Category Archives: Homeschoooling

10 Movies Based on Books to Watch with Your Kids

10 Movies

Nothing is better to relax than movie night with the family. It is a traditional holiday must have. But even watching movies can be a little nerdy. Here are 10 movies that are based on books! (And I didn’t include sequels but that doesn’t mean they aren’t good)

 

  1. Hobbit: Tolkein, do I really need to say more? Seriously, it was a well done adaption that will cause a lot of good conversations about what is true to the book and what isn’t. 
  2. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe: This is also just a classic. C.S. Lewis told a great tale that is so much more than a story! 
  3. Emma: Now the Gweneth Paltrow version may be well known but I highly recommend the Romola Garai/ BBC version. It is truer to the book and all the characters have more depth. It is longer but all Austen movies are better longer;). Nerdpie delighted when it explained why Emma’s father was so protective. 
  4. Much Ado About Nothing: I absolutely love every version of this play I have seen be it Whedon’s, Branagh’s, or Tennant/Tate. But my absolute favorite is the Tennant/Tate version. It is the funniest and most family friendly version too.  All 4 of my kids loved it! 
  5. Wizard of Oz: People often forget that the Wizard of Oz was a book and it was part of a large series. The movie is a classic and a must see for every book and movie lover. 
  6. Harry Potter Series: The movies were great, the books were great. What more can be said? Except it is a wonderful voyage to take with your kids and is part of a cultural phenomenon. 
  7. Heidi: This is truly a heart warming tale. I remember reading the book and crying as a kid. But the movie seemed hopeful and a little happier. It was a great tale that shows relationships and family in its own form. It may seem cheesy to think about but it really was good!
  8. Ella Enchanted: I don’t remember people talking about this being a book but it is! My kids loved the book but the movie has music and dancing so they love it even more! It is fun and light. The author of the book has also written quite a bit so it might be a great introduction to a whole lot of reading. 
  9. Little Women: Family, life, and defining who you are. Those are big themes of Little Women. This is one of my all time favorite books. The Katherine Hepburn version is my favorite movie version. That may be because Jo is my favorite so I might be biased;). 
  10. Pride and Prejudice: Did you think Jane Austen would only appear once in this list? The Bennet sisters are a lesson to girls on how to be yourself and not get lured by bad guys. Mr. Darcy is a lesson to tween/teen boys on how important communication and being open is! I like many versions but Colin Firth is the only Mr. Darcy;). 

Those are our favorite book based movies. How about you? What are your favorite family literature based movies?

 

10daysbutton This is part of the 10 Days of Nerdy Fun!!! Make sure you hop over to see what other great post of nerdy fun that will be shared! 

Directed Lego Play

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Lego Glasses

What can be nerdier than quality Lego time? Nothing! But even with the geekiest kid sometimes they hit a wall. The whole “I’m bored” and “I don’t know what to do” happens even with Lego fans. So what is the nerdy parent to do?

Directed Lego play

The idea of directed play is the idea that you lay out a road map or help your kids develop a road map. When they are toddlers directed play often means things like a play schedule where you play with the kitchen set for 30 minutes and then 30 minutes with the toy animals. But what does that look like with older kids?

Ideas. It is all about helping them have ideas. Yes, you could just buy them a set of themes Legos but that doesn’t last forever;). Help your kids find their inspiration and figure out a building project before they sit down. You can go through your house or life and come up with ideas. For example, most of my kids wear classes. So that inspired my oldest to make Lego glasses. So come up with an idea and have them go work on it! 

LegoAdventureBookThere are also tools you can get to help! My kids received a copy of The Lego Adventure Book. It has blueprints of how to build a variety of things, many of which are real life items.

My kids loved it because it gave them a starting point to make more complex things.

My daughter made a restaurant. In it she put an ice machine that she saw in the book. She has also used a lot of other components to create a whole scenario that she then made a story and played it all afternoon.  

There are a bunch of these books in the series! 

 

If you don’t have books you also have the Lego site! They have all the building instructions online for free! So if you are scouting around looking for ideas you can actually get the instructions for free. Then just pair them with the blocks you have and adapt from there. 

So help your kids find a project, inspiration, and a focus!!! 

10daysbutton

 This is part of the 10 Days of Nerdy Fun!!! Make sure you hop over to see what other great post of nerdy fun that will be shared! 

 

5 Free Online Math Game Sites

5MathGames

 

Here in the Nerdfamily house we love both math and video games! It is a great way to get your math skills sharp, develop new ones, and have a ton of fun. I thought I would put together a list of great free games but I thought it would be better to have the Nerdster do it! So this list is all written by him!

