Parent on the go

Amazing animal Webcams

2011-07-21T08:12:00.001-07:00

Karen B from KB Konnected put together some great animal web cams that my kids have enjoyed watching. They've seen eagles hatched and bear cups growl in the morning. It's another great way to use the Web to engage your kids in something other than games and chatting.

Below is an embedded binder of her resources. If you would like to see some of her other cool binders - click on her 'Binder Author' name on the right. I've also added her binder to my binder library below.

Your browser does not support iframes.

Useful tips for using iPads in Schools

2010-11-01T15:08:00.000-07:00

Mike Fisher is a teacher and technology integration consultantt and he has put together this very useful and popular binder on useful tips for using iPads in the classroom.

iPads in Schools

Parents who like to get organized

2010-10-18T12:38:00.000-07:00

A nice video for getting those 'piles' of papers off your virtual desk...http://www.viddler.com/explore/ajwoodle/videos/10/

Brain Games for Kids

2010-09-21T14:33:00.000-07:00

A great resource of online games that help stimulate and engage kids' cognitive skills. Parents will love having kids spend time with these games!

Brain Games

A Nice Library of Teaching Resources

2010-09-16T13:46:00.000-07:00

Thank you for sharing these resources! They are on a wide variety of topics that teachers could use in the classroom.

http://2sparkley.edublogs.org/2010/09/04/my-livebinders/

Algebra resources from 4th grade to high school

2010-09-14T14:33:00.001-07:00

Here is a shelf of binders that homeschoolers and teachers can use for algebra problems to practice.

http://www.livebinders.com/shelf/search?search=&terms=algebra&type=0

Science resources at your fingertips

2010-09-13T11:23:00.000-07:00

LiveBinder user 'MsWhite' put together a collection of binders on her science shelf that holds links, outlines and documents useful for middle school teachers to use for their classroom.

http://www.livebinders.com/shelf/search_author?terms=MsWhite

Google Calendar

2010-09-07T08:51:00.000-07:00

Mike Fisher created a great youtube video on how to embed a google calendar into a livebinder. Having a live calendar in you livebinder is a great way to access documents and check deadlines all in one place. You can have a tab that hosts the google calendar among other tabs containing all the documents you need for your project. The other great thing about google calendar in a binder is that you can also embed other google docs in the binder as well. You can have published documents that update in the binder everytime you make a change. You can also have collaborative google docs so students can work on writing projects within the binder without having to worry about re-uploading finished documents. More on that later. In the meantime, enjoy this video by Mike Fisher.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5Dj_1HB67A

Mobile Apps for education

2010-09-03T11:00:00.001-07:00

Here is a livebinder that user loakvik put together that teachers have been raving about. A great collection of useful resources on using Mobile Applications for eduacation.

Mobile Apps for Education

For budding artists - Joseph Cornell Art boxes

2010-09-02T21:24:00.000-07:00

A cool binder on a great collection of videos and links on how to create your own art boxes in the tradition of Joseph Cornell. I loved doing projects like this when I was in art class...

http://bit.ly/9XW4bk

Joseph Cornell art boxes

Valuable Resources for Gifted Kids Great for Your Kids Too

2010-08-16T09:50:00.000-07:00

I came across a library of resources put together by a teacher in Texas who identifies herself as 'teachagiftedkid.' In her blog - she discusses the importance of providing the right learning environment for gifted children. Often times, the kids do not know why they are placed in such programs - only that they've taken a test and there they are. She makes an interesting point - arguing that alot of this mindset reflects how parents and teachers have not paid attention to learning differences in these students and also identifies that this may be where the struggle with elitism in the program develops.

I think all students have their own unique ways of learning - we are not robots after all. I think parents should understand the different ways in which their kids respond to information. They can benefit from the work that other parents and teachers have created to help students become the best they can be. Its worth checking out - if only as a way to reinforce learning at home.

