Ready 2 Read Level 2 Play doh Words

Today my oldest did some review of the word families in Ready 2 Reads' Level 2 units. He used red play doh and went thru the alphabet making up words. He then recorded them on the Play doh word sheet.

My younger two played with different kinds of play doh on the other side of the table while he did his words. Here's a few pix. ;)

Ikea knock off VIKA Alex Drawer Units by Michaels Recollections

Last week Michaels had a sale on their Recollections storage collection. Buy one, get one free! So... when I saw they had these units that resembled Ikea's VIKA Alex 5 drawer units I had to check them out. I need two more for the other part of our classroom desk. The website stated they were the same height and width but had wheels that came with them.

So.. I called all over and couldn't find them. A customer service rep directed me to the 1-800 number and the lady there gave me the SKU and told me my local store had 3 in stock. So, called back to the store.. they said they were discontinued and had none. But he checked another spot in store and low and behold 2 on the shelf. That evening we went in and I purchased both. So for the price of one I got two units. Woohoo!!

I put the first unit together myself. Now.. they are great for storage but I wouldn't use them for the desk because they are made cheaper. The back is like a thicker cardstock paper and nails on unlike Ikeas which is solid like the sides. The drawers just glide in and sit on plastic rungs. Ikea's have metal drawer glides that stop and your drawers don't tip out.

The biggest bummer is these new ones are slightly taller and the finish is matte not glossy. However they do stack!! So.. instead of returning them I am using them for monthly theme/unit studies. I looked online and found free monthly labels from here. Printed them out, laminated them, cut them with my paper cutter. We found my glue dots and stuck them on the front of the shelves.

Perfect! I had been thinking of buying the Sterlite plastic 3 drawer units for this kind of storage. But these work out so much better and take up way less space. They are more sturdy and match our other furniture.

I even had cute helpers to put them together! It was a learning experience for my two oldest. They learned how to hammer in the nails and how to decipher which materials and hardware go with what. 

I still need to buy the other half of the desk.. :( I also need a few more bookcases and eventually replace the other two in I already have in there. I'm considering buying the 60ish ones from Target. They seem sturdy and are a bit more decorative. ;) Well that's all for now..

Pinterest

Ever since I came across Pinterest I have become obsessed. ;) It is a great resource for education! I have tons of boards dedicated to different themes and subjects.

It also is great for DIY or home decor ideas. You can find recipes galore!! I love it!

Check out my boards and leave a comment below with a link to your boards if you are a pinterest-aholic, too!

Grow Your Own Gel Balls ~ Science for Kids!

  The boys received these in their Christmas stockings.

  So last night, @5:30, we decided to finally put them to the test.

 I printed out a science experiment paper from http://homeschooling.about.com for my oldest to complete.  

They started out like this :

 

We took a small sized mixing bowl and 2 packets of Gel Ball beads. Filled the bowl to the top with water. Then we waited, impatiently might I add. My oldest kept checking the bowl every 15 mins for results of the balls "growing". Within those 15 mins they doubled their size. 30 mins later they were even bigger!

 After 1 hour had past they were slightly smaller than a dime.

Here is my 5 yr old squishing the gell balls around after an hour:

 This morning we checked and they are full size and bigger than marbles. We had to place them in empty gallon ice cream containers we had recyled for storage. Added a little water to keep them squishy for play.

These are a great resource for learning science. However, please be aware you should only let your children handle these under close adult supervision and never alone. Because these gel balls grow in liquid, if a child swallows one it can become lodged in their digestive system and require surgery to remove. It can even be fatal if left undetected. I read an article online about an 8 month old girl who swallowed one of these tiny beads before it expanded and luckily they were able to find it and remove it with surgery to save her life.

So if you use these follow all the precautions for your children(s) safety and don't forget your pets safety if you have them, too!!

Clapping Syllables

Today during lunch we talked about syllables. We said every name for everything we could think of in the room and clapped out the syllables. The kids had fun doing this. A did quite well. The littles were happy and clapping and trying to count out the syllables on their fingers.

Time for a fresh start!

Well the blog has been on the back burner since what 2010? LOL! So, its 2013 and time for a fresh start.