Thursday, October 20, 2011
Interesting Article about Healthy Babies Being Given Dangerous and Unneeded Prescription Drugs
A friend shared this article about healthy babies being given dangerous, unneeded prescription drugs. Take a look!
Visit http://www.naturalnews.com/033924_babies_prescription_drugs.html#ixzz1bKpDr400
Monday, October 17, 2011
Book Club for Kiddos? Here's an interesting thought...
A friend shared this article and thought this was an interesting idea about a kiddie book club for 1st and 2nd graders. Our daughter thankfully LOVES books and being with friends so the idea interests me. Take a look and be inspired! There are many great books out there to read - some of our favorites are the Nancy Drew (newer series - we read the older series to help explain some word use), Little House on the Prairie, Anne of Green Gables and The Boxcar Children. This summer we introduced our 8 year old after reading 3 Little House series books AND Anne of Green Gables to a prairie home and one room school house (check my blog posts for those). What was great is really getting a dimensional perspective of what life was like after reading about this. Learning is fun!
For book club inspiration - visit http://litzyditz.com/2011/10/17/when-your-first-grader-wants-to-join-the-book-club/
For book club inspiration - visit http://litzyditz.com/2011/10/17/when-your-first-grader-wants-to-join-the-book-club/
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Inspirational Person - Salman Kahn
I recently was told about Salman Kahn from Kahn Academy and found this brilliant Ted Conference presentation to share with all of you. What I found interesting is his idea in how to teach our children math concepts that they retain. Take a look and be inspired.
http://www.ted.com/talks/salman_skhan_let_s_use_video_to_reinvent_education.html
A friend told me about Mr. Kahn from this interview with Charlie Rose again take a look!
http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/11658
Kahn Academy
Check out their library of almost 2,600 videos covering everything from arithmetic to physics, finance, and history and 211 practice exercises.
http://www.khanacademy.org/
http://www.ted.com/talks/salman_skhan_let_s_use_video_to_reinvent_education.html
A friend told me about Mr. Kahn from this interview with Charlie Rose again take a look!
http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/11658
Kahn Academy
Check out their library of almost 2,600 videos covering everything from arithmetic to physics, finance, and history and 211 practice exercises.
http://www.khanacademy.org/
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Article: Helping a Child with Math Anxiety
By Katherine Lee, About.com Guide September 29, 2011
Recently, my son declared that he likes math. This may have something to do with the beautiful, funny, and charming math teacher he has this year. But I think it's also the culmination of my subtle (and sometimes not-so-subtle) encouragement of math games at home, the wonderful teachers at his school who are intent on making math fun, and my child simply being ready to take on something he felt wasn't his strongest subject.
My son can plow through books and play music on several instruments, but he just didn't feel like he was doing his best when it came to math. Thankfully, he seems to be enjoying it more now, and I'm relieved since he will be learning more complicated math this year now that he's in fifth grade.
According to experts, children often experience math anxiety and reluctance when they don't quite grasp a concept or master a math skill, and then try to move along without building a solid foundation. If your child has expressed anxiety about math or seems to be having trouble with the subject, read "What is Math Anxiety and How Can You Help a Child Who Has It?" for ideas on how you can help. It's important that math anxiety is addressed early, before your child is trying to learn more and more difficult math concepts.
What is Math Anxiety?
As early as kindergarten, kids are introduced to math. As they progress in grade school, children will learn math skills such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and more.
While math can be fun and challenging for some children, it can be a very different experience for others. For many students, working with numbers and math concepts can lead to math anxiety, in which they can develop a fear and stress about math. They can feel anxiety about not getting the answers right and not understanding what is being taught. They may feel frustrated and upset about not doing well in math, and may develop a dislike for the subject, making the development of math skills even more difficult.
Common Causes of Math Anxiety
Often, children develop math anxiety when they don’t master early math skills, and then are continually expected to learn additional math when they haven’t yet gained the fundamental knowledge.
