Join us as we journey along in training up our children (and ourselves!) to live fully, love deeply and learn passionately, with faith that promises (and delivers!) truly happy hearts.
As I head into another weekend, after a full and blessed week, I think back on last Sunday...
I have been making an effort to SLOW
DOWN life with the kids, especially on the Sabbath. The fruit of doing
never ceases to amaze me. And what the kids get themselves into rarely ceases
to amuse me.
What do kids without a screen do on a quiet Sunday night?
Well, at our home last Sunday, Nina discovered a shaped piece of ice that she and Jack had found
in a water bottle earlier in the day and had squirreled away in our freezer. When she was going to make a smoothie, she spied it, took it out, got a hammer and screwdriver and began to sculpt.
The noise of Nina's activity piqued her brothers' curiosity. They dropped what they were doing, came in, saw what she was doing and decided to join her. In minutes, all three children began pounding and whittling ice.
Then, out came figurines, ice cubes and more. And, into the freezer, went trays of water with figurines in them.
The children set a timer
and waited for some of their figurines to get caught in ice. Then,
they took them out to break the figurine's free from the "pack ice".
They also took out more ice cubes and water bottles and began setting creatures in water on icebergs.
Stories unfolded. Narrations made me smile.
I attempted to be unobtrusive while snapping some pictures of it all.
The snapshots, of course, don't do it justice to the incredible, child-led exploration and fun that unfolded: the way tools were used to solve problems - such as plyers to remover "icebergs" - and loose parts were used to "test" waters - such as a purple straw becoming an implement to test how deep the "arctic waters" were. Yet, the photos do offer a small glimpse of the imaginations at work, which I was so blessed to observe.
Indeed, sometimes, each child was in his or her own world: Jack
spinning in circles singing to a figurine, Luke narrating stories with
other figurines, Nina sculpting...
At other times, the children came together with a new idea, experiment or joint-story, all self-directed. Always, the children relished the freedom of knowing they could use tools, bowls, old pans, trays, and more to their heart's content.
I marveled at the children's choices last Sunday night: imaginative, inquisitive, incredible. Tonight, reflect on the gift of those moments with my young ones and look forward to more simple blessings this weekend.
Have you observed your children's imagination at work recently? What blessings have come out of consciously slowing down and, perhaps, limiting screen time?
What is Digital Science Online? Digital Science Onlineis an online annual subscription service that offers K-12 students and teachers 24/7 access to a vast video collection of science videos, images, animations, quizzes and printables.
NOTE: Don't let the pricing column in the screenshot above scare you off. They have special homeschool pricing.
As we have been experiencing Digital Science Online, we have noted how well done its different features are. These include:
Videos - The core of this visual science program is its huge collection of the streaming videos. These are available in English, Spanish and closed-caption. They average 10-15 minutes in length and are purposefully designed to target specific grade levels. Each covers a focused topic within the following larger areas of science:
Physical Science (primary, elementary and secondary)
Earth Science (primary, elementary and secondary)
Life Science (primary, elementary and secondary)
Health Science (primary and secondary)
Integrated Science (secondary)
Biology (secondary)
Animations - These 10-30 second video clips are pulled from the larger videos and provide a quick and convenient way to preview or review target information without reviewing entire videos.
Images - These are isolated still, captioned graphics from the videos that help target key concepts from the lessons.
Student and Teacher Contents - Student content includes a large collection of printable worksheets. These are typically traditional pre-tests, post-tests and activity sheets that ask students to label,
write characteristics, find key words in word searches, etc. Teacher content comes in the form of complete printable lesson guide packs that offer an array of tools to help parents and teachers flesh out
specific science units. Information within the guides includes:
Student learning objectives
Introductory questions and activities
Literature connections.
Video scripts with key vocabulary highlighted
Pre- and post-tests
Video reviews and quizzes
Activity and experiment suggestions
Plus masters and answer keys for all student printables
Easily Key into Science Concepts to Extend Learning
Digital Science Online gears its videos to specific grade levels, but does not prescribe any order to complete lessons in. This was perfect for our home education style since we tend to "us"school, or to live and learn freely without following rigid preset plans.
To use Digital Science Online, we basically went about our usual homeschool happenings and then snuggled in around our computer to explore topics further through the vast collection of Digital Science Online videos. We paused videos at appropriate times to chat and to touch upon some of the printable pre-test, post-test, vocabulary and worksheet questions orally. We also, sometimes, created our own hands-on activities inspired by the videos.
