Friday Faves: Read-Aloud Favorites

Anyone who knows me knows that this picture of Maisy (snapped just this afternoon) is no accident: Like Mommy like Baby.  Or should I say, "Mommy like, baby like."  I love books - and I especially love a great kids' book!

Here are some of Maisy and Mommy's current read-aloud favorites:

Read-Aloud Pick #1:
Blue Sea
By Robert Kalan
Illustrated by Donald Crews

I originally checked this book out of the library to read with a current young client of mine who is an emergent reader.  When I decided to read it to Maisy, however, she was immediately captivated by the bold illustrations and simple, repetitive phrases.  Maisy bounces with excitement when we open the pages of this book, and she's ready to flip back to the beginning as soon as its finished.

Young ones like Maisy will love the bright pictures.  Older children will enjoy the storyline and predictable prose, and learn about "big, bigger, and biggest" at the same time.




Read-Aloud Pick #2:
Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear?
By Nancy White Carlstrom

"Jesse Bear, What will you wear, what will you wear in the morning?"

This adorable preschool classic is a prime example of "mommy like, baby like."  I love this sweet book with its happy pictures and song-like rhymes.  After just a couple of attempts, now Maisy reaches for it too!  Jesse Bear takes us through his whole day, from wearing his red shirt in the morning to wearing the moon on his bed at night.  

Don't think your little one is ready to sit still through a whole storybook?  You won't know until you try!

Read-Aloud Pick #3:  

Baby Talk
By Dawn Sirett

"Peek-a-boo!" "Yum-yum!" "Night-night!"

This has been one of Maisy's favorite books for the longest time!  In fact, I had to check to see if I'd blogged about this awesome board book before.  Big baby faces!  Cute baby words! Giant baby lift-the-flaps!  Given a choice, Maisy picks this book almost every time.  If she accidentally skips a page or a flap, Maisy actually notices and goes back to read what she missed.

This book is great to read-aloud, but equally fun for Baby to flip through on her own.  

Friday Faves: Online Multiplication Games

I've started back up with tutoring this fall. This time I'm tutoring a student with autism who struggles with multiplication and division. Since he has a long day of school before he comes my way, he needs to have at least one break during our hour-long sessions. He loves the computer, so I've decided to make that break a meaningful one by letting him choose from a list of online multiplication games. Here are just a few of the higher-quality games I've found:

#1: Arcademic Skill Builders
http://www.arcademicskillbuilders.com/
This engaging website includes four multi-player multiplication games: Grand Prix Multiplication, Space Race Multiplication, Tug Team: Multiplication, and Penguin Jump Multiplication. For each one, you can start your own game and play against the computer or join another player's game to play against real people. For those motivated by competition (that would be me), Grand Prix Multiplication has a scoreboard where the fastest times are posted. Each of these games is a little unique and pretty fun to play, but Grand Prix is my favorite because of the scoreboard feature.

The Arcademic Skill Builders website also has one single player multiplication: Meteor Multiplication. This game is different from the others because you can set a maximum product for a student who only know their facts up to a certain point.

This is a fun website with fast-paced, arcade-style games. I'd play the games, and I don't even need the practice (although I didn't get on the Grand Prix scoreboard...yet!).

#2: Funbrain
http://www.funbrain.com
Funbrain is FULL of math games. If you've never visited the site before, the first place to check out for math practice is the Funbrain Math Arcade. Pick a game piece, choose a level of difficulty (1-8, basically corresponding to grade level), and head out onto a virtual game board. Each stop along the way is a different math arcade game, and math skills vary depending on the game and the difficulty. Kids really get into the math arcade. Many will choose to write down the code that allows them to pick up where they leave off if they exit the site before finishing.

More math games can be found in the "numbers" section of the Funbrain website. These games are not Flash games, but they tend to be more skill-specific. Many of the games let you choose an operation and select a difficulty level. For multiplication, the difficulty levels range from Easy (factors up to 5) and Medium (factors up to 9), to Hard and Super Brain (multi-digit multiplication). These games include: Math Baseball, MathCar Racing, Soccer Shootout, Tic Tac Squares, and Power Football. Another feature of these games is that you can choose to have the math facts written algebra-style (6 x __ = 12) or standard (6 x 2 = 12) depending on what you want your students to practice. The non-Flash games have a simpler style to them, but are more easily differentiated to your student's goals.

