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I just created a new page with a couple of really fun free printables that challenge kids to think critically. Creative Thinking Questions: The first set includes some creative thinking questions I once compiled. I thought it would be fun to start off the day with something a little different for the kids… some off-the-wall creative thinking questions. The kids had fun with this and I know some other homeschooling...
Today during math circles we had this mind bender: Cut this magic carpet into three pieces and sew it back together to make a 6×6 carpet. DD and LD got it WAAaaaayy before ED and I did. ED was sad that she hadn’t gotten it yet, so LD said Well, you are young and your mind is just developing. Mom’s mind is old and her mind is rotting! That had...
A few days ago, I mentioned that we started back into homeschooling with Math Circles rather than jumping into our “normal” math curriculum. What are math circles? From what I understand, they started in Russia where they hosted math contests. Students competed to answer various word problems. The contest itself was designed to get students intrigued and excited about mathematics. There’s something similar here in the US called the Math Olympiad....
With Halloween right around the corner it seems only fitting that I bring up this game, Mmm Brains. It sounds gruesome, but it’s really just a dice game which requires addition and multiplication. It brings the kids running, so you can’t beat that, right?! This game has five dice with the numbers 1-5 and a brain on each side. Then there are lots of counters (red brains=5 and white brains=1)....
This is a series about the logic and critical thinking games we play in our homeschool. We have a table in our homeschool room and I rotate in new games a couple of times a week. These are all games we’ve acquired for schooling (I haven’t received them to review). Back in September I explained… Why games? They’re fun. They can be challenging and helps kids (and adults!) apply creative...
This is a series about some of games we include in our homeschool. Set is a fast paced card game that requires the players to think quickly and logically. Set is a fairly easy game to learn to play and can be played by one or more players. To play, we laid out twelve cards. Each card contains one of three symbols (squiggles, diamonds, ovals) in varying numbers (up to three),...
Sorry, I had to bump this post back a day because I wanted to honor the mission team from the Mars Exploration Program – and talk about how we (the public) have benefited from the technology spinoffs we derived from the space program. Now on to logic games! This is a series about some of logic and critical thinking games we include in our homeschool. You can see the first...
Earlier this semester my friend and I were chatting about math. She said that every Friday they include some critical thinking activities. I thought that was a terrific idea and back in late February I ordered some materials. We added some of these activities into our schedule as well. We generally include critical thinking once a week, but sometimes we skip a week depending on our schedule. Sudoku: The kids...
Challenge your kids to think creatively with this quick activity. This week we had to do our Think Challenge on Monday since I knew I’d be out of commission. The kids were thrilled; they really love these activities! Their challenge was to build as tall a tower as they could with marshmallows and straws. I let ED use wooden skewers because the straws were challenging to work with. Here are...
Engineering Challenge – Week 2 The kids did their second Engineering Challenge this week. Each day I spend time reading a book aloud to the kids. Right now we’re reading a wonderful book about the Oregon Trail. On Thursday I had them try this challenge while I read. The Goal: Build a tower with post-it notes. Make it as sturdy and high as you can. Here are some of the solutions...
