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. ...
Preschool Learning
DIY Number Strip Puzzles
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I first learned about number strip puzzles from the website 3 Dinosaurs. I LOVE all the free educational material on that site, especially for the preschool age group. My 5 year old daughter in particular is currently pretty passionate about these number "puzzles." She has a dream of combining all ...
Reading Log Train
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I LOVE to read. Growing up, I hid a book in my desk at school in case the lesson was boring. If there was a social gathering, I would find a quiet place to hide and read. If we were driving home late at night, I would read snippets of my book by lamp post (which, let me tell you, is pretty ...
Middlebury Interactive Languages K-2: A Review
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Over the past year, my kids and I have worked our way through Middlebury Interactive Languages Elementary Spanish 1 (Grades K-2), which we've completed, and the first few units of Elementary Chinese 1 (also for grades K-2). Additionally, we've been longtime users of Little Pim, and recently started ...
What Time Is It? Material
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Being able to tell time is one of those abilities that I take for granted as an adult. Since my 6 year old is a pretty fast learner and good at math, I figured it was time for him to learn to read an analog clock. He's been able to "read" a digital clock for awhile, but he has no real understanding ...
Dialogic Reading Cheat Sheet
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Everyone knows that reading picture books to children is good, but what you might not know is that NOT "reading" books might be even better. Don't worry...I’m not suggesting that you part with your child’s personal library quite yet. However, rather than simply reading the words on the page to your ...
Color Changing Acid-Base Experiment
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When most people think about a stereotypical scientist, they probably envision a white lab coat, goggles, and test tubes. (For good reason...chemical reactions are fun!) When two substances are mixed together and the result is unexpected, you feel like a real chemist. I think all kids should have a ...
Lined Paper for Young Writers
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I just started a "Charlotte Mason"-esque copywork program with my 6 year old that requires him to copy short passages from books we've read. (It's called A Quiver of Arrows (not sponsored) and so far we're loving it, in case you're interested.) Since he's never done copywork before, I thought it ...
Subtraction Strip Board
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I LOVE Montessori teaching tools, especially for math. They're so hands-on and they make learning so intuitive. My 6-year-old uses our homemade "golden" beads all the time. I feel like those beads combined with our number symbol cards are going to get us pretty far. However, constructing that set of ...
Look Inside a Volcano Activity
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I'm not sure there exists a more fun and easy science experiment for young kids than a homemade volcano. All you really need for a volcano science activity is baking soda, vinegar, an empty container and maybe some food coloring and your kids will be begging for more. My kids LOVE homemade volcanoes ...
Michelle has a PhD in Engineering from Stanford University and a Bachelor's Degree from the California Institute of Technology. 