was like turning on a switch. Within a week we were back to aggressive and defiant behavior again.

I spoke to my doctor and mentioned my concern so we switched her medication and tried something else. We had the same problem. We even tried Singulair since they ALL seemed to have the potential to affect behavior. It too changed her mood. We finally settled to just use over the counter medications using Benadryl at night and Sudafed during the day. Do you know we even get some behavior adjustment with just those? It's not as severe as some of the prescription medications but there still is an apparent change.

You know I expected behavioral medications to affect children this way. Medications for ADHD, Depression, Anxiety, and those types of conditions all have a risk of making children (and adults) experience the side effects mentioned above. I had no clue, however, that an allergy medication could do the same thing!

So I have to get the word out, especially to parents of children with DS. If your child is having behavioral issues AND is on allergy medication, you might look to see if there is a correlation. It very well could be the case, and if it is, we need to start letting our health professionals know!

I read in the American Academy of Pediatrics Clinical Report of Health Supervision for Children with Down syndrome that there is some evidence that children with Down syndrome are more sensitive to behavioral medication than their peers. The report states:

"The use of medication for behavioral management should be discussed between the primary care physician and specialists involved in the child's care, because children with Down syndrome may be more sensitive to certain medications. Although there has been little research to directly address the use of psychotropic medications among children with Down syndrome, anecdotal reports indicate that such children may differ in their response to medications."

It seems to me that if our children may respond differently to psychotropic drugs and since allergy medications have the same potential to affect behavior as psychotropic drugs do, then our children may be more sensitive to allergy medications as well. I certainly wish they would do more studies to see just how prevalent this might be.

So please, if you have a child with behavioral issues and they are on a regular dose of allergy medication, try and find out if it is related. If your child only takes allergy medication as needed, watch their behavior and see if you have any issues as well.

I only offer this to you to inform you of the risk. Maybe Gess is some strange case which makes her more sensitive than most, I just do not know. What I do know is that parents should be told of the risk of side effects no matter what! Until I brought this up, I had no idea that her allergy medication had the potential to do that. According to our doctor ALL allergy medications can do that. If nothing else, we need to be told that! We need to know what these drugs might do to our kids and so now you know. Please share this information with others who might need to know too. It's a scary thing to watch your child transform before your eyes, knowing it's a drug that is supposed to help is downright frightening.

TOS Review: Ooka Island

2011-10-31T05:57:00.000-07:00

When I saw that I had the opportunity to review Ooka Island for the TOS Homeschool Crew, I was really excited. I actually love the concept of what they have done. They have taken a reading program called the OokaMethod and merged it into an 3D, interactive educational computer game. The game encompasses what they call Emergent level skills that begin in Kindergarten (though I would say some could start sooner) and go through about 2nd grade to a level they call Fluency reading.

Because the program is designed around the OokaMethod each child must start at the beginning, regardless of their skill level, so it appears to be geared towards those students who have not yet began to learn to read or are struggling with their current method and need some review. Of course all that we accomplished this month was review for Gess and she seemed to enjoy it anyway.

When you purchase the game you download it from the website and then you install it. All that seemed to go without a hitch, but beware once you start to set it up. As soon as it was installed we were ready to check it out. Immediately we noticed it didn't default into full-screen mode, and Gess just hates that. It was taking us to make her character and before she started I thought, I will quit out real quick and look up how to make it full screen, then we will go back and enjoy it. Well, after quitting I found out that hitting alt plus enter was all I had to do to get it full-screen, but the bad news was when we went back we weren't able to make our character anymore! The game apparently logged it as though we were done even though we had not done anything more than look at the screen. I was sad that Gess would not get to create her own character because she loves doing that so much, but she does get to dress her up in game, so that at least is something. Anyway, we moved on and finally entered Ooka Island.

As you begin you fly over and around the island while Auntie Kay and Zobot sing you a catchy tune. Well here, see and hear for yourselves how it starts.

Ok. So this is Ooka Island. I linked this image up to the game map online that shows you what each section is and what you learn there. From Z Doo to the Submarine there are tons of fun games that teach you letter sounds, identification and reading comprehension.

See that blimp up there in the corner? He is going to fly down and let you know what part of the island you are going to explore. You must follow the blimp for a round of lessons and after you complete one level, which usually takes about 20 to 30 minutes, you earn some free time. In that time you may explore areas of the islands you have unlocked with your skills, read in the library or visit the playground. (Be sure to enjoy your free time now because whether you use it or not, it is not there when you return to the game.) When your time is up you are back to guided learning again. The Popcorn Library, however, is always open and children may read books they have unlocked at anytime. You can even choose to just enter and read rather than play the game.

Now for me, the game does not really offer much of a free time incentive. The playground is pretty boring because it is an actual playground. Watching your character ride on a slide or do a teeter totter loses it's fun rather quickly and after the first break you never really want to do that again. You can dress up your character but while Gess enjoys that some, it gets old after a while too. Being able to pick your adventure is a nice change, but you just did them and will be doing them again, so it's not really much of an incentive. However, that is what Gess would do, usually choosing to do Alphabet Mountain because after you jump up to the top by getting the alphabet in the correct order you get to skateboard back down it again. Here she is jumping up and then skating down. Going down she is actually in flight because she had just skated off a ramp.

Each lesson has something it focuses on. You have to choose letter sounds to decorate cakes, or catch some pigs, drive though a dark cave, and other adventures. Gess generally liked them all and always enjoyed playing the game. Since her skills are more advanced I worked this game into our school day to work on review of some sounds, for as we have focused on spelling I have noticed that sometimes she misses certain sounds in words. It's also nice as a speech lesson for her. It's good to have her hear and have to repeat the proper sounds because when she focuses on what she is doing she usually says things correctly, so it's good for her to practice them. For kids who have not yet started to learn to read, I think it's a pretty neat method and I think many kids with special needs will do well with it and enjoy learning to read in Ooka Island.

The last lesson you preform before playtime is reading a book in the Popcorn Library. I particularly liked the comprehension and word recognition games after reading the book. For comprehension you have to pop the balloons that Boo (a character in the books) is holding. I love how the questions are visual and interactive. Gess does well that way and while her reading is way above this level, answering comprehension questions are always tough for her. This has been a fun way to review. Here she is clicking the correct balloon to answer the question.

After finishing this lesson Gess completed the first tier of lessons. You can see at the library what books they have read and how they progress up in levels.

So that is how the game works, or is supposed to. While I absolutely loved the concept of the game and Gess thoroughly enjoyed playing it, we did have some issues with it. I actually felt more like a beta tester for the game, rather than a reviewer. The game does have some issues and crashes occasionally. It just plays and feels like a game under production, not a completed product. In fact there were even areas in the game where it was wrong. My husband and I sat here one day and watched Gess in the Cave of Sound try and try to find the letter g because the game wanted her to find the beginning sound in the word go. There was no g, so after choosing some wrong answers to move it along, it then showed us we need a b for the word boo! We had the same problem in the Cake Factory too. Gess plays on her own so often that I don't know how many times that may have happened. There were also other times the game would just crash and we would have to use ctrl/alt/delete to shut it down and then restart the game.

There is also the issue of parental reports. Since this game is an educational reading game that actually teaches your child to read, it is imperative that parents and/or teachers know how the child is progressing. It's not really convenient for me to use it as part of school if I have to physically sit with her and watch how she is doing. I like using computer programs to supplement our day and let Gess work independently. Well, according the website they say, "Throughout the entire adventure, the child works independently, but can be actively monitored by a parent through the real-time reports offered in the “Ooka Lighthouse”." However, the Lighthouse is not yet available. When I contacted them about it they said it was due out this last week, but when I checked again today it was still not there. I feel that if it is not working yet the website should let parents know that the feature is coming soon, rather than implying that it is already functional.

That is my major problem with the game. To me, it is just not yet ready to launch. It may be close but I personally would think they should use more beta testers to fix the kinks in the system first. As a person getting to use this product for free, I was in no way annoyed at the issues we had (except the lack of ability to monitor their progress). However, if I were paying full price for this game, I would not have been pleased at all.

The game, when functional will probably be worth the price, though I think the best deal is if you have a family with 4 kids, but since it's geared only for kids K-2 it's highly unlikely that you will have that many kids using it at once. Here is their pricing chart for the game for homeschool families.

With all that said, I do have to admit that Gess just loves the game. When I implemented the game as part of our school day, I would set a timer for 20 minutes and tell her she had to play for at least that long before logging off and I counted it as our phonics and speech that day. Well, one time I came to check on her after 20 minutes should have been up and saw that she set the timer to another 30 minute cycle! It cracked me up because I never meant to use it as a limit for the game, just the minimum! She does just love it that much. Here she is enjoying the game. (You can see the timer that she reset in the photo.)

All in all, I think if Ooka Island can get it's kinks worked out, implement some better free time activities, and release the Lighthouse so parents can track the child's progress, it will be a really great game. In the mean time if you would like to try it for yourself, now is the time to do it since they are offering a 30% discount in honor of its launch. Just use the code below and start today.

If you are still not sure what you think and just want to learn more visit their website or see what other TOS Homeschool Crew members thought in their reviews.

As a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew I received a 6 month subscription to Ooka Island for giving my honest opinion and assessment of this product in my review.

Sickness, Birthdays, and Glasses

2011-10-26T06:26:00.000-07:00

Gess turned 10 yesterday and I had hoped to have some pictures of her opening presents, eating pizza and roller skating but instead mommy and daddy were sick, so she opened presents without much fanfare at all. The sickness really began with her older brother having the bug last week and on Saturday Gess caught it. She got so dehydrated that we had to take her to the ER to get fluids.

I am at least able to get up on my computer today, although I haven't eaten much and Gess' appetite still isn't what it used to be. I hope that continues to improve.

On another note Gess did get new glasses a few days before all this sickness started. Here she is wearing her big girl glasses!

We figured by 10 years old she was ready to outgrow the plastic ones, though they were a great solution at the time. She is really doing a great job taking care of them too. She likes to recall that "when the glasses are not on your face, they go in the case."

I hope things will improve in a couple of days, for now this will be the 3rd day of school we missed in a row!

Saving the Season

2011-10-18T15:30:00.000-07:00

I told you in my blog last year about a really neat present that Gess got for her birthday which was a book titled, 101 Things You Gotta Do Before You're 12.

Well we have been making some progress with this book and today I want to share how we completed challenge #95, "Save a part of one season into the next." We had a garden this year (which helped Gess complete #28 "plant something and watch it grow"), but it was a small one. In fact, it is only our second year to have a garden at all. Thankfully it turned out much better this year, but we didn't really have enough veggies to can or put back for next year. However, our basil plant really took off and as the season comes to a close we thought, what are we going to do with all that basil? Last year we made some pesto and it lasted quite awhile, but we didn't want to go that route again, so my husband looked up how to dry basil and that's what we did last weekend!

How to dry basil

1. First you wash and dry the leaves.

2. Layer the Basil in a baking pan.
First place a paper towel in a baking pan and place a layer of basil on it. Do not let any of the leaves touch. Then place a paper towel on top of that and make another layer. It recommended that we not do more than 3 layers of basil. Be sure there is a paper towel covering the last layer as well.

3. Bake the Basil at low heat
Preheat the oven to 175 degrees. Place the pan in the preheated oven and then turn the oven off. Leave it in for about one hour. Then, still leaving the basil in the oven, preheat it again, shutting it off when it hits 175 degrees. Check the basil every hour or so to see if it is ready. When it is done will be all dried out like this.

4. Then crush the basil with your fingers into a bowl or something, making sure to remove any stems as you do it. Then place it in a container. We put it in our basil canister for our spice rack. It's pretty neat that it came from our own back yard! Here is Gess showing off the basil that we will use in lots of dishes this winter. It won't be as good as grabbing the leaf fresh off the plant, but it's better than the store bought stuff...and Gess has one more item to check off of her list!

TOS Review: Always Icecream

2011-10-12T10:23:00.001-07:00

I have an (almost) 10 year old daughter who has special needs and I really worry sometimes when she gets on the internet. I mean, come on, I can't sit next to her every hour of the day, and we have already had some issues with things she has found online. What's even more frightening is that she is getting to the age where she will begin interacting online with others in some of the "social network" kind of sites. What is a parent to do?

