The Snail's Trail

What's In The [work]BOX? Handmade Word Family Game

2011-05-27T19:12:00.000-04:00

I thought that I would repost the most linked to, and shared, post at The Snail's Trail:

What's in the [work]BOX?: Handmade Word Family Game

This is the first post in a series I am calling, "What's in the [work]BOX?" To see an overview of our system, Click Here. Today I am going to share with you a word family game that I just whipped together with paint chips. If you don't have a paint chip collection, it is time you started one! Paint chips can be used for all kinds of things. I will be sharing another handmade activity from paint chips in my next post. So the next time you are in a paint department, unashamedly grab as many paint chips as you can stuff in your purse. Seriously...that is what they are there for! (Just kidding! You need aprox. 13 "long cards" for consonants, blends, and diagraphs and 34 cards that have the hole cut out...12 if there are three colors to the card.)

To make this game, you need two kinds of paint chips. The first type of paint chip will have three colors. Each color will have a square cut out of the side. You will be cutting these into three separate cards. The other kind of paint chip is a super long one with lots of colors.

Note: To help your child, keep the same kind of diagraphs and blends on the same card. See how I have them?

Here is a list of the phonograms that I used. The Phonogram Page is a great site that lets your child hear the phonograms correctly. All About Spelling has a list of Phonograms and how to teach them.

I wrote these on the cards with the square cut out on them. These are commonly called word families.

ag
ab
ail
ain
ack
ake
am
an
ank
ap
all
at
ay
eed
ell
est
ew
ick
ight
ill
ine
ing
ink
ip
ob
og
ore
ot
out
ow
uck
um
unk
y

The following consonants, blends, and diagraphs are all written on the long paint chip that has a lot of colors.

Consonants:

Blends:

Diagraphs:

How many words can you make? (there are over 500+ words in this set)

--ab cab, lab, blab, crab, flab, grab, scab, slab, stab

--ack back, pack, quack, rack, black, crack, shack, snack, stack, track

--ag bag, rag, tag, brag, flag

--ail fail, mail, jail, nail, pail, rail, sail, tail, snail, trail

--ain main, pain, rain, brain, chain, drain, grain, plain, Spain, sprain, stain, train

--ake bake, cake, fake, lake, make, quake, rake, take, wake, brake, flake, shake, snake

--am ham, Sam, clam, slam, swam

--an can, fan, man, pan, ran, tan, van, bran, plan, than

--ank bank, sank, yank, blank, crank, drank, thank

--ap cap, lap, map, nap, rap, tap, clap, flap, scrap, slap, snap, strap, trap, wrap

--at bat, cat, fat, hat, mat, rat, sat, brat, chat, flat, spat, that

--ay day, may, pay, say, clay, play, pray, spray, stay, tray

--eed feed, need, seed, weed, bleed, freed, greed, speed

--ell bell, fell, sell, tell, well, yell, shell, smell, spell, swell

--est best, guest, nest, pest, rest, test, vest, west, chest, crest

--ew dew, few, knew, new, blew, chew

--ick kick, lick, pick, quick, sick, brick, chick, click, stick, thick, trick

--ight knight, light, might, night, right, sight, tight, bright, flight, fright, slight

--ill fill, hill, pill, will, chill, drill, grill, skill, spill, thrill
--in bin, fin, pin, sin, win, chin, grin, shin, skin, spin, thin, twin

--ine fine, line, mine, nine, pine, vine, wine, shine, spine, whine

--ing king, ring, sing, wing, bring, cling, spring, sting, string, swing, thing

--ink link, pink, sink, wink, blink, drink, shrink, stink, think

--ip dip, hip, lip, rip, sip, tip, chip, clip, drip, flip, grip, ship, skip, strip, trip, whip

--ob knob, mob, rob, blob, slob, snob

--ock knock, lock, dock, rock, sock, block, clock, frock, shock, stock

--op cop, hop, mop, pop, top, chop, crop, drop, flop, plop, shop, stop

--ore bore, more, sore, tore, wore, chore, score, shore, snore, store

--ot got, dot, hot, knot, lot, not, plot, shot, spot

--out grout, scout, shout, spout, sprout

--ow cow, how, now, brow, chow, plow

--uck buck, duck, luck, cluck, stuck, truck

--um gum, hum, drum, plum, slum

--unk junk, chunk, drunk, shrunk, stunk, trunk

-y by, my, cry, dry, fly, fry, shy, sky, spy, try, why

(word list taken from http://www.literacyconnections.com/Phonograms.html)

Have fun with What's in the [work]BOX: Word Families and encourage your child to make their own games with the set of cards.

Thanks from visiting from The Carnival!

And oh, yeah...
you need aprox 13 "long cards" for consonants, blends, and diagraphs and 34 cards to cut (12 cards if there are 3 colors per card to cut like suggested).

We Finished Our NaNoWriMo Novel! What's that, you say?

2010-11-01T16:58:00.001-04:00

Mr. Goblin Finds Trouble At The Fair

by Big Snail and Little Snail

Mr. Goblin is a gnome. He is five years old. He has a long, white mustache and beard, a red pointy hat, pointy ears, no glasses, black boots, green shirt, and a black belt. He has a best friend, Mr. Snail. He rides on the back of Mr. Snail. Mr.Snail and Mr. Goblin are best friends. They live in a box right around the corner in the woods. They sleep in their sleeping bags at night when they go to sleep.

One day, they went to the fair. They slid down the giant slide with the clowns. There was a lot of music playing and there were a lot of flashing lights. They stopped to eat a hamburger. All of a sudden, out of nowhere, came Allie the Alligator!!!!

“AHHHH!” screamed Mr. Goblin. Allie said, “You can’t walk around me! If you try to walk around me, I will bite you with my giant, sharp teeth! Why don’t you see if you can pass me or I am going to chomp you up!” Mr. Goblin said, “Okay. How do I get around you?” Allie said, “You have to sing the magic song.”

Mr. Goblin and Mr. Snail said, “How about this?” They started to sing their song, but Ellie The Elephant came by. She had a secret. She had orange juice in her trunk. Allie stretched her trunk way up in the air, and she sprayed orange juice all over Allie the Alligator! “Ahhhh! You can’t spray me with orange juice! Orange juice makes me cough!” And Allie began to cough. And cough. And cough. And cough.

All of Mr. Goblin and Mr. Snail’s friends saw the trouble and began to join them around Allie. There was the yellow Monster Clown, Woody the Kitty, Kari Koala, and Mr. Bear. They all looked at Allie, and Mr. Goblin says, “Oh my, oh my, oh my. You are coughing and coughing and coughing all over me. We have to do something about this!”

And then, some clowns came by in their little yellow bus. The yellow Monster Clown said, “How about we call a doctor? The doctor can give Allie some cotton candy to stop this coughing!” Woody said, “I have some cotton candy to share!” Woody gave the cotton candy to Allie. Allie started to eat the cotton candy and it worked! Allie stopped coughing and said, “I am sorry I wouldn’t let you pass and I said I was going to chomp you up.” Mr. Goblin said, “That’s okay. We can all become friends. Let’s all go down the big slide together.”

So, they all climbed up the giant ladder to the top of the giant slide. They had so much fun racing down the slide. They rode the Ferris Wheel, the fire truck, the roller coaster that goes to the top of the hill, and the spinning bus. They had a lot of fun that day. They were all friends and they learned that when a friend is being mean, you have to help them and be their friend.

The End

We are participating in the National Novel Writing Month Youth Competition. It's still not too late for you to join in! If you don't want to participate, but want a great book that takes your child through the story writing process, I suggest you download the NaNoWriMo workbook. It's great! Have fun storywriting!

Unit Study: Circus

2010-08-29T19:51:00.000-04:00

The Snail Family at the Greatest Show on Earth. Do you notice that Little Snail is just about as tall as her brother? She is in the 99th percentile for height. She is a giant!

We have been learning about the circus for the last couple of months. We began our unit with questions asked by Big Snail:

Who is in the circus?
What do people in the circus do?
What do animals in the circus do?
What tricks do clowns do in a circus?

Here is our adventure (in no particular order) in learning about the circus...

The Snail's Trail: All About the Circus

We made and walked on stilts

We pretended to be a clown with a clown mask

We made a clown wig out of paper mache and ribbons

We practiced circus skills to circus music

We made a dictionary of circus related words to use in our story writings

We went to the circus!

This is one of their trailers.

Big Snail got to try on costumes.

He got to meet some circus performers.

Big Snail wanted a hug from one of the main performers, the Tiger Tamer.

Sitting on the motorcycle was really cool, too.

Little Snail was nervous and didn't want to do anything but she was really happy to be there.

Big Snail jumped rope for the very first time in his life! Definitely a moment to remember forever! He also got to be a trapeze artist. This really made his day!

We made a book about the circus

We read books about the circus

We learned clown tricks from CircusFit

We watched some short little circus movies: Clifford at the Circus and Kid Songs: Circus

We listened to Tom and Jerry at the circus, Dumbo, Leoncavallo's Pagliacci, and Bozo at the Circus

We watched some experiments on tight rope walking

We will continue to learn about the circus, primarily through dramatic play (or "pretend play"), until The Snails are tired of the topic. When they are older, we will visit the circus again and learn about the physics of the circus and the ethical treatment of animals that perform in a circus.

Help Hunter Blast Leukemia!

2010-08-12T11:51:00.001-04:00

My little friend, Hunter Jones, has been diagnosed with Leukemia and will be undergoing a bone marrow transplant. He is a patient at Vanderbilt's Children's Hospital. You may know his mom Mandy, who blogs at Bona Fide Mama (and also known as Artsy Mama).

We need your help.

Add a badge to your blog or site.

(leave a link in the comments so we can share with Hunter that you support him)

Change your Facebook Profile image.

(just save the above image to your computer)

Donate a Tab.

(leave a link in the comments so we can share with Hunter that you support him)

If you own a business or organization Facebook Page, you can donate a tab to Hunter. You can visit Hunter's Facebook Page and follow the instructions there.
Register to be a bone marrow donor.

Be a sponsor.

The Jones family needs help with groceries, bills, and medical expenses. They also could use cleaning services to make sure that their home is germ free for Hunter's recovery and in between chemotherapy and radiation treatments. If your business, organization, church, or company would like to sponsor Hunter and his family, please send an email to kari at socialgirlmedia.com. If you are in the Nashville, TN area, you can email me at kari at socialgirlmedia.com and I will share with you how you can take a meal to the family.
In the coming days, you can visit Hunter's website: http://www.helphunterjones.com/ . This will be the information hub where you can get access to his Facebook Page, his Caring Bridge site, his Amazon wish list, etc.
Pray for Hunter.

