Creative Family Fun

Your one-stop shop for kids activities and family fun

Terri Thompson

Illuminated Manuscript Initials: Exploring Armenia Through Art

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There’s an area of land sandwiched in between the continents of Asia and Europe, called Eurasia. Armenia is a small, mountainous country located in that area. It is in Asia, very near Europe. (See it on a map here.) Armenia was a part of the former Soviet Union after being taken over by Russia following World War I. The modern Republic of Armenia gained its independence in 1991.

 

For our artistic inspiration, we went far back in history, way before World War I. Every time I went searching for Armenian art, I discovered illuminated manuscripts. While not exclusive to Armenia, I found many wonderful Armenian examples. Here is an illustrated version of the Armenian alphabet done in the style of illuminated manuscripts. The Armenian alphabet is also unique with a rich history. It was created in 405 A.D. You can read about the history here. The written word and beautifully illustrated versions are an important part of Armenia’s history. We used this inspiration to create illustrated versions of our initials.
Disclosure: This post contains Amazon Affiliate links. Please see my disclosure for more details.
We started by cutting out our initials from wrapping paper. We were looking for something fancy and shiny. We settled on the silver wrapping paper we found in our closet. After cutting out the initials, we glued them down to plain white paper. If you don’t have fancy wrapping paper, you could also use scrapbook paper, construction paper, or magazine pages. I wouldn’t recommend aluminum foil as it won’t glue down to the white paper.
We used our collection of Sharpies to decorate our initials. I wasn’t sure if the washable markers would work on the shiny wrapping paper, so we went with the permanent markers. They worked perfectly! The girls decorated their initials and they decorated the paper surrounding the initials, just like some of the pictures we viewed. After we were done, we got more paper and made more initials. It was fun to see how fancy we could make them!

 

It has been such a valuable experience to explore the world through art. The girls missed it while we took a short break for the busy, busy month of May. We’re eager to start exploring again!

Thanks for coming along on our virtual trip to Armenia with Project: Around the World. Click here for all the projects we’ve done so far or on the button below.
 

Plus 1 Minus 1: An Easy Math Card Game

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Learning math facts. It’s something that’s just got to be done.

Usually the default recommendation is to drill with flash cards. Sigh.

I know flash cards aren’t always the worst thing and I do know kids who actually enjoy them.

But, my two girls just aren’t all that fond of flash cards drills. (Or maybe they just know that Mommy will come up with a cool game that’s way more fun…)

So instead of grabbing flash cards, I grabbed a deck of playing cards to practice our plus 1 minus 1 math facts.

Practice your plus 1 minus 1 math facts with this fun math card game. It's a great way to practice math at home with your kids.

Plus 1 Minus 1 is an easy math game that reinforces the concepts of adding 1 to a number and subtracting 1 from a number.

It’s simple and fun.

Disclosure: This post contains Amazon Affiliate and other affiliate links. Please see my Disclosure Page for more details.

Practice your plus 1 minus 1 math facts with this fun math card game. It's a great way to practice math at home with your kids.

How to play this Plus 1 Minus 1 math game

To play the game, remove all the kings, queens, jacks, and jokers from the deck. Shuffle the cards and lay the pile face down.

This game can be played by one or two kids.

Decide ahead of time whether you will be playing Plus 1 or Minus 1.

Each player takes turns flipping over the top card on the deck and quickly adding 1 to that number (for Plus 1) or subtracting 1 (for Minus 1). If they answer correctly, they can keep the card. Simple, right?

When I play one-on-one with my girls, I flip over the card and my daughter answers. Her goal is to be able to collect the entire deck!

Practice your plus 1 minus 1 math facts with this fun math card game. It's a great way to practice math at home with your kids.

Other Ways to Play

Play Plus 2 Minus 2, Plus 5 Minus 5, Plus 10 Minus 10, or whatever set of facts your child needs to learn. It’s very easy to mix up the game.

Add a little challenge. If they flip over a red card, they need to add one. If they flip over a black card, they need to subtract one.

Play a speed round. How fast can you go?

Practice your plus 1 minus 1 math facts with this fun math card game. It's a great way to practice math at home with your kids.

Maybe it’s just my own dislike of flash cards, but I’d much rather play a fun game to practice facts than drill.

Plus 1 Minus 1 is fun, easy to play, and needs no special supplies other than a deck of cards. Perfect!

More fun math games

Domino Doubles Game

Math Fact Sticks

Number Line Secret Codes

Exploring Greater Than or Less Than with Playing Cards at Better Than Homework

Sunshine Addition Fact Family Activity at Planning Playtime

Activity Books Rock!

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I’ve partnered with Parragon Books to start bringing you fun book reviews each month. They have a ton of fun books – including a favorite type in our house, activity books.
Why are activity books such a favorite? Because, they rock!
Disclosure: I received a free copy of the book from Parragon Books; all opinions are my own. All links are Amazon Affiliate links. Please see my disclosure for more details.
We received Busy Busy Things That Go with 2000 Stickers and my kindergartner claimed it as soon as she saw it. It rocked her world. It’s rated ages 3 and up and it’s absolutely perfect for that age group. There were a few mazes and matching activities, but most of the pages ask the child to complete a picture using the stickers. My daughter added piles of rubble and safety signs to a demolition site. She also added missing parts to construction vehicles. The pages are fun and colorful. Plus, they are great prompts to storytelling. All in all, it fit our criteria for a rockin’ activity book.
We always keep a pile of activity books on hand. Why?
They’re portable. Take one along to a restaurant or a waiting room. Activity books are mess free, quiet, and have plenty of things to keep your child from getting bored.
They’re perfect for the car. Take one (or two, or three) along on road trips, for all the reasons listed above.
They keep the mind working in many ways. Whether your child is solving a maze, spotting differences, making matches, or storytelling, they’re using their brains. Not only that, but they’re using their brains while having fun.
It’s an independent activity. Kids can work on activity books independently. Pre-readers may need a someone to read the instructions, but for the most part they can work on it alone. As long as you make sure you buy activity books at the correct level for your child, they’ll love the opportunity to work on something on their own.
They’re fun. This right here is the #1 reason why we love activity books. They’re fun and my kids enjoy them.
Do your kids love activity books?
Thank you Parragon Books for the opportunity to review. You can find more of their activity book titles here. You can also follow them on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest for more fun.

