Math and Reading Games in a Bag

Have you heard of Activity Bags? I was introduced to them several years ago when I purchased Preschool Activities in a Bag.  For this review, I received Math Games in a Bag and Reading Games in a Bag.  All of the Activity Bag books come as e-books in a pdf format. The bags are a wonderful way to add some educational fun to your homeschool.

The activity bag e-book gives you all of the information you need to create multiple games.  A unique feature of these books is that they are designed so you can do a swap with others and not have to make every game yourself.  Only one person needs to purchase the book and download the free Coordinator Handbook (some of the books come with the handbook).  Each game comes with a chart like the one pictured below that tells you how many of each of the supplies you will need for 1, 10, 15 or 20 of each game.  In this way, it is easy to organize a swap for different sized groups.

You gather the supplies you need, print off your masters and put everything in a ziplock bag so your games are ready to go.  We keep our games in a hanging file folder box that I already had set up with school things.  This keeps everything handy and organized.

Each game in the pdf has a chart (above) and labels to print for your bags similar to this:

There are several of these labels to a page so if you are doing a swap you can print less pages.  The label has a description of and directions for the game, the area of learning that is covered, a supply list and a safety warning for young children.  You can print these labels and attach them to your ziploc bag with clear mailing tape.

For ease of shopping and planning for your bags you will find a complete list of games and supplies needed as well. It also tells you where to find it in the e-book, the area of learning that is covered and short description. (Very handy for printing out as you plan your shopping list or if you want a master list of the games.)  Here is a clip of what that looks like:

It is suggested that you place a piece of cardstock in each bag to make it more sturdy.  I suggest using cereal box cardboard (or something similar) which is not only free, but also more sturdy.  Many of the games use sheet protectors over the masters that you print on cardstock.  I laminated some of ours because it is neater and also makes it easy to use wet erase markers.  I can just run the master right under a faucet to clean it off.  (or use dry erase markers as well.)

Math Games in a Bag

The e-book includes instructions for math games with families with elementary school-aged children.  These math games use materials found inside your home and also make learning experiences out of everyday routines, such as ordering from a restaurant menu or putting gas in your car to check the kind of mileage you are getting.  The math games are designed for you to have fun with your child while reinforcing mathematical skills.  Most games are designed for 2 or more players.  -from website

There are 33 math games included in this e-book:

I  printed out several games and we've been playing them during the week in addition to our regular math curriculum.  My 9 year old has been struggling with regrouping.  One of the games is a dice game for 2 players that involves adding and subtracting 2 digit numbers.  She is getting so much practice and because it is a game and not a lesson she is not complaining about it (and actually even asks to play.)  I can't ask for more than that in a game.

This game can be made more or less difficult by using 2 or 3 dice.  

Another favorite is an addition or subtraction bingo that is good for younger children. (but the older ones enjoy that a lot too.)

This learning to tell time game using dice is great fun and gives players practice writing time and doing simple addition.  (You could also use this by putting a time on the clock and having your child tell you what time it says.)

I haven't laminated this and it isn't in a sheet protector for the sake of the picture (glare)

The games cover a wide range of skills including adding, subtracting (simple and more complex), multiplication, shapes, matching, inequalities, fact families, telling time and more.

One of the fact family addition cards.
(Multiplication facts are also included.)

Reading Games in a Bag

This e-book includes 20 reading game instructions for new and beginning readers.  Most use materials that are found in your home.  The Reading games are designed to be fun for both you and your children as you help them gain the skills they need to become better readers.   -from website

This funny game has students choosing parts of sentences to make crazy sentences.  Helps teach beginning, middle and end as well as gives children reading practice.

This is a phonics "board" game.  Roll the dice and move ahead if you know the sound.

Who doesn't love a maze?  Kids of all ages in my house have had fun with these mazes.  There are 6 mazes to choose from.  I put 2 in sheet protectors back to back.  These are difficult enough for older children too.  (These may be a bit too hard for little ones but they still like to draw on these...good fine motor skill practice at any rate.)

These are just a small sample of the fun you can have learning with Activity Bags.

The only drawback to the Activity Bags that we have come across is just the amount of ink it takes to print the games.  I'm going to continue to slowly add games to our collection.  I think one or two new games each week will add variety to our homeschool (and won't overwhelm me as far as printing and assembling goes.)

