Blog Archives
money poems, money songs: fun ways to teach kids about money
originally published on 5.14.10 Maddy’s been learning about money in school. Pennies, nickels, dimes–and she’s been talking 1′s, 5′s, and 10′s like nobody’s business. Add her big half-dollars ...
quick and easy addition game: finding addends
Cora has really been into playing math games lately. That’s right. Math games. I love it. Like while Maddy and Owen are doing their homework, all my littlest one wants ...
25 ways to play with puzzles
Get those puzzles out, my friends! It doesn’t matter if your kids are 2 or 12–puzzles are a super way of flexing those brain muscles, practicing fine motor skills, and ...
kid-happy, pet-inspired poetry writing: haiku and cinquain
We’ve been dumped on. Big time. Tons of snow has kept us indoors for the last few days, save from the few hours we’ve spent freezing our ...
pet poetry contest: calling all creative kids!
As a longtime friend of PAL, Pets Add Life, I’m happy to share news about a cool opportunity for our students, teachers, and parents. Now through January 31, ...
summarizing: at-home practice of a super-important reading skill
The other day, Maddy came home with not necessarily a homework assignment but a challenge from her fourth grade teacher: find the story of Prometheus and explain the ...
word building, letter writing, stamping to spell
Originally published on 2.23.11 but republished because it’s that important. During Maddy’s homework time yesterday, Owen had one task on his mind: he wanted to write a get-well letter ...
how to help kids chose just right books
It’s hard to watch a child struggle trying to read a book that is too difficult, especially when the kiddo is adamant about plowing through it. Whether the struggles be ...
top 10 ways to talk to kids about books
Sometimes it’s all we can do to just read with our kids. And honestly? That counts. Big time. So we should be happy if we’re reading with our kids. Woot! ...
how to help your child remember what he reads
Some children are able to easily read the words on a page but cannot remember a lick of what they read. Believe it. Whole paragraphs, pages, chapters can sometimes decoded–words ...
raising word conscious kids: a chat with Mando and Rosita of Sesame Street
I can’t stress enough the importance of raising word-conscious kids. Words are everywhere, all around us. Why not capitalize on the learning opportunities available to us everywhere we turn? If ...
