Making learning math facts fun!

While I'm still working with Red's teacher to figure out where to place her in math, I'm also working on getting math facts solid in her head without making her miserable.  She has a weekly math test on Friday and is supposed to be doing one fact worksheet per day at home to help with review.


I remember the afternoons I spent as a kid with my parents drilling flashcards over and over and over.  While I believe there is a place for memorization in math study, I'm hoping to find a better way.  We've been supplementing her math from school with Singapore 1A Standards, which so far has worked out swimmingly.  We do 1-3 pages  from the workbook with me using the HIG (Home Instructor's Guide) to help her work out anything that she doesn't understand.  We try to do it daily, but often don't get to it depending on her homework load that day.  It usually takes about 10 minutes to do.  Red is also a big fan of "gum".

No, it's not real gum but that's what she calls it.  They are colored tiles that I got in the Rightstart manipulative set I purchased a couple years ago.  They are excellent for illustrating word problems (e.g. There are ten green birds on the branch.  Two fly away.  How many birds are left?) or helping show things like multiplication.  We had ten rows of sets of three tiles to help her with her math homework about the 3 times table a few evenings ago.  And when you're done doing your math stuff, you can make fun designs with them on the floor or the table.  Out of all the manipulatives we own, we use these most often.


Another game that Red seems to enjoy is tossing a ball while saying math facts.  For example, I'll say, "Three times two is?" and throw her the ball.  When she catches it, she says, "Six!"  Red then comes up with her own problem and says it and throws it back to me so I can answer.  Tom Thumb even likes to get in on the action.  A couple of days ago we were playing and whenever we'd throw it to him he'd shout out a crazy answer, like three times one equals eleven.  We all had a good laugh.  Then, we'd go around the circle throwing it and saying, "Three times one equals three!" a few times before switching back to doing different problems each time.


After working on the three times table so hard, it turns out that Red's math test is on subtraction anyway!  We had a bit of a communication problem with her teacher.  Oh well.  For the next few years, math memorization is going to be a way of life so I'd love to find more ways to make it enjoyable.  


How do you make learning math facts fun at your house?

The wedding is OVER!!!!

Vel and Christy (wearing the veil I made her!)

My little sister is finally married!  Despite the groom apparently gritting his teeth in this shot (I think they were just sick to death of photos at this point), a good time was had by all.  On my end, I had such a busy weekend I still feel like I could take a nap for a week!

It all began when the Cobbler got home from Europe on Thursday afternoon.  He had a productive trip and a good flight, but it took us an hour to collect him at the airport because of a Serendipity moment.  Just like in that movie, we missed each other.  As Tom Thumb and I walked into the international arrivals area, The Cobbler walked to the curb.  He called me repeatedly on my cell, but I didn't have service inside the terminal.  After 20 minutes of that nonsense, we finally had the same idea---he came back in as I was going out.  Luckily, we sort of saw each other through the revolving doors as it happened and finally connected.

We went from there to the fast food drive thru, then to pick up Red at her friend's house, and on to the first rehearsal at the hall.  That one was only for the bride, groom, and the kids because no one else was in town to practice yet.  They just wanted the kids to get a feel for the place since we wouldn't be able to see the venue the night before because the wedding was on a Sunday.  Four of our eight house guests moved in that night.  The other four arrived the next day.

On Friday, my sister Andrea and I started working on the cake.  My mother had baked all the tiers, but we had to level them, stack them, and do all the decorating.  I spent three hours making butter cream frosting and then we started the work.  I did all the decorating that covered most of the cake (i.e. the scallops, lace looking frosting inside the scallops, etc.) while Andrea focused on making dozens of butter cream roses.  Here are some of the shots:

Ultimately, we had about 15 hours of decorating into it.  

Then, we had a debacle with the cake topper.  All along my sister had planned to use a Lladro bride and groom figurine that belongs to my parents as the cake topper.  At the last minute, we realized that it was too tall.  The only solutions were to either take off the top tier of the cake or get something else.  Here's what they ended up with:

 The groom is very into sci fi and Star Trek so here we have Mr. Spock (he's a Hallmark ornament.  I ripped the communicator out of his hands) presenting a La La Loopsy doll (meant to represent my sister since she's an elementary school teacher) with his heart.  Thank goodness for hot glue.  Everyone thought it was very cute and very them.  And here's the cake at the hall---

Andrea and her husband transported it in their Mountaineer.  She told me there was a lot of screaming involved on the drive over.  I guess their marriage can take it after seven years.

