Homeschooling for His Glory

K5 Learning -TOS Review

2012-03-03T18:31:00.000-08:00

What is K5 Learning?

K5 Learning is an online Math and Reading program for kindergarden to Grade 5.

"Our intent is to help kids build reading, math and study skills through independent study. K5 is designed for use at home, after-school, on weekends and during the summer, and can also be used in conjunction with a homeschooling program."

"The system automatically chooses lessons for students (based on their assessment and past lessons), tracks student progress and provides reports for parents. "

K5 Learning contains over 3000 animated lessons and activities that cover:

Reading Lessons
Math Lessons
Math Facts
Spelling and vocabulary practice and test

K5 Learning's value lies on its attempt to match the program to each child that uses it. The way this is done is by having the child take an online reading assessment test before he begins, as well as an assessment test in Math. These assessments focus on 8 key reading and math skills:

On the right here you can see the way the result is presented. The test, in our case, was reasonably accurate. Once the test is taken, the program then starts teaching the student at his level.

You can get a tour of K5 Learning here to see how it works.

Price:

Monthly subscription

First child: $25; Additional children: $15

Annual subscription

First child: $199; Additional children:$129

What I love about K5 Learning:

It is a truly educational program; it is not a an educational game. All the lessons focus on teaching curriculum based skills in math and Reading. There are very little games, yet the program itself is very engaging.
I love the fact that with K5 Learning, the parent always has the option of adjusting the level at which the child is working at (by shooting an e-mail to the company - who is very good at responding quickly).
The parent also has the option of creating (very easily) specific math or reading assignments for the student.
The activities are very engaging and interactive, and the topics are well balanced from lesson to lesson. The boys enjoyed working on their Math and Reading Lessons. They would spend a good amount of time on a specific topic, and then move on to another one. Then they'd eventually come back to that first topic until it is mastered and then move up a level. The boys enjoyed working on their Math and Reading Lessons. Each grade has 3 levels associated with it.

The student can work independently. No parent involvement is required
Everything is done online, so no download is necessary.
K5 Learning offers detailed progress reports about the teaching that the student is receiving and how he is doing.
K5 is an advertising-free, safe environment.
At the end of a set of lessons the student is given an assessment score which serves to give the child additional feedback on his work.

My boys were able to fill in their gaps in Math and Reading. My oldest, though a great reader, lacked in phonemic awareness. Doing the K5 Learning reading lessons that were targeting phonemic awareness, he got to improve in that area. He also was able to learn a lot in Geometry, which is a Math topic I had not done much of, and on which he scored at 1st grade level, which was no surprised to me. He is now caught up to grade 3, where he should be.
The boys particularly enjoyed the daily riddle that appeared on their page at the beginning of their daily K5 session

What we did not like:

My youngest, though he was very enthusiastic at the beginning, eventually found it "too boring." To quote him, he thought it was too easy. I think in his case the program was not moving fast enough. He is a quick learner. I should have moved him up, which I did, but I guess not far enough. I was a bit reluctant to do so, as I wanted him to not miss any skills. All this is to say that for some kids it might be tricky to find the right level, but I am pretty sure if I had more time I would have found it for him.

My oldest had no problem because he likes easy. So the speed was just fine for him and he absolutely loved using the program.

My opinion:

I think K5 Learning is a great curriculum for teaching or enriching reading and math. It may look pricey, but it's good value.

Make sure to check out their sample lessons and while you are there, sign up for their free 14-day trial.

If you still have question do not miss their extensive FAQ page.

Want to know what other homeschool thought about K5 Learning head on over to the crew blo.

Disclosure: I was offered 6 week long free access to K5 Learning in exchange for an honest review of this program.

Collage Friday and Weekly Wrap-Up

2012-03-02T16:19:00.001-08:00

This week I am going to go over our homeschooling over the past 2 weeks in 7 quick takes and photos:

1. Besides our regular subjects such as Math, English, Handwriting and History the boys have been doing lots of Art and creations.

In the creative spirit, Zach likes to create TV shows of which he is the host. In the past he has had shows on a family of bears called "Bear Saga", wether and news report shows, and recently he has added a Math show and a Science show called "What is Science all About". He uses my Playbook to film himself (or Jojo or I have to actually film it for him). It needs a lot of editing for me to post it here (lots of dead space, as he thinks it through in the show itself.)

2. Science Experiments. Last Saturday we spent some time doing some exploding creations Video would not upload.

3. Zoo Trip. It was a lot of fun to see the new cub at our Toronto Zoo.

4. Family day was spent working on a 3D Eiffel Tower puzzle. You can see more picture on this week's Wordless Wednesday post.

5. Reading aloud: The mystery of the Periodic Table ??? Very cool book that make the study of our the Periodic Table came to be. It is even interspersed with little quick experiments, like trapping the air released by interacting vinegar and baking soda:.

6. We are enjoying working our way through A Child's Geography. Here is our little model of the atmosphere, which Zach was more interested in tasting than identifying the layers'.

7. The boys started playing basketball last week and are absolutely loving it. They keep wanting to practice inside the apartment. I would not be surprised if someone comes knocking complaining about bouncing noise . . . No picture because mom was more busy talking than taking pictures.

8. Our History has taken us through the age of Discovery, to the Reformation and the Elizabethan Age. I have not been doing much hands-on History with the kids, as we have been spending time on our review products. We have a project fair coming up at the end of March and our topic will be The Reformation, so hopefully I'll have pictures of the study of that time in History.

9. In the course or our History studies, we have been learning about Shakespeare, and on top of reading books about him and his life, we have been introducing the boys to some of his writings.

That's about the bird's eye view of our homeschool happening these days. For more homeschool happening visit Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers and Homegrown Learners.

Wordless Wednesday

2012-02-29T15:16:00.000-08:00

Reading Eggs -TOS Review

2012-02-29T08:09:00.000-08:00

Online homeschooling programs are on the rise. Gone are the days when the only way to do school was to pull out this textbook and that workbook, sit at the dinning table, or the school desk, pencil in hand and start learning. Now, it's more get to the computer, log into this or that website and start learning.

Just recently I was given the privilege of reviewing yet another online curriculum.

First off, what is Reading Eggs?

Reading eggs is a learn to read and reading comprehension interactive online program.

From the website you can read:

"Reading Eggs makes learning to read interesting and engaging for kids, with great online reading games and activities...
We created Reading Eggs as a unique online world where children learn to read. It supports each child’s learning by offering individual, one-on-one lessons that allow children to progress at their own rate.

The program has been developed by a highly experienced team of educational teachers, writers and developers. The Reading Eggs program focuses on a core reading curriculum of phonics and sight words using skills and strategies essential for sustained reading success..."

Some facts about Reading Eggs:

It is based on the most up-to-date research on how children learn to read.
The lessons use animation, activities and reward games to keep children motivated.
The program is completely interactive to keep children on task.
The variety of fun activities within each lesson provides the repetition needed for these skills to become part of the child’s long term memory.
Children earn golden eggs as rewards for work completed. They can use these eggs to buy reward games.
After 10 lessons, children complete a Mastery Quiz. This provides you with a report of what your child is learning. Children can repeat the online lessons as many times as they like. Young children enjoy repetition and it has great benefits too, as it helps them to learn.
Reading Eggs is a safe site where your child can learn many new skills. You can be happy that your child is spending time learning in a safe and fun online environment that is advertising free.
Each lesson builds on the previous one to build skills in the five key areas needed to become a good reader: phonemic awareness and phonics,sight words, vocabulary, fluency and comprehension.
The program includes Skills Bank Spelling lessons which are the core of the Reading Eggs learn-to-spell program. The Spelling Vault contains 96 carefully graded spelling lessons. Each spelling lesson focuses on a 12-word spelling list.
It can be used with or without the parent seating with child, encourages independent learning.

Reading Eggs also offers a variety of accompaniment books that are completely optional but helpful for cementing the learning. You also have the ability to print off worksheets from the parent's dashboard for more pen and pencil work.

Reading Eggs is designed for :

" 4-8 year olds who want to learn to read. The program begins at an absolute beginner level, so children need no prior knowledge to start. Children can learn to read using this program."

There is another level of Reading Eggs called Reading Eggspress designed for 8 + children. It is meant to help student improve their reading comprehension as you read a variety of fiction or non-fiction books and answers questions about it that involves comprehension and to some degree thinking about the characters.

Reading Eggspress is made up of 5 locations:

The Gym where you read books and answer comprehension questions. basically where the lesson is done. You get Golden Eggs for this.
The Library where you read books for fun to earn more Golden Eggs.
The Apartment and the Mall where you have fun buying things for your house (more accurately your apartment) by using you eggs
The Stadium where you get to play live games against the computer or against another virtual player. The games are actually challenging, they involve grammar, comprehension, and vocabulary.

Cost:

$75 for a 1 year subscription
$49.95 for a 6 months subscription
$9.95 for a recurring monthly subscription

How the program works:

Once you log in you can start straight away at the beginning level of the program or, take a test to place the child at the appropriate level (with questions like the one seen on the right here.

I found that the test tended to put my boys at a lower level, but I figured there is no harm reviewing things you already know.

The program consists of 120 lessons in reading. Each steps are placed on a map that allows you to follow your progress.

Each lessons consists of a series of activities such as the one shown below. There is a nice variety of activities (about 7-9 per steps or lessons).

As the child gets through the activities he gets to accumulate golden eggs, which he can use in turn to build up his home or play games. It serves as a great motivation.

Our opinion:

Both my 6 year old and 8 year old are fluent readers, so the learning to read part was not quite needed, and so did not use it too much. I was very glad to discover that the program contained a spelling portion attached to the reading instruction. It is at the bottom of the reading egg map legend, on the left hand side of the screen shown below:

I, therefore, had the boys practice mainly this part of the program. I have to say my boys normally hate any kind of spelling practice, however, they had no complaint whatsoever when it came to have their daily spelling practice using Reading Eggs. They actually enjoyed it and even asked for it if I did not have them do it on a certain day.

The boys also spent A LOT of time using the Reading Eggspress part of the curriculum. This section was really their favorite. They got to read lots of interesting books, both fiction and non-fiction and answer comprehension questions about what they were reading (at the Library). It helps develop and challenge their critical thinking and comprehension skills. Just as in the Reading Eggs program, they enjoy accumulating Golden Eggs that they were able to use to play games ( at the Gym), as well and furnish their virtual home (by buying stuff at the Mall).

Screenshots from Reading Eggspress

My 2 boys absolutely enjoyed using Reading Eggs and Reading Eggspress. They've certainly improved their reading comprehension and spelling skills.

I would definitely recommend this program as a great learning curriculum, if you do not mind having your child at the computer.

You can try out reading Eggs by registering for a 14-day free trial or you can just check out their sample lessons .

To see what other homeschoolers have to say about Reading Eggs, make sure to check the Crew blog.

Disclosure: I was given a 3-month subscription to Reading Eggs free of charge, in exchange for an honest review.

Some Cool Astronomy Ressources

2012-02-28T05:33:00.001-08:00

As I mentioned before I have been recently very interested in the 4 fields of science and especially Astronomy. I am not a science geek, so this is way above my head, but I am determined to learn. Good thing my hubby is a chemist graduate . . .

Also, in the course of studying A Child's Geography by Ann Voskamp, my 8 year old son, who already liked science, is developing a taste for more science knowledge discovery. So, while looking for answers for some of his questions, I stumbled upon these sites which I though were pretty cool (some new and some old):

The KidsKnowIt from where you can end up @ KidsAstronomy.com

Cool Cosmos

Kidipede

KidsKonnect.com

NASA Science

NASA Website

ESA Kids (European Space Agency)

NeoK12

Sunday Worship

2012-02-26T16:39:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite hymns:

Jesus Lover of my Soul by Charles Wesley

Jesus, lover of my soul,
Let me to Thy bosom fly,
While the nearer waters roll,
While the tempest still is high.
Hide me, O my Savior, hide,
Till the storm of life is past;
Safe into the haven guide;
Oh, receive my soul at last.
Other refuge have I none,
Hangs my helpless soul on Thee;
Leave, ah! leave me not alone,
Still support and comfort me.
All my trust on Thee is stayed,
All my help from Thee I bring;
Cover my defenseless head
With the shadow of Thy wing.
Wilt Thou not regard my call?
Wilt Thou not accept my prayer?
Lo! I sink, I faint, I fall—
Lo! on Thee I cast my care.
Reach me out Thy gracious hand!
While I of Thy strength receive,
Hoping against hope I stand,
Dying, and behold, I live.
Thou, O Christ, art all I want,
More than all in Thee I find;
Raise the fallen, cheer the faint,
Heal the sick, and lead the blind.
Just and holy is Thy Name,
Source of all true righteousness;
Thou art evermore the same,
Thou art full of truth and grace.
Plenteous grace with Thee is found,
Grace to cover all my sin;
Let the healing streams abound;
Make and keep me pure within.
Thou of life the fountain art,
Freely let me take of Thee;
Spring Thou up within my heart;
Rise to all eternity.

Homeschool Mother Journal

2012-02-18T08:47:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since my last Homeschool Mother Journal. That does not mean nothing has been happening here. We have been busy reviewing for The TOS homeschool crew. It's been fun to try new products, but it also makes for our homeschooling to be a bit unusual.

So what has been happening here:

In my life and homeschool recently ...

Well, school, music lessons and sport. These days we are doing Math and English, using online programs, such as K5 Learning and Reading Eggs, and the boys are enjoying them. Watch out for the upcoming reviews of these!

We also have started A Child's Geography and I am really enjoying working through that book.

Handwriting is still going, now the boys have started a contest while they do it.

French is on and off, but we are working on our conjugations. Zach has "to be" and "to have" down. Now working on "to go".

Science is still going as well. We are still working through Elemental Science Biology. We finally finished our study of mammals and have now moved on to birds.

Since the end of January, the boys have been involved in a sport elective on Thursdays. They just completed 5 weeks of Volleyball, and next week will be starting 3 weeks of basketball.

My favorite thing(s) this week was…

1. Flowers from my hubby on Valentine day and our Valentine dinner:

2. Realizing that even though it drives me to the wall to see my eldest in a constant "Jedi motion", he gets lot of exercise in the process, so . . .

What I am reading these days ...

Give Them Grace by Elyse Fitzpatrick

The Good Wife's Guide by Darlene Schacht

Knowing God by J.I. Packer

The Erosion of Inerrancy in Evangelicalism by G.K. Beale

Homeschooling at the Speed of Life by Marilyn Rockett

Questions/thoughts I have…

My boys are absolutely obsessed with Star Wars. What's a homeschool mom to do? I know a unit study, but my boys are not into unit study. . .

A photo, video, link, or quote to share…

Here is a site that I have really been enjoying in the past few months, especially the podcasts: Reasons to Believe.

Make sure to check some more moms' homeschool Journals @ Homeschool Chick.

ALEKS -TOS Review

2012-02-14T20:02:00.000-08:00

What is ALEKS

From the website you can read:

"Assessment and LEarning in Knowledge Spaces is a Web-based, artificially intelligent assessment and learning system.

