I’m so privileged to be offering FIVE free iPad apps today, courtesy of Ranger Rick Jr. 

In honor of Earth Day, Arbor Day, and National Frog Month, The National Wildlife Federation is sponsoring some wonderful learning opportunities for your 4-7 year old.

Ranger Rick Jr. Appventures offers age-appropriate, ad-free content in a fun yet educational format through interactive animal games, videos, stories, puzzles, photos, jokes and more, including:

• Photo Safari - a game that asks children to take photos of all the lions in Lars’ pride. (The real challenge is that kids need to get up and move—with their iPads—to find them all!)
• Animal Piano - an activity that lets children make music and play songs, using the sounds made by lions, elephants, and baboons.
• Animal Builder - a drawing game that has children mix and match body parts to create both realistic and silly animals.

Ranger Rick Jr. Appventures was developed in partnership with Moonbot Studios, winners of the 2012 Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film!

To be one of FIVE WINNERS, simply:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I hope you and your daughter are enjoying these FREE PJ Party Quizzes as much as I have enjoyed making them! All three are printed out and are just waiting for a night when the boys are gone and my own little girl can snuggle next to me on the couch with a pencil and her imagination.

Today’s download is part 3 of 3, and invites you to ponder life’s great choices like: who should you invite for dinner? and would you prefer to swim in gravy or find a spider in your ear?

Please enjoy them, pin them, print them, and pass them on!

Click HERE for your pdf, or drag the image at right to your desktop.

Coming Thursday: FREE iPad Apps for 5 Lucky Readers!

I’m please to announce that to celebrate Earth Day, Arbor Day, and National Frog Month, I have 5 free iPad apps to give away courtesy of  Ranger Rick Jr. Appventures (for the iPad & ages 4-7).

Ranger Rick Jr. Appventures offers age-appropriate, ad-free content in a fun yet educational format through interactive animal games, videos, stories, puzzles, photos, jokes and more, including:

• Photo Safari - a game that asks children to take photos of all the lions in Lars’ pride. (The real challenge is that kids need to get up and move—with their iPads—to find them all!)
• Animal Piano - an activity that lets children make music and play songs, using the sounds made by lions, elephants, and baboons.
• Animal Builder - a drawing game that has children mix and match body parts to create both realistic and silly animals.

If you were with us on Wednesday, you know that we’re in the middle of a fun 3-part series offering FREE printable quizzes for moms and daughters to do together.

All you’ll need is a pencil and your PJ’s!

Today’s freebie incorporates serious questions and silly ones. Take your time and use them as a springboard for great conversation and mutual storytelling. Write down your answers in detail and then stash your completed quiz in a special place — she’ll love re-living the moment when you pull out this quiz at her graduation!

Click and drag the image at the left to print from your desktop, or CLICK HERE to download your copy!

If you’re having fun with these, please help spread the word!

If there’s one thing my daughter thrives on, it’s time with mommy.

Do you have a little “quality-timer” in your house?

After a night of hot chocolate, painted toenails and green mud mask on smiling faces, all that’s missing is the great conversation. So today I’m launching a 3-Part series of PJ Night quizzes for you to download and print for FREE to do with your daughter.

All you need is a room with no brothers, a couple of pencils, and time to chat. What you’ll get in return is a night she’ll treasure forever.

Get your free printable by clicking HERE! You can also try clicking and dragging the image to your desktop and printing from there.

What’s your favorite way to spend time with your daughter?

]]> http://unofficialhomeschooler.com/online-quizzes/feed/ 3 http://unofficialhomeschooler.com/interior-design/ http://unofficialhomeschooler.com/interior-design/#comments Thu, 11 Apr 2013 16:02:32 +0000 Jane http://unofficialhomeschooler.com/?p=1615

“How about this one, Mama?”

My daughters’ eyes locked in on mine as she leafed through the racks of fabric samples hanging in a local furniture store.

