quick trick: keeping kids busy in line

This Quick Trick is one of those that works only when I use it only occasionally. It's one that helps every so often to distract Maddy, Owen, and Cora from the actual task at hand--waiting in line.

Whether it's at the grocery store, at Costco, or the bank, time in line can be brutal for little ones (and okay, let's admit it--their over-tired parents).

The errands that once took 15 minutes sans kids often takes an hour with little ones in tow, and on days when there's more than one stop, even the most simple errands can be brutal unless we plan ahead. And everyone knows that's not always possible.

So while shopping last week for a new loaf pan for our Zucchini Bread, I desperately needed to pull out some tricks for passing time in the long line. Here's what we did:

• Find Your (*insert body part*) First: Sounds crazy, a little questionable, maybe even a little inappropriate for passing time in line, but it works for my kids and it teaches them--or reminds them, in some cases--of the parts of their body.

Usually if there's a half dozen people in front of me and tons of enticing impulse items on the shelves from me to the check-out, I'll say, Okay, let's see who really knows the parts of their body. . . find your ankle bone!

And if the items on the shelves aren't too awesome, if the stars are aligned, and if the kids are listening, they'll turn to me and really quickly touch their ankle bones. Or they'll turn and look at me with complete and utter confusion, look at whoever found the said ankle bone and copy that person.

Sure--Maddy and Owen (and Cora mostly) know the major parts of their bodies--the kids are 6, 5, and 3 for goodness' sakes. But I use the time in line to make sure they know some not-so-obvious parts, the parts that aren't part of a catchy kids' song.

I've had them 'find' the following body parts (and I always throw in some easies along with the toughies just to keep up morale!):

• ankle, ankle bone
• elbow
• thigh
• calf
• eyebrow
• eyelash
  
• cheekbone
• chin
• earlobe
• nostril
• wrist
• elbow
• funny bone
• knee cap
• nape
• cuticle
• biceps, triceps
• jaw, jawbone
• joint
• knuckle
  

I've found that they like to show me they know the 'tough' ones and they like to learn new words for parts they already know. I haven't hit them with 'gluteus maximus' yet, but I can imagine the giggles when I do. . .

And that's that. An easy, spur-of-the-moment Quick Trick that takes no planning, little time, even less brain power, so that we (I) can actually make it from the line to checkout with some of semblance of sanity.

This list is hardly extensive. If you have a suggestion for a part I should add, let me know! Thanks and happy waiting in line!

new for us friday: kohl what? kohlrabi. seriously.

Our first-ever experience with our local CSA has been so exciting for us this summer. It's really provided our family with a ton of new-for-us foods and fun experiences.

This week's New For Us Friday involves one of those new foods--kohlrabi.

I never even knew that kohlrabi existed, to be honest, so when this strange-lookin' guy showed up in our box one week, we all got hit with the giggles.

Owen: It looks like it's got hair.

Maddy: Is that really a food, Mommy? Are we going to eat that thing?

Cora: What is that, really?

Me: I think this is the kohlrabi, but I'm not really sure, And yes, we'll eat it, but we better do some research to figure out how.

And so began our internet search for a quick and easy recipe for this completely strange kohlrabi.

• Easy As Can Be Kohlrabi: I say it's 'easy as can be' because that's what the recipe I found was. So easy. And it turned out to be sooo delicious. Like our Kid-Friendly Beet recipe, I wanted a recipe that wouldn't totally mask the flavor of this new veggie.
  

So the Easy As Can Be Kohlrabi Recipe is basically one for Roasted Kohlrabi that I found on my favorite recipe site. Easy As Can Be Kohlrabi can be downloaded as a pdf if you think you may stumble across some of this stuff yourself. (I highly recommend stumbling across it soon.)

Our strange, little kohlrabi, all ready for a garlic and olive oil bath.

After seeing the kohlrabi and hitting me with tons of questions about it, when I finally figured out our game plan, I let Maddy, Owen, and Cora know it was time to cook. They joined me at the counter as I prepared it--and really, as far as our usual recipes go, this one wasn't too exciting.

They each held it, watched as I peeled it, sliced it, helped dunked it in the mixture of garlic and olive oil, and put it on the baking sheet. Then they ran out back to enjoy the sunshine as I finished dinner.

When the kohlrabi seemed brown enough, I added the cheese, and threw it back in the oven for a bit. Some say that kohlrabi is a combination of a potato and an artichoke heart; I was completely perplexed about how that pairing would taste but found that it's really true.

Sure, almost any veggie dipped in a little olive oil and garlic with cheese on top tasted pretty decent, but this one was better than decent. It was, in my opinion--and Maddy, Owen, and Cora's--awesome. My husband's not a big veggie guy (and not at all a potato guy), so he could take it or leave it, but the kids really seemed to like it.

It really was an unusual combo of potatoes and artichoke hearts. So interesting. So hoping to find this in our CSA boxes again soon. . .

Interested in finding more information on kohlrabi and a few new recipes? I bet! This is what I found in my search and a few of the things I'd like to try with it:

• Kohlrabi tastes a bit like broccoli stalks, its leaves can be cooked like collards (low and slow!), and it's part of the turnip family! Read more on A Veggie Venture.

• Rain and cool weather make kolhrabi leaves 'big and happy.' Kohlrabi was a first for this family, too, and this recipe calls for raw kohlrabi and apples in Mohini's Sweet Kohlrabi Salad!