Just as a solid building cannot be erected upon a shaky foundation, expecting a child to gain new math skills when they haven’t mastered the basics can lead to lack of confidence and anxiety about math. But this is precisely what can happen when children try to struggle to find the correct answers to math problems without understanding the concepts in the first place.
School-age children may also see peers excelling in math and develop a belief that they are not as “naturally” good at math as these other children are. This can lead to self-doubt and a reluctance to try harder at improving their own math skills.
How to Handle Math Anxiety
Parents can help a child overcome math anxiety by offering reassurance, practical assistance, and by making it fun. Most of all, they can set the tone by developing a positive attitude toward math themselves, and trying to find a way to use numbers as much as they can with their child in everyday life. Here are some ways parents can help their child avoid stress about math.
Play math games. Whether you play "math games online, get out some number-centric board games such as Monopoly or Double Shutter, or use some common kitchen items to play with numbers, playing games that are math and numbers oriented is an excellent way to make math fun and get children interesting in doing math.
Be aware of your own attitude toward math. Have you ever said things such as, “I’m not good at math,” or “I just don’t like math”? If so, consider changing your attitude, or at least not voicing such negative ideas about math out loud. Your child is watching and learning from you, and if you express negative feelings about math rather than talk about the fun and important aspects of math, then you are doing your child a disservice.
Practice with your child. When it comes to math skills such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, nothing beats practicing. And learning multiplication facts is a matter of drilling. Practice multiplication tables on the way to school, while your child is having a bath, right before story time at night -- whenever you can squeeze it in. Print out math worksheets and practice doing math problems, making things fun and challenging by using a timer or giving your child a treat for finishing the problems and getting faster doing them.
Ditch the idea that some people are not good at math. This is a particularly important message for girls, who may pick up the misconception prevalent in the world today that boys are better at math than girls. While some experts have asserted that a math gender gap no longer exists, other researchers have argued that it does; the reason for those differences are likely complex and varied, including parents’ and educators’ failure to nurture girls’ confidence in math, societal pressure for girls not to succeed in math, and parents’ and teachers’ failure to spot girls’ early struggles with math, which can then worsen over time.
Get help early. And while we’re on the subject of a math gender gap, a fascinating study from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign found that the math gender gap between girls and boys widens between kindergarten and 5th grade. Moreover, the study determined that many teachers may mistake girls’ attentiveness in class and completion of assignments as indicators that they understand the material, when in fact they may not. To make sure that a child -- boy or girl -- really does understand the material, teachers and parents should go over the material with the child, and if necessary, give him or her some extra help as soon as possible.
Help your child shake off mistakes. One of the best things you can do as you help your child develop math skills and learn other academic and life lessons is to assure him that mistakes are something that will happen and that they are learning opportunities. If you can help your child put math mistakes into perspective and remind him that they are what will ultimately help him learn, your child will be less likely to develop anxiety about math.
Online sites to help with Math
1. Fun 4 the Brain
This site is chock full of fun math games to fit every grade-schooler’s interests, from knight and princess addition adventures to pet shop multiplication activities. Whether your child is just starting addition and subtraction or is up to division and multiplication, these terrific online math games will help him flex his math skills while having fun.
2. PBS Kids Math Games
There are dozens of challenging and fun online math games for grade-schoolers, from the youngest kindergartener to third and fourth graders. The games feature characters from PBS Kids’ TV shows such as Arthur and Caillou. Parents will especially love the brain teasing Cyberchase games, which feature characters from the popular math-based kids’ show.
3. Math Playground
The motto of this awesome math games site is “Play with numbers and give your brain a workout.” Your kids will love games such as "Making Change," which lets school age kids practice math and subtraction with money and "Number Invaders," a game that encourages hand-eye coordination and fast addition. There’s also fun and challenging game called "Multiplication Game," which builds multiplication as well as strategy skills. Math Playground also features hundreds of math word problems for kids in grades 1 to 6. Try any of these online math games yourself -- you’ll love taking turns with your kids as you play these fun and addictive games together.
