A Lego story...and a little contest...

People often don't believe me when I tell them we have a room in our home called "the Lego room." It's true, though. Honest. It used to just be called "the yellow room." It's basically the boys' toy room. And, of late, most of the boys' toys are Legos. Sigh. ;) In any case, once upon a time, the boys inherited Nathan's Lego collection from when he was a kid. It fit in a box. All was good. (To clarify, we'd had Duplo sized Legos already, but now we're talking about the "regular" sized ones.) We gradually added a set here and there. Roughly six months after introducing the "regular" sized Legos, here's what our collection looked like:

Yes, it fit on top of the boys' workbenches and we naively attempted to store it in an organized fashion in these boxes (had three of them, I think). Most of the inventions on the workbench tops were just things Noah had put together.

Now. Fast forward about 4.5 years. We'd given up on the organized storage and would have settled for simply not having them on the floor. ;) All three boys were, by now, fully involved in all of the creating. Here's kinda what it looked like back in February after our very Lego Christmas:

If you'll recall, this was after significant picking up. ;) The yellow room had basically become a dumping ground, though the boys insisted that they could play in there just fine. Legos were everywhere. If you look carefully in that picture on the right, you can see the dark brown box on the floor in front of the workbench...that's the box the original collection of Legos arrived in. Really.

Then, in March of this year, we went to Legoland in California. We're gluttons for punishment like that. ;) Thanks to much saving of allowances and generous grandparents, the boys managed to bring home 23 additional Lego sets. (Yes, it was a bit more crowded in the van on that drive home, lol.) We decided we needed to do something about the Lego room. 

So, we purged and got rid of almost all of the toys that had been in the yellow room. The boys weren't playing with them anyhow. ;) Here's what we're now left with:

That top picture shows the three sets of big tub drawers (about as tall as Micah, if you were wondering). Four of the drawers are full of Duplo Legos. Don't ask. (Okay, I thought about getting rid of them but the boys actually use them still...they build buildings and hangars and garages for their smaller Lego inventions.) Three are designated as the boys' drawers (each boy has one for whatever he wants...easier to have them just dump stuff in drawers like this, lol). One is full of Ramagons. One is miscellaneous. :)

The middle picture is the tubs of Legos that aren't currently "in use" as part of inventions. They're *packed*...and this doesn't take into account the three more (larger) boxes of Legos in the next room (with Lego train pieces and Lego Mindstorm stuff).

And that last picture shows the closet with the new shelves we put up. One for each boy. They're overflowing with the inventions the boys have made and refuse to take apart. I say overflowing because I didn't show you the floor along the wall where more Lego vehicles are all lined up. And Asher's shelf is literally just piled in there. ;) Here's another look:

But, look! You can see the floor! Isn't that nice? :) Yay! Of course, within an hour of me taking this picture the boys moved a big folding table (one of those standard rectangular ones) into the middle of the room so they could spread their inventions out a bit more. Sigh.

Yup. Once the older two were obsessed with trains. The Lego obsession is worse, has already lasted longer and doesn't look like it'll end any time soon. Oy. But, now you know, we really do have a Lego room, LOL!

So, that's my story. Take it as a warning if you will. ;) 

Now, for a little giveaway. Remember all those Lego sets we brought home from Legoland? Guess how many pieces that involved. Closest person (without going over) to the correct number will win a $10 e-giftcard to Lego.com ...because I shouldn't be the only one wading in Legos. ;) Post your guess in the comments before Monday, June 21 at midnight (MST) and I'll let you know who won on Tuesday morning. (Be sure to check back or leave your email in your comment so I can contact you.)

Reading...Part II

So, back to "reading." Here are some of the other resources we've used that go beyond the act of reading to things like reading comprehension and literature and grammar. Please note...this is the area that I feel we have focused on the least...the area I think we need to work on the most in the coming year. 

Five in a Row. This is a dandy little program targeted at pre-K/Kinder and reading readiness. While my boys disliked the repetition that this program embraces, I did enjoy the book lists and had fun reading them with the boys. (We just didn't do any of the activities or the repeated readings.) It's been years since I've used this, though.

Summer reading programs. Our local library has a wonderful summer reading program that the boys have been participating in for as long as I can remember. It's a simple thing. Read (or be read to, for younger ones) 5 hours...bring in your form for the first prize (they have a list of choices). Read another 5 hours and come in for your second prize (same deal). Ta da. :) Having the set goal (and getting things like ice cream in exchange) worked wonders for my boys...to the point that I finally just realized that I should use this format, myself, year round. So. I'll be making up themed reading program forms for each month (complete with little "clocks" to be filled in) and offering up little prizes...stuff I probably would get the boys anyhow, but they don't have to know that, lol. Here's hoping this approach is more successful than my attempt at keeping a log/list of what books each boy had read in a month. ;)

Oh! And if your kids are anything like mine, you might find these useful. They're digital timer bookmarks. My boys love being able to time their own reading and I love not having them ask me "how long was that?" constantly. :) They can be a straight timer or can be a countdown. Fun! (Yes, I'd prefer if they'd just read for the sake of reading...which sometimes does happen...but I have very number oriented boys and having the numbers helps, lol.)