ALEKS uses adaptive questioning to quickly and accurately determine exactly what a student knows and doesn't know in a course.

ALEKS then instructs the student on the topics she is most ready to learn.

As a student works through a course, ALEKS periodically reassesses the student to ensure that topics learned are also retained.

ALEKS courses are very complete in their topic coverage and ALEKS avoids multiple-choice questions.

student who shows a high level of mastery of an ALEKS course will be successful in the actual course she is taking.

ALEKS also provides the advantages of one-on-one instruction, 24/7, from virtually any Web-based computer for a fraction of the cost of a human tutor."

ALEKS, being an online program, requires a computer but anyone with internet access should be able to make it work.

ALEKS has programs for elementary school from grade 3 to High school, as well as SAT, exam, and college preparation. It can also get you ready for higher education in Math, Science and Business.

ALEKS can serve as a tutor that targets gaps in student knowledge with no textbook required.

ALEKS provides the parent with a master account that allows you to monitor the progress of the student and manage the acccount. Regular e-mails are sent informing you of the progress.

The programs also allows for individual assessment and testing.

When you first log in you are given an assessment test that will determine what you need to learn or practice. This information is going to be presented in the form of a pie graph made up of the different mathematical topics you need to cover. As you do the practice exercises assigned by the computer successfully, the pie graph will fill up.

You also have the option of printing worksheets instead of working at the computer.

ALEKS also includes a way for practicing math facts in the section called Quick Tables.

Price:

$19.95 per month
only $99.95 for 6 months! Six months for the cost of five
only $179.95 for 12 months! Best Deal: You save $59.45
family discount available

Our thoughts

First, I have to say that ALEKS does seem to be a very comprehensive program as it covers everything you need to know in Math, depending on your grade level. My 8 year old, 3rd grade son, although he did not mind working on it, was not very enthusiastic when it came time to do ALEKS. I think part of it is because, there is no audio and the exercises are really online worksheets, with one exercise per sheet, and my son DOES not like worksheets. I was surprised though that he did not complain about doing it, so there was something about it that appealed to him and made him do Math without complaining. I think some of it has to do with the explanation available with every exercise (you just have to click on the "explain" button).

For me, the 2 aspects that are most attractive about ALEKS are

that all the guesswork is done for you as to what to teach and in what progression.
that the visual pie graph concept is very engaging and motivating.

Want to try it out? ALEKS offers a 2 month trial. Take advantage and get a feel for it!

Make sure to check out what other homeschoolers are saying about ALEKS.

Disclaimer: I was offered a 3 months subscription to ALEKS in exchange for an honest review.

7 Quick Takes Fridays

2012-02-10T19:10:00.000-08:00

1. All school subjects got done this week: Math, English, Spelling, French, Reading, Science, Geography, Vocabulary.

2. We started A Child's Geography by Ann Vo and I really love this curriculum, both the content and how it makes you aware of the needs in the world around us. The project they worked on at the end of chapter 1:

Where they fit in the context of how big the world is: Zach, in his house, in his city, in his province, in his country, on his continent, on the earth:

3. How a game of Monopoly with a 6 year old and an 8 year old can become a not so fun time. My boys love to play Monopoly cards and Monopoly U-built. However, neither of then are good sports, but more so my youngest. Last night, they both were losing badly, and it ended in tears and suspended game. These are great opportunities to teach them about the reality of life and how it is all about enjoying each other's company and a game together, rather than winning or losing. Doesn't work out so well though . . .

4. My boys have been falling asleep late lately, here is one reason why:

5. Zach's newest painting creation:

6. The boys and I located Orion in the night sky. What an excitement!

7. Made homemade naan bread this week, and it was a hit. We had it with Red lentils soup.

Math Rider - TOS Review

2012-02-09T18:08:00.000-08:00

Looking for a fun way for you kidsto practice math facts, you may want to check out Math Rider.

Math is one of those subjects it seems, that we never have enough help with. This is even more true when it comes to mastering those Math facts. That is why I was more than happy to try out another Math product for the crew.

Math Rider is an online educational Math game that seeks to help your child master the basics math facts in addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

The way Math Rider works is that each child gets to be a rider on a quest, or a mission. In order to complete the mission he has to keep answering math facts questions, and as he answers them correctly he progresses towards the goal. If he gets it wrong, he still advances but at a slower pace.

From the website:

"Ride your horse on noble quests through the magical MathLands. MathRider combines fun math game play with a highly sophisticated question engine that adapts to your child. The game propels your child to mastery of all four math operations using numbers 0 to 12 in record time."

Math Rider is a downloadable program and consists of 4 different level, Easy, Medium, Advanced and Mastery.

Price: ~~$47~~, on sale until Feb 15 @ $37.

Our opinion:

My 6 year old's answer to how do you like Math rider:
"It's good and fun to play, you get to find treasures and you solve math problems, some difficult, some easy. You have to answer the questions and if you want to speed your horse up you answer the question faster."

Personally, I think that Math Rider is a great Math tutor for mastering these math facts that often gives us, homeschool mom, a headache as to how to ingrain them in our kids' brain. I did not have to force them to play, which in other words, meant practicing math facts. they have improved in their math facts mastery, which was not that high to start with. My eldest is good at understanding Math concepts, but retaining Math facts is not his thing, so this is helping greatly. With my youngest one to whom math facts come a bit more easily, it is really helping him cement and practice and add on more.

Math Rider comes with a 30 days money back guarantee, so no risk here.

If you want to hear what other homeschoolers have to say about Math Rider make sure to visit the crew blog.

Disclosure: I was offered Math Rider free of charge for an honest review.

Celestial Almanack - TOS Review

2012-02-06T17:41:00.000-08:00

Recently I have started to get really interested in the fields of Chemistry, Astronomy, Biology and Physics. The Celestial Almanack comes at a great time for me to enjoy and teach to my kids about astronomy and celestial bodies. This is a topic that, I would say, is above and beyond my purview ( I am not even an amateur in the field), but I certainly want to learn and I want my boys to develop an appetite for it. The study of these heavenly bodies is fascinating and awe inspiring. They push you beyond what you see to praise God, their Creator.

So, what exactly is this Celestial Almanac?

It is a monthly online publication put out by Fourth Day Press that seeks to guide you as you study and learn about the night sky. It is a fairly new publication (first issue was this past January) but I have to say it is very promising.

It is a downloadable ezine about 20 pages long available from Currclick at the modest cost of $3 a month, given the depth of the information found in there.

Here is what I like about it:

It is fact and information-filled. You learn about the constellations, locating them in the night sky, the phases of the moon, look for the particulars of your shadow, the why, in and outs of the seasons, the planets and what they are up to, and loads more.

The facts and info correlate with the calendar and seek to be relevant to what is happening during that month.

It is highly visual. The graphics are very well done, colourful and engaging.

The e-zine is geared toward 11 and up, and while I must say the vocabulary is certainly at least at that level, if not higher, one can still find things in there to teach and explain about the night sky to younger kids.

While the e-zine is meant to coincide with the science curriculum put out by the same company, Signs & Seasons (available at Classical Astronomy), you can certainly benefit from the magazine without it, though, I am sure, it would be great resource to have alongside.

But do not take my word for it; go and check their sample out and see for yourself. Also, make sure to read what my other crewmates have to say about The Celestial Almanac.

Kinderbach - TOS Review

2012-01-31T09:40:00.000-08:00

What is Kinderbach?

Kinderbach is a piano curriculum for preschoolers. It is comprised of 6 levels, each with 10 weeks, which in turn have 4 lessons. Level 7 is being created.

From the website:

"The KinderBach curriculum is a proven teaching method which gives children a solid music foundation, aligned with the MENC National Standards for Pre-K, that can translate to any instrument. Basics are basics and KinderBach covers them using language children understand. Youngsters will learn music vocabulary, note reading, rhythm, physical technique, ‘do, re mi’ singing, listening skills and music composition plus the joy in making music. "

Kinderbach is available as an online curriculum that can be used on any computer or portable devices such as Ipad, or Blakberry playbook. No download necessary.
Kinderbach is geared towards kids ages 3-7.
Kinderbach is available for music education in classroom setting or music education at home.
For curriculum detail click here.

Kinderbach specifics:

It is full of games. Every concept is reinforced with games.

Within the curriculum the author made sure to include story lines to cement the concepts studied.You are introduced to characters to follow all along the curriculum.

The curriculum is very interactive. The lessons are not lectures. The author invites the student to join in all the time, so as to keep the child interested and engaged.

The lessons are rather repetitive, which is a must when dealing with preschoolers. Repetition helps retention in young learners.

The lessons are short, 6-9 minutes, great for the attention span of young learners.

It is very hands-on. The curriculum comes with printable sheets for coloring, cutting and pasting activities. The child is also invited to play rhythms with things around the house, to use their bodies, to clap hands, and as you progress, to play on a keyboard or piano.

It includes also visual and auditory aspects. You listen to sounds, sing songs, you learn sound differentiation and do a lot of different activities as part of the learning experience.

You learn all the basics of music theory in a very friendly, playful way.

Our thoughts:

I think that Kinderbach is a great way to introduce piano to youngsters. It is very suitable for 3 and up kids. Once you hit 6 or 7 though, it might be a bit harder to sell to them. My boys (6 and 8) thought that the songs were a bit too much for them. However, the information and the teaching that is given is still rather appropriate and they can learn quite a bit from it. My boys still enjoyed learning from it.
The teacher (s) is very nice and pleasant. She really relates to the kids and bring them in. Enough time is given for the kids to respond and interact. The amount of hands-on is just right and the length of the lessons as well. With older kids you can easily do more that one lesson in one sitting.
I found that the lessons did not move as fast as I would want but, for younger ones, I guess it is an appropriate pace.

All in all I would recommend this product if you have youngsters to whom you wish to introduce or teach piano. It is a great starter.

How much does it cost?

Kinderbach comes as an online membership or as a DVD with printables on CD.

Year Membership: $95.88 annual or $19.99 monthly

Day Pass: $5.95 for a single day

Different DVD packages are available at a price $64.90 to $290

They also have lots of extras for sale such as songbooks and activity packages.

Make sure to try their free trial before you buy.

Kinderbach has been very generous and is offering you, my faithful readers, a %30 discount off any order - homechool, classroom or online - by using this code all year: TOScrew2012

Make sure also to read what other homeschoolers have to say about Kinderbach.

Disclosure: I was given a 3 months subscription to Kinderbach, free of charge, in return for an honest review.

How Does This Homeschooling Thing Actually Work? Fitting it all Together

2012-01-30T05:41:00.000-08:00

So here we are at the last week of The Virtual Curriculum Fair hosted by Susan @ Homeschooling Hearts and Minds. This week we are invited to share how we fit everything all together.

I think, according to my readings, very few of us homeschoolers actually fit it all together. We certainly do our best though.

So, what do we do?

For us, at our house, we try to keep focussed on the goal, and I mean the end goal. We want to raise children who love the Lord and who love learning. We want to equip them to be life-long learners and thinkers.

So to this end we:

Try to do some degree of classical study, grammar, and english studies
Try to make sure they get educated properly in Math
Enlarge their world and critical thinking through the studies of the humanities
We make sure they get spiritually fed and theologically educated.
We try to have good examples before them

I want to make it clear that I use the word TRY because this is not always consistent or to the degree we want, but we strive, and most of all rely on the certainty and belief that the Lord already knows what their future holds. We are instruments in The Master's hands and he is the one that empowers us and performs his plans despite and through our failures.

This year has been rather interesting and different than my previous 2 years of homeschooling, partly due to my being part of the TOS crew, and it has been a bit unsettling for me. But, praise God, before the year started the Lord had opened my eyes to these truths and they are carrying me through. My kids's are in God's hand, their path is already set before them, and I need to submit to Him first of all, and then strive to do what he has called me to do, i.e teach them and be examples to them.

As for schedule, I am working on that one. Every year I set one up but it does not last 3/4 of the year. I am still on the learning curve on that one.

Lastly I want to say that we are fist of all a family and try, as much as we can, to enjoy each other, play together and have fun together.

Make sure to check how other homeschoolers "fit it all together":

WeeklyHomeschooling Schedule by Julie @ HighHill Homeschool

VirtualCurriculum Fair: Week 5: The Nuts & Bolts: Pulling it allTogether by Leah @ The Courtney Six Homeschool

OurSchedule's Working! by Eunora @ All Things NoriLynn

Homeschooling:How do I do it all? by Debbie @ Debbie's Digest

VirtualCurriculum Fair--- Wrap-up Angie @ Petra School

VirtualCurriculum Fair: 5 Ways to Use an iPad in Your Homeschool by Pam @Everyday Snapshots

APeek Into Our School Day by Melissa @ Grace Christian Homeschool

ADay in the Life... by Nicole @ Schooling in the Sun

Homeschooland Life: How we get it done by Jen @ Forever, For Always, NoMatter What

Homeschoolingat My House by Jessica @ Modest Mama

Gettinga Grip on Things by Susan @ Homeschooling Hearts & Minds

MakingHome School a part of LIFE by Cindy @ For One Another

NowWhere's That Pencil Again? by Beth @ Ozark Ramblings

SomethingAbout Homeschooling I Really Didn't See Coming by Letha @justpitchingmytent

Curriculum,Kids, and a Frazzled Homeschool Mama leads to Controlled Chaos! byLaura O from AK @ Day by Day in Our World

TheVirtual Curriculum Fair – Nuts and Bolts by Kristen @ Sunrise toSunset

Stayingon Top of Everything by Brenda Emmett @ Garden of Learning

HowDoes This Homeschooling Thing Actually Work? Fitting it allTogether by Joelle @ Homeschooling for His Glory

Nuts& Bolts: Pulling it all together by Christa Darr @ FairfieldCorner Academy

7 Quick Takes Friday

2012-01-27T17:21:00.000-08:00

1. This week the boys started volleyball lessons with our homeschool group and it was a lot of fun.

2. Science experiment, courtesy of one of Zach's christmas gift:

3. How a lesson in perimeter became soccer matches on the board:

4. Mama's heart is happy, her 2 boys picked Hardy Boys Secret Files to read and are enjoying them. Zach read one of them in less that 2 hours. Next, the real Hardy Boys.

5. Team work for Pizza making:

6. The kids and I are liking the new TV show on TVO Kids (also available on the net), Finding Stuff Out.

7. I survived 2 weeks without my hubby around, as he is away to California for school (Dmin program). Praise God! Routine had gone out the window, but we did manage to accomplish some school and keep the house in order.

Wordless Wednesday

2012-01-25T07:41:00.000-08:00

The Beauty of the Arts - Where Does It Fit

2012-01-23T19:31:00.000-08:00

It is the 2nd to last week of the Virtual Curriculum Fair. I have to say it has been fun.
This week we tackle the topic:

Seeking Beauty: the Arts and Everything that Brings Beauty to Our World

Well, here in our home, art is certainly present, but in a very informal way. My boys love to draw and do crafts. They both have a very good imagination and come up with ideas out of the blue, or get inspired by their obsession of the moment.