Well, I now have a great suggestion for mothers of girls age 7-12. It's a site called Always Icecream that I had the privilege to review for the TOS Homeschool Crew, and I have to tell you I am definitely sold on the concept. At Always Icecream girls, and only girls, can log on, play educational games, take care of virtual pets, decorate their online space and interact with other girls in a safe and friendly environment! In fact, they advertise that they have been "certified by the Privo Privacy Assurance Program to be in compliance with the rigorous standards defined in the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA)." I think it is the perfect way to introduce young girls to the social networking aspects of the web without the fear of them coming in contact with predators or even just hearing inappropriate conversations. At Always Icecream, all communication and media is monitored and parents can view friendships and customize whether or not children can even participate in the social aspects of the website. You have codes that you give your real life friends so you can be assured that anyone who has unlimited communication is really someone you know. You can read more about their safety features at their website.

Ok, I know, you are thinking, so fine, it's safe, it's really safe, but what does this place look like and what do the kids do? Well, there are tons of things really! One of the social things is that you get to set up your avatar (no real life images) and make your personal page to let others know a little bit about you, such as you favorite ice cream, book, movie, etc. You can also say what's on your mind and pick (or make up) your "motto." Here is Gess adjusting the look on her avatar.

Now, there are tons of educational games you can play, and when you play those games you earn scoops of ice cream. When you click on the Learn and Play button you come to a menu that has lots of games. I love the way the menu (and the whole site) is very visually appealing. It's not small lists of little games, but larger images letting you see what you can choose from. You will notice that the games that earn you scoops have an ice cream cone on top of the image.

There are games in Language Arts, Basic and Advanced Math, Science, Bible, Geography, Typing and more. Gess loves Science and one of her favorite games was one on anatomy where you had to identify the body parts, and we are talking about the parts inside as well as out. You have to click on your ear, foot, kidney, things like that.

As you can see on the bar in the left, you earn medals after you reach so many levels. It appears Gess is up to a silver medal in anatomy! Typing and Geography are some other games you can choose from.

Now that you have played these games and earned some scoops of ice cream you can go spend them. One thing you get to do is decorate your virtual room. Here is the little pad Gess is setting up.

Oh, and another thing that is really neat is the artwork that you can put in your room. You can either make the artwork yourself or you can purchase artwork that some of the other girls have made! Gess has actually sold a piece of her artwork earning 30 scoops of ice cream! How cool is that?

Another thing you can spend scoops on is hatching and raising pets. Gess didn't really get into this at first, but now she seems to just love taking care of them. Of course, she has to remember to do it. The poor things were out of love and food when we checked in, but that's OK. She had plenty of scoops to get them back on track. Here is her turtle Mario after she gave him some tender loving care.

I do have to admit, Gess had some struggles with the site at first and for awhile she didn't find it very fun, but I think that was mostly because of her special needs. She just didn't seem to care too much about socializing or doing any of the activities that you actually get to spend scoops on. So the motivation for her is a little tougher. And while the games are cute, they aren't as interactive as she would like them to be, and many of them are too advanced anyway. However, after we played together for awhile and she saw how things like the pets worked and what they did, she started to enjoy it more. So while I am anxious about the ability of this website to help teach my child online social skills, because of her special needs she really isn't all that interested in being "social" online yet (which is alright by me!). For girls who are though, this is an excellent and safe way to let them learn! Either way there is plenty of enjoyment to be had whether you choose to interact with others, or not.

Now Always Icecream does have a fee, but I agree with them that is absolutely necessary to ensure the site's safety. It costs money to make and maintain an online game and you basically have two options of gathering revenue for such a site. One is to charge a fee and the other other is through add revenue. On their website they say, "we don’t want to depend on ads to pay for site improvements since ads lead to external sites at which we cannot control the content." And that is absolutely true. With that in mind I think that the fee they require is really reasonable. You can get an account for girls ages 7-12 for only $4.99 a month, $29.99 per year or $99.99 for a lifetime. There is also a way to try out some of the features for free. Personally I would rather pay a small fee and have the peace of mind knowing that my daughter is in a safe and happy online community. To learn more visit Always Icecream or see what other crew members had to say about it at the TOS Homeschool Crew Blog.

As a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew I received a lifetime membership to Always Icecream for giving my honest opinion and assessment of this product in my review.

Learning the 10 Commandments

2011-10-08T15:11:00.000-07:00

As Gess is getting older we thought it was important to stress having some personal devotion time. I think she needs to know that she can pray and study God's Word anytime she chooses. We always begin her day learning something in the Bible together. Then I have her write and meditate on the portion of Scripture that was the focus for the day. Since she was doing some written work each day we thought it would be good to have a place to keep it all together so that could look it over later and remember what she has studied so far. So we made made her a notebook and titled it My Devotional and keep it with her bible.

One of our early lessons this year was to memorize the 10 commandments. I recalled that Living Waters had a great resource for helping kids to memorize them so I went to their site and downloaded their 10 Commandments Learning Aids. They use these images to help tie the number to the actual commandment. They have a full presentation but here is the sheet with just the visual aids.

The 10 Commandments Flip Chart is the presentation that helps you tie each picture in.

1. God should always be Number One. (#1 ribbon)
2. Don't bow to anything but God. (person bowing shaped as 2)
3. Don't use your lips to dishonor God. (lips in shape of 3)
4. Don't neglect the things of God. (Bible and spider web make 4)
5. It's a 5 shaped like a mother and father to remind you to honor them.
6. It's a bomb shaped like a 6 for don't murder.
7. Adultery leaves a broken heart. (crack in heart makes a 7)
8. The thief's mask looks like an 8 for don't steal.
9. The number nine is "lying" down for don't lie.
10. The door and ring together look like a 10 for don't covet.

Gess does really well with visuals and adding the hands on element made learning the 10 Commandments easy and fun. We started by learning one commandment each school day. She would read the verse from the bible and then copy it in her journal. Then I had her glue the image to the bottom of the page.

Each day we would add a new verse but we would also review the other verses by matching the verse to the picture. By the time we were done she was pretty good at getting them all correct.

After 10 days of practicing she was pretty good at it. Now it was time to see if she could do it without the visual aids. Does she actually know the 10 Commandments?

And you know what? She did it!

Biblesta

2011-10-03T04:57:00.001-07:00

Not many towns and communities will have an entire afternoon set aside to celebrate the Bible, but a small town in Kansas does. Humboldt Kansas has been hosting Biblesta for over 50 years and this was our first opportunity to visit it. It was a lovely afternoon filled with Chrsitian music, good food, activities for the kids and a parade centered around themes from the Bible. Each church, civic group and/or business places a float in the parade that depicts a scene from the Bible and the floats are then placed in chronological order from Genesis to Revelation. My favorite float was the 10 Commandments.

The Jonah float is another favorite and is one that is entered every year. It is mechanical and you can see the legs of Jonah as he is being swallowed and water even exits from the blow hole of the whale. Here is Gess with the "big fish" behind her.

When we arrived on the scene there was a really good Southern gospel band performing called The Missourians. Gess was taken with the music so we sat and listened for quite some time. I say, sat, Gess sat some and danced some too. Music just makes her move. Here she is in front of the stage before we moved on to other things.

One of the activities they had for the kids was a petting zoo. Here is Gess feeding a few of the animals. She could have stayed in here all day I think, she loves animals.

It was a blessing to see the Bible celebrated in the center of town and Gess really enjoyed seeing God's Word come to life before her eyes. It was our first time visiting but we will certainly visit Biblesta again.

Clothespin Learning

2011-09-26T14:05:00.001-07:00

Most of you know that working with clothespins is a good way to work on fine motor skills. Well, while I was surfing I found a great idea from the TeachMama blog which had article on a Clothespin and Letter Match-up Game. It's really a simple, and easy game that takes the therapy aspect of clothespin and makes an educational game out of it. You can see on her site that they write the letter or number on a clothespin and then clip it to the corresponding letter or number on the card. If your child is at that level then I recommend you hop on over and see how to make this game!

Gess, however is way past recognition, but still in need of fine motor work, so I just made a game that is more on her level. That's what so great about the idea, it's adaptable in so many ways! Since Gess is working on money recognition we made a game to help her identify coins and bills.

First I copied some play money, cut it out and glued it to the card. Then I made 2 sets of clothespins, one that had the name of the coins and the other that had the amount of money each was worth. Then I had her match the clothespin to the appropriate coin or bill.

I also have an Exact Change game that has realistic looking coins in it. So sometimes I have her just identify the coins by clipping the clothespin directly to them.

Gess finds it fun and engaging and it is sure better than doing a worksheet. As we are entering parts of speech I think I may try to find a way to adapt a game to that as well. As I said before, the options for game themes are limitless! What game would you play? Feel free to share your ideas!

Spelling Activities

2011-09-20T05:26:00.000-07:00

Recently I shared with you a great FREE program I was able to review called BigIQkids. Not yet having my own spelling program, I was excited to have found something to use. I am really loving it and found it to be an excellent resource. You can see some of the activities it offers in my TOS Review: BigIQkids post. Gess has really found it fun and helpful.

Now I wanted to share with you some other activities we use to supplement what we do on BigIQkids. We basically do spelling twice a day. We typically do our BigIQkids spelling on the computer in the morning and in the afternoon we do other hands on activities with those same spelling words. Here is how a week would look for us.

Day 1
In the morning we will do the introduction to spelling activity on BigIQkids. This gives her not only the word and how to spell it, but the definition, how it is used in a sentence, and also shares the synonyms and antonyms of those words.

In the afternoon she copies the words in her spelling notebook. I took a spiral notebook and each week I simply write the spelling list for that week and have her copy the words on the same page.

Day 2
In the morning she will do another activity from BigIQkids. Hangbot is a good one for the second day as it allows her to guess the letters in the word without them having to actually be in order.

In the afternoon we will use the words in a sentence. I write the word on the board and ask her to use it in a sentence, then I write her sentence down. This is a good way to see if she knows what the word means. You have to be careful and make sure that they don't just spew out the sentence that BigIQkids uses. If I hear the exact same sentence, I try to have her make another one to make sure she understands the meaning of the word.

Day 3
In the morning we do more activities on BigIQkids. The word scramble is another favorite one of ours.

In the afternoon we will look up the spelling words in our dictionary. I bought these dictionaries years ago from someone selling them door to door. They are called My Fun With Words and are really visually appealing. Now you will not be able to find every spelling word in this dictionary, but that's alright as only choosing about 5 is better for my daughter's attention span anyway. This not only enforces the spelling word and it's meaning but teaches the child how to use a dictionary. This is Gess' first year doing this, and it's going rather well. Sometimes I find her just reading through the dictionary which is really cool.

Day 4
In the morning when she logs onto BigIQkids I have Gess take the spelling test, but I am sure to explain to her that this one is a practice test. I want to see which words she is still struggling with.

In the afternoon I will take the words she has gotten wrong and have her spell them using her magnets. (Again it becomes too tedious doing every word so I limit it to only the words she is struggling with.) I showed you how we used letter magnets back when Gess was first learning to spell. Well, they still come in handy. I think putting her hands physically on the letters is helpful.

Before I have her spell the words though, I take the words she spelled incorrectly and explain to her why she got them wrong. I then write a sentence enforcing the correct way to spell the word, have her read the sentence and then write the word the correct way. For instance in the word chain she forgot the letter i or wrote it in the wrong place. I wrote, "the word chain has an i after the a" and then she would write the word chain. Below is a sheet we did one week. You can some of the examples there.

Once we finish this worksheet we are ready to spell the words with magnets. I am careful to have the tiles already lined up alphabetically so it was easier for her to stay on task. If they have to spend too much time finding a letter they might get distracted and that could cause them to make a mistake they might not otherwise make. As our speech therapist says, "set them up to succeed."

Day 5
In the morning she takes the spelling test on BigIQkids, however, if she gets a perfect score on her practice test we will not do this one today.

In the afternoon I give her a written spelling test and have her write the words on paper as I say them and use them in a sentence. I find it really good to give both the test on the computer and on paper because it helps me to see how consistently she misses a word. Sometimes you will find it correct on one test and wrong on another. That tells me that she may know the answer in her head but she may be losing it as she has to "think" about how to write and/or type it. Maybe she meant to type or write the letter i, but just forgot too. That sort of thing.

After all these activities Gess usually does a pretty good job on her spelling tests.

TOS Review: Before Five in a Row

2011-09-14T05:01:00.000-07:00

Let me tell you about a really neat resource I had the opportunity to review this past month. Before Five in a Row is a unit study curriculum for preschoolers ages 2 to 4 based off the Five in a Row curriculum which is for children ages 4 to 8. While Before Five in a Row is less involved, and not quite as structured, both materials use children's literature as a basis for each unit in which you explore the Bible, science, language arts, math, and art through various hands on activities.

