Here comes the Solar Eclipse!

On Monday, August 21st there will be a solar eclipse in North America! Depending on where you live, it may be a total solar eclipse (like the one last seen in the United States in 1918!) or it could be a partial solar eclipse.

Eclipse America is a great source of information (like the above image)
You can put your zip code in to see when the solar eclipse or partial solar eclipse will be in your neighbourhood.

Remember: DO NOT LOOK AT THE SUN!!!

An easy way to "see" the solar eclipse is to view its shadow through a pinhole made in cardboard. Last solar eclipse my kids and I experimented with cereal boxes and various sizes of holes. My kids even constructed a mechanism to hold the cardboard out of tinker toys so it could be held steady while we traced the image of the eclipsed sun onto another paper.

Check out timeandate.com for information on How to Watch Solar Eclipses (and how not to watch solar eclipses!).

~❀~ Chelsey ~❀~

2017 Children's Choice Book Awards

Every Child a Reader is hosting the 2017 Children's Choice Book Awards!  How fun for kids to have the opportunity to read new books and vote for their favourite!

My kids and I have participated in something similar in the past, but without the chance to cast a vote officially.  Getting to have an actual vote will be so much more exciting:

Children's & Teen Choice Book Awards

Check out the books that are eligible in each category and see if your public library or bookstore has them.  Read as many as you can and let your kids decide their favourite!  I make a chart where my kids can make comments about the storyline and illustrations and rate each book.  This helps them to compare the books afterwards and come up with their winner!!!

Here's the sort of chart I use.  You can make your own or, if you are interested in getting a copy, feel free to e-mail me at: sowingdandelionseeds(at)yahoo.ca

  ~❀~ Chelsey ~❀~

Family Literacy Day

Family Literacy Day is right around the corner -- next Tuesday -- January 27, 2015!  Mark the date on your calendar and brainstorm fun things to do as a family!

Thanks to ABC -- Life Literacy Canada here is a list of FUN ways to celebrate learning as a family:

1. Write a joke book with your family.
2. Read a bedtime story to the grown-up putting you to bed.
3. Make up a new recipe together and post it online.
4. Tell knock-knock jokes together while doing the dishes.
5. Organize a book swap at your school.
6. Make up riddles and tell them to your friends.
7. Create a family book club.
8. Build a drum with your family.
9. Surf the Internet and learn about your favourite animal.
10. Make up a song about your day to sing to your family at dinnertime.
11. Write messages to your family on sticky notes and post them around the house.
12. Create a story about what you’ll be doing for Family Literacy Day.
13. Play a board game together.
14. Build an acrostic poem using your hero’s name.
15. Make an origami boat and see if it will float.

If you have some great ideas for making learning (and literacy) fun -- feel free to add them in the comments!

~❀~ Chelsey ~❀~

Dreambox Learning K-3 Review

As a former elementary teacher who loves making learning fun, I am thrilled to post a review and giveaway for Dreambox Learning K-3. 

Here are my Three stars and a Wish about Dreambox Learning, the online math program that makes serious learning seriously fun:

Individualized Instruction --
Dreambox Learning K-3 learns your child's strengths and weaknesses and creates an "adaptive learning environment" for your child using 500+ online lessons.

If your child gets stuck on a lesson they can click the "help" button to have the instructions repeated and even click a second time for more specific advice or to have the answer shown step by step.  If your child understands a concept fully, those lessons are bypassed and extra instruction can then be given specifically where it's needed.

The program is continually assessing your child's comprehension based on the answers that are given, the time taken to answer and whether or not the "help" button is required to complete the lesson.

Lots of Fun! -- Dreambox Learning has four main adventure themes: Pirates, Pixies, Dinosaurs and Pets.  While playing, your child is rewarded with coins to use in the carnival, character cards and achievement certificates based on the adventure they've chosen.  The ongoing positive reinforcement contributes to a sense of accomplishment and adds to the fun.

My kids and I laugh and laugh at the 'more than / less than' game with Allie the alligator.  We call out our guess of what silly phrase Allie will say next:  "Delicious", "Scrumptious", "I want to face THIS way!"

Foundational Learning --  Dreambox Learning teaches the basics of math -- those foundational skills that are so necessary for later mathematics.  Check out the Dreambox Learning Demo to play examples of games from various grade levels so you can see how the skills build on one another.

Hands on Learning is a great way to teach the why behind the answers. Through Dreambox Learning your child will use virtual "hands on learning" to show their work as they figure out addition, multiplication and even algebra (did I scare you by mentioning algebra?). 