Zach loves to draw and often do just that when he is bored. He has even endeavored to teach his brother to draw. This has been ongoing.

They love watching shows such as Artzooka and Mister Maker.

Of course doodling on his worksheets is a standard for Zach as well.
Where does it Fit
They are both in music lesson: Zach in Violin and Joho in piano. They love playing on the piano and they both love to sing. It was so much fun to hear them singing the songs they sang at our Christmas Cantata weeks after Christmas, while paying in their bedroom. You can often catch them humming familiar tunes while playing or watching dishes.

I have been wanting to start a study of the composers with them but somehow it has been hard to get it off the ground. I know it will come. I have purchased The Story of the Orchestra and like it a lot, just hard to fit it in the day right now. We have read biographies of composers from the series Getting To Know The World's Greatest Composers,which I got from the library, and they have enjoyed that, especially Zach.

This year our TOG curriculum is covering renaissance art and I have taken the opportunity to teach them some drawing and art basics. Again I have been wanting to teach about artist as well, but that has not been able to stick much in the schedule. We've only covered the basics: Michelangelo and Leonardo Da Vinci, which they enjoyed learning about though.

So there you have in a nutshell our art exploration experiences.

Make sure to check out how other homeschoolers incorporate art exploration in their homeschool by following the links below.

Memory Making by Christine @ Crunchy Country Catholic

Learning Art at Our House by Jessica @ Modest Mama

History, up close by Jennifer @ a glimpse of our life

Fitting in the Arts When Homeschooling by Laura O in AK @ Day by Day in Our World

The Art of Exploration by Susan @ Homeschooling Hearts & Minds

Appreciating the Arts by Cindy Horton @ Fenced in Family

Beauty in Homeschooling? by Cindy @ For One Another

Heart of Dakota- The Fine Details- Part 4 Poetry & Bible by Lynn @ Ladybug Chronicles

The Art of Art by Brenda Emmett @ Garden of Learning

Learning and Art Library by Angie @ Petra School

Seeking Beauty: The Arts and Everything that Brings Beauty to Our World by Christa Darr @ Fairfield Corner Academy

How to Fit "The Arts" in School by Christine @ Our Homeschool Reviews

Social Studies and Science - What do we do?

2012-01-16T18:37:00.000-08:00

It's week 3 of the Virtual Curriculum Fair hosted @ Homeschooling Hearts and Minds. It's time to talk Social Studies and Science, you know History, Geography etc...

Well, here in our homeschool, we love Tapestry of Grace. Tapestry of Grace is a History Curriculum that follows the classical way of studying the humanities: 4 year cycle that you repeat 2 or 3 times at different level of learning: Grammar stage, Logic stage and Rhetoric stage. So far we have done year 1: Ancient Time, and are doing year 2: Middle Ages to Early Modern Time, and love it.

What we love about TOG:

The buffet of books to read in history, literature, geography, and Church History.
The buffet of hands on activities to choose from: salt dough maps, helmets, viking ships etc..
The reformed biblical perspective, without it being overpowering, from which the author wrote, put together their teacher's notes.
It covers geography pretty extensively though mapping, vocabulary, and exposure to cultures.
The emphasis on interaction and engagement with the text whether it be historical texts or literature.

The only thing that I see that could be a con against TOG (beside the cost, but you have to think of it as a long term investment as it is for 12 grades), is the planning involved. The curriculum is made up of 36 weeks divided into 4 - 9 week long units. Because you are given a buffet to choose from you do have to spend the time picking out what you want to do and what you will not do. However, not being a planner myself, I find that you can still get so much out of the curriculum without being a rigid planner. The only planning I HAVE to do is make sure I order the books from the library ahead of time (since I cannot afford to buy the books). Everything else is often pick up and do. Planning allows for more but it is totally feasible.

Videos, when available on a particular study we are doing at the moment, are usually part of our social studies as well.

Another curriculum I got to mention on the subject is Story of the World, as my boys, especially my 8 year old, who is very auditory, loves to listen to the audios. It has been a great complement to TOG, especially that it follows more or less the same sequence as TOG.

For Science, we love Real Science 4 Kids. We did Pre-level 1 last year Physics, Chemistry and Biology and the boys loved it. It is REAL science taught in a way that kids can understand and come to love science.

This year we used Elemental Science Biology for the Grammar Stage, but I am having a hard time finishing it. I bought it in the hope of having the boys do more narration but that did not quite happen. The curriculum,which has you read through The Kingfisher Animal Encyclopedia, for some reason, was not engaging enough to keep up wanting more. I will endeavour to finish it up, as we have not done much studies of animals plants and the human body, but I am definitely ordering Real Science 4 Kids Level 1 for next year.

For our science, we use lots and lots of videos as well. The boys' favourite is The Way Things Work which I get at the library. They also get lots of information about the animal world from books from The Magic Treehouse Series and the TV show Zoboomafo.

If you want to see what other homeschool do for Social Studies and/or Science make sure to visit the different blogs participating in the Fair:

Science and Worldview by Beth @ Ozark Ramblings

Nature Study as Science by Christine @ Crunchy Country Catholic

Virtual Curriculum Fair Week 3- Social Studies and more Science by Leah Courtney @ The Courtney Six Homeschool Family

Curriculum Fair–Exploring Our World by Angie @ Petra School

Paths of Exploration by Jen @ Forever, For Always

Learning Geography at Our House by Jessica @ Modest Mama

Mapping Out Our Social Studies by Susan @ Homeschooling Hearts & Minds

The Fascinating World Around Us by Cindy Horton @ Fenced in Family

More Heart of Dakota Praises by Nicole @ Schooling in the Sun

Our History by Melissa @ Grace Christian Homeschool

Playful US Geography for First Grade by Pam @ Everyday Snapshots

Heart of Dakota-The Fine Details-Part 3 History by Lynn @ Ladybug Chronicles

Exploring Our World Through History & Science by Brenda Emmett @ Garden of Learning

Two Must-haves by Letha @ justpitchingmytent

Learning About The World Around Us by Laura O from AK

History Chronologically and with Living Books by Debbie @ Debbie's Digest

Why History? by MissMOE @ Homeschooling While Living the Life of Easier

Exploring Our World by Christa Darr @ Fairfield Corner Academy

Sunday Worship

2012-01-15T05:54:00.000-08:00

God of Ages
By Hillsong

God of ages bringing glory here
You are good, You are good
Son of righteousness You are all I see
With all my heart

PreChorus:
Giver of life hope for the lost is in You
All of the earth shines with Your light Your glory

Chorus:
You are the God who lives, You are the God who heals
Who are my hope my everything
You brought salvation to us offered your peace to the earth
You are my Lord my everything

Verse 2:
In Your promise and Your faithfulness
I will trust all my days
King forever great in majesty
Be glorified

Bridge:
I'll trust in You, i'll trust in You
I'll trust in You with all my heart

7 Quick Takes Friday

2012-01-13T19:35:00.000-08:00

We HAVE SNOW. Hooray! Can you imagine this our real snow fall of the season, and we are in the middle of January.

We bought a new car (well not so new, it's a 2010), since our car was written off after my accident around Christmas. We don't have the car yet but hopefully soon.

Praise God for another year. It was my birthday today.

My meal (courtesy of hubby):

My gift:

Found out the best way to see if your child understands a concept, have him explain it to his sibling (especially to one that is younger. It's great!

Joho started his piano lessons this week. So far so good. Can't wait for the 2 of them to play together. Joho at the piano and Zach at the violin.

The boys learned how to play Backgammon this week, thanks to a free app on my playbook (Have I mentioned how much I love my playbook!!!!!).

Joho learned division this week, at his request. At devotion time when it was time to say something you are thankful for guess what he said: "I learned division today." Don't you love this moments in homeschooling.

Hop on over to Conversion Diary for more 7 Quick Takes Friday.

TOS Review - Maestro Classics - Swam Lake

2012-01-12T14:33:00.000-08:00

When we think of homeschooling usually we think Grammar, Reading, Math, Science, History and such. Often time, subjects like Arts and Music get pushed to the side.

Well, really it does not have to and in fact shouldn't be. There is lots of value to teaching art and music. It develops the brain in many different ways but especially in the area of creativity and enrichment.

That said I was quite excited to have been chosen to review a product from Maestro Classics. We all love music at our house. My 8 year old has been learning violin for the past 2 years, and my 6 year old just started piano this week. So I much anticipated this CD.

What is Maestro Classics you may ask?

Maestro Classics is a company that produces stories in music on CDs, for children ages 5-12. The CDs are entertaining and educational. They have won over 45 national awards.

The CDs alternate music with talking, explanations with musical adventures. It includes information about the life and times of the work and/or the composer.

The best part of it is that the music is played by the London Philharmonic Orchestra and is led by Stephen Simon.

The CDs comes with a 24-page booklet that accompanies the CD's content.

Price: CDs: $16.65, MP3: $9.98

Our opinion:

For review we received the story of Swan Lake, Tchaikosvky greatest ballet score, which tells the story of a prince who falls in love with a beautiful princess.

I thought the CD was great. I loved the music, after all it is classical, it is Tchaikovsky and it was beautiful! Unfortunately the boys did not care for it. They were ok with it but it did not grab them. I think that had to do with the fact that boys do not care much for princess and ballet. I think the story of Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel or The Tortoise and the Hare would have grabbed them more.

The booklet was very attractive to me but again it did not appeal to the boys.

What I love about this series is that it is real classical music and even though my boys did not care for it, I will be playing it as background music for them to listen to.

They have a wide variety of themes so make sure to check their website: You can listen to samples there as well to give you an idea. I would really love to get the one on My name is Handel. that promises to be a great one.

If you want to hear about what other crewmates had to say about Maestro Classics make sure to hop over to the crew blog.

Disclosure: I was offered a copy of Swan Lake in exchange for an honest review of maestro Classics Products.

Math, Math and more Math

2012-01-10T16:15:00.000-08:00

This week is week 2 in the Virtual Curriculum Fair Hosted by Susan @ Homeschooling Hearts and Minds, and it's time to talk about Math.

Math in our homeschool is not so much of a headache, but does take lots of re-evaluating. Both my boys learn differently but I can't afford to invest in 2 different curriculum.

When we first started I picked up Horizon K. I liked it but my oldest, then 5, did not think much of it. For him it was too much writing.

In grade 1 I switched to Singapore and it was a good fit until grade 2 when he started complaining again about too much writing.

Since I had noticed that Zach did not know his facts I experimented with Professor B (which two years ago was the choice if you wanted to later on move on to Life of Fred). This lasted for about 4 months. The boys really did not like it, even though I thought the concepts were well taught and the drills and exercises would indeed help them master their facts. It was a bit overkill but I could anticipate the result if it weren't such a drag to have them do Math. So I dropped it.

At the end of last school year we started with Math on The Level. So far it is working well for both my boys.

With my youngest, I have used Jump Math, as a friend had given us a copy. It was working well for him, but I personally thought there was too many repetition, so I did not pursue it. I might get back to it in higher grades for him when concepts will be more challenging.

My comments on the different curriculum I used are as follow:

Horizon Math I think is a great curriculum for the workbook child and the sequential thinking child. It would have been a good fit for my second child, as he is very sequential, but I just did not want to spend extra money in having 2 curriculum. It is spiral not mastery based, so you do several topics at the same time progressively.

Singapore Math as well is a very good program. This program however is more conceptual and, I find, more challenging. What I really like about it is that it forces you to think through the concepts as opposed to just practice a method of solving operations. When all is said and done I would pick that one as my favorite. One con would be that it is fast-paced.

Math on the Level is a great program, but is very teacher intensive. It is not workbook based and that is why it works for my oldest. It demands a lot of prep work but what is very attractive about it is that you get all the concepts that you need to teach up until grade 8 in one single package. You teach what you think your child can understand at a particular point in time and move up accordingly. It is mastery based and at the same time spiral, because you get to review things progressively, either daily, by-weekly, weekly, every other week or once every 3 weeks depending on your child's mastery of the concept. It is self-sustaining as a math program but you are more than welcome to supplement which is what I do, just because I find that it is lacking in word problems and I think that's a must in Math teaching (one strong point of Singapore Math). The curriculum comes with a whole book on Math resource which is very valuable as well. basically with this program you choose what to teach, when to teach it and how to teach it. I find that this is great when you have kids that are atypical, which is my case.

Both Horizon and Singapore Math would be welcomed on my homeschool shelves any day.

In addition to having used these curriculum I have come into contact with Math Mammoth and have found it great as well but heavy on excercices. So, I use the one I have as supplements if I want the boys to practice something more.

I find that when it comes to teaching Math, online curriculum and/or activities are always welcomed by the boys, and are great for extra practice. I would not necessarily purchase any but I have been blessed with being part of the TOS Review crew and been able to enjoy a few. However, you can find quite a few ones on the internet by googling math games.

Also here is a little list of site I use to print extra worksheets for the boys when needed:

Making Math Fun: Just sign up to receive the free magazine. It comes loaded with math games
1800 teacher.com (Singapore Math based worksheets)
Homeschool Math
Practical Pages
Mr Printables
1Homeschool.blogspot.com (great freebie on multiplication)
Helping With math
Free Math Worksheets

Finally another addition in our homeschooling when it comes to Math is games. I do not have many but always grab one if I come across any. They make Math more relevant and more alive. To name a few: Smath, Monopoly, Yahtzee, Snakes and Ladder, Fratzmatic. For developing logical and critical thinking: Chess, Sudoku, Battleship etc...

I know I said finally already but I have to mention videos. I have been able to add videos in teaching Math and that has helped lighten the mood when it comes to Math. My favorite one has been Light Speed Math.

Now make sure to go have a look at the other homeschooler's posts participating in the fair.

Math Lapbooks---Virtual Curriculum Fair Week 2 Angie Wright @ Petra School

Virtual Curriculum Fair Week Two: Discover Patterns, Mathematics, Logic and Some Science by Leah @ The Courtney Six Homeschool

Our Choices For Math by Melissa @ Grace Christian Homeschool

A Magnificent Math Manipulative by Letha Paulk @ justpitchingmytent

Our Math Choices - Virtual Curriculum Fair by Tristan @ Our Busy Homeschool

Math Literature?!?! by Christine @ Crunchy Country Catholic

Learning Math at My House by Jessica @ Modest Mama

Math Using Hamburger Paper by Debbie @ Debbie's Digest

Math Facts or Fun? Why Not Both! by Beth @ Ozark Ramblings

Heart of Dakota- The Fine Details- Part 2 Science by Lynn @ Ladybug Chronicles

Learning Math Block by Block by Laura O in AK @ Day by Day in Our World

Plugging Along with Math by Cindy Horton @ Fenced in Family

What's Working and What's Not: Math Edition by Leann @ Montessori Tidbits

Math Anyone? by Cindy @ For One Another

Ahh, Math. by Nicole @ Schooling in the Sun

FlyingWithout a Parachute: Math with no Curriculum by Pam @ Everyday Snapshots

Math in Our Homeschool by Christine T @ Our Homeschool Reviews

Math, Math, and More Math by Dawn Chandler @ tractors & tire swings

Thinking Mathematically- How I Choose Math Curriculum by Kristen @ Sunrise to Sunset

Discovering Patterns: Math, Logic, and Some Science by Christa Darr @ Fairfield Corner Academy

The Science of Math by Brenda Emmett @ Garden of Learning

"Mom, did we do math today?" by Chrissy at Learning is an Adventure

Language Arts at Our House

2012-01-02T18:48:00.000-08:00

I find it always interesting to see or hear what others use in their homeschool, and how they make a certain curriculum work for them. So,when I heard about the Homeschool Curriculum Fair over at Homeschooling Hearts and Minds I thought this would be great to participate in. Every week in January we will let you in on how we tackle a different school subject in our respective homeschooling homes.