• I love kohlrabi, and I love Swiss chard, so when my boy Gordon Ramsay paired them for this Swiss Chard & Kohlrabi with Lemon Sauce dish, I was intrigued. Can't wait to try it!

• Kohlrabi with White Sauce? Seems a bit strange, but again, I'd love to try it. . .
  

And there you have it--our latest NFUF CSA-Style, thanks to kohlrabi. Any other kohlrabi ideas, success stories, or suggestions, let me have 'em!

For that matter, hit me with any and all New For Us Friday deas--we're always up for trying new things over here!

hello, school year! hello, teacher notes!

Whether school has already begun or if it's right around the corner, Hello Teacher Notes are our new favorite way of making a connection with our teachers at the beginning of the school year. . .

Last August, when Maddy began Kindergarten, I was a nervous wreck:

Did I do my part to prepare her?
How many sight words did she know?
Could she count to twenty?
Why didn’t we read more this summer?
Can she even write her full name?
OHmygosh, was she even able to recite her phone number and address?
Did she know how to open her juice box without help?

Realizing that I could only do so much to prepare her this late in the game, I decided to focus my attention on something else—someone else—the person with whom Maddy would be spending her loooong days as a big-time Kindergartner. I wanted Maddy to feel as comfortable as possible with this person and maybe feel a little connection with her even before the bell rang on the first day.

I switched my focus to her teacher, with the help of Hello Teacher Notes.

• Hello Teacher Notes: Knowing first-hand how incredibly busy the initial weeks of school can be for teachers as they organize their classrooms and prepare their lessons, I wanted to do something that would be easy for Maddy, would take up very little time for her teacher, and would be a little something special for the two of them before they really got to know each other.

Owen works hard on his note for his teacher.

So I created a Hello Teacher Note—a very basic introduction letter from Maddy to her teacher that included a tiny picture of Maddy in the upper right-hand corner. It’s really very simple. The Hello Teacher Note just includes Maddy’s name and birthday, along with spaces for Maddy to write her favorite food, color, animal, book, holiday, and activity. It also includes a second page for the teacher to complete.

The teacher’s page mirrors the first page but has a little blurb on the bottom that says, “I will pick this up at the Open House, you can leave it in my desk or cubby, or you can mail it to: (space for student’s address)”.

Maddy delivered her Hello Teacher Note to her teacher’s mailbox one late August morning last year, and even walking up to the building, going into the office and meeting the secretaries, and searching for her teacher’s mailbox helped us all a little. And our first-ever Back-to-School Night, this over-emotional mom could have ugly cried when the sweet teacher walked over to me and handed me the return letter to give to Maddy. When we read it the next day, my baby was beaming, and she was more excited than ever to hit Kindergarten.

This year, Maddy, Owen, and Cora each wrote a Hello Teacher Note—Maddy to her first grade teacher, Owen to his pre-K teacher, and Cora to her preschool teacher--and we set aside one morning to deliver all of the letters. It was seriously exciting for them; I think these letters are a super way of moving gently into the new year, and we’ll be writing them each year for as long as we can.

Even if the year is already underway, Hello Teacher Notes can be used to create a stronger connection between teacher and student. The notes give everyone a little more of a reason to talk, get to know each other, and realize their commonalities before the year is really up and rolling.

Want to download the Hello Teacher Note to try it out yourself? Click on any of the hyperlinked words, and it's yours!

fyi: This was originally posted as part of VolunteerSpot's Views on Back to School Series. VolunteerSpot's free online sign up sheets save time, eliminate reply-all email, and make it easy for more parents to get involved at school and in the community. Register at VolunteerSpot before October 1st, 2010 using promotion code "TeachersSave" for a chance to win $100 in free classroom supplies for the teacher of your choice from ClassWish.

AND hey! Happy Day!! It's a GIVEAWAY!

Volunteer Spot has graciously offered teach mama readers the opportunity to win a Kids' Art Package from DreamSakes which includes 10 free high-resolution museum-quality scans of their children's artwork and a personalized gift. Seriously! Two great companies joining forces makes me want to sing!

All you have to do to enter is leave a comment here (and include your email address) sharing one of your personal or family back-school-year goals. Will you do homework right after school? Will you volunteer more? Do you hope to be early--rather than just making the bell every day? Are you going to be super-organized for 2010-2011?

This giveaway will end next Tuesday, 8/31/10, and a winner will be chosen by random.org.

Many thanks to Volunteer Spot and DreamSakes for sponsoring this giveaway and for allowing our family to try DreamSakes out, too!

how to make school supply shopping fun

Put them to work. That's right. Put your kids to work, and school-supply shopping is a lot more fun.

It's that time of year again--school supplies have taken over every store we visit, teacher assignments have arrived, and my kids are getting nutty anticipating a change of schedule around the corner.

So I decided this year not to fight the sometimes anxiety-producing new school year preparations and instead embrace it for the sneaky learning opportunity and exciting day it can be.

School-supply shopping? Preparing for the new school year? Como se dice 'awesome, fun, and actually really enjoyable' when you hand over the power to three little shoppers. . .

• School Supply Shopping Made F-U-N: Because of Maddy's surgery, we've had a wacky last few days of summer. Literally everything has been on hold, including our normal back-to-school preparations.
  

So when I realized in a mad panic last Thursday that we hadn't picked up one single school supply for Maddy, Owen, or Cora, I (yes, first panicked), and then I hit the computer. I created a School Supply List for each person--not as snazzy as our Grocery Shopping Lists usually are--but these lists did the job nonetheless.

Maddy, Owen, and Cora's lists. . . ready to be filled!

