My daughter, Sarah, is always asking to get onto the computer to play games. Of course, I allow her as long as she has completed a certain amount of school work, cleaned up a certain mess, or if she's just been extraordinarily well-behaved. Here is a list (since I do love lists!) of some of my approved sites that I'll let her go on without my hovering watch.
bellasara.com - Is a website for those who collect the Bella Sara horse trading cards. There are a lot of free things to do on the site without the purchase of any cards, which are very expensive. The child can tend their own foal, play simple games, and furnish their own little house. There is no interaction with other users, that I can see.
www.buildabearville.com - A website that does require the ownership of a Build-A-Bear stuffed toy to sign on. This is an okay site, although I do go on and check her account. There is interaction between users, and I am leery of other users who may take advantage of young children when "trading" objects/money. You can block any trading options, which is what I like to do. There many games, activities, and events that the user can participate in. And, of course, they get a "Cub Condo" that can be furnished with all sorts of wonderful objects that are won, bought, or traded.
mathslice.com - I love this website for either creating math worksheets or playing online math games. I set up what type of math problems I want my daughter to practice, and she loves it. It is a nice break from sitting at the table, filling out a boring worksheet. Although, it's all the same!
dressupdollgames.net - I'm not quite positive about this website as far as it's childproofness. From what I've seen so far, it's a good site. Sarah loves fashion. She loves to design clothes for her dolls, and this website lets her do that, virtually. She has the option to choose what type of doll she will dress up, from fairies, princesses, different ethnicities, etc. I like it so far.
nickjr.com - This is an easy one. There are tons of things to do on this site. Most of the games are educational, a plus. My daughter can navigate around the site pretty easily. I haven't had to worry about where she may end up after clicking on some link posted on the side of the page. My son has even had fun watching different video clips off of this site.
holyspiritinteractive.net - This is a wonderful religious ed. resource. It is built for parents and children. For parents, there are tons of great stories to download to read to children, there is the Saint of the Day list that is very helpful and worded for children, I think there are even printable for younger children. My daughter loves doing the jigsaw puzzles of Saints and Bible stories.
Kneebouncers.com - This is my last favorite site. This is one for my son, who is 3 years old. He likes to think he is a big boy for having his own ".com" to go on. This is a keyboard interactive website for wee ones, that has little lights, sounds, and movement that can be stimulated/activated by pressing any key. Of course, my son always finds the keys that cue other programs on my computer, and next thing I know, he's got 10 different windows open doing who knows what.
Okay, I''m all typed out now. I felt the need to share some of the sites I approve for my children. I know that when I started out homeschooling, and when I started to let my daughter get onto the computer to play games, I searched for other parents' lists. There are a few other sites I may post in the future of homeschool resources. There are so many places on the internet for parents/teachers to find information and ideas to use to teach their children. But all that is for another day...
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Starting, again?
Lists: current events
current favorites
current dreams
1. We're all sick, like the rest of the world. That would figure since I just started to work out, doing Tae Bo On Demand. Man, that is so fun. Anyhow, it started with Eamon getting the "croup", and it's making its way through the rest of us.
2. Waiting on chicken pox to set in. We have been exposed to the wonderful pox, so it's just a matter of time for those little boogers to come out. I am actually looking forward to this, as it is imposing on our social calendar. However, this is something that I prefer happen while the children are younger.
3. I am watching for PT jobs to open up at the hospital. What? Looking for a job? Yes, I am. Partly because we could use the extra money for stupid, unnecessary medical bills. Partly so I can go do something and hubby can connect with the kiddos. I told him this morning that I was leaving [the cooking area we were both trying to inhabit at the same time]. He said, "Oh yeah, where to?" So, I playingly said "California." Well, that brought on a question as to where the children would want to go, or with whom they would go. Of course, anyone who knows my children would know WHO they would go with! Husband had the gall to actually ask and then sulk with the answers given. Silly man. What do you expect from two little children who are always with their mother? I mean ALWAYS. So, I figure, hows about a part-time job to get out of the house, make a little cash, and give dad some exclusive time with the babies. We'll see...
4. I need to get off of here and work on my LLL stuff. I'm almost done! Yay! I am so thrilled to actually finish something. I started working on my bachelor degree 10 years ago. For the past 5+ years, I've only had a couple of courses to go to finish that degree. I'm still a couple courses, and I don't see that changing any time soon. Well, at least I'll have this experience and knowledge with LLL that I can complete my degree someday down the road. The two different educational backgrounds will work together, eventually.
