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Enjoying Shakespeare!

July 3, 2019July 3, 2019 esther7dancingLeave a comment

“To know Shakespeare provides a head start in life”- Ken Ludwig

Why teach my child Shakespeare?

My kids and I attended a couple of years ago a Shakespeare play of “Much Ado about Nothing.” The director informed us before the play started that it would take about 15 minutes of listening to Shakespeare and then we would start to understand the story in its entirety. I thought the director might be a bit crazy. I had not grown up learning Shakespeare or honestly have a desire to make it part of my life. The director of that play ended up being completely correct. Within about 15 minutes, I was understanding the play and getting the humor. It ended up being a delightful experience for me and my kids.

I started to research the benefits of learning Shakespeare and so my adventure begin with my kids and Shakespeare. They weren’t crazy about the idea at first but I continued to teach little bits here and there. I also exposed them to different plays and discussed the meanings of the language and story plot. They started to enjoy it and in fact, my daughter started loving Shakespeare so much that she wanted to read the plays for herself.

Shakespeare increases your child’s vocabulary and comprehension levels in their education. Shakespeare also was a great influence in many authors that we see everyday. He was a great influence in Jane Austen’s writing and also Charles Dickens. We can see the writings of Jane Austen reflected in today’s books and movies. When we introduce beautiful language into our kids education, it does indeed give them a head start in the literature world. I would also hope, at least with my kids, that it helped them desire to read more beautiful language therefore helping their taste in books contine to grow and gain depth.

But how do I teach Shakespeare, you might ask?

My Favorite Resources for entering the World of Shakespeare-

1. “How to Teach your Children Shakespeare” by Ken Ludwig

This is an amazing book to start with. If you just want to invest in one book to start your journey with your kids and Shakespeare. Let this book be the one. Ken Ludwig helps your kids develop a love of Shakespeare by having them memorize certain passages out of Shakespeare Plays. He then explains phrase by phrase what each of these lines mean in the context of the play. This helps the parents like me, who are not an expert in Shakespeare, easily teach our kids Shakespeare.

2. “Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare” by Edith Nesbit

(Found at Amazon)

These are lovely, understandable stories of Shakespeare’s plays. I would read one of these stories before we read the actual play so my kids would have background knowledge. Its important to build background knowledge before embarking into the play so that the kids have some frame of reference.

3. Shakespeare In Three Steps by Rebekah Shafer

(Found at SimplyCharlotteMason.com)

This is my latest find of Shakespeare that I love. These are the actual Shakespeare Plays for you and your kids to enjoy. We are studying Twelth Night right now. When you purchase “Shakespeare in Three Steps”, you get a book of a Shakespeare Play of your choice and the Audio of the entire play told with multiple actors voices. At the beginning of each is book is the synopsis of the play to help your kids build background knowledge before they listen to the play. The Audio is very well done! This is a simple way to enjoy Shakespeare with your kids.

4. Shakespeare 16 Books Story Collection by Tony Ross

(Found at Amazon or Costco)

These books are a delight for your younger reader. They feature 16 of Shakespeare’s plays in storyform. Even my teens will read one of these to gain background knowledge on a play.

5. The Bard of Avon by Diane Stanely

(Found at Amazon)

This is a children’s biography of William Shakespeare and his life.

6. Poetry for Young People- William Shakespeare by David Scott Kasten and Marina Kasten

(Found at Amazon)

This is exactly what is sounds like, a selection of poetry written by William Shakespeare

7. “Twelfth Night” by William Shakespeare (Folger Shakespeare Library)

(Found at Amazon)

I buy these versions of the Shakespeare Plays for my teens to read. We own four of them so far.

“Twelfth Night”, “Julius Ceaser”, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and “Much Ado about Nothing”

Shakespeare is a journey worth taking! Even if you just do a little bit to introduce your kids to William Shakespeare, it will enhance their literature study.

What is your favorite Shakespeare Resource?

