Since I gave up the working world, I have struggled to keep myself busy.  A few months ago, I accepted an invitation from my daughter’s teacher to come into the classroom a couple of days a week and practice reading with the kids.  While I love the time that I spend there, I have found that four hours a week is my maximum quota before I start feeling the need to find a corner and rock myself.  The teacher recently asked me if I had ever considered becoming a teacher.  To this I replied with a hearty laugh and an overly animated, “Hell no!” 

I will admit that the experience has helped me to be a better mom.  After all, isn’t teaching one of our top responsibilities as a parent?  Teaching young children isn’t easy.  You have to figure out a way to be informative and more entertaining that Spongebob or iCarly.  In the same way that I hide allergy medicine in chocolate pudding, I find that my children learn best when I trick them into it. 

My daughter loves to play cards.  This is something fun we do together that is also a great learning game.  When we play we have a chalkboard to tally our scores.  As scorekeeper, she practices counting by fives and tens and is already doing 2^nd and 3^rd math adding and subtracting in the fifties and hundreds.  Not to mention the valuable lessons in bluffing, odds, and the power of Aces.  I’m going to make her a fake ID and start being her partner at the blackjack table soon.  In all seriousness… if you want to spend some fun, quality time with your kids and incorporate some stealth math lessons teach them how to play Hearts or Rummy.  Check out these links for info on how to play: Hearts or Rummy.

While preparing reading activities for my daughter’s kindergarten class I found this website that I must pimp out.  I don’t know this teacher personally, but her website is great.  I’ve started printing a new game every week.   All of the kids in class love them and they love coming to my reading group – FINALLY, I’m popular in school!  Kelly’s Kindergarten

At home, my son is learning how to wipe his own butt.  I haven’t yet figured out a fun/sanitary game to help him grasp it.  If anyone has any advice other than stock up on toilet paper, plungers and Spray and Wash, I’m all ears!