Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Perks of Homeschooling and Zoodles GIVEAWAY!

Just a few perks of this new homeschooling gig -

1) Watching Abby take her sweet time to create a "fairy house".




See the piece of cotton she used as a pillow? How cute is that?

2) Going behind the scenes at Domino's Pizza and letting the kids make their very own pie.


3) Eating peanut butter and jelly with a T-Rex...
Just to name a few. :)

Another great perk to homeschooling is also the Zoodles site which finds age appropriate games that make learning fun - because Mama needs some down time every once in awhile. And the kids LOVE playing on the computer. Zoodles has been such a great resource! After creating a "playground" for each of my kids specialized for their age group, all I do is click on the Zoodles icon on my desktop and a ton of great games pop up for the kids to choose from and play independently. It's so easy for them to navigate that I don't have to do a thing!

As part of the parent features, I can set time limits, block ads, and even block certain shows or characters. (Sorry, Spongebob.) With the lesson planning and such I'm doing these days, it's such a time saver too because the browser finds games in all subject areas. I can ask Abby to find a reading, math, or even a science game, and she's quickly able to look through the choices and find one. Noah The weekly email summaries are really helpful too so that I can see how much time the kids have spent on each subject for the last few days. There's also a Parent Play-Along mode so I can join in on computer time if I'd like, but the kids don't usually like to share the keyboard with me.

What's really cool about this kid-safe browser is that it's always FREE! Of course, you can sign up for a trial period which includes the premium features like setting time limits, blocking characters, weekly email summaries, etc...then after that there's a small fee each month for those features OR you can leave me a comment (today through Monday, Oct.11th) and be randomly chosen as one of THREE WINNERS of a 3 month PREMIUM membership - the same one that the Zoodles team gave to me so I could check out the site and all of its great perks!

So leave a comment to be entered into the giveaway, and I will announce the winners next Tuesday afternoon, Oct.12th!

8 comments:

Jenny Ramsey said...

whatever! you always have oodles of comments on your blog! i actually usually have a little blog envy because yours is so cool and always full of comments.
ps. i'm commenting....i'm commenting.....(ever seen night at the museum battle for the smithsonian?)
miss you like crazy!

Candyland said...

So cool! I completely admire you and wish I could do the same with mine.

Mom2Miles said...

I didn't know you were homeschooling. Wow! Looks like you're great at it. *I* want to make my own pizza at Domino's!

Sarah Haney, M.A. said...

I'm glad you enjoy homeschooling! I haven't been on here lately but i do remember you posting that you were thinking about it. Good for you! I think you will continue to see many 'perks' to homeschooling :)

And of course you're giveaway sounds neat. Thank you for sharing!

Nancy said...

Oh my goodness, that fairy house is ADORABLE!! (Love the cotton pillow :) )

And that website sounds fantastic! Count me in :)

Kat said...

That is VERY cool. Homeschooling can be so great but I just don't think I'd be very good at it. It looks like you are a natural at it! :)

Robins Fam said...

I am oober impressed with your homeschooling ventures. And thanks for all your tips and encouragement, by the way. Lucy has been on Zoodle and she loves it! this is her quote: "Mom, it's like I'm having fun AND reading at the same time!"

Down in the Sun said...

Busy! I am glad that you are able to do so many fun activities with the kids. I know that they just love every moment! I have never heard of that website. I will have to check it out. :)