Search Results for: blog fun word games that teach

Home School Blogger Spotlight: The Amazing Mess

The words “amazing mess” were first coined by this blogger’s daughter. The author of The Amazing Mess, Stacie, decided this would be a fitting name for her blog since children are both amazing and messy. I am sure anyone with small children will agree. The blog itself is anything but a mess. Beautifully designed and organized you will find many wonderful ideas and crafts for you to use with your children. Born from the frustration of not finding crafts on the internet to use which showed pictures or completed crafts, you will find step by step instructions and pictures from … Continue reading →

File Folder Games

Have you ever seen file folder games? Several publishers have gotten on the bandwagon with this inventive idea, and you can find the books in just about any educational bookstore and online. They come in a wide variety of topics from reading and math to social studies, and they are great for preschoolers on up. You purchase them as a book, and then you take the book to the copy store. After making your copy, you can color in the pictures if you like, and then cut out the images and have them laminated. There are two parts to each … Continue reading →

Three Games to Inspire a Love of Letters

Bananagrams is a fun, fast and portable game that appeals to wordsmiths and word strugglers alike. The genius of this game rests in its simplicity. To play you simply need a flat surface. A table, floor, or tray will do just fine. The entire game is kept in a banana shaped pouch with is easy to bring anywhere. The object of the game is to spell out words in a crossword style. The first person to use all his or her tiles is the winner. This game can be played in as few as five minutes. This is a great … Continue reading →

You Can Teach Latin

A hallmark of a classical education is Latin. Latin maybe a dead language but it remains with us in spirit through our vocabulary. You will find many law and medical terms have been derived from Latin. Having a background in our dearly departed language will help one understand new vocabulary, spell, and encourage a deeper understanding of language. If you teach from a classical approach you surely expected to add Latin into your coursework. However, teaching Latin is beneficial to all students regardless of which method of homeschooling they are under. Don’t be intimidated if you have never taken Latin … Continue reading →

Fun Word Games that Teach

There is a website called Learning Games For Kids. It has free games that kids can play. Each game allows kids to practice a specific concept that has to do with words, spelling, or language. These games can be easily added into your lesson plans, as a fun way to practice a new concept. Learning Games for Kids has games that teach math, health, art and music, geography concepts, science games, and more. They have some excellent word games. There are games designed to let your child practice alphabetizing, spelling, understanding contractions, understanding homophones, and even some poetry concepts! This … Continue reading →

Tools to Teach Kindergarten

Homeschooling your Kindergartener will come with challenges, frustration, joy, and so much fun. Kindergarteners are naturally curious so this can make learning both difficult and easy. Difficult because the child often gets distracted and wants to veer off to the left of your straight path. Easy in the sense that you get a student ready, willing, and able to learn anything and everything she sees. It’s up to you to find the proper tools to guide your little student down the right path. I hear “What curriculum should I use for my Kindergartener?” all the time. It is reasonable that … Continue reading →

Shower Curtain Games

My homeschooling method should be described as “kid at heart”. I love playing games and coming up with creative ways to teach lessons. One medium that I have found to encourage educational play along with being frugally sound is the use of shower curtains. That’s right, shower curtains! You can find shower curtain liners at your local store for under $5.00. Once you have an opaque or clear shower curtain, you simply need a colorful supply of permanent markers. Your project will determine how many colors you want to have on hand for your shower curtain games. To keep your … Continue reading →

Ways to Have Fun in the Sun with Your Toddler

Don’t let the calendar put a damper on your summer fun. Sure, there’s only a couple weeks left until Labor Day, but that doesn’t mean you have to head indoors right now. Instead, make the most of the gorgeous summer weather by partaking in educational games with your toddler outside. Here are a few to get you started: SAND DOUGH Take some Play-Doh outside and let your child have fun with it in the sand box. He’ll love feeling the texture of the dough once the sand has been incorporated into it. Use words to describe how it feels and … Continue reading →

Ideas for keeping homeschooling fun: Passive Learning

Passive learning has a bad rap because it suggests that students need to be entertained to learn anything. One website (http://www.csun.edu) suggests that “Today’s passive learners expect the teacher to thrill, delight, and fill them with wonder so they don’t become bored. I read once that teaching elementary school has become like trying to give a birthday party to the same kids, five days a week for forty weeks without losing their interest. These expectations now extend well into highschool.” This is not the type of passive learning that I recommend. Homeschool parents should not have to dress up as … Continue reading →

5 Fun Ways to Tell Your Child You Love Them

Building relationships is important, and keeping the lines of communication open is even more important. Reminding loved ones that they are loved is a great way to keep the lines of communication open. It is also an awesome way to keep families happy, relationships loving and just generally make people smile. So here are a few fun ways to say I love you in your family. Say It With Flowers I’m not talking about giving someone a bouquet, although that works too. But a really fun and exciting way to let someone you know you love them, is to plant … Continue reading →