Time4Learning

I agreed to write a review of Time4Learning's online curriculm in exchange for a free month trial. After using their program for the past month we have decided to continue our membership. Dr. X has a very hard time with math. So the Time4Learning math lessons were pretty difficult for him to follow along with. He needs the one-on-one attention. But he did great with everything else. He enjoys the animated lessons.The site is easy for him to navigate and it has made my job SO much easier! I created a checklist that I print out daily so that Dr. X knows exactly what he has to do that day. I give him his checklist in the morning. We do our math lesson together. Then he logs onto Time4Learning and uses his checklist to do the rest of his work. Sometimes he can get a little confused by the science lessons. If he has trouble following along I go over the lesson with him and try to explain whatever he is having trouble with. Once he is finished, I can look up what he has done that day, his grades, even the length of time that he has spent on each assignment. I can even print out a grade report. It has been working out great for us so far. It really is a great curriculum for the price.

Time4Learning

I've been invited to try Time4Learning's online curriculum in exchange for an honest review. My opinion will be entirely my own, so come back and read about my experience! Learn how to use it for homeschool, as an afterschool study program or for summer learning.

Feed The Kitty Game

 

I recently purchased some shoes that came in this strange shoebox that opens on the side instead of the top. I started to throw it away. I normally save my shoeboxes for projects. But what on earth could I use this box for? I decided to turn to Pinterest for inspiration.



 

The original idea that I found was a game called "Feed The Penguin" at littlefamilyfun.com.

Dr. X is crazy about cats. So I decided to make a "Feed The Kitty" game. I wanted to make something that Dr. X and Super E could both do. That's a pretty tall order considering one is a preteen and the other is a toddler. But where there's a will, there's a way.

I started by cutting the top off of my box. Then, I wrapped it in orange construction paper.

I drew out my kitty in three different parts: back legs, body and front legs, and head. Click here for back legs template. Click here for body template. Click here for head template.

 

I cut out the different parts. I glued down the back legs first.

 

Next, I glued on the body.

Then, I glued on the head.

Once the glue was dry, I cut out the mouth with an X-acto knife. I cut out two white triangles for teeth and glued them to the inside of the box.

Every kitty needs a tail. I had an extra large pipe cleaner that was black and white. I painted it orange and poked one end through the back of the box.

I wasn't happy with the kitty's eyes. I decided to paint over the black lines. I ended up painting the whole kitty.

I drew up some fish on construction paper and cut them out. I laminated them with contact paper. Then I cut them out again. I have to admit, this was a tedious job. I was trying to save contact paper by cutting them out first and then laminating them. I'm cheap like that. I made four of each color of construction paper. Why four? It's just a nice, even number. I stuck a paper clip on each fish for a mouth. I cut a piece of yarn and glued one end to a wooden dowel and the other to a magnet.

 

Click here for fish template.

 

And just to add a cute touch, I cut out a little worm and glued over the yarn and magnet.

Dr. X uses the coffee table as a boat.

I used wet erase markers (you could also use dry erase markers) to write math facts or vocabulary words on the fish.

 

Sometimes we just fish and call out answers. If correct, the fish can be fed to the kitty. If incorrect, the fish is thrown back.

 

We also play a game of Go Fish "literally". I write a fact on one fish and the answer on another until all of the fish have something on them. Each player gets 5 fish - face down. The remaining fish are placed face down on the floor. Each player checks their fish to see if they have any matches. Player one asks player two for a fish to match one they have in their hand. If player two doesn't have this fish then player one has to fish from the "pond". If they get a match, they get to go again. If not, it's player two's turn. Play continues until someone runs out of fish. This player is the winner.

The fishing game was a little advanced for Super E. But he will catch a few fish with my help. As we take them off of the fishing pole I tell him the color of the fish and let him feed it to the kitty. As he gets older we can do shapes, numbers, and letters.

 

I decided to make Super E some mice to feed the kitty. I used Pom Poms because they come in different colors. I glued on pieces of yarn for tales.

I only had white yarn, so I colored the tails with Sharpies to match the color of the mice. I was planning on using google eyes but didn't have any small enough. I ended up just painting black dots on for the eyes.

