learning
Learning Fractions the Banana Bread Way
Last week bananas were piling up on my kitchen counter. It was quickly becoming a DEFCON “EWWW” situation. I needed to bring resolution to the predicament ASAP because I really, really don’t like to waste produce. Enter my favorite banana bread recipe which uses 4 bananas. Not a problem! I had 6 bananas. I was going to leave the other two bananas sitting there all lonely and forlorn on the counter when I realized I didn’t have to waste them. I could make a batch and a half of banana bread because I’m good with fractions. I went to public school, folks. I know what you are thinking. “Annisa, this is starting off as…
Phonics Books for Star Wars Fans
Teaching boys to read can be tough. If you have a boy who immediately dove into books and all things phonics, God bless you. That has not been my experience. My son is in kindergarten and is doing a great job learning to read – better than I expected, actually. Here’s where it got tricky. My son would practice reading with my husband and me, but only the Bob Books. Both of my kids started reading using the Bob Books and they were fantastic. At some point though, you have to move on and start reading other things. Mac and Mat said so! A friend told me about a set of LIFE CHANGING books. I’m not…
How to Ask Your Kids About Their School Day
Hey, hey! Is your household still basking in the glow of summer? Or are you like us and summer is a distant memory? We are in the middle of week 2 of school. How long until Winter Break??? These days, it’s a good morning if mommy only yells a few times “Hurry Up! The bus will be here soon.” Sad, but true. Please tell me I’m not the only one. I saw this really cool graphic on CNN recently that showed a sampling of when school starts throughout the United States. It seems more and more schools are moving to August start dates. Interesting, right? Here’s the full CNN article. Image below…
Notebook Paper Lunchbox Notes – Free Printable
We are in back-to-school countdown mode around these parts! I always associate the start of school with fall, but in Georgia it is still 95 degrees. Definitely not fall-like weather. Maybe in a couple of months… But whether I think it feels like the start of school or not, it’s still starting! Time to get with the program. Last year I started packing my daughter’s lunch with reusable lunchbox notes. I made these day-of-the-week notes and will keep using them this year. They’ve held up great! (There’s a free printable if you click on the link to that post.) This is my son’s first time in all-day school, so he gets to…
Back to School Favorites
My kids go back to school in 10 days. My baby will be starting all-day Kindergarten. *wah* Whose the REAL baby now? Now, while I do have mixed emotions about the start of another school year, I am 100% sure that I LOVE new school supplies. I mean, come on, who doesn’t love a new Trapper Keeper? Here are a few of the items my kids will be using on the first day of school. 1. LL Bean Backpacks My daughter’s Wildkin Backpack held up amazingly well for 2 years. I’d actually highly recommend it. However, she has out-grown all things pink in color and the backpack was finally starting to show some wear. She’ll be…
Kindergarten Sight Word Flash Cards – Free Printable
I’m a mean mom. I make my kids do reading, writing and arithmetic during their summer break. My son just finished up Pre-K and earlier this year I noticed he was starting to put sounds together and showing interest in learning how to read. So, we dipped our foot in that water and lo and behold, the little stinker knew more than he was letting on! He’s started reading the Bob Books, but I asked his Pre-K teacher about what sight words he would need to know or would learn next year in kindergarten. For some reason, I imagined she would give me a handy deck of flash cards to…
Diary of a Not So Wimpy Girl Free Printable
Recently, my daughter became obsessed with the Diary of a Wimpy Kid book series. Have you heard of it? I discovered that she had also started to make her own “diary of a wimpy kid” at the craft table using good ol’ computer paper and a stapler. I love it when books inspire you to do something productive. It gave me an idea to make her a more official-looking cover for her book, with my own spin on the title. Of course, when I had this idea, it was while waiting to board a flight and I had about 10 spare minutes. So, professional and perfect, it is not. Actually,…
Turtle Power – Turtle Lays Eggs
Not the Mutant Ninja variety, but an actual turtle graced our home with her presence recently. One morning the kids ran outside to play and not 2 seconds later they come storming back in, “Mom, Mom, MOM!” Why do kids not wait for a reply? My kids don’t even give me a chance to reply before the “mom” is screamed in their loudest, shrillest voice possible. I digress. “There’s a turtle outside!” Okay, I thought. There’s probably a cute little turtle out on the street. We’ll go check it out. Boy, was I wrong. Isn’t she gorgeous? Her shell was bigger than a basketball, I’d say. She was in our flower…
Teacher Appreciation Gifts
We moved to Georgia at the tail end of the school year. I was so thankful to my kids’ teachers for welcoming them into their classrooms with open arms and hearts. They truly made the transition so smooth. And hey, they only had to put up with my kids for 8 weeks! So before school ended, we whipped them up a little homemade appreciation gift of strawberry freezer jam and anise biscotti. The kids helped! I know the teachers probably would have appreciated a gift card even more, but I’m trying to teach my kids how special it is to give the gift of your time. In the age of…
