We're starting something new in our homeschool: 

the Challenge Board!

Inspired by innovative math teaching, like this challenge posted on YouCubed, the board includes a wide range of challenges that cover all subjects. Open-ended challenges like "write a story about..." are great for covering the wide range of skills for my 7, 9, and 11yo, and St. Patrick's Day is this month, so it will be fun to include seasonal tie-ins like that. More on the fairy houses later!

Now, let's be real for a minute. Since anything new can be scary, I waited to show them the first board until after they'd already built the fairy houses. It's supposed to be fun, and much of it we would have done anyway. Despite my efforts, one of my three kids immediately had an issue with the board! A few hours later and we're all good now. Growth mindset can be so hard to learn, that it's okay to "fail" to guess the riddle or, apparently, "fail" to write an "epic" story.  Now that all three minds are feeling more open and creative, I am pretty sure we'll end up with three epic stories, haha!

Challenge Board #1: Fairy Houses

We've already erased some of the challenges and replaced them with new ones:

Fairy House & St. Patrick's Day Riddles:

Q: When is your mind like a fairytale?
A: When it's made up!

A: How many sides does a house have?

A: Two. An inside & an outside 

Q: What runs out when you push it?

A: Your luck!

Q: Why can’t you borrow money from a leprechaun?

A: They’re always a little short.

Q: Why do leprechauns hate marathons?

A: They like to jig more than jog.

Q: What do you call leprechauns who collect cans and plastic?

A: Wee-cyclers.

Q: What type of bow can’t a leprechaun tie?

A: A rainbow.

Q: Why do frogs like St. Patrick’s Day?

A: Because they’re always wearing green.

St Patrick's Day Word Searches

This website has different levels of difficulty available, perfect for kids of differing abilities:

https://www.bigactivities.com/word_searches/st_patricks_day/medium/st_patricks_day1.php

You can also find several websites for generating your own wordsearches.

Math Brain Teasers:

 I started the kids off with an easy square brain teaser--too easy, it turned out!

Here are some harder square counting puzzles that are still easier than the classic 4x4 grid with two squares overlaid.

We've also started with some Beginner Balance Benders, like this:

St. Patrick's Day Picture Books:

(You can find a lot of these on youtube read-a-louds)

The Story of the Leprechaun by Katherine Tegen - this book retells the same legend as Clever Tom and the Leprechaun by Linda Shute, which we also love, but this newer version is more sympathetic to the poor leprechaun who's gold Tom/Tim is trying to steal.

Tim O Toole and the Wee Folk by Gerald McDermott - oh, we love Gerald McDermott's folk tale retellings! The wee folk give Tim a goose that lays golden eggs, but when he boats about his good fortune and the goose gets stolen, hijinks ensue.

Jamie O'Rourke and the Big Potatoe by Tomie DePaola - another great storyteller who has written folk tales from many cultures. When Jamie catches a leprechaun, he agrees to wish for a magic potato seed instead of the leprechaun's treasure.  

Pete the Cat: The Great Leprechaun Chase by James Dean - this is a very modern story with the message that hard work and helping your friends is better than trying to catch good luck.

How to Catch a Leprechaun by Adam Wallace - this one's great for getting your kids to build leprechaun traps, unless they're my kids, which is why we ended up building fairy houses.

Fairy Houses!

It's fun to see how different each kids' designs are. My youngest built a lean-to with a bed and a pool:

Middle child is a wilderness survivalist and water-proofed the cloth for his house, then corrected me and said it's only water-resistant: 

Oldest focused on camouflage because fae hide from humans:

Hmmmm... I have it on good authority that you can only catch a leprechaun on St. Patrick's day, and we built our houses early. Do you think some other fae might stop by? 😇 (Please, no more tooth fairies!)

I'll be sure to report back!

Challenge Board #2: Fairy Code

Charlie Cat Takes a Break on Thanksgiving

Find Charlie Cat Takes a Break on Thanksgiving on Amazon, and add it on Goodreads!