Reflection-homeschool life

February 8, 2017 esther7dancingLeave a comment

I am sitting here at the end of my day and looking at my house. All is quiet and peaceful. I look around me and see birthday balloons still floating above the dining room table, a kitchen that is not quite as clean as I would like it and toys scattered throughout my downstairs living area. This is usually a point of frustration in my day where I reflect on how I didn’t get enough done in my day. A clean house is a peaceful house in my book. There is some truth to that, but I also was sitting here and reflecting on how this mess that I am staring at is also a representation of blessings. The imperfect kitchen, the toys that don’t seem to ever be put away, even the balloons that are still floating above the kitchen represent life. I am blessed with a 5 year old that just celebrated his birthday. I am blessed by a house full of children that are learning and experiencing their own journey of growing up. I get a front row seat to see what God plans to do with their lives. The Speech and Debate world captured our attention tonight and led me to having an imperfect kitchen. It’s a delight to see our kiddos work on their communication and critical thinking skills and enjoy doing it!

Now don’t get me wrong, the kitchen and the toys will get picked up and my downstairs will eventually be clean but I am realizing that I need to quit dwelling on the things I didn’t get done and embrace the blessings and things that did get done. I am in a unique season in my life where my kids are young and my main investment of time is with them. I need to stop stressing about the little things that don’t always get done and embrace the moments that God is giving me everyday. I am blessed!

Word of Encouragement to Parents-

Embrace the journey you are on with your kiddos. Enjoy your front row seat in watching them grow into the young men and women that God has called them to be. You are amazing and need to realize that everyday. God has given you the children you have for a specific purpose and reason. He has mighty plans for them and is choosing to use you to help them grow.

Holistic Dental Care

August 14, 2016August 14, 2016 esther7dancingLeave a comment

Today I wanted to talk about a recent book that I read. I am a mother of 5 kids and needless to say, the trips to the dentist can get expensive. I personally go to the dentist and end up having 9 cavities that they have to work on. This has happened more than once in my trips to the dentist. Needless to say it was worth the effort and time to research better ways for my family to take care of their teeth. I was looking for a more healthy way and I wanted to save some money with less trips to the dentist. I found this book called “Holistic Dental Care” by Nadine Artemis.

This book was informative on not just taking care of your teeth but how your entire teeth and mouth were created to function as an integral part of your body. One interesting piece of information that I learned is that brushing lightly gets the teeth much cleaner then brushing harder. I have put this into practice and so far, I would agree with this advice. Another interesting thing that I added to my dental care was creating a salt rinse in a mason jar. The salt alkalizes the inside of your mouth before you begin your brushing routine. It also helps get bits of food between your teeth out even before you floss. It’s really easy to make your own salt rinse. The author did an amazing job of talking about how the tooth was created to heal itself but that process can be stopped based on nutrition. Our teeth are living tissues and what we put in our bodies greatly affects the dentin inside our teeth, therefore effecting our whole mouth. Brushing your teeth and keeping them clean is only part of having healthy dental care. It was an easy read and very informative about different scientific and practical things surrounding the subject of your dental care. I am having my family slowly start to put into practice the different ideas that this book presented. This book is worth checking out!

You can find the book at www.livinglibations.com which is Nadine Artemis’ website or you can find it on Amazon. You can also check out youtube videos on Nadine Artemis. She has videos on dental care that explains part of what she talks about in her book.

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Bonus Healthy Tip:

This has nothing to do with teeth but does continue in the health category. My family has been suffering with coughs lately. The type of cough that will just not go away and keeps hanging on. I found on this wonderful blog a recipe for homemade cough syrup. Its easy to make and it works. All you need is violet leaf and raw honey. The recipe is found at www.thenerdyfarmwife.com. She does an amazing job of offering free natural recipes for different things your family might need. Check out her blog! The cough syrup has worked for us numerous times during our recent on going coughs. I have even made my husband a believer because it helped him in his recent on going cough and allowed him to actually sleep at night. Violet leaf is a natural immune booster but be sure to read her website on where to get the herbs and what type to get.

That’s my adventure for this week. Talk to you later.

Review-“Be Your Own Doctor”

June 26, 2016 esther7dancingLeave a comment

I went out with a girlfriend of mine one night and she mentioned that she hardly ever goes to the doctor and tries “natural” ways to solve everyday sicknesses with kids. I was curious on how she went about this so I asked her where she learned how to do these natural remedies for sicknesses. She said she started by reading “Be Your Own Doctor” by Rachel Weaver M.H. I am not against the medical world and I think there is a time and place, that if you are too sick and the “natural” ways aren’t working, then you should go see your doctor. We have had severe emergencies in our family that we needed the atmosphere and help of a hospital and the medical world. But I do think God has given us many things in this world like herbs and plants that aid in the healing process. I think he has provided us with many different ways to help heal sickness and so I thought it was worth getting the book to satisfy my curiosity.

