Tag Archives: books

Feb24

Reading is fun

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Reading is fun

I think it’s so important to make reading a part of your child’s daily routine. We have all sorts of rituals in our house from reading corner, reading minutes and car reading but the most exciting thing is the reading challenges that the girls’ elementary school come up with. Gotta Love A.S.K.

This season our amazing librarian sends this………..

Needless to say Jennah and Zeenah are more motivated than ever.

This year I’ve made it a point to make weekly visits to the library with Zeenah to choose books with her. Now that she can read more on her own I’ve made a rule that she has to choose books that she can at least read 3-4 words in sentence. I found it helps strengthen what she already knows and ease her into newer vocabulary without getting frustrated.

 

One of my most recent favorite books that we checked out was “Good Night iPad” it’s a modern day twist on the old classic “Good Night Moon” (still a favorite of mine!)

I highly recommend ordering it from Amazon, you’ll probably enjoy it a little more than your kids.

Off course you can always alternate reading time with Good night Moon if you have a love for the classic as I do.

On the other hand I have my more independent reader Jennah. I don’t need to accompany her  to the library anymore and she has made good choices of books. Some that she is totally engrossed in from the first page and others that she seems to force herself to finish because she doesn’t want to miss out if the book gets better halfway through.

 

Her ultimate favorite series these days is The land of stories by Chris Colfer.  I must say she’s continuously talking about it to everyone she meets and urges them to read. July 2016 can’t come any sooner for her to get her hands on book 5!

I think every once in a while i’d probably post what my kids are reading because I never know who might benefit in getting ideas.

After all it’s also Making Life Memorable for everyone!

 

Sep26

The story of the missing workbook

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The story of the missing workbook

mom
 

There comes a time in every mother’s life where she must endure the horror of the missing workbook, homework, journal or Library book.

I’ve been very good about trying to be as composed as possible when these minor things happen.

Mainly because I keep reminding myself it’s just elementary and not Harvard.

Until today…….why today???

I’ve been frantic! Searching high & Low….. tracing back to the beginning

Still no Math Workbook to be found. Worse of all it’s the one that stays home so it must be here somewhere!!!

Then I think to myself OH NO OH NO!!! It’s the weekend and I have no clue where Jennah’s Math workbook. I’m positive and sure we left it where we always do. Yet it seems to have disappeared into thin air.

Usually I would take it with a grain of salt and tell her to look for it except I can’t do that this weekend because she has a TEST!!!

I’m feeling the stress… almost as though I’m the one that’s going to be graded. Well then again parents are judged and graded by their kids performance but that’s a whole other post!!!

I rummage through all the past papers and teacher e-mails. I find the main topics of what’s going to be covered and off to my main man “Google” I go…

Search “Grade 3 Telling Time free worksheet”…Find appropriate page…Print!

Search “Grade 3 Money (USD) free worksheet”…Find appropriate page…Print!

Search “Grade 3 Number Patterns free worksheet”…Find appropriate page…Print!

Search “Grade 3 Name Collection Boxes free worksheet”…Find appropriate page…Print!

Search “Grade 3 Place Value free worksheet”…Find appropriate page…Print!

GREAT!!! sigh of relief, my own homemade workbook. Funny even in this I have my own DIY.

The dilemma still remains as to where did Jennah’s Homelink Workbook disappear too??? Come Sunday and we shall see!!

With that I will leave you with a few websites I stumbled on that any mom will find useful…

Home School Math
Everyday Math
Math Aids
Kid Zone
Super Teacher Worksheets
Math Tube
K 5 Learning
IXL

So to all you mommies out there that struggle with you child’s responsibility there is comfort in that they will grow out of it…but for now we do what we can to ensure that we come out of it alive and still sane!!!

Here’s Making Life Memorable one Math worksheet at a time!!