While this is geared toward preschoolers, I offered to review it since there are often benefits for kids with special needs beyond the preschool years. I did find that by age 9 Gess was too advanced for most of the activities, but I certainly thought it would have been an incredible resource to have when she was younger. I can see having done some of these up until she was about 6. What's so beautiful about this concept is that it takes reading a book, which is a strength and joy for most children with Down Syndrome, and adds hands on activities to it. What could be more fun than reading a book with mom and making it come alive with action and play?

Each unit is based upon some of the most beloved children's storybooks of all time, most of which can be found at your local library. From Goodnight Moon, The Runaway Bunny, The Carrot Seed, Corduroy and 20 other treasures, Before Five in a Row guides you through the book in new and exciting ways. Let me share an example by showing you how Gess and I followed the guide for Blueberries for Sal. There are 9 suggested areas of study for this one book. Below you will see us doing the one on math.

Here we are enjoying the Book Blueberries for Sal. Of course you will be reading it to your 2 to 4 year old, but in our case Gess read it to me.

In the book little Sal is following mommy while she picks blueberries. Sal is given her own tin pail. In the book we find that it sometimes tells us how many berries she ate and how many she put in her pail. She also eats some of out mommy's pail too. So for math, we are going to work on counting and introduce subtraction. (For Gess we focused on subtraction since we are doing that in school.)

So, the child is given a bucket and picks some berries, or whatever you would like them to pick. In our case it was grapes. When we first put the grapes in the bucket we listen carefully for the sound because in the story it makes the sound kuplink, kuplank, kuplunk when they drop in an empty bucket, but they note that you don't hear that sound when the bucket is full. I wonder if we will notice a difference?

We did notice a difference! When the bucket was close to empty it would make a sound, but once it was full of grapes you didn't hear the sound anymore. That was fun. Now it is time to eat some berries, or I guess I should say grapes.

Gess has 10 grapes. What happens if mommy takes 3?

Gess has 10 grapes and decided to eat one, how many does she have now?

Now what happens if she eats a few more?

And mommy eats some too?

How many are left now?

We had a lot of fun with subtracting and eating grapes! As I mentioned there are many other activities to do using this one book. In Science it has you begin to classify animals. This one is really neat because it's a project that continues through every book you read. Each time you come to a new animal you make a card for it and classify it. In Blueberries for Sal you are introduced to a bear, a partridge and a crow. We classify the birds and the mammal and learn a little bit about each one. Then lets say the next time you read a book it has a cat and a mouse. You learn a fact or two about those animals and classify them too. By the end of the year you should have a fairly large knowledge of animals and a pretty good idea about how to classify them!

While this is indeed a great treasure for preschool children I think it is even more valuable to children with special needs who need that extra help and guidance. And there is even more to what Before Five in a Row has to offer. While part one of the book is all about learning from literature, part two offers many other fun and exciting ways to teach young children the important development skills they need. There are suggested activities for reading readiness, coordination, large motor skills, small motor skills, as well as activities to do in the kitchen, during bath time, at the store and ways to explore the arts through play. Your young child, with or without special needs, will be learning many new things, and they won't even know they are learning. They will think they are simply having fun, but you will know that you are teaching them valuable life skills and lessons while creating some memorable moments along the way.

So if you have kids who are not quite ready for school and would like to teach them in a way that keeps learning playful and fun, you should try Before Five in a Row. You may purchase Before Five in a Row for $35.00. To learn more about it you may visit the Five in a Row website or see what other crew members had to say by visiting the TOS Homeschool Crew blog.

As a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew I received a free copy of the book "Before Five in a Row" for giving my honest opinion and assessment of this product in my review.

TOS Review: BigIQkids

2011-09-09T04:50:00.000-07:00

I was so excited when I got my homeschool materials this year. I was like a kid at Christmas opening a present! I just love going through all my new materials and was having a good time until I realized that I had nothing for spelling. Last year my curriculum included it, this year it didn't. I was bummed and was trying to figure out what I would use when I got some good news. I was chosen to review BigIQkids for the TOS Homeschool Crew.

BigIQkids is a unique online educational program for grades K-8 that is designed to help students reach their full potential by offering exercises for them to do in math, spelling and geography. Now I was not only excited about the spelling, I was eager to see how friendly the math section would be to my special little student, who happens to have Down Syndrome.

Once I managed the online registration process and really began looking at the program, I was quite pleased with what it had to offer. Each lesson is accompanied by it's own "tutor" which is an animated character that guides you through the lesson. While it did take some getting used to, we actually found that having audio instruction presented visually was quite helpful for Gess. I was also really pleased with how clean, pleasant, and inviting each lesson was. It was colorful and engaging without being distracting.

At first I was disappointed that it was not set up in a way that would allow a child to simply "play" for awhile on the website. You do earn a coin for each lesson that you can spend on the games page, but you are really not encouraged to just plow through lesson after lesson in order to get the coins. They recommend spending only 20 to 40 minutes per day, and say that students who do that usually find improvement in their regular studies. I found this to be the case for us as well.

While I started telling you how glad I was that I now had something for spelling, I want to show you the math section first, because this too was a thrill for me to find! (It's the kid in the candy store effect, I get excited, what can I say?)

I had been looking for quite some time for an online math program or game that would be good for Gess. Unfortunately every one I found was either too complicated, too advanced or they timed the lesson. I was thrilled to see that BigIQkids Math was none of those things. Actually it can be any of those things, but that's the cool part about it! In the BigIQkids Math program, the parent or teacher gets to set up how many problems a child does each day, how difficult the problems are and whether or not they are timed. I set Gess to drilling 10 problems a day in basic single digit addition. Look how appealing and easy this screen is to read.

The child can then type or click on the appropriate answer. If you click the help button you are presented with an actual example on the screen to help you literally count it out. It also has a notepad and pencil so you can do your work on the side.

I actually discouraged Gess from using the helps though as I was having her use her count on skills to work any problems she did not already know (she has her 0, 1, and doubles facts memorized). Here she is working out a problem by placing her fingers on the desk to represent the second digit. She then said the first digit and "counted on" using her fingers to find the answer. She is getting really good at this.

I can't tell you how happy I am to finally have found a fun and easy way to drill math skills for Gess. This program is exactly what I was looking for! In fact, if you read my blog where I posted our schedule over the desk you will see that BigIQkids is now a part of our daily routine, in all the subjects that they offer.

So, back to the spelling that I was cheering about before. The BigIQkids Spelling + Vocabulary is a great program that you can use whether or not you have your own spelling curriculum. It allows you to add your own list or you may use ones they have already set up.

Whether you choose to use your own or theirs you may customize and change your list at any time. I was pleased to find that their 3rd grade spelling list was right on Gess' level, so we began using it right away.

The BigIQkids spelling program is great. It begins by introducing the words to you by saying the word and showing it on the screen, using it in a sentence, giving you the definition followed by the synonyms and antonyms. Then it has you type each word. It's not actually spelling yet, as the word is there for you to look at it. It basically has you copy it this first time. Later that afternoon I will have Gess copy each word on paper too.

It then takes you through various activities to help you practice the words. There is word scramble, a spelling bee, word search and Gess' favorite, hangbot. Here you get to spell your words with a robot instead of a hangman. He's a bit more encouraging too!

There are also several vocabulary activities. After all is said and done your child is ready for the test. The test is given orally by the animated instructor and used in a sentence. There is also the definition and a sentence with a blank where the word would go on the screen. Here is Gess taking the test and finding her results. Today she got a perfect score!

And let's not forget the States program that helps a child to learn the geography of the US. Gess really loved going to this one too. It also gives you the ability to set the skill level and how many problems are quizzed each day and that made it very friendly for us. Gess loves learning the facts about each state.

I will have to admit that the registration process was kind of frustrating. As I mentioned before, the animated instructors took some getting used to. Well, they guide you every step of the way through registration. Every time I clicked on a page it seemed someone was talking to me, even when I didn't want them to. Finding information was sometimes a struggle too and it seems like there is not an easy way to jump from one subject to another. The site could definitely be a bit more intuitive and easy to navigate. However, I assure you this program is worth any little irritation that you may find at the start and once you become familiar with the program it goes more smoothly. In fact, Gess can navigate it all on her own.

One of the greatest parts about BigIQkids is that some of it is available for FREE! In fact, their Spelling + Vocabulary Program is free for everyone! There are also free versions of their Math and States programs too. However, if you subscribe you get some great benefits like no ads, more flexibility, access to more reports and more games. You can see the comparison of Free Vs Premium on their website. So what does BigIQkids cost? Well, right now they are offering a back to school special which allows you to purchase the membership bundle package, which includes everything for just $89.99 for the entire year! That's less than $7.50 per month! You may also pay by the month or subscribe to each program individually. Their pricing page will give you more information about that. Remember there are free versions of everything! You really can not go wrong trying this product. As I mentioned before, I absolutely love it and have made it a regular part of each homeschool day. This is something we will continue to use for a very long time!

To learn more visit the BigIQkids website or read what others thought about it at the TOS Homeschool Crew blog site.

As a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew I received an annual membership of the bundle package from BigIQkids for giving my honest opinion and assessment of this product in my review.

TOS Review: Time4Learning

2011-09-07T05:20:00.000-07:00

"Hi! I'm Ed Mouse, the educational mouse. Guess what? It's time for learning...and fun!" That my friends, is the friendly greeting from Ed Mouse, of Time4Learning, a product that I had the opportunity to review this month for the TOS Homeschool Crew.

Time4Learning is a K-8 grade online home education program which offers fun educational games and interactive videos. It is designed in a way that allows you to use it as an entire homeschool curriculum or as a supplement to your current school program giving it the flexibility to meet your family's personal needs.

Since I already have a homeschool curriculum we planned on using it as a supplement. I was eager to see how well it would work with Gess, since she has Down Syndrome and therefore has some special needs and struggles. The registration process was fairly intuitive and it was not long before Gess was introduced to Ed Mouse, and began exploring Time4Learning. Now, you do not actually have to watch the Ed Mouse intro each day, you may simply click to enter, but Gess really enjoyed watching the computer mouse transform into an actual mouse and welcome her to her lessons. He always gave her a chuckle and as you can see, he is kind of charming!

Now, after you have been completely entertained by Mr. Ed Mouse, you move on into your first session. Your sessions are personalized and parents have the ability to set the amount of time your child must work and the amount of time they may play on the playground. That's right, your child is rewarded for their efforts by giving them a safe and friendly way to play some online games, but only for the amount of time you allow and only after they complete their work session. So before play, we must first get to our lessons. As you can see, you can choose from language arts, extended language arts, math, science and social studies.

One of the aspects that was really great about this site is that you get to choose your child's grade level for each individual subject. Not only that, but you can also access the grade below and above your current grade from the main menu. That is really a helpful tool for kids with special needs. In math most of the kindergarten videos were too easy but there were a few that were helpful for Gess and yet there were many that were too tough in 1st grade. We also alternated grade levels for science and social studies, depending on what Gess was learning about that day.

Language arts was the subject that Gess enjoyed the most, probably because it's her best subject. We were able to actually go through the language arts lessons in order and do daily work there on a regular basis. While I was using this as a supplement, there were a few days where this was the only work we would do in language arts for the day. This was also the only subject that I found that I could let Gess work independently because of her special needs. I was impressed at how thorough the lessons were. As an example I will show you one section of the 2nd grade language arts session on phonics. Each phonics unit has 7 sessions. The one on fluency was Gess' favorite. She loves reading stories and having them read to her. This allowed her to do both, but it also taught her "how" to read it correctly.

It began here. You would read the story on your own. You clicked the start sign when you began and another sign when you were finished and it timed how long it took you to read it.

The goal is to read 90 words per minute. I always considered Gess a slow reader so I was a amazed to see her do really well at this activity. She read 91 words per minute!

Now it takes you through a few more activities to learn how to read more fluently. It shows you how to pause for periods and commas, how to use proper intonation and other helpful hints for reading fluently, all while reading the same story. Then you get to choose to read along with them either quickly or slowly allowing you to work at your own pace.

Then after you have done all the activities you read it and time yourself again. Gess read a little faster this time, which wasn't the goal of the activity, but it was still fairly close to the target.

