Games For Learning

My daughter and I took a trip to the Dollar Store to see what we could get inexpensively to make games. We love making games at our house and my daughter is the chief maker. Enjoy our little video visit.

Here is our local store. We found almost every supply we needed from poster board to stickers, page protectors to markers!  They also had flash cards, workbooks to use for designs and coloring books.

So if you come to my workshop expect to here the praises of the Dollar Store and I will show some more pictures. I promise!

Are you going?

Folks, the Minnesota Catholic Home Educator's Conference is coming right up.  We are just a month away!  And, if you blog, consider checking this out.  It's posted by the sweetest blogger in the state.  And, I will be there, too.  I hope that doesn't keep you from attending :-).

For what it is worth, I will be hosting the next session on homeschooling children with special needs right after the Blogger's Chat. 

On Saturday, I will be speaking about Beginning Homeschooling at 11am and making learning fun by using some very easy game ideas at 3pm.  You can get more details here, if you like.  I hope you can make it.

Dysgraphia and Creative Writing

Dysgraphia is a learning disability in which writing is difficult.  This is more than just the inability too legibly create letters and words.  It extends to the inability to spell and properly organize thoughts on paper. A child that is dysgraphic gets hung up so much on how to form the letters, that their brain often loses track of what they were trying to spell or write. 

Here's a picture of the process for the visual learners...

When my son was diagnosed with dysgraphia in December, it came as no surprise to me.   I have spent much more time on handwriting, spelling and sentence building with him than with any of my other children.  When he practices a lot, his cursive is nice and legible, but it requires so much work and effort on his part, he is unable to write spontaneously.  He can do copy work very well.  He can't easily write what he thinks. 

I have always encouraged my son to type assignments.  He has had his own laptop since he was 10 because of the difficulties he has always had with writing.  He is not a proficient writer, but he types faster than he writes.  He has also learned to rely on the spelling and grammar checking, and I am okay with that.

Obviously because of his difficulties, I will not give up on teaching him the elements of writing (five paragraph essays, in particular), formatting (MLA mostly), and grammar (via intense Latin study and an extremely rigorous grammar program).  We've also come up with an editing process that I found out is used often...just didn't know it already existed.  It's called the power method and it uses an acronym which makes the process easy to remember:

P-lan
O-utline
W-rite
E-dit
R-evise

Now, that may seem obvious, but it is not to an ADHD kid, especially one who hates the writing process.  I have always tried to get my kids to plan out what they are doing BEFORE they write.  They have begrudgingly done it, sort of...however, it wasn't until we were working through Essay Voyages by Michael Clay Thompson last year that they saw the power of the outline.  I gave the four kids I was working with an assignment.  Within the book, there was an outline of an essay.  Their job was to write their own essay, using all the things they had learned thus far from that outline.  They were all astounded at how easy it was when they had a good outline!  From there, the editing and revising was actually easy.  Handwriting aside, the process seemed easier.

However, I had never spent much time on story writing.  I didn't feel I needed to because my kids have always been good, not only at narration, but at making up their own imaginative stories.
One babysitter told us, after watching my children play, that my eldest son would make a good scriptwriter and director.  He would orchestrate elaborate stories into their play sessions.  Not only would he tell everyone what to do, but also what to say.  All the kids would follow his instructions because his stories, created on the fly, were fantastic.  Somehow, it occurred to me last year that my son needed to work and further develop that skill. 

One thing I have learned (listen up curriculum developers) is that the assignments need to be engaging  The premise behind TJeD is to let kids follow their interests and they will learn what they need to learn.  Inside my kid is a story teller without a way to get it out.  I decided that I needed to take things into my own hands and figure out a way to get him writing creatively.  So, given his interests - Star Wars, weapons, adventure stories, games and role playing (although he'd never played an official RPG), I took a lesson from Joseph Campbell and great ideas from George Lucas, a student of Campbell, and put them all together.

Last year, the idea started niggling and I bought some Star Wars books to thumb through.  Of course, my son thought that was divine.   Then, I had to take some time and learn what RPG was all about.  I guess I hadn't realized that Dungeons and Dragons (DnD) is a role playing game.  I never played it, but my friends in high school (yes, almost 30 years ago) did play it.  So I did have exposure, just not experience.

What I ended up with was a writing class for reluctant writers based on the Star Wars universe using role playing games as a way to a create the story.  While I wrote the class for my son, I knew he would not be interested in doing it by himself.  That is where the RPG comes into play.  I knew that if he had to share the story with others and that others would be involved in the story with him, he would work hard.  What an incentive!  So, we invited 11 of his friends to join us.  I used Joseph Campbell's The Hero With a Thousand Faces to teach the boys what makes a good myth.   One young man dropped out, but the older brother of another participant requested to join when he saw how much fun it could be.  These young men, aged 11-14 voluntarily joined us six weeks over the summer to write five 8-10 page stories.  And yes, my son came up with five 10 page stories.  I typed much of it for him because his ideas came so fast, he couldn't capture them all.  We're now working on using Dragon Dictation so he can hand it by himself.