#3 Primary Games
http://primarygames.com/math
The Primary Games website has a wide variety of games, but it's a little confusing to separate the educational games from the just-for-fun games, in spite of labels such as "Math" and "Language Arts." Here a few multiplication-related games that seemed worthwhile:

Number Eaters - Think PacMan, except you are trying to eat the multiplication facts that add up to a certain product. Basic multiplication facts.

MathMan - Think PacMan (again), except you eat ?s that give you math facts to solve, and you have to eat the correct answer. Includes double digit facts, and not just multiplication.

The Multiplication Game - This is similar to Connect Four. This game requires some strategy in addition to knowledge of multiplication facts. More challenging, but fun!

Have your own favorite math game websites? Post below to share!

"Friday" Faves: Books in Pairs

This week, I've picked a few different pairs of books to review - some are related to babies, some to mommies, and some to tutoring.

Books #1 & #2: Top 50 Skills for a Top Score - ACT English, Reading, and Science and Top 50 Skills for a Top Score - ACT Math

I don't necessarily use these books cover-to-cover for my tutoring clients, but I have found them to be worthy supplementary resources. They could be used a number of ways. The pretests contain one question for each skill introduced in the book. This is one quick method of pinpointing skill gaps. Often I cover the same skills when I teach subject-specific strategies and skills using the more all-inclusive materials from KAPLAN or Princeton Review. However, the specificity of the practice questions in these books are helpful for grasping single topics. 

Because of the student-friendly tone of the writing, I find that the skill pages make good homework assignments. Author Brian Leaf teaches each skill by giving a written 

                                   overview, explaining the corresponding question from the pretest, and then providing 

several ACT-format questions of varying difficulties. This can be especially helpful for math because often KAPLAN or Princeton Review will cover many skills without providing questions for immediate practice.

Actually, my favorite subject area covered in the Top 50 Skills books is the one that is not listed in the titles: Writing. Brian Leaf has made several exercises for the skills needed on the optional writing test, including one for creating an outline, writing an introduction, proofreading, etc. Each exercise expects the student to expand on two different ACT-style writing prompts using the writing skills he introduces.

All in all, these two books provide solid advice and ample skill-specific practice. I wouldn't necessarily use the books on their own, but I like them as supplements to my ACT prep instruction.

Books #3 & #4: Baby Faces & I Love Colors by Margaret Miller 

Maisy loves looking at these two books by Margaret Miller. The big bright baby faces have her looking, smiling, and reaching as soon as I turn a page. The words are simple and baby-friendly. It's fun to point out colors, facial expressions, and body parts ("Nose! Here's Maisy's nose!"). 

Oh, and the babies are cute, too. 

(Though not as cute as mine!)

Books #5 & #6: From Conception to Birth and The Happiest Baby on the Block

I wanted to pick two books that I read when I was pregnant with Maisy. What to Expect When You're Expecting was just too obvious of a choice, even though I did refer to it frequently. The best parts are the fruit comparisons ("it's an apple seed! now it's an orange seed! a banana! a cantaloupe! yikes!"). Anyway, I thought I'd pick two that are a bit less commonplace.

Dr. Harvey Karp, author of The Happiest Baby on the Block, talked about different theories of colic, then went on to explain his theory of a newborn baby's needs in terms of a missing fourth trimester. Basically, he said that brand new babies like it when you mimic the conditions of the womb. 

Karp describes the 5 "S's" - Swaddling, Side/Stomach, Shhhh, Swinging, and Sucking - and how to put them together as a "cure" for colic. Now, I can't claim that Maisy was a colicky baby, but she did go through her own version of peak fussiness around 7 or 8 weeks. (There's a cool line graph in the book that shows the average number of hours that newborns spend crying per day.) I can honestly say that when Maisy got on a crying jag, it was often the "S's" that could soothe her again. 

"Cure" may be a strong word, but this book and its 5 "S's" are worth a look.

From Conception to Birth was just plain cool. Week by week, Rick and I were amazed by these awesome images of fetal development. We couldn't believe all of the organs and systems that come into place at such an early stage. This book is proof, in words and pictures, that babies are miraculous. 

Simply awesome - moms and dads-to-be, check this one out!