Is Handwriting Important?

Not long ago, a friend told me that our sons' school was not going to teach cursive anymore. Apparently they feel that there isn't enough time in the day for cursive to be taught. Furthermore, with advances in technology, cursive is going by the wayside. Now, although I am not certain, I am pretty sure they're still teaching printing. But, the question is, is handwriting really that important?

Printing instruction is definitely important. In the primary years, handwriting instruction improves reading and spelling. This is due to the fact that the child often learns the sound of the letter as they are forming it. Furthermore, practicing writing increases fine motor skills.

In later grades, lack of handwriting instruction & practice can hinder learning. If a child's handwriting is labored, he or she will not want to write. This not only can effect their academic performance, but their self-esteem as well.

The Arts - Music

Redirect to new blog You are being redirected to the new blog.

Lesson Plans - Week 3

And the 3rd week of plans is now available. The dinner menu is all from Can You Stay for Dinner? This website has healthy, low-fat meals. I can not say if they are tasty, as I have not tried them yet. I'll get back to you on that. Just go to the "Weekly Mommy Plans" at the top of the page.

I just started the plans this week. So I just finished up the 1st week of plans. I have to say, it's going pretty well. I'll admit, I didn't get to everything. My downfall seems to be exercise. Grrr. I really need to make that happen. Plus, I have been having a hard time getting to some of the cleaning duties. I really need to get better at keeping the toddler occupied. Too much time is spent trying to keep him from scaling furniture or defacing things with the pens he has somehow gotten from the baby-proofed drawer. (He might be a spy one day.)

The photos on here are highlights of this week. I am taking pictures each week. You'll notice in the 2nd week of plans, I have started a scrap-booking project during learning time. I will let them use the photos from the previous week to paste in their books. They will write about what we did. The 9-year old will write on his own, but the 5-year old will dictate his sentences to me. They will get to add sticker to the page afterwards. We think I may only be able to stay at home for a year due to finances. So, this is the year of Mommy and I want to make sure they remember what we did.

The Arts - Drawing & Painting

Redirect to new blog You are being redirected to the new blog.

At Home Science

I love doing science projects with my kids. I know that as a teacher, doing science projects at school are really hard because of  all the set up. Doing them at home is soooo much easier. I want to start adding science projects to my Lesson Plans, so I am doing the research today. Here are the fruits of my labor.
The Kitchen Pantry Scientist has the most amazing kit with links to printable science experiments. The rest of the site is pretty incredible too. I plan on visiting it a lot. I am excited to try the Nasa Soda Straw Rockets.
Okay, we have all seen the make your own bouncy balls a hundred times. But that doesn't make it any less cool. About.com has a great tutorial on making a Bouncing Polymer Ball.
Science Bob has a great site with experiments, videos, and science fair project ideas. I am especially excited by the Fizz-Inflator.
When I was a kid,I loved looking at constellations and the stories that went along with them. When I saw these Constellation Viewers by the Austin Children's Museum I was so excited. In fact, these will be in next week's lesson plans!
Steve Spangler Science has a plethora of science experiments. The best part about this site is it has video tutorials for the projects. I think the Square Bubbles video and project is pretty fun.
Since one of my kids is preschool age, I like to have some projects geared for his age level. Preschool Crafts for Kids has some great crafts that can be incorporated into science ideas. I especially like the Sun, Earth, Moon Model.

Second Week Of Mommy Lesson Plans

Very excited to have finished next week's "Lesson Plans". It seemed like they took forever to make because I kept getting interrupted. As moms, I'm sure you can relate. In fact, I just got interrupted again trying to write this post!
The Dinner recipes have been taken from the website Ready Set Eat. I like this site because it offers simple, inexpensive recipes that take little time to prepare. If you ever want to access past plans, just click on the tab above.
Mommy Lesson Plans Week 2

Geocaching Fail

As you may recall, a few weeks ago I did an article on Geocaching. I was so excited to start. I downloaded the application to my I Phone and looked for some sites in the area. I picked some that were listed as easy and right off the road. I told my kids that we were going treasure hunting.
Wow, this was an epic fail. We went to the first one and looked and looked and looked. It was a parking lot and the security people from the establishment came out to ask what we were doing. So, we moved on to the second one. Once again - nothing. At this point we were hot, thirsty, and whiny.
So, I tried one more. I put the baby into the Jeep stroller and we walked into a dirt field full of rocks. (Note to self: don't wear flip flops while Geocaching.) This one was a little more exciting because it was supposed to be a larger cache nestled amongst some rocks. My middle son embraced this and looked at it as an adventure. My oldest, not so much. He has Asperer's Syndrome and the dirt, heat, and lack of results did nothing for him. It was at this point that I decided to take them home.
Once home, I asked myself, "What am I doing wrong?" I then did a little research on the internet. Apparently, GPS signals can be up to 20 feet off. Therefore, when using the GPS, broaden your search. Also, there are hints available on the app. Wish I had seen that. Finally, you can look at the photos that others have posted to get an idea of what you are looking for. I also would recommend that when you plan your day, treat it as though you are going hiking; wear appropriate clothing and bring snacks & drinks.

The First Set of Mommy Plans!

So excited by my first set of Mommy Lesson Plans! I have written a schedule to post in my house so that my kids know what to expect. For me, the schedule and plans are more of a guideline. They are not written in stone and if we don't get to some of it, oh well. I just feel better when I have a plan. (The schedule has graphics from Black Crow. Beautiful, isn't it?)

The Lesson Plans have active links to the different activities and recipes. Also, the household duties have been taken from several websites that inspire me. Of course there will be a journal post on this later.
The links below are PDF's. If you would like a Microsoft Office document that you can alter for yourself, feel free to email me at mommylessonplans@gmail.com.

The reflections portion is a chance to reflect on the things you are grateful for and a kindness that you have done that day. This is based on a book that I am reading called The Happiness Advantage. (Yet, another future post.)

And here they are:


The Schedule

First Week Plans

I will put links to each weeks' plans on the Weekly Lesson Plans page. That way you can revisit any week you want.