Here is what I found.  The boys loved the themes, character development and structure.  But I think I was the big winners because I learned so much in those six weeks about boys, the writing process, RPG, Star Wars (did I really need to know more???) but most importantly  I also got to know these 11 young men much better.  It was especially funny to see how they would include each other or me in their stories, either by killing them off (not me) or buttering them up (most often me) so that others would include them in their stories.

My daughters, age 9 and 12 at the time, sat in hiding close to our school room enraptured as they listened in as the boys told their stories.  I am now working on the same process for girls, but the story lines will be much different.  In fact, we're toying with either a time travel element or putting the entire story in a particular period of time...not sure yet about that one.  Perhaps...



So, I'm curious.  Would it make sense to run the Star Wars class again?  Would there be interest?  I know the boys that took it enjoyed it, but I don't know if they will join us again.  By the way, I only charge for the cost of materials for these classes.  I am not interested in making money on it.  Last year, the boys paid $30, which covered all the class costs as well as snacks, materials, books, etc.  Let me know if you have someone interested.  My son would be...

Gone Fishin'

My 6 year old has a way of keeping me on my toes.  He does not want to do school anymore because it's "no fun."  So, it was time to get creative.
He got a cheap dollar store fishing pole with a magnet for a hook from his sister for Christmas.  Inspiration!
I got out his flashcards and had HIM put paper clips on each.  (Great skill for developing fine motor skills.)  Before hie could completely finish, enter two year old.  She found the fishing pole and WOULD NOT give it back.  She had "gone fishin'" for his flashcards.  He was LIVID.  The scene he created was loud.
The result of the ruckus?  Enter four year old.  "I want to fish, too" he declared.
I ran out to the garage and grabbed the two kiddy fishing poles we had.  I cut the hooks and managed to tie slip knots on the line.  I added a couple of magnets to the lines.
Four year old and six year old now were putting paper clips on Disney Princess Math flashcards for the two year old.  She switched to fishing for princesses instead of reading words.
Four year old and six year old casted and fished for reading words, with four year old trying to say the letter names or sounds and six year old reading the words.  Two year old was still picking up princesses.
In the end I used:

• 3 fishing poles (kiddie or play type with magnets on the line)
• box of paper clips
• flashcards

Result:  three happy kids under 7, fine motor skill activity, gross motor activity (fishing), reading, letter recognition and PRINCESS recognition (don't all two year old girls need that?)  :-)
What have you done for fun lately?  Leave some creative ideas here.  Help us all out.

Sesquipedalian

With the homeschool Spelling Bee coming up in two weeks, we are doing a lot of spelling enrichment at our house.  Even though this game does not contain words from our Spelling Bee, it is still one of our favorites!

I think what I like the most about it is that my non-speller loves it too.  Here's why - the dictionary that comes with the game is divided into fun sections and most of the words are hilarious.  The kids can't resist these:
1) Fancy Words for Regular Things
2) Tongue Tang
lers and Ticklers
3) Idiotic Insults and Captivating Compliments
4) Parts, Farts and Functions
5) Astonishing Actions
6) Wacky Wordplay

It has drawn in my non-speller because, while he is not a speller, he loves silly words, too.  I'll give you a few examples:

coprolite:  -n, fossilized dung
omphaloskepsis: -n, contemplation of one's belly button
alektorophobia: -n, the fear of chickens

Believe it or not, I've found the dictionary that goes with this game in the oddest of places (like the magazine rack in the bathroom and in the back seat of the van.)  I think that's testament enough to how captivating it is to kids.  I'll add a few words, every now and again, for you to impress your kids with and see if they don't like these silly words, too.

p.s.  sesquipedalian:  -n, one who uses long words

Preparing for the Spelling Bee

I just finished my FAQ for our homeschool co-op's spelling team, which I lead.

Part of what I do is prepare fun workshops to help improve spelling skills and build vocabulary.  One of the best places to start are with some great on-line resources.  Check them out for your aspiring Spelling Bee Champ.
First off, I love Free Rice.  We LOVE being able to practice vocabulary while helping to feed the poor.
Then check out Spelling City.  You can enter in your own spelling lists and learn, test and play games to reinforce spelling skills.
Now head over to Spelling Bee The Game for a real-life competition.  The words are incredibly challenging.
Then go to Big IQ Kids for some fun.  You need to click on Spelling Bee Free Game.  You can do all kinds of fun stuff there like US Geography, Math and Vocabulary games as well. Kids get rewarded with fun logic games for doing well.
Another site we like is Word Plays.   There are many options for word play there.

I'll post more ideas here after I present them to our team, but for now, here's the gist of how our Spelling Team works:

Who can participate?

SCRIPPS will allow any child that is in grade 4-8, up to the age of 15 (as long as their birthday was/will be AFTER 8/31).

 

What does it cost to participate?

I had originally projected a cost of $10 per child.  I’ve amended that to $10 per child with a cap at $15 per family.  

What does your $10 buy?

·         Access to the Spelling Team Yahoo!  Group

Participants will have access to all the group materials via a Yahoo! Group.  Invitations will be sent following payment for the family.

