Free Sight-Word Apps

 I was very weary to let my daughter begin to play games on the iPhone and iPad.  The idea of my daughter playing games at a restaurant table instead of holding a conversation with us made me cringe.  I am not criticizing the parents that allow it, it's just not for my family.  So, I have simply kept the iPad out of public places.  For the most part, it stays home.  Only on a rare occasion does she play electronic games in the car.  What I have began to use the iPad for is homeschooling.  I am not teaching on the iPad, yet.  But, I do use the games to reinforce what we have already learned.  We have tried many sight-word games, but only a few have not been removed from the device. It seems like a lot of games either do not have the educational value I like or do not keep the princess entertained.  There are only three free sight word apps that have remained on our iPad.  These are all apps I like enough to buy the pay version of it when we need the next level. 

Our favorites:

 Sight Word I by 22 learn

    The first feature I look for in sight-word games is the ability to customize a word list.  I find that this app has the easiest lists to customize. Parents are able to select the word that will be seen in the games and the words that are not.  This is very helpful for us, since we add words weekly.   I have not been able to find a way to add new words, but their lists include any words we have needed.  I find the lists suitable for their intended ages. What I like about their customizable lists, is that it is very easy to visually see what words are selected for use and what is not.  That way, on Wednesday when I need to add more words, I can do so very quickly.
    The free version of this app goes over a list of words intended for preschool- age children and includes two games.  The first game is called "Word Machine."  In this game, a fun looking machine holds up three words and says one of them.  The child then selects the correct word.  The second game is "Gears."  It is the one that is pictured in the Apps icon.  The main portion of the screen is covered by blue buttons while the bottom of the screen has gears that have words written over them.  When the child taps on one of the blue buttons, a word is said out loud.  When a child presses a blue button, a word is read.  The child then selects the corresponding word and drags it onto the button.  I appreciate how this game has more words to choose from than  "word machine," providing more of a challenge.
    Again, this is a fantastic app.  If your child is ready for a more advanced set of words, I do recommend checking into the full version.  I plan to buy it as soon as we complete the preschool list.

  Photo Touch- Sight Words by grasshopper apps

    In this free game, squares are displayed with a word on each one.  Children select the word that is said.  The reason I chose to include this game on the list and the reason it is still on my ipad is found within the game setting.  If you want customization, this game has it!  It gives the options of choosing the minimum and maximum number of words that are selected at once.  If your child is still getting used to the idea of recognizing sight words, you can select "display hint."  The game will then show the child the written word at the top of the screen and the child simply selects the match.  this "display hint" option also allows the parent to turn this app into a silent game if necessary.  Turn "display hint" on and the sound off and the child can now play quietly.  The word lists are also easily customizable.  One of the more unique options within this app is that you can replace the voice that says the word with your own voice or your child's.

   Little Speller by grasshopper apps

    This app takes reading sight words to the next level: spelling them.  There is little in the means of color and fun pictures in this free app, but it looks like the other versions of this game have color pictures.  It would be difficult to provide pictures for the words "the" and "and."  The other versions of the game cover different categories like names of animals which would be more appropriate for corresponding pictures.  Again, Grasshopper Apps did an amazing job when they created the options. They are all fairly similar to  the Photo Touch Sight Word app.  How the game Works, is a word is said and the child arranges the provided letters in the correct order.  Based off of the options you select, the child can visually or orally be told the order of the letters.  Or, of course, you can choose for the game to not provide any hints. 

Should Children Learn Sight-Words? : My View On " Education Has Been Battered By Bad Faith"

