Giveaway!!! Giveaway!!! Giveaway!!! Giveaway!!!

I am stoked pleased to present this amazing give-away. Publications Internation Ltd has graciously consented to a 6 book set give-away of their interactive library. As some of you may recall, I wrote a review on their products a few weeks ago. In case you missed it, here it is again.

Fun in education has come a long way since I grew up. Take the above pictured set for example. I wish they had stuff like that when I grew up! So what is this you ask?


Combine richly illustrated 'Britannica' produced books with a SD-X Interactive Reader Pen and let the magic happen. It did in my house. So much so, that the kids had fights over who got to use it when and how long. We purchased the the above pictured set at Sam's Club for about $25 (sold out in a few days) and it's worth every penny and more. The set contains 3 books and a 'Reader' Pen which when placed at various points on each page provides hours of additional information and audioclips. We bought the set which has 'EARTH', 'HUMANS' and 'SPACE'. There are, however, other combinations available. The set is published by PIL Books and here, for your convenience, is a link to their interactive store. In addition to the hours and hours of interesting soundbites your child can also challenge herself with quizzes. Now, because this set became the ball everyone wanted to play with in our home I appreciated the added bonus in the headset port available on the pen's top. This was helpful for us as one kid was able to listen to his heart's content to the lessons while perusing a richly illustrated book without distracting his sister who was working on something else at the same time. We simply used the headphones from his I-Pod Shuffle.

And here's the BIG NEWS!!!!The wonderful folks at PIL are making the magic happen for one of you lucky winners.  Here is how you enter:

1. Leave a comment and be sure to leave a link to your blog.  If you have no blog leave me two comments, one I can publish and one that contains your e-mail address (which will not be published) . This will be counted as one entry.
2. For an extra entry visit the PIL website and copy a link to a product that really interests you. Come back and leave me a comment with the link added to the PIL link you liked.

How will the winner be chosen? We have a very scientific approach. On January 10th I will print the entries on equally sized pieces of paper. My blind folded son will pick one piece of paper and his sister (who knows how to read and will not be blindfolded LOL) will read the name. I will notify the winner via e-mail and on their blog if I have their blog address. Please contact me immediately (my comments are only published after approval so your e-mail address and real life name are safe and won't be published)  The winner's name and e-mail will be forwarded to PIL Publications and they will then mail the goodies to the winner. Now please understand, that PIL agreed (understandably so)  to mail  the book set to winners in the continental US only.  If you live outside the continental US you will unfortunately not be able to qualify for this give-away.

If you have any questions please let me know. I've never done this before and hope I didn't make things too hard to  understand.

Bon chance!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from the Itchy Homeschooling Family.

IT Man, Marlis, Missy and Bear

Tribute to a Mother

I'd like to take a moment and tell you about a mother. The mother of the mother of my husband. A deeply devout mother who dedicated her life to her daughters. Especially her middle child, my mother-in-law. You see, my mother-in-law had meningitis in her thirties and once she awoke from a three week coma she had to relearn everything. Enter my grandmother-in-law. She packed her bags, moved in and never left. Once again she taught her daughter how to walk. She taught her daughter once again how to eat, talk, go potty and write.  Once again my grandmother-in-law (I call her Didu), patiently taught her daughter how to button a blouse and tie a knot. And although my mother-in-law (who passed away last year) learned all those things she never regained full function. And so Didu stayed. My mother-in-law had lost most of her hearing due to the disease and her balance. My grandmother-in-law was her ears and steadied her when needed, isn't that what we mothers do?

Didu had been bedridden for a while now and lived mostly in her dreamlike world of memories, occasionally vocalized with urgencies such as 'your husband is coming home from work, let us quickly make a snack for him'.  About 4 days ago she entered a permanent dream state or coma. The decision was made to let this 90 something lady go to sleep and today she once again rejoined two of her daughters and her husband.

Didu, rest in peace. I'm here to take care of your grandson.

Your grand-daughter.

Fried, Frazzled, Frustrated or Flummoxed?

I just have one recommendation. Click on the link below, make sure your kids don't read over your shoulder and be prepared to laugh yourself to a stomach ache.

http://boardinginbedlam.blogspot.com/2010/12/arbys-wild-weekend-adventure-with-mary.html

Our almost eleven year old desperately wanted to read this story after watching even her father burst our laughing, but this is R rated. Or would this be PG 13? I am confused. At any rate, she wasn't allowed to read.

Arby, my dh asked if you had aspirations as a writer.  All I can say, if you ever write your memoirs, can I have a personalized, autographed copy?

Wow, an Award! Thank you.

