Anyone have a recommendation for a famous quotes board or card game--family style & accessible to K-6 kids? Kind of like 'Who Said this...?'...famous authors, poet, scientists, Bible quotes, mathematicians, philosophers, etc. (but all [or at least most] known to kids.....)

I feel like there is a thread already recommending (commercial) world history flashcard sets but I cannot find it through searching. Would anyone mind linking a colorful set for K-6 age range? Thanks!

Now that summer seems closer than ever I am looking forward to just doing at-home stuff & day trips plus bigger travel. My child specifically asked NOT to do any camps--has anyone's kid done the same? She's a homebody & wants lots of leisure time after being scheduled so much during the academic year. If you stay mostly at home during break, what do you fill your time with? I'm looking forward to having her all to myself (LOL) but we will definitely be active nonetheless-both physically & cognitively.

Thanks. I already read the first link--food for thought!

Can anyone provide a link for research re: benefits of reading books vs. learning with screens? Thanks.

Thanks for posting. I afterschool but consider myself an intentional parent and limit my 3rd grade daughter's screen time. Now that she's 'getting older' I allow for more recreational screen time (but I'm sure it's well below average nonetheless). I have started to use technologies to enhance her education. Things like Brain Pop, Mystery Science, Dance Mat Typing, Podcasts, TedEd Talks, apps, her Chromebook, and even YouTube all now have a spot in her home education. I welcome more resources as I learn about them and evaluate them for their merits and appropriateness. The idea is to expose her to a range of technologies so she's comfortable and well-versed in such things as an adult. Having said that, our family is still heavily dependent on live, interactive and meaningful experiences. We discuss A LOT and analyze tons in an attempt to make meaning of things. We look to real life to provide lessons and experience things hands-on. We are curious about the world around us and can use technology to help us better understand it. I am proud my daughter's (non-living) 'besties' are books and that she considers nature soothing and fascinating. I am also proud she can utilize a growing base of tech tools to go deeper or share her learnings. I would never skew an education so it's all technology-based though. To me, that's an unbalanced picture. Intentional education is inclusive of many things but must be balanced overall.

Wow, thanks so much for all the great responses! We are sure to love these videos alongside the book!

Thanks! I will look into your suggestions. We tried 'Horrible Histories' but she just didn't like them. Pipo & History Teachers may just work though!

I've started SOTW 1 with my 8 yr old & we will go faster and more into depth once summer vacation is here. I have the activity guide and the suggested illustrated encyclopedia (which I LOVE!) and will take out books to extend the topics. However, I have a visual learner and wonder if anyone can recommend videos that go with volume 1. I'd prefer something in YouTube but need them to be accessible (& somewhat short: 5-10 minutes) to an 8 yr old. Any 'channels' or series of interesting videos you can recommend?

Yes, that's a great idea!

Yes, exactly! I try to seize teachable moments when math pops up in real life (i.e., estimating tax or % off, measuring or 1/2ing, etc. during cooking & baking, analyzing music notation). I really like the idea of blending creativity & math as I have quite an artsy child. I bought a book on blending ghe 2 and look on Pinterest for additional ideas since art is definitely not my forte. Thanks for the reminder! PS I plan to search out that V Hart you mentioned--looks interesting!

Thanks for the explanation. This looks great! I have it queued to print today. We do math talks periodically but I like the idea of doing them more frequently & regularly over the summer (or even sooner).

Yes! We have that book! I tried it a couple years ago as a read aloud but she wasn't interested. I'll pull it out again this summer. Same goes for Murderous Maths (didn't like the 'blood & guts' pictures). We shall try again soon!

Thanks for the tips. What's 'sunshine mah'? And what's 'a pod'? I need clarification with those terms.

For those of you with experience with 'Perilous Math', is it accessible to 8 year olds? I like the looks of it on Amazon but it states the target age as middle school.

I'll give thought to what you wrote. I think she's developed a distaste for 'school' math because she was timed daily on her multiplication/division facts. I've posted about this before and it's that anxiety that clouds things. She's more than capable of grade level math, which is not only evident in her grades & teacher reports but also in her at-home behaviors (during games, number talks, etc.). What's oftentimes askew is her self-assessment as a mathematician. So I am forever trying to expand her math experiences. I will give serious thought to all responses.

OK, this question may be too simple but I'm scouting out ways to rekindle my 8 yr old's love of math this sumner (after a harsh 3rd grade in a public school). Is 'living math' simply a way to introduce/discuss/study math through books? If so, we already do that (yippee!). If that's not quite the full pciture, please elaborate. If books are the main focus in living math, how do you extend that learning in daily life (w/o it becoming too workbooky or pencile & paper driven)? Where does the 'living' aspect come in? Thanks!

I've been following this thread and think a couple ideas may work for my kid as well. However, she's in 3rd & so I'm looking for suggestions on how to get elementary children writing more (elaborately & organized) over the summer--in a cross-curricular way. Anyone want to chime in?

Yeah, opera's good stuff. Thanks for the reminder to pull out our good ol' standby (see below). We shall also revisit our correspnding CDs. https://www.amazon.com/Random-House-Book-Opera-Stories/dp/0679893156/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1524523018&sr=1-1&keywords=Random+house+book+of+opera

Thanks for your response and ideas. I will look into the suggestions you made for sure! I did in fact see the writing thread in the afterschool forum and will cosnider the ideas listed but figured my 3rd grader's too small for anything super intense just yet. I have lots of summer 'schooling' plans already & didn't want to add more to the load but rather prefer to incorporate it into what's already on the docket. She's 'on grade level' or even above with the written word. I just feel like she can elaborate more with higher level vocab. (that's already part of her lexicon). Perhaps I'm expecting too much for an 8 yr old, LOL. I DO like her developing outlining, paraphrasing, etc. skills though!

Outsource a tutor or enroll in a German heritage school? Turn all audio-visual (apps, movies, etc.) into German? A language takes commitment & endurance. I know since I'm raising my child with Spanish & French and boy is it LOTS of work. This summer I'm keeping her out of (most) camps just so I can have her immersed in Sp/Fr at home (with the idea that she recovers and extends her fluency). Perhaps the best bang for your buck would be to just start speaking it throughout the day. Real life will provide lots of exposure and context and relieve you of scoping out curricula/lesson plans until you find a path you're comfortable with.

Thanks for the suggestions for younger kids. I will definitely look into them all. We have also read Wilde's fairy tales, which I suppose can count.

Now that you mention short stories, I realize we haven't really hit that with my 3rd grader. Any titles you suggest for elementary?

I afterschool my 3rd grader. This summer we'll focus on Spanish literacy, science, & soxial studies (esp. history). I'd like to also work a bit on writing & I know I can weave it into science & history. However, I'm stuck on how to stretch her writing. I'd like for her to work a bit on mechanics but mostly on better expression--moving from basic sentences to more 'meaty' or 'juicy' ones--in other words writing with more detail. I have looked at IEW's 'All things fun & fascinating' and like some of the skills it teaches. Any other ideas on getting a child to write more clearly and with more detail? It needs to be fun and (hopefully) linked to what I've already got planned (science & social studies). Thanks!

If anyone's got resources for the elementary set, please chime in! I'm always looking to expand my daughter's financial education.