The first week of the fair, which is this week, is dedicated to Language Arts.

So, I'll tell you a bit of how I do Language Arts at our house.

First off when I think Language Arts I think of Reading, Literature, Phonics, Spelling, Grammar, Writing, Vocabulary and Comprehension. Now, my boys are 6 and 8 and not all of these subjects need to be taught at that age level, so I don't.

Both my boys read early without formal training except for Starfall (after I noticed that they actually sight read). When they were preschoolers they watched lots of Blues' Clues and Super Why. Our kids also were read to a lot in the earlier years up until recently. (We need to get back to doing more of that.) They both read above grade level with good comprehension, so I do not do any formal reading subject.

Also, when they were younger they used to know how to spell too but somehow lost it. My problem though is that they both hate holding a pen, so writing and spelling are very hard for me to implement in our homeschool. What I am doing no, though sporadically, is using phonic tiles and teach them rules about spelling, as well as have them copy sight words. I started using Writing with Ease this year but found it hard to keep up with, as it is very teacher intensive. It is a very good program for writing, which I will try to still use but only may be once a week,as opposed to 4 times a week. I love it because it teaches kids to think through the passage they are exposed to, and also have them do copywork or dictation, which is really good for spelling and developing good writing skills.

Although at the moment I do not sweat the spelling and the writing in our Language Arts teaching, we do a lot of Grammar. My oldest has a very enriched vocabulary and speaks well. So I figured it would not hurt to start Grammar and started him with First Language Lessons when he was 5. We did Level 1 and 2 and enjoyed it. In grade 2 we switched to Bob Jones English Grammar 2, and though it went well, I thought it was more busy work than actual teaching so switched back this year to First Language Lessons, level 4. This is going well so far. Although it is repetitive and teacher intensive, I like that it is straight Grammar and you really learn how the language works. It is a scripted curriculum and heavy on diagramming. I like that it includes narrations as well as dictations which we do from time to time.

I believe that Language Arts is rather important, and a strong point in my eldest that needs to be nurtured, so this year I have added Micael Clay Thompson Language Arts program to our line up:

Grammar Island: set in story form it is great for understanding and practicing word identification and functions in sentences.
Building Vocabulary: Great for studying roots and stems.
The Music of the Hemisphere : study of poetry. I can't comment yet as this is for later in the year.

To add to our Language Arts, I am always on the look out for games. They use E-learning for Kids, or site like Eduplace.com on the computer, grammar apps on the Playbook, and board games such as Scrabble and Jumble Plus.

Another thing that is very big at our house is audiobooks. My boys love audiobooks and there is always one running in the background in the house. This is great for introducing Classics and for enriching vocabulary. My boys, especially my eldest, is not a fiction book reader (he rather go for fact books), however,I have been able to have him read a lot of classics (that he actually was able to enjoy) through audiobooks. You can check my literature tab to see a running lists of the books they have enjoyed so far.

So, this is how we do Language Arts at our house. If you want more picks into other homeschoolers' homes, make sure to visit the blogs below and be inspired and encouraged:

Reading on Time by Cindy Horton @ Fenced in Family

Playing with Words: the Language Arts by Christa Darr @ Fairfield Corner Academy

Reading and Beyond: Language Arts in Our Homeschool by Laura O in AK @ Day by Day in Our World

Language Arts that Work for Us by Melissa @ Grace Christian School

Learning Language at Our House by Jessica @ Modest Mama

Virtual Curriculum Fair: Language Arts by Christine T. @ Our Homeschool Reviews

The Learning of Language by Dawn @ tractors & tire swings

Reading and Spelling: Modifying the Magic by Pam @ Pam and Everyday Snapshots

An In Depth Look at All About Spelling by Missouri Mama @ Ozark Ramblings

Virtual Curriculum Fair: Let's Talk About Words by Debra @ Footprints in the Butter

Why We Love Classical Conversations Essentials (and how I know that is not a complete sentence!) by Nicole @ Schooling in the Sun

Virtual Curriculum Fair---Playing with Words: the Language Arts by Angie @ Petra School

Whole Language vs. Phonics by Christine @ Crunchy Country Catholic

It's All About the Art of Language by Brenda Emmett @ Garden of Learning

Watching Movies for Language Arts Class by Debbie @ Debbie's Digest

Only 5 Spelling Tests a Year! (Can we do that?) by LP @ Just Pitching my Tent

Playing with Words by Chrissy @ Learning is an Adventure

Virtual Curriculum Fair Week One Playing with Words: the Language Arts by Leah Courtney @ The Courtney Six Homeschool Blog

Playing with Words, the Language Arts by Cindy @ For One Another

Heart of Dakota- The Fine Details part 1- Language Arts by Lynn @ Ladybug Chronicles

New Year Goals

2011-12-30T15:06:00.000-08:00

A year is ending, which means another year is dawning. With that comes new resolutions. I, for one, am not a fan of resolutions, but I had to come to realize the value of having goals.

So, I will join in the challenge of having 5 major goals for the year 2012.

Here we go:

1. Wake up before 7:00 ever mornings. That will make my hubby happy and make my day go much smoother.

2. Be consistent and diligent with my meditation time. This includes:

The daily reading of God's Word
Memorizing Scripture
Keeping up with uplifting readings
Keeping up with a couple of devotionals: Create in Me a Clean Heart ; A Devotional for the Disorganized and Encouragement for Homeschool Moms (from Deeper Roots).

3. Starting and keeping up a cleaning schedule and routine. This also involves keeping up with the different challenges I joined up to keep me accountable on this one.

4. Keeping a school routine diligently.

5. Keeping a joyful and grateful attitude all the time.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-12-28T07:18:00.000-08:00

7 Quick Takes Fridays

2011-12-23T18:53:00.000-08:00

We finished school for this term 2 weeks ago, and have been enjoying our first week of break.

Here are some of what they had done in the past month:

Our church Cantata went well, praise God. The duet my hubby and I sang went very well as well, for which we are grateful. Right at this moment my kids are singing the cantata in their bedroom over and over with much enthusiasm. Very sweet.

Christmas pictures have been taken, I just don't have them yet. These are just some I took for fun:

Gifts are all wrapped up and mostly given out.

I experienced the blessing of God's protection as I had an auto accident ( collision) last night without injuries for my son and me. We might need a new car though, but that's still to be determined. At least I do not have to incur any cost as I was not at fault.

I am very happy about the new playbook I got for christmas. Another praise item.

One of our traditions from back home in the Caraibbeans. This is what we will have for breakfast on Sunday with some Hot Cocoa made the Martinican way.

For more 7 Quick Takes Fridays head on over to Conversion Diary

TOS Review - The World's Greatest Stories

2011-12-20T19:22:00.000-08:00

We were recently given a copy of George W. Sarris' The World's Greatest Stories CD. It has been a hit at our house. The boys have enjoyed this CD from the start. We got the one on The Prophets, which includes the stories of The Blazing Furnace, The Handwriting on the Wall, Daniel in the Lion's Den, Elijah and the Prophets of Baal, The Prophecy of Jonah.

The stories are engaging, dramatic and well read. The best part of these Scripture stories is that they are word for word readings of the Bible. You cannot get better than that. As much as I think retold of Bible stories are good to introduce kids to the Bible, getting acquainted with the original text of the Bible is really the best. And this is what this series provides for you - a reading of the Bible stories that kids can understand, appreciate, enjoy and learn to know well.
I think that these CDs are great for anyone to listen to.

So what exactly is The World's Greatest Story?

The World's Greatest Story is a series of audios containing more than 18 individual stories from the Bible on 6 CD or cassettes. The stories are read by actor and theologian George W. Sarris, using his excellent mastery of dramatic storytelling, and are taken directly, word for words, from the Bible. They are done both in the KJV and the NIV. Each CD, one hour long, incorporates music and sound effects very well chosen, that help make the stories come alive.

From the Website:

"Using simply his voice, his memory, and the audience's imagination, he (George W. Sarris) takes us back in time to view Biblical scenes such as the unbridled rage of King Nebuchadnezzar as he commands Shadrach, Meshech, and Abendnego to be cast into the blazing furnace, the sudden fear that overcomes his drunken descendant, Belshazzar, as he literally sees the handwriting on the wall, the repentant hearts of the citizens of Nineveh as they respond in humility to the preaching of Jonah, the angelic announcement of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, Herod's desperate attempt to kill Him as a young child, His ministry of healing and teaching among the people, the sorrow of His death, and the triumph of His resurrection."

Each CD cost $7.95 which I think is a more than reasonable price for the quality you are getting. The 6 CD titles are:

The Prophets
The Life of Christ
Beginnings
Joshua and Esther
Joseph and His Brothers
Defeating Giants

You can listen to clips from the different CDs here.

I am definitely planning on getting the rest of the CDs in the series.

To see what other crew members had to say about the World Greatest Stories head on over to the crew blog.

Disclaimer: I was given a copy of The World's Greatest Stories fro free in exchange for an honest review.

TOS Reviews - Fractazmic

2011-12-12T08:35:00.001-08:00

Fractazmic is a Math game that teaches kids about - you must have guessed it - Fractions. It is put out by the company I See Cards which specializes in Math games for kids from Grade 1-8.
Price: $6.95 for the 60 card deck .
It comes with a how to play sheet inside the deck

The game consists of 3 suits of fractions in 3 different colors:

the Sixteenth (red) made up of 1/16, 1/8, 3/16, 1/4, 5/16, 3/8, 7/16 and 1/2 cards.
the twelfth (blue), made up of 1/12, 1/16, 1/4, 1/3, 5/12 and 1/2 cards.
the Tenth (green), made up of 1/10, 1/5, 3/10, 2/5 and 1/2 cards.

The goal of the game is to make hands that equal 1 by adding the fractions. The trick and challenge is that you can add any fractions within a colored suit as long as it equals 1. What that means is that you can make a hand by putting together 1/12, 1/6, 1/4, 1/3, 5/12 and 1/2 or 1/4, 1/4 and 1/2 for example. The winner is the one with the most hands when one player runs out of cards.

This game is great because it teaches the basics of fractions, as well as adding and multiplying fractions.

The game is said to be geared towards grade 1-8 but I found that in order to play it with first graders you have to teach the concept of fractions first, and they have to know adding, which you can most definitely do with the cards by familiarizing them with the different cards in the deck. To take full advantage of the game it is also good that the child knows about multiplying, as that is what you need to do to add fractions of different denominators. So I would say that to play it to its fullest this is best suited for grade 3 and up.

It worked well for our family of 1 1st grader and 1 3rd grader, as we are doing multiplications right now, and had introduced fractions earlier this year. This is a great way to cement these concepts and put them into practice.

The boys enjoyed it and so did mom. At first I played it with hubby to see how it was supposed to work and it was a challenge for me. To play it with the boys I actually take away some of the more difficult cards like 1/16 and 1/12 as I think I need to teach them the relationship between these cards and the others in the suit first.

There are other variations to the games such as Rummy and Trap which you can check here. The game is very flexible so you can make up your own way of playing it as well.

Overall I would definitely recommend this game if one loves to use games to teach and practice Math.

I would also recommend checking out other games that I See Cards have put out in the past such as Pyramath and Prime Bombs.

Make sure to go visit the crew blog and see what other crewmates had to say about Fratzmatic.

Disclosure: I was offer a deck of Fratzmatic for free in exchange for an honest review.

First Cookies of the Season

2011-12-09T13:52:00.000-08:00

Well, really it is the second batch of cookies we've made this week, but the first one (sugar cookies)got eaten before any pictures were taken.

Butter Cookie Christmas Cutouts

1 cup of butter

1 1/2 cups of sifted powdered sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon of vanilla

2 1/2 cups of sifted flour

1 teaspoon of cream of tartar

1 teaspoon of baking soda

1/4 teaspoon of salt

Cream butter, add sugar gradually and cream until fluffy. Add unbeaten egg and vanilla; beat well. Sift together dry ingredients; blend into cream mixture. Chill dough about an hour. Roll on well floured pastry board to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut with floured cutter. Bake on an unbuttered cookie sheet for 610-12 minutes at 325 degrees.

Great Commission Languages - TOS Review

2011-12-03T07:25:00.000-08:00

As a French speaker (born on the island of Martinique in the West Indies) one of my desire and goal is to have my boys speak French. Unfortunately I find it hard to speak French in an English context (my husband is Filipino and we live in Toronto). So, the next best thing is to teach it to them as a school subject. I have had no liking to the different curriculum I have seen out there except for one I have started using this year (thanks to a friend who gave it to me). So, when I was offered the chance to review Le Francais Facile I jumped on the occasion. I picked the junior level as my boys are in grade 1 and 3 respectively.

The Easy French is a French curriculum put out by Great Commission Languages. It is written by Marie Filipino who possesses a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology (Reading), taught French As A Second Language, spent years as a Literacy Specialist and Tutor, and is working on her Masters of Education in Curriculum development as well as gaining certification as a Samonas sound therapist.

From the website:

"Le Français Facile! is:

A Complete French Curriculum!
A Scientifically Designed Curriculum!
Easy to teach, even if you don't know any french at all!
Fun to learn, with funny stories and interesting activities.
French Scripture, songs, games and coloring pages
Great for homeschool co-op groups!
Digitally mastered enhanced CD for audio and computer
Printable free activity sheets: no purchasing consumable activity books or photocopying!
Teaches French language and French grammar through literature based entertaining storylines
3 year program for younger students
1 year program for older students and Fast track option for teens
French Culture of France and Québec with optional projects (including idiom projects)
Use of Tomatis and SAMONAS sound theories to facilitate learning
Follows Charlotte Mason Method, Bloom’s Taxonomy and higher order theories by Dr. Jeanne Chall
Certificate of Completion available with submission of two projects
Written by a francophone mom of 4 in her 10th year of home educating"

Price: $69.65 for the Junior level, $84.95 for level 1A, 1B, 2A, and 2B. You can get Level 1 A and B together or level 2 A and B together for the price of $139.95.

The program works very well for large families as well as small ones as it is non consumable. The junior level is meant to be redone 2 times, so good for 3 years.