Now that you are finished with fluency it is time to check your comprehension. I really love that this quiz comes after reading it several times. Because of Gess' special needs I never ask for comprehension on her first reading of a story. I always make sure she has read something at least twice (sometimes more) before testing comprehension. By the time she had completed all the other activities, she usually did really well on the interactive quiz.

This was only one section of one subject. Time4Learning really is a comprehensive program with over 1,000 animated lessons. You can subscribe to Time4Learning by visiting their website. It costs $19.95 per month for the first child and each additional child is $14.95.

So what did I like most about Time4Learning? Well, Gess found the videos enjoyable and engaging so she was willing and sometimes eager to do her lessons. It gives children some independent study time and has tools for parents to keep track of their child's performance. It also does the lesson preparation for you, saving you the time and hassle of doing it yourself.

Was there anything I did not like? I love that they let you repeat lessons but since the lessons are animated you always get the same exact questions in the same order. Because of that the child might end up learning the expected result rather than the concept. I guess I just wish the lessons, or at the least the quiz afterward, was more random. The other problem is the cost. While I do believe that this product is worth a monthly fee, I know that it will be something that many homeschool families will not be able to afford, especially large ones.

For those considering giving it at try, they do offer a 2 week money back guarantee. You can learn more by visiting the Time4Learning website or see what other crew mates thought by visiting the TOS Homeschool Crew blog.

As a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew I received a month free subscription to Time4Learning for giving my honest opinion and assessment of this product in this review.

Ways to Avoid "Are We Done Yet?"

2011-09-02T10:40:00.001-07:00

Gess actually likes school and does not generally complain about doing it, but when we would end one subject she would think that meant we were done with school. So last year I began keeping a schedule on the wall so that Gess could see just how many more subjects we had to do before we were done. This way she can look up at her desk and see which subjects are left without having to ask or wonder. Her current schedule looks like this. (Note that I have it divided into 2 sections which is basically before and after lunch.)

Of course this may cause some children to insist that the subjects must be done in order, but I would rather Gess demand a set schedule and be willing to learn rather than to have to continually fight to get her back on task. While I know that some homeschooling methods do not follow close schedules, I am learning that Gess does much better when we follow one - so we do. Besides, once she gets used to the routine, she rarely checks out the list anymore and doesn't seem to notice if I do something out of order.

Another thing I have implemented this year is using alarms. As our schedule has grown, so has our need for breaks. However, once Gess is allowed some play time, she is not always as eager to go back to school (depending on what she is doing). Well, I have discovered that if I tell her how long her break is and set an alarm for that set amount of time, when the alarm goes off Gess immediately stops what she is doing and runs back to the school room! I never thought would work that good! It's like our own school bell!

I generally set 3 alarms a day. One to start school in the morning, once to start after lunch and one for our mid-morning break. Here she is with my cell phone which is the alarm clock that I use. She is sure to bring it with her so I can shut it off. I mean, she loves the reminder, but the noise is another thing!

Gess really does love school. It's amazing how little tricks like this can make the entire day go more smoothly. Now when break time is over Gess is once again ready to focus on school.

TOS Review: How to Have a H.E.A.R.T. For Your Kids

2011-08-29T06:13:00.000-07:00

How to Have a H.E.A.R.T. For Your Kids from Apologia Educational Ministries is an inspiring book by a homeschooling mother named Rachael Carman. In the book Rachael shares how she struggles with the revelation that being a parent means that life is no longer all about yourself. She admits that she was actually excited when her son started school because she was more eager to get on with her own personal dreams and desires than she was being a parent. When circumstances suddenly forced her into homeschooling, an option she had never contemplated or considered, she was not eager for the task. Then one day she attended a seminar at a homeschool convention and it transformed her entire perspective. She was now convicted of the immense call and duty of parenting. She tells us "just like the Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz, I got a new heart." Rachael then shares some biblical principles to help us learn how we can all have a heart for our kids.

While you may not have a similar story and feel you already have a heart for your children, you will still benefit greatly from this book. As Christian parents we must always be vigilant to be on our guard against the forces that would love to steal our children away from God. I was uplifted, inspired and encouraged every time I picked it up. You immediately get a sense that the author is personable and she has a great sense of humor. Seeing that she was able to laugh at her mistakes certainly put me at ease when I considered my own. It was an easy and enjoyable, yet spiritually challenging read.

Rachael Carman uses the acronym H.E.A.R.T to share with us the key components of having a heart for your kids. She breaks it down this way:

H - Have a Heart for the Things of God
E - Enrich Your Marriage
A - Accept Your Kids
R - Release Them to God
T - Teach Them the Truth

Each chapter offers a solid Scriptural foundation for its message. As Rachael puts it, "God did not place us on this earth without instructions, rules, or purpose. He placed us here for one primary reason: to bring glory to His name. And He tells us how to do this in His Word." With that foundation in mind she brings you through each chapter explaining how each principle is important for raising your children. I think the neatest thing about this book is that it is not a parenting book but rather it is a book about being a good parent. It's focus is therefore on our own personal walk with the Lord which is what we must do in order to be the parent God wants us to be. At the end of each section you will find questions to ponder that will help you apply what you just read to your own life.

I would highly recommend this book for any Christian parent, but particularly those who homeschool. I personally plan on recommending this book to everyone at my next local homeschool support group meeting. I think they will all appreciate this book as much as I have.

You can order the book How to Have a H.E.A.R.T. For Your Kids for $13 at the Apologia Educational Ministries website. You can see what others had to say about it by visiting the TOS Homeschool Crew or read a sample chapter for yourself.
Apologia not only offers books like How to Have a H.E.A.R.T. For Your Kids to encourage homeschooling parents, but they also offer a complete and comprehensive creation based Science curriculum, online courses and so much more.

As a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew I received a free copy of this product in exchange for my review.

Simple Tip for Easing the Work Load

2011-08-25T08:32:00.000-07:00

Gess still struggles with her writing. It is not only difficult physically for her, but it is also hard on her mentally since she has to focus so hard to do it. Think about it. Writing is multitasking. You not only have to focus on the correct answer to the problem, but you also have to focus on how to write that answer. For kids who do not already know how to write and actually struggle with that skill, writing can be quite stressful. When I find that Gess is stressed I immediately try to find a way to adapt.

One thing I do when I find Gess stressed, is I let her dictate the answers to me and write them down myself. You can see her workbook pages here where there were some sections I had her say the answer and I just wrote it down for her.

When her book gives her a list of multiple choice answers I will sometimes write them on the board and let her get up and just point out the answer to me (and I will write it down in her book). That not only eases her workload but gets her up and moving around.

I do not intentionally plan out these particular activities. I don't think to myself, on this workbook page I will let Gess take a break from writing or anything like that. Instead, I use these only when I see signs that Gess is getting tired of writing or when she expresses that to me herself. She will sometimes just say "you write it please" and that is OK with me. In some cases I only write one answer and then she will finish the rest. It may be that only that particular problem was causing her trouble. Other times I will write down a whole section for her. It just depends on the moment and the situation.

While we plan many other adaptable ways to do seat work this is what we do when we suddenly find that the work load is just a little too much. It's simple enough, but can make a world of difference in keeping a child engaged and enjoying learning.

Blog Hop with the TOS Crew

2011-08-19T04:58:00.000-07:00

I am enjoying being a new member of the TOS Crew and I just found something new and exciting that they are doing. They are hosting a blog hop, and you do not have to be a part of the Crew to join in! Below are the guidelines for participation. So come hop, sail, or stroll along (or whatever type of moving gets your fancy) and join in the fun!

The Guidelines for participating in the TOS Crew blog hop are as follows:

1. Please grab the blog hop button to spread the word.

2. Please follow our wonderful hosts via Google Friend Connect.

3. Click on the blog hop button to be taken to the linky, and join in! (Please do not link up your giveaways, blog hops, etc. – These will be deleted.)

The linky goes live at 12:01 Friday morning, 8/19.

Link up your blog, then visit and follow the blogs that interest you.

Have fun getting to know the 2011-2012 TOS Crew as well as the other participating homeschoolers.

**If you follow our blogs and leave a comment, we will always follow you back!**

Yahtzee - Making Math Practice Adaptable and Fun

2011-08-17T16:53:00.000-07:00

Gess loves playing Yahtzee but up until recently all she really did was roll the dice and keep what we told her to. This year though we have tried to make her part of the game. A big help in doing that was finding a large print Yahtzee score card. It is hard enough for me to read that small card so I never bother to really let Gess try. So, I decided to look for a large print Yahtzee score card and found one on the BoardGameGeek website. It really makes it easy for a kid with special needs to see what they need, how much it is worth and it gives them plenty of room to write it all down! It's great for people with vision problems too. It makes the card 2 pages instead of 1, but that is alright by me. Here is what it looks like.

We used Yahtzee a lot over the summer to help Gess practice her math skills. Near the end of last year Gess learned her doubles math facts. She can add up to 9+9 from memory. Yahtzee is a great way to practice doubles (at least up to 6). What we would do is divide her dice up into any doubles she had, add those, and then use her counting on skill to add any remaining dice if needed. Here she is putting a 28 on her 4 of a kind. Note how we had 2 sets of 6+6 and then "counted on" from 24 to 28. (I just told her 12+12 was 24 since she did not already know that one.)

Of course sometimes she got a Yahtzee. (I think she got more than one in this game!) We loved it when she got it with her 5's because that helped her practice her skip counting skill. (We did this with 2s too of course). I think all of her Yahtzee's were with 5s this game, but I could be wrong!

Another skill that she worked on was calculator work. In the book Teaching Math to children with Down Syndrome, they recommend teaching them to use a calculator early on. Therefore, at least one day a week I do something to let Gess learn the skill. From using something fun like the pumpkin pie game to just letting her answer problems on a worksheet, she has learned how to use a calculator rather well. So, at the end of the Yahtzee game, Gess gets to add up her own score.

And of course, as with any game there are other skills you learn like waiting for your turn...

and taking the results well.

Of course that was easy this time because she won!

School Starts Tomorrow!

2011-08-14T14:30:00.000-07:00

Well, tomorrow will be our first day of school. Gess is really looking forward to getting started again. So am I. I am always anxious for the summer break, but then we get so busy over the summer that I am ready to get back to a normal routine.

Our school schedule looks pretty hefty this year. There is just so much I feel we need to cover. Below is our tentative schedule and the curriculum I have chosen for each one.

Bible - Various devotionals based off of Bible passages. We will start by learning the 10 commandments

Math AM - I plan on separating Math into morning and afternoon. In the Morning we will continue with Math-U-See Alpha. (We only got about half way through it last year.)

English - We will be using the Preparing to Build series from Rod and Staff Publishers.

Break

Science - We will continue working through Real Science for Kids Pre-Level 1 Chemistry unit.

Social Studies - This year we are using the Understanding Your Community 3rd Grade Curriculum from Rod and Staff.

Lunch

Reading - This also is from Rod and Staff. We are using the Grade 2 Stories About God's People set. Gess is probably ready for Grade 3 but since we are switching to a new curriculum I didn't want her to miss out on the bible stories and lessons in Grade 2. If I find it too easy I may move on ahead, or we might just work through it faster.

Life Skills Math - This is when we will work more on her urgent life skills math lessons like telling time and counting money. This will be very hands on and hopefully fun for her.

Therapy - Here we will focus on speech and motor skills activities.

Writing - I am mostly doing copy work and reviewing our letters and basics we learned from Grade 1 in Handwriting Without Tears. Her journal entries will take place here as well.

Activities - This is where I give her credit for her extra curricular activities such as horseback riding lessons, gymnastics and Awana. We also go to the library once week.

Swimming Lessons 2011- A Huge Success!

2011-08-07T18:25:00.000-07:00

While Gesserine has always loved to get in the pool and take baths, she has not been a fan of getting splashed or even letting her face get wet. Showers were not something she was willing to do and getting her to lay her head back in the tub so you could wash her hair was a chore. That was, until now.

We had so many other issues to deal with, and since we had very little opportunity to get in the water, swimming lessons were a low priority for us for many years. But as Gess got older I felt water safety was very important. Two years ago we attempted swimming lessons at a local pool. It did not go very well. Gess was 7 and not very familiar with public pools. Generally the only time we had been swimming was when we were staying at a hotel with a pool.

There were several people in Gesserine's class and it was one of about five classes taking place at the same time. There was just too much to distract Gess. The staff was kind enough to place an assistant specifically assigned to Gess. That was great, but it pretty much turned in to a babysitting job. The poor girl just followed Gess where ever she went (she never stayed with her group for very long) and Gess learned absolutely nothing about swimming. I did not complain though, for what kind of training do you want for $12.50 a week?

