homework time

quick & easy grid games: concepts of print

May 2, 2012

It’s been a busy few days for us, but we’re slowly getting back to the routine, and it (gulp!) feels pretty good. Though boy oh boy do we miss Disney. . . So this week, I pulled out Cora’s Kindergarten packet (wah!), looked through the ideas, and reminded myself that I really should do some [...]

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mastering multiplication tables (with mini flash cards)

April 29, 2012

Learning math facts has been a long, hard road for Maddy. It’s actually very often a long, hard road for many kids–including myself–way back when. I remember hours of practicing my basic facts and hours of frustration at the fact that I just wasn’t learning. I just wasn’t remembering.  I felt anxiety on every Mad [...]

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number hunt 2.0: hide, seek, and name numbers!

March 20, 2012

My sweet Cora has had some trouble with identifying numbers–especially those tricky teens. So I pulled out one of Maddy and Owen’s faves from a few years back, printed out some extra sheets, found a bunch of teeny, tiny chart stickers, and got psyched for homework time. We’ve done several variations of our Alphabet Hunts [...]

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quick trick: focus on free play

February 25, 2012

This little Quick Trick isn’t as much a trick as it is a reminder–for parents, caregivers, teachers. .  . for my husband and me. Though I have always known and appreciated the importance of play for my little ones, I have to admit that it’s getting more difficult as they get older to give them [...]

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learning to spell contractions: sneaky games and play

February 22, 2012

We were so thankful for the gorgeous three-day weekend to slowly get us back on track and to allow us to (kind of) regain control over the mess that had become of our home.  After being away last week, the game nights, our movie night, book-reading, errands–even cleaning and organizing with the kids–was really a [...]

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rich, diverse digital resources for learning: PBS LearningMedia

January 20, 2012

So many times–without thinking–I look to those old standbys when I am searching for information on the web. Whether it’s just the basics or for cool multi-media clips to clarify Maddy, Owen, or Cora’s learning from school or the random questions in their heads, I’ll admit it: I often get lazy. I’ll turn on the [...]

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practicing math facts with crazy, mixed-up dice

January 19, 2012

Somehow we have ended up with a ton of wild and crazy dice in our house. Some are huge. Some are teeny. Some are old; some are brand, spankin’ new. Some have numerals and some have dots. Some are even double-dice–a big die with a mini die inside. And we had one die with an [...]

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best of teach mama countdown: #2 — spelling words

January 12, 2012

Yay! We’re getting down to the wire with this teach mama top 10 all-time best countdown! This post is one that I have shared probably more than times than any other post I’ve written.  It seems that most of the emails that I receive are from parents who are tired, desperate, and . . . [...]

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best of teach mama countdown: #3 shoe-tying

January 11, 2012

Teaching some kids how to tie their shoes is so not easy, it’s not even funny. While one child may teach herself how to do it, for another child, it may take time and time and time again for her to actually learn how to tie those shoelaces on her own. Maddy was a great [...]

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best of teach mama countdown: #6 — learning with recyclables

January 7, 2012

One of these days I’m going to share where and how we store the recyclables that we manage to save from the big blue bin over here. But until then, I’ll share the #6 most popular teach mama post of all-time: how to use recyclables with kids–get fun, crafty, creative. I think people have responded [...]

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best of teach mama countdown: #9 — building words, names

January 4, 2012

This post, which rolls in at #9, continues to surprise me with the amount of hits it gets. Maybe it’s the title: word building, name building (and crossing the line). Maybe people find it unintentionally when they’re trying to figure out what to do when their kids ‘cross the line’–I’m not sure. I’m really not [...]

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