Comments (6)

By Mom Unplugged, April 1, 2010 4:57 pm

Well this month certainly FLEW by! With an Odyssey of the Mind competition, a few cases of strep throat, and a week off for a Spring Break of beach, sun, museums and roller coasters in San Diego, it is now April 1st before I even realized it.

I guess I didn’t get to a sphere Unplugged Project this month, but maybe we’ll do one even though the month is over, no promises though.

Thanks to all who did join in with the March sphere project.

It is now time to announce the Unplugged Project theme for April:

Flat

The linky is below. Have fun!!

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If you are wondering what the Unplugged Project is, then please read more about it here. We’d love to have you join in!

The basics are the following:

• Please only link if you have done a project that is related to the theme. Don’t just put your website in there because you like the idea of the project. I appreciate the support, but if I don’t see a project, then I’ll have to delete your link.

• Please don’t link until you actually have a post to link to. The post should not simply describe an intention, but document an actual completed project.

• When you link, please link to your POST, not just your blog. I am trying to build a library of project ideas, so we want people to always be able to find your project in the future. If you link simply to your blog, they won’t be able to find your post later on. (Feel free to email me if you have a question about this.)

• Don’t worry about the “accuracy” of your connection to the theme. Be creative, have fun, and think “outside the box” if you wish. For example, the theme was once soft and we made moth feeders out of soft cotton balls. Another time the theme was kitchen and we made Oobleck because it was made with cornstarch which is a substance you find in the kitchen, right? If you think about it, you can find a connection with almost anything and that is what is really fun!

• If you have the time, energy, and inspiration to come up with more than one project for sphere that’s great! Feel free to link to each sphere project separately in the linky.

• If you have no blog, then please leave a comment on this post with a description of what you did. The more ideas we get, the better!

• It takes a lot of time and energy to put this project together and I would greatly appreciate a link to Unplug Your Kids in your project post. Thank you and enjoy!

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Comments (5)

By Mom Unplugged, March 9, 2010 1:36 pm

I get tons of offers to review all sorts of odd things: snack foods (no thanks), prenatal vitamins (not pregnant), infant video games (did you read the title of my blog?), celebrity this and celebrity that (my interest in celebs = ZERO). Do any of these marketers actually READ my blog first? I rarely accept a review offer.

Well, a while ago I got a very nice email about a publication that sounded pretty good and well-matched to Unplug Your Kids. Blue Lake Children’s Publishing wanted to know if I would be interested in reviewing their bi-monthly “magazine” (really more like a little book) for 2-6 year-old pre and early readers. The magazine is called Tessy & Tab, and after checking out their website, I decided that my 4 year-old and I might like to give it a try.

The verdict? We love it!

As I mentioned before, Tessy & Tab is more like a small stiff paperback book than an actual magazine. This is helpful if you have destructive little-ones! But as Heather of Blue Lake explained, “kids like the word ‘magazine.” Your preschooler will love getting their own “magazine” twice a month in the mail.

The main characters of Tessy & Tab are a duck named Tessy and a kangaroo…obviously named Tab. Each 14 page issue features Tessy and Tab doing fun things that children will enjoy learning about, or are perhaps familiar with. My packet included issues about flying kites, ice skating lessons, learning to write, making pizzas, a yoga lesson, and crafting jewel mugs.

The subject matter was very interesting to my 4 year-old and the bright and simple illustrations were fun for her too. The text is basic and the font is large, dark, and easy to read. My daughter was pleased that she could sound out some of the words herself, and LOVED the part where she got to do an “I Spy” finding different pictures and words that appeared throughout the story. I think she sat quietly on the sofa for at least half an hour working on her packet of Tessy & Tabs.

From a parent point of view, I like the following:

• Each issue is based on the Six Skills for Early Literacy: 1) Print Motivation (kids LOVE getting mail!) 2) Print Awareness (a word in the text always appears somewhere in the illustration) 3) Building Vocabulary (learn words by recognizing pictures) 4) Narrative Skills (…a beginning, a middle, and an end…) 5) Letter Knowledge (a featured letter every month) 6) Phonological Awareness (emphasis on syllables and rhymes).

• I can do more than just read the content aloud. There are also a few activities, some of which my 4 year-old can do on her own.

• The featured letter and number are useful bi-monthly teaching tools that might especially be helpful for homeschoolers.

• There are three “Story Questions” at the end of each issue. The questions check to see if your child remembered and comprehended the story (there are visual hints too). A good introduction to the idea of “reading for comprehension” which they will face for many, many years to come in school.

• Twice a month is ideal in my mind for publications geared to children so young. Although it flies by for us grown-ups, a full month’s wait is a Very-Long-Time when you are 4ish.

• The website has printables, learning games, and activities that go along with each issue.

And last, but DEFINITELY not least!!!