So last year I was determined to find something better, preferably private lessons where Gess would not be distracted with other stuff going on in the pool. Thankfully my son began dating a girl who had been on a swim team, whose mother had taught special-needs kids to swim in the past and who had access to a private pool. I talked to her about it and she was willing to do it!

Chelsie Ports began teaching Gesserine last summer when she was 8. Gess was as a total beginner, not really knowing anything about how to swim, or even stay afloat. We decided to go with shorter 30 minute lessons for two weeks rather than hour long lessons for one. She did pretty good that first week, but by the second she was starting to shut down. Chelsie did great and made some progress getting Gess comfortable in the water. This demonstrated itself well in the fact that Gess would finally (after 8 years) lay her head back in the tub without propping herself up on her elbows! She was still shy of showers and splashing, even though we took her to our new pool with a cool splash section in it. Still, for Gess it was great. I doubted she would ever be much of a swimmer, but I do want her to know how to be safe around water. So when the summer came this year, I was eager to begin again.

My biggest goal was for Gess to let her face get wet. I mean, seriously, she would not even put her face in the water, let alone put her whole head under it. I did not know what to expect, but it really was not much. Needless to say, when I found out that Gess went totally under water on her very first lesson, I was shocked! I do not know how Chelsie did it, but she got Gesserine to go under! By the end of the week, Gess would sit on the bottom of the 3 foot section and dive down for rings!

We went to the pool about ten times this year and Gess began to really feel at home there. She goes under water all of her own accord now. She loves going under and grabbing your knee, or your hand. She will dive for rings, etc. She actually won't swim yet, not under the water or on top, but she will go under and come back up as long as she knows she can put her feet down when she is done. I think she COULD swim if she tried, but she still thinks she can't. Still, she sure has made tremendous leaps and bounds from last year! Oh and she showers now and will let the big bucket dump on her head in the splash park at the pool! It is truly amazing what a difference a year can make! Thanks Chelsie for all your hard work!

Below are some pictures we took this weekend at a party. Here are Chelsie and Gess enjoying some fun after all that hard work!

Enjoying the water safe in Chelsie's arms.

Not sure where they headed but they are obviously on a mission!

Practicing with the noodle.

Look who is under the water! She went all the way down!

Coming back up for air! She always has to rub the water (and hair) out of her eyes.

I can't really swim but I want to go off the diving board!

There she goes!!!

She landed right on top of her swimming instructor! Kids (and adults) don't try this at home!! What brave girls they are!

"How To" Life Skills Videos

2011-08-04T05:57:00.000-07:00

As Gess is getting older we are really working on teaching her important life skills to foster her independence by focusing on things from household work like washing dishes and making her bed to personal hygiene, which not only includes things like brushing her teeth, but how to shower and wash her own hair. Yes, children with special needs have trouble doing these basic things.

With Gess being a visual learner I have discovered a really neat resource for helping her learn some of these skills. It's called YouTube. We all know about YouTube and when we think of that website we generally think of silly videos that get thousands of hits, or consider it a place to catch the latest music video or clip from a TV show. Well, I have found a better purpose for this site: learning life skills!

Gess was really struggling making her bed. I showed her how to do it, but every time she had to make her bed, she would shut down and say "I can't." I do not remember what prompted me to look up a video but one day I just googled "how to make your bed video" and there it was!

So Gess came and watched the video with me, and suddenly she was anxious to try it on her own. Each day, when it was time to make her bed we would watch the video, then she would try. Eventually she got really good at it. The only thing she did wrong was put her blanket sideways, but she is still small enough to fit under it anyway, so we just left it (though now she even does that right sometimes). After a few weeks I quit letting her watch the video (even though she begged to watch it first) and she still did great . I am not sure why watching ME make my bed every day was not enough, but hey, if this entices her to do it, I am all about that.

Our most recent issue has been showering alone. Gess has really had issues with splashing water and never liked the feel of a shower nor did she care to put her head in the water to wash her hair when taking a bath. It was a struggle to get her to let me do it, there was no way she was doing it alone. However, this year she made some great progress with her swimming lessons (thanks to her absolutely wonderful instructor Chelsie Ports). Now she not only lets water splash on her but she enjoys going under the water and does it all of her own accord! So I am using that to my advantage and teaching Gess how to shower.

The biggest problem with her bathing independently has been washing her hair. Part of it is her lack of motor skills, she just doesn't rub shampoo in very well but she also has trouble getting the back of her head done as well. So I thought, maybe "seeing" someone wash their hair might help. So back to Google I went and I found a video for "how to wash your hair." I really emphasized how she puts her whole head under the water. The video was also great for teaching her how much shampoo to use and exactly how to rub her head, etc. (Warning! I only recommend this video for girls, as it shows a woman in a silky nightgown preparing to shower and there shots of her bare-back etc.)

I am sure there are many other great videos out there as well. Between EHow and Howcast they have about 10,000 videos!

Of course to teach younger kids more basic skills there are better, less grown up resources. I have previously blogged about Crawford the Cat whose videos helped Gess to learn to wash her hands, brush her teeth, put her toys away, exercise, and use table manners among other things. These also have coloring pages to go with them.

There must be tons of resources for helping older, special needs kids learn necessary life skills. These are just some that Gess has really enjoyed. They may look silly to me, but she just loves them and the best part is, they work!

Preparing to See the Cardiologist

2011-07-31T15:58:00.001-07:00

For those of you who do not know, Gess was born with a congenital heart defect and at 2 1/2 months of age she had open heart surgery to repair her AV canal. She also has a mild mitral valve leak. She has done really well since the surgery and has had no special directives for quite some time now. We only have to see the cardiologist every few years and this was one of those years.

When you go to the cardiologist they do an EKG and an echo-cardiogram. The last time she had those done (which was a few years ago) she was frightened by them and I think we may have even given on up on the echo because she simply would not lay on the table. Having dealt with some other issues at the hospital this last year I figured I would work with her and try to address her fears ahead of time, so we practiced these procedures at home.

During an EKG they place electrodes to your skin and then they use a clip with wires to attach those to a machine which traces your heart activity on to paper. It is a painless procedure, but imagine how scary those wires and clips can look to a child! To practice an EKG at home, all we did was get some tape and attached it to her in various places around her chest and on her sides. (For practice we did this over her clothes which also kept her from feeling any discomfort when the tape came off which could have been counterproductive. ) Once the tape was in place I clipped clothes pins on them. I said, "see, that doesn't hurt at all, does it?" I then explained how the clips would be attached to wires that would then draw pictures of what her heart was doing. We really emphasized how fun and cool it would be.

To prepare for the echo-cardiogram I just grabbed what was handy, which was a brush, and had her lie down on the couch. I turned the lights down and reminded her that the room would be somewhat dark. I then rubbed her chest with the handle of the brush. I told her there would also be a cold gel they would rub on her. I then talked about how amazing it would be to see her heart on the little television screen. A friend of mine said she used a toy microphone and some lotion to prepare her son for the visit. With Gess being a girl and getting older, we opted to do it over her clothes so we did not use any lotion. She still seemed to get the idea.

So, how did it go? Once we got there she was very eager to lay down and prove how brave she was during the EKG. She seemed a bit tense, but once it started she relaxed and did fine. She resisted the echo a bit more. At first she still did not want to lay on the table, but when I talked to her and reminded her of how we practiced, she got up there and did great.

Going to the doctor can be scary for any child. When you see a specialist it can be even more stressful. If you know what your child is going to face going in, it is certainly a good idea to let the child in on it too. It will save a lot of hassle when you get there.

Not only was Gess not very scared, she got a great report too. There have been no changes (which is good) so we don't have to go back for 2 more years! All in all, I think Gess actually liked the visit!

Free Summer Digital Issue of The Old School House

2011-07-27T12:09:00.000-07:00

Speaking of the TOS, have you ever read their magazine? Well, if you want to check it out, now is the time. They are currently offering their Summer 2011 digital edition absolutely free with no strings attached! Check it out and see why I am so excited to be a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew.

Take a look at the brand new Summer digital edition of The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine. TOS is offering this digital issue of the magazine totally free with no strings attached. Enjoy this free gift from TOS—no registration or email address required to view the magazine! Take a peek here. Then share the link with your friends by clicking on the share button at the top of the magazine pages.

Horseback Riding Lessons

2011-07-25T09:08:00.001-07:00

We are really excited because Gess is beginning to take horseback riding lessons. We are not farmers, involved in 4-H nor do we ever plan to have horses. However, we met a wonderful lady who gives horseback riding lessons. She offered to take Gess on one to see how she did, and she loved it! So now, for the next few months, every other Monday Gess will get to ride a horse! She will learn how to care for them, how to properly mount and ride them, and much more I am sure. We just could not pass up this opportunity. It just doesn't get any more "hands on" than this!

Her first time on a horse...and up she goes!

I did it!

There she heads off on her first ride.
(Yes the teacher has a tight grip on them, though they did just fine!)

I would say she loves riding horses!

Oh, and that guy with her, that's her brother. It was his first time riding too!

Time, Money, Measurement and Garage Sales!

2011-07-21T13:03:00.001-07:00

My goal for Math this year is to have Gess really focus on time, money and measurement. We are using Math-U-See and it is helpful for Gess to have the manipulatives to add with but she's moving really slowly through it. While Gess can add, she still hasn't subtracted, nor has she really focused much on telling time or counting money. She's got some basics down on these but she really needs to focus more on them since they are things she will use most often. I still plan on using Math-U-See this year so all I needed were some materials for these specific lessons.

I was posting on Facebook and my homeschool forums and groups asking for ideas for what to use and I was considering some of the Mammoth Math supplements that were suggested. However, last weekend, some local teacher's held a garage sale, and I hit pay dirt! I not only got math work books, I also got folders full of extra worksheets, lessons and math games the teacher's had compiled on their own. I also got some computers games, as well as some non-math related games, books, legos and craft stuff! All for about $16!

So now I am all set for Math! My plan is to do Math-U-See in the morning and in the afternoon work on what I am calling lifeskills Math. These books, along with my Teaching Math to People with Down Syndrome should really put Gess on a path to learning some essential math skills. Gess has already started playing the computer games and I can't wait to start on the rest!

TOS Homeschool Crew

2011-07-18T06:54:00.001-07:00

I am excited to announce that I am now an official member of the TOS Homeschool Crew! TOS stands for The Old Schoolhouse and is a homeschooling company that offers homeschoolers a variety of resources and encouragement. As a member of the Crew I will get opportunities to try many different homeschool resources such as curriculum, games, and books at no cost to me. I will then share with you, my readers, what I thought of the products I used by posting my review here on my blog. While I am not getting paid for the review, I am able to sample, and sometimes keep, the products I review for free. So I want to be upfront about that.

Up until now (except for the one TOS review I did to apply for this position - TOS Review: The Curiosity Files) everything I have posted about has been things I have personally researched and used. I only post about things that are helpful homeschooling my daughter who has Down Syndrome. My blog will still be just that. Other than posts that begin with "TOS Review", you can know that I personally researched, purchased and liked the product or idea I am posting about. None of that will ever change.

However, that does not mean that my TOS Review posts will be that much different. It was obvious with my first TOS Review post, that The Curiosity Files unit study was very adaptable and helpful for Gess. See, that's the best part. Now that I am on the crew I will simply have access to more great products that I might not have otherwise known were available. The best part is that once I find them and use them, I get to share them with all of you!

Of course I am not silly enough to believe that every curriculum or product I am asked to review will be perfect for a child with special needs. That's alright though, because I will still be able to share what audience I think it will benefit. Most families have more than one child and will hopefully find something useful out of what I post!

I am very anxious to start the year. I can not wait to begin working with the products that the TOS Homeschool Crew will get to review! They have some really great ones coming in this year and I just know that Gess and I will have lots of fun with them! I hope you enjoy my posts and benefit from it as well. So be watching for posts that have the TOS Homeschool Crew banner on them to see what new things we will find this year!

Library Craft Time

2011-07-14T06:04:00.000-07:00

Gess always enjoys the summer reading program. Getting her to read the 20 books is easy. Along with the reading emphasis our library has several other activities throughout the summer. They also have contests each week that encourage the children to participate in order to have a chance to win the prize. Since the theme is "around the world," they had the children make a flag one week and they had to name things about a country during another one. Then sometimes it's random, like when you could help name the fish. Well this week they had a "junk bag" contest.