Our opinion:

I really like this curriculum. It is simple and attractive. Each lesson is made up of a dialogue and a series of accompanying activities to be done at one's pace. I think the best feature of the program is the accompanying CD which has all the dialogues and vocabulary read to you. On the CD as well are most of the activities suggested ready for print (200 printable pages to be exacts). The dialogues are mixed french and english so that the child can understand what is going on and at the same time be introduced to new vocabulary words.

Zach, my 3rd grader, with whom I am using the program, enjoys it. His dad just asked him recently if it was really easy, as it claims on its title, and he answered "yes". So there you go.

Here you can view a video from the author explaining the program to you, and also sample lessons for you to check out.

Great Commission Languages also puts out an Easy Spanish curriculum with 2 levels (Junior and Level I).

Make sure to check out what my crewmates had to say about Great Commission Languages.

Disclosure: I was offered a copy of one of Great Commission Languages' curriculum for free in exchange for an honest review.

Additionall Ressources to TOG Medieval Times Studies

2011-12-01T02:31:00.000-08:00

We finished Unit 1 of Tapestry of Grace on the Middle Ages era and here is the list of the resources we added to our study:

Atlas:

The Kingfisher Atlas of the Medieval World

World Historical Atlases: The medieval World by Rebecca Stefoff

Series:

Medieval World Series by Crabtree Pubishing

Medieval World by Smart Apple Media

Weapons of War series

Uncovering History: Everyday Life in . . .

I Belong to the . . . Faith

You Wouldn't want to Be ...

Armies of the Past

The Usborne Illustrated World History: The Viking World

Life and Time

The Viking Library

At a Glance

Ancient Civilizations

That's Their Stories

Ancient and Medieval People

The Age of Castles

DK Discoveries (Castles at War; Crusades)

Books:

Charlemagne from Biography from Ancient Civilizations Series

Medieval England by Cathryn Hinds from Cultures of the Past Series

Barbarians! by Steven Kroll

Back to Basics: The Vikings

Sightseers: Essential Travel Guide to the Past

How to be a Medieval Knight by Fiona Macdonald

Navigators: Knights and Castles by Philip Steele

The Middle Ages: Explore the History of the Wold from the Mongol onslaught to the Voyages of Columbus

Knights & Castles by Philip Dixon

Hands-on:

The History and Activities of the . . .

Medieval Projects You Can Do!

Footsteps in Time

Hands -0n - History

Craft Topics

My World by Peter Chrisp (TWO CAN Publishing)

Step Into: The Viking World

Wordless Wednesday

2011-11-30T12:23:00.000-08:00

A Well Overdue Update

2011-11-25T14:13:00.000-08:00

Wow, it's been quite a while since I posted about our homeschooling life. Well, it has been going. As I had mentioned before, I had been trying to dedicate more of my time to my responsibilities as wife, homemaker, mother, homeschooler and pastor's wife, and that have been taking up my time. On top of that have been more involvement in our new church, and this new venture as a reviewer for the Old Schoolhouse magazine. So there goes the reasons for my silence on the blog.

I love blogging as a way to let family know and see what happens here but finding the time to do it sometimes is harder to find.

So how has it been going?

On the homeschooling front, things have been going relatively well:

In language Art we are moving on in First Language Lessons with both boys. We have reached lesson 31 in book 4 with Zach and Lesson 50 in book 1 for Joho. We have been continuing our practice of sentence analysis with Grammar Practice (MCT), and that has been going quite well as well. They still have problems recognizing prepositions but that is understandable. We've got another 85 sentences to go, so plenty of time to get a hang of it. Fist step will be to memorize the list of prepositions as it is suggested in FFL.

In Math I am doing a bit of several things. I am combining curriculum, MOTL, Math Mammoth (which I reviewed for TOS) and Singapore material I found on the Web. I am devising a schedule where on Mondays we would do straight vertical and horizontal operation practice, Tuesdays, problems, Wednesdays, worksheet activities for more practice of facts, and Fridays, games, or something of that nature. Before we left on vacation a couple of week ago, we had started learning multiplications, so we continued on with that this week, and started memorizing the multiplication table.

In History we finished Unit 1 a couple of weeks ago and

have started unit 2 of TOG this week, the Renaissance era. In connection with this study we are doing art study, and this has allow for Zach to reconnect with his love for drawing.

This week we covered elements of design and next week we will be doing principles of design. TOG is so great, you can find all the information you need right there in the curriculum. I Love Tapestry of Grace.

On top of these core subjects we have been doing handwriting, Science, continuing with life science and the study of mammals.

This year one of my goal is to have Zach speaking French at the end of the year so I have been diligent in doing French daily with him using a curriculum from Memoria Press, given to me by a Friend. It teaches French from a grammar standpoint and I love it. It's called First Start French. I started this week supplementing it with another curriculum given to me for review, which I really love as well, Le Francais Facile (The Easy French) - watch out for the review.

Otherwise, the main happening here has been our 2 weeks vacation with my parents who came all the way from Martinique, to Williamsburg and Atlantic City, from which we just came back 6 days ago. We were able to use our membership to the Science Center here in Toronto to go, yet again, to a few museums, and it has been wonderful.
Jamestown:

Yorktown:

Richmond Science Museum:

Zach's work:

Museum of Air and Space of Virginia:

My air traffic controllers:
p;

Atlantic City: The Pier's Shops

Lastly I am excited to have the Christmas tree up:

Math Mammoth - TOS Review

2011-11-17T07:41:00.000-08:00

What is Math Mammoth?

"Math Mammothoffers affordable, yet quality math worktexts and workbooks for grades 1-8, available as both downloads and printed books. These books concentrate on conceptual understanding and are strong in mental math. The directions in the worktexts are written directly to the student, and are often self-teaching, thus requiring little preparation and involvement from the teacher."

Math is one subject for which somehow you never stop acquiring material for. So, when I was offered to review this Math program I was quite exited. I was happy with what we are using right now but the more the better.

I had come across Math Mammoth before and was very curious about it. Once I had it on my computer (I got the full 3^rdgrade program on download), I was very happily surprised with the content.

Math Mammoth, put out by Maria Russell, is full of different math programs for different needs. You can get:

A full curriculum for grades 1-6 (Light Blue Series) which consists of 2 self-explanatory worktexts with excercices included and a set of supportive material.

Worktexts by topic for grades 1-6—you get both instruction and exercises (Blue Series).

Worksheets by topic; (The Green series)

Worksheets by grade ; (the Golden Series)

Make It Real Learning workbooks—highlighting how math is used in real life.

What is really nice about Math Mammoth is that Maria is very personable. She is ready and willing to help anyone deciding which program will be best suited for your family or child.

Math Mammoth is a mastery based program but somehow it does not feel repetitive. I think Maria does a great job in helping the child master a concept without bombarding him with repetitive exercises. The concept is explained in different ways throughout the chapter and sufficient exercises are given to understand the concept and master it.

The way I used the program was that I would print out the pages and teach it to the boys together using a whiteboard. I would explain the concept the way she did and then give them the exercises as a challenge. The boys enjoyed the challenges. This was the first time I ever heard my 7 year old say he enjoyed Math.

How much does it cost?
Blue Series - $95 (download) or $100 (CD)
Blue Series for grades 1-3 - $38 (download)
Blue Series for grades 4-6 - $57 (download)
Light Blue Series - $136 (download) or $141 (CD)
Light Blue Series for grades 1-3 - $68 (download)
Light Blue Series for grades 4-6 - $68 (download)
Golden/Green Series - $65 (download) or $70 (CD)
All Inclusive - $192 (download) or $197 (CD)
"Everything" Bundle - $240 (download only)

The making it real series goes for $4.99 for one book or $39 for all 11 books.

Printed versions are also available for some of the series.

Price range varies between $2.00 and $5.00 for some of the books and $13.95 for other.

Make sure to visit Maria's websites, she's got plenty of free stuff, info and helps for you to check out. She offers tons of free samples for you to feel the program out.

Don't forget to also check out what other crewmates have to say about Math Mammoth.

Disclosure:I was offfered a free download of Math Mammoth grade 3 full curriculum for in excahnge for an honest review of the curriculum.

Keyboard Town PAL - TOS Review

2011-11-14T00:50:00.000-08:00

What is Keyboard PAL?

Keyboard Town PAL is a typing program which is meant to teach your child to type with less than an hour of practice a day.

How much does it cost?

$35 for a CD-ROM

$30 for a web-based version.

The program is available in English, Spanish, and French and works on both Mac and Windows.

They also offer additional products at reasonable costs.

Who is it for?

It is geared toward 7-10 years old but is is said to be workable with younger ones as well.

Our opinion:

Depending on your child, one might find the program very attractive or quite childish. The way it works is that there is a little puppet like character (which is the “PAL sunny”) that guides and teaches the child the proper placement of the fingers on the keyboard for good and efficient typing.

It turns the keyboard into a city with each line of letters of the keyboard being a location in the city. It teachers the proper finger positionning using story lines. The concept is well thought out and in my opinion ingenious. The method of teaching is repetition to mastery. This works for some kids and does not with others. Each time it teaches a finger placement it has the child press that letter over and over again before moving on to the next letter.

Unfortunately I cannot testify of the efficiency of the program as my boys did not enjoy the program from the get go. The repetition did not work for them, they wanted to move on quicker. On top of that, they were not too fond of the pal character. I can see how this can work for a younger child, but as the child gets older it would really depend on the particular child.

You can read some more inforamtion on the method and philosophy of the program on their website here.

To see what other crewmates have to say make sure to check the TOS Homeschool Crew blog review post.

Disclosure: I was offered a 6 weeks membership to Keyboard pal in exchange for an honest review.

TOS Review - Ooka Island

2011-11-02T04:43:00.000-07:00

Ooka Island is an early literacy computer program for Pre-K to grade 2 students. It is a downloadable program that requires lots of computer space and an internet connection when playing the game. It can be downloaded on both PC and Mac. It is interactive and a visually very attractive program.

Price: They offer family pricing and school pricing. For a family the range is $12.95/month to $99.95/year for one child, and $19.95/month to $129.95/year for a family of up to 4 kids.

What is Ooka Island exactly?

From their website you can read:

"Ooka Island Adventure is a downloadable hero-mission in 3D designed to teach young children how to read fluently and well. The Ooka Island Adventure combines the highly engaging components of a state-of-the-art virtual world with the scientifically proven OokaMethod that builds literacy skills.

Carefully embedded within the Ooka Island Adventure are dozens of interactive instructional activities that captivate the child and motivate them as they learn essential pre-reading, reading, spelling, and writing skills. After completing the Ooka Island Adventure, children will be on their way to reading fluently and well for life."

What is the Ooka Method?

"With the OokaMethod, children progress to the most sophisticated phonological level. First, they must understand that words are made up of individual sounds (or phonemes) that they can hear and manipulate. Second, they learn to associate these sounds with letters and blend them together to make words, thus breaking the code that speeds them through the foundational levels of reading development and beyond.The OokaMethod includes the language-rich Ooka Island Book Series with comprehension and vocabulary activities. Children progress through a leveled and sequenced flow of books that follow recurring characters in familiar, every day activities. Children then bring their own language knowledge to the reading process and emerge into reading while developing vocabulary and reading comprehension.

Every child should have the opportunity to learn how to read fluently and well, the Ooka Island way!"

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoJRegbfKwY&feature=player_embedded [/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBuOhjJgRVc&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

On their website you can check out their guidebooks and explore the island on which the whole adventure takes place with the snapshots provided.

As you can see Ooka Island is a well researched program. It seeks to help the child master the building blocks of good literacy through engaging games and play. I have to say that I can attest that they did a quite good job in doing just that. The games are engaging and very educational. You learn your sounds, you learn your phonemes, you learn to associate words to sounds, you learn to read and understand what you read.

The levels build on each other and there is enough repetition to help the learning stick.

Although this program is great for kids that have not started to read, kids that are just starting, need more practice or are struggling readers, a very advanced reader could potentially enjoy this program as well, as did my soon to be 8 year old. I liked him playing on Ooka Island as he can use some more practice on his sound to phoneme recognitions. Interestingly enough the Cave of Sound was the part he did not like as it was challenging for him. At the higher levels, for example he had to recognize and type in sounds like "aw", "ow", "au" (he absolutely hates spelling). I can see the potential of this program in developing good spellers.

For some reason, which I am not sure I understand, my 6 year old, who also knows how to read, did not enjoy it at all. It would seem it has to do with the repetition, which in my opinion is a plus for this kind of learning.

Overall I would recommend this program to any parent who wants to have their child start to read and any parent who is seeking to improve their child's reading ability and fluency.

The company offers lots of extras to the program as well, such as all the books in the program in print for purchase, free coloring pages, a blog to keep up with innovations

Right now, as a newly launched program, they are offering discounts on their products so hop on over and check it out.

You can check what other TOS crew members have to say about Ooka Island here.

Disclosure: As a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew, I was offered a 6 month subscription to Ooka Island in exchange for an honest review of their product.

1000 Gifts

2011-10-24T09:12:00.000-07:00

Some may ask where I have been. Blogging has been on the back burner these last few days. So many things to prioritize. I have been dragging in school a bit but still going. We are all eagerly awaiting our vacation in a couple of weeks, and our first real break since we started 9 weeks ago.

Meanwhile there is plenty to thank the Lord for:

482-500

Fall weather and fall colors.

Hikes in the woods with friends

Fellowship time with friends around food and a movie

New violin teachers

My eldest enjoying Math for once

My eldest often giving way to his youngest brother

Christmas songs. I know it is early but that is how you feel when you have started practicing for christmas cantatas.

Voices to sing.

Bibles stories on audiobooks

Seeing friends you have not seen in a while.

New bible studies venues

Health

TOS Crew and products to reviews

Generous church members. My family and I have been so blessed at our new church. praise God!

New understanding of God's truth and God's grace

Friends who love being with my boys and taking care of them

The ability to bake and bless others with it

Podcast

Wordless Wednesday

2011-10-19T01:38:00.000-07:00

Sunday Worship

2011-10-16T00:52:00.000-07:00

By Faith (by Keith and Kristyn Getty | from the album Awaken the Dawn)

By faith we see the hand of God
In the light of creation's grand design
In the lives of those who prove His faithfulness
Who walk by faith and not by sight

By faith our fathers roamed the earth
With the power of His promise in their hearts
Of a holy city built by God's own hand
A place where peace and justice reign

Chorus: We will stand as children of the promise
We will fix our eyes on Him our soul's reward
Till the race is finished and the work is done
We'll walk by faith and not by sight

By faith the prophets saw a day
When the longed-for Messiah would appear
With the power to break the chains of sin and death
And rise triumphant from the grave

By faith the church was called to go
In the power of the Spirit to the lost
To deliver captives and to preach good news
In every corner of the earth

We will stand as children of the promise
We will fix our eyes on Him our soul's reward
Till the race is finished and the work is done
We'll walk by faith and not by sight

By faith this mountain shall be moved
And the power of the gospel shall prevail
For we know in Christ all things are possible
For all who call upon His name

Chorus: will stand as children of the promise
We will fix our eyes on Him our soul's reward
Till the race is finished and the work is done
We'll walk by faith and not by sight

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QgdyllyM-s[/youtube]

Homeschool Budget - Do I Have One?

