Nurture for the Future

TweedleWink Homeschool Lesson Plans from Right Brain Kids

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Right Brain Kids - TweedleWink Homeschool Lesson PlansIn an earlier newsletter, we wrote about TweedleWink, a blended “Right Brain Education” program created by Right Brain Kids that incorporates the teachings practices of Glenn Doman, Makoto Shichida, Maria Montessori, Reggio, and HeartMath. If you are following this program at home, you will be able to add on to your activities with these additional resources compiled by Right Brain Kids as part of a home lesson plan. Even if you aren’t following the TweedleWink program, these lesson plans offer some great resources for any parent wanting to support their child’s learning at home.

TweedleWink Homeschool Lesson Plans

Part 1

  • Science: Solar System
  • Art: Claude Monet
  • Vocabulary: Musical Instruments
  • Science: Parts of a Flower
  • Culture: Kenya

Part 2

  • Vocabulary: Carpentry Tools
  • Science: Invertebrates
  • Science: Plant Cells
  • Art: Hopi Pottery

Part 3

  • Science: Periodic Table
  • Culture: Italy
  • Art: Van Gogh
  • Science: Type of Clouds

Part 4

  • Science: Constellations
  • Culture: India
  • Vocabulary: Butterflies
  • Science: Biomes
  • Science: Parts of an Insect

Part 5

  • Art: Leonardo da Vinci
  • Vocabulary: Birds
  • Vocabulary: Optical Instruments
  • Science: Water Cycle
  • Art: Beadwork

Part 6

  • Art: Paul Cezanne
  • Vocabulary: Nature
  • Art: Paul Gauguin
  • Vocabulary: Garden Tools
  • Science: Animal Cells

Part 7

  • Art: Origami
  • Cultures: Mexico
  • Vocabulary: Colours, Clothes, Oceans, Parts of the Body
  • Math: 1 to 10
  • Music: Middle C

Part 8

  • Art: Monet
  • Science: Parts of an Atom
  • Cultures: France
  • Vocabulary: Shapes, Opposites
  • Music: Vivaldi


Bookmark this page for more updates, or follow TweedleWink on Facebook.

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Math Apps: Splash Math Classroom Edition – Free Trial!

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Do you remember Splash Math by Study Pad? Just in case you missed it, check out our review of Splash Math. If you’ve seen it and you love it, you’ll be delighted to know that Splash Math is now available in a special Classroom Edition for teachers!

Splash Math

Splash Math for Teachers!

To celebrate the launch of the new Splash Math Classroom Edition for teachers, Splash Math is offering Math teachers a special trial offer to use Splash Math Classroom Edition for FREE for the remainder of the school year and throughout the summer. Now schools can try Splash Math with zero cost and zero commitment up until the beginning of the next school year – www.splashmath.com/teachers/register.

About Splash Maths Class Room Edition

Here’s what you get with Splash Math Class Room Edition…

  • Math problems presented in a fun and engaging format for Grade 1 to Grade 5 following the common core aligned math concepts.
  • A teacher’s dashboard so teachers can monitor the individual progress of each student down to the skill level. Teachers can identify problem areas for immediate action.
  • Individually tailored program that allows each student to work at their own pace.
  • Children can get more Math practice at home on computer or tablet.

Learn more about Splash Math Class Room Edition.

Setup a class for free.

Splash Math 2

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Education.com Launches “Brainzy” Educational Games

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Successful kids have a strong foundation in the 3Rs. As part of our month’s focus on the 3R’s, we will be featuring reading (don’t miss our Little Reader Coupon giveaway!), writing and math programs for kids. This one’s dedicated to early literacy…

Education.com has launched a new program – Brainzy!

Brainzy

Brainzy is an online, game-based program by Education.com that helps early readers practice the skills teachers say are most important. The goal is to integrate serious learning and serious fun to produce serious outcomes.

  1. Serious Learning
    • Unlimited access to dozens of games, stories, and activities.
    • Learning through play helps cement a lifelong love of reading.
    • Brainzy’s skill looping methodology helps kids develop real mastery.
  2. Serious Fun
    • Kids love Brainzy’s playful world of fun characters and discovery.
    • Unique puzzle-piece reward system keeps players motivated.
    • Brainzy is ad-free and safe for kids.
  3. Serious Outcomes
    • Early readers get critical practice in the most essential skills.
    • Game based approach improves retention & boosts confidence.
    • Parents track progress through a personalized dashboard.

