Free Spelling Program

I was recently telling another mom about the spelling program we are using, and I thought I'd share a little about it here, in case anyone else is interested in hearing about it. It's called Spelling Connections and it's FREE!

I don't remember exactly how I heard about it - I believe it was in the Well-Trained Mind forum, but I could be wrong about that. I'm just an occasional lurker there.  Towards the end of the summer, I was looking into curriculum options for my boys, specifically things that would save money and be a good fit for our mostly classical, eclectic style of home schooling.  Spelling Connections is one of those things I figured I'd try for the time being, but wasn't sure if we'd stick with it or not. Well, it's been several weeks, and we have stuck with it! Most importantly, there's no more grumbling about spelling anymore. None. Zip. Nada.

So - how exactly do we use Spelling Connections?

I'm so glad you asked.

I like this program because it includes a combination of worksheets you can print out as well as online activities.  My boys do best with this kind of variety - they enjoy using the computer whenever possible, but will also tolerate a certain number of worksheets in any given week.

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We generally do spelling four days a week.  When I'm doing my lesson planning, I go to this Spelling Connections site and print out two things for each of my boys for their grade level; one is the list of spelling words and the other is called the Homework Master sheet.  On Monday, they simply copy their words on the first worksheet. I also count this as handwriting practice, since the sheets for the lower levels are lined. The lists are written in cursive beginning at grade 3, so my third grader actually does the second grade lists. He hasn't done any cursive writing yet, and is still working on basic handwriting right now, so this works best for him. The second day we do spelling, usually Tuesday, the boys take turns doing the activities online.  On the main page of the site, there are two options for the games - choose the one on the left. It will look like you need to log in to use it, but you don't. From there, you'll see four games listed on the left-hand side. At the top of the page you can change the Unit and Grade Level as you do each game. We do two games one day, and two another day. On the third day of spelling work, usually Thursday for us, they do the Homework Master sheet. This is usually some kind of puzzle, so they actually don't mind it.  Recently, my fifth grader's sheet had to do with translating the words into Morse Code. He thought that was pretty fun and I appreciated the creative way of doing spelling practice.

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On day number four, usually Friday, the boys each do the last two games online, including a Spelling Bee that quizzes them on the words. I like that the other game is proofreading - this has been a good challenge for my boys, but much more fun to do on the computer.  They will have a paragraph to read (shorter for the first grader, longer for the fifth grader) that includes some of their spelling words. They then use the various proofreading marks to correct punctuation and spelling mistakes in the paragraph. I think this is a great way to reinforce not only correct spelling, but grammar lessons as well.

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Assuming they do well on all of that, they are done with that unit for the week and will move on to the next one the following week. Every five or six units there is a review unit that will have a word list but no games to go with it. I have them copy the words and do other activities throughout that week like writing sentences using the words, practice spelling them with magnets on the whiteboard, etc... You could even use this in combination with something like Spelling City where you can plug in the words and get more games and activities.

So far this spelling program is working well for us. My boys practically fight over who gets to do their spelling first on the computer! And because of the variety they don't even grumble about the worksheets. I appreciate how easy it is for me on the planning side of things. Win, win.

If there's anything else you'd like to know - ask away in the comments! If you have a spelling program that you love, please mention that, too.

~ Dori

Calendar Connections

As we end one month and begin another, I wanted to share an idea with you.

Carisa over at 1+1+1=1, has created these wonderful Calendar Connections that we’ve been using for a few months now and love!  I don’t remember how I first stumbled onto her post about these, but I do remember thinking that not only was it a great idea, it seemed so DO-able.  You see, most of the time when I read about everyone else’s great ideas I just end up feeling inadequate and insecure about my own projects – or lack thereof (tell me I’m not alone?).  But this one seemed like something I could actually do!

It’s possible that much of the allure was in the need to laminate things. I’ve written about my love of laminating before.

Carisa has a variety of Calendar Connection themes on her website and so far we’ve done three of them; Botany, Astronomy and the Arctic and Antarctic.  I purchased this pocket calendar, after much searching for the best price, and it’s been perfect. As a bonus, the cards that come with it (for the months, seasons, etc…) are in English and Spanish! My kids aren’t doing any formal language instruction right now, but have learned a little Spanish, so it’s been fun to use the calendar cards to learn new words.