I knew we'd do the shopping on the following day, Friday, rather than battle the crowds on the weekend. And I knew that if I armed Maddy, Owen, and Cora each with their own list, a marker, and their own shopping bag at the store, they'd be more inclined to play my School Supply Shopping game and not run wild in the store or beg me for everything they saw.

Here's Maddy's School Supply List; here are Owen and Cora's School Supply Lists; and here is a Blank School Supply List (you can write or type in what you need). They're all pdf's for easy sharing.

So Friday morning, after we lazied around, read some books, and played with Brady, I called a mini-family meeting and explained what we were going to be doing:
Okay, my friends. School is right around the corner--only a few days away--so we need to do some major school-supply shopping in order to get you all prepared for the new year. Here I have one list for you, one marker, and one shopping bag.

Today's going to be our school-supply shopping day--we're going to hit the stores, have lunch on the town, and not come back until all of these boxes are checked. Let's read everyone's list so we know what we're looking for. . .

And really, that's it. We first hit the park so that the kids could get some sun and hang out with their buddies. Then we hit the stores. And we stopped for lunch at Micky D's. And we really had a blast, despite the fact that we ended up going to three stores and the whole thing took over four hours from start to finish.

Will I do it again this way? Absolutely. And I'll certainly hit the park first, put my kids to work, go out for lunch, and call it a day. An overall really awesome day.

Even though Owen and Cora are not reading even close to as fluently as Maddy, giving them the lists was helpful for keeping them focused and excited about trying to figure out words and finding their items. They each only had about four or five items that they need, so my reading of the lists before we left the house gave them a head's-up about what was on the list.

So even though Owen can't read the word 'paper towels', he knew 'paper towels' was on the list, he knows that the word starts with a 'p' sound, so he knew where to put a check in the box after he found the word that began with 'p' on the list. Pretty darn cool. Early literacy never ceases to amaze me--especially on my own three kiddos.

Here's to an exciting, successful, and peaceful 2010-2011 school year! Happy shopping!

nfuf: BitDefender and BitMoms

On this New For Us Friday, we're sharing information about BitDefender and BitMoms Community.

Interested in learning about my most favorite internet security company in the whole entire world--one that has a super online community whose focus is to provide parents with online safety news, resources, and materials?

Do you want to win a copy of BitDefender Total Security for yourself? Read on!


Keeping Families Safe Online
written by Leticia Barr, Chief BitMom

If words like sexting, social networking, tweeting, wall posts, cyberbullying, objectionable content, security, and privacy settings make you uncomfortable, the free BitMoms.com community can serve as a useful resource to help you keep your kids safe online. BitMoms provides news, content, and resources about family internet safety and security issues to make the internet a safer place for children.

Powered by BitDefender, the award-winning provider of innovative internet security solutions, BitMoms is an interactive website and social network. It serves as a hub for conversations on internet safety topics, as well as online safety news.

Members engage in information seeking through the discussion Forum, sharing diverse perspectives on current events involving internet safety topics for families, and accessing resources from the Content Library. The Content Library includes information about talking to your children about internet dangers, protecting yourself when online shopping, safeguarding Facebook photos from hackers, and a PDF download about online safety that can be easily shared with friends or used to educate fellow parents PTA meetings.

New content is constantly being added to BitMoms, making it a dynamic and exciting site to visit daily. Chief BitMom Leticia Barr, of TechSavvyMama.com creates blog posts and videos that are uploaded several times per week and the BitMoms community members are also regular contributors to all aspects of the site.

“As a mom of two, technology expert, and educator I am proud to serve as BitDefender’s Chief BitMom and blogger,” said Barr. “With BitMoms.com, we’re really trying to provide a constructive place for moms to go, to talk about the issues we experience as part of our daily digital lives as well as a place to gather information, industry news and helpful tips to keep our families safe online.”

BitMoms also encourages fellow bloggers to apply for the BitMoms Blog Network. BitMoms Blog Network members are an exclusive group of individuals who are passionate about helping other parents keep their kids safe online. Benefits include exclusive content, a stipend to attend a blog conference of your choice, and the opportunity to win a full sponsorship to BlogHer 2011.
BitDefender encourages all mothers, regardless of their experience using the internet and ages of their children, to visit and become a member of the free BitMoms.com community to become knowledgeable about family internet safety.

GIVEAWAY:

BitDefender would like to offer 3 new copies of the BitDefender 2011Total Security to our readers. In addition, we will update you on other opportunities to enter a similar giveaway in the weeks to come. This newest product becomes available in early September.

Here's how to win: Please leave a comment here simply saying why you need BitDefender software or what you think about the BitMoms Community. That's it! (Please include your email address so I can reach you if you win.)

Winners will be chosen by random.org, and giveaway ends at midnight on 08/31/10.
Good luck!

For additional entries let us know if you:

Join the BitMoms Community
Follow BitMoms on Twitter
Tweet about this giveaway including @Bitmoms and a link to this post

**Personal Side Note: My netbook started acting up in mid-July, and I didn't think much of it until I was unable to open programs, close programs, or do any normal word processing or work online. (Clearly in denial, right?) I have to admit, the computer was only protected by free anti-malware programs I downloaded onto the device, but those programs did come highly recommended to me by several of my techie relatives. When things got really bad, I reached out to Leticia Barr, my trusty friend (and Chief BitMom).