After spending some time with the book, I am hooked. Rachel Weaver has so much helpful information that would help families in gaining knowledge on how to help the healing process of your everyday sicknesses. For example, I learned that chamomile is a natural pain reliever for sore muscles. You can easily take a chamomile bath by steeping some chamomile tea bags in a pan of water and then pouring it into your bath water. Rachel Weaver also talks about salves which are like thick oils that you can use for medicinal purposes. She puts the recipe in the book and tells you how to make it. We used the “Green Salve” which is for every day scrapes, bruises or cuts on my daughter. She had fallen and her arm was all scraped up. When I put the “Green Salve” on her arm, she said the pain went away. “Green Salve” is a natural antibiotic that takes the place of something like neosporin.

“Be Your Own Doctor” not only gives you a wealth of information on what different herbs and plants do, the author also includes many recipes on how to implement them in your life. There are 101 stories of how people used “natural” ways to solve sicknesses. This gives you a excellent perspective on how the different remedies can be used in everyday life. I am one of those people that if I like something, I am all in. This made me appreciate the list of supply stores that she put in the back of her book, so that I could either purchase ready made salves, tinctures and other “natural” products or she listed companies that sold the different ingredients you might need. The most economical way would be to grow the plants yourself.

Some items I just want to buy but other things like the “Green Salve”, I want to use more and make it. It depends on whether you would feel ambitious enough to try some of the different recipes. They are actually quite easy to do. I am taking it one little step at a time. I am picking a couple of things that I want to have ready medically in my cupboard. I am also involving the kids by having them help me make some of the different recipes. My daughter is especially excited to see the science behind the different things we make.

“Be Your Own Doctor” is a book worthy of your library in my opinion. There are some recipes and valuable information in there for everybody. You can find the book on Amazon or at Rachel Weaver’s website which is bulkherbstore.com. She even has kits if you don’t want to think about how to get stuff or how to start.

This was my adventure for the week. Until next time….

Trim Healthy Mama

June 18, 2016June 18, 2016 esther7dancingLeave a comment

Part of being in the adventure of homeschooling and raising a family is staying healthy. When I eat healthy, I feel better and am able to function better in everything that I do. I found “Trim Healthy Mama” awhile ago and I love eating this way. What I love about Trim Healthy Mama is that it is not a diet, its a way of eating for life. I love to eat, I love all kinds of variety of food and enjoy trying different things, I have no desire to diet. Trim Healthy Mama is the perfect fit for me because its all about starting a healthy lifestyle.

Trim Healthy Mama was started by two sisters who wanted to get healthy and eat the amazing food that God has provided for us. They have 18 kids between them and desired not only a healthy lifestyle for themselves but for their families as well. The Trim Healthy Mama method is eating protein with every meal but not mixing your carbs and fats. They call them S and E meals. If you are having an S meal, you are having protein with fats. An example of this would be a cheesy omelette or steak and vegetables. If you are having an E meal then you are having your protein with carbs. An example of this would be oatmeal with fruit or a turkey sandwich with all the fixings minus the cheese. What I love about this lifestyle of eating is that I am never going hungry, I am just changing the way I eat food. Trim Healthy Mama takes out all sugar but provides alternatives that are amazing. The natural sweeteners that I use instead of sugar keep you trim and you don’t miss the sugar.

The best way to understand the Trim Healthy Mama method is to read their book the “Trim Healthy Mama Plan”. It gives in detail the science behind the method and why it works. It also is a great guidebook on how to get started and how it works. Another benefit of the Trim Healthy Mama plan is that it is diabetic friendly. When you take out the sugar and don’t mix you carbs and fats, you are keeping your blood sugar from spiking. I personally know diabetics that are finding it helpful to eat on the Trim Healthy Mama plan. They also wrote their own cookbook, which is a great tool to have. They have many different recipes which takes the work out having to come up with it yourself. But my favorite thing that “Trim Healthy Mama” has created is their website membership. For 5 dollars a month, you get access to not only the recipes that THM has come up with but different bloggers as well. They have “THM television” which is the two sisters showing you how to make certain recipes. They also have different research behind the different methods that they use which are awesome for a research geek like me. Check out their website at www.trimhealthymama.com.

Trim Healthy Mama allows me to enjoy eating and feel great too. Its worth checking out!