I had wanted a large, visual way to help my younger boys learn the months, days of the week, etc… and this has been just what we needed.  It also comes with cards for the different holidays or birthdays, which helps us all to see what special things are happening during the month.

So far, I’ve let my boys choose which theme they wanted to do for the month, but this month I chose for them, since Carisa has a Thanksgiving theme.  At the end of the month I just go to her site, print out the cards for the theme we want to do the next month, laminate them, cut them out and enlist a little helper in putting them in the right pockets – easy!

Each day, usually at dinnertime, we pull out that day’s card and read it. This usually leads to some discussion or commentary by the boys. I also gather whatever books we have lying around the house or check out new ones from the library that fit our theme and keep them in our book basket for the boys to peruse. Of course whenever we can tie in our other school work with the theme (i.e. doing our science chapter on botany and our Magic School Bus kit about the solar system) we do that, too.

We’ve really enjoyed adding this to our day – my boys look forward to it and remind me to read the new card each day! It’s been a very simple way to learn new facts about topics the boys are interested in and I’m looking forward to making our way through all of the themes. You can find all of the Calendar Connections here.

Happy Halloween!

~ Dori

Patterson Fruit Farm

Last week my littlest guy turned two (I’m sorry, didn’t we JUST bring him home from the hospital?!).  We racked our brains to come up with a suitable way to celebrate his birthday and ended up spending the afternoon at nearby Patterson Fruit Farm.  You see, our little guy absolutely LOVES to be outside. Mention that you want to go for a walk and he’ll be off in a flash, returning holding his shoes. So the fruit farm, and their Family Fun Fest, was the perfect plan to make him happy for a day.

Along with plenty of cake, of course.

If you’ve never been to Patterson Fruit Farm, then you should abandon all plans for a day and take the kids on a field trip. There is some beautiful weather in our Cleveland forecast this week and it’s also the last week of the Family Fun Fest(through the 28th).  I can’t think of a better way to savor a beautiful fall day.

During the week it’s $4 a person (2 and under free) and that includes a wagon ride out to the enormous play ground. There’s a wide variety of things for kids to enjoy – they can play in the hay stacks, climb the tree house in the woods and slide down the 50 foot double slide, wander through the corn maze and take a wonderful nature hike through the ravines and hills of Geauga County.

If you’ve lived in the Cleveland area for any length of time, you probably already know about this gem, but I wanted to mention it for anyone who may not be familiar with it.  They also have a Farm Market, of course – full of goodies like maple syrup, apple cider and freshly prepared pies and donuts.

And now I’m hungry. Great.

Needless to say, we really enjoyed our visit  – we hadn’t been in quite awhile and it was the first time my husband had a chance to go with us.

So take a day off this week and enjoy these beautiful days of fall!

~ Dori

Laminating Leaves

I love fall. It's definitely my favorite season. We've been celebrating this season as much as possible around here lately and I wanted to share a very simple craft that I did with my Cub Scout Den last week.  The boys thought it was really cool! Or maybe they were just humoring me...but still.

If you have a laminator, then this may be the easiest craft ever. But even if you don't, you can still accomplish basically the same thing (more on that later). Here's what we used:

I've written about my new found love of laminating before, where I also talk about my particular laminating machine.   But if you want to get a laminating machine on a tight budget, I understand that the Scotch Thermal Laminator is really great and a bargain at less than $30.  Also - I use the generic laminating sheets that you can buy on the cheap at wholesale clubs like Sam's, Costco or BJ's and they work great.

Yes, I realize that taking pictures of leaves on a tree-patterned tablecloth wasn't too great. I was too lazy to do anything else.

Step One: Force the kids outdoors take the kids on a walk and collect a variety of leaves.

Step Two: Remove stems from leaves and arrange on one side of laminating sheet.

Step Three:  Close up the laminating sheet and make sure leaves are as flat as possible between sheets (you may need to enlist the help of a good, heavy book placed on top for a few minutes to accomplish this).

Step Four: The really fun part! Carefully run the whole thing through your laminating machine! (You did turn it on, right?)

Watch the magic happen...

