I got a terrific idea from my son’s teacher this week.  This idea can be used with just about any subject being studied.  Take a piece of posterboard (12 x 18 inches) and have your child decorate it with anything that is currently being studied.  For example, if your child is learning his or her multiplicaction facts, have him or her write them around the edges of the posterboard.  Or, if your child is learning to identify colors or letters, do the same with that information.  Maybe your older child needs to memorize a timeline or a set of dates or events.  Write whatever subject it is on the posterboard, then cover it with clear Contact paper.  Viola!  Your child has made an instant, teachable placemat to use at mealtimes!

Bells are ringing across the country, in classes (and homes) as children make their way back to school for another year.  As a parent, I want to give my child the best possible chance at a successful school year.  Being actively involved in my child’s experiences at school by volunteering and assisting, as well as being a physical presence around the school, are great ways to take an active role in my son’s education.  I also like to find things to supplement classroom learning and bring it home as well.

WonderBrains is currently carrying two lines of materials that are perfect for homeschooled children and children who are educated outside the home.  Carson-Dellosa, a leading education publisher, has created a variety of activities and workbooks for children ages three through fifth grade.  For preschool-aged children, WonderBrains carries a variety of read-aloud, activity-centered books, such as Magnix: A Visit To the Farm.  The Magnix series of books also branches into early math and writing activities as well.  For school-aged children, WonderBrains carries Carson-Dellosa’s Summer Bridge series.  But, don’t let the titles fool you!  These are excellent tools year-round, and may even inspire your young learner to come up with even more activities.  These books are found as Summer Bridge Activities, Summer Bridge Math and Summer Bridge Reading and are available in several different age ranges. 

WonderBrains has also welcomed Remedia on board.  These reading activities workbooks are available for children from Kindergarten through high school with a wide range of reading skill areas.  For younger children, the Remedia Beginning Reading Program is a comprehensive collection of age and ability-level appropriate materials with an accompanying activity guide.  Choose from the sampler set or the small group set (three copies of each story).  As the students progress in their learning, so do the skill materials covered by Remedia’s materials: comprehension, vocabulary, context clues and life skills reading activities.  For reluctant readers, Remedia offers a line of activity books that are high-interest, low-readability to boost confidence and success in students who need it the most. 

Extending the learning to the homefront is a wonderful way to stress the importance of education with young people.  WonderBrains can help you find the resources to do so!

Even our little kids will get a kick out of this great idea for using fun food to create some excitement about geometry!  It is a great way to explore shapes, and even older kids can benefit tremendously from this hands-on activity with shapes.

You will need toothpicks and a soft (and yummy) food, such as gumdrops, fruit snacks, grapes or marshmallows.  Use the toothpicks to place the piece of food on each end, then stick another toothpick in to form shapes, such as triangles, squares, and three-dimensional objects.  The food pieces are your “endcaps”.  This is similar to Tinker Toys and K’Nex.  See what interesting and new structures your little architect can create!

Our natural world is the perfect classroom on so many levels.  The world is full of color, vibrancy, life, science, history.  It is an inspiration for art, writing, music and dance.  And, our world is so mathematical. 

Not exactly what you were expecting?

But, it is.  The natural world is FULL of symmetry, geometry, functionality, balance, and patterns.  And, because children love the outdoors, what better place to feed their sometimes insatiable desire to learn than outside?

Teaching young children about patterns is a natural part of our world.  Begin by looking at simple, man-made structures, such as fences, bridges, architecture, even sidewalks.  Find patterns in brickwork, woodwork, painting and even in everyday things such as the parking lot of a store or the windows on a building.

Once a child understands the basic concept of a pattern (a sequence that repeats itself over and over), look for examples in nature.  Many plants actually grow in a patterned state.  The Vitex (also known as a Texas Lavender) puts off flowers in plumes grouped in threes on each branch.  Look at the petals of flowers - do all the flowers have the same number of petals?  What about trees?  Do the leaves grow in some sort of organized pattern? 