4. HelpingWithMath.com
This site is a great resource for parents who want to help their kids sharpen their math skills. HelpingWithMath.com features fun math games such as a multiplication game called"Target the Answer," in which players race to choose the right answer to a series of multiplication problems. The site is also loaded with math worksheets, tables, and charts for kids who are in 3rd grade and up.
5. Arcademic Skill Builders
Games such as "Jet Ski Addition," "Demolition Division," and "Space Race Multiplication"engage kids in fun games as they develop their math skills. There are even language and geography games for times when your child might want to switch things up and play something else for a while.
6. Primary Games
Whether your child is a first grader tackling addition or a third grader who loves Sudoku, you’ll find an online math game that she’ll enjoy playing on this site. There are also shape-sorting challenges, pattern-reading games, analog clock-reading games, and fraction games -- something for every child from kindergarteners to older grade-schoolers.
7. Sheppard Software
Your grade-schooler will love games like "Fruit Shoot," which encourages some fast-figuring of basic addition and "Balloon Pop Multiplication," which challenge kids to figure out multiplication facts on the fly.
8. AplusMath Games
A bingo-like game called Matho will boost your child’s math skills with versions that feature addition, multiplication, and division problems. Other fun math games online for grade-schoolers include hidden picture puzzles, a concentration/memory game, and a hand-eye coordination-building math game called "Planet Blaster," which features addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division problems.
Multiplication.com
9. ArithmAttack
Here’s a fun site from the Department of Energy’s Argonne National Library. Kids can choose the category of math facts they want to practice, such as addition or division. Then they choose how high they want the numbers in the problems to be (they can go up to 12). The games are timed and the correct answers are tallied so kids can practice getting faster and more accurate against friends or even their own previous scores.
There are loads of kid-friendly multiplication games for grade-schoolers on this site. One is a fun racing game in which kids have to guess correct answers to multiplication problems to move cars along. Others include a fast-paced egg-catching game in which kids have to quickly catch the correct multiples of a given number (this one was tough!), and a cute penguin ice-cream scooping game in which kids are asked to find the right multiplication fact to scoop out the correct flavor of ice cream. Levels of difficulty can be adjusted for kids who are just starting to learn their multiplication facts as well as older grade-schoolers who are looking to sharpen their multiplication skills. Fun!
11. Baseball Multiplication Game
This fun demonstration game from Everyday Mathematics is great for sharpening multiplication skills. It’s fun for everyone -- parents included! -- but it’s an especially great way for baseball-loving kids to exercise their multiplication facts while scoring on a baseball diamond.
12. Cool Math.com
This site features fun, kid-friendly online math games such as Crazy Taxi M-12, which challenges players to crash into multiples of a certain number, or Feed Fribbit Addition or Feed Fribbit Subtraction, which requires kids to quickly solve addition or subtraction equations. Kids of all ages and math skill levels will find something to exercise their math skills while having a ball!
More Ideas for Fun Math Games
Recently, my son declared that he likes math. This may have something to do with the beautiful, funny, and charming math teacher he has this year. But I think it's also the culmination of my subtle (and sometimes not-so-subtle) encouragement of math games at home, the wonderful teachers at his school who are intent on making math fun, and my child simply being ready to take on something he felt wasn't his strongest subject.
My son can plow through books and play music on several instruments, but he just didn't feel like he was doing his best when it came to math. Thankfully, he seems to be enjoying it more now, and I'm relieved since he will be learning more complicated math this year now that he's in fifth grade.
According to experts, children often experience math anxiety and reluctance when they don't quite grasp a concept or master a math skill, and then try to move along without building a solid foundation. If your child has expressed anxiety about math or seems to be having trouble with the subject, read "What is Math Anxiety and How Can You Help a Child Who Has It?" for ideas on how you can help. It's important that math anxiety is addressed early, before your child is trying to learn more and more difficult math concepts.
What is Math Anxiety?
As early as kindergarten, kids are introduced to math. As they progress in grade school, children will learn math skills such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and more.