• Tessy & Tab has no advertising. I don’t have to endure tortured requests for Disney princess fruit snacks or Sponge Bob sneakers after we read an issue.

I have subscribed.

If you decide to subscribe and like this magazine, please tell your friends about it. If you have a blog, please write about it.

Blue Lake Publishing is a low budget operation and it does not accept advertising. I really respect this attitude and I wish them well. I also thank them for bringing Tessy & Tab to my attention!

LINKS: How does the Tessy & Tab Reading Club Work?

Comments (6)

By Mom Unplugged, March 2, 2010 4:59 pm

Teachers and parents, are you looking for a fun and different math activity for your students or kids? Then you’ll be happy to learn that tomorrow, March 3rd 2010, is World Math(s) Day!

Teachers can sign their classes up to participate in this online math contest with same-aged students (5-18 years) from around the globe for a chance to win prizes. Individual students or homeschooling families can register too. This year for the first time there is even a category for teachers and parents who want to join in the fun. Plus, it is all COMPLETELY FREE!

Here is how it works:

“Students play at home and at school against other students around the world in live games of mental arithmetic. Each game lasts for 60 seconds and students can play up to 500 games, earning points for each correct answer. The students who answer the most questions appear in the Hall of Fame. Students cannot select their level but will move up as they progress.”

(“About World Maths Day,” from the World Maths Day website)

So far there are over 2 million students from 37,000 schools in 200 countries registered for tomorrow’s event. The goal is to beat last year’s world record of correctly answering 452,681,681 questions!

I had fun just browsing the lists of students and classes registered from an amazing array of locations. It would make for a great geography lesson in addition to the math fun!

Head on over right now and register your students, children, and yourself!

LINKS:

World Maths Day 2010 Website

World Maths Day 2010 Official Blog

Comments (5)

By Mom Unplugged, March 1, 2010 8:46 pm

The Unplugged Project theme for the month of March will be: Sphere

The linky is below and will remain open until April 1st. On April 1st I will post a new Unplugged Project theme.

If you are wondering what the Unplugged Project is, then please read more about it here. We’d love to have you join in!

The basics are the following:

• Please only link if you have done a project that is related to the theme. Don’t just put your website in there because you like the idea of the project. I appreciate the support, but if I don’t see a project, then I’ll have to delete your link.

• Please don’t link until you actually have a post to link to. The post should not simply describe an intention, but document an actual completed project.

• When you link, please link to your POST, not just your blog. I am trying to build a library of project ideas, so we want people to always be able to find your project in the future. If you link simply to your blog, they won’t be able to find your post later on. (Feel free to email me if you have a question about this.)

• Don’t worry about the “accuracy” of your connection to the theme. Be creative, have fun, and think “outside the box” if you wish. For example, the theme was once soft and we made moth feeders out of soft cotton balls. Another time the theme was kitchen and we made Oobleck because it was made with cornstarch which is a substance you find in the kitchen, right? If you think about it, you can find a connection with almost anything and that is what is really fun!

• If you have the time, energy, and inspiration to come up with more than one project for sphere that’s great! Feel free to link to each sphere project separately in the linky.

• If you have no blog, then please leave a comment on this post with a description of what you did. The more ideas we get, the better!

• It takes a lot of time and energy to put this project together and I would greatly appreciate a link to Unplug Your Kids in your project post. Thank you and enjoy!

Photo is from Wikipedia, by Andrzej Barabasz.

Comments (5)

By Mom Unplugged, February 28, 2010 9:40 pm

I promised another Spiral Unplugged Project post and I am finally here with it - at the eleventh hour (a new Monthly Unplugged Project theme begins tomorrow)!

All day yesterday I was looking after four girls in addition to my own two girls (my son was very happy to escape this overdose of estrogen by fleeing to a friend’s house).

The age of the girls ranged from 4 to 11 and after boredom appeared to be setting in, I tried this totally retro idea out on them: Spirograph Shrinky Dinks. Just 3 words: THEY-LOVED-IT.

I had bought some shrink plastic at a Michael’s craft store on my last trip to the big city. We pinned the Spirograph rings on to the plastic sheets with no problems. NOTE: The frosted type of paper worked out best with markers, the shiny white tended to smear.

Since my original Spirograph ball point pens were long dead after 30+ years, I had also bought some fine point Sharpies in many different colors and they worked great! The tip was small and long enough to fit through the holes in the Spirograph disks and produce beautiful results.

Before they went in the oven, we punched holes in some of the finished Shrinky Dinks. A regular one-hole paper punch works fine and, once shrunk, produces a hole large enough for a thread or fine wire. If you need to thread on something larger than that, then punch several times to make a bigger hole.

The girls strung them on thread to make necklaces. I actually have an even fancier idea in mind, so check back!

If you like this, then be sure to read my original Spirograph post. To find out how to make your own Shrinky Dink plastic from home trash, don’t miss my Homemade Shrinky Dinks post!