Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Thursday, January 13, 2011
3 in 30 Week 2 Update
This week has not gone so well but I am still trying.
1. Stop drinking soda, of any kind. I still have not had any soda this week but I have wanted one! It has been almost 3 weeks now, you think I would be getting used to it. I almost had a sweet tea from McDonalds but I was afraid it was a slippery slope to Coke, Dr. Pepper or even worse a cherry vanilla Dr. Pepper from Sonic, LOL.
2. Start school before lunch. Don’t even get me started, this has not been a good homeschool week. First off kiddo has been a handful and by that I mean I was asking my husband, “ we decided to homeschool, why?” Kiddo says he has forgotten his ABCs, I know who knows them. So, for practice and a reminder he has been writing out the ABCs for handwriting to help “remember” them. This has lead to crying and drama, etc. Monday was one of those pull your hair out days. I hope we will see an improvement soon.
3. Start Project 365 I was so excited to start this project and now I feel like it is work instead of something fun. I need to change my thoughts on having a “good” photo, I don’t need a good photo, I just one that will remind of the day. I am working on it.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Friday, January 7, 2011
3 in 30 Week 1 Update
It is the end on week 1 for the 3 in 30 goals for January and here is my update. Is it just me or did the week fly by?
1. Stop drinking soda, of any kind. I have not had a sip of any soda since Dec. 25th. My dentist was thrilled with me giving up soda.
2. Start school before lunch. This has been working so so, I had dental work done on Tuesday and felt miserable on Wednesday. We have at least started school everyday before lunch, I would like to get more done before lunch. I will keep working on it.
3. Start Project 365 This goal is more work and harder than I thought it would be. I don’t know if I am over thinking a photo a day or stressing over the quality of my photos. I have taken a picture everyday since the 1st and I joined a Project 365 group on Flickr for inspiration and accountability. I can not wait to make a photo book with my 365 photos at the end of the year.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Nintendo DS Spelling Game Review
I have had a few questions about the new spelling DS game, we were using in homeschool this week. It was brand new and we had not tried it yet, now that we have played it for a few days I have enough information for a review.
This review is based on my 7 year old who is just starting with spelling but can read on a 5th grade level.
The spelling bee portion, which can be played with multiple players and on several levels from easy to ultimate was harder than I was expecting. On easy it was too hard for him, there were words such as: obvious, attack, massage, frolic, etc. These words are too difficult for my kiddo to do. I think this portion would be great for middle school age or a child who excels at spelling.
The mini games are GREAT for all ages! They are fun and a great way to practice spelling. The mini games are perfect for him, it gives him a fun way to work on spelling. This of course does not replace our spelling workbook. His favorite is the Blast Speller, the game gives you a word to spell and you have to blast the letters in order to win. The Connector game is also fun you have to connect the letters in order to spell a word. The Mystery Game, is like Wheel of Fortune, there are missing letters you have to fill in to finish the word. Tumbling Letters is like the game Tetris but with letters, you have to move the letters to the correct row in order to spell the word correctly. Kiddo did not care for this game as much he said, “it moves slow.” The other games are what you expect from a memory and search word games.
He likes the game and doesn’t mind playing it when I call it “school time”. I can see this game being used for several years with the different levels available.
We also have Personal Trainer Math and Learn Geography for the DS, both are excellent games which are also learning games. I will keep adding more learning games to our DS collection.
I keep the games in the case with all his other games, and he does get them out to play on his own, especially the math game. I use the games for school time when we are having a rough day learning and need a break from school work for a bit. I also use them as a reward type system, for example get this done and for math today we will play the Nintendo math game. They also come in handy if Mom is feeling under the weather and needs a small break:)
While they in no way replace our curriculum the games are a fun way to learn and reinforce what he has already learned.
This review is based on my 7 year old who is just starting with spelling but can read on a 5th grade level.
The spelling bee portion, which can be played with multiple players and on several levels from easy to ultimate was harder than I was expecting. On easy it was too hard for him, there were words such as: obvious, attack, massage, frolic, etc. These words are too difficult for my kiddo to do. I think this portion would be great for middle school age or a child who excels at spelling.
The mini games are GREAT for all ages! They are fun and a great way to practice spelling. The mini games are perfect for him, it gives him a fun way to work on spelling. This of course does not replace our spelling workbook. His favorite is the Blast Speller, the game gives you a word to spell and you have to blast the letters in order to win. The Connector game is also fun you have to connect the letters in order to spell a word. The Mystery Game, is like Wheel of Fortune, there are missing letters you have to fill in to finish the word. Tumbling Letters is like the game Tetris but with letters, you have to move the letters to the correct row in order to spell the word correctly. Kiddo did not care for this game as much he said, “it moves slow.” The other games are what you expect from a memory and search word games.
He likes the game and doesn’t mind playing it when I call it “school time”. I can see this game being used for several years with the different levels available.
We also have Personal Trainer Math and Learn Geography for the DS, both are excellent games which are also learning games. I will keep adding more learning games to our DS collection.
I keep the games in the case with all his other games, and he does get them out to play on his own, especially the math game. I use the games for school time when we are having a rough day learning and need a break from school work for a bit. I also use them as a reward type system, for example get this done and for math today we will play the Nintendo math game. They also come in handy if Mom is feeling under the weather and needs a small break:)
While they in no way replace our curriculum the games are a fun way to learn and reinforce what he has already learned.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Wordless Wednesday
Working on math at McDonald's with Dad, while Mom was at the dentist having a root canal.
Monday, January 3, 2011
First Day Back
The holiday break is over and time for school. It is never easy to get back into the routine of a schedule much less a change in the schedule. I am changing the time we do school with the new year. We had been doing school after lunch, it worked well for us but we have some changes coming this spring and an adjustment in our schedule will be helpful.
I have not made any changes in curriculum this semester just added a few things. This semester we are doing a unit study and lap book on Japan. My first lap book, I think I could easily come addicted to these, they look like so much fun to do.
To ease back into school today I planned mostly fun easy things to do. Today we are doing art class, start on the lap book on Japan, spelling via a new DS game along with some math and reading. A very light and easy day to get back into the swing of things.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)