While math can be fun and challenging for some children, it can be a very different experience for others. For many students, working with numbers and math concepts can lead to math anxiety, in which they can develop a fear and stress about math. They can feel anxiety about not getting the answers right and not understanding what is being taught. They may feel frustrated and upset about not doing well in math, and may develop a dislike for the subject, making the development of math skills even more difficult.
Common Causes of Math Anxiety
Often, children develop math anxiety when they don’t master early math skills, and then are continually expected to learn additional math when they haven’t yet gained the fundamental knowledge.
Just as a solid building cannot be erected upon a shaky foundation, expecting a child to gain new math skills when they haven’t mastered the basics can lead to lack of confidence and anxiety about math. But this is precisely what can happen when children try to struggle to find the correct answers to math problems without understanding the concepts in the first place.
School-age children may also see peers excelling in math and develop a belief that they are not as “naturally” good at math as these other children are. This can lead to self-doubt and a reluctance to try harder at improving their own math skills.
How to Handle Math Anxiety
Parents can help a child overcome math anxiety by offering reassurance, practical assistance, and by making it fun. Most of all, they can set the tone by developing a positive attitude toward math themselves, and trying to find a way to use numbers as much as they can with their child in everyday life. Here are some ways parents can help their child avoid stress about math.
Play math games. Whether you play "math games online, get out some number-centric board games such as Monopoly or Double Shutter, or use some common kitchen items to play with numbers, playing games that are math and numbers oriented is an excellent way to make math fun and get children interesting in doing math.
Be aware of your own attitude toward math. Have you ever said things such as, “I’m not good at math,” or “I just don’t like math”? If so, consider changing your attitude, or at least not voicing such negative ideas about math out loud. Your child is watching and learning from you, and if you express negative feelings about math rather than talk about the fun and important aspects of math, then you are doing your child a disservice.
Practice with your child. When it comes to math skills such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, nothing beats practicing. And learning multiplication facts is a matter of drilling. Practice multiplication tables on the way to school, while your child is having a bath, right before story time at night -- whenever you can squeeze it in. Print out math worksheets and practice doing math problems, making things fun and challenging by using a timer or giving your child a treat for finishing the problems and getting faster doing them.
Ditch the idea that some people are not good at math. This is a particularly important message for girls, who may pick up the misconception prevalent in the world today that boys are better at math than girls. While some experts have asserted that a math gender gap no longer exists, other researchers have argued that it does; the reason for those differences are likely complex and varied, including parents’ and educators’ failure to nurture girls’ confidence in math, societal pressure for girls not to succeed in math, and parents’ and teachers’ failure to spot girls’ early struggles with math, which can then worsen over time.
Get help early. And while we’re on the subject of a math gender gap, a fascinating study from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign found that the math gender gap between girls and boys widens between kindergarten and 5th grade. Moreover, the study determined that many teachers may mistake girls’ attentiveness in class and completion of assignments as indicators that they understand the material, when in fact they may not. To make sure that a child -- boy or girl -- really does understand the material, teachers and parents should go over the material with the child, and if necessary, give him or her some extra help as soon as possible.
Help your child shake off mistakes. One of the best things you can do as you help your child develop math skills and learn other academic and life lessons is to assure him that mistakes are something that will happen and that they are learning opportunities. If you can help your child put math mistakes into perspective and remind him that they are what will ultimately help him learn, your child will be less likely to develop anxiety about math.
Online sites to help with Math
1. Fun 4 the Brain
This site is chock full of fun math games to fit every grade-schooler’s interests, from knight and princess addition adventures to pet shop multiplication activities. Whether your child is just starting addition and subtraction or is up to division and multiplication, these terrific online math games will help him flex his math skills while having fun.
2. PBS Kids Math Games
There are dozens of challenging and fun online math games for grade-schoolers, from the youngest kindergartener to third and fourth graders. The games feature characters from PBS Kids’ TV shows such as Arthur and Caillou. Parents will especially love the brain teasing Cyberchase games, which feature characters from the popular math-based kids’ show.