Brainzy Educational Games has just been launched so they currently only have games for kindergarten. They expect to roll out additional grades in the near future and users who sign up today will get all the benefits of the full product soon, but at the discounted price! And parents can create profiles for up to 3 children, so if they have elementary students in multiple grades they can have one account for up to 3!

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What is the International Baccalaureate Program?

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EDM LogoIf you are researching schools for your child, you may have come across the term IB or International Baccalaureate and wondered about this curriculum. The following is an article adapted from Education Destination Malaysia that explains the IB programs (read the full article).

What are the IB Programs?

The IB programs were created to offer high-quality and challenging educational programs for a worldwide community of schools. Their aim is to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect. They encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right.

The IB identified a continuum of international education for students aged 3 to 19:

  • The IB Diploma Program (DP) was established in 1968 to provide a challenging and comprehensive educational platform that would enable students to understand and manage the complexities of the modern world and provide them with skills and attitudes for taking responsible action for the future. It is rooted in the belief that people who are equipped to make a more just and peaceful world need an education that crosses disciplinary, cultural, national and geographical boundaries.
  • The Middle Years Program (MYP) and the Primary Years Program (PYP) were established in 1994 and in 1997, respectively.

Teaching and Learning in the IB 

An IB education centers on learners, develops effective approaches to teaching and learning, works within global contexts and explores significant content. It is holistic in nature and is concerned with the development of the whole person. IB programs are focussed on:

  • learning how to learn
  • helping students interact effectively with the learning environments they encounter
  • encouraging students to value learning as an essential and integral part of their everyday lives

An IB education prepares young people for a lifetime of learning, independently and in collaboration with others through the interplay of asking, doing and thinking, thereby leading towards an open, democratic classroom. It encourages a community of learners to engage with global challenges through inquiry, action and reflection. IB programs aim to develop a range of competencies and dispositions that include skills for thinking, for working with others, for communicating, for self-management and for research.

IB learner profile

Assessment

In IB programs, assessment is ongoing, varied and integral to the curriculum. Assessment may be formal or informal, formative or summative, internal or external; students also benefit by learning how to assess their own work and the work of others.

IB students demonstrate what they know and can do through presentation via exhibition, personal project, extended essay and reflective project.

Why IB? 

An IB education is unique because of its rigorous academic and personal standards. IB programs challenge students to excel not only in their studies, but also in their personal growth. The IB aims to inspire a lifelong quest for learning hallmarked by enthusiasm and empathy. Strengthened by the belief that education can help to build a better world, the IB connects this higher purpose with the practical details of teaching and learning.

An IB education represents a testament to the power of this collaboration. An IB education calls forth the very best in students and educators alike. An IB education helps to prepare students for living and working in a complex, highly interconnected world.

Read the full article from Education Destination Malaysia.

How Effective is an IB Education?

“IB students were better prepared for the shock of college academic demands and suffered less of a drop in grade point average in their first year of college compared to their high school performance level.” – Center for College Readiness

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The Brainology Program by Mindset Works

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I finally bit the bullet and signed Aristotle up for the Brainology Program by Mindset Works a couple of weeks back. As you may recall, I have been concerned about Aristotle for some time… Since we signed up, he has been working steadily through the course.

What is Brainology?

Brainology® is developed by one of the world’s leading researchers in the field of motivation, Stanford University professor Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D. and her colleague Lisa Sorich Blackwell, Ph.D. Based on 20 years of research, it is an online program designed to teach students brain science and study skills that will help them develop a growth mindset – the core belief that abilities, rather than being fixed, are developed over time – which is critical to adopting learning-oriented behaviour. When students and educators have a growth mindset, they understand that intelligence can be developed. They focus on improvement rather than worrying about how smart they are. Students with growth mindsets show greater motivation in school, better grades, and higher test results. They not only had increased focus on learning, but greater resilience, and superior achievement.

The target audience is middle school and high school students, but younger children can work on the program with the assistance of an adult.  Brainology has been used in schools and homes in most U.S. States and several countries with enthusiastic reviews by teachers, parents and students.

What does Brainology teach?

  1. Brain Basics – what does the brain do?
  2. Brain Behaviour – how does the brain work?
  3. Brain Building – how does the brain learn?
  4. Brain Boosters – how does memory work, and how can you make yours work better?

How does Brainology work?

Information on the brain is presented in video format and the students can review the material by visiting the “Brain Book”. They can also jot down their thoughts and ideas in their e-Journal and Notepad. At the end of each chapter, there is a fun quiz to the salient points from each lesson about the brain.

See: Brainology Curriculum Overview

Getting Started

You can sign up for a free account that will allow you to trial the program. You will also gain access to resources for planning your own mindset home program to support your child’s formal learning.

