Who knew Canadians were this cool?

I came across a website that was a list of online kids computer games. I will just start by saying that as a general rule, I do not like video/computer games. Ask any former student of mine.

Some, I would concur with them, are educational, but the majority (at least the ones that they play) are not. So, on this site Max and I messed around and I got him playing a few of them. I originally got on to find a game that would encourage his current love of letters. Well, we weeded through the muck and found a gem.

A Canadian site developed by a kids tv network called tvokids. Maybe you know about it, I didn't. The games are great, have cute artwork and are seriously so funny. Maybe I am a nerdy mom but this one makes me laugh out loud. I dare you not to laugh. I loved this one (the bird's voice is so cute - OH - DID YOU HEAR THAT???) and this one too. Max loved this one as well.

So I mention that it's Canadian because you will hear a couple Canadian-ish things, like zed, which is what they call the letter z apparently. Maybe my Canadian brother-in-law can clarify that for us -- what's up with zed? and you will also hear a bit of Canadian accent, like the word out sounding like oot. Cute little Canadians.

Have fun! Let me know if you find any other favorites!

DIY dollhouses

I don't have girls but if you do, check this out

I would have totally loved that as a young girl. A great way to use old catalogs and mags.

Takin' it back to the old school

'cause I'm an old fool who's so cool.

When I taught sixth grade before becoming a mother I realized that my students didn't know JACK-SQUAT about geography. They could possibly name and locate half of the states, but a small percentage of them would be able to find the U.S. on a world map.

Because our area of study was world history I took geography to heart and had a goal to have my students label on a map EVERY country of the world. Lofty goal eh? I had parents tell me, "Really, you think they can do that? Memorize EVERY country of the world and be able to label them on a map?" I would say back to them, "At different points in the year, they will have experienced labeling the entire world. I do not expect them to remember it all at the end of the year but they will at least have been exposed to every continent and every country so that when they hear War in Iraq on the news they have a vague idea, if not know exactly, where Iraq and the Middle East are."

At the beginning of the school year I gave them a large blank world map and asked them to fill out as many countries as they could. I think the most countries correctly labeled averaged between 3-5 or so.

If that.

The US, Canada, Mexico, and then a sampling of China, Great Britain, Brazil, France, Japan. Hardly any variation from those.

It was sad.

By the end of the year when we did the same exercise again they labeled dozens upon dozens - some nearing 100. They were floored at their own knowledge and they felt empowered.

We would do monthly quizzes on different regions. I owe much of their success to this website.

Warning - the site is addictive. After I made that goal for my class I decided that I couldn't have a goal for my class that I hadn't conquered myself. I spent a good solid week on that site a couple weeks before school started and I felt like I had a good handle on the world.

Because of school mandated curriculum and testing, many very worthwhile subjects have been thrown out the window. If your child's teacher is not keen on teaching geography, take matters into your own hands and get your family a little more world-savvy. Buy a world map and display it prominently somewhere in your home. Use that site with your older ones. World map place mats or US states place mats? Puzzles? games?