A lovely Christmas web site!

(Image from Christmas with Love - another great web site!)

Here is a link to a wonderul Christmas-themed web site called Cathy's Christmas Cottage!   There are stories, poems, Christmas Carols, and Christmas Funnies.  There's also an online Advent Calendar where you can click each day and find a Bible reading, a craft, a Christmas Hymn, a Christmas Song  - and more for each day!

Send in a post for the next Carnival of Homeschooling!

Don't forget to send in your post for the next Carnival of homeschooling! The deadline is always the Monday before the Carnival each week before 6:00 pm PST. The Carnival will be up every Tuesday.

If you participate in the Carnival, please make sure you promote it on your blog and let your readers know to be looking for your contribution!

There are two ways to submit a post for the Carnival of Homeschooling:

1. You can send your post via BlogCarnival. Just go here and follow the instructions.

2. You can email your entry to : CarnivalOfHomeschooling@gmail.com by 6:00 PM (PST) on the Monday evening of the week. It will be greatly appreciated if the submissions come in earlier. Please send the following information:

Title of Post
URL of Post
Name of Blog
URL of Blog
Brief summary of the post
(With "carnival" or "submission" in the subject field of the email.)

How to make an origami wreath from activitytv.com!

Activity TV has a video tutorial showing kids (or anyone)  how to make an origami Christmas wreath from origami "puzzle pieces" that you fold and fit together!   We did our entire Christmas tree in origami wreaths last year, and even gave some away with Christmas gifts - they were a hit! 

For even more Christmas decor:

Activity Village has directions for a Christmas tree bauble.

Stamping Expressions has a link to directions on how to make a beautiful Sonobe origami Christmas ornament.

Here is a tutorial at Instructables on how to make another origami Christmas ornament.

Here are instructions for a standing fold-up Christmas Tree from Bloomize.

There is a list of crafts at Craftzine that includes a wreath and a pretty ornament (scroll down the page).

Last, but certainly not least, Eclectic Homeschool Online has a list of Christmas origami tutorials - you're sure to find something you would like to try!

Singing Science

(Picture from Ebay auction)

Here is a web page that has mp3 versions of songs from a vinyl record collection for children called Singing Science. These songs are for elementary-aged children.  They cover topics like "Why Do Stars Twinkle", "What is Gravity", and "Kinetic and Potential Energy". 

This brings back memories of my white and orange GE record player I received one Christmas! I loved to listen to records and, although I never had science-themed records, it did provide hours of listening to stories (remember the records with read-along books?) as well as music!

For older kids, check out the Kids Know It Network for educational songs, videos, and more!

All about circles!

Send in a post for the next Carnival of Homeschooling!

Don't forget to send in your post for the next Carnival of homeschooling! The deadline is always the Monday before the Carnival each week before 6:00 pm PST. The Carnival will be up every Tuesday.

If you participate in the Carnival, please make sure you promote it on your blog and let your readers know to be looking for your contribution!

There are two ways to submit a post for the Carnival of Homeschooling:

1. You can send your post via BlogCarnival. Just go here and follow the instructions.

2. You can email your entry to : CarnivalOfHomeschooling@gmail.com by 6:00 PM (PST) on the Monday evening of the week. It will be greatly appreciated if the submissions come in earlier. Please send the following information:

Title of Post
URL of Post
Name of Blog
URL of Blog
Brief summary of the post
(With "carnival" or "submission" in the subject field of the email.)

Image at Science News for Kids - Shuffling Shenanigans

Tom DeRosa at I Want to Teach Forever has some great tips on how to use the ultimate manipulative - an ordinary deck of cards - to aid in teaching children early math concepts.

It's never too early to start working with your children on counting and grouping, and you can use just about anything. I'm partial to using a deck of cards, though, because they are so simple to use for this and so many other activities as your child gets older. This basic activity is designed for young children up to the Kindergarten level.

Click HERE to see the post in it's entirety.

I used an ordinary deck of cards with my oldest when practicing math facts for addition/subtraction as well as multiplication.  It only took a few minutes - and she really seemed to like it.  I would like to think that she enjoyed the face to face time with Mom as much as the game!  ;)

More great links on this subject:

Math Card Game for All Four Operations

Game Time!

Make at Home Math Games

Deck of Cards for Math Fun! - Explanation of games for different age groups.

The Schoolbell - Math gameboards used with a deck of cards.

Math a Big Deal (product for purchase)

Penrose's Corner (products for purchase)

A heartwarming story about a chicken that wasn't chicken...

Send in a post for the next Carnival of Homeschooling!

Don't forget to send in your post for the next Carnival of homeschooling! The deadline is always the Monday before the Carnival each week before 6:00 pm PST. The Carnival will be up every Tuesday.

If you participate in the Carnival, please make sure you promote it on your blog and let your readers know to be looking for your contribution!

There are two ways to submit a post for the Carnival of Homeschooling:

1. You can send your post via BlogCarnival. Just go here and follow the instructions.

2. You can email your entry to : CarnivalOfHomeschooling@gmail.com by 6:00 PM (PST) on the Monday evening of the week. It will be greatly appreciated if the submissions come in earlier. Please send the following information:

Title of Post
URL of Post
Name of Blog
URL of Blog
Brief summary of the post
(With "carnival" or "submission" in the subject field of the email.)

Here's the answer to yesterday's word puzzle!

Toby chose the lizard.

Kara chose the turtle.

Hope chose the kitten.

Leon chose the hamster.

Word puzzle Wednesday!

Toby, Kara, Hope, and Leon went to the pet store together.  Each took home a different kind of pet:  turtle, hamster, lizard, or kitten.  Using the following clues, can you figure out which pet each friend took home?

Clues

No person picked a pet with the same first letter as his or her name.

Toby's pet does not have fur.