Her blog addresses many interesting questions: - http://teachagiftedkid.com/

And here is her library of resources: http://bit.ly/asrVQv

Mobile Applications for Teachers and Students

2010-08-04T10:46:00.001-07:00

If you are looking to engage your students with devices, this is a pretty comprehensive list of mobile applications that can be used in the classroom.
http://tinyurl.com/256gv4a

Home schooling Resources

2010-08-03T17:59:00.000-07:00

Discovered a mom who has collected some great resources for homeschooling your kids. Check out the nice collection of link from her livebinders shelf.

http://www.livebinders.com/shelf/search?search=&terms=nanaelaine&type=1

Great and Clever student geometry projects

2010-06-08T15:12:00.001-07:00

I couldn't help but admire the work 'librarybecky' did on the student geometry projects. Its a great way to use voice threads. I'm really impressed with the student work and creativity.

Web 2.0 Projects – a Celebration of Student Learning

Great Science project for the summer

2010-06-07T20:34:00.000-07:00

here is a cool website that lets you help Nasa map the moon. There are high resolution images of the moons surface and this application lets anyone explore the pictures and map out craters with descriptions. I think this would be a great science project for the summer. And a great way to get free help for NASA...

http://bit.ly/dzTEYt

Amazing Man-Made Disasters that still exist

2010-05-14T09:58:00.000-07:00

This is an amazing photoslide show that tells the story of man-made disasters that were never resolved and still exist today. It makes you think about how small this world is...

http://huff.to/dx5d8k

Great teacher and student resources on writing

2010-05-14T09:39:00.000-07:00

I found a blog by a fellw blogspot blogger who discovered some resources that teachers put together on tech websites as well as a whole list of ideas and projects for helping students with their writing. As my daughters get older, I really see the advantages of being a good writer. Everyone needs to learn how to communicate their opinions and ideas in writing!

Her blog post is here and worth taking a look at. Check out her blog at http://wemstech.blogspot.com/

Gulf Oil Spill

2010-05-04T11:35:00.001-07:00

I am concerned about the oil leak in the Gulf coast. It is not a spill which is finite but a leak that is continuing to cause havoc to our environment, not to mention our economy.

Here are some of the interesting stories and environmental perspectives that was put together recently on the issue.

Gulf Oil Spill

Happy Paperless Earth Day 2010

2010-04-22T11:17:00.000-07:00

Just recently learned about the paperless day drive on Earth Day. 1500 teachers from around the world are teaching students without the use of extra paper. I bet there have been some creative approaches to learning today. great job to all those teachers.

Here is a link provided by Dean Mantz of Mantz's Mission to a great resource of digital ideas and tools that teachers can adopt in the classroom. There is also a podcast from the founder of paperless day Steve Katz and by Elaine Plybon from Discovery Education Network about the challenges and rewards of going digital. The main take away I got was that both teachers and students are excited about learning. We need new models for teaching because students are wired so differently now.

http://dmantz7.edublogs.org/2010/04/22/earth-day-pln-style/

Enjoy!

Texas GT teachers resources

2010-04-14T21:46:00.000-07:00

Here is a comprehensive list of teaching resources from kindergarten to 4th grade in subjects like math and science for those teachers in Texas GT teachers for the TPSP projects . A nice compilations of websites and youtube videos collected by teachagiftedkid.

http://www.livebinders.com/shelf/search_author?terms=teachagiftedkid

Online Flash Cards and online quizes

2010-04-06T19:45:00.000-07:00

For all those high school and college students that want a more interactive way to study flash cards for your subjects, check out this great resource of online flash card and testing sites.

Study Tools

Homeschooling Resource

2010-03-23T11:35:00.001-07:00

Discovered a great collection of homeschooling resources all in one online binder. It has all of the standard course resources like math, science, grammar, but also useful ideas for PE, art, Music, and spelling.

Check out'Amyswanderings' binder below:

Homeschool for Free

St. Patrick's Day Lesson Plans

2010-03-08T14:25:00.000-08:00

If you are looking to spice up your lessons around the theme of St. Patrick's day, here is another binder from xmath with some great resources on activities and the history of the St. Patrick's day holiday.