Leticia suggested I install BitDefender Total Security onto the computer, which I immediately did. I was in awe of how user-friendly the program was, how quickly it scanned, and how thoroughly it 'cleaned' my netbook. With the incredibly supportive BitDefender team and awesome BitDefender software, I was able to restore our dear netbook back to good health. I am now a total convert; BitDefender may not be as familiar as other internet security programs here in the US, but I'm a firm believer that once word gets out about how this program knocks others right out of the ballpark, the game will be over. I totally and completely recommend BitDefender to anyone in the market for internet and/or computer security.

This giveaway is open for entry until August 31st, 2010 and is a sponsored post on behalf of BitDefender. However, my feelings and opinions as expressed in the above paragraphs are completely my own, typed on my happy, healthy netbook thanks to BitDefender Total Security.

coin counting and skip counting

Our summer took a crazy turn about two weeks ago when we learned that Maddy needed to have a tonsillectomy before the end of the summer.

With just a few days to shove in all of our summertime fun, poor ole teach mama blog (and many other things!) took a rightful back burner. We barely had time to prepare Maddy for the realization that she wouldn't be running, playing, swimming, or biking for the last two weeks of her break.

Needless to say, after a successful surgery (woo-hooooo!) our attention was directed toward our brave little 6-year-old, feeding her a lot of ice-cream, playing easy games, reading lots of books, and doing what we could to keep her comfortable.

Counting money--and practicing skip counting--was one activity that Maddy requested and that Owen and Cora were totally up for. For some reason, playing with money has always been exciting for Maddy, Owen, and Cora--cleaning money, singing songs and poems about money, sorting it, and counting it.

• Coin Counting and Skip Counting: Coin counting is one thing, but 'skip counting' is simply the way our school system describes counting by 2's, 5's, 10's, or any set number.

Yesterday, Maddy asked if we could count her money to see if she had enough to take to the toy store to buy this stuffed dog she has been dreaming about for months now. After her very lethargic past few days, I jumped on this opportunity to do a little math learning since school is (yikes) right around the corner.

I knew she wanted to add all of her money together, but I wasn't sure about the best way to keep track of the numbers and addition; sure, I know how I'd do it with the ole calculator, but I wasn't sure the best way to do it so that she--a rising first grader--would understand. And I wanted it to make sense for Owen and Cora, too.

So we started by sorting the coins--something that Maddy, Owen, and Cora did with ease. They sorted by pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters, half dollars (thanks to the Tooth Fairy!), and dollars--coins and bills. We had one pile for 'extras'--anything coin-like that wasn't really money but that ended up in her jar.

Owen and Maddy skip count by 25's while counting quarters.
FYI: I was right there as a big, big helper.

After sorting the coins, I had Maddy create a very simple sheet to keep track of what she had and what we counted. She titled it "Maddy's Money" and made columns for each coin she had.

[Tonight, I created a Money Counting Chart and a Coin Counting Chart that we'll use in the future. They're pdf's that are more organized; the Money Counting Chart can be used to total all of their money, and the Coin Counting Chart we'll use to practice first-grade math.)

Maddy wrote the number value of each coin next to the name of the coin, and then we counted. She, Owen, and Cora put the pennies in rows of 10, and then Maddy skip counted by 10's to find the total number of pennies.

We did the same thing for nickels--we put them in rows of 10 and skip counted by 5's to get to 50. For dimes, we put them in rows of 10 and skip counted by 10's to 100.

We counted the quarters and half-dollars and dollars--coins and bills--and put the total numbers on Maddy's chart.

I helped with the final adding, and that was it. Did MIaddy have the money she needed for the puppy at the store? I'm not sure.

I think we'll take an extra trip to the toy store this weekend or next, and maybe with all of the gems from her gem jar along with her own saved money, she'll be able to buy it. She has been so tough. . .

What I realized is that money counting is hard. Really, really hard. It's difficult to explain because the concept is just beyond so many young kids at this point. So I think it's super-important to focus on one or two coins for the younger kiddos and then max out at quarters for kids about Maddy's age. When you get into decimals and carrying numbers and the dollar bills and dollar coins, it just becomes so much.

Having never taught math to elementary school students myself and having cried my way through most of my math classes throughout school, today was an eye-opener. I'm betting I'll rely heavily on my pals over at we teach and my husband (who taught grade 5 and high school math) to get the troops through this kind of stuff. . . or maybe I'll just need to take a second or two to think through things before I move into them. Or maybe I'm just a little more sleep-deprived than usual.

pet rocks, rocks for pets

I can hardly look at these pet rocks without cracking up.

One sunny day last week, Maddy, Owen, and Cora had a blast creating pets out of a bunch of rocks and seashells that we lugged home from the beach. Sure, although there's little (okay, or maybe no) educational value here whatsoever, this crafty-craft got little fingers moving.

And when little fingers are moving, fine motor skills are being worked. And when fine motor skills are worked, actions like the tripod grip and cutting with scissors are improved!

• Pet Rocks: I set up the ole trusty sand and water table, filled a few buckets with warm soapy water, and grabbed the toothbrushes we've used for cleaning and painting.

Then I dumped the bucket of rocks and stones we picked up at the beach, and I asked Maddy, Owen, and Cora if they'd be up for cleaning some rocks and making rock pets.

They were totally psyched, like they usually are any time they can play in soapy water. So they scrubbed, cleaned, washed, and rinsed. For a long time.

Then we put the rocks and shells on towels and let them dry for a while. . .

. . . and when they dried, we brought the rocks to life.

