Mid-week Morsel: Stencyl Game Studio

The next stop on my list of ways to jazz up our learning this year is at the Stencyl Game Studio.  Stencyl allows users to create their own games, playable on iOS, Android, and Flash without coding (although you can write your own code if you wish).  Character behaviors are customizable using building blocks similar to those used in Scratch.  The freely downloadable program comes complete with resources for creating countless games, and also allows users to import their own resources to create truly unique games.  The Crash Course game and tutorial has you making your first game in minutes.  There is also an extensive "Stencylpedia" available to answer any questions you may have.  Once you have made your amazing new game, you can make it available in the App Store or Google Play Store.  You can also display the game on your website or blog.  BLiP is just one of many games available in the App Store created using Stencyl.  Of course, if you want you can simply play the game on your computer as well.  What will you and your children create?

Karissa

My 5 Favorite Apps (for Math)

Earlier this week I said that April is Poetry Month.  However, it is also National Math Awareness Month.  I decided this was the perfect time to bring back the My 5 Favorite Apps list.  So many of us are always on the go these days.  Take advantage of the free time your children have while they are riding in the car, or sitting in a waiting room and download these free apps so they can get some math practice.  As before, I have an Android phone, but I've done my best to find the iPhone version of each app.

5.  Math Workout - What I like about Math Workout is that it is 20 fast-paced questions.  It is simple and no frills, which makes it great for sneaking in a quick practice.  Here is Math Workout on iTunes.

4.  Math Attack - A great multiple choice math practice game that can include multiple operands.  Unfortunately, I did not find this game, or a comparable  alternative, on iTunes.

3.  Math Pack - As a mom, this is my favorite math app.  Math Pack goes way beyond simple flash cards.  There are options for division rules, fractions, decimals, and more!  It covers math from kindergarten through 8th grade, which makes it great for older kids too.  I did find Math Pack on iTunes, however it costs $0.99 there.

2.  Math Space - My daughter enjoys this game.  It's kind of like Asteroid meets math practice.  A math problem appears at the top of the screen.  Tap the corresponding enemy fighter to destroy it.  I did not find Math Space on iTunes, however Brain Warp appears to be similar.

1.  Math Race - This is my daughter's favorite math app.  She chose this as number 1.  It's a simple concept; correct answers power your vehicle.  The more questions you get right, and the faster you enter them, the better your race car does.  There is also the option to simply race as a nice brain break from math.  I did not find Math Race on iTunes, however Math Racing looks like a good replacement.





What apps can you recommend for math practice?  Comment below to share.

Karissa

Mid-week Morsel: Reading Resources for All Year Long

Although Reading Month is coming to an end, that doesn't mean it's time to stop reading.  Quite the opposite, actually.  This week's Mid-week Morsel features three websites to keep your youngsters excited about reading all year long.  Starfall has online games and activities for children learning their abc's all the way up to reading short stories.  Reading Rockets is more of a website for you, to give you information about ways to help your child become a better reader.  They have book lists, FAQ about reading, articles, and many other reading resources.  If you would like to do more research on your own, the Florida Reading Association has a long list of reading websites for you to check out.  As usual, the sites I've recommended above are free resources.  However, there are several good subscription based websites and paid programs out there for helping your child read, ReadingA-Z, All About Reading, Reading Eggs, and Click-N-Read to name a few.

Presidents' Day Fun and Activities

Monday is Presidents' Day (and my birthday) and most students have the day off.  All too often holidays are taken for granted as simply a day off.  We don't take the time to ponder why the day is special, let alone do anything to celebrate it.  I've done some research on our presidents recently, and the first thing I can tell you is that there is a ton of information out there.  I research a lot of topics.  I'm always looking something up.  Usually, I search through page after page of results before I find enough information to satisfy me.  This time, however, I found great resources right on the first page of my search results, and even more on the pages that followed.  So, this year, take advantage of the extra time with your little ones and spend some time exploring the lives of the our presidents.


Biographical Information
The Internet Public Library (IPL2) has links to biographies, historical documents, audio & video files, and other presidential sites are also included.

The Biography channel's website has full episodes, mini biography videos and more biographical information about all 44 presidents.

The PBS series American Experience has 33 hours of streaming documentaries on 8 20th century presidents, biographies of every U.S. President, original interviews, articles, photo galleries, timelines and extensive teacher guides.