If you don't have a laminating machine, you can get similar results using wax paper - place leaves between two pieces and then iron. Clear contact paper would probably work, too.

Voila! Instant fall decor! You could three-hole punch these and add them to a science notebook, use as place mats, or hang in the window, like we did. If you really want to make more of a science project out of it, you could have the kids look up and label the individual leaves.

We were much too lazy to do anything like that, though.

~ Dori

What are some ways that you enjoy fall and bring it into your homeschooling?

How to Complete Your Homeschooling Notification

I’m going to start this post out with a big ol’ disclaimer – I am NOT a lawyer/HSLDA representative or other expert-type person. I AM a homeschooling mom in the state of Ohio and simply want to share my experience with the annual notification paperwork, in case it helps others. I hear from a lot of new homeschoolers who are often confused and overwhelmed by the legal aspect of homeschooling. Ohio is a pretty middle-of-the-road state in regards to their requirements for homeschoolers – there are many states with fewer requirements and a few states with more requirements. So, chances are, even if you’re homeschooling in a different state, many of the steps I’m going to lay out here will be similar to your notification process. This is a handy map that shows where each state falls in regards to their requirements.

Whether you are new to homeschooling or just new to the state you’re now living in, the first step is to become familiar with the specifics of the laws regarding homeschooling in your state. One good place to do that is this site – you can also check out my page  “Ohio Law,” which has links to helpful sites as well.  Talk to other homeschoolers in your area for their advice and most importantly – Don’t Panic! Even if you live in a state with a somewhat high level of requirements, if you simply file your paperwork each year, you’ll be fine.  Think about it – the public schools are getting your tax money but not your child and the costs that go with them – why would they put up a fight about your deciding to keep them home?

When it comes to your homeschool notification, there are a couple of important things to mention:

• You are notifying the school district you live in of your intention to homeschool – you are NOT asking permission. You have the right, under every state’s laws to educate your children at home. It is legal in this country. Say a prayer of thanks for that and move on.

• You do not need to notify until your child is six years old.  For instance, I have a son who turned six in June and this will be my first year adding him to my notification paperwork. Yes, I’ve already been homeschooling him, but the school district doesn’t care until he’s six.

• Grade level is irrelevant. Maybe your six year old is technically doing second grade work, or you have a 10 year old who is doing third grade work. It doesn’t matter. You fill in the child’s birthdate on your form and supply a list of curriculum materials. Each subsequent year of notification you will include a copy of standardized test scores OR portfolio assessment (more on those later).  Again, don’t panic, as your child only needs to show reasonable progress.  For instance, a child only has to score better than the 25th percentile on the standardized test. Sad? Yes. But the low standards of the public school system may be why you’re homeschooling in the first place.

• The curriculum outline/book list you include just has to show that you’ll cover all the recommended subjects and does NOT have to be what you actually end up using all year. We homeschoolers are notorious for tweaking our curriculum as the year goes on. The school district just wants you to show some kind of plan. I basically take their outline of required subjects and fit my curriculum list to that. For example:

C. Mathematics

1. Teaching Textbooks 3 and 5

2. Life of Fred

3. Modern Curricula Press Math A

Now – for a good walk through of the steps, including links to the basic forms you can print and use, you can check out this Steps for Notification from the PEACH homeschool group website. Again, this is for my state of Ohio, and I am NOT an expert! If you have any questions or comments – ask away! And I’ll do my best to get them answered.

If this is your first year of homeschooling, or even just your first year of homeschooling in your state, then you’ll fill out the notification form, include a curriculum list and that’s it. Every following year you will do the same thing and also include a copy of standardized test score OR a portfolio review assessment. In my school district, I usually get a letter from the superintendent a few weeks before the start of school that is a reminder to notify if I’m homeschooling for another year. Ideally, you’ll want to send your notification in within three weeks of the school year starting, the exception being if you’ve recently moved, of course.

Should you encounter any problems with your notification, such as not receiving your letter of excused absence, or being asked for additional information, etc… then find an experienced homeschooler and get their advice. There are any number of support groups, both online (Yahoo Groups) and in person, and people are more than happy to answer any questions and give advice based on their experience. If you’re really in a bind, then many homeschoolers get a membership to the HSLDA (Home School Legal Defense Association) and turn to them for help. The important thing to remember, though, is that if you’ve read through your state’s requirements and complied with them – you’re fine. You are NOT asking permission – you are NOTIFYING that you ARE homeschooling. You are basically calling off for your child for the whole year – one long, excused absence. If you’ve sent your notification, and are actively homeschooling your child while keeping some kind of record of it, then you’ll be fine.

