My Favorite Apps for Kids

Now that we're working from home, our kids have more screen time than usual. I needed to downgrade my high mom guilt for having our kids on a iPad while I'm teaching a class. Because of this, I downloaded a couple of apps that I think matched my need for kids to be entertained with some educational content.

We have a ton of free sorting apps on our kids iPads. There are only three or four levels on each, so not a ton but our kids love switching back and forth between all of the different apps. There are some really great apps out there for kids. Here are just a couple of my favorites.

Tiny Hands Sorting App: There is a free version of this app, but I'm here to tell you that spending the $5 is worth it. Sorting is such an important skill for kids and this one starts off on the basic skills.  Elliott and Bo alike love this app. Honestly, I'd probably download anything put out by Tiny Hands.

Cubic Frog: This app has so many different elements to it that kids can practice so many different skills. The games are interactive and engaging but educational at the same. Bo loves all of the letter and number practice while Elliott loves the puzzles and matching.

Kids' Puzzles: Puzzles are such a great way for kids to build problem solving skills and critical thinking skills. Bo loves these puzzles and there is a wide variety of puzzle piece amount. I don't hate when I have to help him with a puzzle!

Zoo Animals: We have the free version of this and it's very limited, but both kids LOVE looking at pictures of animals. The paid version has lots of activities and looks really fun. If my kids ever got bored of the free version, I'd probably buy it. There are lot of apps like this with different animals.

Letter Quiz: Both of our kids love practice writing letters, matching lower case and upper case letters using this app. There is also a number version as well. Bo loves taking and doing this for teaching Elliott.

Epic Books: This app has tons of books that kids can read or the app will read to you. I'm not going to lie, I've use the "Read to Me" function when I am so tired that I can't read a book at nap time. There is a wide variety of books and topics. You can find lots of books that are already your kids favorites. Bo loves reading and earning badges. This is definitely a well used app at our house.

STMath: We use this program at school and I love the way it teaches math for kids. It usually costs a ton, but is currently free.   Bo is 4 and working on the kindergarten program. He definitely needs help at times, but great learning and conversations about math are happening.

Hopster Coding: I haven't used this app, but I've been looking for something new for Bo. This looks like something that he would definitely love. It's a pretty basic coding app, but looks really engaging and fun.

There's a billion other apps out there, but this is a quick list of our family's favorites. It makes me feel a little bit better when a phone call goes longer or I need to send one more quick email to know that my kids are doing something that is helping them grow.

What are your go-to learning apps?

Mega Blocks Activities

Each week, I've been choosing a different toy in our house to highlight. I'm hoping that way, it will spark interest and get used in different ways. This week, I used Mega Blocks in all of my morning centers with Bo. Honestly, I'm almost sad the Mega Blocks week is over, because there is so much more I could still do! Maybe we'll just have to do Week 2 in a couple of weeks.

I choose to use the same toy each day for a couple of reasons: 

1. It focuses my ideas. Right now, I'm super tired at night and still when I wake up, so I need to be able to wake up and think "what am I going to do with _______?". It makes it much easier. 

2. When kids have the same toy for the week, you can help them through the routine of play. (Honestly, I think I'm making this all up, but it makes complete sense to me). The first day, I usually do an activity that is more the typical way that the toy has been used. Since it's Monday and everyone is tired, I don't try to do much out of the ordinary. As the days go on, I increase the skill and different uses of the toy. I find that Bo is much more open to doing different play on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. 

Monday: Graphing (Sorting, Counting, Comparing Numbers, Fine Motor Skills)

We started the week off on an easy note. I separated all of the One Stud Blocks (I did my research) and put them in a bucket. Next, I asked Bo to create color towers. Then, he counted the blocks and wrote the number of each on the paper. Finally, he compared groups of blocks. 

This was the most challenging activity, I created all week. It took a whole 5 minutes to set up. He loved feeling like a big kid with lots of steps. I started with something that he knows how to do. He knows how to sort (which he loves) and he knows how to build with Mega Blocks. 

Tuesday: Building Skyscrapers

I put out Post-it Notes with Numbers on them. Bo had to make Skyscrapers with the number of floors on the Post-it and deliver it to the construction zone. Bo decided that Construction Dress Up was a definite must for the competition of this activity. I love that he likes to play the part.  This one has so many different varieties. I did numbers 1 to 15. You could do numbers 1-5 and write the same number on different post it notes. You could also write the numbers in different colors to indicate which block to use. It's Tuesday and my guy is still a little cranky that it's not the weekend so I decided to keep it pretty open ended. 