Sep16

Flashcards

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Flashcards

In an effort to help Jennah learn her vocabulary I resorted to an old and ancient technique despite all the “modern” methods I have read about online (eg. My previous post Spelling & Vocabulary).
Index-Vocab

 
The first thing I did was go to our area stationary store…. Fun Fun Fun!!! and I bought “special” Vocabulary requirements.

They include different colored index cards, markers and highlighters. It was hard to control myself and not buy anything else.

I just had to keep reminding myself to stay focused on why I was there!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

index-vocab WORDS
I had written all the vocabulary words on one side of the index card, made it fun by using different colors.

We then spoke and demonstrated each word to each other using different actions and memory triggers. That way she had a visual of me every time she read one of her words. It was almost like a weird game of charades.
I had written all the vocabulary words on one side of the index card, made it fun by using different colors.
 
Ind-VocaWrite
 

After practicing and talking about each of her vocabulary words for a little while I had Jennah write the corresponding meaning of each word on the reverse side of the Index.

The prepping of the index cards ended and we then went to traditional Flash card technique.
 

I would show her the word while the reverse side was facing me. She just had to tell me the answer and I could easily check it since it was facing me.

I’m proud to say that this technique is 100% effective because she did really well on her vocabulary test.

One test down and many more to go!!!

With a little more effort I managed to transform studying into Making Life Memorable by studying creatively.

Sep11

Spelling and Vocabulary

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Spelling and Vocabulary

Ok it’s official Jennah is in Grade 3 and I’m starting to have heart palpitations… We are no longer coloring and working on chapter books. This is some serious stuff here!!!

Our first week and we’ve got spelling and vocabulary test to study for, and when I say we I really mean WE!!

I’ve been doing a ton of research on how to teach vocabulary words….between spelling city, teaching websites and other spelling apps on the ipad I have come to a few realizations and conclusions that I would like to share.

Please bare in mind I am not an educator or a scholar. I am just a regular mom wanting to make the learning experience for my child as pleasant and painless as possible (For the both of us!).

What I am about to write is my opinion and my take on learning/teaching. It may help you find new methods, re-enforce what you already know or just be irrelevant to you.

In my little world I’ve found it helpful and hope that you do too!

wordstudyRR_mastheadA very interesting article I came across was about “Word Study”

This article talks about how to teach children to identify which letters are in a word using certain rules.

The technique is basically moving away from just memorizing how a word is spelled but rather developing the skill and knowledge of figuring out how its spelled.

I was actually intrigued by the whole concept and made a note on doing more research about “Word Study”

This website also has an online newsletter that you can subscribe too which I was oh so eager to sign up for!

Of course there is more to this website and definitely worth the browse.
 
 
 
K5logoThe next website is K5 Learning This site covers learning from kindergarden to Grade 5, so it has everything you need for the elementary level.

It covers areas of both Math, language (reading/Spelling…etc) & study skills. A more comprehensive site that’s interactive with videos of what tools they provide.

I was even more impressed after watching their “Parent Video” explaining what K5 Learning and the tools they provide.

My favorite is that your child is actually assessed by the website to know what level they’re at and selects the best program for them.

This however is a paid website and if you’re like me I only like FREEEEEE stuff. It’s still worth the money though and has a 14 day trail with no obligation to subscribe.

These were the most prominent 2 research sites for the day. There is so much more out there that I had to stop myself before getting more overwhelmed than I already am.

So with everything you do for your child in Making Life Memorable put a little more effort in making studying memorable for them too!!

Oct2

For the love of Reading

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For the love of Reading

There’s nothing warmer than curling up in a corner and enjoying a good book. A time when your head is cleared and you’re entering a world of your own.

I try really hard to make sure that the girls enjoy reading, that when they think things are getting a little “boring” the choice of activity is to reach out for a book and enter the world of imagination.

So when I hear of an exciting new venture that involves books I jump to the occasion!! And what do I find but a place that I would love to take my kids to every weekend.

