IMPORTANT UPDATE

Create A Thinking Child!

We at eFantasmic we are homeschooling parents ourselves, so what we do is guided by what we want for our own children. So we essentially do this for our own children first, and what we think is important for our children.

The consensus here at eFantasmic is that the most important thing for our children is to creating thinkers. We want our children to be thinkers more than memorizers. In the end, when they grow up, how they think and what they create for this world is what's important.

Memorizing a bunch of random facts is good for game shows, but creative and productive adults requires being a thinker. So that's our objective.

So we are going to add a new series of activities to all the new curriculum. We've been working really hard on this the last month or so and are close enough to finishing to tell you some of what you should expect.

If it's hard to get in touch with us lately we apologize, we've been going through a major renovation to get the new curriculum ready. It seems like it's taken forever and almost every waking spare minute. But we are pretty much finished, and if you agree with our philosophy of creating thinking children rather than random memorizers, you will be really happy.

More importantly YOUR CHILDREN will be happier! These activities are incredibly fun, and hardly seem like school, yet they are incredibly powerful. Of course we will still include the traditional stuff, but the new activities will transform your children into active and creative thinkers!

There is lots and lots of research done on how powerful these techniques are, and yet they are virtually impossible to implement in a public school setting. Of course that doesn't stop us!

So here is a basic outline of some of the activities that will be added to all the new curriculum.

As we begin announcing new curriculum, expect to see these activities attached and ready for you to download!

COMING SOON
TO A CURRICULUM
NEAR YOU :-)

Activities To Create A Thinking Child

Vocabulary Word Playing Cards
These are printable cards that you can use for lots of games. We have instructions for several active learning games you can play with these cards. Plus, the more eFantasmic Curriculum Cards you combine together, the more interesting it gets!

Active-Idea-Hunt
This activity deepens your child's analysis and knowledge of a concept or vocabulary word. By having your child associate the idea with other concepts that they already know, the information gets filed in their brain in a more structured way. Plus, your child will begin to think actively about concepts making them a thinker more than a memorizer!

Create-A-Cartoon / Timeline Storyboard
This is perfect for children who like to sketch or draw. This will get your child to think through the material and try to consolidate the story into major ideas/concepts and groupings. This is perfect to have your child begin to think about the major concepts the author wanted them to understand from the material.

Did You Know…
Children love to feel like they know something that no one else knows. This is the perfect opportunity. In this activity your child will create their own knowledge base. This activity changes your child's approach to the material. Instead of being a passive observer of the educational material, they change into a highly active learning mode. It's more powerful than you think. Before you know it, your child will begin telling everyone they meet about what they learned!

Sketch-An-Idea
This activity transforms fragmented ideas or facts they learn into a solid concept. As they do this activity, your child's thinking process will organize the materials so that they can actually explain or teach an idea. Since your child will be creating a very simple drawing, they will have to explain in their words how it conveys an idea. It's a simple idea, but has powerful results.

My Favorite Quote
Remember when you saw a great movie, and there was a line or quote that stuck with you? Or remember a book you read, and there was a great quote. Children remember a really funny, or strange line. Anything interesting to your child counts. Anything at all. The whole idea is to make your child watch/read the material with an eye of discovery. This activity comes with journal sheets so at the end of the year, they have their own collection of great quotes.

Create-A-Scavenger-Hunt
This activity is lots of fun, especially when they think they are creating a challenge for other children! This activity transforms your child's mind into a teaching mode as opposed to an active observer. As a homeschool mom, you already know that by teaching something you learn it yourself, often better than if someone was teaching you. This does the same for your child.

Create A License Plate
As we drive around, it's always fun to see license plates from different states and regions. Now is your child's chance to create their own license plate! This is your chance to guide your child into whatever you want them to explore more of. It's a perfect way for your child to remember what they experienced and try to sum it up as a whole.

The Crazy Story
Children really love this activity. This is an activity where children take turns using the vocabulary works to make a crazy story. It can be done by an individual child, but is more fun with two. Your child will really dig into the meanings and explore the use of the new vocabulary and ideas they learned. The structured sheets make this activity fun and easy!