This all proved perfect for us at this moment in our home education journey. After a simple log-in, we could easily search the video library to find online materials that connected to our real-life activities.Then, while viewing and discussing the videos and worksheets, we could expand the children's vocabulary, deepen their understanding of specific topics, and enjoy time extending our science learning.
We also got a kick out of the fact that the easy-to-understand video narrator has the same name as my daughter. (Yep, it's the little, random things that offer additional connection, sometimes, with my crew). And, I found the kids sometimes ending our online sessions wanting to know more - not because the videos did not offer complete treatments of topics at hand (which they did), but because my children's scientific curiosity was ignited (which I think is an awesome thing!)
If, like me, you have visual learners who enjoy finding out more about science topics they've already been exploring by tapping into a huge online library of short, focused, engaging videos, then, absolutely, Digital Science Online could be right for your family!
Likewise, if you approach science learning in more traditional, with regular reading, writing and viewing sessions, the Digital Science Online program would likely suit you, too.
As I mentioned already, it is standards-correlated and includes many
"school"y things like pre-tests, post-tests, worksheets and teachers
guides that would lend themselves well to traditional lesson approaches.
If,
however, you prefer an experiential, hands-on approach to science,
Digital Science Online may not be the program for you. For, although
videos include prompts and pauses for student interaction and printables
include some activity and experiment suggestions, the majority of the
program is geared toward visual learners. The program would, though,
make an excellent supplementary resource for hands-on explorations.
Indeed, it did for us!
Truly, having go-to
library of short online science videos on just about every topic, with
related lesson plans, activity sheets, etc. has proven a helpful bonus
to our family's homeschool happenings.
What is Learn More
Want to try Digital Science Online yourself? Request a trial.
What is this loony child doing in the snow with no coat?
Being his sensory-challenged, silly self as he crosses from the locked front door of our church to an open side door in order to go pray the Stations of the Cross with his siblings and me.
Now, I use the word "pray" loosely, because, to be honest, our experience "praying" the Stations of the Cross at our church this past Friday was not exactly as reverent as I envisioned it would be.
Sure, my children know what each station is now. (Even Jack, at four, can name and explain each of the stations with some degree of accuracy.) However, they do not always get the whole walking the way prayerfully thing.
This has become every-so-evident to me this year.
Yet, baby steps are happening...
Step One: Tuned Out, Yet Quiet
On the first Friday of Lent this year, I wrongly thought that my children were ready to participate well in my parish's formal Stations of the Cross.
Wrong!
Although the children stayed relatively quiet during the experience, I am fairly certain that they were not prayerful. In fact, I think they pretty much tuned out the readings and prayers that were recited as the priest walked from station to station and the congregation prayed from the pews.
After Stations, my children asked why there had been no actors (for we have been to live stations of the cross before which engages them), why they had not been able walk from station to station, etc. However, they had few to no comments to make about the reflections or prayers and - cringe - even said they had been bored with the experience.
So how can I even consider this experience a baby step? Well, we got to the church and the kids were relatively quiet while each station was prayed.
Step Two: Mama Fails, But Kids Are Engaged
On the second Friday of this Lent, I had no intention of returning to our church for formal Stations of the Cross. I knew it would be fruitless. My children are not ready for it.
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Instead, I hoped to dig out our favorite Stations of the Cross reflection book, The Story of the Cross, and to go to the church on our own to pray after a homeschool gathering we had.
Unfortunately, I could not find where I last placed our The Story of the Cross book, and we ended up staying at the engagement we went to until after dark. I was fairly certain that our church would be locked up by the time we got to it. So, our back up plan became to go home and to pray the Stations with a youtube video. Of course, the kids got curious about all the video previews on the sidebar as we began praying, and we ended up watching several by their request.
One unique Stations video that engaged my children was a shadow puppet one:
Another ever so short, quite silly, but "cool" one (according to the kids) was a stop-motion Lego animation:
Seriously? You might be thinking.She misses getting to the church, relies on youtube to lead her and her children through the Stations and then finishes up with shadow puppets and Legos, and she is considering it a baby step towards prayerful Stations of the Cross success?
You bet I am!
The children were engaged, asking for more, leading and leading spontaneous prayers as we paused videos.