I decided to do this activity next in the rotation because the blocks were already organized for him to get started right away. All I had to do is put out the post it notes. I've used these post it notes for a couple of activities (they are actually not even sticky anymore) so it makes planning activities easy. 

Wednesday: Building Addition Skyscrapers

 All I had to do for this activity is write addition sentences out. I wrote each number in a different color and Bo had to create buildings out of those block colors. Then, he would deliver them to the building site with that number. I put out the dump truck at last minute because he was super cranky that morning I was hoping that it would help. (Spoiler- it helped!) Bo hasn't really done a lot of addition like this so I just put it out there and sat close by to give support as necessary.

Good Questions to ask with this activity: "What do you see?", "What do you think that means?", and "What happens when you put that all together?"

Thursday: Block Balance Beam

We needed a low key Thursday Morning activity, enter Block Balance Beam. I started this activity off by building the first part. Since this is something absolutely new that Bo hasn't done before, I needed to start him off on the right track. He took one look at my example and said "That's too small, mama", broke it, and created his own. He also created a jump in the middle for a little more excitement.

Pro-Tip: Make sure that you use those two prong blocks to hold the outside blocks together. If you are just the single prongs, they tend to break off the side. By layering the blocks, you can keep it a little more stable.


Friday: Block Races

This game was super fun. I put out one block of each color to start and created a finish line. I then made a color die by wrapping a tissue box in an old TJs paper bag. (You could also do this by just saying out colors, pulling them out of a bucket, or an spinner app). Bo would roll the die and put the block into the race.

This activity provided lots of room for conversations. We predicted what block would win the race and as he built we talked about which blocks had more or less. It was a really easy activity for him to do by himself while I checked email this morning. A win for everyone.

These activities were really fun for kids and parents. It would give me 20-30 minutes to just breathe and take a sip of coffee. Honestly, I pulled out these blocks to see if I should get rid of them. They were a hit at all times of the day. There are so many different things that you can do with MegaBlocks. They are definitely a must in my house now!

Teaching How to Clean Up

Okay guys. This situation takes me back to my days of Group Work with my students. I never wanted to do Group Work because my students would argue and accomplish nothing. I would complain "they just can't work together!" and then, I realized it was my job to actually teach them how to do it. Kids cleaning up falls in the same category. I haven't actually taught him how to clean up.

Every time I ask Bo to clean up, all he sees is a huge mess and no starting point. He gets frustrated before he even starts. So today, when I asked Bo to clean up. I sat with him and told him what I would do. I actually taught him how to clean up. It was his first time, so it wasn't perfect but we're definitely moving in the right direction.

Today, we were working on the room that he rests in. I honestly don't care what he does in here as long as he plays quietly for one hour. So because of that, he pulls everything out and makes a hu
ge mess as he entertains himself. He has game pieces, pom-poms, playing cards, cars, literally it's a nightmare but he loves it as he plays.

One Thing at a Time
I helped direct him as he cleaned. I would tell him to find all of the Candy Land cards, then the pom-poms, and we continued until the floor was cleaned up. By focusing his cleaning process, he was able to see that it wasn't that much. I might even create a list of the categories to clean up next time. I remember my aunt teaching me how to clean my room. She told me start with the biggest piece of furniture first, it's more bang for your buck and it makes everything look more manageable.

Modeling
I didn't help clean up that much, but enough so I could say some phrases that I hope might stick in his brain.

Here's what I said today- (I'll keep adding as I go)
-"Oh, I see a piece of trash. That's easy! I know it goes in the garbage"
-"When I picked up the blanket, the room looks so much cleaner!"
-"Tomorrow, if you put away Candy Land once you're done, you wouldn't have so much to clean at the end"

Encouragement
Remember the Sleep Shuffle Method? I didn't do it, but I remember reading about it. It was something about moving your chair a couple of inches further away each night so that you were out of the room (I'm sure there's a lot more to it than that). That's kind of what we need to start doing. I realized that I used to help Bo clean up and then like last week I told him to clean up all this mess on his own. We need to gradually release (there's a teacher term for you) into being able to clean up. I see this happening in two ways for Bo.

1. My proximity: Bo loves a cheerleader. He once told me that I didn't say "Go, Bo, Go" enough at Soccer class. So I'm kind of going to do the Cleaning Shuffle here. Start inside the room, shuffle a little closer to the door each day until one day I am out the door completely.