On Saturday, my sisters and parents went to the farmers' market to get the flowers while I finished up the cake.  Hopefully, I'll get some decent photos of those eventually.  I was so busy all the time that I barely took any photos!  We carried some amazing orange and blackish red dahlias with berries.  We put the bouquets together on Sunday morning.The real rehearsal dinner was at my house on Saturday night, complete with 40 people that my parents invited.  Luckily, my mom made most of the food, but it was still crazy.  Here's a few photos from that night---

The bride and most of the bridesmaids

 The groom and the groomsmen (plus the bridesmaid missing from our above shot)

Tom Thumb couldn't take it anymore and fell asleep in the Cobbler's lap.

 Christy and her ribbon bouquet from the shower 

 The madness continued on Sunday with the making of the bouquets, the transportation of all the stuff to the hall, the decorating of the hall, and just getting ready in general.  I did Red and her cousin Scarlett's hair, my sister Lisa's hair and makeup, and my own hair.  Here are the little girls ready to rock and roll.  I thought they looked darling!

 The ring bearers and flower girls

The flower girls goofing off before the ceremony

The ceremony was a Macedonian Orthodox ceremony (the groom is from Macedonia).  We stood for the whole thing, and it was an hour and five minutes long.  Everything had to be done in threes --- the blessing of the rings, the crowning, and then going around this table in circles while they held some candles and the priest's stole at the same time.  The groom's brother passed out during it (that was exciting.  My cousin said everyone was taking bets about who would drop first up there), but we all survived in the end.  Well, maybe everything excluding our feet survived.  Then it was on to the reception!

 Lots of circle dancing.  I am an expert Macedonian circle dancer now!

 With the exception of the bridal party dances, the CDs with the American music that my sister spent so much time burning didn't work in the Macedonian band's equipment so there was very little American music.  We did dance to Def Leppard's Pour Some Sugar on Me twice. :-).  By the end of the night, we were all toast.  The Cobbler had taken the kids home earlier, but had to come back for me, Andrea, and the gifts because there wasn't enough room for us in the remaining cars.  

And then it was over...  A whole year of work and planning is finally over.  I'm thrilled for my sister and her new husband.  Welcome to the family, Vel!

Book Review: The Kitchen House

After putting it off for quite a while, I finally finished reading The Kitchen House this past week under deadline.  I had to turn it in because someone else was waiting at the library to read it --- the nerve!  ;-)


The Kitchen House takes place in late 1700s and early 1800s at a plantation in Virginia.  The main narrator is an Irish girl named Lavinia who becomes an indentured servant at age 7 to ship captain James Pyke when her parents die during their passage across the Atlantic.  The secondary narrator is Belle, a slave at the Pyke plantation assigned to work in the kitchen house (where all the cooking takes place) and happens to be Captain Pyke's illegitimate daughter who he conceived with one of his slaves.  Lavinia is given to Belle to care for and instruct upon her arrival at the plantation.  Much of the action in the book takes place in or around the kitchen house, thus, the books' title.


The author did an excellent job with the narrative.  The voices were clear and distinct and I really enjoyed how she used dialect to make the characters spring to life on the page.  It was interesting to read in the author interview in the back of the book that she had actually toned the dialects down to make for easier reading.  There are so many surprises and twists in this book that I don't want to give too much away plot wise, but I must admit I did have a moment when I thought--- "Not Snow Flower and the Secret Fan again!!!!"  I keep reading these books where characters keep secrets from each other, lie to one another, and don't communicate.  I know this is how people are (being one of them and all), but oy!  It drives me crazy when you can see that the character is about to go down in flames but they can't because they're too busy hiding their dirty deeds from the other characters.


All that being said, I really really liked this book.  While I didn't connect with Belle very much (I had a hard time with her persistence in hiding a secret from Lavinia that could have saved EVERYONE a ton of trouble), I enjoyed reading Lavinia's narration and adored some of the supporting characters. Mama Mae, an older slave who works at "the big house", was one of my favorites.  And while he made for quite the villain, the author made the Captain Pyke's son Marshall very believable and sympathetic.  I can wholeheartedly recommend that you pick this one up.


On a unrelated note, we're entering the home stretch this week.  The Cobbler returns from Germany on Thursday afternoon (with cheesy souvenirs in tow), and the house guests (all 8 of them) arrive for my sister Christy's wedding that night.  Maybe I should think about cleaning...oh yeah, once I'm done with hemming my bridesmaid dress.  :-)

Preschool Read Aloud of the Week: The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog

Tom Thumb is in love with the Pigeon!  A while back we read Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! and it started a phenomenon.  Thereafter, every time we went to the library we had to "find the Pigeon books!" (imagine that said in a crazy commanding baby man voice).  I can't tell you how many times we've now checked out Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, The Pigeon Wants a Puppy, and The Pigeon Finds A Hot Dog, but there's something about the hot dog one that resonates with Tom Thumb.  Maybe it's because he likes hot dogs.  Maybe he likes the squeaky voice I use for the duckling.  All I know is he loves that Pigeon!  


