Awhile back, I mentioned that I was working on something behind the scenes. Well, after over 8 months of work, preparation, and LOTS of prayer, I am super excited to let you all know what I have been working on!
First off, I am always on the lookout for new, innovative hands-on learning tools. For awhile I was very intrigued with how other mom bloggers were re-purposing all kinds of blocks to use for various educational activities. I came across lots of neat ideas, but I never got around to making any of them.
However, when my daughter needed a pair of dice with the numbers 5-10 on them for one of her math assignments, my mind started reeling and I had a “God thought!” :-) That was in March of 2010 and I have been plugging away with the idea of Education Cubes ever since!
We have been using our Education Cubes for quite awhile now and we LOVE them!
Needless to say, I am very excited to be able to show you all what I have been up to! So, be sure to head over to my new site, Education Cubes to see what it is all about!
As a way to say thank you to my readers, I am offering a FREE membership to the Education Cubes Members Only Site to the first 5 people who “like” Education Cubes on Facebook AND leave a comment here letting me know that you do! Plus, for a limited time, you can join the Education Cubes Members Only Site at a discounted amount of ONLY $8.
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I created a BINGO board for my daughter about a year or so to use as a way to reinforce her reading skills. Since the big boys are now learning to read, I decided to print off and laminate a board for each of them. (Laminating the board and reusing it cuts down on the amount of paper we have to use!)
Here is what we do: First the boys use a wet erase marker to fill in the BINGO board using words from their spelling lists or from their phonogram list…depending on what needs extra practice. {This provides extra practice writing the words and phonograms and it helps with penmanship.}
Then, they put their board on a cookie sheet and gather some magnetic pom poms. I will be posting a tutorial on how to make the puff ball magnets soon! (All you need to make them are puff balls or poms, round magnets, and glue…super simple!). If you are not up for making a set of puff ball magnets, you could use these colorful magnets.
Now the fun really begins! I call out words from the spelling lists and the boys have to see if they can find the word on their BINGO board. {This provides practice with recognizing and reading the words or phonograms.}
Once they have five in a row, the winner yells BINGO. However, they love it so much that we usually see who can cover their entire board first. Who would have thought that kindergartners would opt for extra spelling/reading practice? :-)
What homeschool mama doesn’t love a FUN, educational learning manipulative that allows your child to work independently and check their own work?!?!?!? That is why I immediately responded to Timberdoodle’s offer to review BambinoLUK! We received the Starter Pack (which includes the controller, one workbook, a parent/teacher guide, and skills chart).
And, if that weren’t enough, we also received and two additional workbook sets, Critical Thinking 1 (which includes 3 workbooks with 396 illustrations & 198 exercises) and Visual Perception 2 (which includes 2 workbooks with 264 illustrations & 132 exercises)!
It is hard to believe it, but this awesome thinking skills manipulative helps develop and reinforce so many early developmental skills including:
visual perception
concentration & memory skills
critical thinking
fine motor skills
hand-eye coordination
everyday knowledge
What’s more, my kids LOVE it and so do I! Check out my 3 year olds working hard to match the butterflies…
…and how excited he was to “check their work” and get it right!
So, you are probably wondering how it works. Well, I must admit that I did have to read the instructions and watch the video. Since I tend to be rather wordy, I will spare you my instructions and just let you watch the video too! ;-)
Don’t worry, once you see how it works, it is actually VERY easy…and innovative! I had to explain it a few times to the 3 year olds, but my 5 year olds caught on very quickly! Check out the video below showing how it works!
The video explains the BambinoLUK very well. However, the only thing that I would add is that when you pick up the first tile (the house) to reveal the “question,” if needed, you can use the example provided along the left side of the workbook. It can be helpful for some of the more challenging exercises. (Notice in the photo to the left where there are dotted lines from the blue circle down to the red circle.)
Since the BambinoLUK is geared toward children ages 3-5, I kind of expected all my boys to enjoy it!
However, I was not expecting my 7 year old daughter to be interested in the BambinoLUK as well! I was thrilled to see that you can also design your own exercises, which I TOTALLY plan to do! That way I can make more challenging exercises for her!!!
In all honesty, I was really surprised when I saw the workbooks. I really didn’t know what to expect as far as the difficulty level, but I can TOTALLY see how they help to improve visual perception, critical thinking, and concentration! I was REALLY impressed! Plus, the illustrations are very colorful and bright and the controller is very durable!
Since the kids can work independently AND check their own work, the BambinoLUK is a wonderful addition to our homeschool! It is great to add to the kids’ workbags or to “occupy” the 3 year olds so I can teach the older kids!
