Chess Anyone?

My kids (ages 6 and 10) both learned to play chess quickly and easily with two great products. One is called No Stress Chess, a two-sided chess game with a deck of action cards. The first side shows them where to place the pieces to start the game. The action cards depict each chess piece and how it moves.  The child moves only this piece on his turn. This eliminates the need to memorize all the pieces and their moves in advance, which is what overwhelms most beginners. After a few turns, the child begins to instinctively know how to move and capture with the various pieces. Once the children become comfortable with the moves and powers of each chess piece, they can flip the board over and put aside the deck of action cards and play chess unaided---the second side is a standard chess board!  The second product my kids really enjoy is a computer software game called Learn to Play Chess with Fritz and Chesster. Kids play 7 arcade-style games to learn chess basics, then put what they've learned to the test in the Intelligym, a training ground for future chess pros. Finally they can play in a tournament and try to defeat King Black. This is one of their first choices of games to play when they are allowed free-choice for computer time. They have learned some great strategies with this that I've never seen. It's awesome!

Join a Homeschool Support Group

If you are homeschooling and have not joined a homeschool support group, I urge you to find one. Even if you are confident in your own abilites, there are so many benefits from belonging to a group of like-minded parents and kids: organized field trips, holiday parties, curriculum fairs, fun and educational classes, used book sales and swaps, educational seminars, clubs such as Lego Club, Chess Club, Sewing Club, etc., group discount tickets to amusement parks, zoos, museums, etc., group discounts on skating lessons, twirling lessons, hockey lessons, etc., monthly gatherings for moms to swap ideas, service projects for the kids to do, and the list goes on...  Here are some pics from some of our homeschool group's outings and classes.

                                         Observing a bat during a field trip to some local caves.

                                                             Group shot in the caves.

                                                  Construction class using various materials.

                                                            More construction class.

                                                      Cooking class at local church kitchen.

                                                            Making ice cream in a bag.

                                       Making ice cream in a bag (notice the gloves---it's cold!)

                                                             Construction creation.

Grand Prix Results!

I promised to update the post regarding my daughter's AWANA Grand Prix race. Her teardrop design proved worthy of all her efforts---she took 2nd place for speed! Congragulations, Cricket!  Here's a pic:

Akiane

I was stunned when I stumbled upon a child prodigy named Akiane. I read about her in an excerpt from a book titled, Heaven is for Real. Akiane started sketching her "visions" when she was 4 and began painting in color at age 6. She did this remarkable painting of Jesus called "Prince of Peace" at the tender age of 8. What is also amazing is that she was homeschooled by an atheist mother and her father was a non-practicing Catholic. Then, at age four, she began to talk about "meeting Jesus" in her dreams and seeing "visions" of God, angels and heaven and having conversations with God.  This, of course, got her parents' attention.  At some point later, they became Christians. Many of Akiane's paintings recreate her visions. Take a look at her website gallery and you'll understand why I am fascinated. Here it is: http://www.artakiane.com/gallery

Critical Thinking Activities

While I am working with one child on science, I have my other child do a critical thinking activity. Here are some critical thinking activities we use. Please feel free to post your ideas, too.

• Logic Links
• Deducibles (sequence puzzles)
• Noodlers (spatial reasoning puzzles)
• jigsaw puzzles
• Extreme Mazes book
• Extreme Dot-to-Dot book
• Critical Thinking Activities books (patterns, imagery, logic)
• Color Sudoku cards with Unifex Cubes
• Blik-Blok
• 4-D Animal Puzzles
• Q-bitz
• Tangrams and Patterns
• Multiplication Mosaics
• Squzzle Puzzles
• Banana Grams or Scrabble (make as many words as you can)
• construction materials
• Legos
• Q-Ba-Maze
• Lincoln Logs
• Tinker Toys
• Marble Run
• Magna Tiles
• Magnetix

Here are some things on my wish list for our Critical Thinking time:

• Lab Mice Puzzles
• Grid Perplexors
• Code Breakers
• Analogy Croswords
• Math Path Puzzles

Do You Have a High Achiever? Consider the NUMATS! (If you live in the Midwest)

This morning, my daughter (4th grade) took the EXPLORE test, as part of the NUMATS (Northwestern University's Midwest Academic Talent Search). NUMATS also offers the ACT and SAT tests, but for this age level, the test given is the EXPLORE. The EXPLORE tests were developed for 8th grade students to measure educational achievement in English, Mathematics, Reading, and Science. Participating in above-level testing is a challenge that will help us better identify her abilities.

Northwestern University's Midwest Academic Talent Search has been in place since 1981. It is not aimed just at students in traditional schools, but is a great tool for homeschool educators as well. It is a way to identify gifted/talented students in grades 3 through 9 so that parents can make wise educational decisions as they homeschool. It gives us, as homeschooling parents, a roadmap of which academic studies, extracurricular activities, distance learning, and enrichment programs will benefit our children the most. It not only gives us insight into what our children are capable of, but also empowers us to provide our homeschooled students with more resources than just the basics so that their talents can flourish.

"NUMATS combines above-grade testing---using the EXPLORE, ACT and SAT, tests usually given to much older students---with guidance as to the appropriate academic follow-up for individual students based on their test scores."

Students who participate in the NUMATS get valuable practice taking the same tests used for high school placement and college admissions, which can boost self-confidence when they take placement tests for college later on. Parents whose children participate in the program will receive:

• a Statistical Summary of their child's scores,
• a Long-Range Academic Plan which will help families plan their homeschool students' coursework through the end of high school,
• a Planning and Resource Guide with suggestions for choosing coursework and extracurricular activities in math, science, social science and the humanities matched to students' scores
• an Educational Program Guide, which has a listing of schools and programs for academically talented students throughout the U.S.
• an opportunity to apply for  summer programs and online learning programs through the Center for Talent Development 
• a newletter that contains articles and research geared toward gifted students and their parents
• The College Guide, which is for participants in 10th grade and features articles on college admissions to help them get started with college planning
• mailings from summer programs
• invitation to participate in future talent searches
• access to Center for Talent Development (CTD), an onsite and distance learning program

If interested, here is the website:

http://www.ctd.northwestern.edu/numats/

Shoebox Diorama

As an AWANA project, my daughter had to make a shoebox diorama for some verses of scripture and then tell the story in her own words. She chose to illustrate Acts 16:  25-34, the story of Paul and Silas in prison when God sent an earthquake which opened the prison doors and made the prisoners' chains fall loose. The jailer was about to kill himself because he feared he would be punished since all the prisoners were gone, or so he thought. Just in time, Paul shouts out for the guard not to harm himself and that they (the prisoners) are all still there. The jailer falls down in front of Paul and Silas and ends up accepting Christ as Saviour. Not only that, but Paul and Silas are taken to the jailer's home where he washes their wounds and serves them a meal. Paul and Silas talk to his entire household, and as a result, his whole family became believers and were baptized that night! Here's her finished project: