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. ...
Reading/Writing
Homemade Traveler’s Notebook
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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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
Amusement Park Map Activity
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When I was about 5 or 6, my mom and stepdad took me to Six Flags Magic Mountain. I had a terrible day. The rides were too scary, the larger-than-life Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd were terrifying, there was sooo much walking...I'm pretty sure I did nothing but complain or cry the entire day. (Sorry, ...
Rhyming Wheels
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I was inspired to make these rhyming wheels by a book from the 1970's called Teaching the Young Child by Susan Rounds. Her idea involved two paper plates and no flaps or pictures, but she didn't have the photo editing software that made making these easy. Basically, the way these work is that ...
Homemade Letter Matching Game
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This letter matching game is very simple, and it doesn't seem like it would be much fun, but even kids that in general don't seem to be interested in learning letters seem to like matching these cards. I think this "game" is best used when the child is fairly confident with the uppercase letters and ...
DIY Sight Word Matching Game
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Sight words are boring. This sight word matching game is my attempt to make them a little bit fun. To give them context instead of just showing the child words written on blank cards. Basically, the game uses a modified version of these illustrated sight word flashcards with the sight word removed ...
Illustrated Sight Word Cards
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I really don't like the idea of making kids memorize sight words. Sure, grown-ups don't take the time to sound out and decipher words like "the" or "as", but we remember them because it's convenient and necessary, not because someone told us we needed to. I wanted a way to help a child remember ...
Michelle has a PhD in Engineering from Stanford University and a Bachelor's Degree from the California Institute of Technology. 