“Isn’t it pretty? And it goes perfectly with the new couches you’re getting.”

It was true: the modern white and gray floral print on an avocado background fit our new space to a ‘T’, but I already had my heart set on another one with a different color scheme.

“Can we get it, Mama? Don’t you like it?”

Smoothing my hand over her hair, I lifted her chin to my eyes. “It’s beautiful, sweetie, but extra pillows are kind of expensive, and I already ordered this print.”

She shifted her gaze from my face to the length of fabric in my hands, and then turned back to the interior designer standing nearby.

“Uh, actually,” the designer started, “Many of my clients order more than one set of pillows so they can change them out throughtout the year. In fact, Jane, the print you chose would be ideal for fall and winter, whereas your daughter’s choice is a lighter fabric and would be great for spring.”

(GREAT.)

I stood in the crosshairs of our firm budget, my daughter, and this helpful salesperson.

“Ok,” I said. “How much would a pair of additional pillows be?”

Investing in Your Child’s Dreams and Talents

That day I decided that affirming my daughter’s long held and steadfast interest in art and design was worth a Benjamin Franklin.

I knew that by ordering an extra set of pillows (which I loved, incidentally) I would be sending a powerful message to her:

• You are good at this!
• You are worth the investment!
• I value your input!
• I trust your judgment!

Of course the biggest payout may be hearing me explain to our visitors:

“Oh, thank you! Yes, I love the pillows, too. Did you know my daughter actually picked those out all by herself?”

Obviously, unless your lifestyle isn’t constrained by budget concerns, we know that we can’t always give in to requests like these. The music lessons, theater productions, sports teams, and athletic equipment mount in cost, and there are legitimate times to say “no.”

But can we create a little more wiggle room  when it’s an “investment?”

How Can You Invest in Your Child’s Talents?

Perhaps you’re thinking:

Ok, my kid could care less about pillows and paint swatches. How can I affirm him?

Here are a few ways:

1. Cooking: Provide the ingredients for a new recipe that your little chef wants to try. Try to let go of the worry that your $10 protein could be destroyed. He’ll cherish the thought that you let him give it a shot!
2. Building: Find a great hammer-and-nail idea on Pinterest or YouTube , go to the hardware store together to find the parts, and hand over the tools. *some supervision required!
3. Entrepreneur: Invest in business cards for your little entrepreneur, touting her skills and her area of expertise. Vistaprint.com often times offers free cards or runs super deals. (not an affiliate link — just one that we’ve often used.)
4. Mr. Fix-It: Go to your local second-hand shop and grab an old toaster or inexpensive vacuum. Let your little repairman take it apart and attempt to put it back together again.
5. Organization: Take your child to purchase bins and baskets, and then let her revamp your linen closet or toy room! Give her labels and allow her the freedom to organize in a way that makes sense to her.

What are some easy ways that you can invest in your child’s talents?

Please scroll down to leave a comment with your idea!

I never knew he was interested in hobbits or wizards or shires, but this winter my son has set out to read the Lord of the Rings Trilogy.

This comes as welcome news to the mother of a son who, for the majority of his fifth grade year, has not enjoyed reading.

Let me rephrase: I could not bribe him to pick up a book for less than $10.

The problem?

Perhaps it was finding something that interested him.

Perhaps it was that the pull of grass and baseballs always win over paper and ink.

Or perhaps it is something else altogether.

Whatever the reason, I’ve found that he is motivated by an involved mom who helps him set reasonable, attainable goals.

So last month we started using THIS GOAL SHEET (free printable for you!!) and it has transformed his motivation and determination to read and finish these books.

No, we’re not perfect, and no, he’s not close to being done (have you seen those books??), but I’m encouraged to have found something that, at least for now, has kept the pages turning.

Try it and let me know if it helps at your house!

What have you done to motivate your “wish-I-don’t-have-to” readers?