Shepard software is an educational site that has many games of all sorts of themes. I really like how they have fun games that really make you think. And there are quiz’s that test what we know.
Hotmath is a site with a few math games. I like how it has just a few games but all of them can be set to suit you. You can play math games of different types. (note from NerdMom: This has junior high and up games)
Funbrain is a site with a bunch of games for kids young and old. It is cool how I can do something young and easy or at my level. It also leads to one of my favourite games: Poptropica!
MathBlaster is a game that needs a profile but be warned . . . Unity or FireFox is needed to play. I like how they have space themed games and non-math activities. And you can play with friends!
MathPlayground is full of games. I really like how it has equation creations that use math to draw and animate. I also really like sugar sugar, where you use drawing to solve problems.

10daysbutton     This is part of the 10 Days of Nerdy Fun!!! Make sure you hop over to see what other great post of nerdy fun that will be shared! 

10 Days of Nerdy Fun

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I am so excited that I will be hosting 10 Days of Nerdy fun in conjunction with a great group of homeschool bloggers. Every day, starting July 11th, I will be posting another idea for some nerdy fun on NerdFamily and will be posting a link here! So make sure to come back everyday to see what nerdy goodness I have for you. 
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Day 1: 5 Free Online Math Game Site 
Day 2: Directed Lego Play 
Day 3: 10 Movies Based on Books to Watch with Your Kids 
Day 4: 3 Steps to Puzzle Storage Zen 
Day 5: Concept: Entertaining for Kids and Engaging for Adults! 
Day 6: Fun with Coding  
Day 7: Fun around the Lego Site 
Day 8: How to be like the Avengers in Minecraft: Costumes 
Day 9: 10 Math Games with Playing Cards 
Day 10: 10 Fun & Educational Youtube Channels & Playlists

And make sure to check out all the other great tips, tricks, and ideas for homeschoolers (and the rest of the world) that are linked below!!!

 

Getting Kids Ready for Summer with Logic! (with Video)


Remember all the big plans you used to have for summer? Remember is being the end of summer and you got none of those things done? We have all been there (many, many times) but there is a logical way to avoid the regrets and heartbreak of lost summer goals. Well, it HELPS to not lose the summer goals. I am not magic! 

Goals are not magically met and plans don’t magically happen. We need to help our kids learn to develop these skills. It might save them years of frustration and they might actually get all those things done that we never did! 

Just take your kids through setting a goal and discovering the steps needed. I like it all outline style! Let’s go through my daughter’s goal of learning to swim.

Goal: Learn to Swim

I. Talk to Swim Teacher for Lessons
    A. Have some times available from Mom
II. Supplies to have
     A. Swimsuit
     B. Sunscreen
     C. Goggles
     D. Towels
III. Practice
     A. Talk to Dad
     B. Set time on the calendar

Here is another example!

Goal: Babysitting

I. Get Diaper Experience
    A.Talk to Parents to ask to let to help
    B.Research diaper changing and issues
II.Logistics
    A.Figure out rates
    B.Transportation availability schedule (hey, I have a life too;)
    C.Education/Certification
III.Get Customers
    A.Make a flyer
    B.Distribute it to parents of kids

3

 

 

 

Amazing Box of Free Stamps and Educational Resources!

Stamps_Teach_Plus_Freebie

I got a phenomenal box of goodies from Stamps Teach Plus! If you are a homeschooler, or any type of educator, and have students in 3rd through 5th grade you qualify! They only send out boxes July-December but take sign ups all year!

There was so much great stuff in the package they sent me! They had great curriculum ideas of every sort and genre! From people in history to quarter horses to Superman! Check out my video and sign up for your own box!

 

 

A Look at Time Capsule: Medieval England

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I think it is well know that I love unit studies! You can delve into a subject as deep as you want and have a ton of fun with it. But I am lazy so I don’t put unit studies together for my kids like I might enjoy. So I was stoked to receive a copy of Time Capsule: Medieval England!

This is a 12 week unit study with over 300 pages. It is aimed at 2nd through 8th grade so it is great for multiple kids in a family. This is one of those books that you just have to open and go!

It is broken up with daily lessons so you can take bite sized pieces. I personally won’t be doing it every day but interweaving into all else we are doing. I love the fact that the fun and creative activities are layed out for me. This not my strong suit so it is great to get a hold of something that lays out step by step an immersion experience.  And a fun one like that!

This is more of an immersion curriculum and not a facts and figures one. Meaning you will learn all about the instruments and what they sounded like or dress up like a monk. You may not learn the details of battles;).  But you will learn a lot! I am using it with a variety of more date and fact specific books that we can check out for free from the library to just round it out for my older kids. 

In addition to the book, you get reading lists along with supplemental downloads and links to related information. What more can you want? 

You can pick up a copy of Time Capsule: Medieval England from Amazon in both print and Kindle versions! What are you already doing for Medieval history? I don’t remember doing much in school with it myself so I am really enjoying it. Did you study it in school?

 

(Disclosure: I received a free copy in exchange for this piece! But all thoughts and opinions are mine alone!)

Five Things you Never Knew About Minecraft

minecraft_monday

This talks about Beacons, Hoppers, Fish, Fishing Rods, and trapped chests in Minecraft. So these are a bunch of random things that I found. Either I stumbled on them by doing them on on accident or found them online. These are things that I don’t have a full post on but that you still will want to know I promise.