They do the "junk bag" every year. What they do is fill a bag with junk. Then the kids have to make something out of the stuff in the bag. You can add to what is in the bag but you must use everything inside of it, you can't leave anything out. I am really excited because this is the first year Gess did the craft all on her own.

Daddy helped her make a boat last year, but we never turned it in. This year though, I just helped to hold things down so the glue would have time to stick, but she put everything in it's place.

It turned out really great! She didn't intend to make this when she started. She was hoping for a boat again, but now she calls this her "character." I think he looks cool, don't you?

ParentalRights.org Promotional Video

2011-07-13T08:46:00.000-07:00

I am a big proponent of parental rights. As a homeschooler I realize it is imperative that our rights are protected. However, public school parents need to be aware of the threats too. I hear more and more about public schools disregard the beliefs and feelings of parents. Of course education is not the only sphere in which government is trying to obtain control. With the recent health care reform and HIPPA laws, parents are losing the ability to make medical decisions for their children as well. Lately there has also been an emphasis on adding new regulations regarding nutrition. And that's not even addressing the threat from international laws such as the UN Treaty on the supposed rights of the child (UNCRC). It is not the role of the government to determine what a child should learn, what medical treatment a child should receive or even what food they should eat.

Parentalrights.org has many examples of how parent's have been denied their rights and show examples of how real the threats are. They also propose a solution to the problem: A Parental Rights Amendment.

If you agree that this amendment is the proper way to help secure our rights as parents, please help us spread the word. Below is a new promotional video for the Parental Rights Amendment. Please forward the link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0L6xEBkMnTE - to as many people as you can, any way you can. Facebook, Twitter, blogs, or simply email it to all of your friends. But please help us spread the word.

Church Camp 2011

2011-07-10T14:53:00.000-07:00

Well, we had another great year at Church Camp. This is the second year that Gess spent the night. (For grades 1 & 2 they spend 2 days and one night at camp)

I have to tell you the funniest thing she did this year. Gess is NOT a huge fan of noise, especially noise from people talking too loudly. At camp they really encouraged the kids to be loud. They said this is the time when you are allowed to be loud at church so take advantage of it. Well, Gess spent quite a bit of time with her hands over her ears, that is until she figured something out.

They also have a rule that while you are allowed to be loud, when the leaders need you to be quiet you must obey. So they have this game. If they want you quite they raise their fist in the air and get quiet. When you see that, you also raise your fist in the air and get quiet. The goal is NOT to be the last one talking. It actually works really well and the kids all get quiet and pay attention fairly quickly.

Well, after we had SMORES at the campfire we went to watch our camp director Buddy use some Science to illustrate some gospel truths. Well, that got the boys really excited and they were pretty loud but by this time, Gess knew what to do to get them quiet. As they got loud, she raised her hand, then others raised their hands and even the leader raised his hands, getting them all back quiet and paying attention again. A few ladies and I were laughing so hard because none of the kids were aware that it was Gess, not a leader that wanted them quiet! It was so funny!

Anyway, our theme for camp was going on a road trip. We talked about how important it was to follow the signs on the road, just like it was important for us to follow God's Word. Our missionary had been to Africa and she taught a song in Swahili. She was also a native of England so she used her roots to share the gospel by using a tea bag. Yep, you read that right, a tea bag. Kids just love illustrations like that and it was pretty cool. I found a link to The Teabag Gospel where you can see how it's done. Gess sat through all the services and listened rather well.

Here is Gess and our missionary speaker. We snapped this as Gess was on her way to the water slide.

Gess just loves music which is usually her favorite part. Being able to dance around the church is a fun change of pace too. They used the Go Fish Guys Let's Sing songs for part of worship. That's great because Gess has that DVD and is familiar with those songs. From that DVD they sang, Ten Commandment Boogie, Lord I Lift Your Name on High, and Bible Stories. They sang some other songs too, including this one which was new for Gess.

For crafts the last couple of years they have been painting blocks that they will use to decorate camp. The blocks they made last year were placed in front of the office. They painted flags from different countries on them to represent all the places that missionaries go to spread the gospel. Gess painted a flag from Denmark, we found that easiest. She got to see it in place this year! Here she is in front of it.

They also made some doorknob hangers. She enjoyed both activities.

At night in the cabin Gess wanted to sleep on the top bunk, but since she has a tendency to fall out bed, mom said no! Here she was trying to confiscate my bed!

In the evening we would lower the flag and have a time of respect and prayer. In the morning we would raise the flags, say the pledges and pray before breakfast. Here she is waiting for the ceremony to begin. (You can see a couple of road signs behind her)

There was also plenty of playtime. Gess got pretty good at shooting baskets!

It does take some work to help Gess stay on schedule and on task, but she did pretty good. Next year her age group stays for a whole week. At this point I am not sure she is up to it but a year can bring lots of changes, so we shall see. All in all it was a great camp and I am glad we went.

Television at the store - Gee thanks!

2011-07-03T17:48:00.000-07:00

At our after church's 4th of July picnic today (yes, I'm aware it's only July 3rd) we were given some left over bananas. What do you do with over-ripe bananas? Well, I hear it makes a good bread. I've never tried before, but since Gess and I started our Kitchen Classroom this year, we try to cook together at least once a week. I thought, what better to bake than banana bread?

As usual the first thing we do is check to make sure we have all the ingredients. If we do not, we make a list and go to the store. Since we tried cooking yesterday and ruined a batch of cookies (too much butter...it's a long story) we were out of flour and almost out of eggs and butter. So Gess made her list and off we went to Wal-Mart.

Gess has gotten much better since we started our shopping journeys together. She is really learning her way around the store. Today I let her lead and I followed her. She did really good at first. She knew right where the eggs were and while she kept looking right past the butter she knew it was there somewhere. The next item we needed was plastic spoons. (Not for the recipe of course.) She kept looking for the isle, she knew about where the spoons were on the row, but not which row it was. Just when she was about to hit the right isle, BOOM, there it was! That shiny little thing that talks, has pictures and wants to sell you things. YES, those annoying new television ads in the supermarket! So at the end of the isle that I needed to her to head to, she hears the TV and stops dead in her tracks.

"Gess, Gess!" I go and get her back on task. "What do we need?" She thinks a minute and replies, "Spoons." So she retraces her steps going back where she started. "Gess you are going the wrong way."

"Oh yeah." And she heads down, looking at each isle where she knows the spoons might be. Guess what happened next? Yep! She stops again, captivated by the evil advertisement for some tea you just can't live without or something like that.

So much for this learning experience huh? Well, despite this unfortunate distraction, I was finally able to get her to the spoons and after that the "folwer" we needed. (We also learned today that the flour you cook with is spelled differently than flower you grow...and actually the L comes before the O.)

These days she also helps me at the self-checkout. I don't have her scan the items because those machines are so touchy, but she does choose my options for me. She clicks it to start and tells it what payment method I am using, etc. Then she helps me pay and we are on our way.

You know, we got rid of television at home. I like having DVD's because you do lose that commercial advertising aspect. I like that strangers are not coming into my home telling my child that she needs their product. I guess they are on to us though. If we won't let them in, they will come find us! What do you do!? (By the way, the banana bread turned out much better than the cookies!)

Making a Picture Graph

2011-06-30T06:33:00.000-07:00

As you can see from my last post, the Summer of Socialization, I truly do try to let summer be summer. I am not really about spending our summers doing "school." However, since math is the subject that my daughter (and many children with DS) struggle with, I have tried to make sure we do some math drills. We have done some flash cards and math games to help her remember what math facts she has memorized, but I wanted something more fun. I pulled out our Teaching Math to People with Down Syndrome book and found a fun hands on activity titled "Making a Picture Graph." (You can find it in Book 1 on Page 154)

Gess has been pretty good at reading simple graphs, but she hasn't really made one before. So what we did was ask her family members what their favorite flavor of ice cream was, giving them the choices of chocolate, vanilla and strawberry. I wish I had saved the paper on which she collected the data. When I said I liked chocolate she spelled it "chAcAlAte" (yes, even her A's were capitalized). By the time the last person liked chocolate she was a bit frustrated trying to get the spelling right!

Anyway, after she gathered the data from both of her parents, her brother, his girlfriend, her grandmother and herself, we began making the chart. First she colored the ice cream cones the appropriate colors, then she cut them out. (The book has the pictures of the ice cream cones to copy on page 342 but you can use any pattern or make your own.)

Then she had to glue them in the correct column.

And there you have it, Gess' first graph! What a great way to make it, on paper with crayons, scissors and glue. She loves hands on activities!

As you can see, chocolate is the favored flavor in my family, what about yours? Why not let your little one have fun finding out? Ice cream flavors sure sounds like summer fun to me!

Summer of Socialization

2011-06-27T06:28:00.000-07:00

What a busy summer we are having! Since my last post about Special Olympics we have had 3 weekends of company visit our house.

The first week we had some dear friends from Indiana come through on their way to a wedding. They had their grandson with them and he and Gess really seemed to hit it off. Those two played so well together that the grown ups were able to relax and visit without much interruption. We walked them downtown and took them through the Safari Museum, which is this biggest tourist attraction in our small town. Gess willingly gave up her bed and enjoyed sleeping on her "pallet." In fact, she continues to ask to sleep on one.

The next weekend we had her cousins for 3 days. We love having them around as they all play really well together. Their ages are also perfectly spaced as they are all about one year apart. We pretty much had an 8, 9 and 10 year old for the weekend. For this visit we spent most of our time at the pool, which kids that age love. We had a blast, got lots of sun and Gess again learned about opening her home up to others.

This last weekend my sister and her daughter came, though her daughter is all grown up so there were no little ones to play with this time. Gess did show some signs of growing tired of company, specifically when conversations were loud, however she really did enjoy herself and liked having them around. We also took them to see the Safari Museum. Here is Gess with my sister and my mom and with Osa and Martin Johnson, the adventurers the museum was created for.

This week we are beginning swimming lessons. She took lessons last year but we were still working on comfort with the water. I just never seemed to take her swimming enough last year to get much past that. This year we have already visited the pool quite a bit and she seems much more comfortable with the water. She still has no desire to get her face wet or stick her head under it, so I am not sure how much "swimming" she will learn. My only desire is that she be able to tread to safety if she ever falls in. We will see what this year's lessons bring. I know she is looking forward to it, for when she woke up this morning she ran out of the room saying, "swimming lessons, here I come!" She's ready!

After 8 days of lessons we will then be heading to church camp where we will be spending one night in a cabin and having tons of fun. I shared about our first overnight camp last year and Gess can't wait to do it again!

We are also in the library reading program as well. There Gess gets in on some of the story time adventures, crafts and tea parties. We will warm up to more fireworks and have a picnic with our church on July 4th and just meet friends and family at the park and various other places too. Summer is the perfect time to work on those social skills with the kids not even realizing that they are learning a thing!

Parents of kids with special needs will really appreciate how much these experiences mean, and not only how much fun we have, but also how much "work" they are! Taking a child out of their normal routine can be hard on anyone, and for our kids it's even more so. I have to say, Gess has handled it all pretty well and has really developed some pretty good social skills. Was she perfect? No, but was she any more or less behaved than any other kid, absolutely not!

So for all of you those people who ask homeschoolers, "what about socialization?" Believe me, our kids are getting plenty of it! We go off to study things hands on so much and find so many ways to interact with others that I often joke about how I can call it homeschool when we seem like we are hardly ever home! Have a great, happy and safe summer!

Special Olympics 2011

2011-06-17T06:31:00.001-07:00

This was our second year participating in the Special Olympics. It still seems to be Gess' favorite time of the year. She had been looking forward to this since we went last year. Being homeschoolers, I was not sure how to go about getting involved as the youth programs are usually handled within the school system. However, Special Olympics is not a public school program and therefore homeschool children are invited to participate.

To find a Special Olympics team in your area you can go to the Special Olympics Website's Find a Program Near You page. That will link you to your statewide organization. That's how I found Special Olympics Kansas. From there you should look for a link to hook you up with your local area. The page for that in Kansas is Find a Local Program.

Through the program we have 2 events a year. Our regional area has it's own Special Olympics events. Bowling is in the fall and the spring track and field is in April. Then we head to the statewide competition the first weekend in June. Last year we met the team up there, but this year they let Gess and I ride the bus. She was really excited because this was her first time on a school bus.

