This site, some of you have shared with me. I've used it for a couple of years and many teachers I know use it. Not only can you play games and read, but you can download activities for your child to use. While the site is more primary (ages 4-7), they have some great resources and Step 4 has some fantastic books! The games are fun for even adults...That's right, I've played them ~ Don't act like you're not going to snoop around on the site & "try one out" to see if your child will like them. ;o)
http://www.starfall.com/
Shannan
Monday, March 29, 2010
Saturday, March 27, 2010
FREE downloads & games
Sometimes you just need new places to roam on the internet...It's not, however, exactly the safest of places to allow your children to do so alone. I hope some of the sites I've already posted have been of some use. Several of you have emailed me with some other great sites and I'll be sharing those over the next several weeks. You can also post them in comments so others can see your choice of sites!
Thank you to those of you who have already contacted me regarding my assistance as you explore your options in homeschooling or to those of you who have requested some of my services. This is a VERY exciting time for me and your support, prayers, and encouragement are so greatly appreciated!!!
Today's site has free downloads, several games, and numerous links to fun activities. After exploring it, I had many new ideas so I hope you find some to entertain your little ones! Enjoy ~
http://www.dositey.com/
Shannan
Thank you to those of you who have already contacted me regarding my assistance as you explore your options in homeschooling or to those of you who have requested some of my services. This is a VERY exciting time for me and your support, prayers, and encouragement are so greatly appreciated!!!
Today's site has free downloads, several games, and numerous links to fun activities. After exploring it, I had many new ideas so I hope you find some to entertain your little ones! Enjoy ~
http://www.dositey.com/
Shannan
Thursday, March 25, 2010
SUCH FUN!!!!
I don't know about you, but I always LOVED having a bedtime story read to me. My mother tells me I used to ask for a book to be read over & over & over again! For children, hearing books read to them not only allows them to hear how words are pronounced, but also hear how we should read. This is called fluency. We don't speak all chopped up and sounding out words, so why read like that?! The site for today is AWESOME and should be viewed over & over & over again! Actors and actresses read some of their favorite books & give some beautiful insights to the book they've selected. So enjoy bedtime tonight...Maybe even build in an extra 20 minutes tonight to hear James Earl Jones read "To Be a Drum."
http://www.storylineonline.net/
Happy Listening ~
Shannan
http://www.storylineonline.net/
Happy Listening ~
Shannan
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Forgive me please...As a lifelong learner, I'm still learning about this whole blog thing. Thank you to those who have offered to help me!!! All the new changes you'll see through the next two weeks or so are ALL due to those who are helping me!!!
So one thing I still haven't learned to do is post the hyperlink site to the blog...instead, it only comes up as a site you need to copy & paste to your web browser.
For tonight, what's B I G and red and loved by all children??? That's right, Clifford the BIG red dog! Clifford not only is engaging to young children but always has a great lesson to teach his viewers and readers. So I hope you find time to check out the following site:
http://teacher.scholastic.com/clifford1/
And until tomorrow ~
So one thing I still haven't learned to do is post the hyperlink site to the blog...instead, it only comes up as a site you need to copy & paste to your web browser.
For tonight, what's B I G and red and loved by all children??? That's right, Clifford the BIG red dog! Clifford not only is engaging to young children but always has a great lesson to teach his viewers and readers. So I hope you find time to check out the following site:
http://teacher.scholastic.com/clifford1/
And until tomorrow ~
Friday, March 19, 2010
Peek-a-boo, Speak-a-boo
Research shows that children who hear books read to them are better speakers, listeners, and readers. Describing the pictures, explaining the meaning of the story, and discussing the meaning of books creates a more socially adapted child AND improves the child's understanding of the world. The oral and written language they are exposed to helps expand their ever growing vocabulary at a very rapid pace! Maybe you've seen this mathematical explanation...
Take 2 children...Child One reads or is read to for 20 minutes each night; Child Two reads or is read to for 4 minutes or less each night.
If Child One reads 5 nights each week, he/she will read 100 minutes each week while Child Two will read only 20 minutes a week. Child One will then read 400 minutes each month or 3600 minutes during one school year, which is the equivalent to 10 school days. Child Two will read only 80 minutes each month or 720 minutes during one school year, which is the equivalent to only 2 school days.
By the time these 2 students are in 6th grade, if they have maintained these same habits, Child One will have read a total of 60 full days while Child Two will have only read 12 days.
Which student is more likely to have gaps not only in his/her reading ability, but in his/her speaking & listening ability, as well as standard vocabulary? YOU'VE GOT IT! Child Two is far less likely to succeed. Did you know that a third grade student who is behind in reading has a 75% chance of being as behind in the ninth grade? Did you also know that your child's reading foundation is almost 75% shaped by the time they exit first grade?!
Need I say more? Go grab a book RIGHT NOW! HA! I'm posting some websites during the next couple of weeks which I hope you find useful! Some read to your child while others allow your child to read from the book on the screen. There are also some which are game oriented. I hope your child will find at least one of them exciting & engaging! I will try & post one a day for the next 2 weeks ... I've got a bunch to share! For today, try Speak-a-boo...It's geared towards the younger student...Probably ages 3-7. Some of the stories in favorites and folk tales might be engaging for your 8-10 year olds. You can become a member & also download some free goodies!