After everything dried, I brought out googly eyes (these make everything fun), some pom-pom balls, glue, and some paint pens that I bought on clearance a few weeks ago. I was thinking that the pens would be easy for the kids to use and relatively un-messy. I thought I'd love them, but I was wrong.

They worked well, and they gave Maddy, Owen, and Cora something new to try, but blending was difficult, and it was also tough for them to control how much paint they squirted out onto the brush.

They made people, animals, and just whatever came to mind.

They made so many pet rocks, that for kicks, the next day, I lined them up at Maddy, Owen, and Cora's breakfast seats as a 'good morning' surprise. It made me laugh more than them, I think. . .

Maddy chose one and made a bed for it, and Owen and Cora shoved a bunch of theirs in a little 'box-bed' as well.

It was silly, it made everyone laugh a bit, and it gave us something fun to do one sunny morning, working fingers and brains and smiles.

I don't know what it is about these little Pet Rocks--they still make me laugh every time I see them.

I need a life.

NFUF: k12 virtual academy and giveaway

On this New For Us Friday, we're sharing information about K12.

Interested in learning about K12's Virtual Academy?
Want to win one of five text books written by k12 writers? Read on!

This article originally posted on thinktanK12, k12's blog and written by Heidi Higgins.


What is a Virtual Academy?

I never pictured myself as a “schooling at home” mom.

I was a big yellow bus believer! I even threw a party for myself when, after 20 years, I sent the last of my six children to school! The balloons were not all popped from my party when my husband, a state legislator, invited me to see some of the new education options now available in our state.

I went along just to be with him, so when I heard the words, “schooling at home,” I scoffed, “Not for me!” But something happened inside my mind and heart as I listened to what could now be offered to my children--at home. My mind drifted to my 12 year-old daughter who had been holding back in class, afraid to be labeled a “brain” or a geek.

I was told that the Virtual Academy option could open up doors for her and let her excel at her own pace. I remember the sigh that escaped when I knew this was something I wanted to try in my home.

My family has been enrolled since 2002. I am now the parent of a Virtual School graduate, and though it has not been an easy road, I cannot speak highly enough of the Virtual Academy option for schooling children.

A Virtual Academy is an online public school with most of the bells and whistles of a traditional school, but with all the comforts of home because that is where the student is—at home.

The Virtual Academy became my choice when I learned that this online school could provide my children with:

1. The top quality K¹² curriculum
2. A state-certified teacher assigned to my family
3. All the supplies I would need to put together the highest quality education available
4. All this would be paid for by my tax dollars.

The Virtual Academy has remained my choice for more than eight years because I discovered that the curriculum can be individualized to the needs of each of my children. I no longer wonder where they are in their education or if they are grasping the material. I know...

• Online tools show where to begin and suggest a plan for each day.
• The teacher brings the lessons and the online learning all together with regular contact, live lessons, and help with individual needs.
• Office hours are conducted online so that a family can virtually drop in to visit about a lesson or receive more instruction.
• During the day, I work directly with my child, as the child’s learning coach.

The child knows that education is important to me, and something to value. This encourages deeper dives into subjects that hold our interests. K¹² provides resources for just such research in many of the lessons. There is a lot of multiple generation learning going on here.

The K¹² curriculum builds lessons that include flash technology, brilliant photography, and exciting interactive programming to give variety to each lesson and peak the interests of students. I was stunned when my second grader watched the news and informed me that the Middle East conflict was taking place on the Fertile Crescent. And when one of them wanted to go for a drive so they could see a cold front and a warm front meet in the sky so they could explain how it worked. What inspires the child, inspires the Learning Coach, as well.

The Virtual Academy hosts regular meet-and-greets, as well as local activities for families to get to know one another and to network support. Activities are optional, but families tend to come and enjoy visiting museums, libraries, movie houses, parks and local historical sites. Parents pool their time and talents to offer additional support as Virtual Academy Boosters. These events are parent-run activities that vary from region to region, but include co-ops, clubs, gym days, bowling leagues and field trips.

My virtual academy hosts spelling bees, geography bees, science fairs and literacy fairs. My children have had pen pals, dance partners, and lego robot races. In enrolling my children in this program, I have found “virtually” everything my children need to have a top-notch educational experience right at home.

GIVEAWAY:

We've got two copies of the book, "The Human Odyssey: Prehistory Through the Middle Ages" edited by Mary Beth Klee, John Crib, and John Holdren (all K12 employees), to give to our readers.

It's more than a history book--it's more of a storybook of history, complete with images, diagrams, maps, and charts in full color. This volume begins the odyssey of the development of civilization over a twelve-thousand year span from the Ice Ages to the Middle Ages. A great addition to any home school classroom or home library.

Here's how to win: Please leave a comment here simply saying how you'll use this awesome text or what you think about the Virtual Academy. That's it! (Please include your email address so I can reach you if you win.)

Winners will be chosen by random.org, and giveaway ends at midnight on 08/20/10.
Good luck!

Post sponsored by k12.

telling stories with norman rockwell paintings

I have always been intrigued by Norman Rockwell's artwork.

When I was young, his Girl at Mirror (1954) spoke to me so personally about the battle between growing up and embracing childhood. Looking at the girl with the picture of a model on her lap and her doll on the floor, I knew I wasn't alone in my conflict.

Others like Marble Champion (1939), Happy Birthday Miss Jones (1956), Good Boy (The Little Orphan at the Train (1951), and The Problem We All Live With (1964) conveyed so much emotion in one frame that I remember staring at them for hours in my parents' huge Norman Rockwell coffee table book. Stories and questions ran through my brain. I wanted answers; I wanted to know more.

