Mid-week Morsel: Boredom Busters for Work From Home Moms

The modern economy doesn't really support the one income family model.  However, many families, like mine, still choose to have a parent at home with the children.  More and more of these stay-at-home moms are running their own businesses from home.  This week's mid-week morsel is all about keeping your kids busy while you are productive.  Spark Plugging is a website dedicated to work at home resources for home-based entrepreneurs.  I found a wonderful article there listing 94 ideas to keep kids busy.  Whether you work from home for money, or just to keep your sanity, this list will certainly help reduce the number of times you hear, "I'm bored", this summer.

Karissa

Mid-week Morsel: Button Up Your Organizational To-Do List

If spring is for cleaning, then summer is for organizing.  At least, it is for me. As a stay at home mom whose children go to school at home, I can't tell you how many projects get pushed back until school is out for the summer. This is our first full week without school and it is being spent cleaning out and organizing school supplies, and any other pile of disorganization I might find tucked in a corner or under a bed...or on top of my dresser.  For this week's Mid-week Morsel I thought it would be appropriate to share a website I've found full of resources for organizing everything, Buttoned Up. Whether you're just trying to find your home under the clutter, or planning a major event like moving, at Buttoned Up you're sure to find articles, tips, and even printables to help you on your way.

Karissa

10 Summer Reading Strategies

How important is summer reading to your child's education?  Very.  According to literacy expert Julie M. Wood, Ed.D., "The few months of loss in reading skills compounds over the years; by the time children reach middle school, those who haven't read during the summers may have lost as much as two years worth of achievement."  Those words become even more important when you consider this statement by The Children's Reading Foundation, "Up through third grade, children learn to read. After third grade, they read to learn. If they read poorly, they learn slowly. Academic failure by a student in high school (including dropping out) is almost always preceded by academic failure in middle school or junior high. In turn, academic failure in the mid-levels is generally preceded by failing to learn to read at or near grade level by third grade."  In short, allowing your child to slide back a little on reading each year can contribute to his or her struggling in all of his or her classes in high school. That's a pretty heavy statement.  Don't let the weight of the matter overwhelm you, though.  I have put together a list of ideas to help your child not only maintain the reading level (s)he ended this school year with, but maybe even gain a little.

The first step is to know what level your child is currently reading at.  It is important to choose books that are on level or just a hair above so that your child is continually being challenged to improve.  Think of Goldie Locks & the Three Bears. Books that are too easy will not teach your child any new words, or help him or her understand more complex sentence and story structure.  Books that are too hard will only confuse and discourage your child from reading.  Books that are just right will hold your child's attention while slightly challenging his or her abilities.  If your school has not informed you of your child's reading level, A to Z Homes Cool and The Homeschool Hearth both list free reading level placement tests you can administer at home.  

Great, now you know your child's reading level.  But how do you know which books are at that same level?  It's not as hard as you might think.  There are two common reading level scales, Accelerated Reader and Lexile.  However, reading levels can also be expressed on a letter scale.  Benchmark Education makes it easy to switch back and forth between scales with their conversion table.    Okay, on to actually finding the books.  If you have an iPhone, iPod, or iPad, Level It Books is an app which can scan the ISBN of a book and tell you it's reading level.  If you don't physically have the book, you can type or speak the title, author, or ISBN to do a manual search for the reading level.  Unfortunately, I haven't found a comparable app for android, so...for the rest of us, Barnes & Noble, AR Book Finder, and Scholastic all have databases that are searchable by book level.  Finally, if all else fails, simply ask your local children's librarian.  Ours has been very helpful in finding books that are not only on level, but also very interesting.

Last, but not least is the list that was the actual inspiration for this post...10 ways to make summer reading something your child actually looks forward to doing.