3. Math Playground
The motto of this awesome math games site is “Play with numbers and give your brain a workout.” Your kids will love games such as "Making Change," which lets school age kids practice math and subtraction with money and "Number Invaders," a game that encourages hand-eye coordination and fast addition. There’s also fun and challenging game called "Multiplication Game," which builds multiplication as well as strategy skills. Math Playground also features hundreds of math word problems for kids in grades 1 to 6. Try any of these online math games yourself -- you’ll love taking turns with your kids as you play these fun and addictive games together.
4. HelpingWithMath.com
This site is a great resource for parents who want to help their kids sharpen their math skills. HelpingWithMath.com features fun math games such as a multiplication game called"Target the Answer," in which players race to choose the right answer to a series of multiplication problems. The site is also loaded with math worksheets, tables, and charts for kids who are in 3rd grade and up.
5. Arcademic Skill Builders
Games such as "Jet Ski Addition," "Demolition Division," and "Space Race Multiplication"engage kids in fun games as they develop their math skills. There are even language and geography games for times when your child might want to switch things up and play something else for a while.
6. Primary Games
Whether your child is a first grader tackling addition or a third grader who loves Sudoku, you’ll find an online math game that she’ll enjoy playing on this site. There are also shape-sorting challenges, pattern-reading games, analog clock-reading games, and fraction games -- something for every child from kindergarteners to older grade-schoolers.
7. Sheppard Software
Your grade-schooler will love games like "Fruit Shoot," which encourages some fast-figuring of basic addition and "Balloon Pop Multiplication," which challenge kids to figure out multiplication facts on the fly.
8. AplusMath Games
A bingo-like game called Matho will boost your child’s math skills with versions that feature addition, multiplication, and division problems. Other fun math games online for grade-schoolers include hidden picture puzzles, a concentration/memory game, and a hand-eye coordination-building math game called "Planet Blaster," which features addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division problems.
Multiplication.com
9. ArithmAttack
Here’s a fun site from the Department of Energy’s Argonne National Library. Kids can choose the category of math facts they want to practice, such as addition or division. Then they choose how high they want the numbers in the problems to be (they can go up to 12). The games are timed and the correct answers are tallied so kids can practice getting faster and more accurate against friends or even their own previous scores.
There are loads of kid-friendly multiplication games for grade-schoolers on this site. One is a fun racing game in which kids have to guess correct answers to multiplication problems to move cars along. Others include a fast-paced egg-catching game in which kids have to quickly catch the correct multiples of a given number (this one was tough!), and a cute penguin ice-cream scooping game in which kids are asked to find the right multiplication fact to scoop out the correct flavor of ice cream. Levels of difficulty can be adjusted for kids who are just starting to learn their multiplication facts as well as older grade-schoolers who are looking to sharpen their multiplication skills. Fun!
11. Baseball Multiplication Game
This fun demonstration game from Everyday Mathematics is great for sharpening multiplication skills. It’s fun for everyone -- parents included! -- but it’s an especially great way for baseball-loving kids to exercise their multiplication facts while scoring on a baseball diamond.
12. Cool Math.com
This site features fun, kid-friendly online math games such as Crazy Taxi M-12, which challenges players to crash into multiples of a certain number, or Feed Fribbit Addition or Feed Fribbit Subtraction, which requires kids to quickly solve addition or subtraction equations. Kids of all ages and math skill levels will find something to exercise their math skills while having a ball!
More Ideas for Fun Math Games
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Article and Good Reminder: 5 Ways to Get Moving with your Kids
Article from Make It Better Magazine
5 Ways to Get Moving with your Kids BY CHRISTY COUGHLIN
Take advantage of fall weather and get moving with your kids.
Whether they’re toddlers or teenagers, exercising together is an important component of a healthy lifestyle. Not only will you both get physically fit, you’ll have fun while spending time together, and you may even learn a few new moves.
1. Walk Around Town
Walk your errands together. Return library books, mail letters, bring treats to a friend and take the dog along. There may grumbling, but a few minutes of brisk walking will turn things around. Younger kids can switch between the stroller and walking. Walking allows you uninterrupted time, whether they are 4 or 14. Add an after-dinner walk to your day and you, get a healthy way to end the day and give you time together.