Back to (Public) School!

2010-08-06T11:41:00.004-04:00

We are not homeschooling this year and are attending public school. While I won't be blogging about homeschooling, I will still be sharing how I teach my kids at home (and other fun stuff). What we will be doing now is called "Afterschooling." It means that we still homeschool, it is just when they get home from public school. We will be doing more than the required homework, we will still keep the natural learning lifestyle that we have always had, and I will be sharing our new adventure. I also have two great product reviews coming up: The Little Man in the Map Teaches State Capitols and JumpStart.com.

If you want to keep up with what Mama Snail is doing, check me out at Social Girl Media. I am creating custom Facebook Pages for businesses and organizations, in addition to being an educational technology consultant.

For Little Snail's Teacher: Mickey Mouse paint chips from

Home Depot in a peanut butter jar, decorated with vinyl letters cut from my Cricut.

For Big Snail's Teacher: The Build A Word Game I invented here,

in a sushi rice jar, decorated with vinyl letters cut from my Cricut.

Please pray for my friend, Bona Fide Mama, and their son as he has been diagnosed with Leukemia and will be needing a bone marrow transplant.

Outdoor >Not< Challenge: Resources for Summer Learning

2010-05-26T19:04:00.001-04:00

We have been participating in 5OrangePotatoes' Outdoor Challenge....except for us, it's not much of a challenge. We are naturally outdoorsy people and spend our days outside. As a Project WILD, Project WET, and Project Learning Tree instructor, I can tell you that you can create an entire nature-based, or environmental education, curriculum from these three resources.

Project Wild

Project WET

Project Learning Tree

Add these nature activities from the National Wildlife Foundation to your list this summer:

And here are the Snail Family's Outside Golden Rules:

1. No whining!
2. If you "pack it in, you pack it out."
3. You can only pick flowers and plants in your own backyard.
4. Watch your step!

The kids with their Grandpa.

Spittle Bug spittle mass

Wool Sower Gall on Oak

We wondered how this was made. We were on an uninhabited island.

Made by a gall wasp

We explore an island in the middle of a lake.

While in the middle of Lake Nottely, my phone thought "I was a little far from Lake Nottely".

We love to rent bikes when we go on vacation.

Yeah, that was fun for Momma Snail to clean up.

Driving a go-cart takes serious concentration.

I am in love with wild purple thistle.

Snakeberry is not a "wild strawberry". It's poisionous.

Which lead us to....

National Moms Nite Out...So Much Fun!!

2010-05-07T05:47:00.016-04:00

I attended National Mom's Nite Out (#mno10, #momsniteout) at the

Atlanta Ronald McDonald House (@ARMHC)

hosted by the fabulous girls at The Blog Rollers (@theblogrollers)

I felt like a really cool VIP Mom Blogger!

I got to meet some fabulous women who are doing amazing things like...

Dawn (@DawnMHSH) from My Home Sweet Home Online

and

Christie (@chatterboxcgc) from Inside the Chatterbox, The Chatterbox Show, and The Blog Rollers Media

..and all of these beautiful girls!
Mami2MommyAskWifey (she's also co-owner of The Blog Rollers Media)FunkidivagirlMy Inner DialogKrystal GrantLovesGumbo JewelryRockStar

Regina Belle sang live for moms celebrating National Moms Nite Out via Twitter

She is about to tour the country with the McDonald's Inspiration Celebration Gospel Tour

While LIVE Tweeting, we see my dear friend TeachMama at the party and I give her a little shout out! {Yes, y'all, I really do sound that country)

I also got to see my friend Hanginwitmrsc, Angela Cooper, tweeting during the event

The food was really, really good.

Good Times

...she's laughing because everyone at the table was Tweeting at the same time

Yeah, this guy followed us everywhere....paparazzi.....

Want to know what they are tweeting?

"Regina Belle and mommy bloggers 2gether supporting the great work of RMHC and the RMH program!" ~@ClaraCarrier

and

"Incredible work that they do at The Ronald McDonald House ATL @ARMHC #MomsNiteOut so important" ~@Mami2Mommy

We took a tour of the Atlanta Ronald McDonald House

I'll post more about that soon....

Thank you to all of the generous sponsors!

Little Snail is super excited that My Little Pony was one of the sponors

I can't wait to attend next year!

Kudos to The Blog Rollers, The Atlanta Ronald McDonald House, and National Moms Nite Out for giving this mom the best night out, ever!

Keep Learning in the Summertime: National Park Resources

2010-05-03T18:26:00.001-04:00

The National Park Service has a passport program that is a lot of fun and is perfect for kids. We keep ours in the car and whenever we enter a national park, we get the ranger to give us a cancellation stamp. There is also this nationwide club for die-hard passport holders. We also participate in the National Park Junior Ranger program. Want to add this program to your homeschool curriculum but don't want to leave the house? Try the WebRangers! Want to take your homeschool learning on the road this summer? Here are some day tripping lesson plans from PBS to learn more about our national parks.

If you ever travel up 441 into the Smoky Mountains, be prepared for a dizzy ride!

We visited one of our beloved National Parks and got our passport stamped.

OCT 2003, JUL 2004, MAR 2004, and MAY 2010

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Harvard's School of Education just published an article that resonated within my soul as a parent and as a teacher. The article, "Einstein May Never Have Used Flash Cards, but He Probably Built Forts" (by Lory Hough), discusses the power of outdoor play. While in graduate school, I wrote a gigantic paper on the power of play (and also used Einstein Never Used Flash Cards as a source) and as an early childhood educator, and a parent, I am an advocate for unstructured, no-grown-ups-allowed, play. It is what makes kids smart. I was thrilled to see that research is now showing that taking the same kind of play outdoors makes your kids even smarter.

Here are some adventures from this week...

The Snails are going to start their very first garden soon. This iris belonged to my grandmother. It touched my heart when Big Snail said, "we are going to have a garden so we can grow vegetables we can't afford." (He is referring to the gigantic, pricey pumpkin I denied him last October)

It's okay to share your ice cream, and your spoon, with your best friend.

Getting really, really dirty is really, really fun.

This is Larry Moo Moo Frenchfry Burrito. We call her Moo Moo.

She lives next door and visits whenever we are outside.

Her owner has another name for her.

Tinkerbell.

Climbing trees is not just for boys

Giving your brother a ride, Little Snail, brings joy to your heart.

It's written all over your face.

I wish I would have captured the moment when

Big Snail wanted to know what a minnow tasted like.

I want my kids to learn that this is a way of life.

And that it's okay to send your kids out into the rain.

Handmade Mother's Day Brooch

2010-04-29T14:40:00.001-04:00

I found this genius tutorial from Roots And Wings Co. and thought it would make the most wonderful Mother's Day present for The Snail's Great-Grandmother.

First, Big Snail drew a flower. I love the happy face...I hope all of his flowers always smile.

Then I placed his drawing on top of the felt and sewed directly onto his drawing with the sewing machine. I only had craft felt so I used a double thickness on each layer. I added green ribbon and hand embroidered their names onto each "stem."

Visit Roots And Wings Co. for some great crafty inspiration! It is one of my favorite blogs.

How To Make A Clickable Header in Blogger

2010-04-24T18:34:00.002-04:00

{Here is part one of the impromptu "Trick Out Your Blog" series where you learned how to use a custom domain on your blog. Some readers had questions about that post. I answer them at the end of this tutorial.}

***************************

My hobby is playing with my blog's HTML/CSS code. I took a basic class for my Master's degree (Technology in Education), and also learned HTML in my undergraduate, but I am totally not a professional. I love reading code and figuring things out on my own, which is why my long time blog followers notice constant changes on my blog... all. the. time. My newest trick that I ingeniously figured out on my own: a clickable blog header! Here is how to trick it out on your own Blogger blog (remember, I'm not a professional...just a genius)...this tutorial looks complicated because it is wordy, but it is very easy to do. If you use Wordpress, you can use this tutorial. Please remember that when it comes to code, there are a million ways to "skin a cat". This tutorial is just one way of how to do it.

The Tools I Use

MeasureIt Firefox Extension
This handy tool lets you measure any element on your screen, if you use Firefox as a browser. This is great for easily finding out how big you want your header to be without looking at code. This is great because my template, and header size, might be different from yours. I use this ALL THE TIME! I also used it to figure out that I can have a custom 200 x 500 pixels Facebook profile picture.

CTR+F or Apple+F
   This keyboard command lets you search for specific code within your HTML. This keeps you from going cross-eyed. When you use this command, a little tiny search bar will come up on somewhere on your screen. You can copy, and then paste, code into this search bar to find the strand of code you are looking for.

Scrapblog
    I don't have the time to create my images from scrap with Photoshop (which I can seriously spend days doing..it's so addicting!), so I use Scrapblog for all of my custom images on my blog. Once you use it, it's fun to spot the blogs who use it, too. I like Scrapblog because you have "free use" of the graphics, especially if you pay for them (except the licensed images like Disney). You just can't create and sell the images to other people.

Photobucket
   I prefer Photobucket because I can change the image and allow the new image to keep the same URL. This is great if you want to change a button for your blog, but don't want to tell everyone who has the button on their blog to change it... it will change automatically. I also use TinyPic for image hosting, too. Use whatever you like, but your image has to be hosted somewhere.

Pixlr
   This image editing software is much like Photoshop. Only, it's online and it's free. Whoo hoo! You can also use Phoenix and Photoshop Online. If you have CS5, shut up. No one wants to hear it. :o) If you want to give me CS5, God Bless You!

Image Maps: Online Image Mapper
   The clickable header on my blog is called an image map. It is one big picture with areas that you can click on. You can create an image map by hand, but why would you do that when there is this handy tool? It's genius!

Okay, let's take this step by step:

Preparing Your Image

I created my image in Scrapblog. My image filled up an entire "page."

(you can click the image to make it larger)

After you create your image, you will save and then publish it. Then if you go to File-->Export as JPEG, you can select your page and save it to your computer as a JPEG image. If you do this, and use this as your header image, your header will be gigantic. How can you fix this? You can upload it to Photobucket and change the dimensions of the image (remember, you can use MeasureIt to get the exact dimensions you want) in Photoshop, Paint, or Pixlr, or, this is how I did it a different way....