2011-10-15T06:15:00.000-07:00

On to our second week with the blog cruise. The topic is: Do you set a specific budget for your homeschool supplies and book?

This is a difficult topic. I find that when it comes to money, I have major issues and that is because I majorly struggle with contentment. The Lord commands us to be happy in every circumstances, in want as in abundance. And so I try but it is a long road . . . So much out there . . .

Anyway . . . Our financial situation is not that of being in abundance, and I will guess to venture that it is the case for many homeschoolers, as most of us live on a single income (and in my case a pastor's salary). So when it comes to supplies and books for our homeschooling needs, what am I to do? Well you have to tighten the belt just like in everything else.

It is possible to homeschool for free. The internet abounds with resources and many homeschoolers do just that. I can't. It takes me way too much time to search for the stuff, plus the printing, and on top of that I find that when you homechool that way there is a lack of coherence, it's bits and pieces. So what do I do?

I do not have a set budget for school because there is no money. I just buy what I need when the money is there or at least, I know where the money is coming from. To that end I need to know what it is I need, and make sure it does not require too much money. So far by the grace of God I have been able to keep the "nonexistent budget" low, between $500-$800 for both kids/year.

Here are a few of my strategies:

I try to get money from other places. We cut down on food, and get rid of extras (like cable, phones, eating out etc...).

I thoroughly research my curriculum. When I end up buying a curriculum, I know this is the curriculum I will use. I have almost never bought something that I never used.

I buy little and I think long term. For example I am using Tapestry of Grace which is intended to be used for all 12 grades and for both kids. Same goes for my recent purchase of Math on the Level which is intended for both kids up to grade 8.

My kids are close in age (2 years apart) so I tend to teach them together. It helps that they both read very well and the younger is good at Math.

I limit my exposure to too much resources. Although I love to know what is out there, I try to not read too much of what others are using, or at least, when I do, tell myself I do not need it if I know I do not. I search the internet more for ways to be creative.

I have very strict and set criteria of what I am looking for and I hold myself to it.

When it comes to books, the library is my resource. I do not need to buy every books I see. The house is always full of books for free. I am SO thankful to be able to get library books from 2 cities.

Once in a while I will buy an encyclopedia or a fiction book which I know the boys will read over and over again.

I try to sell stuff at book fairs to get extra money.

I buy very limited amount of school supplies or extra. The only major expense I have made for school supply in my 3 years of homeschooling was for our boards. We've got about 3 of them, all in use.

I reuse a lot of stuff, cardboard boxes turn into books and magazine holders, food containers turn into pencil holders etc...

I make my own extra resources like posters or print them from the internet.

I limit outside activities. Right now my oldest is taking violin (which by itself is costing me an arm and an leg, but I believe is valuable). My youngest is on hold for piano precisely because there is no money. Hopefully he will start next year by God's grace - prayer item. We have had to pass on swimming lessons and other organized physical activities. We do participate in our homeschool group elective classes that run for 7 weeks in the fall and in the spring ($70/term).

I watch out for freebies on the net and sales at the stores, especially from chapters, amazon etc..

I can see the expenses in the future going up because of the need to buy more encyclopedias, science tools, games and adding more subjects as the kids grow up, but I have been blessed with friends' gifts and am confident that the Lord will continue to provide. I am trying to live by the motto: "If God wants you to have it, or sees fit for you to have it, he will make a way."

Wordless Wednesday

2011-10-12T06:53:00.000-07:00

Weekly Wrap-Up

2011-10-08T09:46:00.000-07:00

This is week 7 and I am already playing a bit of catch-up. That said, here is what we did this week:

3 lessons in First Language lessons (adverbs) with Zach and 3 with Joho

did our Grammar Island practice - the boys are catching on -

did some catching up in Writing with Ease. I find it really hard to fit WWE in the day but I like it so, even though I may have to skip some, I will persevere.

I am continuing reviewing Math concepts with Zach and working on bringing Joho to Zach's level. We are kind of stuck at subtracting with regouping. We did tackled Roman Numerals though with both both.

We wrapped up our studies of the crusades and are gearing up for Marco Polo and the Mongols next week.

did handwriting practice

practice some spelling with Joho as well as reading with a new TOS review product which is below his level but will still be good to cement his phonics.

did a chapter in science on plants and an experiment that Zach came up with.

Last Saturday we had the opportunity to visit a recycling center close to our home. Zach really enjoyed the short succinct visit.

In the midst of these were a few events this week. First off was Jojo's 6th birthday. He had 2 small parties, one last week Saturday, at a friend's place and one on Tuesday (his actual birthday date) at our place.

Chocolate Bomb cake (cake with strawberries and chocolate mousse inside)

Chocolate cupcake with mouse inside and as icing.

Thursday, marked the beginning of our 7 week long fall electives and the boys had a great time in their classes. Now that Jojo is 6 he got to be with the bigger kids 9which he had been waiting for). It also so happened that they both were in the same classes. they enjoyed their chess class (Jojo even got a little prize - a medal - for answering a question right), they also had Gym and science experiment which they enjoyed as well.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-10-05T01:42:00.000-07:00

Sunday Worship

2011-10-02T07:32:00.000-07:00

The Glory of the Cross

by Bob Kauflin, Sovereign Grace Music

What wisdom once devised the plan
Where all our sin and pride
Was placed upon the perfect Lamb
Who suffered, bled, and died?
The wisdom of a Sovereign God
Whose greatness will be shown
When those who crucified Your Son
Rejoice around Your throne

CHORUS
And, oh, the glory of the cross
That You would send Your Son for us
I gladly count my life as loss
That I might come to know
The glory of, the glory of the cross

What righteousness was there revealed
That sets the guilty free
That justifies ungodly men
And calls the filthy clean?
A righteousness that proved to all
Your justice has been met
And holy wrath is satisfied
Through one atoning death

What mercy now has been proclaimed
For those who would believe
A love incomprehensible
Our minds could not conceive?
A mercy that forgives my sin
Then makes me like Your Son
And now I'm loved forevermore
Because of what You've done

Homeschool Goal Setting

2011-10-01T07:39:00.000-07:00

The TOS Crew has been sailing for about 2 months now and it is now time for the blog cruise to get on its way.

What is the blog cruise, you may ask? It is a sort of blog carnival where members of the crew share about a specific topics and how it plays out in their homeschooling. Every two weeks there will be a new topic, so let's board!

The first topic for this year is about homeschool related goals for the year.

To be honest, I am not a big goal setting person. I think it is because I do not like to fail, so I shy away from specific goal setting. I do not usually have new year resolutions for example.

That said, I do believe that setting goals is important. Someone well said : “aim at nothing and you will be sure to reach it every time.”, that says it all.

So what do I do about this?

This year I will use this blog post to set some goals for our homeschool year. Usually even if I do not set specific goal,s I do have an overarching goal of finishing up whatever curriculum I purchase. I do spent a lot of time researching the boys' curriculum precisely because I intend to finish them, and because I cannot afford to keep switching throughout a school year.

Now, if I want to be more detailed about what we will attempt to achieve this year I have to know what it is I am trying to accomplish.

I want the boys to be thinkers, develop wisdom and meet academic standards, without making it the goal to be achieved no matter what.

To that end:

Language Arts:

Continue to improve their reading. They both read well-above grade level but there is always improvement to be made.

Learn to spell. They are not good spellers, mainly because they hate spelling.

Improve their handwriting.

Improve their comprehension skills

Improve their grammar skills and understanding

Continue their exposure to different literary genres

Math:

Cement Math basics (fact and mechanics)

Continue to develop their mathematical thinking skills

Improve their logical skills

Improve their critical thinking skills

Social studies:

Continue learning about history

Continue learning about the world around us (geography and civics)

Music Appreciation:

Expose them and teach them about composers and orchestras

Practice an instrument - Zach violin, Joho piano

Science:

Continue learning basic scientific facts: this year is all about biology.

Languages:

Teach them french

Continue with Latin

Others:

Continue learning diligence

Improve their responsibility skills

Improve their physical skills

Continue learning about godly wisdom, christian doctrine and christian living

So these will be my goals for the year. We shall see how it goes . . .

Weekly Wrap-up

2011-09-30T15:05:00.000-07:00

It's been 2 weeks since my last update. Nothing much has change since then. For some reason school has not been going as smoothly as hoped at the beginning of the year. I have not been able to do things as set in the schedule and not everything I wish to cover gets covered. So what have we been doing?

Last week was supposed to be a week off, but since we were behind in our Writing with Ease and Zach wanted to move on in TOG to Knights and Castles, we covered these subjects and added Math, Grammar Island practice and Handwriting.

This week we covered math, handwriting, started on the study of the Crusades, did Grammar Island practice and handwriting and that's about it.

We really only had 2 1/2 days of school this week. Monday we had a fieldtrip to a pionner history museum and today we had a visitor. Thursday is usually our day off which we spent at the Zoo in honor of my zoo-loving youngest whose birthday is this coming Tuesday.

I have been blessed in participating in a Good Gorning Girls group studying the book of 1 John. Accountability is great! I have been reminded of great truth that always need to be thought upon.

I have also been spending some time at A Reason To Believe, enjoying reading about science and Faith , and also reading a book my hubby gave me to read on epistemology.

Lastly I am happy that the boys are still helping with doing the dishes almost every nights, they each do half of it. This really lessens my dishes burden and of course teadches them responsibility and perseverance. Such an accomplishment.

Here are some pictures of our days out:

Castle lego model since we do not have one of those lego kingdom sets:

Zoo trip:

Museum trip:

Joho working on a grammar island sentence:

And a picture of my crusader:

Wordless Wednesday

2011-09-28T01:42:00.000-07:00

" . . . God is Light and in Him is no darkness at all." 1 John 1:5

Weekly Wrap-Up

2011-09-17T02:21:00.000-07:00

Another week has come to an end. It's been 5 weeks since we started school and things are going well overall.

We are in the last stretch of our Grammar Island. The boys enjoyed doing the book. We will soon start the Practice Island book to cement all the concepts covered in GI. First Language Lessons is moving along as well. Same story goes for Writing with Ease, although somehow we got behind a week, but that's ok because if need to I do not have a problem skipping a narration or copywork.

Math, we have been doing some practice problems and the boys seems to be doing well. Zach is so much more responsive to the no workbook approach, even if I still give him worksheets to do.

In music appreciation, we looked at Johann Sebastian Bach and listened to Well Tempered Clavier.

In history we delved into Vikings times and the boys had a blast. I think I have like 25 books about Vikings in the house. (I am putting together a list of extra resources we use along side TOG. I'll probably post it at the end of each unit. The one I put together for year one was quite long and I did not even start it from the beginning of the Year.)

We enjoyed reading The ABC's of Continents, watched a new to us nature science video Series that I got at the library, Animal Atlas, (even was able to get one at Walmart in buffalo for $4.88).

We had a nice day out on Thursday, all the way (11/2) hour) to the Museum of Science and Technology in Buffalo. it was lots of fun.

Jojo's favorite animal:

A 2000+ old tree trunk: The boys were so excited to read the events listed on the timeline , it rang bells (thanks TOG).

Machines in motion. An exhibit of Leonardo Da Vinci's work:

Create your own: a K'nex hands-on activity. I want a bucket for the boys . . .

and dad . . .

Cell puzzle:

Earth in motion:

And that was our week in a nutshell.

TOS Review: Big IQ Kids

2011-09-14T14:34:00.000-07:00

What is Big IQ Kids?

Big IQ Kids is an online educational program designed to "help children develop the skills needed to perform to his/her full potential." (Quote from their website). It is designed for students in grades K-adults and promote spelling efficiency, vocabulary building, math fact mastery and US geography knowledge via multimedia reinforcement and independent learning.

At Big IQ Kids you will find FREE spelling, math, vocabulary, U.S. states programs and vocabulary games, as well as a PREMIUM program for Math, US Geography and Junior program spelling.

I was given a premium membership for review and the difference lies in "the ability of the PREMIUM program to monitor the progress of the student and advance that student only when mastery of the subject matter has been achieved. Additionally, PREMIUM members have their progress tracked, saved, problem areas identified and these findings are reported via email to parents and/or teachers. The PREMIUM program offers students customized buddies, full game page access and the ability to save game coins and gaming high scores. . . .The PREMIUM program has very LIMITED advertisement an no ads are displayed during lesson interaction."(quote from their website)

Pricing:

Spelling Junior: $7.99/month; $39.99/12 months

Premium Math: $9.99/month; $49.99/12 months

Premium USA Geography: $39.99/12 months

Our opinion:

My boys were not too keen on the program and that is solely because it is basically a drill program, and my boys, especially my oldest, absolutely hates drills. He does not like Math and Spelling precisely because it is about mastering facts, and Big IQ Kids was not able to help him enjoy that. The worst thing you can do to him is to give him a list of operations to do, or a list of words to practice.

Here is what a Math page would look like:

My youngest was ok with it but it still was not his favorite thing to do.

Personally, I think it is a great program as it does help mastering facts through repetitions and drill. Since I was offered a one year membership, I will continue to use it, especially for my youngest, as I can see the great potential of the program.

Another feature I like about the program (PREMIUM) is that it sends you a report of how the child is progressing and moves the child up to the next level as mastery is acquired.

It is totally independent, no parent involvement required or needed.

Additionally, you can set how many problems the child is required to do, and when he does it, he gets tokens that can be redeemed for games. My boys always thought that they did not have enough points, and that it was too much work to get the points, but I have to admit that I may have given them to much to do at a time. The games are fun and the boys enjoyed that part of the program for sure.

You could also set your own spelling and vocabulary list or use the program's.

The only thing that I found somewhat annoying was the robotic voice of the narrator, but I suppose one can always get over it.

So to recap, I will say that Big IQ Kids, although not my boys' best loved product, is definitely worth looking into. The fact that most of it s free is a positive incentive. If your kids do not mind drilling, or if you are a firm believer of drilling, and fact mastery, even more reason to give this a good look and try.

So check out the free demo for the spelling Junior, the free 7 day Math premium trial, and the free US Geography 7 day trial.

Disclosure: This is not a paid review. I was offered a one year membership in exchange fore a fair, honest review.

Wordless Wednesday -Sunset

2011-09-14T00:34:00.000-07:00

ABC's of Homeschooling V and W

2011-09-13T13:02:00.000-07:00

Another week with 2 letters for the ABC's of Homeschooling.

V for Video.

This letter was a no-brainer for me, although I am still a week late posting about it.

Videos and DVDs are a staple in our classroom. The boys learn so much through visual media and the list of publishers with great educational video is way too long to start one here. I use videos and DVD mainly for Science, History and Math.

These are fun, some interactive, fact-filled and engaging. Not all are equal but I have been blessed to have laid hands on on a few pretty good ones so far.