“Do Hard Things” -Book Review

June 11, 2016June 11, 2016 esther7dancingLeave a comment

One of the things that I like to do in my homeschooling is give my kids “growth” books that challenge them to grow spiritually or in character. The most recent book that I have given my 14 year old to read is the book “Do Hard Things” by Alex and Brett Harris. These brothers wrote a book that challenges teens to live according to God’s way of thinking instead of the world’s way of thinking. They call it the “rebelution” which consists of teenagers having a rebellion against low expectations. To realize that even as a teen you don’t have to live with low expectations but can rise to change the world in amazing ways.

They give many examples within their book of teens that are currently changing the world by following in the adventure that God has for each of them. For example, there is teenage boy named Zach Hunter who has a heart to stop human trafficking. At the age of 12 he started with the simple idea of using loose change that you might find in between your couch cushions to loosen chains of the people who are victims of human trafficking. He presented the idea to different peers and schools and ended up founding an organization that he still runs today as an adult which is called LC2LC (Loose Change to Loosen Chains). He was a 12 year old that wanted to make a difference and stepped out in the adventure that God was giving him. This is just one of the stories that can inspire young people to realize their potential now as a young person pursuing the things of God.

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“Do Hard Things” is a book that I would encourage to be on your homeschool list of “must read”. They have also wrote other books to follow up the “Do Hard Things”. The next book that they wrote is called “Start Here” which gives the next step for teenagers in their journey of discovering the adventure God has for them. It gives more direction on how you might start walking out your individual adventure that God has designed specifically for you. They are also in the process of releasing a parent book that talks about parenting world changers. Their website is therebelution.com. You will find current inspiring stories of teenagers changing the world and other helpful resources for your teen.

I believe that God has amazing and unique plans for each of our children. We have the awesome privilege of helping them discover the gifts and talents that God has given them and leading them to discover their own intimate relationship with Jesus. One of the things I try to do as often as I can with these books I give my kids, is to read them myself and cultivate an atmosphere of discussion with them to help them start thinking. I am excited to see how each of my children walk out their own adventures with God.

Flexibility and Homeschooling

May 27, 2016 esther7dancingLeave a comment

The flexibility of homeschooling is probably one of my favorite and most challenging aspects of homeschooling. I have mentioned before that I am a type “A” personality. I like a schedule and I want to stick to it but sometimes that isn’t what is best for your children. My oldest has launched us into the adventure of homeschooling high school. Some aspects of homeschooling become easier with high school and other things have become more challenging. I thought that it would be easier because he would have more independence but along with that independence came ideas from my son of a high school education that doesn’t quite match what I had in mind when we decided we were going to homeschool our children through high school.

My son is quite talented at music and has a love for it. His wish would be to have 24 credits of fine arts and not have to take anything else. I love that he is in love with music and the fine arts but I also felt it was important for him to have regular classes in case he wanted to go to college. I spent all summer planning this “perfect” high school plan for his education and found out that I needed to adjust that plan quite a bit to give my son the education that he needed.

One of the ways that his classes were changed which worked out amazing was that he developed a love for debate. Debate this year is based on economics, so we decided to help him debate better, he would take a course on economics. He ended up loving economics and it helped his debate at the same time. This replaced his history for this year and debate was an elective that can be used for English and it wasn’t fine arts. My son was more open to taking the regular subjects when we mixed it up with things that motivated him. One thing I learned so far in homeschooling high school is that you need to be in communication with your student on what is working and what is not. My son still has to take a couple of classes that he would prefer to skip but he is also enjoying many classes that he excels in. My idea of a “perfect” high school education was not what fit his personality. I love that homeschool allows this flexibility and that we can change things up even in the middle of the school year to help your child become the person God has designed them to be. So, I received a lesson in flexibility and my son and I were able to come up with a high school plan that he is going to enjoy much more.

Homeschooling and the Holidays

December 19, 2015December 19, 2015 esther7dancingLeave a comment

We are in the middle of the holidays approaching Christmas much too fast. Christmas is a time that you ask any homeschool family how they handle homeschooling and the holidays in December and you will get a different answer. I know some homeschool families that take the entire month of December off and others that change their curriculum to more of a Christ centered theme to emphasize the meaning of Christmas. Our family has different traditions that we like to do every year and some traditions that change every year because of my love of having variety in our lives.

