Summer Learning is Easy and Flexible with Brain Chase

Yesterday, I took time to update our Brain Chase dashboard. My kids can't wait to start another one of their summer learning adventures. This particular one appeals to their adventurous spirit.

We have a lot going on this summer. From camping trips to summer reading to swim, swim, swimming, we're looking forward to playing and learning together. That's why I'm loving the flexibility of the program. If we miss a day (or even a week!), my kids can go back and easily catch up on their own. 

When we registered, my kids committed to doing 5 hours of online work a week for 5 weeks. They don't mind because they know that they're on a mission to solve a mystery - one that could win them $10K in scholarship money!

At first, they were wishy-washy about the idea, but they changed their minds after watching the first video...

And then when they learned that last year's winner won a trip for his whole family to Spain to dig up a real treasure? Well, forget it. They were totally in. 

This year's challenge is to find the Sunstone of Cortés! 

To participate, your family will need a high-speed internet connection so your kids can watch the animated videos (with clues!) and complete their work. While it is best for them to use a desktop computer for any writing assignments, they can complete math, language and reading assignments on tablets. Or your kids may elect to learn a language instead of the writing assignments, like mine did. They chose Spanish, of course! And will be learning from Rosetta Stone. 

We've already received a package in the mail with items that appeal to their sense of adventure: a decoder ring, a compass, two mysterious beans... Well, my kids used the decoder ring to break the code that came in a letter with the package. They totally loved it. They planted the beans to reveal a secret message when the seedlings came up. And now the ring and the compass live in secret compartments in an old jewelry box awaiting the start of the program.

So what are you waiting for, Parents? If it sounds like Brain Chase might be the perfect summer learning adventure for your family, then visit BrainChase.com today. There's still time to register!

Teachers! Do you know about the teacher referral reward program? Brain Chase is offering a $15 Staples gift card to teachers for each of their students they refer to Brain Chase. Registrants who hear about Brain Chase from a teacher can simply enter that teacher's name and school name at registration. The referral rewards can add up to substantial funding for classroom supplies – it's a great opportunity for a class fundraiser through the PTA or other school organizations.

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. All thoughts and opinions are strictly my own. 

Free Download: Alphabet Letters Game in Spanish

Has your child decided to learn a new language this summer? Maybe your whole family has decided to learn Spanish! If so, you're going to really enjoy this month's Spanish-learning freebie from our sponsor Spanish for You! 

If you're looking for a way to boost your Spanish spelling skills or even just simply test your knowledge of Spanish vocabulary, this is a great game for you! This Alphabet Letters Game comes with letter cards and directions for playing. (It's sort of like scrabble, but not different.) It also includes an audio file to help the players/learners with the pronunciation of the letters in Spanish.

Click here to download this file

If this is your first time here, you can find other free samples from Spanish for You! here. There are some fantastic downloads of games and activities for you and your family to enjoy.

Thanks, Spanish for You!

PBS KIDS Launches Two New Series

Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to attend the PBS Annual Meeting in Austin, Texas. As a PBS KIDS Ambassador, I frequently get a chance to be the first one to share news and other resources (like free downloads) with you about upcoming shows, new episodes, and exciting content across PBS KIDS' multiple digital platforms.

As a true Tejana who lives very far from home, I can't tell you how much fun I had in Austin. Even though I was only there a day and a half, it was such a joy to be in a city where everywhere I looked, I could see the influence of my Texas and Latino culture blended together. I mean, really, as soon as I walked off the plane into the airport, I knew that I was in my home state; delicious aromas greeted my nose, I passed a beautiful display of Texas-themed quilts, and Latino art and imagery were everywhere!

After checking into my hotel, I started off getting together with all my fellow PBS KIDS VIPS (Ambassadors) in the hotel restaurant where we gobbled down ate carnitas and guacamole (made only the way Texas can make it) and queso and...well you get the idea. Afterward, we trekked over to the Moody Theater for an Austin City Limits performance (do you ever watch ACL on PBS?) where we enjoyed more awesome food, and then left to go eat dinner at La Condesa! (If you think all I did was eat at this meeting, you may be right.)

Okay, so let me focus now on all the great things I learned at the meeting.

The next morning, I was up bright and early to have breakfast and learn that this coming year, PBS KIDS is turning its attention to science with two new programs that your kids will love.

First, let me tell you about Nature Cat, a super fun new series created by brothers Adam and David Rudman. David is probably best known for being the puppeteer behind Sesame Street's Cookie Monster and Baby Bear.

David and Adam have worked together before. Do any of you remember the show Jack's Big Music Show that used to air on Noggin? Yep! They created it.

This time, they were inspired by their own childhoods of time spent outdoors. (Remember how much time you used to spend in your backyard or front yard when you were a kid? I was ALWAYS in my 'Buelita's garden.) They wanted to create a show that encouraged children to get kids outside and away from the couch and their digital devices.

In comes Nature Cat to the rescue. This animated show is designed to encourage kids to explore and develop connections with the natural world. Fred is our hero. He's your everyday house cat who dreams of going on outdoor adventures. His friends are always at his side to share his deep love of Mother Nature.

This series motivates kids to observe, ask questions and investigate the natural world in their neighborhood and beyond. It also empowers kids to be responsible stewards of the environment and to delve into conservation. For example, your child might learn how to build a butterfly garden, make bird feeders, or use the Nature Cat Scavenger Hunt app (to be released this November!) to find animal tracks outside.

David and Adam grew up loving Looney Tunes (as did I!) and their love of that series influenced the look and feel of this show. You can see that reflected in the animation style of the show. But I'll tell you the absolute best part of this show is that most of the voices behind the characters are done by cast members of Saturday Night Live!

The next big series coming out is Ready, Jet, Go! I absolutely love this series that explores space and teaches your child astronomy concepts through the adventures of Jet Propulsion, an alien from outer space who visits Earth. Together with the neighborhood kids, Jet travels the galaxy in search of answers and adventure.

The creator of the series Craig Bartlett is also the mastermind behind Dinosaur Train, and like that prehistoric show, Ready, Jet, Go! will also have a live scientist who teaches kids fascinating facts and concepts in between the animated segments. Dr. Amy Mainzer is an astronomer at Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a research and development center and NASA field center located in La Cañada, Califonia. In her short video segments, she introduces kids to experts in the field of astronomy, basic physics, how things work, careers in science, and the history of our U.S. space program. Your kids will learn about the first astronauts in space, what their rocket looked like, as well as crazy cool science experiments such as how to build a comet in your kitchen!

Overall, I think parents and children both are going to love the new programs lined up for this coming year. Stay tuned to MommyMaestra for updates on these and your other favorite PBS KIDS shows!



Disclosure: I'm a PBS KIDS ambassador. I attended the PBS Annual Meeting to learn about these great new shows for our kids. All thoughts and opinions above are strictly my own.

The Latino Children's Summer Reading Program Is Open!

Dear Familia, thank you so much for staying with me this past month as I practically abandoned this blog while I concentrated my full attention on the L4LL Latino Children's Summer Reading Program. It is with the greatest relief that I announce that our new and improved program is officially open!

Check out our new English and Spanish websites. If you haven't registered yet, please do so. Your kids can win great prizes this summer such as Chromebooks, Google Play gift cards, school supplies, and books from publisher Lee & Low to help your family start a home library.

We have two (2!) FREE programs this year:

First is our basic Summer Reading Program for kids 0 - 18 years old. Yes, we absolutely know that most kids under 4 can't read very well on their own. But parents with children under 4 (yes, even newborns!) can register and pledge to read to their children over the summer (and we hope, year round). This program includes access to our 2015 Summer Reading Lists featuring Latino children's literature titles, printable and online reading logs, and many other printable materials.

I'm most excited about our Summer Reading CAMP for kids 6 - 12 years old. I've agonized over this curriculum for the past two years and this year, it includes contributions from some of my favorite Latino children's authors and illustrators. Alma Flor Ada, F. Isabel Campoy, René Colato Laínez, and Lulu Delacre have be wonderful supporters of Latinas for Latino Lit and our programs for Latino children's literacy from the very beginning. I'm looking forward to working with additional authors and illustrators in the years to come.

The CAMP has lots of fantastic reading passages, poems, and other activities to boost your child's literacy skills during this critical time in their academic life. We have crafts, drawing activities, storytelling projects, and so much more.

I really hope that all of you will take advantage of the program this summer and use it to build your children's literacy skills.

I must end this post with a sincere, heartfelt thank you to Google for believing in our program. From the very beginning two years ago, they've provided endless support to make the Latino Children's Summer Reading Program possible.

Have questions? Join us today 6/1/2015 at 12p EST Watch our quick hangout on our YouTube channel for our live program overview and new features, including this year's digitized, mobile-friendly program. Click on our Facebook or our Google+ pages to navigate to our hangout.

So what are you waiting for? Go and register today!

Perlita Comes to America

I had the pleasure to read Perlita Comes to America recently and I have to say, although I loved it, it also tugged at my heart strings and left me feeling really sad. I know and understand that children immigrate to the United States every single day; it's a harsh reality. I never read a story that depicts an immigrant experience so well through a child's voice. Because the stories of children who make life-changing journeys are so important, I am thrilled that this new series of bilingual picture books will tell a gentle, honest story of children's feelings through this dramatic lifestyle change.

Perlita is a school-aged girl who has to leave her home in Argentina with her mother so they can join her father in the United States. Author Silvia Perez Arvelo takes the reader along when Perlita has to say goodbye to family and friends in her native country. Although she is thrilled to see her father again and is excited to board the big, shiny airplane, she understands that the transition to her new home in America will not be easy.

Faced with a loneliness and a language barrier in her new city, Perlita and her mother make a new friend who volunteers to teach them English and bake new favorite American treats. They quickly understand what they must do to feel at home in the big city.

A perfect book for children who can identify with Perlita, I personally cannot wait to share this book with my boys. I believe it will help them become aware that hundreds of thousands of children come to this country for a better life. I hope they will also be able to understand the sacrifice many families have to endure and that not all of these types of journeys are easy. I hope that if Silvia Perez Arvejo continues to write about other children's experiences she will find a way to make different stories as kid-friendly as Perlita's. Our kids are smart, need to know the reality of complicated situations such as immigration, but we need gentle voices like Silvia Perez Arvejo's to help parents like us deliver these important stories.

Disclosure: I was given a free download of Perlita Comes America in Spanish and in English so I could review the book. The website does have a free English and Spanish audio version that I know moms would love for a read-along. Please click here to purchase your book.

Betty Galvan, is writing "for smart and stylish moms" over

at MyFriendBettySays.com.

Best Buy Education Opportunity to Win $25K for Classroom Technology

© Tyler Olson

Many of MommyMaestra readers are educators in bilingual or dual immersion settings, parents with children in a low-income school, or parent of students in dual immersion schools. If you are one of these, then I really want you to know about this opportunity from Best Buy Education (BBE).

Best Buy Education is currently offering a generous sweepstakes open to all educators and administrators. It runs from now through July 4, 2015 with a grand prize of $25,000 in Best Buy credit, as well as additional prizes of Gift Cards and Microsoft Surface Pro 3 tablets with keyboards. If your (child's) school could benefit from adding or upgrading technology/devices in the classrooms, then this is a great opportunity to win the technology tools and services your students or child's school need to succeed. Think about all the fabulous educational apps that are now on the market that make concept learning easier!

Unfortunately, this sweepstakes is not open to homeschoolers or preschools. 

Click here to enter for a chance to win and view complete details.

Best Buy Education is a direct-channel division of Best Buy®. They make it easier than ever to give students the tech tools they need to succeed. Their dedicated Account Managers will consult with you, offer knowledgeable, unbiased advice and guide you to the product and service solutions that best meet your needs and budget. Whether you are rolling out new devices in the classroom, launching a Bring Your own Device initiative, or upgrading the technology throughout your school, they can provide the products, support and protection you need.

Best of luck to your school!!!

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. All thoughts and opinions, however, are my own. 

