My kids have gotten into spelling lately. Usually we use Sequential Spelling from AVKO, but we watched the movie "Akeelah and the Bee" a couple of weeks ago. In this movie a girl from the inner city wins the National Spelling Bee. The boys started spelling all the difficult words from the movie. Then they started quizzing each other by sitting on the couch, reading long words from the dictionary and asking the others to spell. Then they started playing Action Scrabble. This is done with the letters from a Scrabble game. Each player chooses 5 letters. As soon as someone spells words in front of them using all their letters - they yell "Go!" Everyone then chooses 2 more letters. The first one who uses all their letters wins. Each person ends up having their own little scrabble board in front of them.
Finally I downloaded the manual from this year's Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee. http://www.myspellit.com/Spell_It_2008_download.pdf This even suggests studying tips for words from different languages. We are studying groups of words from different languages and having a weekly family spelling bee. I don't know how long this fascination with spelling will last, but I sure appreciate it and it helps pass away the long hours of being snowed in.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Handy Tools
I started using these internet based tools a few months ago. I thought I would share them.
The first is Jott. www.jott.com When I signed up for Jott, I entered a list of contact's email addresses. Then I was given a phone number to put on my cell phone. When I am out and I remember something, such as to sign up the kids for the next quarter in music lessons, I call the 800 number for Jott. By using voice recognition software, I can dictate the text of am email that is sent to me. Then when I am at the computer and my "to do" list, I get my reminder. This sure is handy since my memory seems to have left me.
The next thing I want to share is Pocketmod. www.pocketmod.com Pocketmod has a site where you can design an 8 page booklet that is printed on 1 sheet of paper. After cutting and folding, I have a mini game plan for the week that I can carry in my pocket. I have listed my weekly menu, my record of what I spend for the week, a mini grocery list and a place to write down whatever I need to remember. For example, if I am in the upstairs bathroom, far from my grocery list, and I notice we need toothpaste and toilet paper, I can write those things on my pocket mod.
The first is Jott. www.jott.com When I signed up for Jott, I entered a list of contact's email addresses. Then I was given a phone number to put on my cell phone. When I am out and I remember something, such as to sign up the kids for the next quarter in music lessons, I call the 800 number for Jott. By using voice recognition software, I can dictate the text of am email that is sent to me. Then when I am at the computer and my "to do" list, I get my reminder. This sure is handy since my memory seems to have left me.
The next thing I want to share is Pocketmod. www.pocketmod.com Pocketmod has a site where you can design an 8 page booklet that is printed on 1 sheet of paper. After cutting and folding, I have a mini game plan for the week that I can carry in my pocket. I have listed my weekly menu, my record of what I spend for the week, a mini grocery list and a place to write down whatever I need to remember. For example, if I am in the upstairs bathroom, far from my grocery list, and I notice we need toothpaste and toilet paper, I can write those things on my pocket mod.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Welcome
Welcome to my new blog! I hope and pray that I can keep up regular blog posts about our domestic church - the way we live our faith, and how we homeschool. I love sharing resources I have found on a large number of topics, so check back frequently.
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