Aristotle completed the program a couple of days ago and received an award for being a “brain master”.

 

Brainology Completion

If you are working on Brainology with a younger child, it is advisable to repeat the program content to help your child gain a greater understanding of the growth mindset.

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BrillKids’ Little Reader Version 3 – Better than Ever!

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If you’ve been wondering about the dearth of new Little Reader flash cards being released, it’s because we’ve been busy beta testing the newest and latest version of BrillKid’s Little Reader – Version 3. If you already have Little Reader, you can go upgrade your copy now (all BrillKids’ license holders get free upgrades to the latest version of the software released). If you haven’t got Little Reader, you really, really can’t miss this one. We love Little Reader and I honestly didn’t think they could really improve upon it but they have!

What’s New in Little Reader Version 3:

  • Customizable Courses
    You now have full control of your course curriculum – edit your existing BrillKids courses OR create your own courses from scratch!
  • Playback Settings Presets
    Use Presets to easily apply playback settings to your categories or courses – you don’t have to manually set each playback option anymore!
  • Re-organized Playback Settings and Override windows
    They’ve overhauled the entire Playback Settings and Override windows to make it easier to navigate and use!
  • Game Mode
    To make reading time even more exciting and interactive, you can play a picture or word game at the end of each course lesson, or play a game based on your selected categories!
  • Split Mode
    With the new Split Mode playback setting, you can display words in split colors AND have pronunciations in split audio, where each part of the word pronounced separately for your child!
  • Child Profiles
    Using Little Reader with more than one child? Now you can keep track of each child’s lesson playback history with Child Profiles!
  • Subtitles and Translations
    Subtitles now show translations during playback – especially handy for teaching different languages! We’re also working on translating the software interface into several languages so you can use Little Reader in the language you’re more comfortable with!NOTE: Subtitle translations are provided courtesy of Google Translate
  • New Progress Diary
    They’ve revamped the built-in Progress Diary so that it updates itself whenever you edit or add new courses!
  • Performance Optimizations
    As with every update, they’ve fixed a lot of bugs and enhanced the software interface to make Little Reader easier to use!

It’s not just the software that’s been improved but the curriculum has been upgraded significantly, too!

What’s new in the Little Reader Curriculum:

They’ve added new lesson types – now you can show sight words, word split and game lessons to your child!

Also, all lessons are now shorter, more varied, and several times more exciting! Here’s an example of a typical day in Semester 1:

  • Picture Flash
  • Multisensory 1
  • Pattern Phonics 1
  • Multisensory 2
  • Pattern Phonics 2
  • Multisensory 3
  • Sight Words
  • Word Split
  • Game

More Stories
The complete Little Reader Storybook Series (25 storybooks) is now incorporated into the curriculum, starting from the very first day of Semester 2 (Day 131). All stories come with professionally-recorded pronunciations in three voices and colorful animated videos.

High-res Pictures and Videos
Pictures and videos have all been upgraded to high-definition versions to accommodate the ever-increasing screen sizes and screen resolutions. Animals and Transportation categories now come with animated videos in addition to real-life HD videos.

What We Especially Love about the New Little Reader

Hercules has been on the new Little Reader curriculum and these are our favourite bits:

  • Personal profile – he loves seeing his picture up on top of the screen. This is also really helpful when you have two or more children going through the curriculum so you can easily keep track of who’s on which lesson.
  • New stories – he’s mad about the stories and keeps asking for them over and over even after the lessons are done. He also enjoys reading along with them – which is our first step to encouraging him to start reading on his own. Since he started reading along with Little Reader, I’ve noticed he’s been pulling out his own books and “reading” them to himself. The new stories were also great for me because I recently had a case of laryngitis and lost my voice so I couldn’t read aloud to Hercules. Hercules was happy to listen to Little Reader stories while Mummy’s voice recovered.
  • Games – up until recently, I have never really “tested” Hercules on his reading abilities. I was so concerned about “stressing” him and putting him off learning that I avoided it. The games setup of Little Reader is so fun that he enjoys playing it. It’s also great for me because I finally get to see just how much he can read (and all this time I thought he only knew colours, fruits, actions, numbers and transportation – because that was all he would point out to me without me asking).
  • Update: Hercules (a.k.a. G2) at age 5 was able to read Level 10 Peter and Jane books without difficulty

You can also read our original Little Reader Review here.

If you would like to buy Little Reader from the BrillKids online store, you can get 10% off your purchase with the following code: BKAFF36716.

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