Granted it’s no Barnes and Nobles or Chapters but more like the “shop around the corner”

A used bookstore run by young volunteers with wall to wall shelving and little reading areas to engross yourself in.

Jennah was in book heaven!!!

J&Books
 

Jennah immediately propped herself on the floor and started making choices.

Between fairytales, mystery & non-ficton it was getting to be difficult to choose the 3 books allowance rule made by me. (yes yes I run a tight ship of rules!)
 
 
 
 
 
 
J-Reading
 
 
 
 
 
Book after book, in and out of the shelves….reading a few lines here and there…

 
 
 
 
 
Jennah finally made her choice that I approved of.

I couldn’t be happier!
books
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
We Love Kuwait books are always a hit in our household!!

photo_3

 
 
 
The best part is you can buy the books for a fraction of their price and if you return them you get half your money back. Almost like a public library. Saves you so much space at home and it really gives children more selection to improve their reading.

So hats of to Bayt Lothan and double hats off to all the volunteers and a triple to all the patrons that support this effort.

Be sure to go to q8bookstore in Bayt lothan. Enjoy your relaxing time, choose a book prop onto the coach and “Make your Life Memorable”

Their hours are 5-9:30pm on weekdays
10am-9pm on weekends

For more information look the bookstore up on Instagram @q8bookstore

Oct1

Educational Workbooks

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Educational Workbooks

I’m the type of person when I see something I just have to stock up!!! Especially things that are hard to find and not always readily available in Kuwait.

There are 2 major areas (other than unique food items) that are always a challenge. Crafting materials and kids books/workbooks.

While I was shopping yesterday at Sultan Center (in souq sharq) I went upstairs to the kids/electronic section. I was browsing as usual just to see what the latest books they have.

Sultan-Book

To my pleasure I found several rows of children’s workbooks… It was so nice to see them in quantity, variety and for children from preschool up to grade 5.

If you’ve been shopping in Kuwait in the regular places where you might find these you’ll know that they can get very expensive and over-priced. I was very happy to see that the price range started from KD0.750 to about KD3.500.

So if you’re looking for something to enhance your children head out to Sultan Sharq because you never know when you’ll find them again.

The girls were very excited when they came back from school and found their new workbooks….
Sultan-JZBooks

Aug28

Study Station Success

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Study Station Success

Girls tucked in and fast asleep and my mind is so much clearer. Grabbed my cup of yogurt and sat in front of Jennah’s desk assessing the situation.

What should I tackle first?? The easiest naturally. All last year and summer Artwork removal. I decided what’s worth saving and what goes for recycling. I did go through them at the end of the school year but it seems I lost some of the attachment to the girls artwork.

Half way through going through the papers, art projects displayed and in folders I realized it’s taking way to much time. I decided to put them on the side and work on something else.

It’s time to organize the stationery. The containers I used were small tin buckets, small basket and small plastic bins.
 
Stationary desk
Tins: I put erasers in the extra small tin bucket. Pencils in the small tin bucket.

Plastic Bins: Colored Pencils in a plastic bin and markers in the other bin. I made sure I sharpened all the pencils with my electrical sharpener. A must have in our household with the amount of coloring we do!

Basket:In the small basket I put post it notes and small notepads, I use these for marking her assignments and for explaining things while studying.
 

After I cleared up any additional papers hanging out in the other cubbies of her desk I put a clipboard, whiteboard and an empty magazine holder for new papers coming back from school.

Now the laptop and headphones are neatly placed in the other corner of her desk.

I removed everything from the top up and it’s time to look at the bottom…. Yikes!!!

Do things crawl in our household? Why are their toys? Painting gear? Blocks? Crafting things…if I’m going to continue the list of what I found it’ll develop into a whole other post!
 

Obviously I had to spend a little extra time organizing homes for all these miscellaneous items. Painting and crafting on the painting corner, blocks & Lego with the rest of the blocks….etc
 
below Desk
 
All cleaned up down there for some leg room and a few empty magazine holders for my little second graders work.
 
