I'm still on a crafting "shvuuuuung". I have selectively been buying some basic craft supplies here and there that I'm sure I will use with the kids.
Last week I discovered this nifty little gadget made by Epiphany Crafts in the U.S.:
And now I am BADLY wanting one of these little button tools so I can make my own custom buttons to make jewelry out of.
On Friday I went to Ra'anana to a store there called Big Deal that carries a lot of overstock items from the US. They have really good English children's books, games, workbooks and toys as well as stationary, kitchenware, pillows, luggage, candy, and art and craft supplies including scrapbooking supplies. I bought three huge packages of GORGEOUS scrapbooking paper to use with this button making tool which I have ordered from eBay. I think it will greatly expand my jewelry making possibilities.
I can't wait to receive it and get to work!
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Thursday, December 1, 2011
English
Y mentioned recently that she is bored in her English class. Not surprising. Her spoken English is fluent even though her reading and writing skills aren't - although those are quickly improving too. I hope to make a trip to Ra'anana (about 45 minutes north of us) to a store there that I was told sells English teaching supplies - workbooks and such. I want to get her a book or two that will supplement what she's getting in school but that will be more of a challenge for her.
Y started a gynmastics class this week and is LOVING it!
Y started a gynmastics class this week and is LOVING it!
My weekend starts tonight. I wonder what the weekend holds?
We have been potty training E for several weeks now. He got "#1" down pat in about 2 days. "#2"......that's been a bug-a-boo. Sigh. I keep comforting myself by saying, "He won't come to his wedding in a diaper." Everyone catches on at some point. Just when?
Chanuka is around the corner and I want to take a day or two off to spend with the kids. But do I want to just stick close to home or pull out all the stops and do something BIG with them??? That is the question. A month before E was born - on Christmas day which was COLD and pouring rain (weren't no shepherds out tending flocks in THAT weather, let me tell you!) - I and the girls jumped on a bus and went to Jerusalem for the day. There is a small, quaint, cosy coffee shop there called Kad V'Chomer where they sell plaster molds of all kinds of things including Judaica items like menorahs, kiddush cups, Shabbat candlesticks, mezzuzah covers, etc. You pay for the one you want and then you sit and paint it. They provide all the brushes and paints and sponges for people who like sponge painting, etc. When you're done painting your piece, you have to leave it there for them to fire it in the kiln and then return to collect it which, coming all the way from Rehovot, was a bit problematic for us. But we have friends who live near Jerusalem who agreed to pick up the three items for us and hold them until we saw them again. So it worked out in the end. The girls each painted a jewelry box and I painted a mezzuah cover which we have up on the doorway of our kitchen at home. This activity is NOT cheap but it was the perfect thing for three artistic girls on a cold, rainy day in Jerusalem. I don't think doing this again would fly, especially now that we have a very active almost-3-year-old but maybe spending the day in Jerusalem would be fun as we hardly ever get there.
T and I did a big food shop last night. I love baklava but rarely buy it. But it just sounded good so last night I did buy a box of it. Which brought to mind the one and only time my Mom ever made it when I was a kid. Dad took one bite of it and started laughing so hard he was crying and couldn't talk for ages. We asked him why he was laughing and when he could finally talk he said, "It's like eating the morning newspaper!" That's what I think of whenever I eat it. LOL.
Have a good weekend!
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
More About Me
My story really starts with my parents, who came from very different backgrounds.
Mom is the youngest of 6 kids - Pentecostal preacher's daughter - and was raised in Wenatchee, WA. My grandmother was 45 when mom was born and there is a vast age difference between my mom and her oldest sister who basically raised her. This aunt of mine left home in her early 20's and moved to Taiwan to start an orphanage and work as a missionary. She married a British man and raised 7 kids in Taiwan.
Mom's upbringing was strict. She wasn't allowed to wear sleeveless dress for reasons of modesty, movies and card playing were considered immoral/evil and frowned upon. She was very involved and immersed in the church and took what she read in her Bible as not just a friendly suggestion. She says she gave up eating pork in high school because she read in her Bible that it wasn't to be eaten. Period.
After high school she left Washington state to move to California to attend Pentecostal Bible College (seminary?). While there, she was introduced to my Dad by the pastor of the church they were both attending.