Step Three: Less than Stellar, Yet with Self-Directed Prayer and Reflection as a Result
The next logical step in our progression towards a prayerful Stations of the Cross experience would be to get the "quiet" and the "engaged" attitude together at our church.
That was my aim this past Friday.
I still could not find our The Story of the Cross book, so I printed out a simple, free Stations of the Cross pdf from Loyola Press and asked the kids if they wanted to go to the church to pray, with Luke in the lead, before fellow parishioners gathered for the formal Stations that our pastor would lead.
The children did, and all looked like it would go swimmingly.
However, when we entered the church around 3:30, there were already people there waiting for 4:00 stations. This put Luke in an anxious "speed" mode; he wanted to be sure to lead Nina, Jack and me through the Stations of the Cross before the formal ones began.
I told Luke not to worry and did my best to pause the children after Luke read at each station by kneeling to offer a reflection question and a prompt for prayer. However, my efforts became an increasingly fruitless.
Jack ran ahead at times. Nina wanted to take part by naming stations before Luke read them. Luke did not want anyone to "lead" but him. Jack decided he should be able to name some stations, too. Luke got more ridiculous...
Self-centered, less-than-reverent ugliness began to rear up, and, in the end, I spent more time trying to corral, correct and redirect my children than I did meaningfully praying the Stations. Likewise, the children's prayers were cursory at best.
So, what was the baby step toward prayerfulness in all this?
It happened in our minivan and, then, continued today.
Once we exited the church, we spent some time "chatting" in the minivan about what had just happened and how it must have made Jesus feel. We talked about how we might feel if someone we love came to visit us and, instead of keeping us company in polite, open, loving and connected ways, simply rushed in, gave us half-hugs and kisses, whined and cried about who knows what, and then ran out the door. Then, we had quiet moments in personal prayer.
Today, on their own, the children picked up the pdf I had printed out and began to read and pray with it.
Success!
Self-directed prayer.
Prayerful Stations of the Cross?
Perhaps through persistence and God's grace, next week, my children and my baby steps will come together to lead us to Stations of the Cross "success". With:
Step One - Quiet
Step Two - Engaged
Step Three - Self-directed Personal Prayer and Reflections
my children and I may yet have a truly prayerful Stations of the Cross experience this Lenten season.
If not, we'll continue practicing and making baby steps, knowing that our Lord shines down with love and grace despite our failings.
Maybe we'll revisit some of the resources I gathered and shared about in my Stations of the Cross Resource Round Up several years back. Maybe we'll take some tips from you.
Please share how you approach Stations of the Cross with children.
The Glow in the Dark Egglo Eggs(regularly
$11.99, now on sale for $9.99, with further discounts for bulk orders)
come in a sturdy storage box. There are 12 eggs in four colors (blue,
green, yellow and pink.) Some have crosses imprinted on them and others
do not. All glow in the dark after being charged in the sunshine or
under a light.
Egglo Eggs split completely in half length-wise,instead of width-wise with a little connector tab as typical Easter eggs do. This makes them easy to fill and to do egg-half matching activities with. The eggs also do not contain the small air holes that some plastic eggs do. This means that what's inside them does not get wet and the eggs can easily float, which is handy if you want to use them for any variety of sensory play activities.
Overall, the eggs are high quality, durable and invite repeated use throughout one season and over and over throughout the years.
The Egg-cellent Easter Adventure book ($12.99, on sale now for $9.99) is a 40-page, 8 x 10 inch softcover book that follows cousins Hardy, Anastasia, and Pascal, and their dog Zeke, on an adventure through time and space to discover the true meaning of Easter. It is fully illustrated by professional animators and has text and visual allusions to Ancient Egypt, Easter island and Iceland. It also, of course, centers on connections with the Bible message that Jesus is the Light of the world.
A fun story, The Egg-cellent Easter Adventure bookconnects Easter egg hunting to the gospel of Jesus as readers follow along with the mystery that the cousins in the book try to solve.
Egglo Treasures Scripture Scrolls ($4.50) are tiny plastic scrolls with Bible verse paraphrases written on them. They come in a package of 12 and fit perfectly inside theGlow in the Dark Egglo Eggs. As children unroll each scroll and read the paraphrases of Corinthians 15:3-4, Deuteronomy 6:5, Proverbs 3:5-6, Matthew 5:16 and 28:20, and John 1:4, 1:5, 3:16, 8:12 and 12:46, they not only have fun working fine motor skills, but they can also become one step closer to hiding God's word in their hearts.
