I often try to find ways to adapt one game or activity to fit the learning needs of students of different ages. Especially during these last winter months, it's nice to have something different to try when you need a quick break from the ordinary routine.

There are some fun variations you can try with tic-tac-toe to make it a unique learning tool. Visit www.bellesprintables.com and click on "free templates" to create your own tic-tac-toe boards. You can also make a durable board by gluing a square of felt on cardboard and then gluing a ric-rac or ribbon grid on the felt. Put Velcro tabs or felt squares on the back of homemade tic-tac-toe tokens. (Velcro tabs help make this a great traveling game.) For easy homemade tokens, laminate 5 paper circles of two different colors each. You might also decorate the tokens by stamping two different images or adhering two different stickers to the top of the tokens. You can also use buttons or small candies as tokens.

Enjoy!

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Pre-School Tic-Tac-Toe

Write letters from your pre-k child's name, or random letters, numbers or shapes that he needs to in the boxes of the tic-tac-toe grid. After playing tic-tac-toe, ask the child to name each letter, number or shape as tokens are removed. Even if your child doesn't understand the tic-tac-toe game concept, he can still learn to take turns and then identify letters, numbers or shapes in a way that doesn't feel like learning.

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Math Adventure Tic-Tac-Toe

Randomly write numbers in the boxes of the tic-tac-toe grid. After playing a regular game of tic-tac-toe, each player removes his tokens and adds up the numbers underneath each of his tokens. The player with the highest score is a winner, too! You can program the grid randomly, or use numbers in a family (2's, 5's, 10's etc.) Older children can be challenged to multiply their scores. If you're working on reading longer numbers, program the grid with numbers such as 2,567,492, and simply have the players read each number under their tokens. The possibilities are limitless, and you can use this basic idea with most any math concept you're studying.

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Word Jumble Tic-Tac-Toe

Program a tic-tac-toe board with frequently used consonants (avoid x and q in particular). After playing a regular game of tic-tac-toe, challenge players to write as many words as they can using any combination of vowels and the consonants that appear under their tokens. Set a timer for one minute (or determine a longer time if needed). The player with the most real words when the time's up is a winner, too!

Copyright Sherry Fiscella 2008

I often use checklists for assessing student progress. Copy and paste the link below into your browser for a simple and FREE kindergarten/first grade assessment tool.

Although the checklist says it's for first grade, advanced kindergarten students may be able to complete most of the requirements, especially if they are using the A Beka curriculum. It's a good measure, however, of where a first grader should be by the end of the year.

You can use the summer before second grade to shore up any gaps you discover after completing the assessment.

Feel free to contact me through the comment section below if you have any questions about using it, or if you have other assessment tools you'd like to share.

The assessment:
http://www.mrsperkins.com/files/teachers/testing.pdf

Happy Home Schooling!
Mrs. Sherry



P.S. Thanks to Linda for sharing this tool!

Dear Home School Solutions Friends,

The following article is from the Family Resource Council. For more information on the attack on American parental rights, visit www.parentalrights.org. A link is to your right. And, in case you're wondering, as far as I know, Governor Mike Huckabee is the only candidate who has discussed parental rights and is in favor of the proposed constitutional amendment protecting parental rights from further decay from our own courts and from international laws and treaties.

Glad to be home schooling,
Mrs. Sherry
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Parental Authority No Match for Court's


Last week, a federal appeals court refused to uphold the parental and religious rights of two Massachusetts couples--David and Tonia Parker and Rob and Robin Wirthlin--whose young children were exposed to books that promoted homosexual "marriage" in their elementary school. I met and interviewed the Parkers and the Wirthlins for FRC's Liberty Sunday broadcast from Boston in October 2006 (and our "Critical Mass" DVD includes their stories). It's amazing how cavalierly the court's decision dismisses the evidence that school officials engaged in the deliberate indoctrination of children. The school sought to coerce its students into accepting values that are way outside the mainstream and in direct contradiction to those of their parents. Yet the same courts that are trying to reinvent the family are encouraging the public schools to act as their surrogate. A lawyer for the parents has vowed to appeal all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary. They could also sue in state court, given the blatant violation of a state law which mandates that parents be notified before any discussion of "human sexuality issues." Of course, since it was Massachusetts' Supreme Court that legalized same-sex "marriage," you can imagine what the families' chances of winning would be! The federal court recommended the parents "seek recourse" through the legislative process. But that is small comfort considering that when pro-family forces do succeed, as they did in Boyd County, Kentucky, judicial activists simply rewrite the democratic decisions to suit their political agenda. When family values clash with homosexual activism in the public schools, rulings like this one prove that parents' rights continue to be wronged.

Additional Resources
FRC "Critical Mass" DVD
FRC pamphlet "Homosexuality in Your Child's School"

Why purchase Valentine cards when you can make an art project out of the event?



Of course, one of my favorite sites, DLTK, has tons of printable cards. This site is especially good if you just want something simple for pre-schoolers to color. There are also cute Valentine box templates in their Valentine craft section. There's a link to DLTK at the right.

There are also a ton of ideas and links at:
http://familycrafts.about.com/od/valentinecards/
Just copy the above address and paste it into your browser.

One cute idea I found there is called "Jello Valentines."

You simply fold a piece of construction paper (or a heart) to make a card. Then, in pencil, write your message. Trace your message with white school glue, then sprinkle Jello on top of the glue. Voila! A sweet smelling Valentine!

There are other fun ideas listed in the February archives of my blog. Be sure to take a quick look, and learn how to make fun lollipop cookie treats, and find ideas for Valentine's themed math activities.

If you have other sites or ideas, I'd love to know!

Happy Home Schooling!
Mrs. Sherry

Dear Home School Solutions Friends,

Do you need a reason to celebrate and move past the winter blahs? Why not enjoy a little groundhog fun with your kids tomorrow?



For the "official" Punxsutawnie Phil Groundhog forecast, go to www.groundhog.org.

There's a whole section of fun activity ideas for teachers. There's even a recipe for "groundhog cookies." You'll also find out everything you wanted know, and more, about this under-the-radar holiday.

Click on the Schoolbell or DLTK links to the right for more Groundhog's Day activities.

Happy Home Schooling!
Mrs. Sherry