La La Logic {Review} - Preschool Brain Exercises (Raise Your Preschooler's IQ by Playing Games)

     Marley and Dylan have been using an online learning program called La La Logic Preschool Curriculum and be prepared to hear me rave about how great it is in this review!  We La La LOVE this program! ;)

     La La Logic has created fun games and activities to help children develop their critical thinking skills.  But in addition to games and activities, the program includes an easy to follow schedule which takes the form of a substantial daily curriculum.  

     This online program is designed for ages 3-6, which worked out perfectly for my girls (ages 2.5 and 5).  I opened up an account for each of them.  You can have accounts for up to 5 children.  Each of my girls were able to choose their own little character icon.  Marley is the Elephant and Dylan is the Bumble Bee.  The program provides 100 weeks of lesson plans and over 500 online games.  The curriculum includes three distinct learning methods: 

     1) Brain Challenges

     2) Worksheets

     3) Extension Activities  

     My 5 year old, Marley really enjoyed the online brain challenges.  She would ask to do higher levels and more games. And Dylan (my 2 year old) struggled a bit with clicking the mouse but the practice has been great for her.  This program has helped her improve her computer skills by leaps and bounds.  The brain challenge portion became easy for me.  I just started the games and both of my girls were able to click right through the games and enjoy them without much help from me.  The brain challenges are very cute and have a variety of games, helpful for visual and audio learning.  The colors, shapes, and characters are very appealing for preschool aged children. 

     I think Marley liked the worksheet portion the best, because she enjoys hands on learning.  The worksheets require printing so a printer is needed.  The worksheets included visual thinking, categorizing, cutting, and gluing.  This was also very easy to prep for my 5 year old.  I would provide her with the worksheet, a pair of scissors, and a glue stick.  I gave her the instructions and she was excited to get started.  She completed the worksheets quickly and would look forward to another.  She would run up to me with a big smile and show me her completed worksheet.  The sound of "I finished mommy!" is such a sweet sound.  This is one where her critical thinking skills surprised me.  

     I asked her which categories the objects were placed in and I had in my mind that the 3rd column was "animals" but when Marley said "They are pets"  I looked again and I realized she was right!  Pets is a more specific category than animals.  She would have received a better score then me on that question. Haha.

   
     Here is another worksheet where I instructed Marley to match the animals to their shadows.  A fun and easy activity for her to do on her own.  

     My favorite part was participating in the extension activities.  Mainly because this portion included me and I was able to interact with my girls and watch them think and see the look in their eyes when they figured something out.  Those moments are priceless!  One of the activities was to lay out objects.  I asked her to look at them and remember what she saw.  I asked her to run to her room and I mixed up the items.  Her job was to place them in the original order. Then I started taking items away and she would ask where it went.  Marley enjoyed that tricky part.  She would laugh and say "Hey, where did you put it?" She LOVED this activity. We played for 20-30 minutes.

     I also appreciate the section where you can add notes to each week assignment.  I was able to record Marley's progress, and things she needs to work on, and if we should repeat the same week.  This makes it so easy to use this program as a self-paced curriculum.  I believe this is key to a successful education with young children.  Fun, variety, and no pressure.

     This online program is so simple and easy to do with your kids and I feel like it covers so many learning styles and thinking skills that are important, as well as prepping children with test taking skills. These activities help exercise the brain, while the children are having fun and feeling independent.  We used it at least 3 times per week and sometimes we used it every day! All of this for a one-time fee of $29 per household! (Your account never expires.)  Totally worth it!  I highly recommend this program for any preschooler or kindergarten student.  And for moms that would like to homeschool, but need some direction in lesson planning, this online program is super helpful.

Teaching My Preschooler to Play Chess (The Benefits of Chess)

     "You have to have the fighting spirit. You have to force moves and take chances." - Bobby Fischer

     The educational value of chess is unmatched by any other game! Numbers, letters, grids, royal positions, strategy, math, and the list goes on and on.
     My husband and I love chess.  We find joy and beauty in it.  There is something very special about a game that is easy to learn but difficult to master.  There is art in the strategy and respect in the intellect.  It really is an amazing game.
We are excited that Marley has reached an age where we can start teaching her how to play.  And she is very excited to learn, especially since one of her favorite parts from Harry Potter is Wizard's Chess.  Chess flexes so many brain muscles and is a fun game to play once you have it down.

     Some ways chess enhances intelligence:

• Memory - Each time you play, you are getting better at the game; remembering how players react to your moves and so forth.
• Brain exercise - You are using both the logical and creative parts of the brain.
• Strategy - Chess teaches you to know your opponent and plan for proceeding moves.  You improve your problem solving skills.
• Math - You learn to visualize geometric shapes in the moves of pieces and to utilize numbers and grids.
• Concentration - There is focus and meditation involved in chess.
• Confidence & Integrity - The more you play, the more you adjust to being a winner and a loser. You begin to enter into competition with a more mature attitude towards various results. 

     And here is a great link for teaching kids: TEACH KIDS TO PLAY CHESS.
     This is the chess set we have.  Inexpensive, portable, and magnetic!  We love it.
   