2. Bike There
Biking is one of the best family activities, and it grows with your kids. They start in a seat behind you, graduate to a trailer, and eventually move to their own wheels. Pick a destination like a park, beach, or friend’s house. Bike to lunch and back on a Saturday with your teenager. It’s hard to text when your mom is biking 16 mph! Consider investing in a bike rack and spend the day exploring the city or participating in an organized ride. (You can also take bikes on the Metra during non-rush hour trains, but riders must be 12 years old and with a parent.)
3. Move Like They Do
Take a physical interest in her field hockey, soccer, volleyball, or basketball. Ask to learn a few moves or help her practice. She will appreciate your willingness to learn about her passion and it will allow you to get outside your zone and move! For younger kids, join in their dance parties, hula hoop contests, and games of tag. Your kids will love being active with you, and you will set the stage for future activities.
4. Try a New Sport
Golf on your bucket list? Suggest taking lessons together and then scheduling a few dates at the driving range. Sign up for a beginner yoga series and enjoy practicing together every week. (Interested in horseback riding? “Top 4 Horseback Riding Stables in the Chicago Suburbs”)
5. Take a Field Trip
Take a family hike in your local forest preserve to enjoy the changing colors. Pack a healthy lunch, load the car, and explore the numerous paths that meander through the woods, over streams, and under fallen trees. This shared experience in nature will teach them to love and appreciate outdoors adventure and leave them wanting more. (Check out our article: “Trekking West Michigan”)
Find the time to move with your kids. You might even consider recruiting them for a big garden clean up this weekend. Whatever the activity, silence the cell phones, turn off the TV, leave the computer and enjoy moving with your kids.
Take advantage of fall weather and get moving with your kids.
Whether they’re toddlers or teenagers, exercising together is an important component of a healthy lifestyle. Not only will you both get physically fit, you’ll have fun while spending time together, and you may even learn a few new moves.
1. Walk Around Town
Walk your errands together. Return library books, mail letters, bring treats to a friend and take the dog along. There may grumbling, but a few minutes of brisk walking will turn things around. Younger kids can switch between the stroller and walking. Walking allows you uninterrupted time, whether they are 4 or 14. Add an after-dinner walk to your day and you, get a healthy way to end the day and give you time together.
2. Bike There
Biking is one of the best family activities, and it grows with your kids. They start in a seat behind you, graduate to a trailer, and eventually move to their own wheels. Pick a destination like a park, beach, or friend’s house. Bike to lunch and back on a Saturday with your teenager. It’s hard to text when your mom is biking 16 mph! Consider investing in a bike rack and spend the day exploring the city or participating in an organized ride. (You can also take bikes on the Metra during non-rush hour trains, but riders must be 12 years old and with a parent.)
3. Move Like They Do
Take a physical interest in her field hockey, soccer, volleyball, or basketball. Ask to learn a few moves or help her practice. She will appreciate your willingness to learn about her passion and it will allow you to get outside your zone and move! For younger kids, join in their dance parties, hula hoop contests, and games of tag. Your kids will love being active with you, and you will set the stage for future activities.
4. Try a New Sport
Golf on your bucket list? Suggest taking lessons together and then scheduling a few dates at the driving range. Sign up for a beginner yoga series and enjoy practicing together every week. (Interested in horseback riding? “Top 4 Horseback Riding Stables in the Chicago Suburbs”)
5. Take a Field Trip
Take a family hike in your local forest preserve to enjoy the changing colors. Pack a healthy lunch, load the car, and explore the numerous paths that meander through the woods, over streams, and under fallen trees. This shared experience in nature will teach them to love and appreciate outdoors adventure and leave them wanting more. (Check out our article: “Trekking West Michigan”)
Find the time to move with your kids. You might even consider recruiting them for a big garden clean up this weekend. Whatever the activity, silence the cell phones, turn off the TV, leave the computer and enjoy moving with your kids.