And once you have received your letter back from the school district, don’t forget to use it to get discounts! Read this post to learn more about that.

I hope everyone’s year is off to a good start!

~ Dori

September 11th for Kids

If you’re interested in help explaining what the anniversary of September 11th means in a kid-friendly way, then you may want to check out BrainPop today.

 

I’ll be writing more about this wonderful resource for homeschoolers later, but for now you can watch the featured video about September 11th without a subscription and check out the additional activities and free videos while you’re there.

Click here to check it out.

~ Dori

Do you use BrainPop in your homeschooling?

Cub Scouts

I know I said that my next post was going to be about the notification process, but then I remembered that my good friend asked me to promote our Cub Scout Pack! So that’s what I’m going to talk about today.

Besides – you should have already sent in your notification.

But for those of us who are lazy, disorganized, procrastinators (or is that just me?) I’ll still be writing a post about it soon. I know a lot of newbies would appreciate “seeing” what this process looks like.

Anyway.

If you homeschool boys then you may have thought about joining a local Cub Scout Pack at some time or another.  My boys have been scouts for a couple of years now and it makes a wonderful supplement to our homeschooling. My third son has been counting down the days until he gets to participate (he’s been dragged around to enough meetings and field trips!) and this year he’ll finally be a Tiger Scout! If you live near Cleveland, then I can tell you we have a really great pack right here in the area.

Cub Scout Pack 789 is based out of Mayfield Village but our families are from many of the surrounding areas. We are a Catholic group, but welcome anyone who is interested in joining us – just understand that we attend Mass together and include prayer in our meetings. We currently have room to accommodate more scouts for this year and we’ll be kicking things off with Mass followed by a picnic and playtime on Wednesday, September 12th – so there’s still plenty of time to join!

We have a website (I run it) where you can check out the information on the main page. The other pages are kept private and only members who join our pack will have access to those.  If you’re looking for a way to get your boys out to make friends and join in fun and educational activities and field trips, then you might want to consider joining our pack. And, if your son will be a Bear Scout (approximately age eight or third grade) then I will be their Den Leader this year!

Now, if that isn’t reason enough to sign up then I don’t know what is.

Pinewood Derby ribbons!

We generally have den meetings or pack field trips twice a month on Wednesday afternoons. Our Pack Leader does a fantastic job of organizing field trips for our pack – my boys have thoroughly enjoyed AND learned a lot from these excursions. The moms try to arrange carpooling whenever possible, too, which is especially helpful for those that may have to drag little ones around with them. Our pack also does only one fundraiser at the beginning of the year, which keeps our dues VERY low.

Check out the website here and let me know if you have any questions!

Hope your September is off to a great start (but can somebody please tell me where summer went?!).

~ Dori

Not Back To School Blog Hop

I decided to join in on the Not Back-to-School Blog Hop today. Due to my complete inability to plan ahead, along with just being busy with end-of-summer stuff, I missed out on all the other weeks. I did read some of the other entries, though, and encourage you to do the same!
 

You know. When you have some free time.
 

The theme for this week was "A Day in the Life" and since I already had a post about that, albeit an older one, I thought I'd share it. So, if you missed it the first time around, here it is for your reading enjoyment once again.
 

My next post will be about the notification process - so come back, or subscribe, so you don't miss out on any juicy information.

~ Dori

Homeschooling on The Diane Rehm Show!

My husband is a HUGE fan of Diane Rehm – and really all things on NPR. He shared this recent episode with me and then we stayed up talking about it after he got home from work. It was THAT good.

At least I thought so. And my husband thought so. I think the first reason we were both excited is that Diane Rehm is kind of a big deal. So for her to devote a show to the topic of homeschooling while providing the opportunity for us to listen to her fully engaged in the conversation was rather exciting.  What we also enjoyed about the show is that the mom and author who was being interviewed, Quinn Cummings, hit the nail on the head with all of her responses and insights about homeschooling.