So in June when I read the article in The Post about the Rockwell exhibit at the American Art Museum this summer, I knew I had to take Maddy, Owen, and Cora down to see it. I knew if the paintings struck me, then they'd most likely also strike my kiddos, even though they're young. And talk about great story-starters. . .

• Telling Stories with Norman Rockwell Paintings: My kids were nutty about the boy in "High Dive" which was part of an article we read in The Post in early July. They were throwing out questions left and right: Who is he? What is he doing? Did he jump off, Mommy? Was he okay? Why is he so scared?
  

I tried to explain that the boy wasn't a real boy but rather a character in Norman Rockwell's painting. There was no real, correct, absolute story, and the cool thing about Norman Rockwell's artwork was that he painted so well they looked like photographs and that the paintings told stories. Stories that we got to create and tell for ourselves.

A few weeks passed, and between swim team, weddings, baby showers, and long weekend trips, Rockwell's paintings went on the back burner. Then we found out that Maddy was going to have her tonsils out this week, so we decided to jump on a free summer afternoon, take the Metro to the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and check out the exhibit first hand on Tuesday.

We prepared by taking out a few books from the library--Norman Rockwell: America's Best-Loved Illustrator by Joel Cohen (1997) and Norman Rockwell's America, published by Abrams (1975).

"High Dive" (1947) from the cover of the Saturday Evening Post
is in the collection of Steven Spielberg and on exhibit at
Smithsonian American Art Museum.

We didn't pore over the books; Maddy, Owen, and Cora each ended up flipping through them at different rest times throughout the week, and we talked a little about the pictures. Maddy hunted down the boy on the high dive, and they were happy.

But when we actually made it to the collection at the Smithsonian, we were all really overwhelmed and excited about seeing "our" paintings, the ones that the kids saw in the books and the ones I grew up admiring.

At the exhibit, we stopped to talk about the determination in the face of the little girl in Marble Champion, and we talked about who might be the champion. Could the girl beat those boys? How do they even play marbles?

We examined Happy Birthday Miss Jones, looked at her desk, and laughed at the trouble-maker with an eraser on his head.

We talked about the little boy in Good Boy--his fear, his excitement, his conflict--and we tried to figure out how his new adoptive mom might feel as well. We looked at the basket she brought for him and the other orphans on the train. We wondered how life would be for him when he went to live with his new mom. Would he have a dad? Would he miss his friends?

Maddy and Owen wondered why someone would throw a tomato--or anything--at a pretty little girl in a perfectly white dress in The Problem We All Live With and asked why she had big guys in front and in back of her. They wanted to know more.

Owen was worried about the boy and his dog in Waiting For the Vet. He asked what happened to the dog, where was the boy's mommy, and why was the boy all alone. Were they in trouble? Why would a dog have a bandage like that?

Bedtime books after the Rockwell exhibit? Rockwell books, of course.

We sat and watched the short film about Rockwell and the exhibit, and although Cora had the wiggles and went out with my husband, Maddy and Owen were more interested than I thought.

We didn't stay too long--maybe 45 minutes or so--just long enough to get little brains moving and thinking and wondering. And when we finally sat down to read books at bedtime, everyone ran for the Rockwell books. It was awesome.

It was a long afternoon, so we didn't follow up with anything other than very casual question-asking, predicting, and connecting. In the next few days--before the books are due back--I hope to:

• tell stories: I'll have Maddy, Owen, and Cora (why not?) focus on one painting each and tell a story about it, attempting to include a beginning, middle, and end;
• encourage writing--creative writing--about one painting. Maddy can write a story, and Owen can dictate the story to me and write the words he's able;
• think creatively: We can talk about what happens next for one painting 'story', maybe creating a follow-up drawing or painting by the kiddos or even a written story;
• do a little research: Maddy and Owen wondered about life for kids in Rockwell's time. They wondered why the boys were running away from the "No Swimming" sign and they wondered about the girls in Girl Missing Tooth (1957). They were amazed at the fisherman walking with the mermaid in Mermaid (1955), so maybe we'll do a little research about life in the '50's or about fishermen or mermaids. Or maybe we'll learn marbles.
  

No matter what we do--or don't do--as follow-up, I hope sincerely that this week we instilled a little bit of art appreciation into our kiddos. Thanks to George Lucas and Steven Spielberg for sharing their collections.

Want some Rockwell but can't get to a museum? No worries!

• Telling Stories: Norman Rockwell from the Collections of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg-- Smithsonian American Art Museum site which includes podcast and images
  
• Norman Rockwell's "Telling Stories" of America at the Smithsonian: Slide Show from The Washington Post site
  
• "Norman Rockwell exhibit opens at Smithsonian American Art Museum," Blake Gopnik, The Washington Post (July 4, 2010)

• "Camp's out: Kid-friendly activities and happy hours in the Washington area," Justin Rude and Jessica McFadden, The Washington Post (July 30, 2010) [Written by my friend and crazy-talented, Jessica!]
  

• Norman Rockwell Museum Site: Stockbridge, MA

The Telling Stories: Norman Rockwell from the Collections of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg runs at the Smithsonian American Art Museum now through January 2, 2011. If you go, let me know what you think!

perfectly perfect pool party cupcakes

My sweet boy turned five this week, so we celebrated with a handful of his close pals at our favorite summer hangout--the pool.

His only request was cupcakes, pizza, Cheetos, and Doritos (so he really wanted a health food party), but we decided to spruce things up with some Perfectly Perfect Pool Party Cupcakes inspired by some last-minute searching on the 'net.