With my Mac, I did Shift+Apple(command)+4 (your cursor will become crosshairs...click and drag to select) and did a screen shot of just the image (not a screen shot of the whole page). If you have Windows Vista, search for "screenshot" and choose the "snipping tool" to do the same thing. These two tools allow you to specifically select your screenshot, without capturing everything that is on the screen. You can also use Skitch. This is my .png image that was taken as a screenshot:

If you don't have those tools, you can just use the print screen key on your keyboard and then use a crop tool in your image editing program and crop exactly what you want. Please know that an image of an image is lesser quality.

Next, I uploaded my photo to Photobucket and took note of the URL...you will need that for the image map.

Preparing Your Image Map

If you don't have pages to link to, you now have to prepare your links for your image map. In Blogger, I created post-dated blog posts ("About Us," "Friends", etc.) and used the permalinks for the posts.{In Blogger, to post-date your new pages, select "Post Options" and then pick a very old date (like 1994) so that these posts don't show up on the front page of your blog or in your friend's readers}. Blogger also offers you the options of creating your own pages, instead of posts. If you are using Wordpress, you can also do post date posts. If you have your own website, and not a blog, you can just create pages.

Next, I went to Image Maps: Online Image Mapper. You can upload an image from your computer, or from a URL, and then "start mapping your image." Follow the directions, it is easy. When making your map, you will see "link for this map." This is where you put the link to the page you want your visitor to go to when they click on that spot in the image. When you are finished, "get your code." You want to use the HTML code. Once you make your image map, you can't resize it. Your "hot spots" are actually coordinates on the map. If you resize your image after you mapped it, the coordinates change and your image map won't work.

In case you want to know (so that you can trick out your image-map in the future),
Here is a brief look at some of the anatomy of your html code:

src= this is the link of your image at your photo hosting place (if you hosted at photobucket, it will begin with: http://img.photobucket.com......) If you ever want to change your src picture, you have to go back into Image Maps: Online Image Mapper and start over again.

coords="10,10,111,79" (your numbers will be different) These are the coordinates of the clickable area of your image map. Can you imagine having to do an image map by hand? This program makes it so easy!

href= this is the link that people will go to when they click on an area of your image map...you can change your href's if you want to! All it will change are the links. It won't effect your image map.

***************************

Now, delete all of the following code out of your html code (because you don't need it):

<div style="text-align:center; font-size:12px; font-family:verdana; margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto; width:667px;">
    <a style="text-decoration:none; color:black; font-size:12px; font-family:verdana;" href="http://www.image-maps.com/" title="Untitled">Untitled</a>
|     <a style="text-decoration:none; color:black; font-size:12px; font-family:verdana;" href="http://www.image-maps.com/" title="Untitled">Untitled</a>
|     <a style="text-decoration:none; color:black; font-size:12px; font-family:verdana;" href="http://www.image-maps.com/" title="Untitled">Untitled</a>
|     <a style="text-decoration:none; color:black; font-size:12px; font-family:verdana;" href="http://www.image-maps.com/" title="Untitled">Untitled</a>
|     <a style="text-decoration:none; color:black; font-size:12px; font-family:verdana;" href="http://www.image-maps.com/index.php?aff=mapped_users_2201004241511331" title="Image Map">Image Map</a>
</div>


</div>

***************************

Now, Trick Out Your Header!

(don't be afraid, it's easy!)

Here is a genius look at the anatomy of the html/css of a Blogger blog. This guy did a great job!

Save your template before you begin any work! If you mess up your blog, you can use the saved version.

***************************

1. First, go to Layout---->Page Elements. Click on a top horizontal "Add a Gadget."

Don't have one there? Move a gadget so that it is horizontal, at the top. (If that doesn't work, go to HTML, find this code: "<b:section class='header' id='header' maxwidgets='1' showaddelement='no'>" and change maxwidgets="1" to "3", save, and go back into layout).

Choose an HTML/JavaScript gadget. DO NOT put in anything for the title...leave that blank. Add your HTML code from your image map. Click on "Save."

If you look at your blog now, you will have two headers: your new clickable header and your original header on top of it:

You are now going to make that original header "disappear."

***************************

2. Go to your Blogger account and go to Layout----> Edit HTML ----> DO NOT click on "Expand Widget Templates". (please note that everyone has a different template and different HTML.) You want to use CTR+F or Apple+F and search for 'header-wrapper'.

Your code might look like this:

<div id='header-wrapper'>
<b:section class='header' id='header' maxwidgets='3' showaddelement='yes'>
<b:widget id='Header1' locked='false' title='my family (Header)' type='Header'/>
</b:section>
</div>

Delete this entire string of code. You will get this warning:

Click "delete widgets."

Your old header is gone and you now have a clickable header!

If this doesn't work for you, email me at thesnailstrail at gmail.com with your questions and I will see if I can help and I will modify these directions.

I actually didn't do it this way, I actually changed the dimensions of the original header and set everything to 0px....but, whatever...a million ways to do the same thing.

Okay, here are the answers to your questions from the first post:

Q: I helped set up a blog for a non-profit that participate with andI set it up as a .com. The only problem is, is that it won't show the "followers" gadget for me so we can see who's following. I've tried several times to find out on the q &A boards from google but can't get an answer. Would u happen to know? I thought maybe it was something to do with it being .com instead of blogger.com, bc my other two blogs show followers w/no problem???
A:Instead of just trying to add the followers widget, you should try to add it manually. Go into your account, and choose "google friend connect." Click on the blog/site that you need to add the followers widget to. Click on "add the members" gadget. You can customize it and then "generate code." Copy the HTML code and place it into an HTML widget on the side of your blog or site.

Q: If I do this little trick (use a custom domain) will it replace my current blog? Will I loose I everything I've written in the past (my biggest fear whenever I mess with the settings?
A: Nope. You won't lose your blog, or any posts, if you switch your .blogspot url to a custom domain name. And, Blogger also forwards your old .blogspot address to your new address so that your readers won't get lost.

Outdoor Challenge: Popsicles and Wedding Receptions

2010-04-21T00:26:00.000-04:00

We're playing in the Great Outdoor Challenge with 5OrangePotatoes...

Are you going to be camping out at the Great American Campout this year? We can't wait! (Click the link to help Work of Childhood raise funds for the NWF)

He is Risen! Happy Easter!

2010-04-20T17:22:00.000-04:00

He is risen indeed! We had a blessed Easter! Can you believe that those Easter baskets are almost 30 years old? They belonged to my sister and me when we were little. I wish you and yours a Happy Easter and a Wonderful Passover. May God bless you!

Get Outdoors Challenge

2010-04-16T15:38:00.000-04:00

We're playing in the Great Outdoor Challenge with 5OrangePotatoes and good thing, too. President Obama began an initiative to get families outside today.

We got to ride "Captain Tiny's" duck boat that was featured on Undercover Boss.

We had a picnic on top of a very, very large rock.

Momma Snail got a new pink fishing pole, that lights up in the dark. Big Snail got one, too!

(Sorry to my Vegan friends) Little Snail caught 2 fish and Big Snail caught 16! Now that fishing season is here, we will be out on the lake A LOT. Did you know that if you are in Georgia, you can participate in free (or almost free) fishing events for kids? Like this fun rodeo!

If you hate fishing, how about having some Earth Day Fun at your local state park? Don't live in Georgia, visit the State Park website for your own state.

{more outdoor fun and photos to come! we're busy playing outside right now}

Review and Giveaway: Pick and Draw Game...Genius!

2010-04-12T19:24:00.004-04:00

Pick and Draw

Pick and Draw is my new lifesaver! Seriously...let me tell you why (giveaway at the end):

It's a simple game that will fit in my purse. With a small notepad and pen, I can entertain my kids at places where they need not be noticed. Like at church. Or, a waiting room. Or when I need a few minutes on the phone for an important conversation. And, it completely saved my day last week when I was working with a group of gifted 6th graders and had 15 minutes to spare. I was about to freak out. What am I going to do with these kids? All I know are finger-plays, hot potato, and freeze dance. Just as I was about to say, "just hang out and talk" {can you imagine the doom}, I remembered I had Pick and Draw in my purse! I pulled it out and said, "this game is so easy, my 3 year old plays it by herself."

Do you know how to play and what this game is about? {click the image below to play online}

"Pick and Draw is a fun, one-of-a-kind drawing game that teaches you how to make very creative cartoon faces. It is simple and easy to use providing endless hours of fun and learning. In five minutes or less you will know how to play!" (taken from pickanddraw.com) Basically, it's a deck of cards. There are five types of cards: face, nose, eyes, mouth, and hair. You pick a face....and draw. Easy! It's so simple, that there are a million uses for this game. It's the perfect game for parents, teachers, therapists, health care professionals, babysitters,...and the uses are endless!

I really loved it when I introduced this game to the gifted 6th grade students. Their first response: "how do you play? do you just draw it?", "do you draw it exactly like it is on the card?", "what is the reason for this?" It was so much fun to explain to them that it was simple...just pick and draw! They were so trained in gifted thinking that they couldn't get past the simplicity of it. Once I gave them the freedom to make their own rules and play simply by picking and drawing, they had a lot of fun. In fact, my 15 minute filler became 30 minutes of "Oh, no! We're late for the next activity!"

Little Snail loves, loves, loves this game. When she plays, I have to literally take it away from her...she could play all day. Her confidence in drawing has jumped through the roof! She has learned how to draw faces and really elaborate on her drawings. This is perfect because kids who learn to draw first (circle and lines) can move on to writing their letters. She is just learning to write her name. If you have a child who is an emerging writer, you need this game!

I was quite impressed with Little Snail's ingenuity when, after using a billion sheets of paper, she got her Leapster and said, "I think I will use this to draw with the game now. I'm using too much paper." I love her genius idea and think that I will add the game and a doodle board for our next car trip.

I think this game would make the perfect "end of year" (or first day of school) gift for teachers. I also think this would be great to give as a gift to your speech, occupational therapist, or pediatrician. And, a set for the grandparents and babysitter. It would also make a perfect gift if you are already making your purchases for Christmas or Hanukkah. I think that this game plus some drawing supplies would make a great birthday present for friends.

One thing I love about the creator of Pick and Draw is that he has a blog with drawing lessons. If you are a homeschooler, this would be fun to add to your art curriculum!