Dad wasn't raised with much religion. His father was rabidly anti-religious although Dad's mother did take him and his siblings to church on occasion. I don't know many details but have the general impression that Dad sort of raised himself, dabbled in some things he maybe shouldn't have, ran with a rough crowd and in general didn't have much moral direction. He was very good-looking and married at the age of 18 (the Friday night after high school graduation) because his girlfriend was pregnant. The marriage lasted a week and in the divorce/annulment he gave up all rights to the baby who he never saw.
Dad married again and had a son. The marriage lasted about 3 1/2 years I believe.
Then Dad moved to California because he got a job working for United Airlines as a mechanic. Through a co-worker he became a born again Christian.
He and my Mom met and married and they continued to be very involved in their church. Dad led the youth service, they both sang, Dad played the drums, mom played the piano, organ and accordion.
My brother and I were raised in the church for O.....I dunno.......I'm guessing until I was around 8 or so. Then we stopped going and I'm not sure why. Dad mentioned recently that we were asked to leave but again.....I'm not sure why. I should ask but I keep forgetting.
Anyway, from that point on, my Dad would lead the four of us in a small, private church service at home. He'd teach from the Bible, we'd sing hymns, my brother and I would be given 3 Bible verses a week to memorize and we'd have to stand up and recite them the following week. Sometimes the four of us would brainstorm together and set the verses to music of our own composition just to make them easier to remember. To this day, I can still remember some of them. We never left the dining table after a meal without reading from the Bible (HATED that!).
My parents also made the decision that Mom would homeschool both of us which she did through (for me) 11th grade. We used correspondence courses and were close with a number of other Christian families who were doing the same.
After we'd been having "church at home" for some time, my Mom started seeing things in what she was reading and being taught that didn't make sense and being the truth-seeker that she is, she had to find out what was up with that. Mom researches everything to within an inch of it's life and this was no different. Just a lot more was at stake than usual.
She started reading up on the history of the early church, books written by Christian authors, and was stunned when she came to the realization that Catholicism was the original Christianity. (Protestants tend to look upon Catholics as mistaken and, sadly, idolatrous brothers who have strayed from the One True Path.)
She carried on reading the history of the church in chronological order. Now we're up to the 1500s, Martin Luther and reading about the Protestant Reformation. She had always held him in high esteem as being the father of her brand of Christianity. And at the same time she had always strongly believed that the Jews were The Chosen People. But when she read (excerpted in these books she was reading from) what Martin Luther had to say about the Jews (likening them to what comes out of the backside of a pig.....nice huh?), that REALLY pulled the rug out from under her. How could he? How dare he? She assumed these excerpts were taken out of context. He couldn't have said that! So she called the Berkeley Theological Library and had them send her the complete works of Martin Luther - very large tomes - so she could read these citations along with both the before and the after and get the context and lo and behold......nothing had been misquoted or taken out of context. Martin Luther started out his career with lots of warm, fuzzy feelings towards the Jews because he was sure they were going to buy his theology and when they didn't, he turned on them.
Mom carried on reading. She was asking questions like: If Jesus was a nice, mitzvah-observant Jewish boy who kept the kosher dietary laws and the holidays and I, as his follower, am supposed to be emulating him, then why don't I keep kosher? Why don't I keep the Jewish holidays? Why don't I keep a Saturday Sabbath? Who changed the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday? Who gave them the right to? And how dare they? (See: http://amightywind.com/wolves/sabbathchanged.htm and http://www.sabbathfellowship.org/biblestudies/erwingane/biblestudy_gane_sabbathchng.htm) It was the early Christians (aka Catholics).
This brings us to Jesus and Paul.
Jesus and Paul weren't even contemporaries and never met. Like Martin Luther, Paul started out with warm fuzzies towards the Jews and when they didn't buy his theology, he, too, turned on them. He then changed his tactics and turned his attention to converting the pagans where he had much success. (Interestingly, sun worship was common among the pagans and very likely had something to do with changing the Sabbath day from the 7th day of the week to the 1st day since the 1st day of the week is named after the sun and would therefore have been considered by them to be of more importance. And we won't even touch on the pagan origins of Christmas!)