HAPPY LISTENING!
http://www.speakaboos.com
Take 2 children...Child One reads or is read to for 20 minutes each night; Child Two reads or is read to for 4 minutes or less each night.
If Child One reads 5 nights each week, he/she will read 100 minutes each week while Child Two will read only 20 minutes a week. Child One will then read 400 minutes each month or 3600 minutes during one school year, which is the equivalent to 10 school days. Child Two will read only 80 minutes each month or 720 minutes during one school year, which is the equivalent to only 2 school days.
By the time these 2 students are in 6th grade, if they have maintained these same habits, Child One will have read a total of 60 full days while Child Two will have only read 12 days.
Which student is more likely to have gaps not only in his/her reading ability, but in his/her speaking & listening ability, as well as standard vocabulary? YOU'VE GOT IT! Child Two is far less likely to succeed. Did you know that a third grade student who is behind in reading has a 75% chance of being as behind in the ninth grade? Did you also know that your child's reading foundation is almost 75% shaped by the time they exit first grade?!
Need I say more? Go grab a book RIGHT NOW! HA! I'm posting some websites during the next couple of weeks which I hope you find useful! Some read to your child while others allow your child to read from the book on the screen. There are also some which are game oriented. I hope your child will find at least one of them exciting & engaging! I will try & post one a day for the next 2 weeks ... I've got a bunch to share! For today, try Speak-a-boo...It's geared towards the younger student...Probably ages 3-7. Some of the stories in favorites and folk tales might be engaging for your 8-10 year olds. You can become a member & also download some free goodies!
HAPPY LISTENING!
http://www.speakaboos.com
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Good morning class!
A long time ago, I decided to become a teacher. Sometime in between changing grade levels, changing schools, and changing jobs, I also changed my mind about schooling. While homeschooling isn't the best option for everyone, I am a firm believer that YOU ~ the parent(s) ~ know your "student" the best. You know his/her learning style; You know what excites him/her; You know how to manage his/her interests and behavior. Yet for all of those who support homeschooling, there are double the amount of those who oppose it. They have their reasons, too. Either the children aren't exposed to state standards or the amount of social interaction they get is vastly decreased in comparison to the public or private sectors or even one of my favorite: it cannot provide individual students with a comprehensive educational experience. While the debate still goes on regarding the amount of monitoring needed for those who choose to home school, my experience has been that those choosing to home school set a stringent schedule, thoroughly research the program(s) they will use with their children, and find multiple outlets for their children in order to allow them to grow socially, emotionally, physically, and academically.
Hopefully since you are viewing this site, you are in support of homeschooling. YAY for you! I will be your biggest cheerleader and will make it my goal to personally assist you through this process. I hope to provide you with useful information and links to better serve your needs. I am available to you for private tutoring sessions, end of the year evaluations, progress monitoring, and even the selection & planning process of your curriculum.
As you view this site and as we travel this journey together, I will share things both professional and personal. My goal is to help you get to know me more, so you can trust me to help you with your children's education. I hope this site helps you. I already have several "side-bars" to homeschooling for you to check out. My sister, Lindsay Murphy, has a published site I follow in honor of her daughter & my niece, Sydney Caroline. Angie Smith has 2 sites I follow which are just blessings. You'll also notice a few foundation sites which I feel everyone should check out! I'm still trying to figure out the whole blog thing & will hopefully figure out how to get photo sites on here so you can see some of my work on Diaper Cakes & Scrapbooks. I'll add more I'm sure but for now, those are great places to start & I hope you enjoy them! I look forward to getting to know you & your family ~ spread the word about this site & let others in the community know ~ and let ME know what you think...I will serve you better this way! My email is scritzer711@gmail.com and I look forward to hearing from you!
Shannan
Your Home School Professional
Shannan
Hopefully since you are viewing this site, you are in support of homeschooling. YAY for you! I will be your biggest cheerleader and will make it my goal to personally assist you through this process. I hope to provide you with useful information and links to better serve your needs. I am available to you for private tutoring sessions, end of the year evaluations, progress monitoring, and even the selection & planning process of your curriculum.
As you view this site and as we travel this journey together, I will share things both professional and personal. My goal is to help you get to know me more, so you can trust me to help you with your children's education. I hope this site helps you. I already have several "side-bars" to homeschooling for you to check out. My sister, Lindsay Murphy, has a published site I follow in honor of her daughter & my niece, Sydney Caroline. Angie Smith has 2 sites I follow which are just blessings. You'll also notice a few foundation sites which I feel everyone should check out! I'm still trying to figure out the whole blog thing & will hopefully figure out how to get photo sites on here so you can see some of my work on Diaper Cakes & Scrapbooks. I'll add more I'm sure but for now, those are great places to start & I hope you enjoy them! I look forward to getting to know you & your family ~ spread the word about this site & let others in the community know ~ and let ME know what you think...I will serve you better this way! My email is scritzer711@gmail.com and I look forward to hearing from you!
Shannan
Your Home School Professional
Shannan
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
