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Special Discount on Glasses for Mommy Teachers!

Hey Mommy Teachers,

I recently came across a REALLY great company that sells quality eyeglasses online at affordable prices. It is called GlassesUsa.com, and this is why I have to
tell you about it:

I have come across several children who were completely capable readers, but their vision was not strong enough to make out the formations of the letters. These sweet students of mine would struggle through sounding out words, not because they couldn’t sound out the words correctly, but because they were “guessing” the wrong letters when they couldn’t quite see them clearly. You might have done the same thing if you have ever been to an eye exam. You squint your eyes and guess what letters you think you see, but it is a little blurry.

Please don’t put your new learner through this stress. Do me a favor…go get your eyes examined and your little one’s eyes examined soon! You can set a great example for your little one doing this with them and there are several books that can build confidence so that your little one will feel so cool wearing glasses. Maybe if you buy glasses you might even be able to read those books to your children without squinting and getting a headache.

If you already have a prescription and would love a new set of frames….go buy glasses now while you can save 10% on your next order with THIS code: Mommy10

They also have a summer sale so you can take $25 off any order of glasses with Transitions lenses with the code: Trans25.

My favorite….They have a fun virtual mirror that allows you to “try on” your glasses before you buy them. You can even send the pictures to your friends!

So, go buy some nice and cheap glasses a little cheaper while you can at GlassesUsa.com.

June 27, 2011 by Jessica | 2 Comments

Father’s Day Ideas from Kidspired Creations

As I was brainstorming some fun and educational activity ideas for you Mommy Teachers for Father’s Day, I couldn’t get Casey’s ideas out of my head so I wanted to share them with you all.

Not only did she share her very own Father’s Day Craft idea HERE that I thought was so perfect, but she also has a project for Teachers that I thought is a perfect Father’s Day gift for the office as well…. Check it out HERE.

You can put your own personal touch on these projects, as far as the materials go, but these ideas are too great to pass up.

You need to read about these ideas but here is a sneak peak:

June 13, 2011 by Jessica | 0 comments

Guest Post From Kidspired Creations!

Hi Mommy Teachers! It’s Casey, a fellow mommy teacher, stopping by from Kidspired Creations! I am a stay-at-home mommy and I run a kids room decor business on the side. Before I was a mommy, I was a Pre-K and Kindergarten teacher, so Jessica and I always love to chat about teaching tools and activities.

I texted Jessica earlier about this super AWESOME find that I got from Wal-Mart for $9.95 today! I could not WAIT to share it with her… and now you!

Crayola Dry Erase Poster Set

This poster sticks to the wall and is easily removable AND reusable! Trust me, I’ve already had to stick and restick it a few times because I didn’t like where I put it. Printed on it are 10 writing lines (two solid lines with the dashed line in the middle) which is how kids learn to write straight, even, upper and lowercase letters.

It comes with 3 dry erase Crayola crayons which are fat and easy for James’ little uncoordinated fingers to use. A wet wipe easily erases everything (I’m sure you can use a dry paper towel as well, but I was lazy and the wet wipes were right there). Though James hasn’t written on the wall YET, I still have my Magic Eraser on standby for when the time comes.

James is a beginning writer so it is really important for me to start off teaching him to write simple straight lines and diagonal lines. After he masters those, he will also work on circles, squiggly and zig zag lines, both from the top solid line to the bottom solid line, and then from the middle dashed line to the bottom solid line. It is also important for your child to get in the habit of starting at the top and working down, and starting on the left and working right… left to right, top to bottom… that’s how we read and write and now’s the age for them to have that knowledge!

James was having a hard time understanding the concept of writing between the lines, so we played connect the dots. I drew two dots and he had to connect them to make the diagonal line… always starting at the top dot, of course.

My goal is for my husband or me to write a letter on the poster for James to read each morning when he wakes up and then eventually, he can do a journal every day like Jessica talked about in her last post. James especially dislikes writing on paper, but really enjoys writing on his new board with crayons! Let’s hope it lasts! Mommy is at least having fun with it… Especially since the crayon even wipes off the wall using a wet wipe!

June 4, 2011 by Jessica | 0 comments

Mommy’s Inside Scoop on Hopscotch

I know most of us grew up playing hopscotch and didnt think twice about what math skills we might be learning. But when your little one is playing hopscotch, he or she is interacting with a lifesize number line. And children learn so naturally through movement.

So, on this pretty day, I propose that you get outside with your little one, chalk up a hopscotch grid OR go to your local park or school that has a hopscotch painted on the concrete and keep these skills in mind:

1. Counting practice – draw the hopscotch with numbers up to twenty! I know that is a long hopscotch but children need more practice with numbers 10-20.

Start off just asking your little one to help you count the number spaces out in order.

2. Identifying numbers

Try to hop on one foot from 1 to 20 so that your little one has to identify the numbers in one- to- one correspondance. If you toss a rock to a number, have them call out the number they are hopping to and then call out the numbers they hop on to get there.

3. Identify the numbers coming before or after a given number

After playing the game regularly at first, tell your little one that it’s time to play a new version of the game. “This time we are going to play ‘hop to the number that comes BEFORE the number that the rock lands on.'” Play this again but then hopping to the number that comes AFTER the number the rock lands on.

4. Identifying a number coming between two numbers.

Play “Can You hop to the number that comes between _ and __.”

5. Count forward or backward from a given number.

Have your little one count out loud as he/she hops forward or backward from the number they land on. You want your little one to have the skill of knowing how to “count on” or “count back” from any given number because this will help your little one solve math problems in the future.

6. You can even use the hopscotch grid to practice simple addition and subtraction:

-examples of addition: if you hop one space and then two more what number will you land on? (three) or if you are on the number five and hop two spaces what number will you land on? (seven)

-examples of subtraction: if you are on the number 8 and you hop back three spaces what number will you land on? (five). Or, if you are on the number three and hop back two spaces which number would you land on? (one)

Did you have any idea there could be six plus versions of hopscotch teaching all those skills? Have fun!

June 3, 2011 by Jessica | 0 comments

Guest Post Featured on Radical Parenting

How many of us (over the years) have heard, observed, or used the common trend of parents telling their kids to do something “because I said so?” While this reasoning might give a sense of power to the authority figure in place, it does not empower kids to put forth their best effort in anything they do. And I want to explain how you replace “because I said so” with more individualized incentives.

Read the rest HERE to learn more about these incentives.

Thanks radicalparenting.com for sharing 🙂