You can purchase Pick and Draw for $10 from their website by clicking here. You can win your own Pick and Draw Game by leaving a comment and telling me how you would use this simple game. In order to win, you must follow Pick and Draw on Facebook. You can follow Pick and Draw on Facebook by clicking here. I will pick the winner via random.org and will verify that the winner is a fan of Pick and Draw on Facebook. The winner will be chosen on April 30, 2010. The winner will be notified by email. If I remember, I will modify this post that the winner has been chosen. That is, if I remember.

By 3 year old, Little Snail:

By 6th grade gifted students:

FTC: I was given the game Pick and Draw from creator, Rich Davis, to review and one to giveaway. The opinions in the post are mine and I was not given any compensation for my thoughts. I can't guarantee that my readers will like this game...but I'm pretty sure that they will.

Ultimate Blog Party 2010!!

2010-04-08T13:14:00.021-04:00

{You can follow Kari at Twitter (@momma_snail), LinkedIn (Kari Wilcher) , Facebook (/kari.wilcher) and her personal blog, The Snail's Trail by clicking on Follow in the right sidebar.}

It's time for the party to start! Click here to check out my UBP post from last year. Wow! We've changed!

So, for those who have been here before, thanks for coming back...over and over again. I love our little social circle and I have become close friends with so many of you. I *HEART* my followers! Your comments really keep me blogging, even if I say I am just blogging for myself.

Are you new here? Welcome to The Snail's Trail! So, the reason for the Ultimate Blog Party is to make new friends. Here are some totally new random things you don't know about me...

My little sister and me in Okinawa, 1986

I'm Kari, but I'm famous for being Momma Snail to Big Snail and Little Snail. I blog about early childhood education stuff, how to trick out your blog (coming next: how to make a clickable header), homeschooling, crazy things my kids do, product reviews and sometimes have giveaways! So join us by following so you can get in on some of the great prizes that will be coming to my readers in the coming weeks. You don't want to miss out!

Have you read my most popular posts?

Let's Get Real Mommy Bloggers, Are You With Me?
Classroom Makeover
Handmade Birthday Dollhouse and Dolls

and

Handmade Word Family Game

(Teaching Pre-K, 2008 and Senior Pic '94)

Okay, so now you know what The Snail's Trail is about....what about me?

I just started my own company, Social Girl Media. We are a social media management firm and will be only hiring stay at home moms who want to work from home and women in domestic violence shelters. Want to work for us or want to hire us (to help grow our company so we can get to hiring more amazing women)? Email me at kari at socialgirlmedia.com and let's get the conversation started!

I *HEART* photography!!!! Can you tell by looking around my blog? When my kids were born, I knew I had to have a great camera. Would I be exaggerating to say that I have taken over 50,000 pictures since they were born? I am such a Mamarazzi!

We recently had a baby squirrel come visit:

I am sooo glad that it wasn't here to become a part of our family! But it was fun getting to see one so up close because we live outside. Seriously, my kids go outside after breakfast and come in when it is time for supper. And now that it is almost summer, they go back outside until it gets dark. Have you been to 5 Orange Potatoes' Outdoor Challenge to join the fun?

My sister and I love this family photo because of the moment it captured. You see, we remember this day perfectly. My dad wanted to put the camera on the tripod, put the camera on the timer, and take a family Christmas photo. But, he couldn't get it to work and he couldn't get from the camera, to us, in time. His little process went on for several minutes. It was so funny because he was screaming, yelling, and cussing... he was soooo pissy....and his face says it all:

I love to sew. This is my Great-Grandmother's machine. It's pink! I also have her other machine and it is over 100 years old.

I use to work as an Interpretive Specialist (teaching kids on field trips) at a big city zoo. That was the most fun job ever! (oh, wait...I told you that last year). I also interned for two years at a nature center and have always....

...been a science and nature lover! Are you a homeschooler needing science experiments or a public/private school parent with a child needing science fair project info? Visit my favorite science resource, Science Bob! Genius!!!

This is my favorite song right now:

My other favorite thing right now? The KIDO'Z web browser. My kids don't get on the computer without it. It allows me to control what my kids see on the internet...age appropriate and no sex, drugs, or rock and roll! When on the internet, they can't click on ads, they can't access my desktop, and...they can only access the content I approve! Here is my review here and you can visit KIDO'Z here:

I love my little sister. She is my best friend and is the funniest person I have ever met. She keeps me laughing every day and reminds me that it's important to have fun in life.

That's about as random as you can get, eh? Thanks for visiting The Snail's Trail, for following along, commenting, and joining our little social circle.

And, oh...if you are related to me please know that you and your likeness might be blogged about at anytime! My readers *HEART* you!

And remember,
{You can follow Kari at Twitter (@momma_snail), LinkedIn (Kari Wilcher) , Facebook (/kari.wilcher ) and her personal blog, The Snail's Trail but clicking on Follow in the right sidebar.}

If you are following me here, or at Twitter, and I am NOT following you, please leave me a message so I can make sure to join you!

Handmade Word Family Game for Easter!

2010-04-01T16:36:00.001-04:00

{Originally posted April 09}

In the spirit of Easter and learning about rabbits, I made a word family game for Big Snail. I got everything at Michaels. I used little clay pots and wooden carrot cut-outs. I painted the carrots. Then I wrote the word family on the clay pot and the words on the carrots. To play the game, he puts the carrot into its matching pot. Easy peasy and it's going to last through the destruction of Little Snail!

How to get a website almost for free (or trick out your Blogger!)

2010-03-29T21:45:00.002-04:00

Are you a Mommy Blogger who wants to move to her own domain and get rid of that .blogspot address?

Are you a small business owner wanting your own domain, but don't want to pay a monthly fee for web hosting?

Do you want a website that has dynamic (that means it can change) content?

Here's a trick to help you out! Now you can get a website with free hosting...

My website, Social Girl Media...is actually a Blogger blog! But you knew that, right?

Here is how you can do it:

IF YOU DON'T HAVE A BLOGGER BLOG

If you do not have a site, or a Blogger blog, you will go to Blogger to get started. You will need a Google Account. If you've never used Blogger before, I suggest you watch the videos or take the quick tour. Once in, set up your blog. Tip: When picking your template, pick Minima because if you want free blog backgrounds, the majority are based on this template. Before you click on "Start Blogging," you can click on "Advance Setup Options" -> Set Up A Custom Domain. This takes you to the next step below...

IF YOU HAVE A BLOGGER BLOG

If you have a Blogger blog, go to your dashboard -> settings -> publishing.

Click on "Custom Domain"

If you do not have a domain name, you can buy it from Google. It is $10/year...(shh, you can get one cheaper at other places and I personally think that eNom/Google has horrible customer service). Type the domain you want in the box and click on "Check Availability." Google will lead you the rest of the way. It's easy, don't worry.

If you don't want to use Google, go buy your domain name and then go back to your Blogger Dashboard for directions.

If you do have a domain name, go to "Switch to Advance Settings." Google will tell you what to do because there are specific directions for each company (I use GoDaddy and FatCow). If you shop around, you can find the cheapest offer. I love GoDaddy's customer service and FatCows user interface.

Safety tip to bloggers: There is a public database called the Whois. The Whois is like a phonebook. You put in the domain name and it tells you who owns it...and their address and telephone number. When you register your domain, make sure that you pay extra to keep you private or "unlisted." If you don't do this, stalkers will know your EXACT location.

Now that you have your blog with it's own domain, now you need to make it look and act like a website.

If your blog is brand new, this is what it will look like: {naked}

Coming next in this mini-series:

how to make a navigational side bar
how to make all those borders go away and how to make things seamless
how to MAKE A CLICKABLE HEADER!!! {you've been waiting for that one, eh?}

Have a question? Need help? Want to know how to do something specific? Leave a question in the comments and I will answer it in the next post. Were my directions confusing? Tell me that, too, and I will clarify them. Are you playing along or have a blogger blog with a custom domain? Leave it in the comments and I will feature it in the next post, too!

Hi, My Name is Kari and I'd Like to Work For You. Seriously.

2010-03-24T23:36:00.018-04:00

Visit my new boutique Social Media Management Firm, Social Girl Media!

Exploring and Loving God's Beauty

2010-03-19T13:40:00.002-04:00

As a former professional Outdoor Educator, and as a natural lover of Mother Nature, I believe in teaching my kids to "Pack it in and pack it out." On our last trail hike, we came upon what we believe was an old trash dump site. This was such a great opportunity to show my kids about the impact of littering and not taking care of our Earth, especially since they've been little litter bugs in their own backyard. If you would like to incorporate Leave No Trace into your nature study, or just want to teach your kids about stewardship, you can download a complete game and activity based program to use with your kids from the Boy Scouts at Teaching Leave No Trace. You can also contact your local REI store to learn more about the Promoting Environmental Awareness with Kids (PEAK) program and learn how you can get an REI backpack filled with Leave No Trace materials.

Toys R Us Grand Opening in Fayetteville, GA this weekend

2010-03-11T17:59:00.000-05:00

Attention Fayetteville, GA Moms (and Dads, Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles and Friends!) We want you to join the I Want to Be a Toys“R”Us Mom campaign celebrating moms!

Toys”R”Us in Fayetteville, GA will be re-opening Friday, August 13th at 10 a.m. Store Address: 132 Pavilion Parkway, Fayetteville, GA 30214

Toys“R”Us is holding Grand Opening celebrations for new and renovated stores across the country– and we want you to join the party!

Locate a Grand Opening near you by visiting www.iwanttobeatoysrusmom.com and typing in your zip code. Select your neighborhood Toys“R”Us store to download your ‘secret coupon’ and redeem it on Grand Opening Weekend to reveal shopping discount; you could be rewarded with up to 50% off any single item!

If that is not enough, be up to one of the first 100 people through the door Friday morning at 10:00 a.m. opening weekend to receive a FREE gift bag valued at over $100!

Spread the word to your mom friends!

For more information visit www.iwanttobeatoysrusmom.com

* Toys“R”Us is providing me with compensation as a thank you for telling moms in my network about the Grand Opening weekend.

Get Out. Get Dirty. Get Fit.

2010-03-10T20:50:00.002-05:00

We are participating in the Georgia Junior Ranger program. You can get your free Junior Ranger Guide Book here. Don't live in Georgia? That's okay! This Guide Book would be great to use for nature study no matter where you live!

Order Up! Mooshed Moo Shoo

2010-03-01T16:02:00.002-05:00

Welcome to our restaurant...

"Mystery Mooshie Juice"

"The Kitchen"

"Cutting the food up."

"I'm the mooshie maker."

"Decorations"

"The Moosher that mooshes the flowers for the mooshie juice."

I must of ordered something off the menu...

