OneLuckeyWife

Our oldest daughter has always been very advanced so she is a whole grade ahead of kids her age. This is great and I love that she has a passion for learning. Not all kids will be this way. Not all kids will be ready for everything at the same time as their friends or even their own family members. You will need to decided if your child needs extra work for things or if they simple are not ready. You do not want to push a child or force them to do something they are not ready for. If you child absolutely does not like writing and it is a struggle everyday to get them to write even something simple them write it for them. It will get you through the day without a fight. They will eventually learn the skills just in their own time. Our daughter read her first book before she was 3 but I did not read until I was 9 and I went to public school. So delays do not mean your child would be better off in public school or that you are not a suitable teacher for them. Some signs that your kiddo ma...

Huzzah! We have encountered yet another artisanal offering from the maestros at Djeco : the  Little Artist - Sticker Medley . As is customary for this brand, the kit features a quartet of whimsical projects, including a hot air balloon excursion, a charming animal "shape-stack," a sophisticated animal-manned submarine, and a delightful al fresco tea party. The instruction manual remains a gold standard for "kid-friendly" design, utilizing a purely pictorial system that my daughter has been navigating with complete autonomy since the age of two and a half. I will note one minor chromatic inconsistency: the manual depicts certain stickers as brown, whereas the physical stickers provided are a glittering crimson. Once we deduced that "brown" was merely a stand-in for "sparkly red," we proceeded without further logistical confusion. The kit is composed of large, substantial foam stickers that are perfectly calibrated for the developing fine motor ski...

In our ongoing exploration of the Djeco universe, we have recently integrated a mathematical gem called  Bata-waf  into our repertoire. This 36-card deck is deceptively simple at first glance; I initially presumed it was a basic height-comparison activity. However, it is actually a sophisticated adaptation of the classic game of "War," specifically engineered for the three-to-six-year-old demographic. The aesthetic is quintessential Djeco: the characters are rendered with a comical, almost whimsical flair, and the palette utilizes neutral, soothing tones that are exceptionally "easy on the eyes." The typography is equally impressive—the numbers 1 through 6 are displayed with crystalline clarity, ensuring that even a nascent scholar can recognize them with ease. The mechanical design of the cards is particularly clever. Each number corresponds to a specific height on a color-coded scale on the left margin. This provides a brilliant "safety net" for childre...

In our continued exploration of the Evan-Moor library, we recently evaluated the  Science Lessons and Investigations - Grade 1  workbook. This resource offers a broad, thematic survey of the natural world, encompassing life science (plants and animals), earth science, and physical science. A particularly thoughtful inclusion is the "materials request" form at the commencement of the volume; it’s a sophisticated logistical tool that allows co-op facilitators or traditional classroom teachers to seamlessly coordinate experimental supplies with parents. To enhance the student experience, I opted to extract the perforated pages and staple them into individual thematic booklets—a method that feels much more intentional than simply handing over a loose stack of worksheets. Each instructional module is anchored by a comprehensive teacher overview, providing all the necessary intellectual scaffolding before the student engagement begins. The lessons officially debut with a personali...

Our latest foray into the artisanal world of Djeco has brought us to the  Animals & Their Homes Multi-Activity Box . If you are seeking a comprehensive "all-in-one" creative solution, this kit is an absolute powerhouse, featuring six distinct artistic disciplines: coloring, gluing, decaling, cutting, transferring, and 3D construction. Aside from a standard pencil, every necessary component is meticulously housed within the box. As per the Djeco gold standard, the instructional manual is entirely pictorial, granting our daughter the agency to navigate the projects independently—a feature I find indispensable when I need to attend to our youngest or manage the household's administrative tasks. Of course, we usually prefer to tackle these as a collaborative "bonding" session, which is far more spirited. We initiated our journey with the coloring modules, which feature two feline subjects. The kit provides three double-sided crayons, perfectly dimensioned for t...

In our household, literature is the cornerstone of early education, so we began our daily reading rituals when our daughters were mere infants. While our shelves are currently burgeoning with an eclectic array of alphabet primers, the  A to Z Board Book  has secured a particularly prestigious position in our rotation. As the name suggests, this is a board book—a vital feature for anyone navigating the "destructive" phase of toddlerhood. My youngest has a penchant for paper shredding that would rival a high-end office machine, so the sturdy construction of a board book is a non-negotiable necessity. However, because this is a "lift-the-flap" volume, I maintain a strict "supervised access only" policy to ensure the flaps remain attached to their respective pages. We have integrated this book into our daily school routine, as it offers a multifaceted sensory experience. My daughter is currently enchanted by the interactive elements, relishing the opportunity ...