St Patrick's Day Resources

Olympic Teaching Plans

2010-02-25T23:24:00.000-08:00

This may be a little late, but if you are looking for a special Friday project, check out this livebinder on activities around the 2010 Olympics.

OLYMPIC LESSON PLANS

Gardens at School

2010-02-02T13:41:00.000-08:00

Spring is another 6 weeks away, but that doesn't mean we can't get ready for it. Nice job by 'ianjod' who create a livebinder on all these great resources for gardening at your school. He has included some handouts in colorful PDFs that give examples of what schools have done to participate in the gardening activities. It also includes the pedagogy behind these outdoor - tactile activities. There are even some lovely pictures from some example school projects.

Any teacher who is thinking about engaging the kids in a garden project will want to check out this livebinder.

School Gardens

Sugar - the bitter truth videos

2010-01-25T14:38:00.001-08:00

I found this binder with a great collection of Youtube videos showing a powerpoint presentation given by Robert H. Lustig professor of pediatrics at UCSF talking about recent research on the effects of sugar. He not only explains what sugar does to your body, but also how high concentrations of sugar in the form of corn syrup, and fructose are even more deadly. This will change the way you eat and live your life.

Please view these videos and become informed for yourself and your family.

Sugar – how bad is it?

Another binder on learning the States

2010-01-11T11:01:00.001-08:00

Here is another binder put together covering all of the facts on the different states in the US. There is even a very useful and engaging interactive game in the last tab that will help quiz your kids about all of the state capitals.

Click on the link or binder icon below to launch:

States: facts and links

Decimal fractions

2009-12-29T11:52:00.000-08:00

The user 'redhills' put together a useful collection of websites that help high school and middle school students understand decimals. There are some fun interactive applications that help kids understand placement and how that can change the value of a number. There are also some sites that help with decimal plotting on graphs.

Decimal Fractions

Study Resources on Pearl Harbor

2009-12-08T19:20:00.001-08:00

Found another great binder by 'xmath' who has combined a rich resource of links on the history of Pearl Harbor. If you are teaching a class on this subject, you might want to start by looking at this binder:

Teaching Pearl Harbor

Colonial America Resources

2009-12-01T09:14:00.000-08:00

My daughter is in the 4th grade and we just recently went to Philadelphia and Boston for Thanksgiving. Her teacher recommended we stop and visit some historical sites because they will be covering the colonial period later this year. We really enjoyed visiting downtown Philadelphia, visiting the Betsy Ross home, Liberty Center where we saw the Liberty Bell, Benjamin and Deborah Franklin's tombstone and the location of their last home. We also saw the oldest rent district in the US - Elfray's Alley. There have been residence occupying the buildings since the 1700s.

There is a wonderful collection of resources from 'lthurber' covering the colonial period. I would recommend checking out these references if your child is working on a history project for this time period.

Colonial America

Thanksgiving and Pumpkin pies

2009-11-23T14:24:00.000-08:00

Here are some more interesting links on the topic of teaching Thanksgiving.

This binder has an amazing list of links that cover K-5 grades on various subjects like math, english, esl and science - all revolving around the Thanksgiving holiday:

Teaching Thanksgiving

This binder has the history of the Mayflower and the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade tradition as well as a list of resources from Scholastic.com

Thanksgiving

This binder also has links to interesting facts about turkeys and recipes for cooking turkeys for Thanksgiving:

Thanksgiving

This binder has Thanksgiving Songs and ESL lesson plans for THanksgiving:

Thanksgiving teaching

This binder has an amazing list of Pumpkin recipes - from pies to soups. This is the place to go if you are looking an all encompassing collection of pumpkin recipes for Thanksgiving and winter holidays:

Pumpkin recipes

Take advantage of Thanksgiving week

2009-11-17T17:47:00.000-08:00

We still have school during the week of Thanksgiving. For some this is an opportunity to teach the concept and tradition of Thanksgiving in some unique ways. Xmath has collected a list of websites that cover different ways to incorporate Thanksgiving into a project in the classroom. With so many unique resources, you are bound to find something that will be useful for your grade and classroom.