My favorites series, you ask? (all of these are courtesy of our local library)

Discovery School: Journals Through History Series

Lost Treasures of Ancient World series

Ancient civilizations for children Series

Eureka:

Science Please

The Way Things Work

Light Speed Math

Planet Earth videos

Visual Education Centre Limited Videos

Works: They have titles like: Looking Good, On the move, Fabulous Food that show you how things work or are made.

Amazing Heroes All about community workers, firefighters, policemen, rescue workers etc...

Totally Truck

Mighty Machine

Magic School Bus

Zimmo on boats, planes and trains

My First Video: Science, Nature, Cooking and Activities (crafts)

These are just to name a few.

W for Way

This one is a bit of a hard one but I chose way because I think homeschooling is a lot about teaching our kids lots of "How to's":

How to think

How to learn or study

How to get along with one another

How to be responsible

How to know Jesus

How to be wise

How to do Math

How to write and I mean write well (grammar, syntax etc...)

And of course this list is not at all exhaustive.

For more w words make sure to hop over to 5 Kids and a Dog.

TOS Review: Time 4 Learning

2011-09-12T13:08:00.000-07:00

Time 4 Learning is an interactive web-based online curriculum for grades pre-K- 8. Web-based means that you can log in from any computer anywhere.

Description:

Time 4 Learning is designed to be used either as a stand alone curriculum, as an add-on, as a supplement or after-school program, or even as a summer refresher.

It covers, rather comprehensively, subjects such as Math, Language Arts, Science and Social Studies. To see an overview of the topics covered for each grade you can go here. Once you sign up you have access to a full scope and sequence for each grade.

Here is a screenshot of a 2nd grade Math lesson:

Here is a screenshot of a 3rd grade vocabulary lesson:

It is a paid subscription curriculum priced at $19.99/month for the first child, and $14.99 for each additional child.

Here is what you get for your subscription:

More than 1,000 interactive animated lessons

Self paced lessons

Math & algebra tutorials & printable worksheets

Interactive, project-based reading activities

Language arts, phonics & grammar lessons

Science (grades 1st - 6th) & social studies (grades 2nd - 7th)

Detailed reporting for easy record keeping

Extensive lesson plans & teaching tools for parents

Lessons correlated to State standards

You can easily take an evaluation test and the program will place you at your appropriate level with the ability to move 1 grade lower and/or 1 grade higher, which is a really nice feature.

The program is set up to send the parent progress reports so as to monitor the child's progress and performance.

The program is also set to give the child playground time (play time) as a reward for lessons completed.

The parent's space is very useful. You can assign lessons if you wish (which takes some time to figure out) but it is not really needed as the curriculum progresses automatically; you can set how many lessons the child has to complete before having access to the playground and how long he is allowed in the playground.

For more info you can check their FAQ on their website.

Our opinion:

I will say that Time 4 Learning is a great program. I have seen it advertised so many times and always wondered why it was so well talked about. Now I know. It is very attractive and keeps the child attention while teaching lots of concepts. How much of it is retained, I do not know, given the short review time we had (1 month). The interactive aspect of the curriculum is really its main strength.

The boys enjoyed using it a lot. We focused on the Math part, as that is the area that I wanted to cement some concepts in. However, they enjoyed some of the science, phonics and Vocabulary portions as well.

As you go up in the grades (past 2nd grade) there are more parts that are not as interactive and my oldest was not as interested in checking those out, especially in Science and Social Studies (as those are subjects he usually likes). At the higher grades the child also needs to be a good reader.

Something great about the curriculum is that the child can use it independently. Each child gets his own log in and there is minimal to no need for parental assistance. The topics progress automatically and at the lower grades it is all read to you.

This curriculum is great for kids who do well with computer learning and also for parents who have lots of kids to teach. If I had the money I would definitely renew as a complement to what we are doing.

Make sure to check our their free demo for you to get a feel of the curriculum for yourself.

Make sure also to check out other crew mate reviews of Time 4 Learning.

Disclosure: This is not a paid review. I was offered one month subscription free of charge in exchange for an honest review of this product.

Sunday Worship

2011-09-11T09:38:00.000-07:00

God Moves in a Mysterious Way

Music and additional lyrics by Bob Kauflin
Lyrics by William Cowper

God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform
He plants His footsteps in the sea
And rides upon the storm
Deep in His dark and hidden mines
With never-failing skill
He fashions all His bright designs
And works His sovereign will

So God we trust in You
O God we trust in You

O fearful saints new courage take
The clouds that you now dread
Are big with mercy and will break
In blessings on your head
Judge not the Lord by feeble sense
But trust Him for His grace
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face

So God we trust in You
O God we trust in You

When tears are great
And comforts few
We hope in mercies ever new
We trust in You

God’s purposes will ripen fast
Unfolding every hour
The bud may have a bitter taste
But sweet will be the flower
Blind unbelief is sure to err
And scan His work in vain
God is His own interpreter
And He will make it plain

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pTEboDF090[/youtube]

Weekly Wrap-Up

2011-09-10T03:01:00.000-07:00

Our school days have been running less effectively as I would have wish but that is all due to me not waking up early enough and not being as firm as I should.

However we are making it through our 3 Rs:

First Language lessons is coming along. we are at lesson 11.

Writing with ease is coming along as well. We did not get to finish week 3 yet, but tomorrow is going to be a school day and I see that I will have to be doing some catch up during our week off scheduled for the week after next.

Grammar island is coming along as well. I find that the kids are not remember the material as well as I was hoping but I guess that's why following the book is 100 sentences in practice island for practice. That is where the retaining will happen. i also need to make up some posters for reminders.

In math they have been using Time 4 learning (review item) exclusively as we only one month subscription and I wanted to make the most of it. The boys have covered money, operations, shapes quiet extensively. Once the subscription is over I will be picking up from there. This week I also spent sometime teaching Joho addition with remaining as he was getting quiet confused.

In History last week we covered the Rise of Islam. Beside pretending to be a Muslim and fighting in their army, Zach was not too impressed with the whole idea . . . Every time we study a new civilization he pretends to be part of their army. He really is having a hard time with Medieval Time History though. This week we did The Vikings and as usual Zach has been devouring Vikings books. We also started to learn about medieval life, feudalism and knights.

Muslim soldier:

We were able to do some handwriting as well.

The subjects that have suffered from my lack of diligence have been Latin, French, Science and Music appreciation. Violin lessons have started back this month with a new teacher that we tried out in July.

A part from school, we had a day out at a friend's place for labour day where the boys enjoyed some pool time in a not so hot weather. We went to the splash pad today as well.

I also have been having some issues with my stomach which led me to a doctor's visit last week and an ultrasound this week. I am still awaiting the result and praying for nothing too serious.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-09-07T13:06:00.000-07:00

Griddly Games Review

2011-09-05T00:13:00.000-07:00

We love games at our house and my youngest is really a game lover. As a homeschooler I think that games are such a great way to sneak in so many educational lessons and reviews. So that said, I was very thrilled when I saw that my first review item for the TOS would be a game.

The one I received is called Nature Nuts and is put out by Griddly Games.

So, what is Griddly Games? It is a company that creates board games for the whole family to enjoy, at the same time encouraging laughter, learning and social interaction.

I will say that as we played the game we experienced all of of that.

The company has put out 5 different games in order to fulfill that goal:

Griddly Headz: strategy games that have sports themes in baseball, hockey, and NASCAR racing; Wise Alec trivia game: teacher-approved and based on grade school curricula. With now Wise Alec on the road with three new travel sets: WiseAlec: Civilize This!, Wise Alec: Nature Nuts, and Wise Alec: Sports Buffs; Chronicles of the Mind: the storytelling ice breaking party game; Words of the Wise : the mind-bending brainteaser game that turns your ABCs on its head; Oversight: Abstract strategy games

The one I received was the on the road Wise Alec: Nature Nuts.

Nature Nuts is a game that contains 300 questions to test your knowledge of animals, plants, and the Earth. Two levels of questions on each card let everyone from the nature novice to the expert play together. The bonus of this game, which my kids absolutely love, is the Wise Alec™ cards which has you doing tongue twisters, brain teasers, and fun exercises!

The game is sold at different locations and you can find a list of these places on their website here. The retail price ranges between $14.99- $18.99.

Our opinion:

We all loved playing the game. It is fun and very educational. We all have learned so much about plants, animals, and the earth.

The website says that the game is for ages 8+ but both my 7 year old and 5 year old were able to play and enjoy it. I was surprised to see that both of them knew a few of the answers, with my oldest knowing more. This game came at a good time as we are studying biology this year, so lots of questions are things we are in the process of covering, so it has been a very nice addition to our science. Also if they did not know the answer right away, but I thought they could figure it out, we would give them hints and clues.

The way it works is that you throw a dice which has 6 colors on it. Each color corresponds to a topic: red: animal; green: plants; yellow: earth; blue: you get to pick; orange: the next player gets to pick; purple is the Wise Alec card which contains tongue twisters, brain teasers and fun exercises to do . Each question is worth a certain amount of point ranging from 3-7. For some of the cards you can pick how many points you want to be quizzed for. The winner is the one who reaches the preset amount of points agreed on at the beginning of the game; or the one who has the most point at the end of a preset playing time. ( You can find the rules to the game on the website as well.)

The game is very adaptable. You can set the amount of points needed to win at whichever level you want. In our case, when we first started playing, we staggered the points. For example mom and dad needed 50 and the boys needed 25. Later on we changed it to dad being the quizzer and mom needing 30, and the boys 20.

Depending on how long you want to play you can set the amount needed higher or lower.

As I mentioned before, the boys loved the Wise Alec cards; that's really their favorite part. They loved the tongue twisters and making funny things such as making an impression of a monkey, walking like a penguin, doing push-ups and making animal noises. For some reason I kept getting minus points Wise Alec cards, but that's ok. That allowed them to win a number of times, especially since I did not know the answers to quite a few of the questions (sad to say).

This is Joho reading the tongue twister.

This game, being meant to be a travel game, is very easy to transport. All 200 cards and the dice are contained in a very reasonable size box, making it easy to carry along. We will definitely take this on our next road trip. It is also meant to be an add-on to the original Wise Alec board game.

To recap I would say that this is a very engaging fun game that could benefit any type of learner. Even my oldest who is not a game person enjoyed playing Nature Nuts and actually asked to play it. You have to make sure to adjust the rules for younger ones, so as to allow them a chance to get points, but that is very easily done.

This game can be used to learn facts or to review, and make sure they do not get forgotten.

My only complaint about the game is that I wish there were answers for the brain teaser questions, but I guess any encyclopedia would have the answers.

I am very tempted to go buy the rest of the games in the series . . .

Disclaimer: This is not a paid review. I received this product free in exchange for a review.

Sunday Worship

2011-09-04T02:53:00.000-07:00

Let is Be Said of Us

Let it be said of us
That the Lord was our passion
That with gladness we bore
Every cross we were given
That we fought the good fight
That we finished our course
Knowing within us the power of the risen Lord

Chorus
Let the cross be our glory
And the Lord be our song
By mercy made holy
By the Spirit made strong

Let the cross be our glory
And the Lord be our song
'Till the likeness of Jesus
Be through us made known
Let the cross be our glory
And the Lord be our song

Let it be said of us
We were marked by forgiveness
We were known by our love
And delighted in meekness
We were ruled by his peace
Heeding unity's call
Joined as one body
That Christ would be seen by all

by Promise Keeper

ABC of Homeschooling - T and U

2011-09-03T10:10:00.000-07:00

T for Together

Homeschooling is great! But I have to say that one of the advantage of it, which can also be a bother sometime, is the fact that the kids and I are together all the time. Why do I say that? Well, having the kids with you all the time is good as you can really be in their lives, see what they are up to, follow their progress closely, correct them in the moment and hug them as often as you want. But, being together all the time can be overwhelming. No break and constant "mommy call".

That said I do not think I would have it any other way. As much as sometimes I think I would be better off sending them to school (to save my sanity), I love being with them, and the fact that they love being with me seals the deal. We learn together, we laugh together, we are silly together, we play together, we cook together, we discover together, we meet new people together and the list goes on and on.

Together is good, soon will come the time when they will be gone, married and have their own life without me. I will be glad I had my fill. Lots of people tell me to enjoy this time when my boys are clinging to me because the time is approaching quickly when they will be reluctant to be hugged. So, this I try to do.

U for Untraditional

It took me a while to come up with a u word, but I got it: untraditional. Why? because as homeschooler we tend to not do things the traditional way. Sure there are lots of homeschoolers who literally do SCHOOL at HOME (which is fine), but I would venture to say that most DO NOT do school like it is done in a school setting.

Here are some ways in which we are untraditional:

We do not use a preset curriculum. Every year we reassess what we are using and change things around if need be.

We do school anywhere, ranging from the dining table, the sofa, the floor, the bed, the park, the car and anywhere in between.

We use games a lot and non-traditional drill methods, such has jumping jacks and jumping on a trampoline, to name a few (I have boys, so those came to mind)

We take sick days without missing anything.

Fieldtrip often tend to be family outing where it is more than just an educational activity.

We take time with projects, whether it be science, history or whatever.

We school during the summer (for some) and have weeks off during the regular school year.

We can be ahead or behind without having to worry about grading and tests.

These are just a few of the ways in which we are untraditional, but this list can go on and on.

For more ABC's of homeschooling letter U words, be sure to go over to 5 Kids and a Dog.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-08-31T02:41:00.000-07:00

Sunday Worship

2011-08-28T00:55:00.000-07:00

Ephesians 2:13

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

A New Song We Sing

by MEREDITH ANDREWS

You are the God who reconciles

The wayward heart through Christ
The old has gone, the new has come
We are reconciled by love
We are reconciled by love

You are the God who reconciles
The wayward heart through Christ
The old has gone, the new has come
We are reconciled by love
We are reconciled by love

And this is the new song we sing
To the King of Heaven
This is the new song we bring
After all You've given
We stand before You redeemed
As Your children
This is the new song we sing

We once who were so far away
Are brought near by Your blood
The barrier has been destroyed
By Your grace we freely come
By Your grace we freely come

And this is the new song we sing
To the King of Heaven
This is the new song we bring
After all You've given
We stand before You redeemed
As Your children
This is the new song we sing

We live in You
We live to You
We live for You our King
We stand in You
We stand for You
We stand as Your redeemed

And this is the new song we sing
To the King of Heaven
This is the new song we bring
After all You've given
We stand before You redeemed
As Your children
This is the new song we sing

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfEO5zdh4tk[/youtube]

Weekly Wrap-Up

2011-08-26T14:06:00.000-07:00

It is Friday and time to remember what we did this week.

We did do school:

Math on Time 4 Learning, this is giving them lots of review and practice. The subscription is for 1 month so, after that we will resume to our regular schedule.

Language Arts got covered through First Language Lessons, Writing with Ease and Grammar Island and some handwriting practice as well. So far so good on all front.

We only did one chapter in science this week; reason: starting school late!

