Here I am in the midst of homeschool conference season: taking inventory, restocking inventory, packing the van, unpacking the van, setting up my booth only to tear it down again - did I mention packing and unpacking the van?  I love the conferences, and I love meeting my fellow homeschoolers, many of whom I only know as ScrapHappy Mom, or VictoryinJesus, or even Rabbit.  It's so fun to eventually put a face to a name - ever notice that they NEVER look the way you imagined they would?

Anyway, my blog entry today addresses the question of adding critical thinking as yet another subject to our already busy agenda.  "How can I possibly add another subject when most days we don't even get through readin', ritin', and 'rithmatic?" you might ask.  Believe me - many homeschool moms ask me this very question at my BRAIN-athon Emporium booth. Or they reason, "Isn't that best left for highschool or even college?"  I know that you know that it's important for your children to be able to think logically, but adding critical thinking can seem overwhelming.  And yet it can be accomplished in as little as 10-20 minutes a day!

I want to give you PEACE about this - you can do it!  And you'll be SO glad you did.  There are so many benefits to empowering our children with good critical thinking skills.  For one, they will become more independent thinkers resulting in less cries for, "Mom, I need your help!  I don't understand what they want me to do!"  They will also become expert problem solvers.  They will begin to "think" before they act.  And as an added bonus, they will acquire wonderful COMMUNICATION skills as they think before they speak and learn to express their own thoughts and beliefs accurately and effectively.

The most important thing you will all learn is that logical thinking is FUN!  As your children begin to analyze word meanings, solve figural puzzles, or play brain-teasing games, their confidence in their own abilities will soar and your own love for teaching will return.  Nothing can IGNITE THE FIRE in your homeschool more than learning that seems more like play than work!

So turn that sour lemon that your curriculum has become into a HAPPY APPLE with fun critical thinking activities and games that you can do right on your own front PORCH!

Before you know it, both you and your children will begin to pour HEART N SOUL into learning again!

© Copyright 2008 Cindy Powers

I can't believe it!  Has it really been a year since I've blogged?

This has been an exciting year! 

Paul is graduating (has graduated actually).  Marley just turned 16!  Luke needs deoderant - lol!  Timothy has made up for any "behindedness" he may have phased through.  His reading has SOARED, he is a Math whiz, and his sense of humor and vocabulary astound me!  Did this child really not utter a word until he was 3½?

The closing of the Bright Minds division by The Critical Thinking Company caused our family to make a major decision for 2008.  We opened BRAIN-athon Emporium!  TCTC welcomed me as a reseller and I expanded the product line to include SMART games which include single-player logic games and multi-player games like Blokus.  I learned that my suppliers also carried a myriad of other brain-building products like manipulatives, science kits, and more and within 3 months we were truly the EMPORIUM we promised to be by the end of 2008.

In my world, play and learning are synonymous.  Games should require problem solving skills, analysis, and critical thinking.  I'm not sure what types of games are my favorite: word games or figural games.

Right now, we are loving Kanoodle.  It is a puzzle game that involves placing different shaped pieces, comprised of connected "beads" into either the rectangular compartment of it's case as a 2D puzzle, or into a pyramid as a 3D puzzle.  There are DOZENS of possible combinations.  It's one of those games that you can't stop playing even when you've solved it once.  There is a link to enter a drawing for a free Kanoodle game in the LINKS.

What's your favorite puzzle game and why?

I don't think our family spring cleans the way my mother did - or the way I did before children.  I remember anticipating the fresh lemon smells, the look of newly lined cabinets and drawers, the KNOWING that the tops of the cabinets, fridge, picture frames and the 'unders' of dressers, sideboards and hutches were spotless - even if nobody could see them.  The end result was so motivating - cleanness, crispness - ahhh purity.

OK, I almost fell for it.  But, no, I'm in dread again at the thought.  Yes, of course I'm tired of the clutter.  Yes, I know, things have escalated beyond the "wiping stage" and have now entered the "scrub zone".  But, do I really have to wash the windows (I have tilt-ins and I'm complaining)?  I wonder what ever happened to the attachments for the upright vacuum.

Hey, I washed the van and vacuumed inside - does that count?

I really can't wait to get elbow deep in wash buckets.  I know when I'm done I'll have the softest knees in town.  I'll be THRILLED when it's actually warm enough to throw open all of the windows and let the fresh air filter through the stale house.

I'll bet the kids would LOVE to wash the windows!  But can I just wipe down last year's shelf liner - or did I do that last year?

I guess I've lost motivation from knowing that with 4 children and homeschooling it won't last very long.  But, I haven't lost my motivation completely - SPRING has sprung just in time.  Who wants to come to a painting party?

HAPPY  *CRISPY CLEAN* SPRING!

Enter the Spring Cleaning Blog Contest!