Neither Leon nor Hope picked a turtle.


*This puzzle was found in the April 2007 issue of Highlights Magazine!  See their kids site with puzzles, picture finds, and games at Highlights Kids!

Arts and crafts for Fall and Thanksgiving!

(Image from V and Co - pattern for sale on Etsy)

I have learned of so many good crafts for all ages for this Fall/Thanksgiving season that I had to post more than just one or two! 

Check out the pipe cleaner turkeys at One Minute Crafts!

Here are video instructions for a cute turkey finger puppet that you can make "talk" with just a straw, some tape, and string!

Here is a nice list of free Thanksgiving-themed paper toy projects that you can print and put together!

For the younger set, here are some Thanksgiving Turkey coloring pages from Animal Jr., as well as a virtual cornucopia of turkey-themed cafts - including a turkey mask to print!

Also for the younger 5 to 7 year old kids, CurrClick has a fun study about Thanksgiving Dinner - and it's on sale for only .50!

Activity Village has a list of printables and crafts for your Thanksgiving pleasure!

Gail Bartel - That Artist Woman - has TWO turkey crafts you can try - Turkey #1 and Turkey #2.

Kathy Barbro of Art Projects for Kids and Sewing Projects for Kids has a Thanksgiving/Fall themed project that uses oil pastels, crayon, or watercolor, as well as a few other projects!

On Kathy's other web site, Art Projects for Kids has illustrations on How to Draw a Turkey!

FamilyFun has a whole table-full of decoration ideas that will light up your Thanksgiving decor!

If you would like to show off your fall craftiness or writing abilities, head on over to CurrClick and sign up for their "Live" class on Thanksgiving called "Dear Mr. Turkey", being brought to you by Lessons worth learning.  The class is only $5 and will take place on November 17th at noon Central time - but hurry and get registered so you can pick your project!  (This would be a wonderful class to teach children about deadlines and how to choose a project and follow through to completion.)

Don't forget to make a fall-ish treat like Pumpkin Chocolate Chip cookies to enjoy after all that work!


Whew!  Now THAT should keep you busy for a while!  ;)

Send in a post for the next Carnival of Homeschooling!

Don't forget to send in your post for the next Carnival of homeschooling! The deadline is always the Monday before the Carnival each week before 6:00 pm PST. The Carnival will be up every Tuesday.

If you participate in the Carnival, please make sure you promote it on your blog and let your readers know to be looking for your contribution!

There are two ways to submit a post for the Carnival of Homeschooling:

1. You can send your post via BlogCarnival. Just go here and follow the instructions.

2. You can email your entry to : CarnivalOfHomeschooling@gmail.com by 6:00 PM (PST) on the Monday evening of the week. It will be greatly appreciated if the submissions come in earlier. Please send the following information:

Title of Post
URL of Post
Name of Blog
URL of Blog
Brief summary of the post
(With "carnival" or "submission" in the subject field of the email.)

Birds making music of a different kind!

Birds on the Wires from Jarbas Agnelli on Vimeo.

Send cards for charity...

(Image from Cheep Stickers)

In keeping with my previous post about Noah Biorkman check out this link to Make A Child Smile - a charity that features three children per month with devastating illnesses that would love to receive cards!

Please pass this on!

Start your Christmas cards early and help out this little guy!

(Image from Raffertales)

I got this from Amanda Bennett's Facebook page.  Believe me, I'm a cynic, so I checked it out on Snopes and it's true.

From a friend: A 5yr old boy named Noah Biorkman , is in the last stages of a 2 1/2yr battle with Neuroblastoma Cancer. The family is celebrating Christmas next week and Noah's request is to get lots of Christmas cards...Lets get him some.

Please send cards to:

Noah Biorkman
1141 Fountian View Circle
South Lyon, MI  48178

Let's see How many cards we can Get to this Little guy,

Thank You! PLEASE REPOST!

Here's the answer to yesterday's Mango Math word problem!

Image from Forestry Images

If the ant crawls half the distance - six inches - in twelve seconds, that equals 2 seconds per inch.  The ant covers five more inches at 2 seconds per inch, so the answer is ten seconds!

Mango Math Word Problem Wednesday!

Image from Forestry Images

An ant crawls across the top of the ruler starting at the 12-inch mark. It covers half the distance in 12 seconds. How much longer would it take the ant to reach the 1-inch mark?

Try to solve the problem and come back tomorrow to see if your answer is correct!

Kids - can jazz up their room with a rug, a matching bulletin board, and even curtains!

I am so reluctant to admit this...but my plans for this year included teaching my middle daughter - and myself - to sew.  Yep.  I was going to buy the simplest-to-operate (and cheapest!) sewing machine I could find, scour the internet, and learn to sew WITH her.  Somehow those plans got put on the back burner.  But, thankfully, I subscribe to a couple of kids' sewing blogs to give me that little spark of inspiration - and guilt - to get us started!  lol!  One such blog is Kids Sewing Projects.

Actually, for this craft, I would think you would only need a needle and thread, if you have a careful, patient child like my middle dd is. 

These projects are very cute, and it would be fun to go with your child to pick out the fabric!

The Blog:  Kids Sewing Projects

The Projects:  Click HERE for the rug.  Click HERE for the bulletin board.  Click HERE for the curtain.

Vivaldi - Winter and sand art animation...

This way to the links!

Lately I have noticed that my link/blog list was getting quite out of hand, and was not really well organized.  So, I took some time this weekend to make another blog (because I can't do "real" web pages!) that contains my links.  I will keep the links up on the blog for a while at least...I haven't yet decided.  However, the new blog will contain only the links and nothing else.  You do still have to scroll down quite a bit, but I found there were some broken links or web sites had moved and was able to weed a couple out. 

At any rate, if you just want the links, go HERE.