The kids enjoy using it and don’t realize that they are improving important developmental thinking skills! They just think it’s fun!
Needless to say, we all LOVE our BambinoLUK! The only problem I see is having only one controller (for 5 kids to share). So, I have a feeling that another controller (from the Starter Pack) may be under the Christmas tree this year!!!!Be sure to check out Timberdoodle’s Thinking Skills section for more great learning games, puzzles, and manipulatives! While you’re there, be sure to sign up for their free catalog for homeschoolers. You can also find Timberdoodle on Facebook and on the Doodle Blog!
Disclosure: As a member of Timberdoodle's Blogger Review Team, the BambinoLUK was given to me free of charge. I do not have to return the product and I was not paid for this post. All opinions expressed in this post are my own.
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This year, I was really excited about doing the Operation Christmas Child shoe boxes because the last time we did them, the majority of my kids were too young to really understand what it was all about. However, this year was different.
I explained to them that there are kids around the world who are not as fortunate as us. We talked about how Christmas is about giving and not getting. I showed them a few videos from the Operation Christmas Child website and I could tell that the Lord was beginning to tug a little on their hearts.
So, the kids took money from their piggy banks and we headed to the store to shop for the children that would receive our Christmas boxes. It really touched my heart to see my kids (especially my daughter) excited about giving to other kids less fortunate than them.
Once we got our boxes all packed, I saw on one of the videos that you could print an “All About Me” page to include in your box. I searched and searched all over the site and I eventually found them! Here is a thumbnail of what they look like.
To print your own copies of the “All About Me” page to include in your Operation Christmas boxes, first go to Samaritan’s Purse Graphic Resource Page. Scroll down a bit and click on the “CLIPART” button. Begin to scroll through until you find the “All About Me” page. (If you can’t scroll along, you may need to click the “CLIPART” button at the top of the page.)
So, our boxes are packed and ready. Now, we pray for the children who will receive our boxes! Don’t forget that the National Collection week begins next week, November 15th-22nd!
FYI, you can even make this into a fun geography lesson by tracking your boxes! My kids are excited about this part too! (So am I!!!) It will be cool to track the journey of our shoe boxes! Plus, who knows…perhaps the children receiving our boxes will write us back!! How cool would that be?!?!?!
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We still had quite a bit of candy left from our church’s harvest carnival. So, in desperate need of “getting rid” of it, I decided that we would do some candy experiments. I found this really cool website, called…you guessed it…Candy Experiments! Be sure to head over and check it out…lots of fun stuff to try!
So, our first experiment was the Floating M’s & S’s. This was SOO cool! Soak some Skittles or m&m’s in water and pay close attention to what floats!
Can you see our floating m?
Next, we tried Dissolving Hot & Cold. We used some Smarties as well as some Milk Duds. The hot water is in the two cups on the left…could you tell?
Finally, we did a little color mixing.
JI, who mixed EVERY single color of Skittles and m&m’s we had discovered that mixing all the colors makes brown!!!
We tried the Density Rainbow and I REALLY wanted it to work, but it didn’t! I also wanted to try the Lifesaver Lights, but we didn’t have any Wintergreen Lifesavers. I think the kids would really like this one…so I may just have to add Wintergreen Lifesavers to the grocery list so we can try it!
I thought about trying some of the other chocolate experiments, but I figured it would be best if I just hid the chocolate from the kids…you never know when one of my chocolate craving may hit!!! ;-)
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Guidecraft has done it again!! Another homerun with yet another quality learning toy that helps teach and reinforce matching, sorting, sequencing, and pattern recognition!
The Animal Train Sort and Match set includes 46 animal and train pieces, six SUPER sturdy double-sided pattern cards (making 12 unique patterns for your child to duplicate), a self-propping board, and a durable wooden storage case!
You use the animal and train pieces to duplicate the pattern cards. The animal and train pieces attach to the board with stationary pegs and embedded magnets.
The kids have loved playing with this set! It was really cute because the little boys were initially quite intrigued with how the pieces were able to stay on the board!
After exploring the pieces a bit, they got right to work! Of course, their big brothers and big sis were VERY eager to help out!
After having lots of fun duplicating the patterns on the pattern cards, we did a bit of sorting by animal and by color.
The set is also great to use for patterning.
I think my favorite thing about the set is that it is completely self-contained! I am a big fan of learning toys that don’t require me to purchase additional tubs or containers to store them! Everything with the set fits neatly into a durable, birch plywood box with a sliding lid! Gotta love that!!!
Buy It! If you can’t wait to win it, the Animal Train Sort and Match set can be purchased directly from the Guidecraft website or you can purchase it via Amazon!