1)Beacons: I just started looking at these and they are really quite fascinating. This is very advanced because you need nether star (gotten by killing the wither just see one of my earlier posts) just to make it and you need 9 to 164 blocks of precious minerals (fill the crafting table with the material). Then you have to get the thing you wanted with another precious mineral to get the power you want. The power will stay for 20 blocks (9 blocks) to 50 blocks(164 blocks) . You should use iron because there is no advantage to using more precious mineral. 

2)Hoppers: These are a piece of redstone machinery that I just got into. You use iron and a chest to make a hopper (put a chest into the middle and iron every where else except the bottom corners and top middle).  If they shift clicked on a chest the hopper will put any materials in itself into the chest. If you click on the hopper you can put stuff into them.  Also you can just drop items then they will go into the hopper.

3)Fishing Rods: I found these actually in the XBOX version. I was just starting out and I was trying the tutorial and they  had a portion about fishing. To fish you need a fishing rod you need sticks and string (stick in a line from the bottom left corner to the upper right corner and string on the rest of the right hand side). To fish you left click and throw out the line to pull out the fish right click and it will pull the line in. You should do this if you see bubbles and then the hook goes down.

4)Fish:There are 4 kinds of fish. fish can be used to tame ocelots but that’s a different post.

  • Fish these are the most common types of fish so they are called fish. They are able to be cooked and eaten.
  • salmon these are basically the same as fish but it is called something different
  • clown fish these are able to be cooked and eaten and hey look cool
  • Puffer fish these are used in potions and are poisonous 

5)Trapped chests: These are so cool. You can make a trap on your server and when they open your chest they will fall into the trap. you make it with a trip wire and a chest. when you open a chest connected to redstone it’s like you pushed a button. you could make music play when you open your chests.

So I hope you learned something you didn’t know and tell me anything you know like this! See you                                                                                                                     Nerdpie

Little House on the Prairie Ultimate Prize Package Giveaway

I am participating in this giveaway on behalf of Bloggin’ Mamas.

Little House on the Prairie Giveaway

Little House in the Prairie is iconic, be it in book or television! My childhood and my children’s has been littered with with everything Laura Ingalls Wilder. My youngest is only 7 and our books have been read so much that they have lost most of their front covers;). So I was stoked to get to be included in this massive giveaway to celebrate the launch of the website!

To cel­e­brate the launch of the offi­cial Lit­tle House on the Prairie® web­site, I have joined some of my fellow Bloggin’ Mamas to offer the Ulti­mate Prize Pack­age Giveaway (ARV $164).

The winner will receive Sea­son 1 Deluxe Remas­tered 6-DVD Set $29.98 Retail Value, Sea­son 2 Deluxe Remas­tered 5-DVD Set $29.98 Retail Value, Sea­son 3 Deluxe Remas­tered 5-DVD Set $21.98 Retail Value, Sea­son 4 Deluxe Remas­tered 5-DVD Set $21.98 Retail Value, Pio­neer Girl Book and Tote Bag $39.95 Retail Value, “Lit­tle House on the Prairie: The Legacy of Laura Ingalls Wilder $19.95 Retail Value

You can also enter a 2nd giveaway on the Little House on the Prairie website for a chance to win a second prize package.

This giveaway is running Friday, March 27th, 2015 at 12:01am PST through Friday, April 24th, 2015 at 11:59pm PST It is open to US Residents age 18 and older. Enter via the rafflecopter form below.

 

 
a Rafflecopter giveaway


 

Dis­clo­sure: This giveaway is coordinated by Bloggin’ Mamas and is sponsored by Little House on the Prairie. I was not compensated for sharing this post.

 

Free Printables for Geeky Valentine’s Day Cards

Geeky Printable Valentines
Kids go out every year looking for Valentine’s Day cards that represent their personality. But when you pop into the shops rarely do you find great geeky Valentine’s cards for the geeky kids! And when you look online they can be quite pricey. So why not print them off for free? Here are 4 geeky Valentine’s Day cards with a varying level of crafting to get them into give able shape!

First up are the straight printables!

Brain Power Boys has a collection of great “boy friendly” Valentine’s that my girls love too! They range from robots to superheros and are super cute! Just print and hand them out!

Heidi Schulz has the most adorable Doctor Who Valentine printables! They cover everything from Oods to Daleks to Angels. These are another print and go!

If you want to do just a bit more work we can pop over to a Star Wars theme! Design Wash Repeat has the coolest Yoda Best Valentine’s Day printable! They get kicked up to the next level with just the addition of a glow stick!

And if you want to go even geekier and nerdier… the coolest for last! Left Brain Craft Brain has awesome Light Up Circuit Valentine’s. While they sound complicated, they are so easy! If you can use white glue, you can make these!

Remember, even geeks can represent with their Valentines! So how are you and your kids letting your geek flag wave?