This year for the Wright Family household it looks a little different because I had to have foot surgery. We have had to scale back a lot of things that we normally do but the family is enjoying relaxing at home and finding fun things to do that don’t require leaving the home as much. We have many traditions that the kids have enjoyed over the years and I thought I would share some of them and give you a little picture of what Christmas is like in our home. We take the month of November off so we still homeschool in December but on a more flexible schedule to allow for holiday fun.

Advent Calendar

We have always done some type of advent calendar. If you google types of advent calendars, there are a million ideas on how to implement them in your home. This is a tradition that gets changed every year because its fun to do it different. One of my favorite advents is a book that my mother-in-law got us one Christmas when the kids were younger. Its called the “Advent Book” by Jack Stockman. It has beautiful illustrations that look like works of art and it tells the Christmas story straight from scripture. Each day you read a new page and there is door on the page for the kids to open. Behind the door is another part of the Christmas story. The way the book works is that you are reading from the beginning of the book each day up to the new day that you open another part of the Christmas story, so that by the time it gets to Christmas day, your kids have memorized the entire Christmas story. I find its a wonderful way to help the kids be reminded of the true meaning of Christmas. This is an advent that we end up doing every year but add another type of advent calendar for fun. We usually do this book as a bedtime devotional in the month of December.

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Another fun advent countdown that we do is to put little burlap bags hung on a ribbon with numbers that the kids get to open one of the bags each day. You can make the little bags and there are a ton of creative ways to do it that you can find easily on pinterest. I am missing that creative gene and to me it seemed like a lot of work to try and do it myself, so I bought them on etsy. I don’t have a picture of mine but I wanted to post a picture so you can get an idea of what I am talking about.

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Each bag is filled with a piece of candy and a fun thing that we get to do that day for the holidays. It might seem overwhelming to think of 25 different fun things to do with your kids but its not when you think of all the holiday stuff you might already do or how it can be as simple as read a Christmas story or watch a Christmas movie. The kids have helped me sometimes put a list of fun things that they want in the advent calendar. You can be as creative as you want to be. I know of a family that put acts of kindness in each of the bags, so that each day the kids did random acts of kindness. I thought that was an awesome idea.

Snowman Soup

Snowman Soup is a fun tradition that is a simple activity that the kids love. Its usually put as an activity in the advent calendar. Snowman Soup is just hot cocoa with marshmallow and a candy cane. There is a poem that goes along with it that you can find online. We usually play family games or watch a Christmas movie as we enjoy snowman soup. I have even seen it given as a gift. Its a fun possibility for a party favors or neighbors.

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Christmas Lights

I love Christmas lights and doing fun activities that involve looking at Christmas lights. This may sound silly, but one of the most fun Christmas lights traditions that our family does is we all get in the car and try to find the best neighborhoods with Christmas lights. Its also tradition to bring a package of candy canes to enjoy while we look. We have found that the best neighborhoods are the ones that have contests for Christmas with the lights.

Another favorite Christmas lights place is Warm Beach “Lights of Christmas” if you live in western Washington. They do a great job of displaying millions of Christmas lights. Besides the beauty of the lights, my favorite spot to stop is the homemade donuts that they make every year. They are amazing and worth the long line you have to wait in.

Gingerbread House Contest

Now we don’t always make it a contest. In fact when the kids were younger we just usually bought a big gingerbread house that we could make as a family. As the kids have gotten older, we have made it into a contest where they each have their own gingerbread house that they are making. One year, I was feeling adventurous and I made a train cake, not gingerbread, that we decorated and then we watched Polar Express. That was a lot of work and I probably will never do it again but it was a fun family memory for the kids. It looks a little different every year but the kids have fun and we usually end the event with watching a favorite Christmas movie. If you live in the Seattle area, there is an amazing gingerbread contest that is free to tour at the Marriott hotel. The gingerbread housed that they create a amazing and elaborate. Its a fun tradition for some families to go to Seattle and tour the gingerbread displays. I believe you even get to vote on which is your favorite.

(By the way, this is not a picture of our gingerbread house we made, this gingerbread house looks amazing but in our house they looked a little more shall we say “kid friendly”. In fact some of them you might have to label as gingerbread house to know what it is. Haha!)