Even when the very cranky public school teacher called in trying to defend the public school environment. But throughout the interview, Quinn was nothing but supportive of public school teachers and all that they do. In fact, another public school teacher later called in to thank her for that. Every homeschooler I know certainly has nothing but respect and admiration for the monumental task public school teachers have.

Here is the link to the NPR page with information about the episode. There’s a link to “listen” in the upper left corner above the title and I encourage you to do so.

Scrolling through the comments at the bottom of the page was also pretty interesting…

And here is the link to the book written by the mom in the interview. Let me know if you’ve read it! I’ll probably add it to my already lengthy list of books I want to read at some point.

~ Dori

Lego Mindstorms Camp or Heaven for Little Boys

If you have boys, then you most likely have Legos. Not that girls don’t play with them, too, of course. I have fond memories of the Lego Castle I had when I was a little girl. But boys and Legos just seem to go hand in hand, don’t they? All I know is that approximately 1599 of our 1600 square foot house is covered in Legos. So when a fellow homeschooling mom tipped me off about a FREE Lego camp being offered at one of the local libraries, I dropped everything to be on my computer at exactly one minute after registration opened to get my oldest signed up.

Okay, I didn’t exactly drop everything, since registration was in the morning and I was on my computer anyway
checking Facebookdoing important things. But still.
The week-long camp was called Robotronics and gave kids a chance to work with Lego Mindstorms. If you aren’t familiar with Mindstorms,  here’s the description from the Lego Education site:

“This set allows students to build and program real-life robotic solutions. Provides cross-curricular opportunities in science, technology, engineering and math. Allows for creativity in design.  Enables students to explore the world of engineering by building complex control systems.”

Basically, Mindstorms are Legos that can be built into all kinds of robots and then programmed using the computer and software, to do any number of things.
Sounds good, right?

Except for the part where the set costs almost $300 (yikes).

Summer Reading Programs

Whether you take a break from "official" school work or not, chances are you continue to encourage your children to keep up with a healthy dose of reading throughout the summer.  And if they're reading anyway, why not take advantage of a summer reading program as an added incentive to keep your kids reading? I've compiled a list (below) of websites to get you started in your search. My boys will definitely be doing the Half Price Books reading program - print the logs,  keep track of 15 minutes of reading a day and earn gift cards (up to $10 if you do both months of June and July!) to spend in the store. You'll hear me speak often of my love affair with Half Price Books.

But if you don't have one of those stores near you, don't worry! There are plenty of other options. Start your search at your local public library and check out these websites, too (who says you can't do more than one?):

Half Price Books "Feed Your Brain" Program - Log 15 minutes of reading time a day and earn $5 each month to spend at the store. Easy peasy.

Barnes and Noble "Imagination's Destination" Reading Program - Free printable reading kit and earn a free book. Today (and the first Tuesday of every month) happens to be their Online Storytime, too - perfect for little ones, but don't be surprised if your older kids gather around to listen, too.

Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge - There's also a link to a free reading timer app that looks very handy - especially for an older child who has an ipod, ipad, etc...

BJU Press Summer Reading Program by JourneyForth - Different age groups with different prizes and a chance to win the grand prize - a Kindle Fire (who wouldn't want one of those!).

Also check out PBS Kids Island for a fun calendar of daily reading activities, games for kids and more.

Happy Reading!

~ Dori

Do you have a reading program/incentive that you like to use in the summer?

Memorial Day

As we cookout, relax and enjoy this holiday together with our families, we should also remember what this day is truly about - honoring the HEROES who have given their lives for our freedom.

Whether you're interested in helping your kids learn more about today's holiday or just need some things to keep them occupied at the family gathering, here are some links to various Memorial Day activities from around the web:

BrainPOP: My go-to source for quick lessons on a variety of topics. Use the large button in the sidebar over there on the right side of this page or click here to see today's Featured Video.

Veterans in My Family Activity: A great idea for kids to learn about family members who have served in the military. Check it out here.

Memorial Day Printables: A variety of printable puzzles can be found here on usmemorialday.org.

More Memorial Day Printables: A large selection of various printables and activities - I thought the printable short stories looked particularly interesting. Click here.



