Grand Prix 2020

This past weekend, we had the AWANA Grand Prix at our church. It's a pinewood derby race that we've competed in for many years. The kids love it and look forward to it almost as much as their daddy does, ha. Leighton lets them choose any design for their car that they want. In years past, we've had a shark, police car, Hershey bar, monkey, shoe, a Camaro and "My Little Pony" Mustang, and various personalized designs. 

Leighton does a fantastic job with the cars, not only because he's a skilled craftsman, but because he's teaching our kids those skills, as well. As they get older, he expects them to complete more of the work. Drawing the design, sanding, painting--all the way down to cutting out the shape and polishing axles. It gives them a stronger pride in their cars and teaches them valuable skills.

Here are our 2020 Grand Prix cars!

  

I always love seeing their creativity. Anything can be made into a race car. Sometimes the kids know immediately what they want, other times we brainstorm until they decide, but we always have perfect designs in the end.  

Nicky suggested a few crazy ideas before he settled on Blaze from the television show (quite the resemblance, right?!) He actually wasn't involved in the design process since this car was a bit more involved, but he made a convincing project manager as he reminded his daddy of important missing details. He needs paint! Where are his wheels? In the end, he was quite pleased to drive Blaze across the gym floor and send him flying down the hallways.

Tyler had initially drawn two different ideas for his car. We all fell in love with his sub sandwich, so that became the winning choice. Tyler painted his buns and cut out felt for his fillings. It looks good enough to eat! He also made sure to have lighter colored slits in the top bun since that's how a real loaf bakes. Smart boy. He does love his momma's homemade French bread. 

Zac wasn't too concerned about a fancy car this year; he wanted to go for speed. He drew his design, sanded, and painted. He even added a number 18 on both sides, but soon realized they were covered by the wheels. Oops. His effort paid off though as he won 1st place for his group and competed in the overall race winning 2nd there. 

  

Alyssa took the longest to decide on a car. I personally suggested at least a dozen ideas (Leighton vetoed my Mount Rushmore suggestion, even though a group of perfectly carved presidents would be a guaranteed trophy). She eventually chose a hot dog, complete with ric rac mustard. Not only did she win a first place trophy for design, but for speed as well. That little hot dog can move!

Jake made his car completely by himself. Leighton gave suggestions and walked him through certain aspects, but Jake did the work. Not bad for a 14 year old! One of the wheels popped it off the track the first couple times down, but after it was angled differently, it really picked up speed. The adult group is only for fun, but I think his design was trophy-worthy. I'm sure there's no prejudice influencing that opinion either, ha. 

Leighton made his car by himself, too, ha! He put his engineering knowledge to work to design a fast car. He won every race in his group, won the overall race, and even beat a car that had never lost a race in many years. His car had hit 205 mph. I think to say he reached his goal of crafting a fast car and one that made his kids proud.

It was another great year at the Grand Prix! Designing, detailing, racing--it's all part of the fun! The trophies are just icing on the cake.

Or mustard on the hot dog.

Activity Bags

One of the biggest questions I had when I started homeschooling my oldest child 2 years ago was "How am I going to keep the other kids busy?" My kids are by my side almost constantly all day long. To think that my littles were going to play quietly by themselves the entire time would be silly. Alyssa (4 yrs) has always enjoyed doing school. She will sit and fill out worksheets and coloring pages for an hour. Zac (2 yrs) though? He might color 1 page and be done in 2.79 seconds. I started to search the internet for activities that would be fun, education, and keep him busy. I even started compiling a bunch of busy bag activities before we went on vacation this past summer. 

When I was given the opportunity to review Activity Bags, I was thrilled! This was exactly what I needed. Each e-book comes filled with self-guided activities that can be kept in a gallon-size zipper bag.  All the books were created by 2 homeschooling moms. The books include all the instructions, supply lists, and printable pages you need for each activity. They are designed to be used in a swap and contain all the necessary info to help you in that process. I personally have been wanting to participate in an activity bag swap for a long time. The concept is very simple - get X number of people with kids, each person makes X number of bags of the same activity, and everyone swaps bags. So, if you have a group of twenty people, in the end, you'll have 20 different activities. It's an easy and inexpensive way to quickly increase your number of independent activities for your little one.

There are currently 8 books with more in the works. We received the Preschool Bundle which consists of 2 books. Each book has 33-34 activities that prepare children ages 3-6 for kindergarten. They work on skills for counting, letters, colors, fine-motor, and more. The cost is very economical at only about $1 a bag and many of the supplies can be found around the house. Each e-book costs $15 individually or the set can be purchased for $27.

I first tried doing these activities with Alyssa and Zac while Jake (6 yrs) was doing other work. The only problem was that they were having so much fun that he wanted to play, too! From then on, we all did the activities together. Most of them worked just fine for all three ages. Some were a little too simple for Jake, and others were a bit too difficult for Zac. Every one was perfect for Alyssa though. During one activity from Book 1, I was explaining that a collage could be pictures placed all in one big pile instead of straight and organized. I told them that it's a different way to organize. Jake replied, "It doesn't sound organized to me. It sounds like messy." That's my boy!

 

We were also blessed to receive the Science Bundle containing 3 books. Again, each book cost $15 individually, $27 for two, or $39 for all three. Each one comes with 25 different simple science experiments that your child can see, touch, manipulate, modify, investigate, and solve. Each book focuses on different branches of science. Book 1 includes experiments in biology, general science, and nature. Book 2 has experiments dealing with chemistry, the human body, and general science. Book 3 is filled with all chemistry experiments.They are all geared towards kids in K-8th grades. Again, they can be used in a swap or simply at home by yourself.

