and a wee little tool for remembering a couple of letters

I don't have a rhyme for remembering how to write the letters of the whole alphabet, but most kids don't need it.  But some letters, like b and d and p and q are tricky.  Usually if my early readers come to a letter and they don't remember what it is, we just pause on that letter and sing the alphabet song while tapping on the letter until we get to the right one.  They get to the point where they can do it themselves when they get stuck, and stop when they recognize the correct letter. 

It is hard for the little ones to remember which of those four letters face which way, so I did come up with a little mnemonic device to help with remembering b and d:

You have to look at the alphabet in a line to understand this:

a     b     c     d     e
You see,
b is for baby
and c is for cookie
and d is for daddy.
The baby and the daddy are sharing the cookie,
and daddy has taken a big bite!

; )

I mean, it's not like a poem or anything, so if you just explain it however you think conveys the idea most clearly to your child.

Any of you  moms have little tricks and tools to share?  Please do!


lisa

Number Parade--little tool for learning to write numbers

This is a little thing, but something that I just used this morning with Bronwyn and thought it was worth sharing.

Years ago, when I was helping Gwynneth learn how to write her numbers, she had a hard time remembering which way each number was facing, and would often write them backwards.  So I came up with a little poem to help her remember, and it has helped all three girls.  It might only work well with kids who are already visual learners, but if your child tends to write letters backwards, it might be worth trying.

Point to the numbers as you read them aloud.


1    2     3    and     4   

say "Come on everybody, let's march some more!"


5     and    6    

say "We feel sick."  (sad voice)


7     and      8    

say "We feel great!"


9     and     10   

say "Let's march again!"


See, for a visual person, the numbers 1, 8, and 10 look like they are facing the reader.  2, 3, 4, 7, and 9 look like they are facing left.  5 and 6 look like they are facing right.  So, if we pretend there is a parade and all the numbers are marching to the left, only 5 and 6 look like they are turning in the other direction, like they don't want to march.  I show this to my kids and teach them the rhyme, and then they can more easily remember which way to write the number.

Just a little silly thing, but thought it could be useful/fun for some of you. : )

lisa

Old School Monday pics

FREE screening of new documentary!

Hi All,

The Rio Theatre will be showing the new, award-winning documentary Race to Nowhere on Nov. 4 and it sounds like you can reserve free tickets! 

Here is the link to the theatre:  http://www.racetonowhere.com/screenings/rio-theater

Here is the link to info about the movie: http://www.racetonowhere.com/

(too lazy to make it look all nice with html tonight ; )

Out of towners--check the second link to see if there is a free screening near you!

Discover Your Child's Learning Style--FREE Teleconference!

(Lisa here--Becky just sent this to me, which someone had sent to her. . . and it sounds great, so we are passing it along to you!)

DISCOVER YOUR CHILD's LEARNING STYLE. Authors and Learning Success Coaches Mariaemma Pellulo-Willis & Victoria Kindle Hodson will be featured in a FREE Teleconference on 8/26. Info about how to register and take part is below!

For those of you who are not familiar with Mariaemma Pellulo-Willis and Victoria Kindle-Hodson, their work combines all the learning styles work (Armstrong, Briggs & Myers, Dunn, etc) into one super robust, indespensible and accessible model which you can put to work today -- no matter what your homeschooling philosophy/style. Not only do they dispense with the one-size fits all educational model, but their book and the included assessments will help you to customize an annual plan individualized for you and your child(ren)that will BEST suit the needs of the student(s) and parent.

Hope you find this info helpful ....

_______________________________________________________________________________
Dear ClickScholar,

Please join me THURSDAY, August 26th, for this FREE Teleconference. ..

"DISCOVER YOUR CHILD'S LEARNING STYLE"

with Special Guests...
Mariaemma Pellulo-Willis and Victoria Kindle-Hodson
Authors of Discover Your Child's Learning Style

4-5 PM (PDT), 6-7 PM (central), 7-8 PM (EST)

In this teleconference discover why students (and adults) sometimes just don't "get it" and why a one-size-fits- all model doesn't work.

Find out the 5 aspects of learning - and how knowing what they are can forever change the way you homeschool your child.

Get an understanding of how having a blueprint of your child's unique learning style will ensure success!

The live teleconference is free and registration is required. Once you have registered, please submit your questions for Mariaemma and Victoria by email to: dianeflynnkeith@ homefires. com

Register today at: http://www.homefire%20s.com/Teleconfer%20ence

Diane Flynn Keith
for ClickSchooling