Skippyjon Jones

Tonight we went to see Skippyjon Jones at Dallas Children's Theater. The performance was amazing!!! The playwright, Linda Daugherty, did a great job transforming Skippyjon Jones into a play. Nick Martin, the composer and musical director, did a superb job at bringing Skippyjon Jones to life through music. We laughed all of the way though. The actors did an amazing job. This production was definitely five stars. 

My children loved the production and came home and immediately went to find their copy of Skippyjon Jones. I am sure that we will be reading it many times over the next couple of days. I am hoping to find some cute activities online that go along with the book. 

A pet peeve

Does anyone else deal with pencil sharpener frustration?!?!

We have tried these...

I swear they disappear just like socks in the dryer.

And several models of these.....

We wear them out, and they overheat or quit working. I cannot even count how many we have purchased throughout the years.

And also this....

I love these, not just because this is the kind I used as a kid but because they always worked.  The only problem, I really don't really have a good place to mount it in the house. If not mounted, this option doesn't work so well.

Then I begin to wonder, is the pencil the real culprit. How many times have you sharpened a pencil that just doesn't sharpen correctly. Mechanical pencils are great but they tend to be more distracting for my kiddos. When the lead is out there either never seems to be more to refill the pencil, or again, you cannot find the lead.

There has to be a SIMPLE SOLUTION?!?!

Into the Woods

What better was to make education fun than to read books and watch movies and compare them all. Recently the movie, Into the Woods came out in theaters. Of course all of my children want to go and see it. My daughter, the bookworm, absolutely loves Grimms' Fairy Tales. There is also a wonderful Broadway musical of Into the Woods.

I feel a compare and contrast paper coming in the near future.

We have watched the Broadway Musical of Into the Woods with Bernadette Peters. Actually, we have seen it many times. It is very well done.

Next, the movie....

Bob Books

In teaching my children how to read I utilize a multitude of resources, one being Bob Books. I love how these books start out extremely simple and give a child a sense of accomplishment.

The Bob Books site has an activities page to supplement their books. There are many sites online that also provide great Bob Books activities. Reading success is essential to the success of a child's academic learning and I am so happy for books like these that make that task a bit easier.

Scholastic has come out with a Early Readers set of Bob Books called Bob Books® Readers.

Need an App for that, well you can download an App called Reading Magic from iTunes as well as from many other sources.

Make-A-Wish January 2015

Interactive Reading Notebook

I came across an amazing idea on Pinterest the other day for an Interactive Reading Notebook on a blog called The Inspired Classroom. The notebook is used to keep track of books that your child reads throughout the year and a bit about each book. I am so very excited about starting these notebooks for my kiddos. I know that for some of my more avid readers this will be a great way for them to chronicle books they have read. I wish I would have thought about this years ago. It would be kind of neat to look back through the years and see all of the fun and amazing books read.

Spring Term is upon us....

After a very crazy winter break which included, a Make A Wish trip, a central line break, Influenza A, a nine day hospital admission, and delayed Christmas celebrations, next week we will be jumping back into school. Instead of focusing on what Christmas break wasn't, I am choosing to focus on what is ahead.

I am very excited to begin my new adventure with The Schoolhouse Review Crew reviewing various curriculums. I am always intrigued by new and unfamiliar curriculums but never seem to venture out of my comfort zone.

Here is to a great, productive second half of the school year!!!!