Teaching Thanksgiving

10 great ways educators are using livebinders

2009-11-09T21:15:00.000-08:00

There is a nice blog post listing a bunch of livebinders that teachers have created for use in their classroom. These represent binders that where teachers have carefully selected links and uploaded their own documents to support a particular subject in class. To see the complete list, click on this link:

http://livebinders.wordpress.com/

Studying Edgar Allan Poe

2009-11-02T10:28:00.000-08:00

It is after Halloween, but I'm sure there are still English classes that are covering the works by Edgar Allan Poe. I've found this livebinder that includes some great links on Edgar Allan Poe's work. There is even some tabs with Flash interactives that carry on the 'eeriness' of his work - beating heart beats, cawing of ravens, shadows - fun stuff! The livebinder also includes wiki information on his life, poetic terms, sites that include his short poems and stories as well as other useful information about poetry in that era.

To view just click on the link below. Well worth it!

Poe

Amelia Earhart

2009-10-26T17:54:00.000-07:00

With the new discoveries of what may be Amelia Earhart's bones from a castaway camp on a deserted island, not to mention the upcoming movie played by Hillary Swank, there has been renewed interest in the Adventurist and pilot. The author has put together this livebinder with number of engaging videos and resources that will give your students a pretty good background on the subject of Amelia Earhart and her tragic disappearance.

To view this great binder click on the link below:

Amelia Earhart

Middle School Creative Writing

2009-10-20T07:22:00.001-07:00

My daughter has been working on greek mythology and starting to do some creative writing assignments. I found these great writing tools from storymap.com and pulled just a few tools that she was able to use to construct a story. Before that she seemed to be lost about how to begin and organize a story. Using these tools she was able to understand what she wanted to tell and how to make it more compelling.

Check out the binder I created for her:

Creative Writing Binder

Computer Lab Resources for K-5th grade

2009-10-16T11:22:00.001-07:00

A teacher put together a wonderful selection of useful websites that have spelling, math and writing interactives that are also fun for the kids. If you are looking for lab projects this is a good resource.

Computer Lab Favourites

Excellent way to learn States and Capitals

2009-10-14T10:57:00.000-07:00

I wish I had this when I was a kid. User 'reynolds5a' put together 5 very useful websites that help your kids learn both the states and capitals. There are three tabs with very useful interactive sites that are fun for kids to play, but effective - kids not only learn the capitals, but also learn how to spell them correctly. I learned something just playing around. Another tab has printable blank maps that you can use for testing. Any parent or teacher will want to get a hold of this livebinder.

States and Capitals

A great library resource and free SAT study notes

2009-10-12T13:54:00.000-07:00

The following livebinder has a collection of free online resources put together for a tech librarian or for a teacher and parent. What I like about it are the free goveernment resources and links to free practice SAT and vocabulary lists for SAT.

Library Media Center Milford Mill Academy

Great tool for Homeschooling parents and Teachers

2009-10-07T10:35:00.000-07:00

I just saw this blog by Mary Nabadenhorst with a very detailed explanation on the benefits of using the online binder livebinders for creating a collection of learning material for your students. Mary also created a how-to-video that very nicely goes through the website and how to create a binder. I highly recommend that you check out her video here:

http://marynabadenhorst.globalteacher.org.au/livebinders/

Wonderful Online Teaching Materials

2009-10-05T12:56:00.000-07:00

If you are a homeschooling parent or a teacher in a classroom, this livebinder has a wonderful collection of websites that offer media files from subjects like dance and theatre, art, math, science and social science. This is a great way to present high quality material for free. The binder is nicely organized with the first tab presenting a list of material appropriate for Kindergarten or high school. There is also link to the British Monarchy site. The tab PBS National Parks is really beautiful. Be sure to check out the subtab called 'www.wdlrg/en' under the first tab. It displays a wonderful interactive map of the world. Thank you to user 'andersonj' for finding such great resources.

