Hey there! I'm Kim and I'm glad you're here! Grab a cup of coffee (and your laminator!), sit back and enjoy some great activities, some life sharing, and a lot of fun-inspiring ideas.
What will you find on Life Over C's?
Over 1,200 tested and proven activities that are perfect for your kids.
Every activity on Life Over C's is something that I have done and created myself. All 1,200+ activities. Even activities that guest writers or creators have contributed is something I have tested myself.
No A.I. or Mass Produced Kids' Activities
Why exactly does that matter?
If you have been on the internet at all lately, you are probably aware that A.I. is becoming a big thing. "Anyone" can create anything with A.I.
It creates images, writes books, pens research papers. It will even write a thank you card to your dear aunt Susie for the lovely Christmas present you received.
But beyond A.I. there are services where bloggers can purchase, pre-made, untested 'educational activities' and printables. A one-size-fits-all approach to resources with no thought to the developmental-appropriateness, underlying goals, specialized formatting that is needed when creating resources to help kids of all abilities.
It can be hard for new teachers or those who are moving to a new grade level to know what is truly the best resource for their unique situation.
And veteran teachers and therapists who are learning new techniques, modalities, and re-vamping old, outdated materials are looking through all the noise to find the activities that they know their kids need.
But on Life Over C's, we have over 1,200 tested and proven activities. (Actually between our blog and printable shop we have over 1,700... but who's counting?)
At Life Over C's, I will never share a pre-formatted activity. I will never share an untested activity.
Here are just a few of the things that I keep in mind when creating a new activity:
Ready to use activities for special learners
Would this fit onto an IEP rubric for mastering a skill? Or is it just a time-filler?
- I have spent years partnering with teachers to create attainable rubrics for special learners. Breaking down the process of learning to count to 10 into even more bite-sized chunks that provide opportunities for progress-monitoring, as well as, allowing for continued forward movement.
- Knowing that 6 addition problems on a page can be too overwhelming, but an addition mat that covers the same content, one problem at a time is more manageable.
- Elaborating on the purpose behind a simple tic-tac-toe game, word search, board game when it appears not to meet a lesson objective. (BTW, those games offer critical thinking, visual cognition, cooperative learning... just to name a few.)
Engaging, but Not Distracting
Are the pages engaging without being overly distracting? If the pages are busy, can I make an additional theme/set that would provide a more focused setting without being boring?
- I often offer many themes of the same activity to cater to kids who have a hard time working with non-preferred themes. Or those who are exceptionally motivated when a unicorn pops up on their alphabet activity. While you may not have a unicorn theme planned into your year, providing a child with materials that are unique to them can be very motivating and be 'just the thing' to get their attention.
Tested and Proven Activities for Kids
Is this something I would actually use in my own homeschool or preschool classrooms?
- Drawing from 16 years of homeschooling (at the preschool and kindergarten levels especially, due to our youngest daughter's special needs), running a daycare and preschool, teaching in the preschool classrooms and developing curricula specific to the needs of those classes has provided years of opportunities to know what works and what does not work in those environments. I also worked with children who didn't speak English or were in the beginning stages of learning English for 9 years.
- While some of my teachers did purchase materials for our preschool, they regularly informed me that many of those materials were overwhelming, not on-level, hard to prepare, and hard to maintain. And I ended up working with them to adjust those materials to work in their classrooms. Every Life Over C's activity is created with those criteria in mind.
Developmentally-Appropriate Resources and Activities
Do the art, craft, sensory and science activities provide developmentally-appropriate ways to explore?
- Understanding the different purposes between process art and product crafts and the value of both.
- Recognizing that sensory bins are not 'just for play', but also build vocabulary, work on fine motor skills, provide opportunities for social emotional role play, and bridge motivational gaps for learners of all abilities.
- Breaking down science activities to an accessible level to give kids exposure to experimenting in a safe, engaging way.
Stress-Free Kids' Activities
I believe that real life and learning should be tightly joined together. I share hands-on learning activities, transparent life stories and even some great recipes and DIY projects with you in mind. All of them are designed to be things that YOU can do without special equipment or supplies. Because who needs all that extra stress!?!?
At Life Over C's I focus on:
- Hands-on, multi-sensory learning
- Developmentally-appropriate resources
- and FUN!!!
As a wife, homeschooler, and work at home mom with four awesome daughters, I know that life can be hectic, stressful and a bit messy. Everything that I share with you is designed to make life a little less crazy.
We have a very eclectic homeschool. Partly traditional, mostly delight-led, and definitely hands-on.
Why "Life Over C's"?
This website was started in 2013 while my family and I were working as missionaries in the Republic of Georgia. We worked and lived there for nine years. Thus, Life Over C's!
We have also traveled extensively as a family. A few years back we traveled to 46 states in 18 months in a teeny, tiny motor home! We have also been to 7 countries and endured lots of long flights with kids in tow. Traveling and living overseas will always be a part of who I am. In fact, my kids have lived longer overseas than they have in the U.S.!
We love trying new things and visiting new places, especially with kids, because it is so fun to see the world through their eyes!
In the crazy mix of kids is my youngest daughter who at age 13 has moderate developmental delays due to a genetic disease called Rett Syndrome and still loves doing preschool-level activities. In our family we also have kiddos with autism, ADHD and anxiety.
With that in mind, as an experienced educator and homeschool mom, I create activities that are easily adapted for kids of all abilities. Helping teachers find activities that are developmentally appropriate AND capture the attention of even the most challenging kiddos is my super power!
If you ever need a skill or theme that you don't see on the website, feel free to drop me a line at kim@lifeovercs.com and I will do my best to help you out!
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Email: Kim@lifeovercs.com
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