 

 

I gave Super E some tongs and showed him how to pick up the mice and feed them to kitty. He hasn't quite gotten the hang of this yet. He can do it with my help but, on his own, he prefers to use his hands. He thought feeding the kitty was so funny! Each time he picked up a new mouse I would tell him the color.



 

I decided to put the mice in a bowl and give Super E a spoon to feed the kitty. He loved this idea! He was much better with the spoon than he was with the tongs.

The game is a huge hit at our house for both young and older! Hope you have as much fun with this as we have!

 

I would love to hear from you and know how yours turns out.

Questions and comments are always welcome. You can also email me at adventuresofahomeschoolmama@gmail.com.

Thanks for stopping by! Please make sure to check back. I'm just getting started but I will be adding new stuff daily.

 





Recycled Recycle Bin

 

We live in my grandparents' old home. It's an old farm house that's over 100 years old. We are in the process of remodeling it. We've been in this process for the past 9 years now. There are still places that need molding and a few doors that need painting, among other things. We do a little here and there as we get the time and the money. My dad made our beautiful, handcrafted, oak cabinets - pro bono. God bless him! But he wasn't able to finish them, leaving us with no top cabinets and an unfinished edge by the fridge.

I've been trying to think of a way to hide this area because it is a bit of an eye sore.

 

I recently bought Super E a new basket ball goal. I had planned on saving the box for a later project so I slid it beside the fridge to get it out of the way until I had time to put it away. It was just the right width to fit perfectly between my unfinished cabinets and the fridge. Wouldn't it be nice If I could find a way to use this box to fill in this space? But what could I use it for?



We've been in need of an indoor recycle bin for our aluminum cans for quite some time now. We go through a lot of cans in our house... Well... I go through a lot of cans. What can I say? I have a soda drinking problem. And, yes, I know soft drinks are bad for me. I need to drink more water. I'm working on it.

 

This box would make a perfect makeshift recycle bin. I started by cutting the top flaps off of the box. I had just enough black spray paint to paint one side. This was the only side that would be showing so that worked out great!

There was a bad place at the top where a piece of tape had been. The trash bag covers that up nicely.

 

Dr. X collects signs and happened to have several recycle bin signs. I was able to talk him out of one - only because he had 3 more exactly like it. It gave our bin a nice finishing touch. If you don't have an avid sign collector in your house you could always print one from the internet and decoupage it on.

Voila! Much better than the ugly space that was here before. The best part... It was completely free to make. I had all of the materials that I needed right here. Yes, I love these kind of projects!

 

Questions and comments are always welcome. You can also email me at adventuresofahomeschoolmama@gmail.com. 
 

Thanks for stopping by! Please make sure to check back. I'm just getting started but I will be adding new stuff daily.

 

 



Attack Of The Juice Boxes

My own personal war:


  Is it just me or do these things go forth and multiply?

Our Lucky Day - Update

Well... Our Lucky Day clover experiment didn't work out at all like we had originally planned.

Click here to read more about Our Lucky Day clover experiment.

After doing a little research, I was under the impression that a clover clipping would not grow roots. Thinking that our original experiment was going to be a bust, the new plan was to dig up the actual plant that contained the four leaf clover, replant it and observe... We couldn't find one.

Really?! How do you find 7 four leaf clovers one day and then none the next? We were starting to feel not so lucky.

But wait! What is that in the bottom of our vase of clovers?

Roots! Guess it's our lucky day after all! I think we might have given up on this experiment a little prematurely. Now, that's not saying that we can get these clovers to actually grow. But we definitely were able to get them to grow some roots.

Four out of the seven clovers grew roots. Time to plant them and hope for the best.

Will our luck continue?... Stay tuned to see what develops.

 







Questions and comments are always welcome. You can also email me at adventuresofahomeschoolmama@gmail.com.

Thanks for stopping by! Please make sure to check back. I'm just getting started but I will be adding new stuff daily.



Oh No

Super E has been having a hard time learning how to talk. We have been working with therapists trying to teach him how to use sign language, choice boards and picture schedules. So you can imagine our excitement when Super E uttered his first "real" word. Finally! We have true communication going on here. But out of all of the words in the English language it had to be no. And boy does he LOVE to use his new skill!