Zoodles

During our block of teaching time, it is easiest for me to have my children do a "rotation." They still get choices, but it helps me ensure that I get the necessary uninterrupted time to introduce new lessons to each of them when they are ready.

One child may be doing silent reading, while another child is choosing art, while I am working with our third child. Or, one may be engaging in practical life activities, while another is doing a subject area lesson (math, language, social studies, science) while I am working with the third child. The main goal is that the other two children are not choosing work that might need my clarification or assistance in any way during the instruction of the other child. Once a week, I will incorporate 30 minutes of computer time for each of them in the rotation.

Over the holiday weekend, a family member was telling me about a new site she had discovered called Zoodles. It is an internet browser designed for children. It seems you can block those pesky ads on the educational game sites,control which sites are available to your children, and limit the time they can spend on the computer (features depend upon whether you choose free package or subscription package). She said that the parent can even set the "parental" controls to ask the browser to suggest certain educational topics in a child's age/ability range.

Here are the details of the free package:

• Help them find Free, Fun, Educational content online
• Filter content to include games appropriate to their age
• Update with new games as they get older
• Keep them safe while playing games online
• Keep your computer safe while they play games

Here is what the subscription package offers:   ($5.95/month  ---- or ----- $39.95/year)

• Promote specific subject
• Track what your child is doing
• Set time limits
• Set violence limits
• Select specific activities (educational games, activities, educational videos, printable content)
• Block content & Ads

They also offer a 14 day free trial... I think I just may try it and see!

Using Technology

I have a mixed opinion about computers in education. In some ways, they can be very handy. You can have a wealth of research resources at your fingertips without having to add an extra room to your home. My children are able to observe real-time events and other amazing things like live pictures of earth, stars, and objects in our solar system. Sometimes it is even fun to practice rote skills such as multiplication facts as a review to keep them fresh in our minds. My negativity to using the computer is when it is used as a replacement for teaching and for it to be thought of as the answer to all learning challenges. When I use it with my kids, I try to make it as easy as possible for them to find the sites that I want them to visit, and highlight the sites that are useful to our research of certain topics. I like to use a free website called Tizmos to bookmark the sites. I will add to/ rotate out sites often. I like the fact that you can see the thumbnails of the websites so my children know exactly where they are going. You can visit my Tizmos here.