French

Music appreciation

History. We had a little drama this week as Zach was not impressed at the life of the medieval monks and felt very bad for them which turns into big tears and and "I don't get the point!" comment. He even when as far as wanting to live like a monk for a day to try to understand what the point was. One night as he was finally falling asleep, at 12:00 am, he was going to set an alarm to wake himself up at 3:00 am. I had to remind him that they went to bed at 6:30 pm in order to wake up that early.

We had a great trip to the zoo yesterday. Joho has been wanted to go see the Penguins that came in in the spring and we were all glad to see them.

the beaver tail of course

School was shortened today as Joho showed some rashes on his hands and feet and a bit on his thighs,which led us to the pedia. I thougfht it was his exzema returning but it turned out to be Hand and Foot disease. The doctor said it should go away by itself.

The boys are still into battle (roman and greek) so decided to make themselves helmets. They did it themselves and it did not turned out quite the way they wanted. Do I need to mention I Hate papier mache.

Making Friends Monday

2011-08-23T04:35:00.000-07:00

New place to make new bloggy friends. This is linked up @ Reviewed by Mom.

Sunday Worship

2011-08-21T07:10:00.000-07:00

Exodus 33:19:

"I will make my goodness pass before you; and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion."

The Lord is Gracious and Compassionate

The Lord is gracious and compassionate
Slow to anger and rich in love
The Lord is gracious and compassionate
Slow to anger and rich in love

And the Lord is good to all
He has compassion in all that He has made
As far as the east is from the west
That's how far He has removed our transgressions from us
(repeat)

Praise the Lord, oh my soul
Praise the Lord
Praise the Lord, oh my soul
Praise the Lord

By Bridget Moses

Favorite Ressource This Week

2011-08-20T04:19:00.000-07:00

I am joining in a new meme this week.

The idea is to share our favorite resource of the week.

For this week I have 2:

A website where the boys have been spending a lot of time this week exploring history topics. They have been enjoying it a lot.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/

A book series I just discovered called Usborne Young Reading. They have great classics titles. I was able to get Robinson Crusoe from the library. Unfortunately they do not carry many titles in the library. I am hoping more will soon be available. The stories are abridged, but nice. I find them good to introduce some classics that my sons might not be willing or so excited to try.

Weekly Wrap-Up

2011-08-19T07:49:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I have done a weekly wrap-up but there has not been much happening here this summer for some reason. Time keeps flying by and I am not sure what has been happening, beside lesson planning, reviews, game time, some playdates and time on the internet and the Wii. The boys have also been enjoying lots of audiobooks; The Magic Treehouse series, The Boxcar Children Mystery series, Chronicles of Narnia, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (the last 2 I think they know by heart).

That said, we started school last Monday and I have to say the week went as planned with minimum complaint. We did cover:

4 lessons in our Grammar Island

3 lessons in First Language Lessons 4

Week 1 in Writing With Ease. I was so excited Zach did his first dictation so well and without complaining (he hates writing). I hope that keeps up. As for Joho, he did very well with his copywork too.

In Math we made use of our subscription at Time 4 Learning and Big IQ Kids (review products - watch out for the reviews) and also some paper review on addition, subtraction and did some multiplication work as well (skip counting by 2's, 5's and 10's)

With Tapestry of Grace we reviewed the fall of Rome and the barbarian kingdoms of the time. Of course the boys were all excited. Zach loves history so much, that he has already listened to 2 cds from Story of the World. We were able to also cover geography and literature and started on a lapbook which I got from Chronicle of the Earth.

In Science, we picked up right from where we left off in our study of animals.

We also started using Story of the Orchestra and that went over quite well.

This week we also had our regular library visit. I actually dedicated a bookshelf to our library books now.

One more thing that happened recently is our first camping ever, which we did last week with our church. Somehow, it seems that I was too busy enjoying the whole new experience, I barely took any pictures. That said, the boys had a lot of fun.

Here is one lone picture I took:

I guess that sums it for this week. Overall a good starting week.

ABC's of Homeschooling - S is for ...

2011-08-16T13:42:00.000-07:00

It is another week of the ABC of Homeschooling over @ 5 Kids and a Dog.

This week's letter is S, and my chosen word is Sanity.

Sometimes I wonder if I have any of it left. Between the noise of reenacted ancient battles and army wars, the noise of brotherly fights, the arguments, the peace making, the lesson planning, the distracted children to bring back to focus, the errands, the multitasking, sometimes I wonder if my head is till attached. I often forget half of what I was about to do. It takes me a few minutes sometimes to understand what someone tells me, as if I needed time to put my brain back on. Sometimes I run on auto pilot and do not know what I just did.

Just yesterday my hubby made the comment to the effect that my emerging white hairs are really my blonde side coming out (figure of speech, since my hair is back).

But, yes I have seen some mom talk about losing their sanity, well I can see that. Homeschooling can do that to you as you juggle so many things. But, no need to despair, it is not permanent. That is why we need breaks, and have to take them. This is why we put our family members at work to help us. Everyone wants to have a sane mom around!

ABC's of Homeschooling - Q and R

2011-08-09T06:37:00.000-07:00

We are nearing the end of the ABC's of Homeschooling over @ 5 Kids and a Dog. It's been fun to think of all these words related to homeschooling using the alphabet.

As usual I have to make up for last week, so first of:

Q is for Questions:

I picked questions because that is on of the aspect of homeschooling I love. We get to ask lots of questions and, best of all, we get to look for the answers and usually find them. When we homeschooling I find that there is more time to ponder on topics and thoughts which in turn gives rise to questions. My boys always ask lots of questions on many different topics, from stuff they read in their books, from our history readings, from science (rarely from math because they are not so much into Math), and the list goes on.

R is for Realistic

When we homeschooling I belive that we have to remain realistic. There are so many things I want to do, so many things I want the boys to learn and do. But, I have to constantly remind myself that there is so much I can accomplish in a day, there is so much the boys can assimilate and learn in one session, or at their level. It is planning time here at our house, and this is something that I have to keep in the back of my mind. I must remain realistic of how much we can handle in a day and be ready to adjust to the reality when it sets in. Again, one of the beauty of homeschooling is that we do not have to do things the way so and so does. Each homeschooling mom has to find that most appropriate, most challenging and engaging path, all the while remaining realistic about what can be done, how and at which pace.

A is for Attentiveness

B is for Balance

C is for Creativity

D is for Dilligence, Discipline and Disciple and also Discovery

E is for Energy

F is for Faithful

G is for Grace

H is for Heart

I is for Idea

J is for Jesus

K is for Kindness

L is for Love of Learning

M is Money

N is for Norm

O for Options

P for Planning

Studies of Ancient Civilizations Extra Resources

2011-08-04T04:39:00.000-07:00

I love TOG because of its breadth and width of information and literature. Within the curriculum you will find plenty of resources to read along with each unit. I did do some extra reading for myself and also with Zach just to complement and add more variety in style and ways of presenting the subject matter; Zach has developed a real interest for History.

Here is a list of resources that I found useful while studying the Ancient Civilizations in our Tapestry of Grace curriculum year 1:

Atlas and books:

The Kingfisher Atlas of the Ancient World

The Visual Dictionary of Ancient Civilizations

The Atlas of Ancient Civilizations

The Atlas of the Ancient World

The Kingfisher Book of Ancient World from the Ice Age to the Fall of Rome

The Kingfisher History Encyclopedia

The Big Book of Civilizations

Questions and Answers: Ancient Civilizations

Time Life Student Library: Ancient Civilizations

Exploring History: Ancient Civilizations

Ancient Civilizations : Discovering the People and Places of Long Ago

The Ancient Mediterranean by Rebecca Stefoff

The World of the Roman Emperor by Peter Chrisp

Series:

You are in Ancient . . .

Life in Ancient . . .

Jane Shuter books

Anita Ganeri books

People of the Ancient World

What do we Know About . . .

You Wouldn't want to be . . .

All About Ancient Peoples

The Best book of . . .

Back to Basics

What's Their Story

100 Things You should Know About

Navigators

Warriors

Ancient and Medieval People

All About Ancient People

See Inside

Uncovering History (Everyday Life . . .)

See Through History

Videos:

Discovery School: Journals Through History Series

Lost Treasures of Ancient World series

Ancient civilizations for children Series

Websites:

CyberSleuth-kids

Mr Donn: Ancient Civilizations section

Kidspast.com

BBC History (for Kids): history section

Highland Hitcho

The Chronicle of the Earth

Hands-on books:

120 Great History Projects

Hands-on History Series

Footsteps in Time Series

My World (Chicago III,World Book in Association with Two Can)

Sunday Hymn

2011-07-31T09:44:00.000-07:00

Jesus, God's Righteousness Revealed

Jesus, God’s righteousness revealed
Ths Son of Man, the Son of God
His kingdom comes
Jesus, Redemption’s sacrifice
Now glorified, now justified
His kingdom comes

And His kingdom will know no end
And it’s glory shall know no bounds
For the majesty and power of
this kingdom’s King has come
And this kingdom’s reign
And this kingdom’s rule
And this kingdom’s power and authority
Jesus, God’s righteousness revealed

Jesus, the expression of God’s love
the grace of God, the Word of God
Revealed to us
Jesus, God’s holiness displayed
Now glorified, now justified
His kingdom comes

Hillsong Music - Geoff Bullock

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDgKmziqLfA&feature=related[/youtube]

Planning and More Planning

2011-07-30T12:12:00.000-07:00

It's that time of the year, time to plan for the upcoming school year. I am not much of the planner, but after a couple of years of homeschooling, I have come to appreciate, love and enjoy the process. I still sometimes find it frustrating but I enjoy it nonetheless. It is so liberating to be prepared, to have a plan and not be running by the seat of your pants. It limit stress and chaos and allows you to get much more accomplished. I seem to never find planners that works well for me so I usually end up making my own planning sheets.

So how do I plan?

I print out a school calendar and circle in a start date for the year, and locate the different holidays as well. We school year round with July off and a pattern of 4-5 weeks of school/1 week off. I cannot take routine for a long period of time and a break usually does the kids good. I get my calendar from Donna Young site.

I make a schedule of the subjects we will be covering, and on which day of the week. We have a 4 day week. Since dad has Thursday off we take it off to do things as a family. Also, electives, when it happens, is on Thursdays, so that works well. You can see it better here .

I make a schedule of the weekly school routine for each child. Last year I struggled with how to divide myself between the 2 boys. This year we are going to be doing a lot of subjects together and the ones they do separately I made sure I scheduled something for the other child to do while I am schooling the other one (something he would not need me for, like reading, or play). I even color coded the schedule so that they can easily see what they are supposed to be doing. For a closer view, click here.

I make a yearly schedule by weeks of what we will be covering and when. I may or may not fill it up all the way now, but I will definitely do the first 5 weeks. I try to divide the school year in appropriate places using TOG as a guide, as I do not want to be breaking in the middle of a theme. It is pretty empty right now, that's because I am still waiting on my curriculum to get here. You can see it better here.

In addition to these forms, since we are using Math on the Level this year, I also made a schedule for when I want to cover which topic, to keep me accountable and moving forward. I also started gathering worksheets for their 5 a Day problems in folders.

I also found a nice Tapestry of Grace schedule form (here) which I am using to fill in what we will be doing week after week instead of me having to go through the buffet offered in the curriculum every week. I will prepare this, unit by unit. We will be doing the history, geography, literature, and writing part of the curriculum, and see if we can fit vocabulary and art as well.

I will also make a list of all the books I will want them to read during their daily hour of reading which I instituted in the later part of last year.

Lastly, I will make a chore chart for the kids so that they get more involved in helping around the house, and a cleaning schedule for myself, using the great ideas from 31 Days to Clean (which I still have not been able to complete), and an old schedule I had set a while back.

That's my plan for this year in a glance.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-07-27T10:36:00.000-07:00

Birthday cake (hubby's)- Chocolate Bomb - chocolate cake layered with white chocolate mouse and dark chocolate mouse

ABC's of Homeschooling - O and P

2011-07-26T07:13:00.000-07:00

It' s another week of ABC's of Homeschooling, and time to join Dawn @ 5 Kids and a Dog. I am still catching up.

O for Options

By now you will have realized that this is really what I love about homeschooling: the ability and freedom to choose your own method, your own curriculum, your style, your schedule etc...

In our day and age the options are limitless and this has its good and bad sides. Sometimes having too many options can be a challenge and a danger, especially if you are like me and always have a hard time deciding and always second guessing yourself, however, I still love that I do not have to follow someone else's plans and ideas, especially if it does not work for my kinds. I am learning to know what it is that I want to accomplish and make decisions accordingly. I am learning to make informed decisions, to be discriminative, and to learn to live with my decisions.

P is for Planning and Prayer

I am pretty sure many homeschoolers would agree with me on this one. I think lots of us love the planning part of it and some don't. No matter your feeling towards it I think it is a must in any homeschool. Whether you do lots of planning or very little, you do have to plan something. Weather it is from what curriculum you will use, to how many days of school you will be doing, or to what places you will visit there is planning involved.

Someone said: "if you aim at nothing you will hit it every time." I strongly believe that if you want to accomplish something you got to plan for it. A lot can be accomplished on the spur of the moment and in spontaneous events, but lots more get accomplished with a plan. I am not a great planner, but through my 3 years of homeschooling I really have come to love the planning stage. Right now I am in the middle of it and even though I find it frustrating at times I actually find myself enjoying it. There is a strange feeling associated with knowing what it is you are trying to do and aiming at. I still need to learn to set goals, but I am sure that will come.

I have to add that P is for prayer as well because homeschooling is not easy, it is not for the lazy, it is not for those who give up easily, we need God's grace and help. I am one of those people, and the only way I can keep going is through prayer. I need to constantly ask God for his help.

Another reason why P is for prayer is that no matter what I do, God's plan will prevail. He knows the end from the beginning. I need to commit my children and myself into His hands that I might be an instrument in his hands for whatever he has in store for them, and for them to be modeled according to his plan. I am not the one in control and the only way I can do what he wants me to do is by communing with him on a consistent basis.

For more on the ABC's of Homeschooling:

A is for Attentiveness

B is for Balance

C is for Creativity

D is for Dilligence, Discipline and Disciple and also Discovery

E is for Energy

F is for Faithful

G is for Grace

H is for Heart

I is for Idea

J is for Jesus

K is for Kindness

L is for Love of Learning

M is Money

N is for Norm

Sunday Worship

2011-07-24T00:32:00.000-07:00

You are God Alone
by Phillips Craig & Dean

You are not a God
Created by human hands
You are not a God
Dependant on any mortal man
You are not a God
In need of anything we can give
By Your plan, that's just the way it is

[chorus]
You are God alone
From before time began
You were on Your throne
You are God alone
And right now
In the good times and bad
You are on Your throne
You are God alone

You're the only God
Whose power none can contend
You're the only God
Whose name and praise will never end
You're the only God
Who's worthy of everything we can give
You are God
And that's just the way it is

[chorus]

[bridge]
Unchangeable
Unshakable
Unstoppable
That's what You are

[bridge]

[chorus]

[bridge]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INKpqoxxWjA&feature=related[/youtube]You are God Alone