St. Patrick's Day Fun

St. Patrick's Day is almost upon us once again.  This is one holiday that reaches out and pulls in everyone, regardless of background, to join in the fun.  I am not personally Roman Catholic, nor do I celebrate the saints.  However, I am a Christian and rejoice in St. Patrick's history of his successful attempts of sharing his faith.

Learn more about St. Patrick's Day symbols and activities for kids here.  Inside the second link are links to sites, including one that has an amazing assortment of craft ideas to choose from.  My favorites are the rainbow crafts.  Scroll down through the page, and you'll discover how to make a rainbow out of colorful fruit for a healthy option (You'll find this link inside the Wearing Green article):

St. Patrick's Day Symbols and Activities for Kids

Wearing Green and Other St. Patrick's Day Symbols

Wikki Stix Giveaway Contest - Repost

I AM REPOSTING THIS BECAUSE A HACKER POSTED VIDEOS AFTER THE LAST POST. IF YOU RECEIVED A VIDEO FROM THIS BLOG SAYING IT WAS POSTED BY MOVIE GENIE - DO NOT CLICK ON THE VIDEO!!!

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We had a lot of fun reviewing this product. And, now we want to offer Wikki Stix to you. I want to share a 24-pk Rainbow Wikki Stix with you. Read through this blog to find out how you can win!

My children and I had the privilege of reviewing a product called Wikki Stix. The good people at Wikki Stix sent me some samples and away we went. The kids have since begged to "play" with the Wikki Stix. What a fun way to learn! They are non-allergenic, clean up easily and easy to work with for little fingers. Not only that, they are very affordable and reusable over and over again. They have endless uses.

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There are numerous other packs to purchase and put to educational use. There are even party paks to use at birthday parties and Curious George workbooks. I especially loved the idea of the adult stress reducer pak. There are alphabet cards, number cards, holiday kits, dinosaur and oceans kits, glow in the dark stix, single color paks, rainbow paks, neon paks and more.

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GIVEAWAY:
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Here's how you can win your own 24-pk of Rainbow Wikki Stix:

Go to Wikki Stix Website! Look around. Then Like Teachable Scotts Tots on Facebook and leave a status update comment to tell me how you would use Wikki Stix in your classroom. A winner will be chosen at random using a number generated through random.org.

Teaching with the Beatles

Anyone who has tried to teach a child, especially a very young child, comes to realize quickly that music plays a very important role in getting the material to stick in the child's memory. Studies have been conducted that the music of Mozart can actually improve a child's math skills. It is thought that it somehow stimulates the part of the brain that processes mathematical equations. There may be numerous genres of music available that are not necessarily beneficial to learning, but if facts set to a tune help get the message across, it's a fantastic learning tool.

The Beatles have been an American icon since they first came onto the United States' music scene in February of 1964. They may not stimulate mathematical processing in the brain, but they did change the way music was played throughout America. By today's standards, their original sound was really quite basic. With a strong guitar sound and British accents, the group was a sensation. In July, one of their photos from their first concert will be auctioned off through Christies. You can find out more about this auction, the photo and the photographer here. Many musical groups have taken on the sound and look of the Beatles throughout the years. One such group is called Ticket To The Beatles!

With all this love for the sound of the Beatles, maybe their songs can inspire learning. Here's a few videos that use the music of the Beatles to teach other facts:

Let It Be - Letter B:

Beatles parody (II) - Sesame Street by beautifulcynic

Hello Goodbye: Early reading/opposites:


Back in the USSSR: History/Ulysses S. Grant:


Help - Science/Electrons:


Help - Very fun artistic typography:


Imagine - Math:


Asteroids Across the Universe - Science:

Butterfly Lesson Plans

Butterflies are one of the nice things about spring. They are also a fun way to learn about many aspects of science. A very small child can understand the concept of a caterpillar turning into something so beautiful. The Very Hungry Caterpillar is one fun way to get started!
If you are fortunate to live in a city that has a Butterfly garden or house, this is a wonderful, hands-on enjoyable way to learn about these beautiful winged creatures. There are also numerous lesson plans and lap books to be enjoyed that encompass the concept of butterflies. Here's an article that lists several free butterfly resources:

Free Butterfly Lapbooks and Lesson Plans!

How Much Does Your Child Know About Japan?

With all the recent events in Japan, I started thinking about Japan. What do I actually know about the country and what my kids know? Or, I should say what they don't know. Geography has never been my strong point, so teaching it to my children is - well, interesting. Without a globe, your guess is as good as mine on many regions of this world. But, I found there are some things I know. And, what I don't know I can learn and teach my kids. In case you're like me and want to know more about Japan, here's some sites I found helpful:

5 Facts About Japan For Children

Kids Web Japan

Time For Kids - Japan

Enjoy the new discoveries you'll learn from these sites. And, Sayonara (Goodbye)

Trying to raise Einstein and be fair to his sisters: What did Edison and Einstein's mothers do?

Today while I was waking up from my first nice 6-hour long uninterrupted sleep in weeks, I was rehashing yesterday's events. My son was bored. This child is brilliant! I do not say that only as a biased adoring mother. I say that based upon what others have observed in him. He was reading fluently at the age of 3 and has kept in high gear ever since he was born screaming purple before his body was birthed. His most recent accomplishment was writing a book. I'm not kidding. He's 10 years old, and he wrote a book. It is amazing, and I can' wait to share it with you. But, before I do I asked if he was interested in writing more. He was! Wonderful!

So, we made our weekly journey to the library last Monday to check out books on sea life. This is the topic of his 2nd book. He was excited, and jumped into learning. Then, he got sick. He got an ear infection and was no happy camper off and on all last week. So, this Monday, I thought he would happily resume his enthusiasm for his newest book. He began with slight gusto and then lost interest. He, instead, became very interested in a computer program called Scratch.

While Scratch is an amazing accomplishment for a child, I am responsible for this child's education. I am growing impatient as I watch his interest level wane toward what I believe is educational, good solid learning, in exchange for a non-skill in terms of the 3 R's that is.

Edison Trait: Saving the Spirit of Your Nonconforming ChildWhat do I do with a child who has no interest in the core subjects which my state demands I log hours of instruction? My thoughts turned to what Einstein's mother must have been like and what about Edison's mom?

I read a book awhile back about an Edison Trait child. This fit my son in a lot of ways. And, many have referred to him as a little Einstein. So, my search into finding tips from Einstein's mother has begun.

I'm still on a hunt, but in the meantime, I did run across this handy article about his mom! And, here's a more complete biography including his parents.