Mixing Bowl Academy Live Cooking Class Review

We all like to eat.  Some of us REALLY like to eat.  The problem with all that eating is someone has to cook!  Bop has been fascinated by the process lately, and she even says that she is going to be an 'esteraunt keeper' when she grows up.  She especially wants to learn how to cook by herself, or at least to not be just 'helping' all the time.

So, of course, when Sandie Sanchez from Mixing Bowl Academy offered us the chance to take one of her live online cooking classes, I knew that we had to do it.  I wasn't quite sure what to expect, since I had never done a live class before.  Turns out, it is pretty simple.  All you have to do is click on the link provided and sign in.  You can watch the live class in a video screen, and there is a little chat box on the side which is just great.  She also had the recipe up on the screen for a quick reference.

Bananas...

Our first class was short and sweet- Strawberry smoothies!  Sandie provided us with all the information we needed in the e-mail she sent.  Date and time, ingredient list, and materials.  We made sure to have all of our materials ready before the scheduled time, so we could keep up with her.  It turns out she moves at just the right pace.  She left plenty of time for the kids to cook, but she wasn't too slow either.


Strawberries...

It took us about 20 minutes to make our smoothies, including time to chat and listen to all of her tips.  The kids loved having the chance to make their very own food, they got to do it all.  I even let them run the blender.  (Of course, I handled putting the blender parts together.)

I especially liked how Sandie's son led the cooking- he was in the video, showing the kids what to do while she taught and helped.  It really boosted the kids' confidence- he was doing it, they could too!

Sandie offers two cooking classes, Little Chefs and Jr. Chefs.  The Little Chefs class is for smaller children or beginners and includes easier recipies.  The Jr. Chefs class is for children ages 8 and up, or younger ones with help.  These sessions are $20 for one month, which  includes four weekly classes.  Your whole family can join in for this one price! She also has several enticing special sessions, including the summer cooking class, which has one class a day for a week.

Time to try it!  Mmmmmmm...

To learn more about Currclick live classes and to receive their weekly free product, you can visit the CurrClick website or check out all of Mixing Bowl Academy's classes there..  You can also go to website to learn more about the Mixing Bowl Academy or sign up!  You can also visit the Mixing Bowl Academy Facebook page.

I received one free live cooking class in exchange for my unbiased review. 

 This class is part of Currclick Live.

Free complete phonics program!

The people behind "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons"  have created an interactive computer program, Funnix.  They are offering this program free for the month of January!  This does not seem to be a temporary trial, but the full, two-year program.  This program was wrote by Siegfried Engelmann and he says on the website, "We've been trying for years to do things that make schools successful, particularly with young kids and lower performers....Why not make the electronic package available to anybody who needs it? It doesn't cost us much to do it, and it could help in a small way to counteract the effects of bankrupt schools and dismal times."



I have downloaded and installed this so that I could check into it before I recommended it.  I really like the theory behind the 100 Easy Lessons book, but it was a little boring for my kids.  Add color, stories, and interactive games, and this becomes really tempting!  Especially when it is free.

This is not something that you sit your kids down in front of  (thank goodness!) but instead you are running the mouse and observing, while the children listen and respond to the program.  They have to talk, read, and point to the screen.  There seems to be a lot of 'introductory' type material here, so with my kids who have already learned a lot of phonics, we are going to skip to lesson 10 and maybe even later.

If you have never read one of Siegfried Engelmann's books, you do need to know that material is presented rather quickly and in a different order then most phonics programs. You can go to this page to learn more about the team behind this program.   So far, this looks like something I will really like, and I think it will go great along with the Progressive Phonics books we are using now.  This has quite a bit of material in it so even if you have early readers who are past the phonics stage, there may be something here for them in the form of sight words and practice.

Check it out at the Funnix site!

Favorite Websites for Free Interactive Learning

I have always thought that young children should NOT spend time in front of the screen- whether computer, TV, or video....

However, I have also always been a parent that believes in doing what WORKS. And for a lot of kids, learning with fun games WORKS. Visual kids love the stimulation, kinesthetic kids get to move, and auditory kids can HEAR instead of read.

So this week I decided to take a new approach to math and phonics- online games.

Here are a few of their favorites:

Starfall Almost everyone has heard of this one, but it is too good to leave out. Beginning phonics instruction, starting with letter sounds. Goes all the way through blends and digraphs. You cannot use this as complete instruction, probably, but it is a lot of fun and especially helpful for learning letter sounds.

Sheppard Software This site has TONS of games. Some of our favorites for schoolwork are the Early Math Games, Preschool games, and the animal games. There are a lot of 'fun' things here, too, like online painting. Don't miss this one!

Fun 4 The Brain This site is really easy to navigate, and it has lots of games in lots of subjects. If you want games that are FUN but still contain real learning, this is the place. We especially like the math drills, because in a lot of the you can pick one set of facts to learn about at a time. Perfect for MUS drill work!

Tree House Weather Kids This is not really a game, but it does have a lot of interactive learning going on. Weather, seasons, temperature and more.

KOL jr. This site has fun games in several subjects. They are not as flashy as some of the other sites, but they are still fun and the kids enjoy them just as much. We like "Learn Your Letters" and "Ant Parade".