Songs

YouTube has a couple fun versions of songs to help teach the names of the presidents in order, one set to the tune of Yankee Doodle, and the other by the Animaniacs.  Please note that these songs are a little old; the Yankee Doodle song ends with George W. Bush, and the Animaniacs' song ends with Bill Clinton.


Games
Learning Games for Kids has a collection of presidential online games including word searches and a hangman style game.

Primary Games has a few president-themed puzzle games.

Activities
Enchanted learning has a 2 pages full of crafts and printables, and historical information.

Family Education created a whole page of crafts, activities, printables, and crossword puzzles about our presidents.

Lesson Ideas
Scholastic's teacher website includes everything you need from lesson plans to activities & games to help students learn about past presidents and develop leadership skills.

The Home School Mom is offering 2 free presidential notebooking units.

Extras
Family Education has put together a 10 question quiz about presidential blooper and blunders, and slideshows about presidential pets, and first kids.

The History Channel has nearly 50 short video clips about the presidents.

The Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery has a mystery for kids to solve involving a portrait of George Washington.

Karissa

Mid-week Morsel: Free Downloadable American Boys & Girls Handybooks

If your kids are anything like mine, they have a toybox full of perfectly good toys, but would rather play with the empty toilet paper roll, an empty cereal box, and some tape.  This week's mid-week morsel offers two great books full of ideas to keep boys and girls busy for the whole year.  I originally discovered these books two years ago when Homeschool Freebie of the Day posted them on their website.  I was reminded of them this past week when the books were re-posted.  They were written around the turn of the 20th century, but still offer ideas and games for children today.

In the preface of The American Girls Handybook the authors state, "One of our objects is to impress upon the minds of the girls the fact that they all possess talent and ability to achieve more than they suppose possible..."  The books cover topics ranging from pressing flowers to homemade Christmas gifts.  The Girls' book 1 contains spring and summer activities, while the girls' book 2 contains autumn and winter activities.

In the preface of The American Boys Handybook the author states, "The sports, amusements, and games embraced in this book are intended to reach the average American boy of any age, not too young to fly a kite or too old to enjoy a good day's fishing."  The books contain every interest from choosing and caring for dogs to snowball warfare.  The boys' book 1 contains spring and summer activities, and the boys' book 2 contains autumn and winter activities.

Karissa

Mid-week Morsel: String Games

Remember how much fun it was to make Jacob's Ladder out of string when you were a kid?  Can you remember how to do it?   Many New Year's Resolutions include wishes to spend more time with family, so for this week's Mid-week Morsel I found a website with instructions on Jacob's Ladder and many other figures and games to play with string.  Cut a few lengths of yarn, and spend some fun quality time with your kids today.

Play to learn

How many times have you heard, "Mommy, will you play with me?"  If your kids are like mine, you hear it more days than not.  Why not take a little time to play a game?  There are a number of ways to have some fun while sneaking in a little workout for their brains as well.  Here are some ideas to help get you started.

1. Stock your game closet with educational games.  There are more educational games out there than you may realize.  Deliberately search out games with high educational value and include them on your holiday and birthday wish lists.  Wiebe, Carlson, & Associates, Educational Insights, and Talicor have created some excellent subject specific games, while Franklin Learning Systems has a large selection of emotionally and socially focused games.  These and many other games can be purchased online from retailers such as Fat Brain Toys, Educational Learning Games, and Learning Resources.
2. Restructure non-educational games so that they become educational.  Have a deck of playing cards?  About.com, Practical Pages, and Do2Learn all have some great game ideas using standard playing cards.  Play Monopoly or The Game of Life to practice counting money.  Play Yahtzee, Black Jack, or Cribbage to practice addition and multiplication.  Play Scrabble, Scrabble Slam, Boggle, or Buzz Word to practice vocabulary and spelling.  Any of these games can be modified to fit specific words or skills your child needs to practice.
3. Make your own games at home.  Even with all the ready-made games out there, sometimes you still just can't find a game you like that really focuses on that one specific skill your child needs help with...so make your own!  Turn your creative side loose and have some fun.  Make your own board game, card game, dice game, or even action game.  The Game Lady, About.com, and Jefferson County Schools in Tennessee have some great ideas for make-at-home games to help get you started.

For even more ideas, check out my play-to-learn board on Pinterest.  The bottom line is, children love to play games; and they love the time they spent with you while playing games.  So put away the dreaded flash cards and live the good life by playing educational games with your children.  What are your favorite educational games?

Karissa