Cupcake-baking and party-prepping is always a super time to get little guys involved in the festivities, so that's what we did on Monday after I returned from a long weekend in NYC.

• Perfectly Perfect Pool Party Cupcakes: Owen wanted chocolate cupcakes with red icing. I gave him the chocolate but nixed the red in exchange for blue icing with swimming bears. Once he realized what we were doing, he was totally game.

We baked the cupcakes before we took Brady to the vet, and between the egg-cracking, recipe-reading, and ingredient-adding, baking was a sneaky way of throwing some math and reading learning into our day from the start.

Even the way we fill cupcakes--top left to right and return sweep--mirrors the way we read words on a page. Counting as we go gave us a teeny bit of math practice on top of measuring water and oil.

Then we watched as Owen mixed his idea of the perfect pool-blue icing, and we headed to the store for some candy to double as pool toys. We are a sweet-tooth family, and I'm not afraid to use candy in the kitchen every once in a while!

Mix-master Owen works out the blue for his cupcakes.

We decided that Life-Savers would work as small inner-tubes, gummy rings would be our big inner-tubes, gum balls would be beach balls, gummy worms would be our noodles, and Maddy decided that the circus peanuts would be perfect rafts for our bears. It really would be a healthy party after all!

Little fingers got right to work, unwrapping Life-Savers and setting up Teddy Graham teddy bears in pool-happy swimming situations.

Once all the cupcakes were decorated and all the bears were playing ball, lounging on rafts, and peeking through inner-tubes, I put black icing eyes on them and stuck them in the fridge until party time.

These swimming bears are too cute for words.

We had a mix of ages at the party, but we wanted to have some party games to play during the shin-dig. We bought several 4-packs of dive rings as the party favors for little guests, and our plan was to play with them then let the kids take them home.

Here's what we planned: (fyi, my husband totally rocks and did a fantastic job of leading the games while I got food together!)

• Dive Stick Games--Our idea was to throw all of the sticks in the water and have swimmers search for 2, then 3, then 4 sticks of any color (sticks were red, green, blue, and purple); 2 of each color; 3 colors, then one of each color. We planned on girls getting two colors and boys getting the other two colors, and finally we wanted kids to each grab 3 of any color to take home.
• Jumping Games--We planned to do silly jumps, pencil jumps, and canon ball jumps (Owen's personal fave). After some head-bumps and tears with the Dive Stick games, my husband gave each swimmer a number, he called the number, and that person did a silly jump. So smart. No tears.
  
• Races--We thought it would be fun to do noodle races. Three kids at a time across the pool and back. Teams, maybe? We weren't sure how it would go because of the levels of swimmers.
• Obstacle Course--We had a few hoola-hoops, so we thought it would be fun to have swimmers go through the hoops, under water and dive through them above water (dolphin dives).
  

And really, between free time to swim and be silly, pizza, and cupcakes, that's all we put together. And Owen and his buddies had a blast (or seemed to!--and so did we!).

As with any children's party, we certainly couldn't pull this off ourselves. Thanks to the moms and dads and aunts and grandparents who helped make Owen's birthday a perfectly perfect pool par-tay!

what to say when kids make reading mistakes

So what should you say when a child makes mistake during reading?

I've been asked this question so many times by my friends, by parents of students I tutor, and by many, many readers of this blog.

And because we've run into this situation most recently this week after our trip to the library for fish books, I thought I'd share some ways that parents--and teachers--can handle those tough, uncomfortable times when kids make reading mistakes.

These are ways that I handle times when Maddy makes mistakes, these are the things I said when I listened to her classmates read when I volunteered at her school, and these are things I say when I'm tutoring and working with students.

• What to Say When Kids Make Reading Mistakes: Sure, our first inclination is to just give kiddos the word--especially if we're in a time crunch or if the child is an especially slow reader.
  

Child: Something must be wr-wr wh-whh. Wrrroooo. Wruu. I don't know.
Parent: It's 'wrong'. 'Wrong.' 'Something must be wrong with. . .'
Child: Oh. 'Something must be wrong with the sun to-today.'

The kiddo gets off easy and will soon learn that all he has to do is make some feeble attempts at sounding out a word in order to get Mom or Dad--or teacher--to throw him the rope. We've all done it, but it sure isn't a great habit.

When kids blindly choose a book to read,
they may run into some reading problemos.

There are ways we can use these exciting and (sometimes) trying times during emerging reader read-alouds as jumping off points for learning. If we just keep a few phrases in our back pockets, our kids really might start to become stronger readers before our eyes. . .

When kids won’t even try to sound out a word or they won’t budge, say:

• Think about the letters you recognize and the sounds they make. What sound does this letter make (point to first letter)? Let me hear you make the sound. Now what sound does this letter make (point to second letter)? Let’s put the sounds together. . .
• Look at the letters you know in the word and the picture on the page. The picture is here to help you. Think about the sound this letter makes (point to first letter of word) and what you see in the picture. . .
• Think about what’s going on in this story. You just read, (read previous line). Look at the picture, look at the word, and think about what might happen next.
• Skip the word you don’t know and move to the next word you can read.
• You might not recognize this word, but I know you know this word (cover the first letter and let him read the part he knows—at from ‘bat’). Think about the sound that ‘b’ makes, put the sounds together, and you’ll have it!
• You just read this word on the previous page, and you read it correctly. Use your detective eyes, find the word on the other page, and see if that helps.