                                                                                                                 
 I enjoy looking through news articles online that deal with homeschooling or an educational subject and choosing one to write on each week.  It keeps me up to speed on everything.  This week, I wanted to find something on the current topic, sight-words.  Most informative works I read speak very highly upon teaching young children to recognize sight-words.  This article, however, did not.  The article, written by Bruce Deitrick Price is entitled Education Has Been Battered by Bad Faith.  It is very well written and I do agree with the main point of the article.  Price says that Teachers often begin teaching in good faith. They believe in the teaching methods that they have been taught and therefor use those methods to teach their students.  Later on, however, many teachers continue to use the same methods after finding out that they are not productive.  I agree with this, I do.  I think that there are teachers who adapt their lessons appropriately to truly speak to the heart of a child so that they can properly retain the information.  However, I do not think that is every teacher and Price does bring up a good point.  Where I disagree with him, is in his one and only example, teaching sight-words. 
    Price says "These professors know that their methods hurt children. They know that slowly memorizing hundreds of sight-words is a horribly difficult task, which typically leads nowhere." Now, children sitting with a stack of flashcards sounds like an absolutely awful idea!  If that is how sight words are being taught, yes, there is a huge problem.  The problem there is in teaching styles, not with teaching sight words alone. Learning sight words does not have to be difficult.  And this just happens to be a great day for my daughter to prove my point.  Today was Word Chain Wednesday.  We put together a puzzle to get her brain working first thing in the morning and also as a quick refresher.  The princess paid extra attention to the word that she has trouble with. I was very impressed by this.  She chose the word before we even started, asked me what it was, and put it back in the pile with the other pieces.  It was very obvious she was storing that information into that little head of hers.  After completing the puzzle, we got out the links with words on them.  Within a few minutes, all ten words were added to her chain. She received these words last week and within one week she could recognize them anywhere.  Once she decides she's going to remember something, it takes seconds.  You can see it in her eyes when she's processing information. The brain of a four year old is simply amazing! 
   I obviously did not choose to write about this article simply because Price thinks sight words are difficult.  It was something else he said.  He was talking about the book "Why Johnny can't read,"  written in 1955 by Rudolf Flesch.  Price says "It explains why we had an illiteracy problem (sight-words) and what to do about it (bring back phonics),"  Now, I can't write on "Why Johnny Can't Read" because I have not read it.  I will add it to my reading list.  As for Price, his views are very clear.  Do you remember when I said that the Princess took a closer look at the word she had difficulty with.  The word she struggled with was "one."  Yes, phonics is important.  We can not ban phonics from reading education.  I can not think of a possible way to memorize the entire English dictionary.  It is not happening!  Every once in a while, I'll read a book and come across a word I do not know, with phonics and reasoning I can usually come up with both how to say it (or a relative guess) along with the definition.  However, that word "one."  The princess had a hard time with this word because when she could not remember it, she begin to rely on phonics.  That is perfectly fine.  I never discourage her from sounding out a word.  In fact, I am very proud of her when she successfully sounds a word out phonetically.  But with the word "one" I have to stop her because she gets further and further away from being able to determine what that little three letter word is.  She would not be able to read the word one without memorizing it.
    The fact that not every word can be phonetically sounded out is not even the greatest problem with removing sight-words from the process of teaching a child to read.  Children need to be able to retain information.  Fluency is the most important factor when reading.  What is the point in reading for pleasure or education if the reader does not know what he is reading!  I am going to travel back about six years. When I was helping my nephew learn to read, every day was a struggle. He would come home from kindergarten with books to read and we would phonetically sound out every word! This was too much! Fluency was out of the question.. There was no way he was retaining anything he was reading. In fact, the way we were reading, I am not sure I retained any of the reading. It was all about reading the individual words, not the story being told. 
   We do not need to get rid of phonics, nor should we.  However, I believe the same goes for sight- words.    Besides.. the most fun we currently have in our lessons is when the princess is practicing sight words.  I would miss all our games if we took it out of our homeschooling lesson plans!  Playing with the princess is a very justifiable excuse to put off folding clothes or washing dishes to play with toy cars and puzzles; We all know the importance of bonding and playing with your child.  But, playing and bonding while teaching the princess to read is an even better excuse to wait a few more minutes before getting back to those pesky chores! With all seriousness, though, I truly believe that sight words are an important part of the learning to read process. 

Everybody has their opinion, now you know mine.    What do you think?

 

Sight word parking lot

                                                            
   I am currently excited about collecting toilet paper rolls!  I know, your thinking "this girl sure does get excited about strange things."  I believe my About Me page says that I am excited about all things dealing with home schooling. That includes library cards and sometimes even toilet paper rolls!  As you already know, my inspiration often comes from other bloggers.  This time I have found my inspiration on two different blogs. 
   A few weeks ago I made a sight word Parking lot from Juggling with kids.  It is a very clever idea. I wish I could explain it, but its so simple I cant explain it without giving it away.  This blogger came up with the idea, so she deserves your visit.  Please take this moment to check it out. 
OK, did you see it?  I told you it was clever. Mashaila enjoys driving the cars from one word to another.  We still use it occasionally.  But, I would like to take this game to the next level.  I mean that both figuratively and literally!  I found this amazing two story parking lot design made out of two cereal boxes!  Unfortunately, I cant get the link to work.  It was posted on pintrest as coming from www.familyfun.go.com.  Maybe, you will have better luck.  As soon as I can collect four toilet paper rolls, I will build something similar and transform our parking lot into something extraordinary.  Pictures and full directions will be provided right away!   