Thank you to the gracious and inspirational blogger of a homeschoolstory for honoring me with the Stylish Blogger Award.  I was told to write seven things about me so here goes:

1. I have lived on three continents.
2. Certain music can move me to tears. I always thought I was weird until an article on MSNBC.com showed me I am not alone. Phew, that's a many decades old load off my shoulders....Not thaaat many decades, but still...
3. I've experienced the pain of infertility and the joy of feeling life grow within me.
4. I like spicy foods and cook a lot of ethnic dishes, primarily Indian.
5. I learned English when I was 15 and it's been my primary language since then.
6. I never thought I'd have a blog, it just kinda grew ( I'd bet this happens to a lot of people)
7. I used to play the flute.

Now, I would love to honor some other bloggers that continue to inspire me.
http://boardinginbedlam.blogspot.com/  This homeschooling Dad hits the nail on the head and makes me laugh.
http://raisingfutureleaders.blogspot.com/ Lisa, is a lady who has done a fine job raising her kids. Her blog is full of cool resources and inspiration.
http://oursplendidadventure.blogspot.com/  This budding blog is something to keep an eye on!
http://thechurchcook.blogspot.com/ Kay Heritage, I find myself coming back to her astounding recipes over and over.
and last but not least http://dreamaboutfood.blogspot.com/ designer of awesome recipes! Really, don't go there if you don't want to be addicted.  If you decide to visit her site anyway... I did warn you and I will not be held responsible.....

Thank you all, though who visit my blog and leave a note now and then, you ALL are apprecitated.

Early Childhood Math Concept

I've been meaning to share our approach to teaching Bear math for a long time. The system developed when he had just turned 3 years old. Along with a concept in numbers I also re-enforced numbers, patterns and fine motor skills. The cost of this was minimal.



We used pipe cleaners and inexpensive wooden beads from a craft store
along with colored card board. Each cardboard have a number on one side and the
corresponding number of dots on the other side.

 

Once he started to understand the concept of numbers we enjoyed additional activities such as bringing the right amount of toy cars in a particular color.



Colored beads and pipe cleaners are a wonderful way to teach young children about patterns.The reasonably rigid structure of the pipe cleaner makes beading easier.

 Of course at the end of the day the best tools and activities for a child are interaction with parents.  Count the apples in a bowl, the eggs in the basket. Play games like ' if you and sissie have breakfast and both of you want one egg each, how many eggs should I cook?' Count Frootloop style cereals and let them make patterns for a necklace. Use Frootloop style cereal  for learning to make bar graphs and tally charts.

Bear is now five years old and does 2nd grade math. While I am thrilled about his interest in math, I know he is no prodigy (thank goodness). Nor is the fact that he does 2nd grade math so remarkable since the standard seems abysmally low. The wonderful thing about homeschooling is the fact that he can learn at his pace, whatever that may be. I am convinced however, that starting early is the key. As long as it's a game and there is no pressure a child's natural curiosity will lead them to discover and investigate.

Arrggh! Perfectionism meets Teenage Hormones!

This morning is not shaping up too well. My ten year old daughter is upstairs in her room sobbing her eyes out because she didn't get a glowing critique on a piece of creative writing.  She has a tendency to mix the tense mid paragraph going from present perfect to past perfect. Additionally she failed to meet the assignement's real purpose, to create a character and tell us about her. 

My almost eleven year old is sobbing in her room and I am really to bang my head against the wall. I told her that I am not her personal cheering squad and will push her harder as she gets older. Mediocrity will not do. Mediocrity will not get her anywhere in this world. Look where mediocrity has led this country. Hard work and sacrifice by our forfathers built this amazing country. And mediocrity is tearing it down.

(A few minutes later) I just realized that she has no goals. Nothing she is working towards. She is just floating along without any plan on where she wants to go. Her best friend is working towards being an olympic swimmer. Boy, that kid works hard. Ever seen a ten year old girl with sixpack abs? I have. Even more amazing that she does all this on a diet not containing any dairy, eggs, or nuts since she is allergic (anaphylacts).  She is currently in the top 2% in her age group in the country! My daughter on the other hand seems to, at some point, have given up.  Her allergies have taken away so much we all grew soft on her. Being highly intelligent and not having to work very hard in many regards added to the problem. Things just kinda come to her. In many ways I really admire my daughter. Of course I love both my kids but my daughter is someone truly amazing.  Now we need to find a way to channel this and I have to find a way to guide her.

Her current assignement, not meant for anyone's eyes but her own, is to write in her private journal what her goals and dreams are for herself.  It's time to be still, to be contemplative and look within.

For both of us.