Look for small bugs and other critters that exhibit patterns, such as ladybugs and butterflies.  These animals also lend themselves well to teaching SYMMETRY (mirror imaging).  Larger animals, such as horses, can be observed for patterns in the way they walk or run.  The “sound” of galloping is a great auditory pattern.  Listen for patterns with crickets and birds as well.

Take advantage of the warmer, sunnier days and enjoy the scenery with a child.  You never know what they might learn in the process!

If there is one item in my 4 year-old class that thrills every single one of my students, it is my set of pattern blocks.  My class loves to create patterns and pictures with shapes, creating art and objects using squares, hexagons, triangles and quadrilaterals.  This activity always manages to lead the child to discover the properties of shapes in regards to angles and sides: how different shapes can “interlock”, which shapes work best for creating patterns, and which shapes do not work at all.

Tessellations are, simply put, a “tiled” pattern.  They are a design created by interlocking, non-overlapping, repetitive shapes that leave no “holes” or gaps between them.  Much like floor tile, tessellations can go on forever, repeating the same pattern over and over.  Tessellations do not have to be regular polygons (such as triangles and squares); they can be created with non-traditional shapes and figures as well.  Dutch artist M.C. Escher is one of the most famous names associated with tessellations.  Check out a terrific collection of his work at Platonic Realms’ site, complete with a short biography and a variety of his sketches and drawings.

While playing with shapes and their relationships with each other can create amazing art and designs, children are also exploring mathematical concepts closely tied with geometry and spatial relationships.  Incorporating toys and tools such as Fractallations and Puzzellations, children are able to experience the joy of creating a unique design or picture while still learning and internalizing key mathematical concepts.  For a more direct look at tessellations, products such as tessellation activity books can provide opportunities for children to explore the use of design and color to enhance a tessellation design.

Today, my older son not only goes back to school after the holiday break, he also starts back at piano lessons.  My son has a love/hate relationship with the piano - he LOVES to think he can play the piano, but he HATES to practice.  And, I kind of agree with him.  Practicing 30 minutes a day means you are sitting AT THE PIANO for thirty minutes a day, and he’s not necessarily one to sit for 30 minutes for anything.  But, the payoff is so worth it - he can read music, he’s pretty good at playing, and we finally have a few more songs in our repetoire other than “Hot Cross Buns” and “Jingle Bells”.

I am asked fairly regularly when is a good age to start piano lessons.  Actually, the decision was pretty much made for me by our piano teacher.  She requests that children be in first grade before taking lessons from her.  And, she has a good point.  Children need to be able to count and have some basic reading skills tucked away before embarking on the journey of piano lessons.  Math, reading and music are so interrelated that having some basic number and counting concepts, as well as letter and word experience, is probably the most important key to success with learning to play.  Now, first grade is not the end-all age, but most kids have these skills easily down by first grade.  Some are ready earlier, and some may need to wait another year. 

Another question I am often asked is how long my son will take lessons?  Well, it is somewhat up to him.  Right now, he doesn’t like practicing, but we’re working through that.  We’ve broken his daily practice schedule into two 15-minute sessions to make it easier on him.  And, we let him have one (sometimes two) “free days” a week.  However, if he comes to a point where he is not productive or progressing, then it isn’t a battle worth fighting (and paying for!).  My goal is for him to have at least 3 years of lessons (he’s in year 2 right now), ideally 5 years.  He is already talking about what other instruments he would like to play: guitar, trumpet (his grandfather played the trumpet) and drums (of course).  Piano is an excellent foundation for those other instruments and will make learning something new that much easier on him.  Of course, should he wish to continue to take piano lessons, we will definitely go with that idea as well!