It got to the point where she'd read everything on the early church history, Judaism, comparative religions, etc. that the public libraries contained - and remember, everything she'd been reading until now was writting by Christian authors.
That left the Jewish perspective on all of this to explore but......having grown up in white, Christian America, there are widely-prevalent, deep-seated prejudices and stereotypes about Jews that one absorbs, one being that they are penny pinchers and dishonest in their business dealings.
A friend of my Mom's had recommended Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel's book The Horeb. There was a Jewish bookstore within about a 45 minute drive from where we lived at the time and my Mom went there to buy this book (which I, myself, have not read). She was on an extremely limited budget at the time and the book was not cheap. She stood outside on the sidewalk shaking in her boots, working up the courage to go into the bookstore. She ran in, bought the book, and got out as fast as she could. She got it home and within days the binding started to fall apart. Here's a dilemma! What should she do? Keep the book and live with the defective binding? Not really the thing to do since she'd paid good money for it. Take it back and have her prejudices about Jews confirmed? She took the book back, walked up to the counter, showed the woman behind the counter the book and just started to explain what the problem was. She barely got 2 words out of her mouth before the woman took the book from her and said, "O of course. Here. Let me get you another one." End of story. My Mom was dumbfounded that it was so simple. What. You mean you're not going to accuse me of damaging the book myself? That woman's perfect response freed my Mom (and us) to go back and shop at that store on many other occasions and we got to know the mother-daughter owners of the store quite well. If that shop owner had had any other response, my Mom would have walked out and never looked back and we most probably would not be Jewish today. Which just goes to show you what a profound effect your actions can have in someone's life and you may never know.
Mom carried on reading about Judaism vs. Christianity, now from a Jewish perspective. She started sharing her findings with Dad who found the whole subject highly threatening and wanted no part of it. She also slowly started asking me and my brother to read certain, easy-read books on the subject. (All of this was going on when I was between the ages of 10-13 approximately.)
There was one small book that I read that made it "click" for me and with which there was no arguing - The Real Messiah.
Mom's research - start to finish - took her three years and over that time she slowly came to the decision that she wanted to convert to Judaism and she asked me and my brother if we also wanted to and we both said yes.
Dad had made some decisions with his life that precipitated their divorce and until my Mom saw that he was headed away from our family with his decisions, she did nothing about pursuing conversion or outward observance.
They separated which allowed her desire to convert to be put on the front burner. They weren't divorced yet so an Orthodox rabbi would not even speak to her so the three of us ended up taking a conversion class for a year that was given by a local Conservative rabbi and in 1986 we had a Conservative conversion because due to my parents still being legally married, that was all we could get at the time. Two years later, after their divorce became final, we learned for 3 more months with an Orthodox rabbi and went to L.A. for our Orthodox conversion.
Like I said......a veeeeery large nutshell.
Mom is the youngest of 6 kids - Pentecostal preacher's daughter - and was raised in Wenatchee, WA. My grandmother was 45 when mom was born and there is a vast age difference between my mom and her oldest sister who basically raised her. This aunt of mine left home in her early 20's and moved to Taiwan to start an orphanage and work as a missionary. She married a British man and raised 7 kids in Taiwan.
Mom's upbringing was strict. She wasn't allowed to wear sleeveless dress for reasons of modesty, movies and card playing were considered immoral/evil and frowned upon. She was very involved and immersed in the church and took what she read in her Bible as not just a friendly suggestion. She says she gave up eating pork in high school because she read in her Bible that it wasn't to be eaten. Period.
After high school she left Washington state to move to California to attend Pentecostal Bible College (seminary?). While there, she was introduced to my Dad by the pastor of the church they were both attending.
Dad wasn't raised with much religion. His father was rabidly anti-religious although Dad's mother did take him and his siblings to church on occasion. I don't know many details but have the general impression that Dad sort of raised himself, dabbled in some things he maybe shouldn't have, ran with a rough crowd and in general didn't have much moral direction. He was very good-looking and married at the age of 18 (the Friday night after high school graduation) because his girlfriend was pregnant. The marriage lasted a week and in the divorce/annulment he gave up all rights to the baby who he never saw.
Dad married again and had a son. The marriage lasted about 3 1/2 years I believe.