Teacher's Help

Great Template for English Class

2009-10-01T20:15:00.000-07:00

This is a binder template for students to use in High school English, and it is a great way to use the technology. In each tab, the teacher explains what the tab is for. For example, under 'vocabulary' she writes down objectives as the cover page for that tab and then the students will add to the tab with their vocabulary worksheets under new sub-tabs. This way the instructions and objectives are always available to the student. A really nice organizational template anyone can copy and use.

Foundations of English Portfolio Template

Internet Safety for Kids on Facebook

2009-10-01T11:30:00.000-07:00

There is a wonderful binder that user 'thebyrditlady' put together on safety protocols for kids who use Facebook. It shows articles on the issues of posting information you will later regret and how that information is being circulated. The last tab is particularly revealing. It is worth forwarding to your fellow parents, kids and teachers. I will be forwarding this to my kids and niece and nephew...

FACEBOOK PRIVACY

Online Art Interactive Websites

2009-09-29T15:05:00.000-07:00

Here is a useful livebinder. The livebinder user 'TheresaMcGee' put together a great collection of online art websites for kids to interact with. The binder includes sites about how color is formed, how Picasso created the human form, Tates museum interactive site, the National Gallery of Art website for kids, and many more websites are included. If you are looking for some useful but fun websites to teach creative thinking and artist skills for kids online, this is a great resource.

Click on the link below to launch the livebinder with all the links:

Online Art Games

Swine Flu Vaccine -to do or not to do - that is the Question!

2009-09-21T12:26:00.000-07:00

Flu season is creeping upon us. For some, the changes in weather have even caused quite a few kids at our school to stay home bedridden with flu like symtoms. We have never received flu shots before, and my kids may have had the flu once in their short lives, but we have had to reconsider our view on whether to get the Swine Flu vaccine this year.

This LiveBinder is a great collection of articles and people's research on the pros and cons of getting the H1N1 influenza A virus vaccine. The author has broken the binder into two tabs, pro and against and listed a bunch of subtabs in each with resources on those viewpoints.

Take the time to check this out.

Swine Flue Vaccine?

Cool organizational tools for Students

2009-09-14T14:30:00.000-07:00

Most of the time I've been collecting information for parents or teachers to use with their students, but this time I've found a great binder on online tools that help students get organized and make presentations. If your kids are struggling with how to organize their work week, the online tools this binder recommends might help them. Especially if they are checking their email by phone. There are also some cool sites that help build graphs and pie charts and help with presentations.

A must see for students! click on the link below to view

Cool Tools for Students

if the link doesn't work - cut and paste this address in your browser:
http://livebinders.com/play/play?id=2475

Great resource for online calculators

2009-09-08T14:56:00.000-07:00

Hello parents, teachers and students - found another useful livebinder with a great resource for online calculators. If you have a student working on a variety of math problems such as algebra or calculus, this binder will have a selection of unique online calculators that can help your kid work through their homework. It is a must have! Check it out by clicking on the link below.

Online Calculators

http://livebinders.com/play/play?id=2343

Last days of Summer - Yosemite

2009-09-01T09:56:00.000-07:00

Can't believe summer is already over... well almost over for me - I still have one more week before my kids are back in school. We just spent last week in Yosemite. If you live in the Bay Area or anywhere in California and are thinking about making a trek out to Yosemite, I highly recommend it. Even with the fires going on - it is still an awesome and relaxing place. We were there during the small avalanche near the Awahnee hotel. We saw the area in the granite cliffs behind the Awahnee that cracked off. It did not hurt anyone, and one rock hit one car. Too be cautious they evacuated the hotel to be sure that a larger rock fall wasn't going to happen. That was not as exciting as the number of bears running around. 11 car break-ins during the week we were there and every night we heard the evening flare guns going off to scare the bears away.

We took the girls on hikes to Vernal Falls, rode bikes to various 'hidden' spots along the Merced River, took a two hour tour of the park in an open air bus and learned some interesting stuff about the parks evolution.