Many of the games need dry erase markers.  I don't put these in the bags.  I have a bag of dry erase markers that we use for school that I can pull out for the kids when we are using games (so I don't need so many for each bag) and that gives less access to my younger kids who might pull a bag out and draw on the carpet. (Do not ask me how I know this. ;) )

Activity Bags would be a great addition to any homeschool (or for any kid for that matter.)  These would be especially good for Friday Fun School days and especially for those that use workboxes.

Purchase Math Games in a Bag or Reading Games in a Bag for $15.  Fill out this survey to receive a free sampler of Activity Bags. For further information visit the FAQ page.

Other titles by Activity Bags include:

Preschool Activities in a Bag 1 and 2 (Book 3 Coming Soon!)
Science Experiments in a Bag 1, 2 and 3
Travel Activities in a Bag
Daily Activity Journal 1 and 2


See what others are saying about Activity Bags on The Schoolhouse Review Crew blog. The other activity bag sets are also being reviewed.  I highly recommend checking out the Activity Bags and the other reviews.




disclaimer: I received Math Games in a bag and Reading Games in a bag in exchange for an honest review

IXL.com

IXL  is a web-based math practice tool.  Students have access to unlimited math problems and over 1,000 topics from preschool right up through Algebra. IXL also offers a reports component that you can use monitor student progress closely. A detailed user guide is available that tells you how to best use IXL and directions for implementing some of the options available such as hiding the left navigation panel, grade levels and/or timer.

We first used ixl.com about a year ago.  IXL is short for I excel.  Did you already know that?  I had no idea until I started this review.  I just never put it together myself.  :)  Without purchasing ixl you can do 20 problems per day and this is what we did at the end of last school year.  I even considered purchasing it but ended up doing something else.

I mainly had my 4 year old and 9 year old daughters giving this one a try.  Ellie (4) does like this, but has a short attention span with it and only wants to do it for a few minutes (she is only 4 after all.)  Emma (9) doesn't like it (it IS math you know.)  I personally think it makes a great supplement for math practice for any child.  For younger children I think you could easily use this as your complete curriculum.  For older children I think it would be best used as a supplement because it is practice. No teaching is given. Explanations are given after incorrect answers if you click for them. (An example is shown below.)

You can go on to the next problem by clicking OK or click on  "Explanation"  and a
box like the one below will come up.

If important to you, IXL is fully aligned to each of the 50 state's standards and you are able to monitor your child's progress toward those standards if you wish.  (This is not something I do, but thought my readers might like to know.)

IXL provides a multitude of different reports so you can monitor your child's progress.  Using charts and graphs such as the one above you can find out exactly how your child is doing, what they've spent time working on (and how long), what they have mastered and what they need work on. Reports are emailed to you each week so you don't even have to think about it. :)

Under settings you can hide grade levels (they show as letters instead), skill menus and the timer if you wish.
This can be less distracting for your children. (We kept ours on.)

Membership benefits:

• Complete coverage of math curriculum from pre-K to algebra. 
• Unlimited questions in over 2,000 skills.
• Fun and colorful practice formats.
• Questions that adapt to your child's ability, increasing in difficulty as they improve.
• Immediate feedback and question-specific explanations to solidify understanding of each concept.
• Audio for all pre-K through first-grade skills.
• Weekly e-mail updates on your child's progress.
• Informative, detailed reports pointing out successes and trouble spots.Awards and certificates for you and your children to print out as they reach important milestones.

One of my favorite features of IXL is the awards tab.  Each grade level has a page as shown above and they earn "prizes" to fill up the board as they go. If you have a child that is motivated by this sort of thing (I would be) it will be wonderful for you.  (My kids don't seem to be motivated by it unfortunately.)  To the right of the chart they will see the details of what awards they've earned, how many questions they have answered, how long they have practiced for, how many topics they have mastered, the prizes they have revealed and what they have to do to get their next award.

In the first three levels there are sound icons that students can click on to have the problems read to them.  You can see it just before the sentence, "Which picture shows 2 dots?" below.

The one capability this program is missing is the ability to assign certain problems or even set it so students can only see their own grade level.

