Geography Find #2, Math Find #1 and Logic Find #1

It's a game titled Ticket to Ride and again it's not just something for homeschoolers. The recommended ages are 8 to adult BUT my 8 and 6 year old's love the game. We just change the rules a bit for the younger ones but even they are starting to play like the adults. The one we have has a map of the USA and Canada with major cities randomly selected. Geography ties in because you have to find your cities and then you learn the names of the cities in between. Logic ties in because you have to think and plot your moves. Math ties in because you have to count many times in the game. Read this review on the game and you'll see just how much fun it can add to a school day or family game night.

Geography Find #1

Geopuzzles! You don't even need to homeschool to enjoy these. It's a fun way to learn all the countries in the world and their location. I own all of the puzzles except for the full world one. The Africa one is missing from the photo collection above because I can't remember where I placed it after cleaning up the last time. Anyway the kids love helping to put the puzzles together and they love timing themselves to see if they can beat their previous time. Also they are getting really good at knowing the general location of where each country goes. It's a simple yet fun way to learn about the world and where places are located.

The puzzle tried to shape each country as it is in real life. Sometimes the bigger countries get put together in several pieces and sometimes smaller countries are put together so the pieces are super tiny. As a warning the pieces do not fit like traditional puzzles and if having an exact fit puzzle you will be disappointed. One thing we do is read the names of all the countries and then I have the kids leave the room. I then remove a few countries and see if the kids can remember the names of the missing ones. My kids are 8 and 6 and while they don't get them all correct they do better than the neighbors 12 year old who learned world history last year in school.

I think these would be the perfect supplement and possibly a full on curriculum for learning world countries and geography. The price on these puzzles run from $7-15 on amazon, not a bad price for hours of fun and learning.

What's coming up on the blog!

I plan on giving some reviews on products we used throughout the year for our schooling. So stay tuned for that all my homeschooling friends. I do have a few really fun things that we have loved. Curriculum, puzzles, games, and books. I'll cover it all while getting ready for a new year of homeschooling in the fall.

6/12/2011

Book Review for Memorial Day

I found a really neat book about Arlington National Cemetery for reading around Memorial Day.  The story talks about George Washington Parke Custis and continues his family story through Robert E. Lee. There is some talk about the Civil War and how that was the beginning of the National Cemetery. There is mention of the memorial to the U.S.S. Maine and how it came to be. Then the story continues with WW 1 and the beginnings of the Tomb of the Unknowns. Also included is the story behind the guarding of the Tomb of the Unknowns. Traditions that are carried on in Arlington are given in easy to understand descriptions. They talk about caparison horses and the most famous caparison horse. They also talk about the Challenger Monument and the one for the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon. I loved the mention of the work that goes into getting the cemetery ready for Memorial Day. And the book finishes off with the traditions used in changing of the Guard and burials that take place in Arlington. There are no actual pictures instead the book is full of drawings.
I thought it was a perfect book for my boys ages 8 and 6. Enough information to learn but not too much that it went all over their heads. The book is Arlington The Story of Our Nation's Cemetery.

Computer Desk Project

We had been using one 6 foot table and one 4 foot table as our computer desk. It sat in a "L" shape in our dining room and had no storage and was always cluttered with everything. I noticed a desk/table that was built in one of the magazines I've been drooling over for months now and thought I could build that easily. I made a few changes as I wanted a flat surface for the whole top and I wanted more storage than the one in the magazine had. I bought three in stock cabinets from Lowe's. The 18 inch four drawer base and 2 12 inch drawer/cupboard bases. I stained them with a red mahogany stain. The one in the magazine called for one base cabinet and four legs. For the top the magazine used an old door for the top but I bought two pine panels and just glazed them for contrast. Overall we love the desk. We did have to go buy bar stools because of the regular chairs we have were too low. 

Project #1 almost complete

Other than either stenciling or using some vinyl on the top of the top door and the bottom of the bottom door I've completed this project. Walls are painted in both the dining room and hallway. We are putting in the flooring this week.
Before picture of the closet in the hallway:

 After pictures: