Homeschool Wednesday and an Observation & Speed Card Game Reading Practice Recommendation!

It’s Wednesday! Which means if you’ve been wanting to learn more about homeschooling, today’s a great day to come visit Brain Spice!

As a homeschool Mum myself, I have a passion for helping homeschoolers (and all parents) enjoy the homeschooling/parenting journey. I love being able to help new homeschoolers understand the process (as I found it overwhelming trying to figure it out myself when I first started), and I also love helping experienced homeschoolers stay inspired rather than feeling overwhelmed (as I totally understand that struggle too).

Many homeschooling ideas can also be used in any educational setting, so even if you’re not homeschooling, if you’d like to know more about how to help your kids love learning, come on in and I’d be happy to share some ideas!

I’ll be in store today between 11am-2pm. 😊

- Janelle 

I thought I’d quickly also mention this cool new game which we’ve started stocking at Brain Spice. It’s such a clever way to help kids practice their reading. It’s great for homeschoolers, parents of school kids, teachers, and tutors!

Due to the words in the game being completely made up, it requires players to actually read each syllable of a two syllable word, rather than just seeing a word and quickly guessing what it says.

The game I’m talking about is called Top Dogs.

Here’s how it works…

The cards show pictures of dogs and their two-syllable names. Lucy, Nina, Clara, etc.

All the cards are shuffled. The players keep their cards in a pile, face-down in front of them.

All together, players turn over the first card from their pile and place it in the middle of the table so that everyone can see it.

To create the new dog name, players will need to find the number shown on the cards and use one syllable from each card.

For example, if there is a number 1 on a card, players must use the first syllable of the name. (Eg. NOLAN would be NO).

If there is a number 2, players must use the second syllable. (Eg. CHARLY would be LY). 
The first player to say the correct name wins that round (eg. NOLY).

The player that says the name first then places the cards in front of them.

If two cards both show the same number, players can use the correct syllables in whatever order they like to make a name (eg. If CHARLY & CLARA are both 2, they could be either RALY or LYRA).

The game is over as soon as a player has no cards left in their hand. The player with the most cards wins the game.

Top Dogs is $17, for 2-3 players, and takes about 20 mins to play.

Available to purchase from our online store here.

(There are always ways to make games like this more competitive amongst players with different reading levels too. You just have to be creative! For example in our house, for these types of games, the more advanced reader may have to wait five seconds before answering, or do a star jump before answering. Be as creative and ridiculous as you like! Your kids will love it!)