Schoolhouse Rock. Yup, an oldie but a goodie. It's amazing to me how effective and entertaining the little songs are and how well they stick in the boys' heads. I've been on the lookout for more things like this but haven't found anything to compare...yet. In any case, I showed this to the boys to help with parts of speech.  

Grammar curriculums. This is the area I find myself constantly searching. I've tried First Language Lessons (which, overall, seems good but moved too slow for us), Daily Grams (that I thought would be a hit given the brevity of each lesson but that turned out to backfire as they'd rather do a full sheet about capitalization than just a single question each day), and Language Smarts (that actually probably would have worked but the paper they were printed on made actually writing in the books (which were too thick to photocopy, aside from the fact that that would be a major pain) difficult to the point that the boys were more upset by their writing than by the lessons).

This coming year I'm going to try a combination of workbooks for Noah and Asher along with the Daily Language Instruction by Hogback Press. Basically, I'm sure there are plenty of materials out there that will work. We just haven't put in the time and energy that we need to and have dismissed a number of things simply because they didn't excite us. Wish me luck. ;)

Reading comprehension. At the moment, I haven't really delved into reading comprehension beyond just reading plenty with the boys. And we talk together about stuff a lot. :) The brief stint I did cover "official" reading comprehension, I used Beyond the Code (part of the Explode the Code program) with Noah. They presented a short story and then asked questions. It was a fine approach and program, though it seemed too easy at the time (maybe I started it too late with Noah?). I'm thinking I'll go back to it and use it for Asher now, though. I think the level might be more appropriate for him and did like it.

I've also recently read Deconstructing Penguins and am excited to try to incorporate that into our program this year. It talks about book clubs and using certain books to teach things like fiction/non-fiction, plot, character development, etc. Very cool stuff. 

Other stuff. And, just for kicks (and to keep Noah challenged/occupied), I throw in books like Analogy Challenges and Word Ladders...similar to how I use Code Breakers for math. :) 

And, before I forget again, I meant to mention in my earlier reading post that I recently was told about this cool book called I Can Read Now! An Easy Sight Word Reader by David Fernstedt. I'm looking forward to going through this with Asher and Micah, working on sight words that don't follow the rules we're learning through All About Spelling or Explode the Code. Particularly for kids who tend to just guess at words rather than attempt to spell them out, this seems like a handy resource, and more fun than flash cards (though, actually, I don't think I've ever used flash cards with the boys so maybe they'd think that is fun?).

Also, I just remembered about a book called The Daily Five that I read about a year ago and really enjoyed. It talks about teaching reading and provides some nice tips and tricks...I particularly liked how to explain finding a book that "fits" to a child so that they're not so frustrated trying to read a book that is too difficult for him/her.

And that, my friends, is what I have to say about reading. ;) Thanks for hanging in there with me! Would love any comments with other resources or even just to tell me that you find these posts boring. ;) 

Interrupting...

...just wanted to interrupt these homeschooling posts to update on goings-on around here. Nothing too exciting. ;) Boys are enjoying swim lessons and karate classes (soccer camp isn't until July, lol). We're purging again and may have to have another garage sale in August. (Don't laugh. But in rearranging things after the first garage sale last month, we realized that we hadn't really sorted things like the boys' rooms or the kitchen.) We continue to homeschool (and think of more things I want to add to the list, lol). Been enjoying watching World Cup Soccer. Watched both the original and the new "Karate Kid" with the boys. Stuff like that. :) Sadly, I've not taken many photos lately...will try to work on that.

That was it. Just wanted you to know we're still here... ;)

Reading...Part I

Guess I'll stick with the basics to start...though "reading" really is rather broad, isn't it? Today, then, I'll just talk about the very basic part...letters and learning to actually put letters together and read words.

So. Let's start at the beginning I suppose. :) Let me start by saying that my approach to teaching reading has been a somewhat hands-off one. From the varied reading I've done on the subject and my own observations and experiences, children learn to read when they're ready. I've tried to follow that and allow my sons to learn at their own pace...so have tended to wait until they asked specifically for instruction before actually "teaching." (This, of course, does not mean that we didn't talk with them about things like letters and words. We've always tried to explain things as we go and view any moment as a potential for education.) In any case, back when Noah started asking to learn to read...

I'm almost embarrassed to say that I don't recall ever sitting down with any of my boys and saying "now let's learn the alphabet" or working on writing letters. Strange but true. ;) Instead, um, I showed them this dvd one day and it was amazing. From that, they learned the letter sounds and what they looked like. It was weirdly fast. I'd help them from time to time if they asked about a specific letter or sound. And that's pretty much what I did about letter recognition (despite the many cool things I'd purchased and collected for that purpose, lol). 