We then got a hotel room. While the athletes can go on their own and stay with their coaches and other assistants, I am not ready to send my 9 year old off with people she hardly knows. They are awesome folks, don't get me wrong, but since she only sees them at practices and events once a year, I think it's best she hangs with us for awhile in the "big city." When we got off the bus we settled into the hotel room and relaxed waiting for the opening ceremonies.

The opening ceremonies are really great. The teams to get to march on the field and hear the cheers and know that those are for them. The thing I love most about the Special Olympics is not that my daughter has a chance to win a medal, but that she has a chance to be celebrated. I love that the people there appreciate that ALL life is sacred and worthwhile. The field march was especially exciting this time because Gess got to help hold the banner for the team.

Then they head to the bleachers and get ready for some fun. There are announcements and recognition of special athletes. There is also some music and good times.

Gess enjoys it until the end when they have the most awesome fireworks display. The noise is just too much for her so we went back to the bus. While it was hot waiting in the bus, I found that inside the safety and shelter of the vehicle she really enjoyed watching the fireworks. That will remain our plan B from now on!

The next day is filled with events. She competed in the standing long jump and got a bronze medal.

Then it was the 50 meter dash for which we had a close race in which she took the silver.

During her down time they have all sorts of games to play, and they also had a petting zoo. Each time you do an activity they punch your card and in the end you get a prize. After some games we headed out to her last event of the day, the ball throw. She picked up another bronze there. Here she is sporting all three medals.

That night there is a special dinner and a dance. Gess has a good time at that, but can only handle the loud music and crowd for so long, especially after a hot and active day! She sure needed some rest.

The final day is the relay race. She was so excited and kept saying she was going to "run like the wind" (because someone told her to do just that). Her team did really well and took the silver. All in all it was an incredible weekend and I am so very proud of my athlete! I know she will be talking about it until next year!

Tornadoes - Being prepared

2011-05-26T10:05:00.000-07:00

The weather sure has been brutal lately. We do not live all that far from Joplin and we are so torn up about the tragedy that struck there. We have been volunteering at our local collection center to get supplies to those in need, but I sure wish I could do more. Then yesterday we were in KC for Gess' annual ENT checkup. Right after we got in to see the doctor the tornado sirens went off and we were shuffled (along with everyone else there) into the stairwell. We spent over an hour waiting it out and thankfully we were spared, though Sedalia got hit shortly thereafter and several people were injured.

With all this in mind I think it is a good time to remind you of some resources I had found to help teach Gess what to do during a tornado. You will also find these on my blog, Tornadoes and Hailstorms that I wrote a couple of years ago. It certainly has helped Gess. In fact, when we had to leave the doctor's office because of the tornado she quoted the first video and asked me, "take cover now?" She did a great job, not only taking cover, but staying calm which is something else the video says to do. She even took some deep breaths just like they showed!

Here are the resources I found. The first video is our favorite and Gess watches it a lot. Feel free to share some resources you have found too. You can never be too prepared! And please, continue to remember those affected by these storms in your prayers.

A printable coloring book called Bill and Maria Learn About Tornado Safety provided by the NOAA National Severe Storm Laboratory.

A couple of videos geared towards teaching kids about tornadoes and safety.

Explaining Baptism to Kids

2011-05-17T06:33:00.001-07:00

Gess is 9 now and often asks questions in church. Lately we have had some people come forward for baptism. Gess now wants to get baptized too because others are doing it. She just really wants to be involved in everything we do. However, we are Baptist and believe that the bible teaches only those who are saved should be baptized or partake in the Lord's Supper. It is hard to explain to a child why they can't do these things.

Then I had someone else who told me they had an 8 year old girl ask about baptism because she had seen someone get baptized at her church. Being surprised by the question they were not quite sure how to answer and asked if I could write something up to help explain it. I thought, what perfect timing. This is something I want to share with Gess too, so I did more than just write up a paper. I wrote a small booklet made specifically for young kids to help explain baptism.

This booklet is meant to explain what baptism is and in doing that it touches on how one must be saved. It does not, however, encourage a child to make that decision. It merely explains it and hopefully in terms that are easy to understand.

Kids with special needs like Gess will probably still struggle with grasping some of the information as symbolism in general is a concept that does not come easy. I still hope that this will be a useful resource for them and any child who wants to know more about baptism. Gess did seem to enjoy reading the booklet.

I am making this booklet available to all of you who might also like a tool to help explain baptism to young children. My pastor added some clip art to ours and it really helped to brighten it up and make it more appealing. However, since he has paid for permission for in-church use, I did not want to do anything that might be out of the bounds of his agreement. Therefore this copy does not have any graphics. Feel free to share this booklet with other people and/or your church.

Download Baptism for Kids PDF
Download Adobe Reader (required to view PDF files)
Download Baptism for Kids Word Document

Baptism for Kids is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
When you print a PDF file you have an option to print it as a booklet. To do this go to File and click Print. On the print menu, under the Page Handling section you will see an option that reads Page Scaling. In that menu there is an option called Booklet Printing. It will give you directions to follow to print on the front and back pages. It's really handy, saves paper and makes it a nice booklet for children to hold. (I never knew this until my pastor pointed this out to me!)

(Please note: I am making this available because I always share resources I think other people might find handy. As I stated above, this booklet was written from the perspective of our beliefs on what the Scripture teaches. I am not trying to offend those who disagree or start an argument about the doctrine of baptism. There is a time and place for that sort of discussion, but my homeschool blog is not that place. Thanks for being gracious about it!)

The Kitchen Classroom - Lessons while cooking

2011-05-05T06:01:00.000-07:00

Woodbine House has come out with a book called The Kitchen Classroom and I was lucky enough to win one during a Facebook giveaway!

The Kitchen Classroom is visually appealing for a child to use. It has color photos of each recipe in the book and it comes with a CD that has full color photos and easy read step by step instructions. For instance you not only read that you need to stir the ingredients to mix them together, but you see a full page color picture of a child stirring. Since I didn't want to print the recipe, we kept the lap top on the table and had my daughter follow the instructions as we cooked.

The first recipe we did was Funny Face Toast. Each recipe tells you what level of difficulty they are. This was one of the easiest ones so I figured it was a good place to start.

The book focuses on many skill areas and each part of the recipe has a symbol to let you know what area that focuses on. The skills they cover are Math, Science, Literacy, Communication/Language, Social Skills, Sensory, Fine Motor and Gross Motor. This particular recipe had some instruction for every one of these except Science.

We then started by washing our hands (there is even photo instruction of that as well). Next you read the recipe. We then chose and cut the fruit to make the face on our toast.

Then we added some butter and peanut butter. Spreading is one skill Gess is still working on and this was some good practice for her.

It is probably here that I should mention that this is a gluten-free cookbook. I was actually reluctant to buy it because we do not follow that diet so I was glad I won it to try it out. Now I know that I would not have been disappointed had I purchased it. The author has a chapter on the gluten-free diet and explains how you are free to follow it or not. If you do not use that diet you simply substitute what you would personally use. For this recipe, we chose to use Peanut Butter instead of Nut Butter because that's what we normally use.

Then it was time to add the fruit to make the faces. This is a good time to talk about feelings and what kind of face you might make. Gess really enjoyed this part. Here are the faces she made.

And then of course you get to eat the final result. It was delicious and Gess ate every bite!

There is much about this book that any creative parent can do on their own. We often think about the skills we work on while cooking. What is nice about the book is that it has the visual, easy to read and follow instructions for the child. We have been trying to do one recipe a week and Gess always looks forward to picking out which one she wants using the color photos in the book. Then she writes her own grocery list and we go shopping. That's yet another way I tied more lessons into it. While all kids enjoy cooking, this book really helps kids with special needs have more independence in the process by supplying the visual aids for them to follow. And for those who do follow the gluten-free diet, it offers some variety and fun to it.

TOS Review: The Curiosity Files - Red Tides

2011-04-27T09:02:00.001-07:00

Let me introduce you to Professor Ana Lyze. She is a researcher in the obscure, abnormal and the bizarre. She also happens to be a character in The Old Schoolhouse unit study series that I had the opportunity to review this month: The Curiosity Files. This amazing professor has a unique way of piquing your interests in subjects you might not otherwise think about studying. So far the series has covered all of these fascinating topics:

We had the privilege of sampling the unit on Red Tides. I was immediately captured by how visually appealing the unit was. It was colorful, had interesting photos, and the font was really easy to read. The writing style was captivating and it did not take long before Gess and myself were both eager to learn more about these pesky red tides. I was truly amazed at how easily we were able to touch on every subject of study by simply accompanying Professor Ana Lyze on her adventure.

In each of The Curiosity Files unit studies you cover all areas of education. They advertise the following categories on their website and I can assure you that each of these topics are present and accounted for.

Bible study and memory verses
Math, history, and geography investigations
Literature and suggested book list
Writing, spelling, and vocabulary activities
Beautiful copy-work pages (manuscript and cursive)
Science observations, projects, and experiments
Discussion questions
Art, crafts, drawing, and coloring pages
The Curiosity Fact Files collectors card and booklet
Internet resources and video links
Complete answer key

What's so incredible about this study is that it not only covers these topics, but it makes them such a part of the mystery that you hardly feel as if you are studying at all. They have something for every age group and level of learning. Math offers anything from learning the basics of the metric system to calculating percentages in order to determine the impact of an algal bloom (red tide). You can complete a scientific research paper or simply do some copy work. The lab offers a variety of options including one specifically designed for children with special needs.

Of course since I do focus my blog on special needs I was excited to see how easily it was to adapt this unit for Gess. I simply divided the vocabulary words into two groups and did one list each week instead of addressing them all at once. I also went through the review questions and deleted ones I felt were too difficult for Gess. However, I was pleased that there were several multiple choice and relevant questions that we were able to use.

We started by reading the study together on the computer. (I am too cheap to print the E-books we use!)

We then began to learn the vocabulary words. We would read a section from the book each day and then just study one or two definitions at at time. By the end of the week she had a good grasp on the basics of algal blooms (red tides).

For spelling words I simply pulled out words that were more on Gess' level. Instead of having her spell phytoplankton, we spelled words like toxin. However, there was one worksheet that had three spellings of the tough vocabulary words and you had to circle the correct one. I used that to help Gess at least be able to identify them correctly, even if she could not spell them on her own.

Her copy work consisted of writing bible verses about how God created the seas and all that live in them. This carried us over into our bible study which focused on creation, emphasizing what day God made the water and the creatures that live in it.

We then delved into math and learned a lot about the metric system. I was extremely happy to see that our study already presented it in a way that was very hands on and visual. The only thing I had to do to adapt the study for Gess was to give her an introduction to the metric system since we had never studied it before. In my post The Curiosity Files and The Metric System I go into great detail about those adaptations as well as show their illustrations in practice. Here is Gess using The Curiosity Files demonstration of the difference between a Kilogram, Gram and Milligram.

We of course did not write the essays, but we had a lot of fun playing the adjective game! This game has actually been more beneficial in helping Gess to understand these "descriptive" terms than anything else I have tried so far! You can read more about the game and other tools I used for learning adjectives by reading my last post Adjectives and The Curiosity Files.

We did a whole lot more in this study and had a fun time doing it! For those of you curious enough to want to find out more, I would certainly recommend you getting a copy for yourself. I think you will enjoy learning about these obscure topics as much as we did! You can find them at The Old Schoolhouse Store online. You can purchase them individually or in a bundle pack. The Red Tides book is currently on sale for only $1! That's 86% off the cover price! I am not sure how long that sale is going on so you might want to check it out soon.

Needless to say, by the end of the unit Gess was able to answer all of the questions from the "Let's See What You Learned" section correctly. She really did learn a lot in this study and the best part is she had fun doing it!

As for the lab work, it has been awfully rainy around here lately so we have yet to get to the lake to get a sample of "pond" water for the "Red Tides Special Needs Lesson." However we are hoping to be able to do that this weekend. I know Gess is really looking forward to seeing some algae in action!

I think next we are going to study their latest addition to The Curiosity Files: Platypus! I can't wait to see what they have hidden for us in there!

Adjectives and The Curiosity Files

2011-04-27T05:40:00.000-07:00

As I stated in my last post, I had the opportunity to use and review a unit study called The Curiosity Files - Red Tides. Another aspect that I really enjoyed in this study was how they made learning about adjectives hands on and fun. Not only do they have a study about adjectives with a worksheet to answer questions, but they made a board game out of it!