These are just a few of our family traditions. I love the freedom of homeschooling because it allows families to take off all of December if they want to or focus their curriculum on the birth of Christ and the meaning of Christmas. Celebrating the birth of Jesus is an amazing and wonderful thing to do as a family. Jesus was born so that He could die for you and me. He loves us so much that he was willing to give his life so that we might be saved. A friend of mine wrote a song about the meaning of Christmas called the “Reason for the Season”. The lyrics talk about how we are in need of a Savior and we are in need of the Lamb. How Jesus was the perfect gift for us and how we are the reason for the season. I loved that line in the song that said “we are the reason for the season”. I hadn’t thought of how the entire reason Jesus was born on earth was for us. Remember God loves you and that you are the reason for the season.

Merry Christmas!

Favorite Fiction Books for Tweens and Teen Boys!

October 23, 2015 esther7dancingLeave a comment

Favorite Fiction Books for Tweens and Teen Boys!

Finding good fiction for tween or teen boys is sometime hard to find. Having two teenage boys, I am always looking for quality fiction books for my boys to read. This is definitely a genre that needs more authors to join the adventure of writing for this age group. If you have a heart or desire to write fiction for tween or teen boys, go for it! I would love to see more clean, quality fiction on bookshelves. In my continuous search for books that become part of our library shelf, I have found a few favorites that are a hit with my kids and me. Some of the books I am recommending are from the same author. Once I find an author that my boys and I like, I search for other works that they have done.

The Kingdom Series by Chuck Black

This is an amazing series that is actually an allegory of the Bible. The author uses the terminology of knights and kingdoms to describe biblical characters. The Prince who trains the knights is Jesus. The knights are the disciples. This is a series that you would want to start at the beginning because there are books that repeat certain characters. The Knights Kingdom series also has a great audio series that go with the books. So if you have an auditory learner, you can get the books on audio. Chuck Black is a homeschool dad that told amazing bedtime stories to his kids. He was encouraged to write them into books and Knights Kingdom Series was born. He is an excellent story teller. My kids are captivated by both the books and the audio. We have listened to the audio several times. You can find his books on Amazon or his website www.perfect-praise.com.

2. Knights of Arrethtrae by Chuck Black

This is another wonderful series by Chuck Black. This series is probably my favorite if I had to choose between the Kingdom Series and Knights of Arrethtrae. This series focuses on the knights of the kingdom called Arrethrae. You do not have to read this series in order except for “Sir Dalton” and “Lady Caryliss” because those two are connected and have repeat characters. Each book focuses on a specific knight and their journey in learning a certain character quality. One book is about overcoming greed and another book is about having faith to step out. These books were powerful stories that illustrate great character building for kids. My favorite was “Lady Caryliss” because of the powerful word pictures that the author gave when Lady Caryliss was given the assignment to set prisoners free. When she was willing to step out and stand up for what was right, it brought freedom to the people. I think teenagers would enjoy the books and the audio. My boys have listened to their favorite “Knight” stories many times.

3. Wars of the Realm by Chuck Black

I have included all the series from Chuck Black because they are all worth mentioning. In my opinion, Chuck Black keeps getting better as he continues to write new series. The thing that I love about this series is that it is quite different from the Kingdom Series and yet it is just as enthralling. Unlike the Kingdom Series, this new series is set more in the present day. The first book is called “Cloak of the Light” and its an adventure worth taking. Its about a young man and his journey to finding God. In the midst of his journey he acquires the ability to see angel and demons. He sees the war that is going on around him and he helps the angels fight to help people. My boys are on the 2nd book which is called “The Rise of the Fallen” and they are complaining that the 3rd book in the series isn’t coming out until February 2016. The author has an interesting perspective on what the “spiritual” realm in heaven and around us might be like.

4. The Berinfell Prophecies by Wayne Thomas Batson

Wayne Thomas Batson is another favorite author of my boys. They anxiously await his next book when they are in the middle of a series. “The Berinfell Prophecies” are an adventure/fantasy series that is written for boys or girls for age 10 and up. The first book in the series is called “Curse of the Spider King” and its about these tween and teen that are part of saving the world from the Spider King. Its an exiting adventure that spans 3 books in the series. I loved the twists and unexpected way the storyline went. You will want to start with the first book if you decide to try this series because the books are definitely connected and contain the same characters throughout the series. We also enjoyed the audio books of this series, if you have a child that would rather listen then read the series. These books are found at Amazon or on Wayne Thomas Batson’s website which is enterthedoorwithin.blogspot.com.