Free Activity to Build Number Recognition Fluency in Spanish

This post contains affiliate links.

May's freebie from our sponsor, Lectura para niños is a simple set of worksheets to strengthen your child's number recognition fluency in Spanish.

Leah says:

Here is a freebie that I use for number recognition fluency.

The pages are divided into groups of numbers that the students need to practice on. Each day, I will pull the students into small groups for five minutes. Each group will practice the number fluency section that they are working on. The students progress through these pages quickly with just five minutes each day!

Number recognition is one skill set that is taught preschool and students should be completely fluent in both letter and number recognition when they enter kindergarten so that they do not fall behind.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THIS FILE

• Dale, Dale, Dale / Hit It, Hit It, Hit It: Una fiesta de números / A Fiesta of Numbers by René Saldaña, Jr.
• ¡Fiesta! by Ginger Foglesong Guy
• Just a Minute! A Trickster Tale and Counting Book by Yuyi Morales
• Cool Cats Counting by Sherry Shahan

For more awesome Spanish materials, especially those that teach children to read in Spanish, check out Lectura para niños on Facebook, Teachers Pay Teachers, Blog, and Pinterest.

5 Tips to Help Kids Deal with Disappointment

As kids grow older, they start shifting from experiencing life's little disappointment to living through bigger ones each day. Even parents start to feel heartbreak over their children's hiccups or missed opportunities.

Kids start to learn for the very first time that academic tests are super important. They realize that they have to tryout to play their favorite sport and even the most comfortable performers develop stage fright. Some children lash out angrily after hearing or living through a hard disappointment. Some cry. Some withdraw and don't ever want to speak of the situation. Yet others act as if nothing ever happened. No matter how children react, it's best if  parents consistently handle the situation in the same manner.

1) Show empathy. Watching a child swing a bat and miss making contact with the ball over and over is not easy for any parent. Receiving the news that Alex has to work harder in math to keep up with his peers is tough, too.  Nevertheless, parents should always ask for the child's version and perspective of the situation and try to figure out what to do next...together.

2) Show love. Regardless of how the parents feel about the "failed" opportunity, they never stop loving their children. Kids should always know their parents still love and support them during their successes and failures.

3) Don't reward. A call from a teacher to discuss a student's poor behavior is not only hard on the parents but sometimes extremely embarrassing to the child. Even if a child cries (and breaks your heart) and promises to start behaving, it's best if parents don't reward with anything just to try to make him feel better during that difficult moment of discussion. Allowing your children to feel disappointment is okay.

4) Give it time. Try not make a child's failure an instant "teachable moment." Sometimes kids understand a missed opportunity but react positively in disbelief and want to chat about it as soon as possible! Sometimes kids break down and cannot even listen through their heartfelt sobs! Tread carefully before plunging into a deep conversation.

5) Consider it a learned lesson. Kids should know that a failed opportunity and a disappointment will only help them achieve their future goals. Raising resilient kids in a world full of challenges is important and parents shouldn't try to solve all of their children's problems. Listening and practicing positive feedback to help them see what went wrong is key, but allowing the child to feel what they need to feel during a failure is crucial. Parents will soon see that children can become more confident after analyzing their failures and will give them hope that next time things can have a different outcome.

Betty Galvan, is writing "for smart and stylish moms" over

at MyFriendBettySays.com.

Free Download: Build Your Own Board Games in Spanish

I'm just loving this month's Spanish-learning freebie from our sponsor Spanish for You! And if you have a Spanish learner in your family, I think you will, too.  

The Build Your Own Game Board and Activities comes with activity cards and links to activities and games that boost language learning. This particular freebie focuses on the months of the year, symbols or images associated with each month, and an audio file to help the players/learners with pronunciation. There's also a worksheet at the end for practicing the vocabulary.

Click here to download this file

If this is your first time here, you can find other free samples from Spanish for You! here. There are some fantastic downloads of games and activities for you and your family to enjoy.

Thanks, Spanish for You!

Brain Chase Giveaway!