The Egglo Glow in the Dark Egg Hunt Event Curriculum ($14.99, on sale now for $9.99) is a 60-page downloadable guide aimed at churches and families with step-by-step how-to instructions for holding Egglo Glow-in-the-Dark Easter Events. It contains:
activity ideas
decoration ideas
themed snack ideas
printable discussion cards
printable invitations
printable decorations
printable coloring pages
printable Bible verse scroll cards
printable Easter egg cuts outs
and more. Since it is an e-file the printable resources in it can be reproduced as often as you need them, helping you create a variety of memorable events.
Egglo Bible Verse Stickers ($3.29) come as a set of 12 individual stickers that match the verses on the Egglo Treasures Scripture Scrolls and include paraphrases of Corinthians 15:3-4, Deuteronomy 6:5, Proverbs 3:5-6, Matthew 5:16 and 28:20, and John 1:4, 1:5, 3:16, 8:12 and 12:46. Like the scrolls, they fit perfectly inside the Glow in the Dark Egglo Eggs.
Plans and Reality
When we were offered the chance to review Egglo Entertainment products again this year, I was excited to revamp the Easter Story eggs that we made with the Glow in the Dark Egglo Eggs last year to be Stations of the Cross eggs. (I needed 14 eggs to do this.) I planned to use the extra 10 eggs fro our two sets for a variety of additional learning and sensory activities -- making auditory discrimination eggs, fishing for phonics, etc.
Likewise, I envisioned doing back-to-back partner reading with the two copies of The Egg-cellent Easter Adventure book we would have, and, perhaps diving into geography-themed extension study on Ancient Egypt, Easter Island and Iceland.
Of course, all these plans came to mind before the piles and piles and piles of snow came down in our area. With those piles, came a need to spend loads of time out shoveling and plenty of energy constantly revising our schedules to deal with cancelled and postponed commitments. All the unplanned,
snow-induced changes to our lives, in turn, usurped time and energy that may have been used for "extra" planned
activities, like crafting Stations of the Cross eggs. So, many of my plans for using our Egglo Entertainment products have yet to come to fruition.
That is not to say, though, that we have not enjoyed the products. In fact, plenty of spontaneous Egglo Entertainment faith-filled fun and learning keeps unfolding! Part of this fun was the giggle the kids got when they discovered our new set of Egglo eggs charging up atop the feet of snow in our front yard...
What has some of the other spontaneous fun and learning looked like? One afternoon when Jack was having a major four-year-old melt down during a just-back-inside transition, I simply scooped him into my arms, picked up our new copy of The Egg-cellent Easter Adventure book, plopped us on the couch and began reading - before even taking off my coat. Within moments, Jack calmed, Nina cozied up next to us, Luke snapped a photo and then took a place on my other side and peace was restored as we all joined the kids in the story on their adventure.
While reading, we paused to talked about some of the geographic locations depicted in the book, related the scriptures in the text to things that had happened throughout our day and discussed how we each can change from moments of thoughtlessness, fear or self-centeredness to habits of consideration, courage and kindness as the characters in the book do. I also delighted in Jack's tears turning to laughter as Luke, Nina and Jack giggled at the antics of Zeke the dog in the story.
I just love how the story engages the children and offers opportunities to talk about faith, geography and more.
The Egg-cellent Easter Adventure also offers an "in" for teaching about elements of fiction.
I popped a copy of it into my tutoring bag one morning along with some other books that my student could choose from. She selected The Egg-cellent Easter Adventure book as our material to work with that day, and before we were too far in, we found ourselves easily discussing its examples of point-of-view, plot, character, theme and setting elements of plot structure, dynamic and static characters and more. By the time we hit the part of the story when the children find themselves on Easter island, we had "collected" eight "challenge words", so paused to do a decoding and encoding activity with them. Next week, we plan to discuss dynamic vs. static characters as we finish up the tale.
Using The Egg-cellent Easter Adventure book, I see many opportunities for gentle studies about elements of fiction alongside the more obvious "ins" for focusing on faith.
Related, because my children get a kick out of the character Zeke, as I re-read The Egglo Glow in the Dark Egg Hunt Event Curriculum the other afternoon, I printed out a picture of the dog and let the kids color it. I am thinking of using the printable coloring pages in the curriculum guide as go-alongs for character studies.