Then Dad moved to California because he got a job working for United Airlines as a mechanic. Through a co-worker he became a born again Christian.
He and my Mom met and married and they continued to be very involved in their church. Dad led the youth service, they both sang, Dad played the drums, mom played the piano, organ and accordion.
My brother and I were raised in the church for O.....I dunno.......I'm guessing until I was around 8 or so. Then we stopped going and I'm not sure why. Dad mentioned recently that we were asked to leave but again.....I'm not sure why. I should ask but I keep forgetting.
Anyway, from that point on, my Dad would lead the four of us in a small, private church service at home. He'd teach from the Bible, we'd sing hymns, my brother and I would be given 3 Bible verses a week to memorize and we'd have to stand up and recite them the following week. Sometimes the four of us would brainstorm together and set the verses to music of our own composition just to make them easier to remember. To this day, I can still remember some of them. We never left the dining table after a meal without reading from the Bible (HATED that!).
My parents also made the decision that Mom would homeschool both of us which she did through (for me) 11th grade. We used correspondence courses and were close with a number of other Christian families who were doing the same.
After we'd been having "church at home" for some time, my Mom started seeing things in what she was reading and being taught that didn't make sense and being the truth-seeker that she is, she had to find out what was up with that. Mom researches everything to within an inch of it's life and this was no different. Just a lot more was at stake than usual.
She started reading up on the history of the early church, books written by Christian authors, and was stunned when she came to the realization that Catholicism was the original Christianity. (Protestants tend to look upon Catholics as mistaken and, sadly, idolatrous brothers who have strayed from the One True Path.)
She carried on reading the history of the church in chronological order. Now we're up to the 1500s, Martin Luther and reading about the Protestant Reformation. She had always held him in high esteem as being the father of her brand of Christianity. And at the same time she had always strongly believed that the Jews were The Chosen People. But when she read (excerpted in these books she was reading from) what Martin Luther had to say about the Jews (likening them to what comes out of the backside of a pig.....nice huh?), that REALLY pulled the rug out from under her. How could he? How dare he? She assumed these excerpts were taken out of context. He couldn't have said that! So she called the Berkeley Theological Library and had them send her the complete works of Martin Luther - very large tomes - so she could read these citations along with both the before and the after and get the context and lo and behold......nothing had been misquoted or taken out of context. Martin Luther started out his career with lots of warm, fuzzy feelings towards the Jews because he was sure they were going to buy his theology and when they didn't, he turned on them.
Mom carried on reading. She was asking questions like: If Jesus was a nice, mitzvah-observant Jewish boy who kept the kosher dietary laws and the holidays and I, as his follower, am supposed to be emulating him, then why don't I keep kosher? Why don't I keep the Jewish holidays? Why don't I keep a Saturday Sabbath? Who changed the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday? Who gave them the right to? And how dare they? (See: http://amightywind.com/wolves/sabbathchanged.htm and http://www.sabbathfellowship.org/biblestudies/erwingane/biblestudy_gane_sabbathchng.htm) It was the early Christians (aka Catholics).
This brings us to Jesus and Paul.
Jesus and Paul weren't even contemporaries and never met. Like Martin Luther, Paul started out with warm fuzzies towards the Jews and when they didn't buy his theology, he, too, turned on them. He then changed his tactics and turned his attention to converting the pagans where he had much success. (Interestingly, sun worship was common among the pagans and very likely had something to do with changing the Sabbath day from the 7th day of the week to the 1st day since the 1st day of the week is named after the sun and would therefore have been considered by them to be of more importance. And we won't even touch on the pagan origins of Christmas!)
It got to the point where she'd read everything on the early church history, Judaism, comparative religions, etc. that the public libraries contained - and remember, everything she'd been reading until now was writting by Christian authors.
That left the Jewish perspective on all of this to explore but......having grown up in white, Christian America, there are widely-prevalent, deep-seated prejudices and stereotypes about Jews that one absorbs, one being that they are penny pinchers and dishonest in their business dealings.