"Mooshie Moo Shoo"

"Drinking the Mystery Mooshie Juice"

"I'm the dog catcher and I've got a SMP-3000 and a sword"

BACK TO LIFE (Back to Reality)!

2010-02-15T09:15:00.016-05:00

{I'm so rockin' it!}

{Hello. Is anyone there? I hope my readers haven't moved away!}

BACK TO LIFE (Back to Reality)! So the last time I was around, I was declaring my freedom as a blogger and then fell of the face of the blogoverse. I've gotten tons of emails from you checking in on me to make sure that I am still alive. Thanks, ya'll! Seriously, online friends are so not fake!

So when you've been away for so long, how do you make a comeback?

Do I explain why I have been gone?
Do I act like nothing happened and pretend that I have just been lurking on my own blog?
Do I announce that I am coming back and make a grand entrance?
Do we have a party with lots of giveaways?
Or do I just get back into the swing of things and like my BFF, Tim Gunn says, "Carry On"?

What exactly have we been up to?And why the long hibernation?

Well, Little Snail is still an eating machine. But these days she has been indulging in Tea Parties with her dear friends. Her Papa is her social event planner and has been training her in the social graces.

Big Snail still acts like a cat but has developed a whole new cat language...and since it gets on my nerves, my parents have started speaking this secret cat language, too! The other day, I walked into a room of cat like family members and they all answered with "muff!" So yeah, we're still weird.

{I *HEART* my sister and brother in law!}

Big Snail got glasses!!

It was doppelgänger week on Facebook.

We changed our bedtime to 8:00 pm! I know this news freaks out some of my dear friends, like Night Owl Momma, but it has really given me this huge opportunity for Momma Time. On some nights, I can get away with getting them in the bed at 7:45. So glad they can't tell time!

We were in My Best Friend's Wedding!

{Check out the "I'm a cute little cat" pose. Muff!}

{Poor guy stood there for over 30 minutes waiting on a piece of that cake. He wanted to be first in line. He said that this was the "boy cake" for boys and he wasn't going to eat "that girl cake."}

...more wedding pictures to come soon, promise! 'Cause I know you love wedding pictures!

Our well pump, hot water heater, and septic tank went out all in the same week! I will spare the details of how the septic tank exploded via the pipes in the basement all over my dad...so here are some pictures of the day. It was a great opportunity for a Field Trip!

{Without prompting, Big Snail went to the back of the house, found a shovel, and joined in. Yeah, proud Momma Moment, for sure!}

{want to see it close up? click on it! You are so nasty!}

We had a Happy New Year!

I made snowman pancakes! If you didn't get snow this year, raise your hand!

We play outside almost every day, pretty much all day, and mostly we "camp"...

We got bikes for Christmas!

Little Snail hasn't changed her favorite color and still loves to wear her frog boots.

So, that pretty much catches you up with The Snail Family. But why have we been gone, you ask? Seriously, do you have to be THAT nosey? One day I might share with you why, but until then, please keep our family in your thoughts and prayers as we are going through some major life changes.

As a dear friend has said, we are writing a new book in our lives. Yeah, not just a new chapter...but a whole new book. Momma Snail is going to have to go back to work...like, not in my pajamas...and the kids are going to have to go to public school.

What does this mean for The Snail's Trail?

Ain't nothin' stopping this Momma from blogging!

You still love us, don't you?

My Glasses Were Never This Cool! and Ficklets Giveaway!

2010-02-01T11:10:00.000-05:00

I stumbled upon Ficklets through a friend at amazingly just the right time. Big Snail needed glasses and I wanted to make getting his first pair a positive experience. I got my first pair when I was in the 4th grade and I remember the name calling, feeling "stupid" and "nerdy," and just not ever wanting to wear them.

Ficklets are AMAZING! Not just because they are cute, but because once I put them on Big Snail's glasses, his glasses never came off! He loves, loves, loves them! Little Snail wants glasses just so she can get Ficklets!

We love them because they stay put, they are easy to change out with another design, they are POSITIVE ATTENTION GETTERS, and they come in tons of super cute designs. They really should be sold where eyeglasses are sold. They are a genius mom invention!

They are about $6 and are super easy to put on. You can put them anywhere....Big Snail likes his on the front of the rims. Check out how they are applied:

Do you have child with glasses? Has it been a negative experience? The owner of Ficklets, Ros Guerrero, would like to give you your choice of 2 sets of Ficklets. Just visit their website and tell me which two pairs your child would love to have. Leave your answer in the comments and on Friday, March 5, I will select a winner randomly from the comments via Random Number. If you do not have your email in your Google Profile, please leave your email address in the comments. If I can not contact the winner, I will pick someone else.

There are no extra entries, because that kind of thing drives me crazy, but feel free to RT this at @Ficklets and @kidswritebooks.

The WINNER is Laura! Congrats!

For my BFF's at the FTC: I do not have a relationship with Ficklets. I was not paid for this post. Ros Guerrero gave me two sets of Ficklets out of the generosity of her heart after I tweeted that Big Snail needed glasses. I offered to feature them on my blog because I absolutely adore them and think that they are genius. I can't guarantee that my readers will love them and I am not responsible if the winner gives them to a baby to put in her mouth.

Does Charlie Brown Have a Cake?

2010-01-07T12:14:00.002-05:00

If Charlie Brown has a Christmas tree,

(from A Charlie Brown Christmas)

Then Papa Snail has a Birthday cake....

....and a back scratcher....

...and the most precious birthday card ever!

Let's Get Real Mommy Bloggers! Are you with me?

2009-12-21T23:17:00.002-05:00

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

I've liked to live this life where I pretend I live in that world on the Walgreen's commercial...that land of PERFECT. I want a perfect family, perfect kids, perfect homeschool, perfect blog, perfect business, perfect pictures....and I want to let everyone know that our family is perfect and oh, so much better than yours. In fact, I want to go out of my way to make sure that you know that my kids are prettier than yours, are smarter than yours, and would never do anything wrong. Seriously....why do moms do that?

The Snail Family is FAR from perfect, I am a far from perfect mom, and my kids...they are definitely far from perfect.

Moms in the neighborhood are bad at doing this. But Mommy Bloggers? ~~They're worse~~. (I take that back, moms in the neighborhood are worse. Because they aren't real enough, or brave enough, to admit that they live like everybody else. I'm glad I have freed myself from living a facade). And don't lie....it's stressing you out. The "power to perform" by producing top notch content, new content....content that blows everyone out of the water....constantly having to come up with genius ideas...spending days and days on the internet trying to get followers...trying to participate in a blog community when you are in way over your head....camera always around your neck waiting for those perfect blog moments...STOP IT! We've got to stop doing this to ourselves. We've got to get real with each other! Every Mommy Blogger knows what I am talking about. Even the most famous of us all goes through this. Let's stop the pressure to perform, take back our blogs from the corporate world, and start being real with each other. Let's be honest with each other, support each other, and be an encouragement to each other.

I don't want to ever be "that" mom...the one that makes you say, "I wish my house was like hers." Or, "I wish my kids were well behaved like hers." Or, "I wish I could be that organized." Or, "I wish I was as skinny as her." Or, "I wish my homeschool was as great as hers." Because that meant that I made another woman feel bad about herself. And that I made her doubt herself. Or that I made her covet what I had. Could you be "that" mom? I sure couldn't live with myself.

Here are some pics, and stories, taken from the last few years that I would NEVER put on the blog...because they show the real us and we are far from being perfect. This is the stuff that will make my mom say, "You put THAT on the internet?"

When I am stressed out, I play with my iMac Photobooth.

Our old house had an inground pool. This is the only year we used it because it took me 3 months of working on it every day to get it clean and usable. After that, it became a pond.

Little Snail was born a hungry child. She couldn't suck when she was born and this made her quest for food even worse. Her first word was "eat." Seriously....to this day, we have a little problem with her staying in the pantry or fridge. Just this morning I found her under the kitchen table, with an entire box of cereal dumped out on the floor. She is in the 95% for height and weight. She is a giant next to other 3 year olds. Thank goodness she is at 95% because she was "off the charts" for a while.

This was Little Snail's first piece of chicken. If you look to the left of the bone, you can see we finally took it from her because she was literally trying to eat the entire thing!

I love Hillary Clinton but for some reason, I have been ashamed and afraid to admit this publicly. I was raised to not talk politics with friends. She has had a profound impact on free, universal Pre-K and for that, I thanked her on this day. It was fun meeting her. Imagine the pressure she has to be "peppy" all the time.

While not a perfect picture, it captured the phase that Big Snail was in at the time. The literal tree hugger phase. I think some people think my kids are weird. In fact, someone once said, "don't let them hang out with just homeschoolers. Let them be with other kids so that they don't become weird." Heck, we're even weird for choosing to homeschool our kids. I often wonder if that is why people stopped talking to me.

Yeah, my kids are weird. In fact, here he is being a cat. He went through the "I'm a cat" phase for over a year. He only communicated by meow, ate like a cat, and licked himself clean like a cat. That "behavior" still pops up every now and a then, but I had to put a stop to it when he tried to lick me clean IN PUBLIC.

See that thing on her back? Do you recognize it because you have one? It's a kid leash. Yep. And I even got comments like, "stop treating your child like a dog." I wish we had them both on a leash a couple of months ago when they walked away from us in the mall. We lost them for a minute and it was the worst moment in my life. I was hysterical. I seriously want to implant a GPS device under their skin.

We have three computers in our house, up and running...all the time. I call it multitasking. When I complain that someone hasn't emailed me back within minutes, my husband says, "no one else lives on the computer like you do." Umm....I know a ton of moms like me! And one day, our generation will join me with our children because while today's parents "go online"....the "real world" and the "online world" will be completely merged into one big place for the next generation. Our children will live online and it will be their reality. I don't want to get left behind in the great digital divide.

I have been to 5 WWE events. Most of those times, with ring side seats. I even attended one event with a 104 fever and pneumonia. The Hubster used to be a die hard fan but we don't really watch it much anymore. I'm too busy watching The Hills, The City, The Duggars, and Project Runway. If it's reality, I'm watching it. Before I had kids, I said, "we will not be one of "those" families who park their kids in front of a t.v." In fact, I wanted to get rid of it. We now have a t.v. in every room and I have over 100 hours of shows DVR'd. That's OUR reality.