1.  Create a rewards system.  You say bribery, I say rewards; it's all the same.  And children love it!  If reading isn't at the top of your child's to-do list this summer, use the things that are as rewards for completing his or her summer reading.  Perhaps your child is a video game junkie like mine are, simply establish a "time spent" scale.  For example, 1 hour of time spent reading earns 20 minutes of time spent playing video games.
2.  Take turns reading outloud.  Reading outloud isn't just for beginning readers.  Even older children enjoy lying back and listening to a good story.  In turn, having your children read to you builds their reading and public speaking skills, and gives you an opportunity to evaluate their progress and comprehension.
3.  Use series books to encourage reading the next book.  Do you have a child who can never seem to pick out a book because they all might be boring?  Series books are a great way to keep the momentum going.  Find series your child is interested in to keep him or her reading all through the summer.  My sons have used this tactic for years.  It started with Captain Underpants in elementary school. Percy Jackson, and Harry Potter carried them through middle school. It then matured into the Drizzt Do'Urden series in high school.  KidsBookSeries.com is a great place to find series for your child's reading level.
4.  Read comic books or graphic novels.  Reluctant readers may enjoy reading comic books or graphic novels.  They are also great for kids who are typically visual learners.  My daughter is currently reading a series of graphic novels about Norse myths.  Talk about killing two birds with one stone!
5.  Read about their interests. Let's face it, novels aren't for everyone.  If this is true for your child, find books about subjects your child is interested in.  Perhaps your child is a history buff, or is really into a particular sport.  Maybe your child has been swept up by the Monster High cartoon craze.  Help your child find both fiction and non-fiction books related to his or her interests.  Did you know that there are currently 6 Monster High novels, and another one coming out this fall? My daughter has read them all because she is just crazy about the cartoon.
6.  Enlist help.  There are so many new books coming out all the time that it can be hard to keep up with what is out there.  Talk to your local children's librarian.  Children's librarians specialize in knowing what new books are out, who they're appropriate for, and if they are any good.  As I said before, ours has been a tremendous help.  We are on a first name basis, and have even exchanged email addresses to keep in touch.  If you don't have access to a good library, use the internet.  Many great librarians publish lists and recommendations to their library's website, or even have a blog.
7.  Set goals.  This is similar to the use rewards idea, or more accurately, is to be used in conjunction with the use rewards idea.  If your child isn't one who will sit down and read on his or her own, set goals regarding how long (s)he reads. This can be for each day, week, month, or even the whole summer.  Goals can made for how much time is spent reading, how many pages are read, or even how many books are read.  Rewards can be set for attaining various levels of the goal.  For example, meeting the weekly goal can earn renting a movie for movie night, and meeting the monthly goal can earn going to the movies for movie night.
8.  Bring the books to life.  Books are so much more enjoyable and memorable when they become real.  There are so many ways to get creative with book projects that I could write an entire post about it.  I'll save that for another day. For now I'll just say, get creative; think outside the book report.  Have your child write a song or poem, or write an alternate ending for the story.  Create a poster, illustrate his or her favorite part of the story.  Make a lapbook.  One of my daughter's favorite projects for her Literature Studies class was the one she made when they read Beauty and the Beast (not the Disney version).  Her project was to pretend she was a realtor hired to find Beauty and Beast's dream home.  She researched actual home listings and created a PowerPoint for her class featuring pictures of the home and why it was the perfect house for them.  My point is, there are endless possibilities when it comes to projects.
9.  Participate in your local library's summer reading program. Most libraries have summer reading programs that combine crafts, entertainment, and prizes to encourage children to have fun reading.  Sometimes the best encouragement comes from someone other than Mom or Dad.  If your child resists reading because (s)he feels it is something you are making him or her do, maybe seeing other kids having fun reading or being encouraged to read by the librarian will be just the encouragement (s)he needs.  Even if your child is a willing reader, participating in a summer reading program is a great way to share his or her love of reading with others.
10.  Join (or create) a book club.  If your child is a social child, joining a book club is a great way to get your child more interested in reading while making new friends.  Book clubs can be as small or large as you want them to be, and can read books specific to the interests and skill level of the children participating.  Check with your local school, library, or book store to find out about book clubs that already exist in your area.  If you can't find a book club that suites your child's needs, consider creating your own.  Our local library has a book club for adults.  It also already has great programs for teens, and pre-schoolers, but nothing for anyone in between.  My daughter approached our librarian about creating a book club for tweens.  The librarian thought it was a great idea.  They are currently brainstorming ideas, and hope to have it up and running when school starts this fall.