I am so excited about this summer's learning project for the kids! You might remember that I signed up both of them to participate in Brain Chase Summer Learning Challenge. They've been watching all the video trailers and working themselves into a fit because they just can't hardly wait to get started. (It totally helps that two of the main characters look just like my two kids.)

What has ME so excited is their new partnership with Rosetta Stone, which gives participants the opportunity to participate in a language module as part of their online academic work. When I registered my kids, we had the option of choosing between "learning a new language" and the "writing module." Students will be required to complete 2 lessons (a total of a little over an hour) each week in order to fulfill their language requirement and unlock the next episode. Students can choose from 30+ languages when they register, and will have a week at the beginning of the program in which to switch languages if they prefer. Naturally, we selected Spanish!

You might remember that this year's challenge theme is The Sunstone of Cortes. Check out this awesome video showing how the Sunstone was made to hold the safety deposit key to $10,000 in scholarship money. I LOVE the whole concept of an archaeological treasure - (especially one dealing with Hernan Cortes and the Aztecs!).

Are you wondering what the program is like? If so, check out the new dashboard demo for a hands-on look at Brain Chase. You can interact with last year’s dashboard for detailed explanations about how kids’ work is tracked during the program’s five weeks.

Psssst! Teacher referral reward program

Brain Chase is offering $15 to teachers for each of their students they refer to Brain Chase. Registrants who hear about Brain Chase from a teacher can simply enter that teacher's name and school name at registration. Kids fight summer brain drain to win a treasure... and teachers win too! You can download flyers to share with your students here.

Unfortunately, early bird pricing has already ended. But with their premium pricing package, you also get a Brain Chase-branded adventure backpack, a Brain Chase t-shirt and Sunstone of Cortés patch ($249 for the first registration, and then $149 for each sibling). Later in the summer, these items will be available for a la carte purchase. You’ll be able to find the details on the website soon.

The Brain Chase Library Challenge!

Throughout the month of May, Brain Chase will be hosting a 4-city Library Challenge. In each of the following cities, they will hide a voucher worth $1,000 in a local public library:
Salt Lake City (May 4)
Seattle (May 11)
Boston (May 18)
Orange County (June 1)

A unique riddle will lead adventurers to the exact location of the voucher and a complimentary Brain Chase registration.

The Giveaway

Brain Chase has MOST graciously offered to give one MommyMaestra reader a FREE subscription for this summer's challenge!

To enter, all you have to do is use the Rafflecopter below.

¡Buena suerte!

a Rafflecopter giveaway 

Disclosure: This is part of a sponsored campaign with the Motherhood and Brain Chase. However, all opinions expressed are my own.

It's Okay - I'm Doin' Good as a Homeschool Mom

DISCLAIMER: This is part of a sponsored collaboration with Minute Maid and DiMe Media. Minute Maid will provide this prize. Minute Maid is not a sponsor, administrator or connected in any other way with the contest – and all opinions are my own.

About this time of year, I tend to somehow end up overloaded. I feel stretched thin and wonder what the heck I’m doing. I struggle to get the school year finished, turn in all my freelance work, run MommyMaestra, answer emails, launch a summer reading program for Latino children, maintain my garden, keep house, feed my family, support my husband, and most important, be a good mom.

There are certainly days when I feel like I’m probably the worst mom on the planet and feel the guilt of not being fully present mentally for my kids 24 hours a day. There are days when my daughter has been talking for five minutes and asks me a question and I blink and realize I have no idea what she said. It drives her crazy. And I don’t blame her.

Sometimes I’ll be reading aloud to my kids from a totally awesome book and my mind will wander to all the things I have to get done before bed. Then I’ll suddenly realize that I have no idea what I’ve just read or what has happened in the last chapter, but apparently it makes sense because my kids are hanging on every word. I didn’t even realize it was possible to read out loud and think about something else at the same time.

There are days when I walk into the living room in the middle of the day and find my kids watching a movie because I got tied up on a conference call. Or days when we come back home from a bajillion errands and I walk into my house and think we’ve been robbed because there is such a mess everywhere and I know I didn’t make it.

