I’m happy that the man in red is as eager for my son
to practice his fine-motor skills as I am.
_Here’s an oldie but a goodie: Etch-A-Sketch! _ My youngest got this item from Santa this year.
I’m happy that the man in red is as eager for my son to practice his fine-motor skills as I am.
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A recent fun find at the toy store: Don't You FORGET IT! I'm not sure what I love about this game most: 1) It reinforces my 1st grader's developing math skills. 2) It fits in a small, easy-to-carry bag for travel. 3) It involves both strategy and chance. 4) I have yet to win, but know I will ... if I just keep playing! The rules are easy to understand and can be adapted to fit a variety of ages. Players roll, add their dice, and try to avoid the dreaded FOR~GET~IT. Your kids will be adding, carrying, and estimating probability - before you even know it! Every year after Halloween, I ask my boys to sort through their candy to find the treats they'd most like to save for decorating their Gingerbread Houses. The boys willingly give up some of their stash - knowing the fun that awaits them in December. This holiday break, we invited several neighbors over to join the fun. Every child brought their own house and some decorating items to share. I provided the frosting: 3 egg whites 3/4 tsp. cream of tartar 1 Lb. powdered sugar Mix and mix and mix (then mix some more). Place icing in sandwich bags and snip one corner to apply. _ I'm happy to report a good time was had by all. The crew focused on their holiday home decor for just over an hour. After that, I noticed a distinct shift: the candy began to go in their mouths instead of on their houses. ("Time to call it quits, my friends!").
_ Many, many moons ago my sweet mother made a Christmas Countdown Calendar for me and my sister. I remember being delighted as a child when it was my turn to place an ornament on the tree. To my great fortune, I rediscovered this treasure a few years ago. _ Now continuing the tradition with my sons, we take out the simple burlap and felt wall-hanging and add an ornament a day until Christmas arrives. I had to replace a few of the magnet strips and several of the original ornaments had been lost. So...I fashioned a few new ones. It’s amazing how crafty you can get with a few colors of felt and a bottle of craft glue. No special art-skills needed. _How do you count down to the holiday?
_ This past summer, I told you we were forming a LEGO Robotics Team. Well.. we were and we did and the results... were fabulous! Our team was made up of seven great kids (both boys and girls) ranging in age from 3rd grade to 6th grade. The team met weekly (September - December) to complete a research project, to build and program a robot to tackle the First Lego League 2011 Food Factor Robot Challenge, and to work together as a team to improve collaboration skills. Typing this now, it all sounds so nice and civilized -- but the reality actually involved a lot more noise, commotion, and chaos in my basement that I had anticipated. Now having survived a Lego Robotic season, I offer these words of warning to anyone considering coaching a Lego Robotics Team in the future: Coaching a team will cause you to learn more about robots and middle school boys than you've ever wanted to know. That said... I admit the combination is worth the chaos. When our team earned the tournament high score - the boys jumped up and down and squealed just like the eight year old girls (maybe even louder). It was incredibly satisfying to see the kids enjoy such a unique opportunity. Now with the season over, my boy is teetering on the edge of STEM student and mad scientist. He's broken down our team robot and reconfigured it to make the 'Alpha Rex. _Each day he programs this robot to attempt something new and I find that I too have been bitten by the robotic-bug because I keep making requests: "Can he give me a high-five?" "I want to see him dance." "Use that light sensor-thingy." "What else can you make him say?" The programming software that comes with the robot set is a little beyond me, but my nine year old keeps trying new configurations of loops, sensors, movement, and switches -- and he continues to have success. The first of tonight's programs aimed to have the robot walk forward until it "sensed" my son's hand waving. Then the robot was to move its arm and continue walking until it received a high-five. At that point, the robot would say "Good Job" and show a skull and crossbones on it's small reader screen. Tomorrow night, I'm told he wants to make a voice controlled car, a catapult that fires on command, or a robot that looks and acts like a crocodile. I'll keep you posted on the results.
My husband usually teases me for completing my Christmas shopping in July, but this year: It didn't happen. In fact, it won't even start until after Thanksgiving and may include a final countdown starting Dec. 18th. Oh, for easy stocking stuffers that can be ordered online and delivered before the holiday rush!!! Have mercy on me readers: Please post your ideas in the comment area now. Looking through pictures of past holidays, I was reminded of this gem: This simple beauty came with monster arms, twisty legs, googly-eyes, and enough colorful brads to make a family of five legged beasts. Low tech - it's fun in the morning, fun in the car, and fun after Christmas dinner at Grandma's house.Overall, that's enough to qualify for a 5 star rating on my Christmas list.
Occasionally, I find a new word challenge to add
a bit of language-play in our day. This one is addictive. During this post Halloween season, our sweet Grammy told us about this groovy website. My brave boys sacrificed some of their candy for the good of science. Here are the results: Someday.... when the kids are grown; when work slows down; when I'm less tired; and when I have less laundry; I want to write a book about libraries. They say you should live what you love and I just love books and LIBRARIES! In fact (to flip that sentiment upside down) while some folks would like their ashes scattered at sea, I'd like to request the large-print mystery-stacks of which I am so fond. Libraries really are 'the best thing since sliced bread' and in support of that statement I submit the following evidence: Through your friendly local library you can now use your library card to log-on and download free digital music. Wait! I'll say it again: FREE music!
This new service is a godsend for our family. You see, just as my oldest is a complete book worm -- my youngest is a music maniac. Without the public library we'd go broke supplying my nine year-old with enough reading material or worse: he wouldn't be able to devour new titles every week. And sadly, in the past, I have not been able to supply enough music for my six year-old. Between the cost, the access, and my limited knowledge of who or what is even 'out there' -- we've been music deprived in this house. Well... that's true no longer. With the help of Freegal and my beloved library card, I'm downloading a little jazz, a little country, a little this and a little that and watching my sweet-young-music-man tap his foot, nod his head, and soak in the rhythms. "What's the fine print?" you ask. Well, each library card is limited to three downloads each week; only songs from Sony are available; there is an ongoing debate about the program; and I'm pretty sure our City Library Administrator is never going to agree to my ashes scattered among the titles. That said... it's still music to my ears. |
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