In our house, we’re working with my 1st grader on quickly reading letter blends instead of sounding them out. (E.g. ing, ack, ou, tion, kn, etc.) But, flashcards are boring–not just for HER but for ME. Being that I am
“Uno Más” Game Repurposing Post
For those of you who have enjoyed playing our repurposed Candy Land and Twister games, here’s one for another game you probably have in your home that may or may not be collecting dust. UNO! Take the subjects in which
Become a Story Sleuth
Tie together logic and language over the summer with whodunit puzzles! Playing detective once a day will strengthen your child's mind muscles in an enjoyable way. Timing how quickly puzzles are solved and charting the solution speed over the course
Just Dreamy
No matter whether you believe that dreams can help you solve problems, give insights into what’s to come into your life, or simply are strange jumbles of emotions and images from your day…they do offer an interesting look at your unconscious
Starstruck Storytime
There’s no better time than warm, summertime nights to stargaze. Connecting the dots in the sky with the mythology from different cultures can leave your linguistic child star struck. Check books out of the library telling the stories of each
References We Used As We Developed Kidzmet
Genesis of Kidzmet While we started building the current version of Kidzmet in late 2010, the inspiration for the idea actually came from Jen Lilienstein’s undergraduate senior thesis in 1994. Under the direction of Dr. Francesca Cancian at UCI, Jen
Poetry Puzzle
Adapted with permission from Chicago Park District’s “Once Upon a Day Camp” Guide Read selections from an anthology like The Rattle Bag and compare the word choices of the authors from different eras. How has the English language changed over time? What
Innerspace List Poems
Adapted with permission from the Chicago City Park District’s “Once Upon a Day Camp” Guide, which was adapted from original source “Art & Poetry Projects for Kids”, by Alice George Using a piece of butcher paper, draw an outline of
Paint by Part of Speech
Brush up your budding artist’s English skills by transforming a paint-by-numbers download into a a paint-by-part-of-speech. (Or rhyming words for the little ones.) 1. Download a paint by numbers drawing off the internet (this one came from http://allkidsnetwork.com/color-by-numbers/) 2. Import
The Music of Poetry
Pick up a copy of The Music Lover’s Poetry Anthology at your local library or bookstore. Choose a few of the poems that you think your child would enjoy, then download some of the musical pieces by the composers that were the