     The first step (after getting a chess board, of course) in teaching a young child how to play is for them to learn the names of the pieces.
     The second step is to show them how to set up the board.
Here is a helpful image for Chess setup.

     The third step is to allow them to observe an actual game while indicating the BASIC RULES.  My husband and I played a game while Marley watched.  Every once in a while, I would say "Watch this Marley.  I'm going to move my Bishop to this spot, but watch what happens next." And then my husband would take my Bishop.  Marley made a sad face and said, "Hey! Why are you taking Mommy's pieces?  That's not nice Daddy."  It was pretty funny!  But we explained to her that it was part of the game and that I am not upset when he takes my pieces.  A little lesson on being a good sport.
     The final step is practice, practice, practice.  After our game was finished, Marley was excited to play a game.  She does not know how to play yet, so I would remind her of her options in moving pieces.  Her favorite piece was the Queen, because "The Queen can move anywhere she wants."  Haha.  Sort of. She made lots of errors and I set up the game so that she won, but I won't let her win the next one. ;)  Then I let Marley play chess with her sister, without any reminders or instruction.  That was quite an interesting game. Hahaha.

     We will continue to play and practice together.  The key is to make sure it is fun while educating.
     Marley had a great time and asked if we could play chess every day. The request made me happy, but probably not

every day. ;)

Alphabet Song Game by The Critical Thinking Co. {Review}

     I had the opportunity to try out The Alphabet Song Game downoad available through The Critical Thinking Co.  This particular game is appropriate for toddlers through First Grade aged children.  Since my daughters are 2 and 4, this educational game was a perfect addition to our daily homeschooling activities.  I was very happy to try it out.  The game is only available to use on a Windows application.  I wish it was available for Mac, because our family prefers it, but we were able to use the game on our laptop which is compatible with either Mac or Windows.  This was nice for my kids, due to the portability of the laptop.  They were able to play the game anywhere.  I liked that The Critical Thinking Company emailed me my receipt and a link to download the game.  It made it very easy for me to install.
     CONTENT
     The game is a method of teaching young kids the chronological order of the alphabet.  I realized that it had been a while since we sang the ABCs.  Even though Marley can identify all the letters, she definitely needed to review the order of the alphabet.  This game was able to give her practice on both skills!  The idea is that the kids hear a letter and determine the letter that comes after.  The game uses the song to help.  I also liked that the game gave my daughter practice on using a mouse.  It goes further levels into lower case letters and random letters for more advanced alphabet exercises.  I like games that advance levels like that; it made me want to play too. Haha!

     OUR EXPERIENCE
     When I first set this game up for Marley, she sat in front of the screen where a voice instructed her to click the green arrow to play.  She got started right away on her own.  I love it when educational games allow the kids to operate the game by themselves.  The independence really helps my children to take control of their progress.  That's a plus!  After she got the hang of how the game was played, she played it several times.  Before I could even try to engage my toddler, I found her walking up to the laptop and she was focused on watching her older sister play.  I think the song is appealing to little ones which helps with involving children of different ages at once.  Again, big plus!
     Every day Marley was able to attempt a level higher.  If she didn't quite master that level, I would have her do that level again the next day.  The game allowed for flexibility in progress.  Self paced education is invaluable when it comes to homeschooling.
     I found her progressing quickly in knowing the alphabet very well.  My toddler, Dylan, was also wanting to attempt the game herself.  I definitely think it helped to see her older sister play the game, because Dylan is always trying to copy Marley.  It was fun to watch her learn how to work a mouse and click on the letters.  So not only was Dylan working on her alphabet and letter recognition, but she was also developing those fine motor skills and computer knowledge!

     OVERALL
     I loved this game!  Back to the basics.  The software is simple and appealing to the eyes and ears.  I felt it didn't over complicate the learning goals.  The consistency of the levels and progression also made it easy for my kids to play the game with confidence.  I highly recommend this game for toddlers and preschoolers...or anyone trying to master the alphabet.

Summer Preschool: Letter & Sight Word Matching Game

     When I first officially started homeschooling Marley, I made some Disney alphabet flashcards which have come in handy and we have used them often. I just downloaded the letters, and printed them out on regular paper and then took them to get laminated.  Marley loves them because she is a big Disney fan, as am I.

     Today I wanted to do a letter/sight word review.  I printed out about 20 basic sight words and taped them to note cards.  I laid out the Disney alphabet and handed her the stack of cards.  I instructed her to match the first letter of each word with the appropriate Disney letter.  We went over letter identification and reviewed some sight words.  She has her letters down, but is still learning to identify sight words.  It was nice to assess where her progress has brought her.  She had lots of fun (as you can see in the photo below) and once she got the hang of it, she played the game several times, attempting to go faster each time.  She was very proud to complete the activity by herself.

     After the game, I challenged Marley to write the sight words on her chalkboard.  She chose only a few cards and copied the words as best she could.  After writing those words and saying them out loud, she had definitely memorized those sight words more than the others.  Looks like this will be an exercise we practice regularly with more words. ;)