A friend of my Mom's had recommended Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel's book The Horeb. There was a Jewish bookstore within about a 45 minute drive from where we lived at the time and my Mom went there to buy this book (which I, myself, have not read). She was on an extremely limited budget at the time and the book was not cheap. She stood outside on the sidewalk shaking in her boots, working up the courage to go into the bookstore. She ran in, bought the book, and got out as fast as she could. She got it home and within days the binding started to fall apart. Here's a dilemma! What should she do? Keep the book and live with the defective binding? Not really the thing to do since she'd paid good money for it. Take it back and have her prejudices about Jews confirmed? She took the book back, walked up to the counter, showed the woman behind the counter the book and just started to explain what the problem was. She barely got 2 words out of her mouth before the woman took the book from her and said, "O of course. Here. Let me get you another one." End of story. My Mom was dumbfounded that it was so simple. What. You mean you're not going to accuse me of damaging the book myself? That woman's perfect response freed my Mom (and us) to go back and shop at that store on many other occasions and we got to know the mother-daughter owners of the store quite well. If that shop owner had had any other response, my Mom would have walked out and never looked back and we most probably would not be Jewish today. Which just goes to show you what a profound effect your actions can have in someone's life and you may never know.
Mom carried on reading about Judaism vs. Christianity, now from a Jewish perspective. She started sharing her findings with Dad who found the whole subject highly threatening and wanted no part of it. She also slowly started asking me and my brother to read certain, easy-read books on the subject. (All of this was going on when I was between the ages of 10-13 approximately.)
There was one small book that I read that made it "click" for me and with which there was no arguing - The Real Messiah.
Mom's research - start to finish - took her three years and over that time she slowly came to the decision that she wanted to convert to Judaism and she asked me and my brother if we also wanted to and we both said yes.
Dad had made some decisions with his life that precipitated their divorce and until my Mom saw that he was headed away from our family with his decisions, she did nothing about pursuing conversion or outward observance.
They separated which allowed her desire to convert to be put on the front burner. They weren't divorced yet so an Orthodox rabbi would not even speak to her so the three of us ended up taking a conversion class for a year that was given by a local Conservative rabbi and in 1986 we had a Conservative conversion because due to my parents still being legally married, that was all we could get at the time. Two years later, after their divorce became final, we learned for 3 more months with an Orthodox rabbi and went to L.A. for our Orthodox conversion.
Like I said......a veeeeery large nutshell.
Monday, November 28, 2011
Are You Bored?
Have you heard that familiar "I'mmmmm boooooorrrred!" whine once too often? I know I have.
Firstly, when my kids say that I don't start instantly jumping through hoops to entertain them. I tell them, "That's ok. If you let your brain rest for a few minutes, I'm sure you'll think of something to do." Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. If they don't, I then present them with several suggestions of things to do (i.e. fold the laundry, feed the cat, pick up the clothes off the floor of their room, etc. ). Works like a charm. They find something else to do with alacrity! Who would have thought they were at loose ends just mere minutes before?
Over the years, I have compiled a list of web sites that either have educational and/or non-violent online games that young children can play or are good resources for craft ideas or have free educational printouts. Here is my list. Next to each link I've tried to give a short description of what the site contains. If there are any other sites that I may not know about, I would be happy to hear from you and add the link to my collection.
http://www.aaamath.com/ (Spelling, Math, Vocabulary, Geography - sorted by grade level)
http://math.about.com/od/addingsubtracting/Addition_Subtraction_Multiplication_Division_Worksheets.htm (printable math worksheets)
http://www.akhlah.com/ (Jewish children's learning - Parsha, Hebrew, Holidays, Heroes, Traditions)
http://www.aplusmath.com/Worksheets/ (Printable math worksheets and worksheet generators - sorted by grade level)
http://www.crayola.com/ (Coloring pages, craft ideas, games)
http://homeschooling.about.com/cs/langearlyread/index_2.htm (Links to online word/vocabulary games, printable flashcards/phonics worksheets, etc.)