Have a great day!

~ Dori

Where Have I Been?

Perhaps you’ve noticed a lack of new posts lately here and have been wondering where I’ve been? Or maybe you haven’t, in which case please don’t tell me as it will just hurt my feelings.
I didn’t mean to neglect my website – life just…happened.
What EXACTLY have I been up to?

So glad you asked.
 

1. Trip to Indiana. One set of grandparents lives in Indiana, where I grew up, and the boys and I went for a little road trip to see them recently. As it turns out, it was the last time we’ll be visiting my parents in their old house, since they are in the process of downsizing into a new one! We did get to see the house they’ll be living in, though, and it’s really perfect for them.

Hopefully my dad forgives me for putting his picture on my website. I couldn't help it. It's just too sweet. He's a really good Papa.

2. Vera Bradley Outlet Sale. For several years now, my mom and I have discussed going to the Vera Bradley Outlet Sale. Well, this was the year we made our dream come true.  If you’ve never been to this annual event then let me tell you that it’s INSANE. I’m assuming that you know what Vera Bradley bags are – if not, take a look around their website then come on back.

I’ll wait.

I think people either love these bags or think they’re hideous. I will say that if, like me, you like Vera Bradley but can’t easily afford it, then you might want to consider a trip to the annual outlet sale – there was an unbelievable selection of items and all at a substantial discount. After we got back home with our loot, my mom and I added up the savings and for most items it was more than 50% off!  My mom and I really enjoyed spending the day together (my very brave dad took care of all the boys all day!) and decided we’d definitely go back to the Outlet Sale another time – but probably not every single year.

Before you think "hey, it doesn't look crowded at all" - this picture was taken when we first walked in at the start of our session of time. It filled up FAST.

 3. Indianapolis Children’s Museum.  While we were in Indiana, we made a quick trip to Indianapolis for the day. They have a phenomenal Children’s Museum that we used to visit all the time when we lived there.  If you’re anywhere near Indy I highly recommend taking the time to visit this museum – there is something there for kids of all ages.

On our way to dinner in Broad Ripple after leaving the museum we did a drive by of my Alma Mater – Butler University (Go Dawgs!). It looked mostly the same (again, I won’t mention how long ago I went to school there).

4. Bruce Springsteen. Once we returned home to Cleveland, we had a visit from the other set of grandparents (you can start to see why there’s been no time for post-writing).  They watched the boys one night while my husband and I headed to downtown Cleveland for the Bruce Springsteen concert – it was our 11th anniversary gift to ourselves. And it was AWESOME. Before the concert, we had some tapas and drinks at D’Vine Wine Bar. This was our second time visiting this place – they have delicious food (and at a bargain with weekly Happy Hour specials) and a wide variety of drinks and wine flights. If you find yourself in downtown Cleveland, looking for a place to maybe relax with your significant other, then you may want to try this place out.

5. Playroom Redo.  We live in a really terrific rental house, but had a bit of a flood disaster in the basement awhile back. We had to rip out the carpet before it became a job for a Hazmat team. We replaced the flooring with something more waterproof and also took the opportunity to make the space into a more organized play area for the boys and all their Legos. It would probably be more impressive if I had a “before” picture, too.

6. First Communion. Even if you aren’t Catholic, chances are you’re aware of what a big deal this Sacrament is to those of us who are.  This was my second oldest son’s special day and we were so blessed to have family and friends join us from near and far away.  Fortunately, the weather cooperated and we had a beautiful weekend for the celebration! And I only cried twice during the Mass. I’m sorry, but the sight of my sweet boy walking down that aisle – dressed up,  hands-folded, look of innocence on his little face – of COURSE I got teary-eyed.

7. Mother’s Day.  I was fortunate enough to get two Mother’s Days! The first one was celebrated with family during First Communion weekend – the boys got to swim in a hotel pool and my parents treated all of us to a wonderful dinner out. MY Mother’s Day was celebrated the following weekend. As many of you know, my husband is the General Manager of a restaurant. Which means I don’t ever see him on Mother’s Day. So when he did have a day off, he helped our boys treat mommy to a nice, relaxing day together. My day included a delicious breakfast, finally buying a new phone, time alone at the bookstore/new fabric store, ice cream (finally got to try the Blizzard of the Month – “Confetti Cake” – yum!), and a cookout for dinner with chocolate covered strawberries that my boys made for me.  Not much more you could ask for in a Mother’s Day.