As a Guidecraft Mom blogger, this product was given to me for review purposes. I do not have to return the product to the vendor and I was not paid for this post. All opinions expressed in this post are my own.
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I wanted to share this letter that my daughter wrote to me last week. It had been a tough day and I was just plain tired of the kids arguing, being mean to each other, and not getting along. I got so frustrated that I just threw my hands up and started crying.
In response, my daughter quickly came over, gave me a hug, apologized and then retreated to her room. I soon discovered that she had disappeared to write this note. FYI: The boys did follow suit with the hugs and apologies, but quickly went back to playing (and arguing).
It reads…and I quote:
Mom I want you to peace stop crying. I am sad when you cry. I want to be happy and I want you to be happy to. I love you
(She made the “I love you” pop up on the card…hence the shadows.)
Okay, so after reading that, I started crying even more! I know I can’t possibly be the only one, but please reassure me ladies…am I the only mom who has to deal with their kids bickering and arguing? I guess what I should really ask is am I the only one who responds to it by crying?!?!?!
In hindsight, I guess it sounds kind of funny, maybe even silly, but the truth is that we all know parenting is not an easy job! It takes lots of hard work and effort! Proverbs 22:6 reminds us to:
Train up a child in the way he should go,
Even when he is old he will not depart from it.
Proverbs 22:6
The indent reminded me that rather than yelling at the kids (or even just crying), I need to remember to bring it back to the Word and show the kids how their actions line up (or don’t line up) with what God says!
So often it seems easier to just respond in the flesh, but I know that at the end of the day I want to train my kids to obedience according to God’s Word…not according to “because I said so.” (I won’t always be there when they need to make a choice between right and wrong…but God will!!!!)
All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching,
for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;
that the man of God may be adequate,
equipped for every good work.
2 Timothy 3:16-17
With all that said, I hope to be more prepared when such situations arise. Rather that yelling or crying, I can quote the Word and let THAT convict their hearts and bring them to the obedience of Christ!!
So, I have pulled out Creative Correction which has a great toolbox of Scriptures to use. I like it because the scriptures are already divided into categories based on the various different offenses. My plan is to have these ready to aim and fire the next time I have issues with the kids not getting along!!! I am trusting that God’s Word will not return void!!!! :-)
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I am totally shocked, totally surprised, totally honored and totally pleased to announce that my blog is one of the nominees!! Mama Jenn was nominated for the Best Blog Design and for the Best Homemaking Blog! {Did, I mention how TOTALLY shocked and surprised I am?!?!?!?!}
I have enjoyed being able to look at some of the awesome nominees for each of the categories and I can’t wait to vote for some of my favorites! So, be sure to head over and support some of your favorite homeschool bloggers and cast your vote!
I can’t begin to express how much of an honor this is for me!!!
If you nominated my blog, THANK YOU so very much!!!
If you vote for my blog, THANK YOU so very much!!!!
FYI: Voting ends November 17th and the winners are announced November 19th!
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Thank you so much to everyone who entered to win the Pick and Draw giveaway! The winner is commenter #45, JuRita! Congratulations!!
For those of you who didn’t win, you can head over to purchase the Pick and Draw game! {With Christmas fast approaching, it makes a GREAT stocking stuffer!}
P.S. Don’t forget you can download the FREE Pick and Draw BINGO game board to use with your Pick and Draw cards!!!! My kids are LOVING Pick and Draw BINGO and so am I! It is a great way to have some fun as a family!!
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I feel like I am so behind the times, but my blog is now on Facebook! Whoo-hoo!! The Mama Jenn FB page will feature updates from all of my sites. Plus, I’ve got a few new things that I have been working on for quite awhile now…and those on the Mama Jenn FB page will be some of the first to find out about what has been going on behind the scenes!!!
What exactly is a “Mama & Me” journal? Well, it is basically a journal for my daughter and I to share. We write letters back and forth to each other…kind of like being pen pals (without the envelopes & stamps). My hope is that these seemingly simple letters to one another will become a book of memories to treasure for a lifetime!
I wanted to make it look special, so made this cute little label for the notebook. In case you want to make one similar to ours, here is what I used:
Directions: Print the label and cut it down to the desired size. Then cut the scrapbook paper a bit larger than the label. Layer the paper and glue them onto the notebook. (As an option, you could just print the label onto sticker paper and then just stick it to the notebook.) In hopes of keeping the label intact, I put clear contact paper over the entire front of the notebook, except for the black binding that you see in the photo. Then I trimmed all the excess contact paper from around the edges…and that was it!