Remember when I posted that Big Snail had no cavities at his first dentist appointment? I never did post about his second appointment when he had 3 cavities....all because I don't floss his teeth. And there you have it. One of my deep dark secrets as a mother. Our nights are so crazy, there is no magical moment in the bathroom where our kids are brushing, flossing, and then merrily hop into their beds. Our nights are so crazy that Daddy Snail proclaims, "No one else lives like this!" And then I replay Nanny911 and Super Nanny episodes so he can see that the rest of the world does, in fact, live like this.

Speaking of....My kids don't really have a bedtime. And we really don't get up early. We have a relaxed lifestyle, a privilege of homeschooling. However, my children get 12-14 hours of sleep, which I believe is crucial to growing little brains. My mom recently told me that "too much sleep" is not good for them. Would anyone like for me to either pull the research on brain development or should I have a guest post by our pediatrician? As a former public school teacher, I can tell you that kids are not getting the required sleep that they need. However, I am always being condemned by outsiders that my kids sleep habits are "bad." Please, community members, stop being shocked that we get up at 10:00 am. Sometimes it's later than that. We have a different schedule than you do because our school doesn't start at 7:45. And, are you ready for this? We co-slept since birth and still co-sleep when our kids need it.

I let my kids dress themselves, and yes...I take them out in public like this.

I believe in raising gender-neutral kids, encouraging all types of play, supporting all of their interests, and never blocking their inhibitions. I would never say, "no you can't put on a dress because that is for girls." If my son wants to be a princess, and my daughter wants to be GI Joe, than I encourage them to be the best princess and best GI Joe that they can be. This is how I was raised...to support and love all people, even if they are different than you. I will not support any sort of bigotry, any sort of discrimination,racism, or sexism, and it makes me sad when I hear someone tell my children "you can't be a dog. You're a boy."

Anyway, here are some truths about me. I just want to send the message that I think moms should band together to stop being mean to each other, to stop proving we are better than each other, and to stop trying to be like other moms because we think their lives are perfect. I'm freeing myself as a blogger, keeping my blog real, and taking off that "pressure to perform."

Are you with me? Do you have something that you'd like to get off your chest? Is there something you've been dying to share with the world but have been afraid to say it? Feel free to unleash these burdens by leaving a comment. (Don't leave me hanging...I'd be super embarrassed to have spilled my guts for nothing.) And if you are a Mommy Blogger, I encourage you to start getting real and add some transparency to your blog. You deserve a breath of fresh air.

What's in our Nature Study Kit?

2009-12-08T13:57:00.000-05:00

When I first started homeschooling, I knew that we would do nature studies. Yet, I had no idea what to take with us. Most of the time, nature study is done in our own backyard. If we need anything, we just run in the house and get it. Yet sometimes our nature study happens at our family's 400 acres and pond, the zoo, the nature center, or...just out in the woods somewhere. In that case, we only want to take what we need. I don't want to end up lugging everything we own.

I have a large backpack that we stuff everything in. Sometimes, the Snails fill their own little backpacks with stuff that they want to take (which, in Little Snail's case, is sometimes a baby doll or two). Here is what I bring:

Field Guides for Plant & Animal Identification

The guides above are called Fandex guides.

I am in the process of making some compact, pocket size, leaf identification cards and will offer them as a download on the blog. I can't wait! We also have a free guide to native Georgia trees that we use. You can find resources for your state here.

Art Supplies

We use watercolor pencils and bring a water bottle. It is much easier for my kids, because they are so little, to draw with the watercolor pencil and then add water on top of their drawing. I also throw in two washcloths to use to wipe our brushes. We also bring oil pastels. Little Snail is very picky about her crayons. They can't have paper and they can't be broken. We went through sooo many crayons until I discovered oil pastels. They are like crayons, only thicker and creamier. They don't break as easily and ours seem to last forever. (That is Little Snail drawing a sun with rain in the picture).

We also take acrylic paint. I put our paint in a little container that baby hair elastics came in, but you can also use one of those M-F pill boxes (they have them at the Dollar Tree). We also use the Canson watercolor and drawing papers. Watercolor paper is great because it can hold up to water. We take clipboards to hold the paper. We also take pencils and pens.

We also take binoculars, magnifying glasses, bug nets, a compass, and containers for sample collecting. We have taken several types of containers: mason jars, disposable ziplock food containers, zip lock bags, brown paper lunch bags, grocery sacks, old spice jars, old and clean medicene bottles, etc. We learn what is appropriate to take from nature and what is meant to stay in nature. For that reason, we also take a camera. We don't have a huge butterfly net...we just use those green little nets you use for a fish tank.

When the Snails get older, we will be taking a small field microscope, butterfly nets, blank field journals, and other "big kid" equipment.

Finally, I throw in bug spray and sunscreen. I also always make sure we have my cell phone....because Hubby Snail thinks we might get chased down by snakes or hunted by a Florida panther.

So, this is what we take on our nature study trips. We believe that kids should spend time outside everyday. If you haven't ever done nature study with your kids, don't be afraid to get started. For more information, check out:

Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv (one of my all time favorite books)
Charlotte Mason and Nature Study: here and here with a good "how-to" here
Why Christians Need Nature Study (by Jimmie)
for a complete free '"curriculum", visit Handbook of Nature Study
and Nature Journaling for Kids

Get your kids outside! My one tip...don't be all "teachery" about it...give them the tools and let them explore the earth on their own.

Privacy, finally! AND She did it again?!?!

2009-12-07T01:41:00.002-05:00

Let me let you in on a little bit of our private life....

Our house was built in the 40's. It's a charming little 2 bedroom. I adore it. I am in love with our old doors....you know, the kind with the keyhole peephole? Great for little kids to spy on their mom while she uses the bathroom.

I wish I had some skeleton keys for those doors because it would be nice to be able to lock our kids into their room the door. There is no privacy in this house. Do you know what that can do for ummm....you know...ummm....you know, right?

The previous owner wanted to make the house larger, so she did. Literally, by just building this gigantic room onto the back of the house. GIGANTIC 500 square feet of vast openness. This is where our bedroom is and there really isn't any privacy for ummm....you know. It's kind of bad, too, because you can directly see into our trash dump bedroom. I did fix that problem, though, with this genius solution.

I also hate that our kids have to share a bedroom. It's been great, but at night time we have to separate them to break the party up that starts just after bedtime.

Thanks to my AWESOME Dad, he saved the day!

Before

Is he saying, "this is where the magic happens?"

My Dad and Big Snail working hard building Little Snail's bedroom.

AFTER

Look! I can lock my door! And Little Snail has her own room. It was so cute on "moving day" when she moved all of her stuff out of her brother's room. We still have to finish the sheet rock and paint, but I am so excited to have a 3 bedroom house with at least 2 doors that lock! Thank you DAD (and your little helper, too)!

The first thing the Snails did in Little Snail's bedroom was to have a slumber party, get the flash lights, and play Ghost Hunters. I have no idea where they get these crazy ideas! :o)

Well, thank goodness Little Snail has a place for a time out. She is definitely one of "those kids." The kind of kid that public school teachers love to talk about during their lunch break.

Look, she did it again....

remember when she jammed a Q-tip in her ear and perforated her ear drum?

or the time she swallowed a penny?

Clearly the child doesn't learn a lesson. Remember this... The car stuck in her hair?

Well, this morning the little devil she unwrapped the Christmas presents under the tree (there goes the lesson in patience and self-control) and.....

She did it again! This time I had to cut it off. :o( She sure is lucky she is so adorable and precious!

Yes, it's one of those gosh darn Zhu Zhu pets. Thankfully, my dear friend told me about them being harmful and I have a great excuse to get rid of the stupid thing. Unless, I might find myself in Night Owl Mama's situation. Her little Mr. Squiggles heard of a possible recall and ran away.

Time for Momma Snail to lock herself in her room for a little privacy....just me and a Tropical Blizzard.

{Have you entered the contest yet?}

TOS Crew Review: Kinderbach

2009-12-01T22:35:00.000-05:00

As a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew, we received a 3 month free membership to Kinderbach for review.

Kinderbach is an online, or DVD, piano instruction program. It is designed for preschoolers and reminds me of Blue's Clues (real teacher in a cartoon world). It's cute. We own a piano and Big Snail has been very successful with Piano for Preschoolers, so I used this program with Little Snail. She adores it! I think 3 is the perfect age for this program.

I just sat my computer on top of the piano during the lessons, but you could also use the DVD and have your child sit on the couch with a keyboard.

Check out the free demo. The first two weeks are free! I love this program because it is great for non-readers. I also like that it takes kids step by step and scaffolds their learning as she moves along.

The entire program is 60 weeks long (6 levels that are 10 weeks long). Little Snail completed a lesson a week.

The online program offers to types of payments: $7.99 a month that is billed in a one time annual payment of $95.88 (60% off) or $19.99 monthly subscription (Billed monthly).

You can also purchase the Kinderbach program on DVD. The first level can be purchased for $40.45, and each additional level is $40.45.

We love it and recommend it for little kids. It is the perfect introduction to learning how to read music and how to play the piano. Well worth the money if you are planning to focus on music in your homeschool and have a preschooler in your house.

For My High School Mathy Homeschoolers!

2009-12-01T21:42:00.000-05:00

I hope she gets Teacher of the Year! So cute!

{Have you entered the contest yet?}

Our Year in Review

2009-12-01T21:33:00.000-05:00

The Snail's Trail is almost a year old! Here is our year in review featuring some of our favorite posts. Thank you for joining us this year. We have made so many new friends, have felt a lot of support within the homeschooling community, and have had fun sharing our lives with you. This year really did go by fast!

My first blog post, No Child Left Inside, was written in January of 2009. On February 13, I moved The Snail's Trail over to Blogger and this is how the year unfolded...

We sort money.

We paint.

I talk about meaningful writing.

Little Snail gets a first hair cut.

We share some field trips.

We write environmental print.

We learn some math.

Little Snail swallows a penny.

We practice non-standard measurement.

We learn about spring.

We learn math through cooking together.

I talk about meaningful writing.

We manipulate words.

I make some curtains.

We celebrate Dr. Seuss's birthday.

I showed you our classroom.

I showed you how I reupholstered a hope chest.

I talk about dictation.

We visit with nature.

We made yo-yo paintings.

I talk about writing development in unschooling.

We made a dictionary.

We went to the Rock & Gem show.

Little Snail works on her fine motor skills.

We make a mask out of felt.

I painted a picture for our Grandmother.

We made stilts.

We made a clown wig.

We played T-Ball.

We label our environment.

We learn about the circus. A lot.

We experimented with clay.

