National Geographic

So my last class was all about Social Studies and Geography. It is finals week so I can finally share with all of you some of the great resources I discovered during the course.

Did you know National Geographic has an Education Website? 

It Does!

This site covers current events! It has lessons plans, videos, a map creator, pictures, student resources, access to standards, and so much more! I have added it to the resource section of my own classroom website for my students to use. 

This is a brand new resource and still in BETA format. So if there are any suggestions of changes, things you want to see, etc...just let them know. 

ENJOY!

Football Sunday!

Have you all seen this sign? I totally need one for my house!

My oldest son's first word was football. Not mama, not dada, not even baba... football. I should have known what life had in store for me from that moment on.

Many of you know that I homeschooled my children for awhile but I have never shared the story of how it began or the frustrations that came with it. When my oldest was 2 I found him reading a book. Not the pictures.... the actual words. What sounds he hadn't figured out he made up.

I thought it was so amazing! He could read!! Little did I know the heartache this would cause. (To catch you up he has a form of Autism known as Asperger's Syndrome. He is very high functioning. He excels academically across the board but struggles socially).

Because he was so intent on learning, I taught him. It was sooo hard to keep up with his need for knowledge. One day when he was 4 he suddenly stopped learning. I was so happy but also concerned. He only wanted to know about football. I needed resources but couldn't find any. So I made everything myself... a huge massive collection of all things football. He loved it!

I have learned that sometimes to get students to move ahead we have to meet them where they are. My bff went into teaching before I did and has often pulled my football resources to get her reluctant students to write, learn vocabulary, or to do math.

So... Melonheadz and I have decided to create a complete line of football products! I am finishing them up now so they will be appearing in my store in the next few days BUT you can get a set early by leaving a comment below!

These are the original materials that I used all those years ago with new graphics to jazz it up! This packet includes 20 sentence stems/journal pages, 7 compare & contract activities, 2 goal pages, 4 pages of math, 6 pages of vocabulary, 1 geography activity, 3 class books/bulletin board projects, 1 research project, and 1 creative writing project. Over 60 pages of football fun!

My kids still love this packet. This is my baby's worksheet from today's game... he is working on adding more than 2 numbers together. Since adding is too simple for him he then groups each picture together and multiplies those and then adds. So the 2 field goals would be 2x3... it gets harder as the game goes on. =)

This is 17 weeks of greater than/less than score fun! Students record the score and then using > or < determine the winner. My son never understood Allie Alligator but he understood he wanted to be on the winning team and that the arrow always pointed toward the loser as their score was smaller.

And of course I had to do matching calendar numbers and a boggle board! We are working on getting a set out for every NFL team so if you are looking for a set, please let me know as I will put you on the top of the list.

What could be even better for football fans?? I will be selling exclusive Melonheadz Graphics for each of the teams as well. Again... I am a big tease as they are a work in progress but I couldn't wait to share with you!


I also wanted to share with you a post from Kinderzoo. I cannot imagine the grief she is going through at suddenly losing her husband, her best friend. I know that I would be devastated. She would hate it if she knew we were doing this but several of us would like to show our love and support during this difficult time.

If you have a moment - please visit her store and make a purchase. She has some amazing products. My favorites are her emergency Kinder plans. I could have so used them for that first week in school!!

Stack the States & Stack the Countries

I was out searching for applications on the web trying to load up my iPad with some applications that have an educational value but were fun. I wanted something 'different' and 'unique' which is sometimes difficult to find.

Stack the States gets 5 stars from me! The object of the game is to answer questions about the 50 states. The questions ask you to identify the states by shape, capitals, other major cities, bordering states, location, nickname, landmarks, and more. If you get it right, you get to try to stack up the states (and not fall into the PIT OF DOOM! (as my boys call it)) to win the level. There are flashcards to help you study but the game is so fun and user friendly, that you can easily skip over the flashcards and guess to learn!

The states are scaled to size when makes it even more fun to stack and you get to see how tiny Delaware is compared to Alaska. There are locked levels on this game that I have yet to reach (I need to spend more time with it but some child keeps 'borrowing' it to play more) which unlock new and more challenging games.

This application is designed to be used individual and has room for up to 6 players. However, I am sure it could be adapted to any classroom as a trivia based game. What a great fun way to entertain and teach your students!

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I had so much fun with Stack the States that I just had to try out Stack the Countries! This app was a little more than the States version but there are more countries than states so I was good with the additional cost. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the additional features found in this application.

In the settings section, you can choose which language to run this application in. Great for those students learning a second (or third) language. Language options are currently limited to English, Spanish, and French. I can also choose how many continents I want to play with and how many questions. This is so great! I was really overwhelmed at the idea of learning about world geography is one giant dose. This allows me to learn continent by continent. Just like with Stack the States, you have room for up to 6 players (or 6 classes or teams if you choose to play in a group) and as your knowledge of geography increases, more game options are opened to you.

For $1.99, you simply can't find a more fun, educational curriculum to teach world geography that will keep you and your kids entertained and laughing for hours.