I have been working hard planning my son’s summer and it’s a video game themed summer but I plan to sneak in math, computer science, art, and reading. He’s 10-years-old and will be a rising 5th grader. Why video gamed learning? My son is screen-obsessed. It’s not unusual to find him in front of TWO…
Author: Pragmatic Mom
Middle School Writing: How to Use the COMMA
PickyKidPix asked me to help her edit her English assignment last night. She said that she’s having trouble with sentence fluency which is bringing her grade down. I wasn’t sure what “sentence fluency” means but after reading her essay and helping her fix it, I’ve decided that I need to do a four part series…
17+ Wonderful Multicultural Picture Books About Food
My favorite way to learn about other cultures is through food. It can be intimidating to cook a new ethnic cuisine for the first time, so consider this list a menu of sorts to decide if there is anything you want to make at home. What wonderful multicultural picture books about food did I leave…
#KoboGloHD : Read Anywhere Anytime! Giveaway!
I received a Kobo Glo HD to review and it immediately disappeared, snatched up by my kids. We have other eReaders in the house but I had loaded this one with the new Rick Riordan ebook, The Crown of Ptolomy, and more Wonder stories by R. J. Palacio. My son has been waiting for the newest…
Poetry in Sports Books for Kids and the Kid Lit Blog Hop
My son has a poet in residence for fourth grade. For three sessions, he’s learning to write poetry. There are even homework assignments that he agonizes over. He’s had a poetry unit every year — in 2nd grade, he wrote a color poem based on Mary O’Neill, but this is the first year that the poetry seems…
How to Apply to College as a Home-Schooled Student
We hear a lot that ‘home-schooling or ‘Individualized Learning’ is on the rise in the U.S. There is now a stack of resources available to parents who prefer a home-based, one-on-one approach to education. Unfortunately, despite evidence that home-schooled students perform better on tests like SATs, it can still be tricky to get into certain…
Family Vacation in Costa Rica
Getting out of Boston during Snowmageddon was a challenge since we were scheduled to fly out on Sunday during a snowstorm and the next flight out after that was three days later and probably full. My husband spent hours trying to book a new flight, knowing that our flight would be canceled and managed to…