http://resources.kaboose.com/games//earthday.html (Online Earth Day games)
http://chinuch.org/ (Jewish education resources by age - months, parsha, mishnayot, hashkafah, Hebrew, puzzles, stories, songs, holidays, halacha, history, arts and crafts)
http://www.edhelper.com/ (free lesson plans - reading/writing, math, language, social studies, science)
http://www.tlsbooks.com/mathworksheets.htm (free printable math worksheets by grade level + alphabet, language arts, geography, handwriting, history, holidays, nursery rhymes, science, spelling)
http://www.kidzone.ws/math/grade1.htm# (Math worksheets)
http://www.funbrain.com/ (online math, reading and general games)
http://funschool.kaboose.com/ (online math and reading games, craft ideas, coloring pages)
http://visualfractions.com/IdentifyCircles/identifycircles.html (online fraction game)
http://resources.kaboose.com/games/index.html (online non-violent games - general)
http://www.kidsgames.org./ (online non-violent games - general for ages 6-10)
http://www.starfall.com/n/level-a/learn-to-read/play.htm?f (WONDERFUL beginning reading web site!)
http://www.learningplanet.com/stu/index.asp (online educational games by grade)
http://www.dositey.com/2008/index-page-home.php (math and language/grammar games)
http://www.netrover.com/~kingskid/MulTab/Applet.html (multiplication table applet - visual tool)
http://pbskids.org/barney/children/games/ (storytime, music, games and coloring with Barney and friends)
http://www.songsforteaching.com/index.html (I am convinced that you can teach ANYTHING to kids if it's put to music. This site offers CDs and downloads of music for sale on a variety of topics - math, phonics, science, holidays, social studies, etc.)
http://www.surfnetkids.com/games/ (Games, games and more games)
http://www.teachingtables.co.uk/ (online multiplication tables games)
http://www.teachingtime.co.uk/ (online games that teach how to tell the time - some are free, some aren't)
http://www.totshabbat.com/ (Jewish music for kids)
http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/frames_asid_102_g_2_t_1.html (fractions applet)
http://www.ealfy.co.il/login/index.asp (very good games site in Hebrew for young kids - requires paid membership)
http://www.galim.org.il/ (very good educational games site in Hebrew - although there is a wonderful section in English for kids who are ESL learners - to access the entire site you must pay although there are parts that you can access for free)
http://www.free-puzzles.net/travel-games-for-kids/printable-games/index.php (printable travel games - bingo, tic-tac-toe, mazes, word search, etc.)
http://pbskids.org/ (games, online videos - cute site!)
http://www.pitara.com/activities/ (activities, crafts, coloring pages)
http://www.agkidzone.com/games (general online games for young kids)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/teletubbies/ (games)
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/ (wonderful EASY craft idea resource!)
http://www.fisher-price.com/us/playtime/coloring/toddler/thumbnail.asp (online coloring pages)
http://www.allkidsnetwork.com/color-by-numbers/ (free printable color by number pages)
http://www.allkidsnetwork.com/dot-to-dot/ (free printable dot to dot pages)
http://www.allkidsnetwork.com/mazes/ (free printable mazes)
http://www.mommysavers.com/kids-activities/ (Frugal activities and craft ideas)
http://www.dragonsaretooseldom.com/kids_activities.html (kids activity ideas)
http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/interactive/ (online interactive games and activities - literacy, math, science)
http://www.allkids.co.uk/hobbies-interests-activities/index.html (links to childrens' hobbies and interests)
http://www.entertainthekids.com/ (paid membership site - activity/craft ideas)
http://www.gameskidsplay.net/ (rules/instructions for some games/activities to play with kids)
http://en.origami-club.com// (origami site from beginner level to advanced with instructions)
http://fun.familyeducation.com/play/outdoor-activities/33394.html (outdoor activities for kids ages 6-10)
http://www.pilkey.com/games.php (cute online games)
http://activitypad.com/ (printable preschool activities, word search puzzles, mazes, kids games)
http://www.superkids.com/aweb/tools/math/fraction/reducing/ (math worksheet generator)
http://worksheets.theteacherscorner.net/make-your-own/telling-time/ (telling time worksheet generator)
http://www.superteacherworksheets.com/time.html (telling time worksheets, math worksheets, reading/writing worksheets, phonics worksheets, grammar worksheets, spelling worksheets, etc.)
http://www.coloring.ws/ (free coloring pages, games, puzzles)
http://www.kidsknowit.com/interactive-educational-movies/index.php (free online annimated educational movies)
Now. I never want to hear you say you're bored again! Ya hear?