That, my friends, is a rundown of the last month or so for our family. Phew. Where does the time go? Somewhere in there, we have been making progress with school work, too.  We’ve added some things that I’ll be posting about soon. I’ll also be updating the other information on this site, so be sure to check back often and take a look at the calendar, groups and classes pages for things happening in the Cleveland area.  Contact me anytime if you have things you’d like added or changed on the site – I always love hearing from you! Some of you have already contacted me about adding/changing information – thank you!
 

I hope you and your families are doing well and enjoying the season of spring as well!

~ Dori

Indoor Amusement

We surprised our boys last weekend with tickets to the Indoor Amusement Park at the I-X Center here in Cleveland. My husband had scored the tickets for free, but the regular price of around $20 each isn’t too bad considering all of the rides you can ride for that. We’ve taken the kids to many fairs over the years, but always end up spending a small fortune on those stupid tickets or bracelets you always have to buy to ride the rides.

Anyway.

On Sunday afternoon we told the boys we had a surprise for them, then piled into the van and headed for the I-X Center. Even though we showed them pictures on the website, they still weren’t exactly sure what to expect. Especially since the last time we’d been to the I-X Center it was full of Legos.   Obviously, we had to make it clear that that would NOT be the case this time.
But they were not disappointed. The place was full of different rides and games and there was something for everyone to enjoy. Even a really nice “tot” area where parents could sit and relax while the little ones played in playhouses or on ride-on toys.

If you’ve ever been to the I-X Center here in Cleveland than you’ve probably ridden the giant Ferris Wheel that sits in the middle of the building. I hate Ferris Wheels. Now, I am not a person who hates rides. But between the sheer height of the Ferris Wheel and the way those little baskets/gondolas hang so precariously without any restraints in the seats whatsoever, I hate them.
My kids, however, LOVE them. And when two of my sweet boys really wanted mommy to ride it with them, what was I supposed to do?
Suck it up and ride it.  Obviously.
 

 I just focused on their little smiling faces and it was fine. But in case you don’t believe me about how high the thing is…
 

 That seemingly small building WAY down there is the AIRPORT.  Those tiny specks in the distance are AIRPLANES.

But there were plenty of other rides besides the Ferris Wheel, of course.
 

 We have a variety of ages and levels of fear in our family, but everyone managed to find rides that they enjoyed. Even the grown-ups.
 

 My presence was also requested on the Bumper Cars.
 

 Most of the rides didn’t cost anything (other than the cost of tickets to get in, of course). But there were a few things that had an additional cost.  All of the Fun Houses (I think there were maybe three or four of them) cost $1.00.  My boys really liked them, though, and since we didn’t pay for our tickets, we didn’t mind shelling out a few dollars for those.
 

 There was also a petting zoo that only cost money if you wanted to buy food for the animals.  And of course my kids wanted to feed the animals. Nearby was a pony ride that cost money to ride, too. Fortunately, I only had one kid interested in doing that. I’m pretty sure that any of the games where you try and win an enormous stuffed animal or goldfish also cost additional money, but honestly we stayed so busy with riding all the rides that my boys barely paid any attention to those.
 

 
And what would an Amusement Park be without  an abundance of overpriced junk food? Mmmmm….junk food. I like a good funnel cake as much as the next person, but we managed to steer clear of the food stands. Although, the bar (yes a bar!) was tempting…
 
We spent several hours enjoying the rides then went home and ordered pizza instead. MUCH cheaper to feed the family that way and it was still a treat.
 
The Indoor Amusement Park will be at the I-X Center here in Cleveland through April 15th – you can get more information on their website here.  It looks like you can get a good deal on tickets if you buy them at any Marc’s, too. Our family really enjoyed spending the afternoon there – I think we stayed for about four hours. There are also shows like Cirque Shanghai and a Tiger Encounter that happen every few hours (no additional cost for those) but we didn’t get a chance to check those out.
 
Needless to say, the boys slept very well that night. If you’re in the area and looking for something fun to do I’d definitely recommend it.

~ Dori