Here is a binder on more information on Yosemite. It has a tab for reservations, skiing in the winter and a web cam tab so you can check out 'live' shots of the park.

Yosemite

UC Berkeley Online Video Courses

2009-08-19T11:31:00.000-07:00

If you are a college student who wants to freshen up on some science concepts or are attending one of the UC Berkeley courses and want to review your lecture material, these binders have a great list of videos - in chronological order - of the year's lectures all in one place. Topics include The Big Bang lecture, biology, electrical engineering, physics, chemistry and sociology. Check them out by clicking on the links below!

Big Bang lecture

AST 210/EE 213 Xrays and extreme ultraviolet radiation

Integrative Biology 131

Introduction to Non-Violence - PACS 164A

PACS 164B Introduction to nonviolence

Physics C10 - for future presidents

UC Berkeley Chemistry 3B

Teachers and Homeschoolers Excellent Online Resource

2009-08-12T00:49:00.000-07:00

This time Mr. Lester has created a livebinder for teachers. It is hard to find good quality content on the web for educators and Mr. Lester stumbled upon a bunch of resources from the Tar River Writing Project at East Carolina University.

This is a great list of search sites for teachers and homeschoolers for recommended online material that is useful and engaging for the kids. The sites are free to use with some requiring registration. They are worth checking out.

To view his livebinder click on the link below:

Mr.Lester- Research Tools for Educators

4th and 5th grade classroom review

2009-08-04T21:04:00.000-07:00

I'm following up on my last blog with the 4th and 5th grade summer review binders that Mr. Lester put together for his students. I can't say enough about them. They are a great collection of websites on math, language arts, history, reading and science subjects - selected for each appropriate grade. If you would like your son or daughter to review this summer, these livebinders are a great start. Many of the links have activities that are online and some will allow you to print worksheets for your kids to work on.

Just click on the links below to launch the livebinders.

Mr. Lester- 4th Grade Resources

Mr. Lester- 5th Grade Resources

2nd and 3rd grade resources from Mr. Lester

2009-07-27T14:55:00.000-07:00

Here are two more excellent livebinders for 2nd and 3rd graders. They includ a combination of links on science and social studies, language arts, mythology, english and math.

These are some really great sites for helping kids review their classroom material. I would highly recommend having your kids spend some time going over these binders. Mr. Lester even provides a useful table of contents in the first tab to help his students and parents understand what each tab is for. They are very well organized. The links he has chosen are entertaining and very relevant for each grade.

To open just click on the links below:

Mr. Lester- 2nd Grade Resources

Mr.Lester- 3rd Grade Resources

Mr. Lester's Kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grade Resources

2009-07-20T21:21:00.000-07:00

I just discovered these great list of educational resources by a teacher who has prepared Kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grade livebinders. They include online resources for reading, grammer and math. All of the activities are really very good. I don't think I could have found such great sites on my own.

If you are looking for activities to prepare your kids before the fall, I highly recommend Mr. Lester's livebinders - they include a great list of educational activities for your kids. Just click on the links below to launch.

To make it easier for your kids to use, you can drag the livebinder urls onto your desktop so your kids can easily find them and open them on their own.

Mr. Lester- Kindergarten Resources

Mr. Lester- 1st Grade Resources

Mr. Lester- 2nd Grade Resources

3rd grade math word problems

2009-07-13T11:00:00.000-07:00

My kids have been enjoying our little exercises this summer going over math word problems. They do about one a day figuring out the problems on paper and then presenting their solutions up on our white board. I think it is a great way to get them to organize their work and then practicing getting up and explaining their logic to an audience. Here is a binder on 3rd grade math word problems that has a great collection of worksheets your kids can print out and tackle at their own pace. This binder is very popular and I think the 3rd grade level is great for 4th and 5th graders who want to practice a variety of math word problems.