And here's why I love that Pigeon---

No matter how many ways he asks to drive that bus, I still stand firm. It doesn't work out quite the same way with real children, but I can always practice saying no to the Pigeon. :-)

I'm so jealous!

I was totally fine about the Cobbler going to Europe for work for 10 days.  Well, I was a little nervous about how the kids would be without him for almost two weeks, but I was still okay until I found out he was staying here first for seven days---

and here for four days (notice the rockin' view out the window in the second photo)---

I wish I could have jumped in his suitcase and come along!  

Let's just say there better be some amazing souvenirs come September 29th. ;-)

Teaching the 10 Commandments with Hand Motions

I'm one of three Sunday School teachers at our church.  Because our church is so small, we teach using a "one room schoolhouse" format --- the kids are all in one room being taught the same material regardless of age.  The youngest in the room is Tom Thumb and the oldest is in 5th grade.  This proves to be challenging at times, but most of the time the older children step up to assist the teacher and the younger children.

Over the next couple of months leading up to Advent, we are teaching a segment on the ten commandments.  We'll be covering one commandment per week.  Since I was up to teach on week one, I offered to make a learning aid for the kids.  I made the typical looking tablets and printed out the commandments individually so the kids could tape them up each week.  

The number one thing I wanted to find for week one, however, was a good hand motion mnemonic to help them remember the commandments.  If you search online for "ten commandments hand motions", you will find a million You Tube videos and other links on how to do it.  I liked a lot of what I saw, but my problem was I liked #6 from video A and #4 from video B and #3 from video C and so on.    Not to mention, the motions on some of these videos were completely nonsensical and sometimes inappropriate.  There was even one for commandment #5 where you made a spanking motion on the word "mother" and the pastor mentioned in his teaching that "this may not be politically correct, but..."  What?!?!  In the end, I made up my own instructions for me, the kids, and the other teachers with all the motions that I thought made the most sense and would be easiest for the kids to learn.  

So for your commandment teaching pleasure (ha ha!), I present the Fairy Tale Mama version of the 10 Commandment Hand Motions:

Commandment 1:

You shall have no other gods before Me.

(Hold up one finger, like a big #1)

Commandment 2:

You shall not make any idols to bow down to and worship.

(Hold up your index and middle fingers together and make them “bow” up and down.)

Commandment 3:

You shall not take the name of the LORD in vain.

(Hold three fingers up to your lips, instead of the usual one finger, and say, “SHHH.”)

Commandment 4:

Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy.

(Hold up your index and middle fingers on each hand, joined together like a steeple. Then, rest your cheek on your right hand like you're sleeping.  This is to represent going to church and then using the Sabbath as a day of rest.)

Commandment 5:

Honor your father and mother.

(Have child put 5 fingers of right hand to their temple in a military salute.)

Commandment 6:

You shall not murder.

(Hold up six fingers, pointing one finger like a gun into the palm of the other five.)

Commandment 7:

You shall not commit adultery.

(Hold out your left hand palm up and have your index and your middle finger of your right hand walk on the palm, like a bride and groom walking down the aisle.)

Commandment 8:

You shall not steal.

(Hold up five fingers on your right hand and three on your left.  Have your right hand grab the three fingers on your left.)

Commandment 9:

You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

(Hold up nine fingers. Then, cover your mouth with one hand after the other.  No lying!  God always wants us to tell the truth!)

Commandment 10:

You shall not covet.

(Hold up ten fingers and pretend to “grab” in front on you as if saying, “Gimme! I want it!” )

Is there a special way you have learned to teach the 10 Commandments?  Any related games or crafts you've done? If so, please share!  We have 9 more weeks to go!

Making the veil for my sister's wedding...

I've been gradually working on my little sister Christy's veil for her wedding in October over the last month.  I made the veil itself a few weeks ago using McCalls 3508, which is an old pattern my mom had.  Here's the picture from the pattern envelope of the view that I made (without the ribbon attached to the border.  Christy wanted the edge raw):

She tried it on when she was in town for Labor Day weekend.  She liked it, but asked if I could sew Swarovski crystals all over it in a random pattern.  I searched the web high and low for a good DYI on how to sew Swarovski crystals to tulle properly, and I think I found the best tutorial ever.  If you ever find yourself needing to sew crystals to tulle, this link has everything you need to know.


I started sewing them on last night and I seriously thought I wanted to slit my wrists for agreeing to do it.  I was sitting there in front of the TV watching a Glee rerun while cursing.  Finally, the Cobbler said, "Do you think you might have an easier time doing this in the daylight?"  Always the voice of reason, he was right.  I got about half the crystals sewn on this afternoon during Tom Thumb's nap.  Check it out:

We're making some good progress.  I have about 20 more to sew on and we'll be good to go.  Yay!


On a unrelated note, I think summer is officially over.  Red and Tom Thumb collected the remains of our tomato harvest last night.  Sniff, sniff...