We had a spring nature table.

We made a new friend.

We learn to use chopsticks.

I share some favorite memories.

We have some springtime fun.

We make a word family game.

We celebrate Easter.

Big Snail learns to write on his own.

We sale some caps.

We visit with Grandma & Papa Snail.

We played with clay.

I upcycled.

Big Snail uses technology to give an oral presentation.

Little Snail paints like a cat.

Big Snail gets a new friend.

We met The Dairy Family.

We made a new friend.

You share your bloggy love with me and pass along some awards.

I share an idea for copywork.

I share a way to learn how to write letters.

We do a science experiment.

I share how I occupy the kids during road trips.

We made a Mother's Day brooch.

I made beer bread.

We share some nature discoveries.

We learn about how the earth was made.

I show you are now non-existent work box system.

I teach you how to create art with toilet paper.

I paint a picture for Little Snail.

I quit smoking (since I was 14) and redecorated the playroom.

This handmade game made The Snail's Trail famous.

We made an alphabet game.

We made file folder games.

We made butterfly math counthers.

I share a great, easy to make, cheap birthday present idea.

I share some homemade goodness.

We begin learning with Little Man in the Map.

We have a princess party.

We have a staycation.

Some of you realize I can be a bit OCD and neurotic.

I share our favorite family moments.

I share several activities for learning how to recognize states on a map.

I share our word family games.

We learn about the States.

We were traumatized at the 4th of July party.

Our readers share back to school traditions.

Little Snail perforates her ear drum.

We visit the bird sanctuary.

I made a pony apron.

We have a staycation.

Little Snail learns to draw.

School started.

I shared an entire week of school work.

Aunt Snail takes us to the museum where she works.

We went to the beach.

Little Snail learns with The Napping House unit from Itty Bitty Curriculum.

I share my home management binder.

I talk about inventive play.

I talk about living science and learning in the moment.

We learn about living and non-living.

We visit the park.

We take a field trip to the landfill when we learn with Little Snail's Itty Bitty Curriculum.

We visit the zoo.

We visit the Children's Museum.

20 of you agreed that this bothered you.

We do nature study in the backyard.

Little Snail turns on the charm.

Big Snail begins learning to play the piano.

I got a Cricut.

We made handmade paper.

We went to a Sock Hop.

I gave you a peek into my living room.

Handmade Halloween was born.

Things get a little hairy for Little Snail.

Big Snail loves soccer.

We dress up as jellyfish and visit the zoo.

I showed you what is in our nature study kit.

I made these super cute handwriting cards. I love vintage art.

I made some tree identification cards that you can download.

We won some ribbons at the county fair.

I shared with you how we store some art supplies.

We made a Christmas tree with our hands.

I showed you how you can teach your child to read for free.

I show you how to use Google Maps to drive around your neighborhood.

Handmade Holidays was born. Remind me next November to start the 2nd annual Handmade Holidays. I am sure I will forget.

You got to meet my dad.

I shared how I am constantly changing the design of my blog and I just did it again!

Homeschool Techies was born (and is coming in January!)

Big Snail participated in NaNoWriMo.

A worm crawled out of Big Snail's ear.

We got ready for Chistmas.

Little Snail got something stuck in her hair again. I found it funny when I saw all the Zhu Zhu Pets in Wal-Mart with "Keep Away From Hair" stickers on all of them.

I got real with my readers. A lot has changed since that post and when the dust settles, I will share the new changes that are coming for The Snail's Trail.

TOS Homeschool Crew More Than A Review: All About Spelling

2009-12-01T16:41:00.001-05:00

As members of the TOS Homeschool Review Crew, we were given All About Spelling Levels 1 and 2.

We LOVE it! This program is GENIUS and perfect for struggling spellers/readers, dyslexic kids, and kids that need a systematic approach to learning.

All About Spelling is the BEST program that I have ever found that uses the Orton-Gillingham method of spelling instruction.

I recently posted about using some of the All About Spelling products here.

What I like about the program:

Well organized, scripted, and easy to use. It is extrememly fool proof. The author of the program tells exactly how to get the program set up and scripts the program to make it easy for the teacher. Parents don't need special training to use the program.

I love the method of quickly reviewing what we know and spending time on what we need to learn. This system is set up so that I don't have to teach my kids what they already know. This program does not waste valuable learning time.

The program is very systematic and organized and is perfect for kids who need help with organizing their thoughts, their learning behaviors, and their study skills.

I love the tiles. They are strong and glide easy. This is important in manipulating them. The student spells words with the tiles. This takes the complexity and frustration of using a pencil/paper when learning to spell. It makes spelling instruction easier on the child. I love the procedure for using the spelling tiles (see diagram on page 118 of Level 1)...you dictate the word for the child, the child segments the word aloud (breaks apart the sounds in the word), pulls the letters down, reads the word he spelled, and then puts the letters back. We write the words we spell with the tiles, too.

She says on her website that, "The spelling program should not contain time wasters and page fillers. Workbooks filled with activities like crossword puzzles, word searches, and writing the words X number of times do nothing but waste valuable teaching and learning time. " Yea! I agree with this. Those activities are time wasters. They are not teaching your kid anything and are not review. If you want your kid to get practice using "spelling words," they need to use these words authentically in their own writings.

I like that the program is tailored to your child. Your child goes at her own pace.

Some believe that program is great for kids with dyslexia.

Might be great for a classical homeschooler or a homeschooler who follows the Well Trained Mind.

It teaches you, the parent, to not say "uh" at the end of every letter sound. B does not say "buh", it says /b/...without the "uh" (pg. 9, Level 1). I am SO GLAD this is in there! When I taught Pre-K, I had to spend a lot of time reteaching letter sounds to kids because of this.

They teach you to not have your student give a word for each letter sound (a-apple, b-bear, etc) (level 1, pg. 10). Yes! I SO agree with this (ignore what I said above)! I had a student one time who, when reading the letters of the alphabet, would say a word that the letter began with instead of the letter itself, or the sound it made. He read the alphabet like this...apple, bug, cat, dog....I had to spend a year breaking that association.

It begins with pre-testing what sounds your child knows. You don't have to teach the ones your child already knows! It really is customized for my child! It does, however, suggest starting at Level 1 and working your way quickly through it as review if your child already knows the content.

The letter tiles are color coded, great for kids who need the extra cue. But, it doesn't provide tiles without that cue. When my kids advance, I would like vowels that are not colored differently than the consonants.

It guides your child in creating and maintaining their own personally created dictionary of words he knows. This is great because we are already doing this and also use a word wall in our school.

The lessons are very brief (it may be a problem for some, but great for others). Wonderful for people who like Charlotte Mason or Ruth Beechick's style. Or just want to get spelling instruction over with quickly each day. :o)

If you support the Orton-Gillingham method for spelling instruction, I have heard that this is the best program that supports that method. The author is definitely an expert in this method of spelling instruction.

I love this program. I think that this program is so simple, that it is very effective. However, I can't really attest to the effectiveness of the program because we are using a lot of different methods to learn reading, writing, and spelling. In addition to natural and purposeful writing instruction, we are using LeapFrog's Letter Factory to learn letter sounds (phonemes), Rocket Phonics for reading, Sequential Spelling (as part of the TOS Homeschool Review Crew) and All About Spelling for spelling (and they both go against each other)....so using all of these programs may be contributing, or not contributing, to the success, or not success, of our spelling instruction. I can say that Big Snail loves it and loves the direct teacher instruction part of it. The kids think that this program is super fun.

I love the author's blog. She has a lot of articles and advice for homeschooling parents that can be very helpful for spelling, and reading and writing, instruction. She has wonderful customer service, is super sweet, and is always available if you need help with the program.

I like that it has a money back guarantee, even if you use the materials.

Even if you don't want this type of program, buy the letter tiles and magnets. Trust me, they will be put to great use!

{I am a member of The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew. As a member of the Crew, I was given this product to review. I get to keep the product and don't have to return it to the vendor. I was not paid for this post and the opinions in this post are my own. These results are my own and may not be the results you get.}

For more reviews, visit The Homeschool Crew's Reviews.

Learning to Read Strategy: Building Words With Word Families

2009-11-30T21:31:00.004-05:00

When I taught Kindergarten, I taught my students that they could build a lot of words with just a few letters and that they could read all of the words that they wrote. Here is the strategy that I love to use because it organizes the thought process for kids.

Make a vertical alphabet. You can use magnet letters, letter tiles, or write them on a dry erase/chalk board. I do this for The Snails because I don't want them mentally exhausted by the time they have to build the words.

Next, take away the vowels and explain that most words don't start with a vowel. Or you can say that the words you will be using won't start with "these letters," or vowels.

Starting with b, and your chosen word family (we start with -at), begin building words. Move down the alphabet in alphabetical order. You can do it many ways. Your child can write the word family next to each letter (this will help embed it into your child's brain), your child can write the word family to the side and he moves the letter to the word ending, or you can make a word family letter tile and your child moves the beginning letter to the word family (think Between the Lions Gwaynes Wor d or Sesame Street). The most challenging way is for your child to look at a horizontal alphabet and, without manipulating any letters, write as many words he can using a particular word family.

When we get to a "non-sense" word, we say, "that's a non-sense word, but we sure can spell it!"

And here is a hint I always used in my classroom, whenever we did the -uck family, I always either "lost" the f or I covered it up. I usually always had one brainiac who wrote the word on their own. My reply..."it's a non-sense word but we sure can spell it!"

My letter tiles are a set from All About Spelling. You can get them here (don't forget to order the magnets, too!)

Someone asked me what word families to teach. Please see my most famous post ever and a complete list of word families.

Starting Our Christmas Season

2009-11-29T02:17:00.002-05:00

The night before Thanksgiving, we went on our new annual tour of the local Christmas lights venue and visited with Santa Claus.

On Thanksgiving Afternoon, the Snail's decorated the tree while mommy got on the computer and bought some B1G1 Free VTech Motion Games at KMart and the giant KidKraft Savannah Dollhouse for $99.

Bringing out things from Christmas Past brings back such wonderful memories...

handmade by a dear friend in South Korea

I made this in Girl Scouts...it's a plastic ring from a milk jug

a vintage 1950's elf from my Grandmother's tree

this is also from my Grandma's tree....this vintage little ball plugs in and sounds like a large chirping bird

made by my mom in a ceramics class she took on the Army base when I was little

After the Snails were snuggly tucked in bed, I got back online and visited BlackFriday.info, pulled out my ads for price matching at Wal-Mart and made my Black Friday shopping game plan. I have been shopping on Black Friday since I was a teenager and I have successfully done it on my own for 3 years. I left the house at about 12:30 am.