There are moments when we are in public and I ask my kid some simple math problem and they have momentary memory loss and I wonder in horror why it is taking them so long to add 2 + 2. And then I think, “That’s it. I’m a total failure as a homeschooling mother. How could I really think I could teach anyone anything?” I concentrate on breathing and looking calm while the witnesses nearby (who send their grand/kids to a traditional school) give me the side-eye, when all I really want to do is look at my kid and say, “Really? You can’t remember here and NOW in front of everyone?”

But it only takes unexpected moments to make all my doubts and fears disappear in an instant. The moments are spontaneous and take me by surprise and it is like someone yanked a pair of really blurry sunglasses off my eyes. Like when it’s my son’s turn to read aloud and I am astonished - and overjoyed - at the ease with which he reads difficult passages. Or when my daughter is doing tricky math problems in her head, and I have to work them out to get the answer! Maybe we’ll be walking across a parking lot and both my kids slip their hands in mine just because.

Or when my daughter laughs and we talk and she is happy and loving and gentle and kind and I know that she is just turning into such an amazing, joyful person with a passion for doing good and making a difference. Or those quiet, early mornings, when my son comes downstairs and peeks into my room, then enters and gently kisses my forehead while he tucks the covers in around me. Or when my husband instinctively reaches out to hold my hand even though he is busy talking to someone or thinking about work.

All these moments combined fill my heart and reassure my mind and I know that I’m “doin’ good.” All the worry and self-doubts melt away, and I embrace those snippets of time and give thanks for my family.

I don’t think I’m the only mom who experiences these feelings of insecurity and guilt.
Which is why I can relate to this video...

What about you? Do you feel like you’re doing a good job? Or do you get overwhelmed like me?

This Mother’s Day, I want to celebrate you. I want to reassure you. I want to recognize all the awesome things that you (or someone you know) are doing.

Do you know a mom who’s doing a great job but may not realize it? Post a shout out or short story about her in the comment section below to let her know that she’s doing a better job as a parent than she may realize. With the comment, you’ll have a chance to win a Minute Maid prize pack, which includes a $50 Visa gift. You can use the gift card to continue “Doin’ Good” with your kids - or give it to someone you think could use it to keep Doin’ Good with her/his family.

Thanks so much to Minute Maid for creating this campaign to reassure and empower parents. To learn more, you can follow Minute Maid online, on Facebook, on Twitter.

Feliz día de la madre.

Early Registration for the 2015 #L4LL Latino Children's Summer Reading Program Opens!

I am SO excited to announce that early registration for the L4LL Latino Children's Summer Reading Program has officially opened!

Over the last two summers, we've listened carefully to your feedback and this year's program reflects your requests.

First, thanks to our underwriters, we're pleased to announce that the entire program is FREE for both families and groups.

Second, you're going to love our new, family-friendly website! Once you register, parents and even children can login to our site on June 1st to access both of our summer reading programs. Here's a brief description of the two and how they differ:

Third, you can officially save the titles of the eight books your child reads (or that you read to your child) over the course of the summer as he or she reads them with our new easy, online reading log.

As in both previous years, both programs are available in English and Spanish, and all of the materials have been updated.

Now the absolute BEST part is our online Summer Reading Camp. Designed for children in 2nd through 6th grade, it includes so many wonderful literacy boosting activities, including original work by Latina authors and illustrators! Your students can explore 10 themes: Art, Music, Sports, Folklore, Food, Summer, Nature, Heritage & Immigration, Family, and Poetry. Infused with culture, each one comes with a reading passage and games or activities that strengthen reading and writing skills, as well as additional reading recommendations to fit each theme.

I can't wait to share some snapshots of the camp with you, but will have to wait until we're closer to June 1st.


And did I mention that this year's program is open to GROUPS for FREE, too?

Educators: Once you register your group, you'll receive a Group Number that you can share with your students. When they sign up with your number, we'll be able to track them in our system and send you monthly reports on how your students are progressing over the summer.

Parents: Need help nudging your child's school to participate? Download and share our flyer with them!

So what are you waiting for? Head over to our new L4LL Summer Reading website and register your family or group!