Don't forget you can try IXL.com free.  (20 problems a day)  IXL is completely online.  There is nothing to download.  You just sign in and go.

You can purchase IXL math subscriptions for $9.95 a month or $79 a year (which is only $6.58 a month).  Extra children are just $2 more a month or $20 more a year for a subscription.

IXL supports the following Operating Systems and browsers:

It is recommended that you have at least 256MB of installed RAM, and you should set your display to a resolution of 1024x768 with 32-bit color depth. You will need an internet connection as well as Adobe Flash Player and Adobe Reader (both available free).

See what others are saying about IXL on the Schoolhouse Review Crew Blog.







disclaimer:  I received 6 month IXL.com subscriptions for 3 children in exchange for an honest review.

Christian Kids Explore Chemistry

Chemistry.  Does this word strike fear in your heart?  :)  Chemistry is the only subject I ever failed in high school.  Perhaps if I had been introduced to chemistry with Christian Kids Explore Chemistry in my younger years it wouldn't have seemed so foreign to me. Christian Kids Explore Chemistry is a science curriculum for grades 4-8 in the Christian Kids Explore Series from Bright Ideas Press and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to review it.

There are four books in this series written for elementary and junior high students.  Christian Kids Explore Chemistry, now in its 2nd edition, comes with a brand new resource CD that includes daily lesson plans, materials lists, all the reproducibles you need and even a bonus literature study guide for the book, Piece of the Mountain, a story about the life of Blaise Pascal.  Reproducibles include coloring pages, unit reviews, follow-up questions for each lesson and activity charts.

Christian Kids Explore Chemistry is a 385 page, black and white, paperback textbook that provides 30 lessons in 5 units.  Read the Table of Contents or view Sample Pages.  You will find hands on activities such as making model atoms, breaking covalent bonds and making gas expand.  There are Chemistry terms, notations and rules, unit reviews, coloring pages and a supplemental book list.

a sample page showing clear, easy to read text with bold vocabulary words
within the text and definitions in the margin

We were introduced to this series this year and completed Christian Kids Explore Biology a few weeks ago.  I am really enjoying the series and plan to purchase the other 2 books that I don't have when we are done with Chemistry.

Each lesson is not too long making it easy to teach and not overwhelming to the student.  I read it aloud to my children but older students could certainly do this by themselves.  The vocabulary words are defined within the text AND in the margins of the lessons making it easy for students to find the words they need to define with each lesson. There is a glossary as well that students can use if they prefer. The detailed lesson plans give you 2 days of work for each week making it easy to double up for the week if you wish to cover 2 books in a year (which is my plan for next year.)  We will finish Chemistry and move on the Physics.

Lesson plans include memory work including a scripture verse (which can also be used as copy work), review, reading, discussion, vocabulary, hands on activities and supplemental reading.

Vocabulary words are placed on index cards for easy review or you can use a notebook.  We are using blank notebooking pages for vocabulary at this time.

In the supplemental reading section, you will find a list of books by unit that you can purchase or order from your library.  I have had no problem getting the books through our library system.  The lessons also have a weekly reading from the Kingfisher Science Encyclopedia.  I have enjoyed using this beautiful book for the Chemistry lessons but be warned it is full of evolutionary content which I did not like when using the Biology book.

By the end of the first unit my reluctant 12 year old son told me he likes this.  High praise from him indeed!

Ryan and Emma learning the difference between mixtures and compounds.

Getting it all down on paper

You can purchase Christian Kids Explore Chemistry for $39.95 at Bright Ideas Press.  This includes the Bright Ideas Press also carries Illuminations full curriculum, history and geography resources and more.  I LOVE Bright Ideas Press and highly recommend them!

Information on the other CKE books:
Christian Kids Explore Earth and Space (grades 3-6) $34.95
Christian Kids Explore Biology (grades 3-6) $34.95
Christian Kids Explore Physics (grades 4-8) $39.95 (new 2nd edition)

Read what others are saying about the Christian Kids Explore series on the TOS crew blog. All 4 books in this series are being reviewed.  Feel free to ask questions if you have any.

disclaimer: I received a free pdf copy of Christian Kids Explore Chemistry along with a digital copy of CKEC supplements in exchange for an honest review.