{photo credit}

I’m pretty excited about this post because:

1. We have very special friends who are adopting,
2. I’m a huge fan of extending love to kids everywhere, and
3. Judging by the number of times adoption is reference in Scripture, it’s a big deal to God.

Because I’d like to do a better job of encouraging my friends, I’ve decided it would help a lot if I had a prayer and blessing calendar to use during this (very) long adoption journey.

It would help if I knew how to better walk alongside them during…

1. The waiting.
2. The not-knowing.
3. The questions.
4. The money.
5. The re-arranging-bedrooms-and-life-as-you-know-it.

Everything about the adoption journey is worthy of our prayers and most lively SNL cheerleading (can you say Cheri Oteri?)!

So today I’m offering a free chart!

Click and drag on the image above or CLICK HERE for your own! Print and share! Let’s model encouragement and compassion for our own children.

Have you adopted? What did others do to bless you during your wait?

Hi All! I’m so pleased to introduce my guest blogger today who is prepared to tell you all about her new favorite book series from Revell: The Adventures of Lily Lapp. This series is aimed at 8-12 year olds, and tells the tale of young Lily, an Amish girl living in New York.

For a review of book 1, Life With Lily, I’d like to introduce my daughter! We’ll call her AJ

Hello my name is AJ, I am nine years old and in third grade. Today I would like to tell you about a great book called Life With Lily.

This book is about a five year-old  girl named Lily Lapp, and her brothers Joseph and Danny. When Lily and Joseph have a new baby brother Danny, Lily  has to find a way to keep herself and Joseph out of trouble.

School is starting and she is meeting lots of new friends, but when teacher Ellen leaves and the new  teacher is mean, Lily has to find her courage  and  tell her parents what’s up.

This book happens at the singing tree farm, when Lily is five. I think you should read this book because it really comes alive and you can tell that Mary Ann Kinsinger  and Suzanne Woods Fisher put a lot of thought and feelings into the book.

If your little girl likes adventure books, I know your little girl will like this book  :)

Sometimes she doesn’t want to talk.

Sometimes words get stuck and feelings flutter and confuse.

And sometimes mamas and daughters mix in a way generally reserved for oil and water.

In those tender places ripe for injury and regret, we’ve learned to back away and let our ink pens tell the story. We’ve learned that retreat sometimes means salvation.

Using Notebooks to Share Feelings and Ask Tough Questions 

A few years ago in Words Kids Need To Hear, by David Staal (see affiliate link below) I first read about the notion of notebooks as journals with kids. The concept is simple:

1. Invite your child to journal their feelings when talking them out feels too hard.
2. Tell them nothing’s off limits! That tough questions or embarrassing questions are welcomed and met with love.
3. Instruct them to do their writing and then leave it on mom’s bed or under mom’s pillow for a discreet response.
4. Do your best to respond to your child within 24-28 hours.
5. Hold up your end of the bargain — when tough issues are raised, respond in grace! No shaming or guilting!
6. Return the journal to her room, leaving it under her pillow to find at night. (This also prevents drop-in friends from finding something so private and personal.)

• Buy a journal
• Give it to your child
• EITHER have a conversation about its purpose, OR…
• Use the first page of the journal to write out an explanation.
• Then, ask if they’d rather have you begin the journal dialogue or if they’d prefer to do so.
• Let the dialogue begin!

 How do you deal with things when conversation is tricky?
   Special thanks to Photography by Kamarah for the beautiful pic of my daughter.

WOOT! Today is the LAST DAY of our “Valentine 14″!

Congratulations, Mom! You made it! Let me encourage you to continue studying your children. Pay attention to the small things. Write down what they say and do so that you can “prove” you’re watching and listening. Use their own actions to help them grow in Christ. And…keep showing love!

“Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.” 1 Peter 4:8

14 Days of Letter Writing Prompts

Today’s LAST Prompt is:

• Share with your child the best part about being their mom. Explain why you’re so thankful that God placed them in your family and that He saw fit to make YOU their mom.