Handwriting exercises are also coming easily with our Egglo Entertainment products.
This year, before I could do anything with the miniature scrolls, Jack began exercising fine motor skills by unwrapping them and Nina immediately delighted in creating copywork scrolls again.
I did not even need to set up an activity up. She did it all on her own!
There is just something about those little scrolls that invites handwriting fun. And there's something about copying paraphrases of the Word that keeps faith at the forefront of the mind while also hiding God's word deep in hearts. Love that!
Between the scriptures on
the mini-scrolls (and the ones I printed from the curriculum guide,
which are on the bottom left of the above photo), Nina and Jack were
also inspired to look toward the cross, or rather to build one
using our Montessori red rods.
How cute was it to go to the living room to find them engaged in this:
As for the stickers, the kids enjoyed looking at them and begged to use them, but I am having them practice patience. I want to use them for a craft and have not yet been able to get to the craft store for additional needed supplies. As for the Glow in the Dark Egglo Eggs themselves, wow! Just wow! They are so much fun.
One night, after a particularly trying day with loads of kiddie outbursts, instead of continuing to wait to use our new eggs until I could make Stations of the Cross eggs with the kids, I simply let the kids go to town hiding the eggs for one another in our living room and, then, seeking them out. What a resetting activity that was.
No more fussing, fighting and crying. Just giggles and excitement. Praise God!
Unfortunately,
my camera settings would not allow me to get a decent picture of the
eggs' glow without the flash on, and, even with the flash, trying to
catch my excited kids running about the living room in the dark was
tough. I did get one photo that shows more than a partial body.
Luke was coming towards me and a table to set the egg he found down before moving to find another. Since then, other spontaneous egg hunts have occurred. Even in the light, my kids like these eggs. From the Mouths of Children
Before writing this review, I asked my children for their quick thoughts on the products. When I did so, they were in the midst of creating a play-money counting and egg-hiding game.
Nina said, "It's good that they glow. You can see them in the dark. Like Jesus' Light of the World." (This made me giggle, since it was morning time and, even though the eggs do not glow in themorning, Jack and Nina asked to turn all our lights off.) Luke
said, "It reminds me that I should look everywhere for my Easter eggs
so they don't get lost and that one teeny tiny glow can help you see."
(Be the light. Look for the light.)
Jack said, "Can we play more?!" (That's my boy!)
Learn More
Obviously, since we were eager to review a second set of Egglo Entertainment products, we are fans of them and would recommend them. They offer so many possibilities for fun, focused learning, giggles and faith sharing during the Easter season or anytime of year.
The Egglo Entertainment website is jam-packed with images and videos related to its products.
In what creative, fun and meaningful ways do you point your children toward the true meaning of Easter? Do any of the Easter supplies and traditions you have inspire academics, faith and fun?
What do you get when you cross a scooter with a printed movable alphabet?
A super-simple, sensory-smart, Montessori-inspired phonics game. At least, that's what we got the other day when I realized that Nina and Jack needed a little extra movement during lesson time.
Want to play? You can be ready in minutes!
Materials
a movable alphabet or
a scooter
Presentation
Choose
five or more words that your child will be able to encode and place the letters for these at one end of a hallway or room. Alternately, simply place a movable alphabet there. (Placing only the letters needed adds with self-correction. Using the entire alphabet encourages recognition and use of alphabetical order when the child searches for letters.)
Stand at the other end of the hallway and call out a word. Your child's job is to scoot down to collect the letters that spell the given word and, then, to return with them.
Continue until all target words have been spelled.
Skills
Reading (Encoding Skills)
Listening
Gross Motor
Vestibular Input/Heavy Work
Motor Coordination/Motor Planning
Quick Tips/Extensions
To have a child play this independently, have the child read a word card, or look at a picture card, at one end of the space and, then, go collect the letters at the other end.
As the child retrieves the letters of each word, have the child lay the words out. After all words have been spelled, switch from encoding skills to decoding ones by having the child read the words.
Practice handwriting, by following this game immediately with copywork of the words or using the words in imaginative sentences or stories.
Vary body positions on the board. Lay on the belly and"walk" with hands/arms. Kneel and use arms to propel movement. Sit and use feet to propel movement. Etc.
Encourage alphabetization skills by having the child help you put the letters for the words back into the movable alphabet letter box.
What movement-based activities do you use to meet your child's needs while also encouraging phonics practice?