Charlie cat loves Thanksgiving, but when noisy guests arrive, Charlie needs a quiet room. Find out how Momma Cat helps Charlie enjoy Thanksgiving.

Peek inside!

Charlie Cat picture book series explores challenging social situations through rhyme and fun illustrations. For ages 0-8 and special needs.

Join our author mailing list for free printables you can use at home or in the classroom.

Charlie Cat Draws His Personal Bubble on Easter

Susie Dog is so excited to hunt Easter Eggs, she forgets to look where she is going! When Susie Dog spills Charlie Cat's Easter basket, Charlie Cat teaches Susie Dog about personal space.

Charlie Cat Tries Earmuffs on Independence Day

When Momma Cat offers Charlie and Susie earmuffs for the loud fireworks, Susie Dog doesn’t need hers, but a new friend does! Learn about hearing protection and individual preferences in this rhyming picture book for ages 0-8 & special needs.

Charlie Cat Does NOT Like Halloween

Charlie Cat does not like scary monsters and ghosts. Charlie's friend Susie Dog loves to dress up for Halloween. When Susie Dog scares Charlie Cat, Charlie uses his strong voice to tell her STOP. Find out how these two friends get along on Halloween.

Charlie Cat Takes a Break on Thanksgiving

Charlie cat loves Thanksgiving, but when noisy guests arrive, Charlie needs a quiet room. Find out how Momma Cat helps Charlie enjoy Thanksgiving.

Charlie Cat Keeps His Paws Off at Christmas

Waiting to decorate the family Christmas tree is hard! Momma Cat helps Charlie Cat learn how to tell when he should keep his paws to himself, and Charlie is happy to find something he can play with safely.

Charlie Cat Tries Earmuffs on Independence Day!

It's here! Charlie Cat's Independence Day book!

Paperback: https://amzn.to/3eq4ElS

Ebook: https://amzn.to/2AERbrH

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54082922-charlie-cat-tries-earmuffs-on-independence-day


When Momma Cat offers Charlie and Susie earmuffs for the loud fireworks, Susie Dog doesn’t need hers, but a new friend does! Learn about hearing protection and individual preferences in this rhyming picture book for ages 0-8 & special needs.

ISBN: 9798653251535
ASIN: B08B5KDB68

See Inside:

Charlie Cat picture book series explores challenging social situations through rhyme and fun illustrations. For ages 0-8 and special needs.

Join our author mailing list for free printables you can use at home or in the classroom.

Charlie Cat Draws His Personal Bubble on Easter

Susie Dog is so excited to hunt Easter Eggs, she forgets to look where she is going! When Susie Dog spills Charlie Cat's Easter basket, Charlie Cat teaches Susie Dog about personal space.

Charlie Cat Tries Earmuffs on Independence Day

When Momma Cat offers Charlie and Susie earmuffs for the loud fireworks, Susie Dog doesn’t need hers, but a new friend does! Learn about hearing protection and individual preferences in this rhyming picture book for ages 0-8 & special needs.

Charlie Cat Does NOT Like Halloween

Charlie Cat does not like scary monsters and ghosts. Charlie's friend Susie Dog loves to dress up for Halloween. When Susie Dog scares Charlie Cat, Charlie uses his strong voice to tell her STOP. Find out how these two friends get along on Halloween.

Charlie Cat Takes a Break on Thanksgiving

Charlie cat loves Thanksgiving, but when noisy guests arrive, Charlie needs a quiet room. Find out how Momma Cat helps Charlie enjoy Thanksgiving.

Charlie Cat Keeps His Paws Off at Christmas

Waiting to decorate the family Christmas tree is hard! Momma Cat helps Charlie Cat learn how to tell when he should keep his paws to himself, and Charlie is happy to find something he can play with safely.