5. Door Within Series by Wayne Thomas Baston

One thing that is unique about the Door Within Series is that it has many parallels between the Bible and the story line. The reason it is called the Door Within is because the hero finds within himself a heart wanting to follow the King. When he decides to become a knight and follow the King, he is used mightily to save other lives and fight against the enemy. Its an exciting adventure series that is anything but boring. My kids are going through the series for the second time and still enjoy the twists and turn the story takes. There are 3 books in this series and you would want to start with the first book in this series as well.

These are probably my top 5 so far. There are more books that my boys have loved and I hope to add more to this list soon. I think the most unique thing about all these books is that they are Christian based, so its nice to have even spiritual teaching and character training in the middle of books that your kids like to read for fun. I enjoy having my kids read for enjoyment but its also fun to have them read books that make them think. I think both these authors do a great job of incorporating both. Enjoy!

10 Fun Activities to Occupy Your Toddler/Preschooler During Homeschooling!

October 3, 2015 esther7dancing1 Comment

10 Fun Activities to Occupy Your Toddler/Preschooler During Homeschooling-

One of the biggest challenges in homeschooling that I have is my 3yr old’s wonderful curiosity of the world around him. I start to teach a math lesson and I hear a yell from one of my older children that my 3yr old has just dumped out all the sugar and is creating art patterns with his finger as he gobbles up as much sugar as he can. He is a bright and intelligent toddler which can lead to many creative messes around the house. So I decided that he needed to do “school” too when the other kids were being taught. I researched and created some fun activities that he enjoys doing when its his “school” time. Some activities are things that you would buy but some are just things you might have around the house. The simplest activities created are sometimes the most entertaining. Here are some of the his favorites…

1. Cutting Paper

Supplies: Paper, Scissors (Kid friendly), Kumon Books on Cutting (optional)

My 3yr old is obsessed with cutting paper at this moment. He gets so excited to sit at his little art table and cut scraps of paper. I purchased the Preschool Kumon Cutting books to teach him cutting skills. These books are amazing at teaching simple things like cutting and pasting in a fun way. I have used them with other kids in the preschool years and all the kids that did them, love them. Each page is a different activity that teaches kids how to cut, going from easy to harder skills in cutting. I love the size of the toddler versions because the books are smaller pages for smaller hands to easily manipulate the paper for cutting. Kumon books are great, but your preschooler may have just as much fun with scraps of paper and some scissors. After I had done a Kumon page with my toddler, he proceeded to cut up the Kumon page into tiny little pieces because he wanted to keep cutting. That’s when I started just giving him scraps of paper. Kumon books are good for teaching kids skills, but if your child just needs a fun activity to occupy his/her time, give them scraps of paper instead.

2. Office Supply Stickers and Paper

This is a simple and fun activity that can keep your little one busy. At the office supply store they have those bright colored labels in the form of circles. You can buy them pretty cheaply. I give my toddler a couple of sheets of those stickers and he loves putting them in different designs on a piece of construction paper. Another idea for a fun craft would be to paint or color over the paper after they put the stickers on. When you take the stickers off, you have an interesting and fun polka dot design. I was surprised how entertained my toddler was with this simple activity and the best part was that it didn’t cost hardly anything. If you plan on turning it into an art project then you will want to use a lighter color for the background paper.

3. Bubber

I am not a big fan of play-do. I kind of cringe inside when one of my kids asks if they can take the play-do out. I loved the concept of play-do and having the kids create things that they can mold but I hated the mess that it made or when it would get stuck in carpet. A friend of mine introduced me to Bubber. Bubber is an amazing alternative to play-do. It works just like play-do and your kids will have fun molding and creating all kinds of wonderful things but its not sticky like play-do on the carpet. It is easy to either sweep or vacuum all the crumbs right away. Even on the table surface it doesn’t stick or have to be scraped off. You can either sweep the little crumbs into the garbage or I have had my kids go on a “Bubber” search and they pick up the crumbs and put them back in the container. I no longer have to worry about it sticking to the rugs or scraping it off the tables. You can find Bubber on Amazon.

4. Kid O a to z Magnatab (Lower Case) by Kid O

This is a great addition to your different preschool activities. A to Z Magnatab is a great way to teach your toddler or preschooler how to write their letters. The Magnatab has magnetic beads for each letter of the alphabet. The child takes the magnetic pen and traces each of the letters. As your child traces the letter, the magnetic beads appear. Then when they are done, they can push the magnetic beads down with their hands and start over. I have this magnatab board on a shelf in my classroom and my toddler frequently grabs it for his “school” time. They have options of Lower Case Letter, Upper Case Letters or Numbers. It is a favorite in our household.