Firstly, when my kids say that I don't start instantly jumping through hoops to entertain them. I tell them, "That's ok. If you let your brain rest for a few minutes, I'm sure you'll think of something to do." Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. If they don't, I then present them with several suggestions of things to do (i.e. fold the laundry, feed the cat, pick up the clothes off the floor of their room, etc. ). Works like a charm. They find something else to do with alacrity! Who would have thought they were at loose ends just mere minutes before?
Over the years, I have compiled a list of web sites that either have educational and/or non-violent online games that young children can play or are good resources for craft ideas or have free educational printouts. Here is my list. Next to each link I've tried to give a short description of what the site contains. If there are any other sites that I may not know about, I would be happy to hear from you and add the link to my collection.
http://www.aaamath.com/ (Spelling, Math, Vocabulary, Geography - sorted by grade level)
http://math.about.com/od/addingsubtracting/Addition_Subtraction_Multiplication_Division_Worksheets.htm (printable math worksheets)
http://www.akhlah.com/ (Jewish children's learning - Parsha, Hebrew, Holidays, Heroes, Traditions)
http://www.aplusmath.com/Worksheets/ (Printable math worksheets and worksheet generators - sorted by grade level)
http://www.crayola.com/ (Coloring pages, craft ideas, games)
http://homeschooling.about.com/cs/langearlyread/index_2.htm (Links to online word/vocabulary games, printable flashcards/phonics worksheets, etc.)
http://resources.kaboose.com/games//earthday.html (Online Earth Day games)
http://chinuch.org/ (Jewish education resources by age - months, parsha, mishnayot, hashkafah, Hebrew, puzzles, stories, songs, holidays, halacha, history, arts and crafts)
http://www.edhelper.com/ (free lesson plans - reading/writing, math, language, social studies, science)
http://www.tlsbooks.com/mathworksheets.htm (free printable math worksheets by grade level + alphabet, language arts, geography, handwriting, history, holidays, nursery rhymes, science, spelling)
http://www.kidzone.ws/math/grade1.htm# (Math worksheets)
http://www.funbrain.com/ (online math, reading and general games)
http://funschool.kaboose.com/ (online math and reading games, craft ideas, coloring pages)
http://visualfractions.com/IdentifyCircles/identifycircles.html (online fraction game)
http://resources.kaboose.com/games/index.html (online non-violent games - general)
http://www.kidsgames.org./ (online non-violent games - general for ages 6-10)
http://www.starfall.com/n/level-a/learn-to-read/play.htm?f (WONDERFUL beginning reading web site!)
http://www.learningplanet.com/stu/index.asp (online educational games by grade)
http://www.dositey.com/2008/index-page-home.php (math and language/grammar games)
http://www.netrover.com/~kingskid/MulTab/Applet.html (multiplication table applet - visual tool)
http://pbskids.org/barney/children/games/ (storytime, music, games and coloring with Barney and friends)
http://www.songsforteaching.com/index.html (I am convinced that you can teach ANYTHING to kids if it's put to music. This site offers CDs and downloads of music for sale on a variety of topics - math, phonics, science, holidays, social studies, etc.)
http://www.surfnetkids.com/games/ (Games, games and more games)
http://www.teachingtables.co.uk/ (online multiplication tables games)
http://www.teachingtime.co.uk/ (online games that teach how to tell the time - some are free, some aren't)
http://www.totshabbat.com/ (Jewish music for kids)
http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/frames_asid_102_g_2_t_1.html (fractions applet)
http://www.ealfy.co.il/login/index.asp (very good games site in Hebrew for young kids - requires paid membership)
http://www.galim.org.il/ (very good educational games site in Hebrew - although there is a wonderful section in English for kids who are ESL learners - to access the entire site you must pay although there are parts that you can access for free)
http://www.free-puzzles.net/travel-games-for-kids/printable-games/index.php (printable travel games - bingo, tic-tac-toe, mazes, word search, etc.)
http://pbskids.org/ (games, online videos - cute site!)
http://www.pitara.com/activities/ (activities, crafts, coloring pages)
http://www.agkidzone.com/games (general online games for young kids)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/teletubbies/ (games)
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/ (wonderful EASY craft idea resource!)