Sight Word Puzzles

                                                                                                          
The sight word activity I am sharing with you today is one that I think helps the princess more than the others.  She was struggling with this weeks words so I took a trip to the dollar store, bought a puzzle, and about half an hour later the Princess could recognize almost all of the words.  It was simple. I wrote a word on each piece and then on the corresponding shape on the puzzle board. The princess was excited to see her words on the puzzle and several times while working on the puzzle she would repeat "I like puzzles" and "I like playing puzzles with you."  Those words are the sound of success!
     With the help of pintrest, I have been able to discover well written and creative blogs that are packed with ideas and inspiration.  This particular idea I found at "The places we will go."  It is a wonderful blog written by a second grade teacher, and is yet another I recommend checking out.

Sight Word Stomp

                                                                 
 Both the Dolch and Fry sight word lists are helpful places to start when familiarizing your child with high frequency words.  But, what do you do with these words?  Flash cards can rapidly become tiresome on their own.   To keep learning fun, I constantly finding new sight word games to play with the princess.  I Intend to share our favorite sight word games with you through out the week. The first one of our collection is based off of a game called "Sight Word Smash"

Sight Word Stomp

    This Sight Word Smash game from I can teach my child became a game that was more suited to be called "Sight word Stomp" when the princess and I played.  In the original directions, you make baked cotton balls (a link for the directions are provided at "I can teach my child").  Then, you write the words on the cotton balls and smash them with a hammer or your hands).  We tried this, but it was a little difficult and not so much fun for the princess.  So.. we moved outside!  The princess and I randomly laid the Cotton balls  out on the deck.  Then, she started to stomp on each word after she read it.  But.. yet again, we needed to improvise. The princess kept running away!  She must have had a little more energy built up that day, but that happens with kids. So, we found a way she could still practice reading sight words and also expel some of that excessive energy.  I had her run around the area where the cotton balls were three times.  Then she stopped, found a word, read it, and "STOMP, STOMP, STOMP" she shouted every time as she crushed the word.  Then she would run around again.  And so the game continued until every word was smashed.  She even had us collect the smashed cotton balls for the king to see when he got home!
   
    As a side note.. I still recommend the original directions. It didn't work for us, but I can think of several of the princess' friends who would probably love to take a hammer to an object.  Actually, on a different day, I think the princess would have enjoyed it too.  It just happened to be one of those extremely active days in our house.  "I can teach my child" is very interesting and packed with ideas.  I recommend looking there for the official directions on "Sight Word Smash," but  also look around the site while you are there.  It's one of my favorites. 