·         Access to the SCRIPP spelling lists and rules

All of the resources available from SCRIPPS will be available at the Spelling Team Yahoo! Group.  SCRIPPS provides lists for all the grades.  It also provides spelling guides for the difficult words we will move onto during the Spelling Bee when we exhaust the words on the grade lists.  It’s extremely helpful to use these spelling guides to prepare for our Bee and the SCRIPPS Regional Spelling Bee.   It is also imperative that the participants be aware of the rules so they are not disappointed when we move on to our practice Bees and the final Bee.

·         Participation in fun spelling workshops

Twice a month we will meet for OPTIONAL spelling workshops.  The workshops are a lot of fun, filled with games, group lessons (advanced phonograms and word etymology), practice Bees and supplemental homework.  All supplemental homework and activities will be available via the  Spelling Team Yahoo! Group.

·         Participation in Spelling Bee

We will hold a Spelling Bee at the end of January.  The judge and pronouncer’s schedule along with facility availability and speller availability will determine the date. 

Last year, the Spelling Bee took approximately 2 hours to complete.  I will allot three hours this year in case we have a great match!

We will have a small reception at the conclusion of the Spelling Bee to hand out awards and thank you’s.

·         The First Prize Winner will go on to participate in the SCRIPPS Regional Spelling Bee

The first prize winner of the Spelling Bee will receive a trophy, a free one year membership to Encyclopedia Britannica online and will go on to the SCRIPPS Regional Spelling Bee in the spring.

The second place winner will receive a trophy, a free one year membership to Encyclopedia Britannica online and will be a stand-in in the event the first place winner cannot participate.  

Shout out for new game website

Here's a website of free printable games. The feature new ones each week, so you might want to get on their email list or check back regularly.

We're doing Apologetics at the dinner table.  Lately, it has been bothering me how I seem to not be able to find the words to defend my faith.  My husband has been reading Nuts and Bolts: A Practical Guide for Explaining and Defending the Catholic Faith by Tim Staples during Eucharistic Adoration.  He wants us to help the kids to better understand our Faith and be able to counter anti-Catholic remarks both charitably and correctly.  My husband informs me that Tim Staples kids are homeschooled, so he will be looking in the book for further ideas of how to introduce Apologetics to the kids.

So how to you turn Apologetics into a game?  Remember, they don't HAVE to know the answer to the questions to play.  If you've ever played a game like Trivial Pursuit, you know that.  So, we'll be either facing off girls against the boys OR South Side of the Table -vs- North Side of the Table with Dad giving the questions from the Friendly Defenders cards.

When the kids get older, I will be working on a debate style program for my kids and others.  I took debate in high school and LOVED it.  My partner and I won several matches at the local level.  Once my kids have started Logic (2011-2012 school year), we may start.  I intend to do this like a book club, only we will be working on finding the arguments most Catholics face against the Faith and find Biblical responses to those.  We will most likely approach it by doing a Lincoln Douglas Debate Case.  I look forward to this exercise and think it will be beneficial for all of us.

Catholic Apologetics can simply be taught with the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the Bible.  But that can be fairly dry.  You could also use the Baltimore Catechism.  However, I recommend books like those by Tim Staples.  Dr. Ray Guarendi now has a DVD course available called "What Catholics Believe."  If it's half as good as the keynote he gave at the 2010 Minnesota Catholic Home Educators Conference, it's worth the money.   If you have a preteen or teen child that likes to read, you might want to consider having them read the book  A Philadelphia Catholic in King James' Court.  It was a fun read!

So, what do you do for your kids?  Are they learning Apologetics via the Catechism or are you doing something else?  I'd love ideas, if you are willing to share.

In Search of Mark and Janice Vreeland of Family Learning

For those that attended my games workshop, I had promised to try and contact Mark and Janice Vreeland that had written that great workbook called "Games...Tools for Learning" that I had gotten at a one day workshop back in 2003. I have tried google searching them, tried their web site, email all to no avail. So, if anyone out there has a copy of "Games...Tools for Learning" that they would like to unload, I know some buyers. I'm happy to act as a go between.

For those interested in further information on a full games workshop that I provide, that would include a workbook and time to create games with other moms, please contact me. The talk I gave at the conference was based on my workshop. My workshop is not like Mark and Janice's. Their seminar was a full day. I do my seminar in 3 hours and you go home with a booklet of quick and easy games. Mark and Janice almost created curriculum out of their games. I don't go that far and I don't use many of their ideas. I have a very different approach and we will have LOTS of fun.


I love doing the workshop and I think it's important, more so for the mom than the kids. Games give moms as much of a needed break as it does for kids. Mom? When was the last time you could say you really had fun teaching a subject? Playing a game with your kids on the subjects they need to learn will help restore our "love of teaching" as much as the kids "love of learning."

I don't charge much for the workshop, just the cost for the workbooks and my travel costs.  My only request is that you have at least 5 people so the copy costs are reasonable.  I get a discount for bulk copying.  So, please let me know via the combox if you are interested.  It would be my pleasure to do the workshop for you.