http://www.fisher-price.com/us/playtime/coloring/toddler/thumbnail.asp (online coloring pages)
http://www.allkidsnetwork.com/color-by-numbers/ (free printable color by number pages)
http://www.allkidsnetwork.com/dot-to-dot/ (free printable dot to dot pages)
http://www.allkidsnetwork.com/mazes/ (free printable mazes)
http://www.mommysavers.com/kids-activities/ (Frugal activities and craft ideas)
http://www.dragonsaretooseldom.com/kids_activities.html (kids activity ideas)
http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/interactive/ (online interactive games and activities - literacy, math, science)
http://www.allkids.co.uk/hobbies-interests-activities/index.html (links to childrens' hobbies and interests)
http://www.entertainthekids.com/ (paid membership site - activity/craft ideas)
http://www.gameskidsplay.net/ (rules/instructions for some games/activities to play with kids)
http://en.origami-club.com// (origami site from beginner level to advanced with instructions)
http://fun.familyeducation.com/play/outdoor-activities/33394.html (outdoor activities for kids ages 6-10)
http://www.pilkey.com/games.php (cute online games)
http://activitypad.com/ (printable preschool activities, word search puzzles, mazes, kids games)
http://www.superkids.com/aweb/tools/math/fraction/reducing/ (math worksheet generator)
http://worksheets.theteacherscorner.net/make-your-own/telling-time/ (telling time worksheet generator)
http://www.superteacherworksheets.com/time.html (telling time worksheets, math worksheets, reading/writing worksheets, phonics worksheets, grammar worksheets, spelling worksheets, etc.)
http://www.coloring.ws/ (free coloring pages, games, puzzles)
http://www.kidsknowit.com/interactive-educational-movies/index.php (free online annimated educational movies)
Now. I never want to hear you say you're bored again! Ya hear?
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Holiday Music
I'll admit that even though I do not miss celebrating Christmas, I DO miss the music of the season VERY much. There is something so uplifting about the music of the Christmas season that will never get old for me and will always be a part of me. I happen to think that Handel's Messiah is one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever written and I know it backwards and forward. I do occasionally put it on and belt out the choruses at the top of my lungs. Luckily, DH does not find this threatening.
I have tried to analyze what exactly it is about Chanukah music that bothers me and I think that it is, simply put, that all of the Chanukah songs are so childish. Come to think of it, the entire holiday is geared towards the kids. Nothing wrong with that, of course, except I always have the impression that I, as an adult, am invisible on this holiday. That no one is talking to me. Let's be honest. "I Have a Little Dreidel" vs. "peace on earth goodwill towards men"? Hmmmmm. Don't get me wrong. Lighting the Chanukah menorah, the gift giving, the yummy, greasy, fried foods, the fact that the holiday is shmeared out over 8 days (rather than so much hype for ONE day) - it's great. I'm all for it. It's just that the Christmas message just seems a tad more universal to me.
But maybe that's just me.
I therefore leave you with as kosher a version of the Halleluyah Chorus as I could find....sung by silent monks ;-)
I have tried to analyze what exactly it is about Chanukah music that bothers me and I think that it is, simply put, that all of the Chanukah songs are so childish. Come to think of it, the entire holiday is geared towards the kids. Nothing wrong with that, of course, except I always have the impression that I, as an adult, am invisible on this holiday. That no one is talking to me. Let's be honest. "I Have a Little Dreidel" vs. "peace on earth goodwill towards men"? Hmmmmm. Don't get me wrong. Lighting the Chanukah menorah, the gift giving, the yummy, greasy, fried foods, the fact that the holiday is shmeared out over 8 days (rather than so much hype for ONE day) - it's great. I'm all for it. It's just that the Christmas message just seems a tad more universal to me.
But maybe that's just me.
I therefore leave you with as kosher a version of the Halleluyah Chorus as I could find....sung by silent monks ;-)
Western Wall WebCam
I just found this online:
http://www.virtualjerusalem.com/livekotel/newkotelcam/virtualjerusalem/index.php?affid=24
For those of you who can't join us.....yet. ;-)
http://www.virtualjerusalem.com/livekotel/newkotelcam/virtualjerusalem/index.php?affid=24
For those of you who can't join us.....yet. ;-)
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