Responsibilities of a Preschooler

    The little princess has decided she wants her ears pierced.  I wasn't surprised, she likes being "fancy" and is fascinated by jewelry. This was bound to happen, but I hadn't really decided when an appropriate time to let her get her ears pierced would be.  The only thing I had decided was to wait until it was something she wanted.  My parents told me I could get my ears pierced when I was eight.  My ears later got infected and as a result my sister didn't get her ears pierced until she was ten.  I no longer had a lot of time to think this over though, the question was before me "May I get my ears pierced."  Most questions like this I have a magic time for she can chew bubble gum when she is five and she can walk a dog when she is strong enough to hold the leash.  With this, ages started going through my head in a little check list.. 5? 8? 10? 16?!  When is she old enough.  But what I realized is I didn't know because I didn't know when she could handle that kind of responsibility.  She is much more responsible than I was at her age.  What I decided to tell her was that she could get her ears pierced when she was responsible enough, so she would have to show me that she was responsible enough to take care of both her earrings and her ears.  We talked about the piercing process and how it is painful to make sure it was something she was truly interested in.  Then, we discussed the care that piercings need, and how she can show me that she is able handle this kind of responsibility.  She is excited about proving to me how responsible she can be.  I am sure this translates to a lot of blogs on different ways I attempt to teach the princess responsibility!  Because of this, I thought I would take this opportunity to go over what her responsibilities already are.
    When I am cleaning in the kitchen, I do not want to have to wonder what the princess is up to or have to tell her that I am too busy to play.  Truth is, I'm never too busy for my baby girl- or I try to set up life so that I am not.  Of course that is a learning process and something I  learn a little more about every day.  When the princess was very little, I kept her play kitchen in the family kitchen.  This kept her away from hot pots and sharp knives.  As she got older, she knew not to touch or play around these items, but this also meant she was ready for a little responsibility in the Kitchen.  Now, when I am putting dishes away, the princess' "job" is to empty all the silverware (after I take the sharp knives out).  She does this easily and quickly now, so I will be looking into more things she can help out with in the dining room and kitchen. 
    We are still working on the priness cleaning up after herself.  This is probably the main area I will be looking to see a bit more progress in.  As far as cleaning up toys goes, we used to play "whistle while you work" before we transistion into a new activity. This is something we kinda grew out of. The clean up games aren't really necessary anymore.  She picks up without any arguments, and most of the time without having to be asked twice, but not all of the time. She does usually have to be asked, though.  In the mornings, she makes her bed.  Well, I'll be very honest here, she is SUPPOSED to make her bed in the mornings.  When we first started this, we would make the bed together. Then, I found that she started making her bed on her own and did a very good job.  This meant, to me, that she no longer needed my help.  This went decently at the beginning, but has led to her playing up in her room, until I go to check on her, instead of her making her bed.  I am now having to decide if this is something I find important enough to push, or if I think it is better for me to start assisting her.  I would normally think at four she could use some help, but I try to let her skills progress in a natural matter and we just ended up here, with her making her bed.   The princess is also responsible for cleaning the bathroom sink after she brushes her teeth.  I keep a spray bottle at the sink filled with water and a tad of vinegar.  Next to it, I keep a little rag with her name printed on it.  The rag and bottle got her excited about this new responsibility when I first introduced it to her, and still seams to do pretty well.  Though, she does still need to be reminded.  Again, this is where she has  room for progress in an area where she is probably also ready for it. 
    Ear piercing calls for a lot of responsibility, but it specifically requires responsibility in self care.  The princess brushes her own teeth at night, with the King by her side brushing hers at the same time.  She also flosses and rinses with mouth wash.  During  the day, we swap between her brushing her teeth and me assisting.  I use this time to make sure she knows how to properly brush all of the areas around her teeth as well as her teeth. She does really well, I just feel like we might as well perfect it, and she appreciates the help.  I also talk her through washing her own hair and applying soap by herself when she takes a bath.  She has not yet reached for the shampoo and soap without instruction, but she will when she's ready.     Listening and being able to follow directions is the most important part of self care at this age, to me.
    I am sure there will be many more posts about responsibility and life skills.  This has always been very important to me, but now that it is also important to the princess I should have some great things to share in the future!  If you have any ideas or things that you use in your house, please take advantage of the comments section below.  I would love some suggestions and tips on how to make this fun and exciting. 
   
   

A Homeschooling Success Story

    I love inspiring home-school stories.  Mostly, the stories are about a home-school student's success with further education or careers.  However, what I came across this time, was an article about success within a homeschooling community, and it is not even based on academics.  The article is entitled "Acadiana Home School Football Team Wins State Championship."  I did not even know there was such a thing as home school football teams! What a fantastic idea.  When I was in high school, students who wanted to play sports enrolled in just enough classes to meet the qualifications to participate in athletics.  The students mentioned in this article are apart of a team, win state championships, and still get the benefits of a full homeschooling education.  I love it! Go Homeschooling! 

