My Little Poppies’ Picks
{weekend wrap-up}
Each week, I read so many wonderful posts and articles and ideas. I try to share some of them on Facebook, but the reality is Facebook doesn’t reach everyone these days. So, without further ado, I present to you My Little Poppies’ Picks from this past week.
Links from around the web:
Portman: I, too, battled self-doubt ~ Christina Pazzanese, Harvard Gazette
The Difference Between Tantrums and Sensory Meltdowns ~ Amanda Morin, Understood
Homeschooling Rises 61.8% in 10 Years, Popular Among Highly-Educated Parents ~ Hanna Sanchez, iSchool Guide
Do you need a (homeschool) full stop? ~ Quill and Camera
Why French Kids Don’t Have ADHD ~ Marilyn Wedge, Ph.D., Psychology Today
Einstein On Creative Thinking: Music and the Intuitive Art of Scientific Imagination ~ Michele and Robert Root-Bernstein, Psychology Today
Because Love is Always the Best Treatment Plan ~ Not the Former Things
How Maker Faires are Inspiring Young “Makers” All Over the World ~ Tim Bajarin, Time
Freedom, Responsibility, and Compassion ~ Preschool Engineering
New from My Little Poppies:
Foriegn Language in Your Homeschool
Are you looking for fun, easy ways to dabble in foreign languages at home? Check out this post to learn more about some of our favorite resources and books, and then be sure to drop me a line to let me know what resources you adore!
Fun Ways to Sneak in Math this Summer
I know that so many parents worry about summer slide/brain drain when summer hits. Here are some of our family’s favorite math resources. I promise that they are all fun! Your children won’t realize that they are practicing those important skills while having a blast- and you’ll be making wonderful family memories. After you read it, leave a comment with your favorite math activities!
My Little Poppies elsewhere:
Raising Poppies: Supporting Parents of Gifted and Twice-Exceptional Children
I am so excited about this group, folks! Colleen and I have been talking about this for ages and it’s finally here: a support group for parents of kids like ours. I am over-the-moon excited by the group and the supportive, community atmosphere that is already happening over there. Head on over and join in the conversation!
Asynchronous Development: Many Ages at Once ~ Secular Homeschool
Last week, I had the pleasure of being a featured poster over on Secular Homeschool’s From Soup to Nuts: Discussions that Matter forum, and the discussion is still happening, folks! I thoroughly enjoyed discussing the concept of giftedness as asynchronous development. Many thanks to all who participated- you made my week!
Little Kids with BIG Worries ~ Simple Homeschool
Since embarking on this homeschool journey, I wake up every morning and check out Simple Homeschool. I have learned so much from the site and so I was honored and over-the-moon excited to appear as a guest post this week. My post, Little Kids with BIG Worries, discusses our struggle with the worry monster and strategies that have helped over the years.
Granite State Gifted
Creating a group for gifted and twice-exceptional parents and their children has been a goal of mine for almost a year now. This week, this dream came to fruition. We had our first meet-up and it was amazing to watch our children play and converse together. If you know of gifted and 2E children in NH or MA, please send them my way! And, if you’re having trouble finding your community, don’t forget that you can take matters into your own hands!
What have the little poppies been up to in real life??
If you hang out with us on Instagram, you already know what we’ve been up to!
Here’s a photo of a wonderful moment from our week. It was a beautiful week, weather-wise, here in New England. The littlest two poppies are out of school and we took full advantage of the weather. Here is a photo of my little poppies with poppies. We were visiting a butterfly garden with our new group of friends from Granite State Gifted.
We all used our imagination, although some used it more than others!
Leo and Schizz worked on building a raised garden bed! Real life STEM in action!
In addition to the above, the kids also decided on some of our summer learning resources. We’re super-excited to start Brain Chase on the 22nd, dabble in Rosetta Stone, start learning ASL, and get heavy into STEM/science with Groovy Lab in a Box, Magic School Bus, and Tinker Crate!
Recommended by My Little Poppies this week:
The New Way Things Work by David Macaulay
I have gushed about Macaulay’s books so many times on this site, folks, and I need to do it once more because The New Way Things Work was 50% (!!!!!) off this week! I bought it for my nephew’s birthday and I just know he’ll love it as much as we do. Who doesn’t love this one??
LL Bean 40% off on Zulily
The New Englander in me couldn’t resist sharing that Zulily had LL Bean this week (and J. Crew, by the way!) at up to 40% off.
Erin Condren Life Planner
I am a planner by nature and I have tried so many planners. Last year, an equally planner-obsessed friend of mine introduced me to Erin Condren and it was love at first sight, folks. I bought my first Erin Condren Life Planner for my birthday last August and will do it again this year!
3M Peltor Junior Earmuff
3M Peltor Junior EarmuffI talk about these ALL THE TIME. When Leo was first diagnosed with SPD, we purchased these headphones. At that time, he was TERRIFIED of certain noises. These headphones helped him to cope and they gave him the power to block out something that was unsettling. He used to be terrified if the TV was on and these helped him to better manage the challenge. Now, he’ll still use them for noises occasionally but what he REALLY uses them for is to block out his siblings when he’s trying to concentrate on his homeschooling. I would HIGHLY, HIGHLY recommend!
Alma’s Designs Today Is Calendar
We *LOVE* this wall calendar. We’ve had it for YEARS and you’d never know how old it is. It’s a fun family routine to take turns being the weather person. We had to put it away during construction this winter and my kids asked for it repeatedly! So happy to have it back up and back in action!
B. Pop-Arty Beads
I have a friend who is moving across this country in July and she’s currently in purge mode. She gave us these B. Arty beads and they are aaaaaamazing. They keep my kids (all three!!!) busy and QUIET for HOURS. I’m not kidding! They are fantastic fine motor practice, they encourage creativity and imagination, and they keep kids quiet-ish. Do you have them at home?
Kapla Planks
My children LOVE wooden blocks. We are huge fans of the unit blocks, but with three kids we needed to add more to the set. Instead of getting the same blocks that we had, I spiced it up a little with these wooden planks. They add a fun challenge for the older children and are a fantastic addition to the block collection. There are tons of different brands available. We have Kapla and they are $10 off today on Amazon
