Amalyn's 4th Birthday Extravaganza!

Tristan and I had SO much fun getting ready for Amalyn's birthday.  It seems like every year she's had alternative celebrations involving trips and such so we really wanted to throw a big party.

She's a little princess so we themed accordingly.

She had a castle:

Complete with internal lighting and air conditioning.  We gave them stickers and crayons to decorate the interior.  One of my favorite parts of the castle isn't pictured.  In the upper portion of the tower we poked lights through for a starry effect.

She had a dragon:

stuffed with all kinds of goodies.

She had friends:

Claire, Marley, Zoa, Sophie, Melanie, Kalia, Amalyn (Eloise not pictured) and Noah.

She had cake:

They played:

Slayed the dragon:

And pillaged:

There were gifts:
But the pictures didn't turn out.

Kalia repeatedly proclaimed it the the best birthday ever!

I would say we were able to reach our goal of making it an awesome and memorable birthday. Thanks to those that helped Amalyn's birthday be so successful (Lorenz for the dragon slaying sword).  And a big thanks to our friends for sharing it with us!

Time for Learning review

I didn't know much about Time 4 Learning going into my trial.  I have been utilizing different free avenues to introduce my girls (ages 3 and 5) to different topics.  I was mostly interested in math games because I feel like it's a hole in my own skills ( a common sentiment).  I have heard the name of Time 4 Learning thrown around a bit in homeschooling circles so I thought I would try it out when I saw the trial.  We are currently vacillating between private preschool and homeschooling.  I really want to find a happy median of having a personalized program with the benefits of working with other personalities in the form of children or adults.  Sometimes my kids just need to hear things from someone else to have it connect.
I will admit that we didn't fully utilize our trial as we were only on the site a handful of times in the 30 days.  My kids were a bit too young.  My oldest was first on the preschool site, then I bumped her to the kindergarten level.  She wasn't really begging me to play the games.  I don't think the program was a good fit for our family at this time.  I am considering returning to it as a summer bridge in the future.
I think my 5 yr old had a hard time navigating through the games.  She did enjoy watching the videos and the songs.  She watched a video about money and was excited to tell me what a dime was and how many pennies it's worth.
My 3 yr old would ask for the games, but would wander away before making much progress, unfortunately.  But I know she'll be more interested as she gets older.  We've had a hard time finding games to match her ability.  Most seem too difficult or too confusing for her without someone helping.  Maybe she needs more one on one feedback than the game is programmed to give.
Overall they seemed a bit intimidated by these games, probably from lack of exposure.  I had a hard time fitting it into my schedule with screen time verses outdoor playtime.  I also think my 5 yr old would do better with a specific map of lesson progression so she knows what comes next and has some measure of the successes she's accomplished.  I don't think she quite knows how to handle such an open ended format.  Time 4 Learning is a great site, just not a good fit for us at this time.  I am glad that we got to try it!

Time 4 Learning review

I've been invited to try Time4Learning for one month in exchange for a candid review. My opinion will be entirely my own, so be sure to come back and read about my experience. Time4Learning can be used as a homeschool curriculum, for afterschool enrichment and for summer skill sharpening. Find out how to write your own curriculum review for Time4Learning.