Karissa

Mid-week Morsel: Preventing Summer Learning Loss

My last post talked about what we are doing in our house to prevent summer learning loss.  What are you doing in your house?  Don't have a plan, yet?  That's okay, this article by Barbara Turvett for Working Mother magazine details 8 ways you can help prevent summer learning loss in your home.  Making your own plan is easy, just take a few minutes to think about what subjects your child(ren) need to maintain most, and what your child(ren) like to do for fun.  Combine the two, and there you have it.  If you do have your summer learning plan in place, please share it with the rest of us in the comments.

Karissa

Mom's Summer School

There is one more week of school left at our house.  The kids were so excited for summer break to be here...and then they asked, "We're not going to do summer school this year, are we?"  Oh, yes we are.  Don't misunderstand, though, I'm not a drill sergeant.  I usually try to have a lot of fun and mix a little education into it.  I generally have some sort of math and language arts lessons each week, then fill in the rest of the week with topics they are interested in, or are not taught in school.  For example, in previous years some of the "other" subjects we've studied include art history (which included reading passages about various movements in art, viewing examples of each movement, then creating our own art in that style), cooking (which included lessons on the science of cooking, then creating dishes based on that science), and finance (which included lessons on checking & savings accounts, interest, and the stock market).  

The finance course was one of my favorites.  I printed out dummy checks for the kids and gave them each a blank check register.  They worked for me, doing chores and what not. They could either earn bonuses or get docked based on their behavior.  At the end of each week they received a "paycheck" and paystub printed out by me.  I was also the bank.  They had to either deposit their checks using a properly completed deposit slip, or cash their checks  (I gave them play money.)  They also had bills to pay. I based the cost of their rent, utilities, and car payment off of a percentage of their pay.  They had to pay their bills by check.  Also, they had to "buy groceries".  To determine this cost I had the kids make out a grocery list of what they thought they needed each week to plan out healthy meals.  Then we went to the store and wrote down the cost of what they wanted to buy.  They had the opportunity to revise their list before we finalized their cost.  This was their grocery bill each week.  Oh, and they could spend their extra money on things like buying extra dessert, buying video game time, or hiring a sibling to do the chores. Finally, at the end of each month "the bank" (that's me) gave them a statement for their account and they had to balance their checkbooks.  It was a LOT of prep work on my part, but it was so much fun and they learned skills that they will never be taught in school. Perhaps I'll create a course to post online for everyone else.  We'll see...

Anyway, back to what we are going to do THIS summer.  There is such an age difference between my children that I have two separate schedules.  (If you've never checked out the About Me page, I have two 15 year old boys and a 9 year old daughter.)  

For my daughter:  she needs to improve the speed of her math facts, so I downloaded and installed a free version of Timez Attack from Big Brainz.  She will play for 30 minutes per day, 4 days each week.  This will be her math class for the summer. (See, I told you I try to make it more fun than work.)  There are four areas of language arts she will be working on this summer; inferring, comprehension, handwriting, and writing 5 paragraph essays.  She will have a lesson on one of these each Monday, meaning she will study each area once a month.  I don't have lesson plans for these yet.  I'm still working on that. One day each week will be spent doing some sort of craft-ish activity.  She loves cooking, sewing, and paper crafts, so I thought we would combine home-ec & science and get crafty.  I'll post about some of those as we do them.

For my boys:  they are taking Algebra II this fall.  After taking Geometry between Algebra I & II, I think they could use a refresher course.  I've purchased Algebra and Algebra Practice Book from CurrClick.  We will pick and choose the specific chapters that they need the most help with.  Since this is our first year in Florida, my husband suggested that they take a boating safety course and get certified to operate a boat.  We found a free boating safety course that they will complete one lesson in each week.  Finally, the boys are getting old enough to go get jobs...the tax paying kind, not the work around the neighborhood kind.  I did some searching and found some lessons on Money Instructor that I though would give them a head start on being successful in the workplace.  They include topics like filling out an application, how to give a good interview, filling out a W-4, giving & receiving criticism, and dealing with difficult people.  Note that some of Money Instructor's lessons are free, and others are only available to subscribers.  