5. Homeschooling my 5 year old is so fun. I am actually really excited that I will be required to send in an intent form and monthly attendance report. How can that sound exciting? Because I haven't done it, yet. That's why! Give me a couple of months. Surely, I'll change my attitude. My daughter wants to homeschool, too. She looks forward to some of the things we do as schooling. She becomes so proud when she can utilize what she's learned to do other things. You know, like telling time on the clock. Figuring out when something is going to happen by counting time in increments of 5 min. Sounds silly? Not for a 5 year old! She does math problems at night with the clock to keep her mind off of thumbsucking. That's a determined little girl.
6. I mentioned exercising previously. Yes, I am trying to add exercise into my schedule at least 3-4 times a week. I really like doing Tae Bo because it gets the blood pumping, it gets me moving, Billy Blanks is hilarious, and I feel soooooo refreshed after doing it. I have also agreed to walking with a very good friend of mine 3 times a week. So far, we've walked maybe 5-6 times since the new year came. The weather has not been very cooperative with our intentions and plans. That's okay, because Spring is right around the corner, and I plan to try to walk every day, then. Oh, I haven't told my friend, yet, but when she reads this looooong list...
Okay, I think I'm all worded out. I don't want to complain too much about anything. I just wanted to make a list. Sometime it feels good to make a list. Hmm, what kind of journal would that be? I could pop on here, make a list of whatever feels pertinent, and be done with it. Hmm...
current favorites
current dreams
1. We're all sick, like the rest of the world. That would figure since I just started to work out, doing Tae Bo On Demand. Man, that is so fun. Anyhow, it started with Eamon getting the "croup", and it's making its way through the rest of us.
2. Waiting on chicken pox to set in. We have been exposed to the wonderful pox, so it's just a matter of time for those little boogers to come out. I am actually looking forward to this, as it is imposing on our social calendar. However, this is something that I prefer happen while the children are younger.
3. I am watching for PT jobs to open up at the hospital. What? Looking for a job? Yes, I am. Partly because we could use the extra money for stupid, unnecessary medical bills. Partly so I can go do something and hubby can connect with the kiddos. I told him this morning that I was leaving [the cooking area we were both trying to inhabit at the same time]. He said, "Oh yeah, where to?" So, I playingly said "California." Well, that brought on a question as to where the children would want to go, or with whom they would go. Of course, anyone who knows my children would know WHO they would go with! Husband had the gall to actually ask and then sulk with the answers given. Silly man. What do you expect from two little children who are always with their mother? I mean ALWAYS. So, I figure, hows about a part-time job to get out of the house, make a little cash, and give dad some exclusive time with the babies. We'll see...
4. I need to get off of here and work on my LLL stuff. I'm almost done! Yay! I am so thrilled to actually finish something. I started working on my bachelor degree 10 years ago. For the past 5+ years, I've only had a couple of courses to go to finish that degree. I'm still a couple courses, and I don't see that changing any time soon. Well, at least I'll have this experience and knowledge with LLL that I can complete my degree someday down the road. The two different educational backgrounds will work together, eventually.
5. Homeschooling my 5 year old is so fun. I am actually really excited that I will be required to send in an intent form and monthly attendance report. How can that sound exciting? Because I haven't done it, yet. That's why! Give me a couple of months. Surely, I'll change my attitude. My daughter wants to homeschool, too. She looks forward to some of the things we do as schooling. She becomes so proud when she can utilize what she's learned to do other things. You know, like telling time on the clock. Figuring out when something is going to happen by counting time in increments of 5 min. Sounds silly? Not for a 5 year old! She does math problems at night with the clock to keep her mind off of thumbsucking. That's a determined little girl.
6. I mentioned exercising previously. Yes, I am trying to add exercise into my schedule at least 3-4 times a week. I really like doing Tae Bo because it gets the blood pumping, it gets me moving, Billy Blanks is hilarious, and I feel soooooo refreshed after doing it. I have also agreed to walking with a very good friend of mine 3 times a week. So far, we've walked maybe 5-6 times since the new year came. The weather has not been very cooperative with our intentions and plans. That's okay, because Spring is right around the corner, and I plan to try to walk every day, then. Oh, I haven't told my friend, yet, but when she reads this looooong list...
Okay, I think I'm all worded out. I don't want to complain too much about anything. I just wanted to make a list. Sometime it feels good to make a list. Hmm, what kind of journal would that be? I could pop on here, make a list of whatever feels pertinent, and be done with it. Hmm...
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