STEM I pad apps

This site has some great links to 40 great science technology and engineering apps. Overall this site mentions and reviews some really good educational apps. It further goes on to some teaching ideas and links to some websites with homework help etc...

STEM

Summer Olympic Games for Kids

How to have fun with your child as you are watching the Olympics. It seems every moms mag has something to say. Here are a few of the best ideas: One idea is hosting your own neighborhood toddler Olympics. Olympics There are related articles written by Olympic gold medalists about health and nutrition. Additionally,there is an article about teaching your child to ride a bike. I never knew there were so many techniques that could be used. http://familyfitness.about.com/od/preschoolers/f/teach_bike_ride.htm

Also, there is an article in parenting magazine.com with ideas for converting pool noodle toys into an obstacle course .
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Red River Moms Magazine

I love the Red River Moms magazine. This magazine has articles about local events, local mothers, and ideas for summer educational projects. The July calendar highlights a local cake decorating contest, sign up for Bossier little league, and the cinderella play showing this week.   The current July issue has some great ideas by Angela Vinet who is employed at Four Corners Learning. She wrote an article about ideas for educational bug projects aimed at different age groups of children.  the magazine is available online at

http://www.shreveporttimes.com/section/REDRIVERMOMS/RedRiverMoms-Magazine

Educational things to do in Shreveport

#1 The Science center now does $5 days on Wednesday please call ahead to see if still valid
#2 RW Norton Gardens
#3 Go fishing
#4 Barksdale air museum
#5 Chimp Haven
#6 Yogi and friends
#7 arrange a group trip to milk cows

Product Review - Melissa and Doug Pattern Blocks

I love Melissa and Doug classic toys.  I love the solid wood and the size of the pieces. I also love  the retro feel and the tie to games referenced in old child development textbooks. One toy in particular has struck me and my daughter's fancy: pattern blocks and boards. This toy consists of boards with some classic pictures.  Kids match shape blocks to the pattern board to create the picture. This toy teaches children to develop a sense of shapes in objects, patterns, and size and proportion. These skills translate into math, art and engineering skills.  Another great thing about this toy is that it grows with the child and more difficulty and creativity can be added as your child gets older.

Our Shapes Project

This week Schuyler and I will start a lesson on shapes. I am printing out a shape book and worksheets. They also incorporate counting and colors. I plan on adding a few extra things like cutting out some shapes from construction paper and having her match and glue them onto a black and white page.




 While we are doing this, I am preparing for my next lesson: growing a plant. I am ordering some of the following books on amazon (four for the price of three) and gathering a pot, seeds, and materials for  a plant craft. 
From Seed to Plant (Rookie Read-About Science) [Paperback]Allan Fowler (Author)
From Seed to PlantGail Gibbons
The Vegetables We Eat [Paperback]Gail Gibons (Author)
One Bean [Paperback]Anne Rockwell (Author), Megan Halsey (Illustrator)
Jack's Garden [Paperback]Henry Cole (Author, Illustrator)


http://www.tlsbooks.com/preschoolshapes.htm
http://www.dltk-holidays.com/spring/mflower.html

Starfall.com Review

www.Starfall.com is  an educational website focused on teaching early phonics skills. It features a number of activities to encourage kids who are learning to read. The activities build on each other, starting with learning the alphabet and its associated sounds, and followed by reading simple online books and more advanced reading activities.

What Does it Offer: There are lots of interactive games and a full curriculum to purchase. There are a few free worksheets which go along with the online activities. Additionally, they sell decodable early reader books from $5-$15. 

Educational Impact: Starfall uses a phonics-based learning system that is supported with both online games and activities and a print series. Skills taught include: phonemic awareness, systematic phonics, vocabulary, fluency and comprehension. 

My daughter loves this site. She is learning to use a mouse to point and click and she really enjoys the alphabet chants. 

 They have a whole game and a book about growing a plant. I think I will purchase the book, buy a pot and some seeds, and do a project with her  this year.  

Our Library Trip

Last year, mommy and Skye went to the Winter Park Library for a story time. I'm not sure how other libraries are, but this was mediocre compared to what I expected.  Most kids didn't sit, and parents were allowed to stay in the room with their crying babies. It would be helpful to schedule readings by age. This library  has puzzles and blocks but Skye has those at home.  The books were the main attraction for her and this is good since I am trying to encourage her interest in reading. I think next time we'll skip the story time and try to go when it's quiet and we can read together.. UPDATE: Now in Shreveport we have been going to the Broadmore library. We color pictures and every once and a while attend a children's event such as a fancy nancy party heald last month. This was fun and did boost Skye's intrerest in newly published books. Again e story time leave something to be be desired.. My only hope and/or suggestion is to maybe promote American Girls series. These books seem much more classic and true to history.

Link

Teaching Kids "Round & Round the Garden" Song —powered by eHow.com">

Music Improves A Child's Math Understanding

ScienceDaily (Mar. 22, 2012) — Tapping out a beat may help children learn difficult fraction concepts, according to new findings due to be published in the journal Educational Studies in Mathematics. An innovative curriculum uses rhythm to teach fractions at a California school where students in a music-based program scored significantly higher on math tests than their peers who received regular instruction."Academic Music" is a hands-on curriculum that uses music notation, clapping, drumming and chanting to introduce third-grade students to fractions. The program, co-designed by San Francisco State University researchers, addresses one of the most difficult -- and important -- topics in the elementary mathematics curriculum.if student don't understand fractions early on, they often struggle with algebra and mathematical reasoning later in their schooling," said Susan Courey, assistant professor of special education at San Francisco State University. "We have designed a method that uses gestures and symbols to help children understand parts of a whole and learn the academic language of math." The program has shown tangible results at Hoover Elementary School in the San Francisco Bay Area.  By clapping and drumming rhythms and chanting each note's Kodaly names, students learn the time value of musical notes. Students learn to add and subtract fractions by completing work sheets, in which they draw musical notes on sheet music, ensuring the notes add up to four beats in each bar or measure. The program has also proven itself at Allen Elementary School, a San Bruno public school -- not included in the study -- that has been using the Academic Music program since 2007. "Academic Music brings music into the classroom and gets children to learn math in a different way that's symbolic and not dependent on language," said Kit Cosgriff, principal at Allen Elementary School, who introduced the program to help the schools' diverse student body learn math in ways that are not language-based. "We're suggesting that teachers put music in their arsenal of tools for teaching math." Courey said. "It's fun, it doesn't cost a lot, and it keeps music in the classroom." "Academic Music: Music Instruction to Engage Third Grade Students in Learning Basic Fraction Concepts" has been accepted for press in the journal Educational Studies in Mathematics and will be published online next week. Courey co-authored the paper with Endre Balogh, director and lead music teacher at Toones Academic Music, and a graduate of SF State's music education program (B.A. '06). Other co-authors included Jae Paik, associate professor of psychology at SF State, and Jody R. Siker, a graduate student in the SF State-UC, Berkeley joint doctoral program in special education.