Winter Color By Number

This adorable winter themed color by number  will help your child recognize whole numbers 1-6 and reinforce colors.

Mental Math Practice - Odd Numbers

See if your kiddos can solve these math problems in their head.  Mental Math is a great way to increase their math power!

Ask your child to name the proceeding odd number:

1. 49

2. 27

3. 35

4. 63

5. 79

January Traceable Calendar

This January traceable calendar is a great addition to your calendar time.

I Spy Calendar

Calendars are plentiful this time of year, and can make great learning tools. One activity you can try with your child is "I spy".  Tell your child, "I spy the number nine." Their job is to point to the number nine.  Other things you can say include:

* I spy the word Sunday

*I spy the word January

*I spy the word Christmas

* I spy a number with a two in the tens place and a six in the ones place

*I spy a palindromic number (11, 22)

Big Universe Learning Reading Resources

I just stumbled across Big Universe Learning and I thought I would share what I have found.  The website features on-line versions of leveled readers, both fiction and non-fiction.  There is also an area where your kiddos can write their own books.  They do charge a fee - $9.95 a month or $69.95 for a yearly subscription, but there are also many sample books that you can access for free.  I signed up for a trial membership to see what I think, but I will keep you posted.

Giggle Poetry Writing Prompt

My boys absolutely love the poems at Giggle Poetry so I knew they would make a great writing prompt.  I had them choose a poem and then finish these sentences:


1. I like/dislike this poem because….
2. This poem reminds me of…. because….
3. When I read this poem I felt…..
4. Some interesting or strong words that the author used were… I liked them because…
5. I would recommend this poem to…

Current Events

I think that it is very important for my kiddos to be up to date on the current issues facing our country. The best way I have found to do this is by showing my older kids a 10 minute daily news program called CNN Student News.

You can stream the program straight from the internet, or use iTunes to download the daily podcast. It's simple to download: Open up your iTunes, go to the iTunes Store, type in CNN Student News, and download the current episode. It's completely free!

I recommend this program for all students  4th grade and above. It helps kids become more aware of their country and the events that are taking place each day.