WordWorld (PBS) This is just a part of the PBS kids site, but it is one of the best for learning. There are several games in the WordWorld section, but the kids like the Letter Pit and the Rhyming game the best.

Ziggity Zoom These games are best for the younger kids, or as a break from school. They aren't really learning games. :) They also have coloring pages and stories on the site, along with other fun things.

Primary Games This is another site with LOTS to look through. I haven't spent much time on here, but it looks like it has a lot of potential.

Play Kids Games

Emergency Cleaning :)

We had a different school day today. What my Mom used to call an "activity day"- we did our Math-U-See and Progressive Phonics, and the rest of the day was spent in fun learning activites. They spent a lot of time on the computer doing educational games and websites. They also did puzzles, coloring, and they played outside.

WHY did we have this fun, unschooling-type day? Well, ot because I am such a wonderful, creative mom. More like because I am not a very good housekeeper. :)

This place was a WRECK and so I took an Emergency Cleaning day. What is an Emergency Cleaning day? It is when you are going to start burning things if you don't get your house clean, so you had better get it clean fast!! No, not really...... well, maybe sometimes.

Here is what I do. (This can also be employed when your second cousin from Florida calls to tell you they are coming through on their vacation and want to stop in and chat. )

1. Do this BEFORE you need it, not on when you are already on the way to the kid's toy closet with a lighter!!
2. Get a jar or cup.
3. Cut up a piece of cardstock or paper into small strips.
4. Write down the things you need to do on an emergency day.
5. Fold and put in jar.

Why not just make a list, or as my hubby says, DO IT? Well, if that worked the house wouldn't be a mess, would it? You would already have DONE IT!

Lists are alright for me, for day-to-day chores. But if I see a list with a WHOLE house worth of stuff on it, I will probably not ever start, since it looks too overwhelming to finish. A jar of cards is safe because you can't see what is in it!

You will also probably save the worst jobs for last if you use a list. Again, you can't see what you are getting with a jar.

The other problem I have with intensive cleaning is the clutter. Sometimes you just can't SEE it because it has been there so long. What to do? I used some of those handy strips to put down 'picking-up' chores, too. BUT you need to time yourself! You can thank Fly-Lady for this. So you put something like "Living Room, 5 minutes" on your paper.

I will clean a little bit and then think it looks good enough, so that is that. But if I have to pick up clutter for 5 or 10 or 15 minutes, it forces me to really get in there and get the toys out from under the couch, clean off the side tables, and pick up the little wrappers under the recliner. I have to fill the time!

Don't forget to add some fun things! We have tag, hide and seek and drink breaks in ours, you need that! Just put a time on them, say 5 or 10 minutes, so you don't end up playing tag ALL DAY.

One of the best advantages to this tool? The fact that when your house is overwhelming, you don't start because you don't know WHERE to start. With a jar, all you do is pull out a card and begin.

Free Origami for Kids!

I am something of a paper addict. I admit it. I love paper crafts, scrap booking, I even love printing things just because. So, of course, an origami site is obviously appealing to me.

Bop has been asking to do origami ever since we read the book "Pink Paper Swans", by Virginia Kroll. She thinks it is just great. But at 5 years old, there is not much origami she can really DO. She can help me do it, but she has a lot of trouble getting the folds right on her own.

So what is so special about Origami Club? First, there are tons of different designs here. You are

sure to find something for each one of your family. From animals and plants for your nature lovers, to useful origami for the more practical minded, this is a really fun place to look around. There is even printable origami paper, though

I am not sure how much anyone would want to use that feature, considering the price of ink.

The feature that really sets this site apart is the animated directions. They can see first hand how to make EACH fold. What a helpful idea! There are plenty of easy designs for youngsters, and each creation is scored so you know at a glance how easy it is. If you have trouble following the animation, there are visual diagrams you can follow, as well.

This site is Japanese, not surprisingly, and you will find some funny grammatical errors, but nothing you won't be able to work with. We were able to make several of the designs in an hour, and Bop was able to do some without help. The kids both loved it and they were not happy when I told them we HAD to stop to eat lunch. I am sure this is a site we will be using a lot more! :)

Did you know you can cut any paper into a square?

Just fold a diagonal and cut off the extra!

Stringing beads for Little Fingers

Baby Girl got this great set of wooden beads and strings for her birthday. She just loves to stick things on, or in, or through other things. But she was getting really frustrated with this. She knew what to do, but the string was just too floppy and they kept falling off.

So finally, after scouring the house trying to find something that would work, I tried this!

Eureka!

I really, really hope you don't need me to tell you this, but just in case: A screwdriver is potentially dangerous and could cause severe injury. Please never leave your child unattended around any tools.

A CD worth of FREE Scripture Music!

While I was searching for Bible memory verses for children, I found this gem! At Scripture Release, you will find 24 songs, beautifully recorded, offered as a FREE download! I plan to record them onto a CD, since we are always looking for more music and audio stories to listen to during nap/quiet time.

These songs are recorded by different artists, and some are upbeat while others are slower. But I thought all of the one's I listed to were very pretty. What a great way to hide some more of God's word in your (and your children's) hearts!