Monday, October 3, 2011
20 Signs of Giftedness from Circle of Moms
“Is my child gifted?” Parents often wonder at one point or another whether their child is gifted. Here we’ve rounded up some basics to help you identify signs of giftedness in your child.
What Does “Gifted” Mean?
The term “giftedness” is used by different schools, organizations and cultures in different ways, with some using the term strictly to indicate people with well-above average intelligence as measured by IQ scores, and others embracing a broader range of criteria. TheNational Association for Gifted Children (NAGC), offers the following definition:
Gifted individuals are those who demonstrate outstanding levels of aptitude (defined as an exceptional ability to reason and learn) or competence (documented performance or achievement in top 10% or rarer) in one or more domains. Domains include any structured area of activity with its own symbol system (e.g., mathematics, music, language) and/or set of sensorimotor skills (e.g., painting, dance, sports)
20 Signs of Giftedness
While IQ tests and other assessments can help identify giftedness in school-age children, kids are also commonly identified as gifted by the observations of families, teachers, and friends. Below are some of the many characteristics that gifted children often exhibit, adapted from a detailed checklist from Austega. Note: no one gifted child exhibits all the traits.
- Has early interest in words and reading
- Has exceptionally large vocabulary for their age
- Learns rapidly, easily and efficiently
- Is curious about objects or situations, asks provocative questions; enjoys exploratory activities
- Has an unusually strong memory, but is bored with memorization and recitation
- Is flexible in thinking patterns; makes unusual associations between remote ideas
- Is independent
- Has a wide range of interests
- Demonstrates unusual reasoning power
- Likes structure, order and consistency
- Show unusual degrees of originality, concentration and persistent hard work on projects that capture their interest and imagination
- Is perceptually open to his or her environment
- Has an advanced sense of humor
- Is sensitive to the feelings of others
- Shows more interest in creative effort and new activities than in routine and repetitive tasks
- Shows an intense interest and aptitude in an artistic activity, such as drawing, singing, dancing, writing, or playing a musical instrument
- Is intellectually playful, interested in fantasy, imagination
- Acts as a leader among children of their own age
- Tries to excel in almost everything she does
- Senses when problems exist; always trying to adapt or improve things
Some interesting ideas......
Now that the weather is changing and some of us will have soccer season ending....our kids will be at home with us either indoors or outdoors more. What to do?
Here's some obvious solutions to age old ideas - revisited or re-plugged onto my blog. If you have other ideas please share.
1. Family fun pizza night. Make your own pizza concoctions. If you don't like to make the dough you can always purchase pre-made pizza crusts ready to go in various sizes. Have your kids make their own and have fun with it.
2. Family game night. Bring out the stowed away board games. We were just on a mini vacation and rain was the sad solution to what was a hopeful fun fall weekend. Oh well, out came the checkers and our oldest learned how to play chess with her daddy.
3. Popcorn movie night. We have had such fun getting the oldies from the library. Believe this or not, we've rented all the Shirley Temple, Nancy Drew circa 1940's, Little House on the Prairie, Secret Garden and the obvious classics to share with our daughter. She loved them all.
4. Holiday crafts. Yep, just purchased mini ghosts to have our daughter and her friend make and decorate outdoors. There's many fun things you can do with your kids and there's plenty of options to choose from - here's a few http://familyfun.go.com/crafts/ , http://www.artprojectsforkids.org/ , http://crafts.kaboose.com/ , http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/ , http://www.crayola.com/crafts/ , http://www.marthastewart.com/photogallery/kids-accessories , http://www.sproutonline.com/sprout/crafts/listing.aspx?preset=quickneasy
5. Bake! I love to bake and so does my daughter. Get out the cookbook, buy easy sugar cookie mixes with fun decorations and colorful icings if you're looking for a shortcut and have a blast.
6. Go on a fun fall expedition and find nature treasures. I love fall and all the nature gems you can collect while taking a walk. Collect your treasures and either make a look book/journal of each item you collected OR make a fun craft like a wreath with a cut out paper plate. Research your collections online to figure out what tree that leaf came from.