When a child makes an error on a page and moves right on by like nothing happened, even if what she read makes no sense:
Let her go! Don’t interrupt mid-reading; instead consider saying at the end of the sentence, phrase, or paragraph:

• Are you correct?
• Read it again and check closely.
• Can you find the tricky part?
• It’s in this line.
• I’ll point it out and help you find it.
  

Use this prompt occasionally even when your child reads the words correctly! That way she’ll get in the habit of self-monitoring while she’s reading solo. Remember also to use the above prompts in order--that way beginning with an open-ended question (Are you correct?) will have her go back and check her work without your help and specific direction!

If you'd like to have these prompts as a pdf, you may download What to Say When Kids Make Reading Mistakes. It has a little more explanation and information and will hopefully be something worthwhile to keep on hand!

Cheers, and happy reading during this incredibly exciting journey!

non-fiction reading and real-life learning with fish

We're pet sitting for the next few days, and Maddy, Owen and Cora are loving it. Nothing cuddly or furry, but these little guys are certainly entertaining if you ask my three kiddos.

We're fish-sitting, actually, for what may be close to 20 fish.

Two separate ponds with a waterfall and lily pads. And a back yard like you wouldn't believe that makes me want to get work on my own cruddy back yard like right now and one that Maddy has said is 'the most beautiful place she's ever seen'.

Anyway, I'm loving our fish-sitting because sure--I get so see what a yard can look like when the kids are out of college and you have time to into it. But 'fish-sitting' has also opened up the perfect opportunity to sneak in a little learning about a topic that is of high-interest, timely, and completely relevant to our lives.

All you need is an open door for an opportunity to get kids more comfortable with non-fiction reading, and this is one of them. Two girls on the Kids Post even had their picture taken with a big ole fish this week. We had to do some research and reading!

• Real-Life and Non-Fiction Reading: Probably about once a week, we head down the street to our neighbors' house to feed the fish. But this is the first time ever that we're in charge of the fish. For several days. So we've spent time watching them, feeding them, hanging out with them.
  

This time, Maddy and Owen and Cora have begun to sit back after throwing handfuls of fish pellets in the water and really look at these guys.

And they've begun to ask questions. Tons of questions. And any teacher knows that questions are a great starting point for real-life learning.

How can they see in this dirty water?
Do they close their eyes when they sleep?
How do they swallow without chewing?
Can they see us?
Where are their ears?

I told them that I wasn't really sure of how to answer these questions but that we had to go to the library that afternoon to return some books anyway, so why don't we look for some books that may help us? They were psyched.

We hunted down as many fish-related books as we could find, threw them in our bag, and headed back to the home front.

My vision for all of us sitting down and reading them that afternoon fizzled when the sun came out and the kids wanted to run out back when we got home, and that's fine. Over the last few days, though, we've been picking up the books, reading and re-reading, skimming, and looking at the pictures.

The big white guy with black dots vacuums the fish pellets.

Some books Maddy can read herself, and some I've read to everyone. I wanted to have a variety. Even if non-fiction texts are above a reader's own ability, it's fine; parents or teachers can read the text during a read-aloud and the benefits of doing so can benefit vocabulary, knowledge of informational text structure, content area learning, reading interest and engagement with the topic (from "Informational Text Use in Preschool Classroom Read-Alouds," by Pentimonti, Zucker, Justice, & Kaderavek in The Reading Teacher, May 2010).

We picked up several non-fiction easy-readers about fish which I didn't actually love; I found the text features to be really wild and too hard for emerging readers to follow. I am a bigger fan of simple non-fiction texts with basic text features--easy to read Table of Contents, Index, Chapter Titles, photo captions, etc. The reading a-z book I printed was better in that respect (Is That a Fish? by Susan Hartley).

I also mixed some fiction with our non-fiction picks so that we could talk--generally--about the differences between them. Of course, Maddy's got a grasp on it by now, but it never hurts to review. And it helps for Owen and Cora to have a head's up on concepts they'll learn down the road. We read Fishing With Grandpa by Robert Charles (from reading a-z) and A Fishy Story, by Marcus Pfister along the mix of non-fiction.

our pile of fishy books

We've read non-fiction books based on topics of interest before, and it is well worth the time it takes to hunt down the books and sort through them with your kids.
It's so cool to hear kiddos share facts that they've learned or remembered, and it makes them feel so proud.

I love it--fish facts, dog facts, caterpillar facts, firefly facts, toad facts, I love, love, love it.

Especially when it comes to science concepts, enjoying non-fiction texts in a read-aloud when kiddos are at an early age, is mucho helpful. In fact, "teacher-led read-alouds can provide the necessary support as children encounter potentially difficult content, text features, and challenging vocabulary" which was definitely the case when we were reading the texts from the library that had text and captions and photos all over the place (from "Introducing Science Concepts to Primary Students Through Read-Alouds: Interactions and Multiple Texts Make the Difference," by Heisey & Kucan in The Reading Teacher, May 2010).

The National Science Education Standards (National Research Council, 1996) "emphasized the importance of introducing science concepts early on" in children's lives, and many researchers have started to "acknowledge the power and usefulness of integrating science and literacy instruction" (also from "Introducing Science Concepts. . ."). It makes sense; reading should be--needs to be--integrated with content-area learning. Literacy instruction is just that important. And if we want our kiddos--boys and girls included--to be turned on to science from the get-go; there's a lot out there to learn and explore!

And that's that. Happy reading, researching, and learning along with your every day experiences!