5 Quick Ways to Learn About Writing Number Stories

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We’ve done Number Stories at the Park and played with a Number Stories Store.

Now, I’ve got five more quick ideas for writing number stories.

The ideas are quick, simple, and designed to show you just how easy it is to incorporate math practice into your day-to-day life.

It's easy to learn with you try these five simple ways to understand and practice writing number stories at home or in the classroom.

Life it busy. (That’s an understatement, isn’t it?) But, no matter how busy life is, all you need is 5 minutes for some quick math practice with your kids.

Here are 5 super-simple, super-quick ways to practice writing number stories with your kids.

Disclosure: This post contains Amazon Affiliate links. Please see my Disclosure Page for more details.

It's easy to learn with you try these five simple ways to understand and practice writing number stories at home or in the classroom.

1. Draw a Picture

If your child loves drawing, combine math with art. Have them draw a picture of a number story.

It may be as simple as an apple tree.  An apple tree had 4 apples. 2 fell off. How many apples are left on the tree?

Or it can be as elaborate as your child wants it to be. The premise is simple. Use drawings to help tell number stories.

2. Number Stories: Road Trip Version

Combat boredom in the car by making up number stories. Use the scenery outside the windows to help you out. Take turns making up number stories and solving them.

An example may be: I see 5 trees on the right side of the road and 7 trees on the left. How many trees are there altogether? 

This is also a quick way to practice math while you’re driving back and forth to activities during the week.

It's easy to learn with you try these five simple ways to understand and practice writing number stories at home or in the classroom.

3. Use your child’s favorite characters

Do they love super heroes? Or maybe your child is completely into dinosaurs. Whatever the favorite, use your child’s favorite characters to  help illustrate number stories.

Captain America fought 3 villains and Spiderman fought 4 villains. How many villains did they fight altogether? Use toys if you have them or pictures in a book. Or, you can just take turns telling number stories to each other.

Let your kid’s favorite characters play a starring role and you’ll have a fun twist on math practice.

4. Go on a walk

We went on counting walks when the kids were younger. But, now that they’re older, those counting walks can turn into number story walks.

Use the things you see as inspiration to create number stories during a walk. I see 3 green houses, 2 white houses, and 1 grey house. How many houses are on this block? 

It's easy to learn with you try these five simple ways to understand and practice writing number stories at home or in the classroom.

5. Use manipulatives

Sometimes kids just need to use their hands and move things around in order to “see” the math problem. Manipulatives (any small thing you can use to count) are a great way to illustrate math problems.

Use tiny erasers, rocks, beads, LEGO blocks, or anything small item you have. Use them to help solve your number stories.

For example: If you have 5 heart erasers and take away 2, how many hearts do you have left? 

Math practice can be so easy!

Use any or all of these ideas to help your child practice writing number stories. Maybe one idea will work better than others. Or maybe you keep all the ideas in mind so you’re not constantly doing the same type of math practice over and over again. You can have fun with math!

What are number stories and why do I keep talking about them? Click here to find out.

Number Stories Store: A Pretend Play Math Activity

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It’s doesn’t take any special supplies to put together a play store.

We’ve done so many different versions, grocery stores, jewelry stores, and toy stores.

You may think of a pretend play store as a preschool activity. But, as the kids are getting older and working hard at their math skills, it can become so much more.

Since we’re been talking about number stories so much lately here at Creative Family Fun, I thought I’d show you how to use a pretend play store to practice solving and writing number stories with a number stories store.

Disclosure: This post contains Amazon Affiliate and other affiliate links. Please see my Disclosure Page for more details.

Set up your Number Stories Store

Pull out your pretend food, some toys, school supplies, or anything else that can make up a store. I’m sure you’ve got something to use at home!

Label each item with a price.

Use pretend money or empty out the change jar (use the real stuff for some real life practice) and you’re ready to go.

What kinds of number stories can you create?

If you want to buy 4 cookies that cost $.25 a piece, how much money do you need?

You have $.50. How many cookies can you buy?

You get the picture.

Talk through all your purchases, by turning them into a number story.

Let your kids pick a selection of items. Have them talk their way through their purchase.

I’m buying a stick of butter for $1.25 and some broccoli for $.75. How much will they cost?

I have $2.00 and I’m buying some spaghetti noodles for $1.50. How much change will I get back?

The more your child practices number stories, the easier it will get.

If you get down to the basics, a number story is just a real-life application of math, and, shopping is a real-life activity that everyone can relate too.

Not only will your kids practice number stories, but they’ll get some money practice too at their number stories store.

Do your kids still like to play store?

Most of the food items used in this post are from Melissa & Doug. Links to the items are below:

Slice and Bake Cookie Set
Fridge Food Set
Wooden Pantry Products
Wooden Donuts

You may also like one of these math activities:

Number Stories at the Park

5 Quick Ways to Learn About Number Stories

Math Fact Islands

Math Paper Plate Games at Better Than Homework

Counting Money Busy Bag for Big Kids at Views From a Step Stool