5. Bambino Luk System (Beyond123)

The Bambino Luk system is series of logic books for ages 3-5. They have a a universal controller for all the books. This controller consists of 6 picture tiles in a transparent case that are easy for a young child to use. They have a demo on how to use the system on their website at beyond123.com. My toddler loves these books. Each book is a different set of puzzles to solve using the controller to solve them. For example, on one of the books you have to match pictures or another your toddler decide which pictures go together based on sequencing. What I love about these are that they are easy to use and the kids can use the same books as much as they like. They have logic systems for older kids too. The easiest way to understand how they work is to watch the demo. This is another favorite activity that my toddler pulls out frequently to work on.

6. Bunny Peek A Boo by Smart Games

This is a game that ages 3-5 will enjoy immensely. The game has a set of blocks and a bunny made out of wood. It also has a set of cards with various pictures on it of how you can put the blocks and bunny together in different combinations. I was surprised how entertained my toddler was on trying the different combinations. This is a great way to teach kids at an early age some logical and critical thinking skills. My 3yr old will ask for “Bunny Boo” frequently. You can find “Bunny Peek A Boo” on Amazon or I also found it on Timberdoodle.

7. Drawing on a Bigger Scale

Supplies: Butcher Paper, Washable Markers, Masking Tape

Sometimes when you change things up a bit, it can make a great impact on your child’s interest level. I love using big butcher paper to invite creativity. Here are some ideas that you can implement with butcher paper. Roll out a big piece of butcher paper and tape it to a hard surface on the floor in your home. Grab some comfy pillows and put a large pile of washable markers in the middle of the butcher paper and let your toddler go for it. Another creative idea I heard of was putting the butcher paper taped to the bottom of a table top and let your kids pretend there are like Michelangelo while creating their drawings. You could also tape it to a wall in your home and have them create an artistic masterpiece. Get creative with how you create a drawing area for your child.

8. Building Forts

You have to be willing to have a mess in your house for this activity, but I will tell you that my younger kids have had a blast for hours creating forts. The only materials you need are blankets, pillows and a child’s imagination. My children have created all kinds of elaborate forts that have delighted them for the entire day. The most challenging thing for me in this activity is letting them create elaborate messes in my home. I have to just not think about the mess when I see the kids grab all the couch cushions and blankets from the linen closet. Its worth the delight that they are having in using their imaginations. So, fort building is encouraged in our house as long as they pick it up at the end of the day.

9. Wedgits (Blocks)

Wedgits is a unique set of blocks that my kids call “Pyramid” blocks because when you put them together the kids think it looks like the top of a pyramid. There are all sorts of designs that you can make with wedgits. The more wedgit blocks you have the complicated the design can be. We ended up buying another set to add more blocks because our older kids were wanting to make more complicated designs.

10. Create Box

My kids and I have gone on a field trip to a place called “Creation Station”. The Creation Station was a place where they had all sorts of different supplies that kids could use to create whatever they wanted. They had paper towel rolls, gears, duct tape, cardboard, scraps of paper and many more different types of materials for the kids to create. You can have a box like this for your preschooler at home. Some of the things you can fill it with are paper towel rolls, various colored tapes, pipe cleaners, scraps of paper, cardboard, and other various creative materials. Anything would work. You can put it all in one “Create Box” that you can pull out and have the kids create something during “school” time. Its fun to see what they create!

Resources:

TinkerLab-A Hands-on Guide for Little Inventors by Rachelle Doorley

Some of the ideas that I mentioned above are in this book. This book has many more ideas to implement creative activities for your preschooler. The author does an amazing job of explaining and also illustrating how to implement the various ideas. I originally checked out this book from the library to see if it would receive a permanent spot on my library shelf and I found out that it does deserve to be part of my library. I would use this as a resource for my little ones quite a bit. Its my favorite book on preschool activities so far.

Tips-

One thing I have found to help make the activities more enjoyable is if you only let them do these activities during “school” time. When I only pulled out some of these activities during “school” time, they looked forward to playing or doing them and didn’t grow tired of them too quickly. Now some of the activities that I mentioned above like building forts are done anytime and throughout the day but other activities I have designated for only “school” time.

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