3rd Grade Math Word Problems

High School Summer Math Review

2009-07-06T10:06:00.000-07:00

Let's not forget about our high school students who have even more pressure to perform well during the school year. Summer is a great time to review your math skills by taking a little time each day to solve a math word problem. I'm a strong believer in using math as a great problem solving activity, but often we treat math as if it is more of a rote exercise of doing drills. What is nice about this binder is that it has one worksheet per grade on math word problems and then another tab that lists worksheets for middle school and high school students. That way students can review material without being overwhelmed with too many choices, and if they want more they can refer to the tab with additional resources. The idea is to keep your mind fluid with the math concepts you learned over the summer - not burdened by them.

Feel free to use this binder over the summer. Just click on the link below to launch the binder in your browser.

High School Summer Math Review

Quick Review for Summer Grades 1-5

2009-06-29T13:15:00.000-07:00

Here is another binder with a great list of websites for your kids to check out if you want them to do a little summer review. This binder has really helpful links on spelling, math and writing. It even has a great article on how math should be taught like art, which I find useful when I talk to my kids about math assignments. What works for me is that my kids work on one tab at a time and one worksheet at a time. So for math, the kids print out one worksheet and tackle a problem on the white board. Then we work on 10 spelling words using some of the spelling tips that we learned from another spelling binder. Finally, we set up a blog at hellokids.com so the kids could practice their writing and spelling. This binder has links to recommended kid blog sites as well.

Feel free to check out the sites by clicking on the livebinder link below:

Grades 1-5 Summer Review

Homeschooling Resources

2009-06-23T14:03:00.000-07:00

For all of the home schooling parents out there, this binder is a pretty good resource on material and supplies that are related to the home school community.

If you are looking for community groups, recommendations for curriculum text books and other related material, this is the binder for you.

Feel free to drag the livebinder URL to your desktop so you can quickly access your livebinder for future reference.

Click on the link below:

Homeschool Resources

2nd grade math word problems

2009-06-15T12:13:00.001-07:00

I've put together a 2nd grade math word problem binder as an 'easy' review for my 3rd going to 4th grader. These word problems are a great way to have your kids use their creative problem solving skills with math. For those of you who are looking to find some easy and printable math word problems this is a great collection of free websites with word problems specifically for 2nd graders.

2nd grade math word problems

http://livebinders.com/play/play?id=1823

Summer Math Review for Middle School Students

2009-06-11T11:26:00.000-07:00

I put together some summer review binders for lower school children, but I've also got a kid entering middle school. So I put together a binder on middle school math word problems and other math worksheets that my daughter can use over the summer. It also includes a great article about how math should be taught like it is art rather than as something to be memorized and dreaded. It was inspiring to read.

If you have a middle school student who wants or needs to brush up on their math skills before September this is a great collection of worksheets to start with. You can put the binder icon on their desktop at home and have them open the binder to the website they want to work on. They don't have to worry about getting lost in a google search or having to type in an address.

Middle school summer math review

http://livebinders.com/play/play?id=1824

Making the Switch to Green, Homemade, Cleaning Products

2009-06-08T16:09:00.000-07:00

I made the switch to green cleaning products a month ago and I have to say I am really pleased with the results. I never thought white distilled vinegar could be so useful as a cleaning agent and safe! I have granite counter tops and I've been using Windex or a granite sealer/cleaner. Both are toxic products. When I tried the vinegar and water solution I was amazed at how clean my counter tops were. There was not the usual film on top that I have to keep rubbing to get off. The counter tops were clean and shiny.

If you are interested in trying home made cleaning products that are safe for your family and affordable, check out the great collection of websites that I found that talk about all the different ways in which you can clean your home.

Just click on the binder link below.

Green cleaning products

http://livebinders.com/play/play?id=1834

Helping Kids wtih Homesickness

2009-06-04T10:59:00.000-07:00

We weren't very prepared when my daughter went on a 2 week trip with her class to France. Since she went with her classmates and friends, I figured it would be alright, but she has been experiencing homesickness. If you've ever tried to navigate a child's emotional terrain by email, chat or phone you know it isn't easy. You as a parent have to remain calm and positive, while your child is showing extreme signs of weakness. Then you want to collapse from exhaustion.