Shopping on your own on Black Friday is really easy to do when you are not afraid to make friends with everyone else who is sitting around you for 4 hours. Two years ago, after standing in line, outside in the freezing cold for 3 hours at Toys R Us, I became "shopping buddies" with a dad who was shopping on his own. He had never done it before and was very overwhelmed. As we stood in line to check out, I talked with his wife on the phone and told her everything he had in his buggy while he ran to the bathroom. She wanted to make sure he got the right things.

This year, WalMart was very different and I was glad that I called ahead at 11pm. They told me on the phone that at 3am, they would hand out tickets for items that were going on sale at 5 am. This was not advertised, but any veteran Black Friday shopper knows to get to any store at least 4 hours before it begins. When I got to WalMart at 1 am, I walked the store and marked my path so that I knew where everything on my list was. I wanted to be able to grab everything on my list as quickly as I could when the sale started because I was alone and couldn't double team on the list. Then, I got out my ads from other stores and placed what was on my list that wasn't in WalMart's Black Friday sale into my buggy. I circled the item on the ad then laid the ad on top of the item in the buggy so that I could check out quickly.

There was much confusion about WalMart's ticket thing. I was told by several people, including the manager that the bikes were a ticket item. I had to stand in line at 3 to get a ticket for a bike. Once I got my ticket, I couldn't get out of line until 5 am, and then at 5 am, I had to directly purchase the ticketed item. After standing in line for about 45 minutes, no employees could find the bike tickets. Finally after much confusion, I was told that the bike I wanted was not a ticket item. So much for wasted time! I found the pallet of bikes and stood by. I was very unthankful when they moved the pallet outside to the lawn and garden center. Ugh! Along with the trampoline and Barbie jeep ticket people, I stood in the freezing cold for 2.5 hours...guarding one of the only 6 20" boys bikes....what I go through for my kids....

I was out of Walmart by 5:30 and at KMart for their 6:00 opening. I was smart and didn't hop in line, I just sat in my toasty car. I snagged Little Snail a pink indoor mini trampoline and was home by 7:30 (we are an hour away from the city)....beating the shopping crowds.

Did you shop this Black Friday? How did you do? Are you getting ready for Hanukkah or Christmas? Are you starting any new traditions this year?

Homeschool Crew Review: Mathletics

2009-11-28T23:29:00.002-05:00

As part of the Homeschool Review Crew, I was given a temporary membership to 3P's Learning Mathletics site. After watching Big Snail spend about 10 minutes on the site, I told Hubby Snail that we *HAD* to get our kids a membership. Seriously, I really love this site. (Try it out, they have a 10 day guarantee). I think that we might even be able to use this as our math curriculum for as long as we homeschool.

From Homeschool Crew's site:
"3P Learning, the home of Mathletics, is a web-based math service, providing children a chance to compete with students from around the world, or to rack up points by working through grade-specific content, which includes step-by-step animated support. There is access to additional games at Rainforest Maths, and the students get to go shopping for clothing and backgrounds for their character with the credits they earn from many of the above activities. There are also games that reinforce math concepts. In other words, the students have a variety of ways to interact with math."

The Parent Account

I like that your family has two different accounts to login into the site. The parent has an account and the child has an account. With the Parent Centre, you can:

Use the Task Manager to:

assign specific activities for your child to complete before they are able to access any further activities
make your child do revisions on work
reinforce skills they have difficulty with
make them complete specific activities, or the whole curriculum, before competing in Live Mathletics

Edit your child's account, course information, and personal information.
View your child's progress in Mathletics and Spellodrome

Use the Parent Toolkit to:

Take a complete walk through the entire curriculum that your child will use
View super cute math cartoon music videos that reinforce concepts (times tables, etc)
Play with algebraic Widgets
Use the ANIMATED (did I just say that? YES! ANIMATED!) math dictionary!!!!
Print out a Teacher's Edition and a Student Workbook based on your child's personal curriculum (these come as downloadable PDF's)
Find Help

Access the Complete Instant Workbook Series (Parent books & Student books)

The Child Account

When we first began, Big Snail created his avatar and set up his personal information:

We then began with taking the end of the unit tests. I don't want him to have to learn what he already knew (sorting, naming shapes, knowing numbers and patterns, and measurement) but instead use already learned concepts as reinforcement skills to practice. This also gave me a great idea at what level he is at mathematically and what we need to work on.

We currently need to work on:

Counting Money and Making Change

Counting with base ten blocks

Ordering Numerals 10-20

Comparing Numerals 1-20

Using Models for Addition & Subtraction

Number Words

What does your child have access to in Mathletics in addition to his activities?:

My Games:

Rainforest Maths:

Rainforest Maths is an external site that offers interactive math activities for grades K-6.

My Spellodrome:

My Spellodrome is an external site that promotes the development of spelling awareness.

A visual representation of awards earned for the week:

A visual representation of your child's personal goals and accomplishments, an access link to play Mathletics Live! (compete with kids around the world) and a new concept search.

Mathletics Live!:

Compete live against kids all over the world or against the computer.

This is what makes Mathletics super fun! It is really fun to not only compete against other kids, it is fun to try to get to be the top math kid in the world.

What do I like about Mathletics?

I like that your child has to "earn" more games. This is great motivation! I also like that they can visually see their goal and visually see their own progress.

Replaces flash cards, drill and practice, and boring worksheets.

Activities for Gifted Children that are challenging.

I like the challenging problem solving:

In this game, you have to rotate the umbrellas so that like colors face each other. If you complete this correctly, a bunch of dancing frogs appear under the umbrellas. You have to click on the one that is different. How hard is this?!?! WOW!

Your child practices ability-based, grade specific math content that is customizable. This program allows your child to be where they need to be. This is great for gifted and advanced math students. There is no boredom with this math curriculum! If your 5 year old is ready for calculus, he can do it!

Your child can also visually look at their progress in the modules that they have to complete and you can get complete progress reports.

Mathletics is an internet subscription based product, with a price of $59 per student per year. If you know the Human Calculator’s favorite number (hint: it’s ‘9’!) and you enter that when asked, you can purchase a single child subscription for $49.95 for a year at their website. From their site:

"Benefits of Mathletics:

· Children love it!

· Mathletics captivates and challenges children in an engaging, interactive environment.

· Mathletics responds to your child’s individual strengths and weaknesses.

· Your child’s confidence in Math is increased.

· Children instantly know if they are on the right track and can improve at their own pace, assisted by step by step animated support.

· Children are captivated by Live Mathletics, a safe and exciting on-line learning community.

· Hall of Fame and certificates recognize and reward participation and achievement.

· Free access to Rainforest Maths and the animated math dictionary.

Click here to subscribe."

What do I not like about Mathletics?

Your child has to be a reader to follow the unspoken, written directions. Big Snail isn't ready to use this site without direct supervision and guidance.

Seriously, if you are Big Snail's Grandma and you are reading this, we would *LOVE* a subscription for Christmas!!!!!

{I am a member of The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew. As a member of the Crew, I was given this product to review. I get to keep the product and don't have to return it to the vendor. I was not paid for this post and the opinions in this post are my own. These results are my own and may not be the results you get.}

For more reviews, visit The Homeschool Crew's Reviews.

Homeschool Techies 101: A Big Announcement!

2009-11-28T02:30:00.003-05:00

I am developing a new, free, online curriculum for homeschoolers that will show you technology tools and how to incorporate those tools into your lessons with whatever content you are learning about. It's called Homeschool Techies 101 and you can read the introduction posts here and here. I am doing this because I want to put my degree (M.Ed. Technology in Education) to good use and because there is nothing out there for homeschoolers and how to integrate technology into the homeschool. Don't worry homeschoolers, you are not alone because public school teachers are in the same boat. Except for one thing....you have complete freedom and they have no freedom. School systems all over the country are not allowing teachers to use tools that are on the internet in their classrooms. Because of these things, Homeschool Techies 101 was born. Think of it as a new, fun way of adding some technological creativity into your school to prepare your child for their future.

Since it is still in development, and I want to keep you in the know, we have our website! Here is a sneak peek:

Thank you for filling out my original questionaire (if you haven't done that yet, you can do that now). This has allowed me to see:

the majority of our students participating are preschool and elementary age
there are a few middle schoolers and no high schoolers
there are a lot of moms that want to learn some cool tricks for blogging
the kinds of activities that everyone wants to complete varies greatly. Some just want their child to learn to navigate the internet while others want to learn how to use specific programs and tools.
some of you are technology literate and are advanced users, while others are just starting out
every single participant has a digital camera (whoo hoo! because you WILL need it!)
every single participant has a printer (yep, we might be printing!)
the majority of you have a scanner and digital camcorder
few of you have a web camera or Skype
some of you do not have a Gmail account (you will need one in the future to access some things we will do with Google)

This information has allowed me to see what types of lessons and activities I need to develop and what kind of tools we can work with. As you can see in our little sneak peek above, you will be able to click on an area that suits your needs (there is more to come!). It will be a visit-as-you-need it curriculum and you can go at your own pace. I will first feature the activity at The Snail's Trail and then add it to our website for permanent, and organized, keeping. To see an activity we have already done, visit Tech Tools: Google Maps. I plan to have ideas for how to use the technology tool; it will be your job to adapt these tools to your content and level of aptitude.

I will announce our "Grand Release" on The Snail's Trail when I make our website public.
So feel free to fill out my questionaire if you have not, add a "I'm A Homeschool Techie" badge to your blog, and feel free to email me if you have any ideas or suggestions! If you have an older student (middle/high), they will be able to generate content and tutorials for the younger participants. I would love the majority of our content and activities to be user generated and kid created.

Coming up next in Homeschool Techies 101:

Tech Tools for Literacy: Newspaper Clippings

and

Tech Tools for Math: Shape School (you will need your digital camera!)

And a super giveaway (hint: you have to already be a registered user of KIDO'Z, so do that now) from our friends at

GIVEAWAY!

To my BFF's at the FTC: This is not an endorsement, or product review, for KIDO'Z. I just happen to think that it is the best invention on earth...next to Spanx and DVR. They did not endorse or pay for this post. They haven't told me to say anything on this blog. I don't have a relationship with them. I do, however, seriously *HEART* them and they think I am kinda cool, too. So I'm just telling all of my friends that they might like KIDO'Z, too.