My daughter was SUPER excited when she found the journal on her bed! It is a great way for me to "see” into the mind of my little princess! Plus, since we are the only girls in the family, it is a fun way for us to bond! Oh, and I can’t forget to mention that it is a sneaky little way to add in some extra work on writing and penmanship! :-)
Of course I didn’t come up with this all by myself! I got the idea from Erica at Confessions of a Homeschooler…who got the idea from another blogger! I even followed her lead with my intro letter, which reads:
Dear KJ,
Would you like to be my pen pal? Instead of mailing letters to each other, we can keep them here in this notebook. Does that sound like fun?
I will write to you and then leave the notebook on your bed. Then, when you want to write me back you can begin writing on the next page and leave the notebook on my bed when you are done.
You can write about anything! It can be funny or serious! Just write about whatever is on your mind! :-)
I am so excited and I hope that you are excited too!
Love,
Mom
P.S. Write back soon! :-)
Now, don’t get me wrong, I do hope that my boys will want to do this at some point as well. I have even made their labels, though I have yet to put it together on notebooks for them. I figure I have at least another year or so…who knows?!?!?
Thank you to everyone who entered to win the DVD, THE WAY HOME. For those of you who didn’t win, the movie can be seen via Video on Demand or the DVD can be purchased via Amazon. It’s a great movie! I loved it…and it is still causing me to think about my priorities!
When I took the kids to the pumpkin patch they were so excited to be able to pick out their very own pumpkins! Little did they know, I had a little something special in store for their pumpkins! We made Mr. and Mrs. Pumpkin Heads…you know, Mr. Potato Head…but a pumpkin!
They were fairly easy to make and the kids LOVED making them! Even the 3 year olds got in on the action! They have been playing with their Pumpkin Heads ever since! Yes, the Pumpkin Heads have now replaced the apple dolls!
So, to make your own Mr. or Mrs. Pumpkin Head you will need the following.
Supplies:
a pumpkin
felt
markers
adhesive velcro (any kind…dots or by the yard will do)
scissors
Directions:
Cut your velcro (unless you are using the dots) into small pieces and stick them onto a clean pumpkin where you would like to position the eyes, nose, and mouth. (You will only need to use the hard side of the velcro…because you will want the felt to “stick” onto it.)
I was a bit stumped with the ears until I figured out that I could use a small strip of the adhesive velcro, fold it in half, while sticking only part of it together. Then I stuck the open part of the velcro onto the pumpkin where we wanted the ears. This allowed for the ears to stick out. Below shows a photo of how to fold the adhesive for the ears. If you click on the image above, you can sort of see what the velcro for the ears looks like after being stuck onto the pumpkin.
Now, use markers to draw various different facial features onto the felt. What is cool is that the kids were able to use some of the facial features that they have learned to draw by playing Pick and Draw! Next, cut out your facial features and begin to mix and match them onto your Pumpkin Head! Check out some of the Pumpkin heads that the kids came up with:
This was tons of fun! It has been a couple days since we made them and the kids are still asking for more felt to make more facial features for the Mr. and Mrs. Pumpkin Heads! I have a feeling it will be awhile before they will be willing to part with their Pumpkin Heads so that we can roast pumpkin seeds!
FYI, this idea was inspired by a similar idea I found in the Family Fun magazine.
Looking for a little more pumpkin fun?
Check out some of our other pumpkin activities and snacks below:
Welcome to my main blog! My name is Jennifer (aka Mama Jenn). I am a Christian wife and home-schooling mama striving to be a Proverbs 31 woman! I am blessed with 5 children, including one princess and two sets of twin boys!
KJ: the princess (4th grade: age 9)
DC & JJ: the big boys (2nd grade: age 7)
JI & TJ: the little boys (kindergarten: age 5)
Education Cubes Membership SALE!!
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I have been busy behind the scenes working on revamping the Education Cubes
blog and creating lots of new insert cards! I thought it would be fun to
offe...
The Little Red Hen
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*The Little Red Hen*
by Jerry Pinkney
This is a wonderful rendition of the classic story of The Little Red Hen.
As I was reading along to the kids, we tal...
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Thank you.
Awhile back, I mentioned that I was working on something behind the scenes. Well, after over 8 months of work, preparation, and LOTS of prayer, I am super excited to let you all know what I have been working on! 
![image[7]](http://lh5.ggpht.com/_8aNKYbiIQz8/TdWJ6lYJjMI/AAAAAAAAE5U/lGdukfHCr2g/image%5B7%5D%5B4%5D.png?imgmax=800 "image[7]")
Welcome to my main blog!