The rules were pretty simple. You rolled the dice and when you landed on a picture you had to say what adjective you think it represents. Then you had to come up with at least 5 more adjectives for that picture (I only made Gess say one). The next time you play the game you are supposed to make up as many sentences as you can using adjectives to describe the picture (Again Gess only had to use one sentence).

Gess really struggles with descriptive words. People ask her how she feels and she answers with what she is doing. She just thinks very concretely. Even doing the lesson she had trouble picking out the adjective in the sentence. She wanted to say the verb was what "described" the noun. In the sentence, "He drives a green car" she wanted to say drives described the car. However, after we played this game several times I think she finally got the concept because she became much better at finding the adjective in the sentence. I then went to Super Teacher Worksheets to get extra worksheets for Gess to practice with.

Of course no study is complete without a little help from School House Rock.

The Curiosity Files and The Metric System

2011-04-26T07:53:00.000-07:00

I had the opportunity to use and review a unit study called The Curiosity Files - Red Tides. This was my first time using a Unit Study and I really loved how it worked all areas of a subject in. For math, the focus was on the metric system.

In our study we learned that red tides were actually areas where there was a buildup (or bloom) of microscopic algae, and that when too many of a certain type of algae formed in an area they produced a toxin that affected the fish and wildlife around them. In order to figure out just how toxic an algal bloom is you need to measure the micrograms of toxin per kilogram of victim. This requires the metric system.

The study has a great way to teach the comparison between a gram, kilogram and milligram. However, since Gess had no experience with the metric system we paused at the study when it said:

The metric system uses three families of measurement: 1
The Meter Family measures how long something is.
The Gram Family measures how heavy something is.
The Liter Family measures how much space something takes up.

Since this was Gess' first experience with the metric system I needed to make sure she understood this before we moved on. Having a child with special needs who is a visual learner I ran on over to Openclipart and grabbed some images of a ruler, a scale and a liter bottle. From there I made cards for each unit and put magnets on the back. I then explained again what each unit does.

After Gess got to see this concept, I went and had her label each form of measurement with the proper unit.

When she was able to do this successfully (which did not take very long) we then used each unit to measure something. We measured 200ml of water as if we needed it for a recipe. We also found that a serving of cheerios was 41 grams and her picture was 18cm long which will help us when looking for a frame.

Then I asked what unit would we use to measure a toxin? We discovered it would be the gram family.

Next we talked about the common forms of measurement within the gram family. At this point we were back in The Curiosity Files following the guide. I loved how hands on the explanation was about the difference between a kilogram, gram and milligram.

To demonstrate the difference between the gram and his "big brother" the kilogram they had you compare a dime which weighs approximately 1 gram with 2 pounds of butter which weighs close to 1 kilogram (This is what 1,000 dimes would weigh!). You then had to feel the difference by holding a dime in one hand and the butter in the other. (We had margarine so went with that.)

She could definitely tell that the kilogram was much heavier than the gram. To demonstrate how much smaller one of "gram's little brothers" the milligram was they had you use salt. What you did was pour salt on a dark colored sheet of construction paper and then get rid of all grains of salt except for 10 of them. That was not easy to do! Here is what it looks like.

That is about 1,000 times smaller than a dime! What a great visual and hands on way to grasp the concept of what size these measurements are. Here is how they all stood up together.

Then they go on to use examples of how nutrients are measured in grams. To do that we look at the nutrition label on a pack of crackers. We found how many grams of fat, protein and carbs were in a serving.

From there you find the amount of calcium that is in a serving of milk and then figure out how much calcium your body needs by measuring your weight in kilograms. At this point I felt it was beyond Gess' comprehension so we stopped. I did however feel really pleased about how much Gess did learn about the metric system by doing this one unit study on Red Tides. We really liked the way they tied the math into the study and enjoyed the hands on elements of the explanations.

To tie all of this together I found a conversion practice worksheet set called Metric Mania and used this to help Gess remember which units were smaller and larger. With that we determined whether or not we would move the decimal point to the left or right. Instead of having Gess actually move the decimal point, we just wrote L if it would move the left and be larger, or R if it would move to the right and be smaller.

And of course we started learning that "King Henry Doesn't Usually Drink Chocolate Milk" but we did not really put that into practice all that much!

Math Facts: Doubles

2011-04-11T05:25:00.000-07:00

We are currently using Math-U-See and Gess seems to do pretty well with it, though we are moving through it rather slowly. While studying addition they want you to memorize your math facts. We did alright with that for the zeros and ones, but Gess got stuck trying to memorize beyond that, so we went ahead and moved on. When we got to the doubles I decided to pull out a tool from the book Teaching Math to People with Down Syndrome.

For teaching doubles they have some visual cues that you can copy and make cards out of. Now they don't have pictures for 7 and 8 so I made my own. They suggested using crayons for 8 so I got me a picture to do that with and I could not think of anything for 7 so we just made a domino with 7 on it. It seemed to work. We pasted the pictures on index cards. One side shows the answer and the other side does not.

Now, some of these images assumes that the person already knows that number is a double. Gess however, did not know a bug had 6 legs (3 on each side) and a spider had 8, etc. So each day we learned one double fact, starting with 2. We were not only learning the double, but the image concept to help her memorize it. The eggs were the funnest, because when we got to that one we went to the fridge and counted a dozen eggs with six in each row (the concept of a dozen was new to her too). She really liked that.

Now that we knew what the pictures represented and why we started drilling with the cards. First she would just use the sides with the answers to learn them and then I started drilling with the side without the answers.

Then we added the use of the cards along side her math workbook.

And then finally she had them memorized and was able to answer the questions without the use of the cards.

You should note that we have to drill memorized math facts regularly or she will lose them. I usually drill her before each workbook page, especially if it has review on it. She gets the facts right almost every time when we use flash cards, but if the problem is in the middle of a bunch of different type of problems she seems to forget that she knows it and doesn't recall it well. Doing flash cards right before the workbook or test helps her to remember that she actually "knows" the answer.

Field Trip: Brown Vs Board of Education Museum

2011-04-01T06:13:00.000-07:00

While we were in Topeka we also visited the Brown Vs. Board of Education Museum. I did not even know this existed but was very excited to get to see it. The museum is located on the site of Monroe Elementary School which was a segregated African-American only school. Some of the Brown children attended this school during the famous case that led to desegregation. I was excited about the visit as this is a time in our history I know we must never forget or else we are apt to repeat it. Here is Gess sitting on the front steps of the building.

The moment I walked in the door I was bombarded with two signs, one that said "White" and one that said "Colored." My heart just dropped down into my stomach and I felt ill. I had read about this sort of thing, I know that it happened, but seeing it visually right in my face really made it come to life, and this is not something I ever want to see live again!

There was quite a bit to do and I was pleased to see that much of it was a hands on type of learning. The auditorium played a movie that told about the history of racism and the battles all the way up to the days of segregation. The room was set up very nice. Then there were a couple of rooms that had information, one about the history and the fight itself, and the other about the impact that Brown Vs. Board had and actually still has today. There is also another room for reflection where you can share the impact the museum had on you. You can leave a recording, memo, note, drawing or message on a board. There is also African-American art on display.

The "Education and Justice" center had the most powerful impact though. You come in and first study about the case. Here is Gess watching a clip about it, behind her you can see some of the hatred captured from that day.

And here she is doing an interactive type of activity in which she has to think about what it would be like if she were one of the children not allowed to do the same things as everyone else.

Then, in order to get to the other side of this room you have to walk through the "Hall of Courage." This had to be the most intense, powerful thing I have ever experienced. In this hall are videos of actual footage of African-American individuals who dared to walk into a "white" school. The things the people were shouting at them were horrible and the images were frightening as some of them were actually accosted and beaten. The walls are lined up with this footage and you must walk through it to get to the other side. Still, this is only a sense of what they felt. These people were young, and yet so brave! At the end of the hall is a picture of one of those brave individuals, Elizabeth Eckford, aged 15, is pictured as she was trying to attend Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, on the first day of classes, September 4, 1957. Here is Gess walking through the Hall of Courage. You can see the photo of Elizabeth in the background.

In the hall about the legacy of Brown Vs. Board you find information about other fights of injustice. There is one that hit home with us. Here is Gess in front of the poster with a quote by Justin Dart Jr., the father of the Americans With Disabilities Act. The quote reads:

“Envision education for all! Envision health care, jobs and communities for all! We are not going to be second-class citizens any more. We will live free and equal in our communities. We envision respect, dignity and life for all! We will fight to the end of time for equal access to the American dream!”
Justin Dart, Jr., father of the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act

To learn more about this great historical site you can visit the Brown Foundation Website. There you can learn more about the case, take a virtual tour of the site, and much more. This site, or others like it across the country is something that every American should see.

Field Trip to Our State Capitol - Topeka Kansas

2011-03-24T06:26:00.001-07:00

Monday we went on a field trip to Topeka Kansas and took a tour of the capitol building. I was very impressed at how well behaved Gess was. She paid attention the entire time and never tried to leave the group. It was very informative and we were blessed with a tour guide who happened to have a song for every stop along the way. Gess even said her favorite part was when he had us all sing our state song together, which for the state of Kansas is "Home on the Range." Here is Gess with Larry, our singing tour guide.

Before we went to Topeka we spent a few weeks studying about Kansas and of course learning what all our state symbols were. Our local library had the book Fun Kansas History Projects by Sally Toth which has reproducible activities in it. We did the Kansas Symbols flip book which was really fun. Upon completion of it, Gess was able to name all the Kansas symbols without help. She now knows what our flag and seal look like and knows our state motto (in English) as well as our state animal, amphibian, reptile, insect, bird, flower, and tree. Here are a few of the pages she did.

Now that Gess had some of the symbols down and we had read a few books about Kansas and it's history, we were ready to head to Topeka and tour the capitol. Having not grown up in Kansas myself, I learned quite a bit too. My main concern was not that Gess learned lots of facts during the tour, but that she got to experience the feel of the building and have some visual tools to teach her both the history and importance of what our government does and has done.

There are murals all throughout the capitol building that tell about different parts of Kansas history. The Kansas Historical Society has a neat package they offer every child that visits which consists of the main mural, as well as other historical figures, a puzzle page, a fan of the capitol craft and a tour book. Here is the mural The Tragic Prelude colored by Gess!

The Tragic Prelude by John Steuart Curry shows John Brown, the abolitionist, during the time called "Bleeding Kansas." This mural has many examples of symbolism. Below are the symbols and what they represent.

1. Tornado - A force of nature representing the gathering storms of the Civil war
2. Pioneer with oxen and wagon - The steady stream of settlers moving west
3. Sharps rifle - The weapons sent to help free-staters fight pro-slavery forces
4. Union flag - represents the North in the Civil War
5. John Brown with blood on his hands - the abolitionists who wanted Kansas to be a free state no matter what the cost
6. Union and Confederate soldiers' bodies - Representing the more than 600,000 who died during the civil war
7. Bible with Greek letters alpha and omega - representing the beginning and ending of slavery
8. Confederate flag - the southern cross, the battle flag of the south
9. African American slaves - the fighting in Kansas and eventually the entire Civil War was centered around these people
10. Prairie fire - Represents the fiery destruction the Civil War would cause
11. Sunflowers - The Kansas state flower

We saw many other murals and learned a lot more of our history too. Congress was in session so we were not able to tour the chambers, but we were taken into the old Supreme Court room that was used until sometime in the 70s when it moved to another building. It is now set up as a conference room, but is still very beautiful as it has recently been restored.

They ended our tour and allowed us to go in and watch the session of Congress taking place. We were warned that there was to be no flash photography and no talking. I was not sure how Gess would do sitting still after an hour long tour, but as it turned out I did not have to worry. We sat in session long enough for them to call a Congressman to the floor who moved that the session break until 2:00pm. It was lunch time! Oh well, at least we got to see them "officially" dismiss!

The Capitol is under quite a bit of construction and restoration work. We were unable to go to many parts, including the dome because of it. In fact, as we drove up and saw all the green safety gates or what have you that surrounded the dome Gess said, "That looks strange." Indeed it did! Here Gess is walking down another hall under heavy construction.

And here she was as we were about to go start our day in the Kansas State Capitol building! She was excited...and a little goofy!

I just don't think there is a better way to learn than to see first hand what you are studying. Field trips have the be the best hands on experiences! We will continue doing some of the crafts in the book I got from the library and work on the hand outs we got from the capitol. Now that she has seen it in person, I know it will mean so much more to her. We also went to another museum while we were in Topeka. I will share more about that in my next post.