Free Keyboarding Games for Your Kiddos

In this day and age - keyboarding is such an essential skill!  I hate going to a business and watching someone painfully hunt and peck at the keyboard!  To insure that your kiddos can type with ease, you might want to have them try some of these fun keyboarding games.  They won't even know they are learning!

Keyboarding Games for Kids

Book Builder

You can personalize and print out free books from Pioneer Valley Books! You can even enter your child’s name and it will appear throughout the book as if your child is a character! There are several different levels of text, so here are some guidelines to let you know what book will be most appropriate for your little readers:

If the text is a Level C, it will be appropriate for grade K and first graders should be able to read independently.

If the text is a Level E or G, it will be appropriate to read to grade K and first graders may need some support if reading independently.

If the text is a Level H or I, it will be most appropriate for grade 2 and Kindergarten and first grade students will need support or will need you to read the text.

You can find the site here:  Bookbuilderonline.comhttp://bookbuilderonline.com/

ipad Apps for Kids for Dummies book review

I got an iPad for my birthday last year - and I absolutely LOVE it!  The only thing that I don't absolutely LOVE is the fact that my kids hijack it a great deal of the time.  Luckily for me, I was able to review the book ipad Apps for Kids for Dummies so I could find some apps for them that are kid friendly and a great way to sneak in learning!

My kids really think they know everything about the iPad and the apps available, but I found a ton of great ones in this book that they didn't know about at all.  The author, Jinny Gudmundsen is the Kid Tech columnist for USA Today, so she really is the go-to expert about all things tech for kids.

The book is really user friendly with sections divided by both age group and category.  Each review in the book details the name of the app, the cost, who made it, followed by a brief description.  The reviews end with an age range of who the app is most suited for.  And although the apps are classified as "kid apps" I have enjoyed quite a few myself!

Chinese New Year Lesson Plan Ideas

February 10th marks the new Chinese year - the year of the Snake.

The Chinese New Year is always in the month of January or the month of February.


Each year is named after an animal.

Snake - February 10, 2013

Horse -January 31, 2014

Goat - February 19, 2015

Monkey - February 8, 2016

Rooster - January 28, 2017

Dog - February 16, 2018

Pig - February 5, 2019

Here are some activities to learn more about the Chinese New Year:

Reading:

Here is a great book about the holiday.  You can view it on Youtube here.

Writing

When children in China wake up on New Year's Day, they find red envelopes with money inside.  What would you spend your lucky money to buy? Why?

For more Chinese New Year Resources visit these links:
For grades 4 and up

For grades K-3

February Hidden Pictures from Highlights

Highlights hidden pictures are a fun way to get your child to develop concentration and attention to detail.  They are a great activity for waiting times or in between lessons.  You can download February's hidden picture here.