Mommy Daughter Walks

    It has been extremely pleasant here, in the New England area. The grass is green instead of covered in a white blanket of snow.  The sun is shining bright, but not so warm that people are walking around drenched in sweat.  This weather is perfect for walking, an activity the princess and I delight in.  How could we not enjoy the fresh air and wide open space, but our walks offer us much more than that.
    In a previous post, I explained how I taught the princess how to identify letters and numbers while walking around the neighborhood.  We have increased the amount of structure in our "schooling" since then, but I still find that the princess learns more on these walks then any activities we do in the house.  Earlier this year,  the princess and I went for a walk earlier in the morning.  We went quite a distance and before we could make it home the sun came out in full force.  The poor little princess started to look like she recently showered!  I told her we needed to stop by our local store to get some water.  That then led to a conversation about sweat, what it is, why it's beneficial, and why it's important drink a surplus of water when we are going to be hot or exercise.  Now, what other time would we possibly have had that conversation?  Sweat production is not in the common corp curriculum for preschool or kindergarten that I am aware of.  There is much more that we learned by chance on these walks.  One day she came back from a walk with three words added to her vocabulary, one of the words be "pedestrian."  Now again, when else would this word come up in conversation.  I am sure there are a few times. But there are several ways to practice this word while on a walk.  In fact, on our way home the princess surprised me by saying "mommy, i don't want to be a pedestrian anymore I would rather ride in the van."  I just had to laugh, it was both humorous and impressive.  We also frequently discuss earth science subject like seasons, weather, and types of trees and plants.  The learning opportunities that arise on a walk are endless!
    Of course, I love how much I can teach the princess on these walks, but it is actually not my favorite part.  When we walk in the mall, my hand often has a tight grasp on her.  But, when we walk on a sidewalk in an area where I feel comfortable, the princess is able to walk beside me without holding my hand.  What is great about this?  She never goes long before putting her hand in mine!  The first time she went for my hand on these walks, the love I felt with that small gesture was absolutely gratifying.  When I start to reach for her hand, out of mere habit rather than her safety, I resist so that I can experience that feeling over and over again!  As we walk, hand and hand, we discuss things that she would like to learn and things I already plan to teach her.  It is really the only time we discuss our future academic plans.  When we are in the house, we are either busy working and playing or distracted by electronics.  Our walks are a perfect place for these discussions along with discussions over several other topics.  It is such a great way to strengthen the bond between parent and child.
    This warm weather will not last forever.  The grass will soon be crunchy and covered in frost. When the sun appears, its reflection on the snow will be blinding. We will no longer be comfortable outside, wishing we didn't have to go in.  But, while this weather is still enjoyable, we will be outside, learning, playing and loving! 

Vroom Vroom.. Riding a Bicycle

    I am not a fan of unnecessary middle steps.  Baby steps are often needed, allowing a child to gradually learn a skill.  However, when I start teaching the princess something new, I try to think about every step separately and question it's importance.  Sometimes these middle steps are very important and other times I can leave them out of the lesson. When a step doesn't seam necessary, I question the pros and cons of teaching that way. When potty training, we didn't use pull ups (except for sleeping hours) and when we taught the princess to ride a bike I was completely against the idea of using training wheels. 
    When The princess turned four, we bought her a bike.  This was her first bike after a tricycle but when she jumped on her bike she was riding a little differently than the other kids in the neighborhood.  Why?  Her feet were not on peddles.  In fact, there were not any peddles!  You may have heard of this technique, but from my experience, most have not.  I had not heard of it prior to this year.  Before we bought her bike, I had concerns about the gravel road we lived on.  Training wheels did not seam like they would work well on the gravel or be very safe.  Then, I remembered seeing kids fall off their bikes as they tried to turn corners too fast while relying on the training wheels. I was also afraid that the training wheels would serve as a crutch. She was a fearless three year old, I was afraid that fear would set in as she got older and would be too used to the training wheels to easily adapt to not having them later on.   I wondered if she needed the training wheels at all.  How old does a child need to be before riding without training wheels?  Could they just move straight from a tricycle to a bike without training wheels?  I had never heard of anybody giving their child her first bike without training wheels, but was it possible?  I got on the Internet, went from website to website, searching for answers. What I found out was not only was it possible, but for a technique that I had never heard of, there sure was a lot on the Internet about it.  I didn't use one persons advice, but fifty, because everybody said the same thing.
    So how did we do it? How did we teach her to ride without ever using training wheels? We bought an extra small bike.  She would need to  able to put his or her feet flat on the ground.  If you are considering using this approach  you are probably seeing dollar signs  Buying an extra small bike means you will have to be buying a new bike in the near future.  This could get expensive but if you are a thrifty shopper you can bring down the price significantly.  My advice is to check thrift shops or use a hand-me-down.  You could probably get by with borrowing a bike from a friend  until your child has learned to ride and you can buy a larger bike.  You will probably be able to return the bike to its owner in a few weeks!  
    When we gave her the bike, we took off the training wheels and the peddles.  Since the princess knew how to ride a tricycle, her problem with a big bike was not going to be with peddling but with balance.  We let the princess ride around for a few weeks using her feet to move the bike.  She was getting used to balancing the bike.  When she was increasing speed and then picking her feet up without falling over, I knew she was ready to ride!  Putting everything together was a bit tricky for her.  But, within an hour, our princess was riding all by herself.  We did have to remember that she just turned four.  We couldn't give her instructions the same way we would a school-age child.  If you are using this method, your child is probably three or four years old.  Teach your child the same way you teach anything else.  We used sound effects, kind voices, and a lot of excitement.  One thing we did to make learning to ride a bike less stressful was make motorcycle sounds as she rode.  My parents got a good laugh from the video I sent them of her riding.  The king was hunched over, running next to the princess, singing "Vroom Vroom, Vroom Vroom" over and over.  It may have looked silly but it was successful! 
    I only wished I knew about the method earlier.  I really didn't know it could be that easy!  This was a stress-free approach to teaching a child to ride a bike.  Now the Princess can cruise over gravel roads and grass on her "big kid" bike!