Charlie Cat Keeps His Paws off at Christmas

Buy Charlie Cat Keeps His Paws Off at Christmas on Amazon and add it on Goodreads!

Waiting to decorate the family Christmas tree is hard! Momma Cat helps Charlie Cat learn how to tell when he should keep his paws to himself, and Charlie is happy to find something he can play with safely.

Peek inside:

Charlie Cat picture book series explores challenging social situations through rhyme and fun illustrations. For ages 0-8 and special needs.

Join our author mailing list for free printables you can use at home or in the classroom.

Charlie Cat Draws His Personal Bubble on Easter

Susie Dog is so excited to hunt Easter Eggs, she forgets to look where she is going! When Susie Dog spills Charlie Cat's Easter basket, Charlie Cat teaches Susie Dog about personal space.

Charlie Cat Tries Earmuffs on Independence Day

When Momma Cat offers Charlie and Susie earmuffs for the loud fireworks, Susie Dog doesn’t need hers, but a new friend does! Learn about hearing protection and individual preferences in this rhyming picture book for ages 0-8 & special needs.

Charlie Cat Does NOT Like Halloween

Charlie Cat does not like scary monsters and ghosts. Charlie's friend Susie Dog loves to dress up for Halloween. When Susie Dog scares Charlie Cat, Charlie uses his strong voice to tell her STOP. Find out how these two friends get along on Halloween.

Charlie Cat Takes a Break on Thanksgiving

Charlie cat loves Thanksgiving, but when noisy guests arrive, Charlie needs a quiet room. Find out how Momma Cat helps Charlie enjoy Thanksgiving.

Charlie Cat Keeps His Paws Off at Christmas

Waiting to decorate the family Christmas tree is hard! Momma Cat helps Charlie Cat learn how to tell when he should keep his paws to himself, and Charlie is happy to find something he can play with safely.

Charlie Cat Ebook Raffle [Ends 10/15/2016]

Enter below to win an ebook copy of Charlie Cat (kindle or pdf). Enter and share until Oct. 15!

Charlie Cat does not like scary monsters and ghosts. Charlie's friend Susie Dog loves to dress up for Halloween. When Susie Dog scares Charlie Cat, Charlie uses his strong voice to tell her STOP. Find out how these two friends get along on Halloween.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

You can also view and share the giveaway on Facebook.

The giveaway is also at rafflecopter's page here.

Good luck!

7 Not-so-Scary Halloween Books

Are you thinking that it's a while before Halloween? You'd be surprised. Over here it's already pumpkin-this and pumpkin-that and when-can-we-carve-pumpkins. If you're trying to pick up books from the library or have them delivered to your house in time for the holiday, you might want to get on that, and here's a list to help.

One of my children is easily frightened, but also wants to participate in social events like trick-or-treating. Thus, we've spent many Halloweens searching for books that were not too scary. Here are our favorites:

Mouse and Mole: A Perfect Halloween

This book was perfect for our needs because mouse and mole take turns frightening each other and then overcome their fears together.

Halloween Is... by Gail Gibbons.

This book talks about the origins of Halloween.

The Pumpkin Book

This one talks about how pumpkins are grown and about their historical and cultural use. It also mentions Halloween briefly. It goes best with the Halloween Is... book above by the same author.

Pumpkin, Pumpkin

(Get this one in Spanish!)

This one also talks about how pumpkins grow, but for younger children.

Halloween Howlers

Who doesn't love a good (or really bad...) joke? Humor helped our kids with Halloween.

Goodnight Goon

I thought the illustrations in this one would be too scary for my kids but apparently we have progressed past the mention of the word "ghost" frightening them. Whew! I love this parody of Goodnight, Moon.



No Halloween children's book list would be complete without...


AlphaOops Halloween by Alethea Kontis, one of our favorite authors!

Here's hoping your children enjoy a safe Halloween!

Like this post? Then you'll like my upcoming Halloween picture book! Here's a sneak peak of Charlie Cat.