My wish for Dreambox Learning is that they would offer higher grade levels.  (Grade four and grade five are currently in the works!)  

I would also like the printables to be available in black and white.  Kids could colour the pictures in themselves and parents could save money on the cost of ink for the printer.

Desiree (grade 2) and Elijah (4 years old) are thoroughly enjoying Dreambox Learning!  Elijah is not yet in school (and the program technically starts at the kindergarten level) so at first I sat with him as he played.  Now I just hover nearby and give small pointers if needed.  

Both Desiree and Elijah have so much fun with math on Dreambox Learning that they can be on for 45 minutes or so without even noticing the time has passed. 

Personally, I have played over 17 hours logged in as a grade three student and I found that I am learning.  I am apparently set in my ways when it comes to adding and multiplying, so it was interesting for me to learn new ways of thinking that will help me support my children's learning.  

As a parent, I love that Dreambox Learning is truly educational.  This isn't "busy time" on the computer -- this is quality learning time. Progress updates are e-mailed to you so you can see what skills your child is currently working on and what lessons they have completed.

From a teacher's point of view, I can see amazing benefits.  Years ago I taught a grade 7 student who had no understand of place value whatsoever.  Because she had never understood this foundational skill, everything in math was a struggle for her.  She and I worked one on one with popsicle sticks and elastic bands until it started to make sense to her. Dreambox Learning has a game that teaches place value in a similar way. As a teacher, I agree with Dreambox Learning that: "Kids who are proficient in early math are more successful in school later on."  Dreambox Learning helps students build that necessary foundation for future math.


Try It:  Sign up for your free two week trial at Dreambox Learning.  No credit card information is required so it is risk-free.  

Subscribe:  Check out Dreambox Learning to subscribe.  Subscriptions can be monthly or, for a 23-36% savings, they can be for a 6 month time span.

Win It: One Sowing Dandelion Seeds reader will win a 3 month family subscription for up to four kids to Dreambox Learning ($59.85 ARV).

Leave a separate comment for each entry. Please leave your e-mail in this format: sowingdandelionseeds(at)yahoo(dot)ca  if it isn't public in your profile. All entries will be verified.

Mandatory entry: 

Tell me what you'd like Dreambox Learning to help your child with ie: addition, multiplication, algebra etc. (or just an overall improvement of math skills).

Additional entries:

* follow my blog publicly

* post my button on your blog (leave the link)

* subscribe to Sowing Dandelion Seeds via e-mail

* leave a comment on 1 non-giveaway post (leave the post title below)

* blog about this giveaway (leave the link)
* like Sowing Dandelion Seeds on Facebook
* like Dreambox Learning on Facebook

* follow @DreamBox Learning on twitter

* follow @SowDandelions on twitter and tweet this

     (can be done daily -- leave the link each day)

#Win a 3 month subscription from @DreamBox_Learn and @SowDandelions.  Make learning math fun!  http://tinyurl.com/63p28lr (April 9)

Open to Canada and the United States

Ends April 9, 2011

Disclosure: Dreambox Learning provided me with a free family subscription to review in exchange for my honest opinion. 

For Complete Giveaway Rules and Disclosure Policy Click Here

~❀~ Chelsey ~❀~

Funducational Websites for Pre/Early Schoolers

Here are a couple of my favourite funducational websites for pre-schoolers and early schoolers:

Curious George

This website has games that are fun with an emphasis primarily on Math.  There are games that promote skills such as counting, adding, map use, shapes, measurement and double digit number sequencing.

One of my favourite games is Banana 411 where the child memorizes a 3 digit 'phone' number to see a small videoclip.  Elijah (4), who insisted it was his turn to play while I was writing this post, likes Present Time. 

The underlying messages promoted on the Curious George website are: it's nice to give homemade things as gifts and it's good to help those less fortunate than yourself.  Math with a message -- how great is that?


PBS Island

Here you'll Find Fun games Featuring a variety of Familiar characters from shows such as Sesame Street, Super Why and Between the Lions.  These games promote Language Arts skills such as letter identification, rhyming, phonics and alliteration (see above for a lot of words that begin with "f" used together -- a total fluke, I promise).

This site allows you to create an account that will monitor the progress of your child (or of multiple children).  The child advances to the next level by successfully completing all the games in the first level.  Tickets are earned for playing each game and then the child can use those tickets to buy prizes for their very own virtual tree house.  Elijah was very excited when he had enough tickets to buy a robot!

Check out these amazing websites with your young ones and let me know what you think of them.  Feel free to add links to your own favourite educational websites too.

~❀~ Chelsey ~❀~