My favorite Homeschooling resource

    I firmly believe a child can be taught in the simplest environment with the simplest tools at their disposal.  If a mother and child were snowed in for a week with no toys or even paper and pencil, I think the child would still learn a thing or two- probably more.  I can not even tell you how much the princess has learned in the back seat of a car.  That being said, we do not spend every moment in a vehicle or snowed-in and I am very thankful for our valuable resources.  My favorite homeschooling tool is my library card.  I know that a library card sounds like it would constitute as one of the "simplest tools," but that is not the case.  A smile has crept up my face just now, thinking of how much of a dork I must sound like.  Homeschooling has made me excited about the idea of learning, helping my daughter learn, and the fun and inspiring things that help us learn.  So.. On goes the thick glasses, and up go the Urkel pants, because this post is all about my library card!
    The reason for my sudden excitement in my library card is that I have been out of town for a month and unable to go to the library, yet I've used my library card almost every day!  I enjoy our little outings to the local library, and nothing can replace that experience or turning the pages of a traditional book, but I am also thrilled by being able to sit down with a new book without ever having to change out of my pajamas or sweat pants (you know, those sweats that I have pulled up to my waist as I write this). 
    Several Maryland libraries participate in a program called Maryland's Digital eLibrary Consortium.  This is a library in itself, powered by overdrive, with several audio and digital books available.  I send my books to my Kindle, which is how I prefer to read my books anyway.   For the princess, I have downloaded a kindle app onto my ipad. I send all the picture books there instead of to my kindle that has a small black and white screen.  Now, I have to say, I do like paper more than digital formats when it comes to children's books.  I like holding one side of the book as the princess holds the other side and carefully watches my finger stroll on a trail from word to word on the page.  I feel like we bond less over a digital print, but it works well for the times that I can not make a trip to the library.  Digital prints are also fine to read in addition to paper books since it does not count against the limit of books I can check out at the library.  The audio books are what I really enjoy borrowing from the digital library.  There is a great selection of audio books available, including our favorite: the Fancy Nancy series.  The Princess loves listening to these audio stories and has most of them memorized.  The audio books do not take place of me reading to her but it is something to do when a break is necessary. 
    My latest discovery is Scholastic BookFlix.  This is yet another website that I have access to by entering the number on my library card.  I have only used this resource a few times, but there will be many more visits to this website in our future!  Here, Scholastic pairs books together by subject.  In each pair, there is one animated story book and one picture ebook.  We read and watched the books about thanksgiving when we were studying the first thanksgiving.  The princess really enjoyed it.
    I would never replace the traditional paper books in our home with a different format, but it is nice to have a variety of book formats available.  Like I said, its also nice to be able to check out books while on vacation or during those days when I simply do not feel like leaving the house.  I definitely recommend visiting your local library, signing up for a library card if you do not already have one, and look into what your library has to offer you and your family.