Tag Archives: education

Reading, writing and arithmetic.  That’s the focus.  What can you do to support your pre-school or elementary aged children as they embark on a new school year?  It’s important to keep it fun, with a hidden educational twist!  My years as an elementary school teacher have provided me with a keen eye on what’s worth it for educational fun.
I have been a fan of Rock ‘N Learn videos for many years.  In our home we have 5 of the videos and my daughter would watch them over and over if she had the time!  Most recently we enjoyed the Rock ‘N Learn Sight Words in DVD.  I was impressed, especially with the content.  Rock ‘N Learn videos are content heavy, light on graphics and always get the (learning) song stuck in your head.

The child is presented with dozens of sight words through the showing.  (Sight words are words that are …

It’s summer.  No excuses now.  It’s time to kick back and relax.  True as that may be, it is also time to keep up the learning at home!  I’m not suggesting textbook or formal classes, just ways to sneak in some educational skills in between swimming lessons and afternoon movies! Here are 5 ways, in no particular order, you can provide your child some learning opportunities, making him/her even more ready for school in the Fall!

READ! You’ve heard it a million times!  Reading to your child is one of the most important activities you can do.  Head over to the library or bookstore on rainy days and find lots of book together.  Dedicate time each day, (doesn’t have to be before bedtime) to read.  The story may even inspire some activities!
JOURNAL! Purchase a basic composition book. Each day, or as frequently as …

A Notebook and a Pencil
Dedicate time (it can even be just 5 minutes) to review academic skills with your child every day.  This “school time” will encourage you to be on top of your child’s learning successes and areas of need.  With just a notebook, a pencil and a few other items, a Smart Mama and her offspring can review handwriting, counting, reading and more!
How Does It Look Like in Smart Mama’s House
Each day we spend 15 minutes doing “School Time.” This is a special part of the day when we settle down to practice a few different academic skills.  We typically begin with the calendar.  We talk about the current month, days of the week and count the number of days in the month. We often look back in the year, reviewing names of previous months and look ahead at what’s to come. She gets to draw an …

Updated 9/5/10 due to product availability updates.
It arrived around 3 PM. I had shown her pictures and read her information all about the new MobiGoTouch Learning System
that was to be delivered that day. She was ecstatic! She tore into the box like it was the first gift on Christmas!
Her expectations were met! She sat there for the next hour (I made her stop for dinner,) playing the MobiGoTouch Learning System! The default game cartridge, Touch & Learn Game Pack, includes 6 games that entertain and educate. This handheld device seemed to be the right fit for her!
The following day, we ventured on a 4 hour trip to DisneyWorld.  We certainly packed the MobiGoTouch Learning System, knowing that it could potentially help the “Are we there yet?” whines! Within minutes into the trip, she wanted her “computer!” I couldn’t …

Finding a Teachable Moment
I recently purchased a childhood favorite, Hi! Ho! Cherry-O! for my daughter.  Originally intended for a fun before nap activity, it easily turned into a math lesson. After each spin she had to SUBTRACT one or more pieces of fruit from her tree.  I wasn’t afraid to use this word.   At first she looked at me when I used this “fancy” word, but I continued on letting her figure out what I meant when I said, “Oh, you need to SUBTRACT 3 green apples from your tree!” She figured out what I meant; she had played the game before.  But my 3 ½ year old certainly hadn’t heard the word SUBTRACT.  Now she has. How about the word COMPARE? I certainly could use this math word on our next game to notice the differences and similarities between my fruit tree and hers.
Taking an …

Once upon a time there were three little pigs.  The first little pig built his house of …
I am certain each of you, and your munchkins, can finish the story.  It’s a story that has been retold orally and in books from as far back as the 1840s!
I challenge you to use the storyline that we all know so well of The Three Little Pigs to introduce a new story and new vocabulary to your preschooler/elementary aged little one.  The Three Little Javelinas by Susan Lowell is a great start.  With the great familiarity of the “pigs” storyline, your child will be quick to understand the story (what happens first, second…) as new words are introduced with this rather hilarious Southwestern variation.  A conversation about straw and bricks will easily be replaced with adobe bricks and tumbleweeds.  You can …