After a season of anticipation, we finally delved into the world of computer science with  Smart Start Beginning Coding  by Evan-Moor . This curriculum is a vibrant, full-color introduction to the logic of programming—a significant aesthetic "win" in our classroom, as the visual appeal truly fuels my daughter’s enthusiasm. At the rear of the volume, I discovered a perforated two-page summary of the core concepts, which I promptly extracted and stapled into a "coding handbook." This served as our intellectual roadmap, allowing us to define our terminology before we ever touched a worksheet. My daughter was so captivated by these definitions that by the time we reached the final page, she was already campaigning for a real-world coding project. The curriculum is thoughtfully divided into foundational pillars: algorithms, sequencing, decomposition, patterns, debugging, loops, and conditionals. Each section is punctuated with interactive "cut-and-paste" activi...

Our latest creative endeavor has brought us to a truly gargantuan offering from Djeco : the  World of Dinosaurs  multi-activity kit. When I describe this kit as "massive," I am not utilizing hyperbole; it is a veritable treasure trove of artistic exploration. The box contains six distinct disciplines: four scratch-art boards, a painting project, two 3D layered picture boards, a stamp-and-draw landscape, a foam-and-foil collage, and three substantial assembly projects. As is the hallmark of the Djeco brand, the instructions are rendered in a sophisticated pictorial format, allowing for student autonomy. However, since my daughter is a passionate devotee of all things creative, we decided to transform our post-school hours into a marathon art session, tackling a sample of each project together. We initiated our journey with the scratch art , which features a prehistoric menagerie including a Rougeosaure and a Plumosaure . These boards require a comprehensive "reveal,...

While Story of the World has been the reliable backbone of our historical narrative, I recently sensed a distinct "civics-shaped" void in our social studies rotation. In my quest to bridge this gap, I discovered  180 Days of Social Studies . Although my daughter is currently at the first-grade level, I made the executive decision to begin with the Kindergarten volume to ensure no foundational stones were left unturned. This curriculum is unapologetically US-centric, focusing heavily on American holidays and domestic historical milestones—a perfect fit for our household, though international families may find it less applicable to their regional needs. My only aesthetic grievance? The interior is strictly monochromatic. I do find myself wishing for a splash of color to help the lessons truly "leap" off the page. We have navigated seven weeks of the program thus far, and due to its accessible nature, we’ve abandoned the "one page a day" mandate in favor of...

Since our daughter is a true connoisseur of all things musical, the  Baby Gym  set by Child’s Play was an immediate "must-buy" for our nursery library. This set consists of two robust board books that elevate the standard rhyming experience into a full-body sensory event. What distinguishes these from your run-of-the-mill nursery collections is the inclusion of specific physical prompts, guiding parents on how to interact with their child while singing. The first volume, Touch and Tickle , is a masterpiece for the tummy-time stage, encouraging gentle motions on the baby’s back and limbs to foster body awareness. The second, Bounce and Jiggle , is better suited for older infants and toddlers who have mastered head control, as it involves lap-bouncing and rhythmic swaying. While they are tailored to specific developmental milestones, both books have remained high-rotation favorites for our daughter as she approaches the age of two. As someone who navigates the challenges of a ...

In our ongoing quest to navigate the "curiosity phase" of toddlerhood, we’ve recently integrated a  Sensory Tissue Box  into our rotation—a luxury we didn't have during our first daughter's infancy. Let’s be candid: babies possess an almost magnetic attraction to things they shouldn't touch, and the household tissue box is often their primary target. We once attempted to let her explore a standard box of Kleenex, which resulted in a catastrophic blizzard of 250 shredded tissues and a decimated cardboard container. This sensory alternative, however, is a masterclass in durable design. Constructed from plush, high-quality fabric, it is essentially impervious to the "shredding" instincts of a determined toddler, and with only fifteen "tissues" to manage, the cleanup is infinitely more civilized. The true brilliance of this item lies in the tactile diversity of its contents. The box is populated with tissues of varying dimensions and textures: six ...