2. My help: I sat with Bo as he picked up things and would pick up 2-3 items for each item we were picking up.  As time went on, I didn't pick up any toys.  Tomorrow, I'll probably pick up 2 things and decrease from there. I'll keep going with the process until I'm not picking up anything at all.


A couple of other thoughts: 
-I took out boxes that he has been using to play with. He's not actually playing with them at rest time and they take up a lot of space so the room looks messier than it actually is.
- He had access to a lot of activities that had a lot of pieces. I took out the materials that he doesn't really need.
-I labeled containers a little better. Simply a sharpie and a plastic bag. This way, he knows where to put things.
-Maybe breaking it down a little more. Pick up 1 toy, Now 2 toys, (I don't know. I feel like each day I have a different kid to figure out what's going to work)


Here's to hoping that some combination of these things help. Because I can't pick up one more toy that I didn't play with by myself.

What do you do to encourage kids to clean up?

Small Bits of Happiness

Hi friends-

I have realized this week there are these super small things that have made me ridiculously happy. Maybe you care, maybe you don't, but I'm feeling the need to share this with anyone that will listen.

1. We had two open Soy Sauce containers in the fridge. We finally got to the place that we could combine into one bottle.

2. I've been reading Jessica Simpson's new book- Open Book on Audible. She narrates her book so it feel like just listening to a friend talk to you about what is going on in her life.

3. The sun has been shining all weekend. Just what a beautiful thing. Also, Elliott and I both wore one color outfits today. Honestly, a one color outfit makes me beyond happy. (Cursing myself for those red shoes)

4. I just printed off 200+ pictures from Shutterfly. (If you order 4x4 prints on the app, they are free!). I cannot wait to hang all of these pictures in our kitchen. There has not been one wall in our house that hasn't been rearranged.

5. I washed and bleached all of our white towels this weekend using these instructions. Another beautiful thing that makes me so happy.

6. I've moved Sheets Day to Saturdays. Crawling into bed on Saturday night after one extra glass of wine is my new Saturday Night Out.

7. We've only been going to the grocery store every two weeks. I've started to love end of the two weeks because it forces me to be creative with the ingredients that we have to make meals.

8. I've been able to finish up some of my needlepoint projects that I've been working on.

9. I found some tater tots in the back of the freezer. Love finding surprise treasures in the freezer!

10. Bobby and I did face masks and watched MTV Challenge this week. I couldn't think of a better Date Night Activity.

So there you go, here's what made me super happy this week. Honestly, I'm not sure that a month ago my list would look the same. This quarantine has really pushed me to find joy in the small gifts that I am given each week. What made you super happy this week?

My Many Favorite TV Shows

Bobby and I are huge TV people. We watch tons of TV by ourselves, with each other, with friends, upstairs and downstairs. I figured with all of our time at home, I'd share some of my favorite shows. I've broken them up into different categories- shows to make you laugh, shows you can fall asleep in, and my current favorite "Shows you can get lost in a spreadsheet, forget you were watching TV and still know what's going on". Sometimes you need just noise in the background.

My Current Watches
Vanderpump Rules (Bravo)
Family Karma (Bravo)- This is a 100% "Get Lost in a Spreadsheet" Show
RHONY (Bravo)
Top Chef (Bravo)
Below Deck Sailing (With Bobby, upstairs. I sadly usually fall asleep)
Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist (so good if you need an extra playlist in the background)
Grey's Anatomy (Hulu)
A Million Little Things (Hulu)

Good for Kids and for You Shows
Lego Masters- A reality TV show about building Lego Master Pieces (Hulu)
Master Chef Junior- A reality TV show about kids 8-13 cooking (Hulu)
Be Our Chef- A reality TV show about families cooking in Disney (Disney)
Making It- A reality TV show about crafting hosted by Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman (Hulu)

Get Lost in a Spreadsheet Shows
The Resident: Matt Czuchry (from Gilmore Girls and The Good Wife) is a doctor in Atlanta. If you are in need of a new doctor show, this is for you.
Royal Pains: A doctor moves to the Hamptons to be a private doctor. I love this one because it has TONS of seasons. (Netflix)

Just Lovely Shows (Low Conflict)
The Bold Type: This is about three 20 something women working at magazine. (I watch it on Hulu)
Grace and Frankie: Two older women begin living together after a momentous life change (Netflix)
Younger: A story about a woman who has to lie about her age to work in the publishing world (Hulu)
GLOW: A story about female wrestlers (Netflix)
Jane the Virgin: A story about a women who gets accidentally impregnated.