I went online to search for anything that would help with her homesickness. I found some great articles and tips about what to do. The key is to help your kids feel in control and empowered so that they can walk away from this experience with confidence and the feeling of success. The hugs when you see them again will be that much warmer, too!

You can view these articles in the livebinder below:

Helping your kids cope with Fear

Lower School Summer Review

2009-06-01T13:54:00.000-07:00

Only two weeks left of school for us, but summer might have already started for some of you. I just collected a great list of websites that offer summer fun actitivities for the kids - along with free summer review projects for spelling, math and writing. All of the websites focus on kids from 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th grades. With this range you can cater the projects to your child's skill level.

Click on the link below to launch the livebinder.

Grades 1-5 Summer Review

Spelling with Confidence

2009-05-18T12:41:00.000-07:00

I had a conversation this weekend with a few mothers, and we talked about how spelling is such a challenge for some of our kids. Spelling is a hard one to solve because you can't really memorize every word. After looking around on the web, I found that there are some simple rules you can apply to spelling. The key is to learn those rules and practice them on as many new words as your kids are willing to try.

In this LiveBinder, I found some great websites that gives tips on how to be a good speller including those simple rules that your kids can try. To help them build confidence, they can practice their spelling skills on new word lists, and this binder also includes some great spelling lists for different age groups -2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th graders. I've even found some free websites where kids can play spelling games for free. Just click on the different tabs in the binder below to view.

Clink on the link below to open the livebinder:

Become a Better Speller

Help with 1st grade math word problems

2009-05-11T12:19:00.000-07:00

There's no better way to have your kids learn how to apply their math skills than to work on math word problems. It helps promote their problem solving and critical thinking skills such as in pattern recognition which is helpful when they start to use multiplication in the higher grades.

In this binder I've selected a great list of websites that offer math word problems appropriate for 1st and 2nd graders.

Just click on the binder to view:

1st grade math word problems

Parent on a Mission and Helpful Multiplication Worksheets

2009-05-05T22:32:00.000-07:00

A parent on a mission:

As a mother I realized that the most time-consuming thing I do for my kids involves finding, collecting and giving information. I use the internet so often I can't believe how many links I've collected for my kids - whether its about their education, vacations, sports, art, health, or entertainment; I've searched it, found it, grabbed it, done it and shared it.

With all of this information collecting - I noticed that my bookmarks, url lists, and printed pages and pages of documents was not helping me get organized. I needed a place to put all my links together, so I could easily find them, group them together with other documents and sometimes share them. I also didn't want to view them as urls, but as pages in a book. I soon realized there wasn't anything like that on the internet.

That is why I created the idea of 'livebinders' - which is like a 3-ring binder for the web. With livebinders you can separate links by tabs and view them like pages in a book. You can create many different binders, name them and categorize them so you can find them easily. My business partner, a fellow parent, and I soon realized that many people collect information like us, but with no place to put it and no easy way to share. So we launched www.livebinders.com, where parents can add bookmarks and urls to their own binders for free. We think parents are a great resource for carefully selected information and we want to help them create their own library of binders.

Livebinders is dedicated to helping parents put their links to good use, and with this blog I hope to highlight some of the binders that I've either found useful or that I've created for my kids that I think you will find useful, too.

Helpful multiplication worksheets:

And that leads me to my 'multiplication worksheets' binder. If you have 2nd, 3rd, 4th or even 5th graders in your care, then you must be helping them memorize their multiplication tables. Memorizing times tables helps kids with their multiplication, division and eventually their algebra problems. I've found that flash cards are not enough, and that practicing on paper is very helpful. So I like to print worksheets from the web to give to my kids.

In this livebinder, I organized a great list of websites that offer free multiplcation worksheets that you can print. There is even a tab on a couple of useful interactive games that help your kids use their multiplication knowledge in a fun way.

To view the 'Multiplication worksheets'binder, click on the link below. Then go through the tabs at the top of the binder to view the diffferent web pages. (Livebinders works with Safari, IE6 and 7, the latest Firefox and Google Chrome.)

Multiplication worksheets

Go parents!