7. Visit a park like Sunset Park in Highland Park and enjoy the fall days (when the weather cooperates).
8. Visit a hiking trail. I'm proud to state Lake Forest has many interesting trails in which to hike OR take a dog for a walk. Go explore and enjoy nature! Visit http://www.lfola.org/ourlands/ourpreserves.aspx Also, don't forget the Grove and Wagner Farms in Glenview http://glenviewparks.org/index.php/facilities-parks/map and Emily Oaks Nature Preserve in Skokie http://www.skokieparks.org/emily-oaks-nature-center too.
9. Visit a museum! One of my favorites of all these ideas as you support something I love and believe in. We all benefit from this kind of outing! There are museums of every size and style to chose from thanks to living in the Chicago area. Check out a previous post on some ideas to chose from.
10. Hit an indoor ice rink for public skate.
11. Find an indoor pool/waterpark for some aquatic fun.
Here's some obvious solutions to age old ideas - revisited or re-plugged onto my blog. If you have other ideas please share.
1. Family fun pizza night. Make your own pizza concoctions. If you don't like to make the dough you can always purchase pre-made pizza crusts ready to go in various sizes. Have your kids make their own and have fun with it.
2. Family game night. Bring out the stowed away board games. We were just on a mini vacation and rain was the sad solution to what was a hopeful fun fall weekend. Oh well, out came the checkers and our oldest learned how to play chess with her daddy.
3. Popcorn movie night. We have had such fun getting the oldies from the library. Believe this or not, we've rented all the Shirley Temple, Nancy Drew circa 1940's, Little House on the Prairie, Secret Garden and the obvious classics to share with our daughter. She loved them all.
4. Holiday crafts. Yep, just purchased mini ghosts to have our daughter and her friend make and decorate outdoors. There's many fun things you can do with your kids and there's plenty of options to choose from - here's a few http://familyfun.go.com/crafts/ , http://www.artprojectsforkids.org/ , http://crafts.kaboose.com/ , http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/ , http://www.crayola.com/crafts/ , http://www.marthastewart.com/photogallery/kids-accessories , http://www.sproutonline.com/sprout/crafts/listing.aspx?preset=quickneasy
5. Bake! I love to bake and so does my daughter. Get out the cookbook, buy easy sugar cookie mixes with fun decorations and colorful icings if you're looking for a shortcut and have a blast.
6. Go on a fun fall expedition and find nature treasures. I love fall and all the nature gems you can collect while taking a walk. Collect your treasures and either make a look book/journal of each item you collected OR make a fun craft like a wreath with a cut out paper plate. Research your collections online to figure out what tree that leaf came from.
7. Visit a park like Sunset Park in Highland Park and enjoy the fall days (when the weather cooperates).
8. Visit a hiking trail. I'm proud to state Lake Forest has many interesting trails in which to hike OR take a dog for a walk. Go explore and enjoy nature! Visit http://www.lfola.org/ourlands/ourpreserves.aspx Also, don't forget the Grove and Wagner Farms in Glenview http://glenviewparks.org/index.php/facilities-parks/map and Emily Oaks Nature Preserve in Skokie http://www.skokieparks.org/emily-oaks-nature-center too.
9. Visit a museum! One of my favorites of all these ideas as you support something I love and believe in. We all benefit from this kind of outing! There are museums of every size and style to chose from thanks to living in the Chicago area. Check out a previous post on some ideas to chose from.
10. Hit an indoor ice rink for public skate.
11. Find an indoor pool/waterpark for some aquatic fun.
How to Make Your Child's Doctor and Hospital Visits Easier
Just saw this post and thought it was worthwhile to share with all of you from Circle of Moms.
Visit http://www.circleofmoms.com/article/how-make-your-child-s-doctor-hospital-visits-easier-page-1-01818?trk=fbfpAll
Visit http://www.circleofmoms.com/article/how-make-your-child-s-doctor-hospital-visits-easier-page-1-01818?trk=fbfpAll
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)