Always Favorites
Schitts Creek: A wealthy family loses all their money and has to move to a small town in the middle of nowhere. (Netflix)
Friday Night Lights: A story about a small town in Texas with a huge focus on football. Before you say no, it's more about the people and less about the football. (Currently on Hulu)

Shows to Fall Asleep To (This is not saying that these shows do not deserve acknowledgement)
Superstore: A story about employees at large store (Hulu)
MTV Challenge: Need to watch overaged men and women from your favorite Real World seasons still competing in dumb challenges? Here you go (MTV app)
Bob's Burger: A story about a family who owns a burger shop. I am not into cartoon shows and this one is a favorite. (Hulu)
Virgin River: A woman moves to the middle of Canada to be a nurse in a small town.

If you've never watched, you should/Need a Long Series
ER
The Good Wife
Felicity
The West Wing

Oh Hey.

Oh hey. I took a little break from the blog for the last couple of weeks. It's been so busy that I had to just sort myself out and figure out what the heck I was doing. Here's a little recap of the last four weeks (!!!!). If you need the Too Long, Didn't Read list- scroll down to the bottom. No judgement here. Also, I included these pictures of our kids because they finally learned how to smile on cue.

Weeks One and Two were terribly hard. My kids cried. I cried. Riggins cried. It was so tough to figure out a system that worked for all of us. At first, I clung to what I knew my kids and I thrived on the most- routine. You guys. I over scheduled myself and my kids. If the schedule wasn't followed exactly to my plan, I would lose it.  It was terrible. I was also stressing out about making sure that Bo was still learning and academically stimulated. Let's just say, he never will, and never should be, a student in my class. Each night, I sat down at exhausted- emotionally and physically. My body ached and my heart ached even more. I also started to notice how much Bo was starting to regress in Week 2. It was honestly freaking me out. He no longer could put on his clothes or pick up toys or feed himself. I was so worried about what another month would do to my child.

In Week Three, I let go of a lot. We still had the routine and talked about the schedule. If Bo wanted to do Circle Time, we would do it otherwise we'd skip it that day. Sometimes Bo wanted to be the teacher and show Elliott how to do Circle Time while other times they just wanted to play (or lets be honest, argue about toys). I also listened to my kids a lot more. Bo started sharing ideas about how to practice numbers and letters so we started to do more of his ideas. But I also gave myself grace and asked for time when I needed it. I was also a lot more honest with Bobby about what I needed and how I was feeling. I missed a lot of my Secret Single Behaviors (SATC, anyone?) that I could do without judgement when I was at home by myself. I also started writing more pieces of gratitude each day because I needed to remind myself that so many good things were happening. Bobby and I also started a minute of complaining about frivolous things that we're just really annoyed about. I think one day, I said not being able to drink a LeCroix without someone else drinking it. This addition was really helpful for this week because I was feeling a lot of guilt for feeling selfish that I was upset about having to miss out on things that I liked while other people were seriously helping humanity.

Last week was Week Number Four. It was my Spring Break and we took the break. The weather was beautiful so we played outside. We also split up the kids more often. Bobby would take one and I would take the other. We all needed a break from each other. We started dinner earlier and went to bed earlier too. Bobby and I also had a super fancy date night from Alinea. I also remembered how good working out makes me feel so I downloaded the Peloton app and did some yoga classes. I also cleaned. Am I the only that cleaning makes me feel so good? (Bo has recently learned that an organized fridge equals a happy mama). I really took care of myself. Something that I really needed to do.

We're now in Week 5. I have a Clear Heart and Full Eyes and a Can't Lose attitude. I'm hoping to continue that structured unstructured routine that we have each day. Less screaming, less guilt about using tech, and more grace and love. We're all just trying our best each day.

Here's the TLDR version of what is going well in our house right now: 

-Feel the vibe for the day. Just because it's on the schedule doesn't mean that it is the best thing for your kids and family.

-Take a moment to breath. 30 minutes by yourself can be a game changer. Embrace those SSBs that you've been missing out on.

-Get Outside. Whenever I am losing my mind, Bobby always suggests a walk. This always helps reset our family when things get tough.

-Drink water. I read somewhere on Instagram "If you feel like you hate everyone, it means you need to drink water". I don't know the exactly science behind this, but it really does help me. I think the colder the better.

-Give yourself a second to wallow. Fun events are being canceled and you're missing your friends. You are allowed to feel upset. Say it out loud and you'll feel better.

-Do things that make you happy. I absolutely LOVE clean sheets. I've now started washing our sheets on Saturdays because I can crawl into bed that night and be so happy.