For all the kids:  our local library is planning an extensive summer reading program this year.  They are having separate events for younger children and for teens.  Both programs take place on Wednesdays, so we are setting aside Wednesday as reading day.  We will not study other subjects or do other classes that day.  It will be a day for reading and doing activities at the library.  Finally, summer is about getting to play and do some things you don't get to do during the school year. With that in mind, we are setting aside Friday to hold a Video Game Summer Olympics.  We scoured our library's video game collection and came up with a list of competitive games that we've never played.  We will check out two different games each week and hold competitions.  Scores will be tallied, and carried over from week to week, until we have an overall champion at the end of the summer.  Most of these games are for the Wii and are active participation type games, so I don't have to worry about them just sitting on the couch like slugs.

Finally,  I stated Tuesday that I would announce the winner of the $10 CurrClick gift certificate giveaway.  Unfortunately, there were no entries, so there is no winner.  If you tried to enter, but were not able to, please contact me right away.

Karissa

School's Out...almost

May is here.  The kids are in the final stretch of the school year.  It's hard to believe another year of school is almost over.  This school year has been quite an adventure; one I'm sure the kids will never forget.  We moved to Florida just about a week before the school year started, so this has been a school year full of firsts.  Regardless of whether or not your school year has been quite as unique as ours, you & your children will want to remember this year and all the great memories it holds.  I've scoured the internet and found several free printable memory books to help put all those memories in one place.  Enchanted Learning has a memory book children can print and color.  Just look on the right side of the page, where non-members can print the individual pages of the book.  Elise Stoddard posted a fill-in-the-section memory book on Teachers Pay Teachers which is suitable for middle to upper elementary students.  Site registration is required to download the book, however both the registration and the download are free.  Fellow blogger and first grade teacher Cara Carroll created a memory book suitable for younger students.  Either visit her Teachers Pay Teachers store or click on the image to download it for free.  Teacher turned assistant principal, Alicia Lochridge made an 18 page, color memory book available for free at her Teachers Pay Teachers store.  It is suitable for younger & older students.  Third grade teacher, Ashleigh put together a 16 page, color memory book.  Visit her blog to download it for free.  It is suitable for older or younger students, however it may not appeal to older boys as much.  

With all of the parties and gifts, the end of the school year can get costly.   Here are some do-it-yourself, inexpensive gifts to make for your children's teachers.  First and foremost, iVillage has put together a list of do's and don'ts.  This is particularly helpful if you are new to giving gifts to teachers.  The Happy Home Fairy put together an extensive list of ideas.  So long, in fact, that she made it a two-part series.  Check out part 1 and part 2 to see them all.  Mique at Thirty Handmade Days has a few cute ideas as well.  Finally, the crew at Tip Junkie has put together a list of 24 ideas to show teacher appreciation.

Now that the teachers are taken care of, what do you send with your child to give to his/her classmates?  Don't worry, I found some affordable handmade ideas for that, as well.  Maura & Sheila, The Two Crafting Sisters, created adorable candy bags to give away.  Erin from Making Memories shared a dollar store goodie bag idea she made last year.  Rebecca, The Crafted Sparrow, has a "kool" gift idea for her son's classmates.  Finally, 24/7 Moms has found a way to help your children's classmates "have a ball".

Now that you have everyone at school taken care of, how can you make the last day of school special for your own child?  I found some very creative ways to show your child how proud you are of his/her accomplishments.  First, help build the excitement with this countdown to summer paper chain from Laurie over at Gallamore West.  When the day finally arrives, make them feel special throughout the whole day with this keepsake t-shirt idea from Awesome Craft Pins.  (S)he can even feel special at lunch with this lunch bag idea from Everything Pink.  However, after school is when the real celebrating begins.  Dixie Delights posted about how she celebrated her son's last day of school last year.  It was quite the extravaganza!  I also found this really fun finish line idea from Canadian blogger Gina Bell at East Coast Mommy.  Top it all off with this hand made keepsake meant to remind your child of all of his/her great qualities.  Confessions of a Teaching Junkie's Mrs. Wilson made them for her entire class, however I think they are great gifts for children at home as well.

Wow.  This is a much bigger post than I expected it to be when I came up with the idea.  Hopefully, there are plenty of ideas to help you celebrate the end of the school year with your children.

Karissa