As you may know, my kids love science and conducting experiments. I plan experiments for every Thursday, but the kids are always performing their own throughout the week. These books have made it so easy for me to have an experiment ready to go on Thursdays or just any time they're in a scientific mood. The lists are simple to gather, the instructions are easy to understand, and the activities are fun and engaging. Some of them include Secret Messages, Green Copper, and Floating Egg. The books also include log sheets, notes, and observation questions. With a total of 75 experiments, I won't have to do any research to find experiments for a while.

We have loved using these books! There are also books for Reading Games in a Bag, Math Games in a Bag, and Travel Activities in a Binder. They are even currently creating 3 Craft Kits in a Bag. I personally am very excited to buy more books. They are very thorough and offer many activities that are great for the kids. I definitely plan to host a swap in the future. If you're local and would like to participate, let me know.

If you'd like to get a feel for the activities and all they offer, you can fill out a brief survey and get some samples for FREE!  Trust me, your kids will thank you.

If you're interested in some of the other books offered or if you'd like to see more reviews of the preschool and science books, head over to the Schoolhouse Review Crew blog. 

* Disclaimer - I was given these e-books in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

IXL

My kids are geeky. It's ok, they come by it naturally. Their father's a geek, too. They love all things electronic and techy. There have been days when one child is on the iPad, one is on the computer, and one is on the laptop. I do allow them to play games that are purely fun, but I prefer them to play that are more educational. Some of the learning games are more learning than game and produce groans from my oldest child. 

The past few weeks, we've been practicing math skills with IXL. It's not a game, but surprisingly, no complaining accompanied it. Did you catch that? No complaining. I know. I was pretty shocked myself.

IXL is a math review site for Pre-K through algebra. It is broken into sections for each grade level. Each grade is then divided into different skills. Jake (6 yr) practiced using the first grade level, and Alyssa (4 yr) reviewed the Pre-K. After looking at sample questions, I realized that Zac (2 yr) could easily answer some of the questions. He also practiced at the Pre-K level. 

I sat at the computer with the two younger ones when it was their turn to practice. I read the questions for them and clicked the answers they chose. The program is set up so that the parent does not have to help though. There is a little volume button that the child can press and it will read the question to them. Another thing that is helpful is that you don't have to click directly on the circle to choose an answer, but instead can click in the general vicinity and the answer will be selected. That makes it easier for the child who has a hard time controlling the mouse.

 There are 41 skills for Pre-K and 151 skills for first grade, so the student can practice a looong time before ever getting bored or even seeing all the questions. Also, the questions will increase in difficulty as the student improves.

IXL tracks the student's progress. There is a section on the site where the parent can see exactly how the children are preforming, what skills they practiced, and even where their trouble spots are. You can also get email updates to keep you informed. There's also a way for the student to keep track of his own progress. As he answers questions and advances skills, an award will show on his board. My kids all loved finding the star and clicking on it to see what they "won." They also liked comparing their awards to their siblings'. It's the little things.

IXL memberships start at $9.95 a month (plus $2 each addition child) and $79 a year (plus $20 each additional child. Benefits include:

• Membership benefits:
• Complete coverage of math curriculum from pre-K to algebra. 
• Unlimited questions in over 2,000 skills.
• Fun and colorful practice formats.
• Questions that adapt to your child's ability, increasing in difficulty as they improve.
• Immediate feedback and question-specific explanations to solidify understanding of each concept.
• Audio for all pre-K through first-grade skills.
• Weekly e-mail updates on your child's progress.
• Informative, detailed reports pointing out successes and trouble spots.
• Awards and certificates for you and your children to print out as they reach important milestones.
   

If you're looking for a way for your kids to practice their math skills . . . and have fun while doing it . . . IXL is for you!



Don't forget to stop by the Schoolhouse Review Crew blog to read more reviews of IXL.

*Disclaimer: I received a temporary subscription for this product in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Pantry Surprise 2/25/12

I had a basket or two of laundry dumped out on the living room floor, and all three kids were "helping" me fold it. Zac mostly just likes to jump and roll in the clothes, which is a pet peeve of mine. He'll stop and then play with random articles of clothing. The older two were working on socks. Jake's folded socks were more like balls instead of tubes. Alyssa does pretty well at folding most things. She loves helping me, and I love when she does. There was a day when I'd go behind and "fix" the things they had folded - wash cloths with edges that weren't lined up, shirts with sleeves that were uneven, socks that were mushed into a half-folded/half-rolled ball. I've realized though, that they are learning valuable skills. They're strengthening fine motor abilities, gaining independence, learning life skills, and building a sense of accomplishment. Those qualities are more important than having pants that are folded perfectly. 

Whether or not they help me fold the laundry, it is their responsibility to put their piles of clothes away (except for 2-year-old Zac.) If they change outfits during the day (which they love to do, especially girly-girl Alyssa), it is also up to them to fold those clothes and put them away. 

We finished folding and putting everything away and went on with our day. It wasn't until a couple hours later that I opened the pantry door. I found something I've never seen in there before. Apparently not all the clothes had been put in their proper places. Sitting in the middle of the pantry was a pair of underwear. Where's the picture, you ask? Oh, let's just say it didn't belong to any of the kids, and I didn't think it would be appropriate to plaster my unmentionables all over the internet (though it might increase my stats!) Remember I said Zac likes to play with the clothes while I'm folding them? That certain item was one that he had chosen and had apparently wandered off with them. Little Stinker. Zac that is. Ahem. 

Let's just hope that he doesn't do something like that again when we have company over, because in Jake's words, "that would just be awkward." 

You can catch up on all Pantry Surprises here.