When it comes to being a parent, above all, I want to raise good people. Sometimes, between all the sibling bickering and potty words, I wonder if I'm AT ALL doing a decent job. I made this gratitude journal for kids as a way to hopefully improve my own kids' attitudes and build their character. ...
What’s New
Let’s Play Math
This site uses affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you!
As I’ve mentioned before, I’m a HUGE fan of the growth mindset math promoted by You Cubed. I love everything I’ve ever read by Jo Boaler, the director at You Cubed. However, I’ve recently read a book that I found even MORE useful in thinking about how I want to educate my children. Let’s Play Math ...
Raspberry Pi Computer Building for Kids
This site uses affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you!
I'll be honest. I'm a little cheap. I wasn't always this way, but I've been with my ultra-frugal husband for almost 20 years now (crazy) and he's rubbed off a bit. An organization in my area that provides STEM classes for kids recently advertised a computer building class for nearly FOUR HUNDRED ...
Escape the Room: Stargazer’s Manor
This site uses affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you!
I didn’t use this game at all as intended, but even so, I think it is fantastic! Although I'm sure it would be fun, we did not use this game at a party or with a time limit. Instead, my 7 year old son and I just did it off-and-on one Sunday afternoon. I LOVED that he was so eager to work hard for ...
Homemade Traveler’s Notebook
This site uses affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you!
A couple months back, I was listening to this homeschooling podcast, when the interviewee said that her kids used traveler's notebooks. I was intrigued by the idea of my kids journaling in notebooks which could be easily and inexpensively swapped out as they filled them up. I ended up making 4 ...
Parent Effectiveness Training
This site uses affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you!
I don’t know why, but I’m always surprised when I read a parenting book from decades ago that I find really insightful. It’s not like modern parents have a monopoly on good parenting skills. I recently found an inexpensive copy of Parent Effectiveness Training, which was originally published in ...
Low Floor High Ceiling Math Problems
This site uses affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you!
Last spring, when I said I wanted to teach a math class to kids between the ages of 9 and 14 at our local homeschool co-op, people looked at me like I was crazy. "You can't teach the same math to a 9 and 14 year old." "Their ability levels vary too greatly to do math in a co-op setting." That's what ...
Generic Game Board
This site uses affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you!
Have you ever thought, "If I could just turn this into a GAME, my kid would learn it no problem." Kids are like that, aren't they? Ask them to clean their rooms and they'll fall on the floor at the injustice of it all. Turn it into a game and they'll be transformed into little cleaning machines. ...
No Stress Chess
This site uses affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you!
I've always loved the idea of chess...an intellectual game that requires strategy, forethought, anticipation, and practice. I'm a complete math nerd. I should be all over chess. However I never learned. Even if I had learned, I didn't have anyone to play with. Now, ever since reading and watching ...
United States Quarter Collection
This site uses affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you!
I made this United States quarter collection board so my 7 year old could collect the coins from all 50 states. Since he spent the past year learning United States geography, I thought it would be a fun and educational summer activity for him. However, it's my 5 year old daughter who has really ...
Michelle has a PhD in Engineering from Stanford University and a Bachelor's Degree from the California Institute of Technology. 