After that, we used things like these to hone the letters and decoding/phonics:

Bob Books. Simple little books that help build confidence as kids learn to read. Mine weren't overly eager to read these but it was nice to have something that we knew they *could* read. There are a number of sets similar to these and we've tried many but still come back to the simplicity of these. 

Maze books. It may sound odd, but I found that having the boys do mazes helped their penmanship. It was all about pencil control...and it was more fun than pages of repeated letters. ;) 

Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading. For Noah, reading workbooks were too repetitive. I relented and switched to this book. It's designed to do a short lesson each day and worked great for Noah. We sat together and read this lesson daily, and before long he was learning the "rules" and reading. It didn't work as well for Asher, though, so do keep that in mind. This approach seemed much more suited for a child who doesn't need as much repetition or review.

Explode the Code. These are the workbooks we started on with Noah. Though they didn't click for him, Asher and Micah like them. They have software and online exercises now, but we've always just used the workbooks. They teach the letter sounds and reading "rules" in a straight-forward and fun way. The illustrations are great and not distracting (and not always obvious, which means that the boys can't always just guess based on the pictures). A single lesson is an easily manageable size, and the books are designed to be used from K/1st to 4th.

(They also have pre-K workbooks about letter recognition and practice in writing just letters. We tried these with Micah but they ended up just being busy work, as he would whip through a whole book in one sitting...generally while waiting for his brothers or wanting something to do like his big brothers were doing.)

All About Spelling. This is our most recent find in this area. While it's presented as simply a spelling curriculum, I've found that it covers a number of things in more typical "reading" programs as well. I don't know exactly what it is, but the boys love this program...which means *I* love it! If I had to guess, I'd say it's a combination of how it incorporates all the different ways of learning (saying the sounds, moving the letter tiles, and hearing the dictation) and the fact that they all do it together.

(Yes, Noah is five years older then Micah. This is review for Noah right now. But he can use the review and works better with the confidence this gives him. It's probably a bit more than Micah needs and just about perfect for Asher. Micah, so far, can handle it. And. They're happy.)

Honestly, too, I'm learning spelling/reading rules that I never knew. And it makes explaining spelling and reading soooo much easier when you can tell them a "rule" rather than just saying "just because...just remember it." ;)

Hmmm. I think that's pretty much it for this area. As always, I'd love to hear any of your suggestions as well! I'll cover more soon...

Math

I figured I'd start with one that's fairly straight-forward. :) Here's what we've used for math...

Singapore Math. We've used the Earlybird workbooks and the Primary Standards editions from 1 through 5 so far. I anticipate that we'll continue to use this curriculum. All three of my boys have enjoyed these workbooks, particularly that the exercises are challenging without being repetitive or intimidating. (Each topic is covered in a straight-forward manner without pages and pages of exercises to make the same point. This works well for us, though I can see that it might not be ideal for others.) I like that it encourages mental math, something that I (as an incredibly visual learner) never excelled in. (Right now, each boy has his own workbook and does about six exercises a week.)

Life of Fred. We've just begun using this program. Okay, actually, Noah and I have just finished the first book. So far, I'm pretty happy with it. It presents higher math in a fun and different manner with only a handful of exercises. I'm not sure it would work as a sole curriculum yet, but it definitely provides a framework that I can use and expand on. Noah loves the story...enough that he requests to do a few chapters each week, wanting to know what comes next. ;) I know we won't keep up that pace, but just appreciate this new approach to what can be a stuffy subject.  

Books. We have quite a collection of math-oriented books that we've read with the boys since they were little. In particular, the Math Start books by Stuart J. Murphy and the Sir Cumference books are fabulous. Extra workbooks like Code Breakers also add more problem-solving to our lessons. (Right now, Noah works on a Code Breakers book weekly also.)

Games. Math lends itself superbly to games. We play lots of games. Count Down, Yahtzee, the Prime Card game, Sequence Numbers, Make 7...so very many. Additionally, simply having dice around makes for quick and easy math. Roll two and have your child add/subtract/multiply/divide them. Go a step further and roll two and have your child use graph paper to draw a rectangle using those dimensions. Now find the area. Viola! 

Other. Beyond all of that, we simply talk about math in our lives all the time. And. Money is a huge motivator. Last summer we started giving the boys a weekly allowance and it's made such a big difference. They understand how money works...what taxes are (and, in Noah's case, how to figure them)...the benefits of savings...what things are worth (to them)...how long it takes to save for certain things...and so much more. Seriously, even if you don't want to give your kids a heap of money for an allowance, a small amount regularly is a fantastic math lesson.

So. That's what I can think of right now that we've used for math. Do you have any math products/tricks that you'd be willing to share?