The biggest key to our son’s success with piano has been establishing a routine for practicing.  He does best after school, after his homework, and after a snack.  Our timer is set for fifteen minutes, and his teacher has “assignments” he must complete each week.  He has a series of warm ups he does at each practice session, then the remaining time is spent working on pieces his teacher requests.  He plays through them a minimum of three times, more if there are some tough spots.  Each week, his teacher also assigns theory “homework”, and he chooses the practice session he wishes to complete it.  It usually takes the entire 15 minutes, so he usually knocks it out pretty quickly.  He practices every weekday and one day over the weekend, subject to change with our family’s schedule of course.  And, over the holidays and parts of the summer when he doesn’t have lessons, we cut back his practice time to 15 minutes a day.  It gives him a bit of a break while still keeping his mind and his fingers on task.

If nothing else, my husband and I feel that our children will gain a world of knowledge about music, patterns, structure, routine and beauty through their piano lessons.  And, most importantly, they will grow an appreciation for performed music and those that are accomplished at their art, whether they are or not!

Way back when I was in grade school, I took a course offered through our local Lion’s Club on increasing your memory.  One of the key elements of the class was music.  There was always instrumental music playing, mostly in the background, but just enough that I noticed it.  The rhythm of the music remarkably made me feel as if I could focus with more clarity and concentrate on the things we were doing in the session.  See, music pulls on the right side, or creative side, of your brain.  The right side is also where our long term memory is controlled.  Most information we try to learn and retain imbeds itself in the left side, or analytical side, of the brain.  This side also controls our short-term memory.  So, to help transfer information we learn from the left to right side, we can use music either as background or in a lyrical fashion.

Music can help anyone learn concepts.  Songs can be “background” noise like I had in the course I took, providing focus and helping with concentration.  Or, they can be used in a more integrated fashion by setting the concepts to be learned to music, much like learning the ABC’s through the ABC song.  Learning facts and concepts through rhymes, catchy tunes and song lyrics is a great way to catch the attention of children, even the most reluctant learner.

Educational Insights is a company that has taken the concept of learning through song to new heights.  Their products include geography, grammar, history, and math.  What a terrific way to teach young children to learn their multiplication facts or help older children remember the capitals for each state!  Learning through music and song lyrics is a great way to utilize both hemispheres of the brain, making for a more solid retention of information.

Check out the selection of CDs we have today.  They make great stocking stuffers, birthday gifts, or a “just because” purchase!

One of my major goals for my children is to teach them to respect and take care of the world around them.  However, kids are still kids and love to have fun.  Finding ways to make ecology exciting and fun can sometimes be a challenge.  Here are some ideas to get your kids thinking green:

Use recycled items for projects. The backside of used of printer paper goes a long way for drawing paper.  Staple several pages together to create a book for your child.  Use boxes from mailed packages as painting surfaces.  Kids will love painting on something other than paper, and who knows where their imagination will lead them!  Some retailers pack their goods with paper filler, such as lengths of kraft paper or blank newsprint.  Use this for big art activities, such as sponge painting or finger painting, and use the product to create gift wrap or wall decorations!

Check into your local recycling.  Many places are going to curbside recycling.  Get your child involved in the process of sorting and identifying recyclable items.  No curbside?  Call your city offices to find a drop off point.  Collect aluminum cans for recycling, and if you live near a place that pays cash for cans, make it a mission for your child.  They can either donate their profits to a charity or use it to improve things around the house by purchasing a plant or pitching in for other earth-friendly products.

Water, water everywhere - so create a way to save a little!  Have children find containers to collect rainwater to use on container plants and flower beds.  Set buckets out in a shower or rainstorm and use that water both indoors and out.  Children will enjoy seeing how much water they can collect (you can even keep track of the number of inches you collect each time, which would be a terrific math activity), and the plants get a good drink of water.

A little flick of the switch can make a huge difference in your electric bill.  Teach children to turn off lights when not in use, and to make sure they need a light on before turning it on.  Open window shades to let in natural light, and head outdoors to enjoy the delightful daylight hours while they last.  Your body will appreciate the fresh air, and your electric bill will appreciate the break.

What are your ideas to teach the life-skill of taking care of our world?