 
 
 
 
 
I took a step back and felt proud of how neat the space looked, off course I’m not sure how long that would last but at least it’s a great way to start the new school year. Still I felt it was lacking something….I have to add some sort of personal touch.
 
board 
 
 
Then it came to me, the cork board looked so plain…. I took the push pins and made the letter “J” for Jennah.

I’m sure it’s not going to last before all the papers take over but hey I had to have my touch somewhere!

 
 
 
 
DRUM ROLL PLEEEEEEEZE….
The final look of an organized Study Space for Jennah, now she’s ready to tackle 2nd grade….you think?

organized Desk

Read the Part one of this post

Aug22

Zeenah’s Special time

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Zeenah’s Special time

Jennah got to spend the night at her friend’s house last weekend. Which slightly devastated Zeenah but I am determined to teach the girls that there are times you get to do things together and others where each girl has “her thing”. It’s a hard lesson for them to learn and understand at this point but I think we’re heading towards acceptance.

Just so that I can involve Zeenah I told her she could take her tooth brush, pajama and blankie to the playdate and when it was time to go she can do the whole bedtime ritual and sleep in the car on the way home. She was so excited about it and it made things run smooth. 5:30 am I hear her stomping her way to my bedroom and before I can open my eyes I heard “Now we can go pick up Jennah?” I had to explain that it’s waaaaaay to early and I have something fun we were going to do… we were going out for breakfast just the two of us. Something I’ve never gotten the chance to do because the girls weren’t apart so early in the morning. No we didn’t go out that early, I weaseled a few e-mails here and there while she kept occupied in the playroom until it was a decent hour to go out.

Zeenah bolted into her room to get ready the moment I said “Yala” she was super excited and giddy. She actually wore her fancy party dress. Then packed her little books, crayons and chose her favorite coloring book to keep her occupied at the restaurant. I was just looking and observing how the second child really misses out on one-on-one time. Something I would really like to find the time to do in the future.
   

Her choice for breakfast was Le Pain Quotidien at the Marina crescent (a family favorite). So off we were buckled up in the car heading on our way. Zeenah was full of stories real and imaginary. I just listened and giggled and we danced in the car, another family favorite.
 
 
 

setting up1

 
 
After being greeted and seated Zeenah didn’t waist any minute she started organizing her activities giving me a step by step run down of what she was doing. “I’m going to first take my colors out…. the green will go next to brown” It really felt like an instructional TV show. She was so precise in her every action.
 
 
 
 
 

The waitress came and as predicted Zeenah made her usual order of Egg white omelet with a side of blueberries. I was a little disappointed in the portion of her side but that wasn’t gonna stop our fun.
     

coloring
           
As we were waiting for our food to arrive Zeenah went through all her planned activities pretty fast…. coloring, reading, book puzzle and packing up right in time for her breakfast.

Puzzle  

reading    

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

ZEENAH ENJOYING HER EGGS

eggs

 
 

My Book recommendation for children is to get the small libraries as the one Zeenah was reading. For the really young children the colors and pictures are very entertaining. They come in a very neat box making it easy to carry around and store. Most fun is on the reverse of each book is part of puzzle that they can arrange. For older kids that are of reading age the laungugae is very simple with extremely fun stories. Bring a new level for loving books.

puzzle Collage

Stay tuned for my post listing these mini libraries and suggestions of where you can purchase them.
 
 

Soon it was time for us to go pick up Jennah and Zeenah was jumping for joy to see her sister.

We as parents are sometimes so involved in our daily routine that the time we spend with our younger children suffers because of it. wheather you have 2, 3 or more children take the time to spend one-on-one quality time with each of them. It really goes a long way with them and you will learn so much of who they are as individuals. After all “Making life Memorable” for those you love is what it’s all about.