Math you see

This year, we are using a new math curriculum Math-U-See.

 I remember doing "good" in math when I was in school, mostly because I could memorized very well. But teaching this curriculum to the little girls made me realized the logic behind what I have memorized, and that in my opinion is a good thing!

A friend give me the Alpha curriculum, dvd, teacher's manual and student work and test books. We have been using it  for a little while and so far are liking it. I like that the kids have a chance to manipulate blocks and making connections in their brain at the same time. The instructions are clear and you can work with your child own pace, not need to hurry things up.

Here is a short clip explaining the Alpha curriculum, for those who are interested in learning more.




Btw the guy talks about letting the kids play with the blocks at home, I do have leggos and duplos for playing, those little block will  only be used during math class. I really don't want to loose them, they will be use over and over again.

 Hopefully at the end of our school year, will be able to give you a fuller review about it.

How about you all, have you tried Math-U-See?

Favorite Fall Flavor Friday ~ Homemade Curried BBQ Sauce & meatballs

Autumn, the season of warm delicious food has arrived. I am planning to post here on Friday's sharing our fall favorite flavors and recipes. 

Easy Homemade Curried BBQ Sauce

What you will need:

• 3/4  to 1 cup of brown sugar (to taste)
• 3/4 cup of ketchup
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 3/4 TBS Worcestershire sauce 
• 1 1/4 tps ground mustard 
• 1 tps smoke paprika
• 1  to 2 glove(s) of garlic minced 
• 2 TBS Curry powder
• 1/4 Chipotle Chile powder
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Bring all the ingredients to a boiled (on med heat) add meatballs (I use some ground pork meatballs that I had previously cooked and frozen) let simmer on med/low until desired consistency. Serve on a bed of quinoa with fresh raw veggies sticks.  

Easy Monogram Letter Craft

Cooler weather makes me in the mood for organizing, baking and crafting. I don't know about you, but with gray days and spending more indoor time, creating some pretty things to look at does bring a smile to my face.

 For today's super easy craft all you will need

• Designer paper (Micheal's store always have tuns of paper on clearance)
• Hot glue gun and glue sticks
• Buttons (random one will do)
• Picture frame (mine was a old one that I just took the picture out of)

How to

1. Open your frame and cut the paper to fit inside 
2. using the buttons, shape the letter of your choice (child's name, first letter of your last name etc)
3. Start gluing 
4. put back the frame together voila!

Have you done any monogram letter craft? If so, leave a link into the comment of blog post or picture of it.

Happy crafting. 

Avoiding distractions during school time

We live in a world of constant distractions.

Our call phone beeps to inform us that someone left us a text, a like on facebook or an tweet to let us know what is happening right at the moment. Our kids are getting use to see us glance at different screens during the day.

If you are doing home educations, all these distractions can be easily fixed. We can turn the ringer of the phone off, set a no computer or social media time and other little things.

 But what happens when the distractions come in a form of a sibling? When the option of sending the trouble maker to the principle office is not an option, what else can you do?

I wrote about certain ways that will keep little persons busy, at least for a while, but sometime you really need that "one on one no distractions" time.

I tried many techniques, some worked and others failed

• Taking advantage of "nap/quiet time" works only if your student is not tired
• Play a show on TV for the wee one in another room. Not a great solution if your toddler used that time to get into trouble (some kids needs to be constantly supervised) 
• Play time with educational toys, stickers, puzzles are only good for those kids who like to be left alone for a certain period of time (some kids can play great together, others no so much)
• Including the little ones in, works sometime and not others.

This is one of those things that you need to be consistent and flexible at the same time. They need to learn what is expected of them, while you keep reminding yourself that they are a "work in progress". And that what works today might not tomorrow, be willing to change things around.

How about you who are homeschooling with busy little one. What is your family favorite ways to make sure you can have that one-on-one time?

Are you in the mood to get yourself organized?

Photo credit here and from I heat organizing website

School has started, fall weather has arrived and I'm in the mood for cleaning, de-cluttering and organizing. Are you feeling it too? I do the spring and fall cleaning. With busy little kids, this task needs to be done twice a year. or maybe it is just in my house. 

I have many plans and ideas, and pinterest is a great source of inspiration for new ways to keep thing organized. 

I will come here once a week, on Tuesday and share what I am doing, or planning to do etc.So lets start this journey on getting this home, blog, homeschool and life a bit more organized.

For this weeks project:

•  I plan to go through the girls clothes, switch from summer ( and store them away) to fall/winter (and donate/throw away what we can't use). 

How about you, what are you planning to organize this week?

All fun and play

Learning from home is fun and even better when it includes lots of games, right?

Educational games are very useful teaching too, and are toys that help kids use their creativity.

I know this is a short post, but the girls wants to learn this new trick

Off I go, and will be back here next Monday for another homeschooling post.

What are your favorite educational toys and games?