Reaping a Harvest...Raising My Three Sons

State Postcard Swap -- Why This is Awesome!

2012-02-17T20:09:00.000-05:00

My boys sure love mail, but they've really been loving mail recently!

A wise homeschooling mom arranged a state postcard swap just after the first of the year. Thanks to online friends made through product reviews, homeschool forums and Facebook, she managed to get 51 families to participate, with a few overlaps in some of the more popular states. I have not counted, but think we'll end up with postcards from 30+ states.

I was able to find a sweet Vistaprint coupon good for 100 free postcards; I had to pay shipping and for uploading of a custom color front (I used MyMemories Suite 3.0 to create our postcard!), so in all it cost $13. Fifty postcards stamps set me back $16. So for just under $30, we're sharing some fun facts about our states. And the boys are finding joy in being the one to go get the mail!

Here's some of the educational things we'll do with the postcards:

I had the boys practice addressing a few of the postcards:

Letter/ envelope writing skills: "Check."

As they come in, the kids have to locate where the state is on the map. I printed out a black-line map of the United States and the boys have been coloring in the states. Without asking.
I've also been asking the boys to identify the capital city of each state as it comes in. We've been memorizing them, so this is good review.
I plan on pulling out the road map/ atlas so the boys can practice looking up cities and towns that some of the families are from. We can get a lot of mileage out of the atlas with these postcards....how many miles from their home to the capital/ major city? to our house/ state? What are the nearest national parks? Mapping skills, geographical features of the US, math.....
Postal Abbreviations -- Ben really needs to learn these better (especially all the "M" states, and Luke and Levi can learn them along with him.

I decided that we were not really going to do anything with the state facts that come in, except read about them. But that is just me. I don't find learning 50 state flowers to be beneficial in the long run of my kids' education. Interesting certainly, but not necessarily beneficial.

If you have participated in a postcard swap, what fun things did you do with them? I'd love to read about it!

Great find: Moon Machines

2012-02-16T09:04:00.001-05:00

First off: this is not a review!

Ben and I went to the library a few weeks ago looking for a pile of movies, and we came across this:

I love documentaries and this one looked really amazing. It is not about the astronauts who took us to the moon, but about the 400,000 (yes, that many zeros) engineers and technicians who make the Apollo missions possible.

The DVD has several segments about all stages of the development of the new technologies for lunar landings and exploration: the Saturn V rocket, the command module, the navigational computer, the lunar module, the lunar rover, and the space suit.

It is told by all the behind-the-scenes engineers who had to take a president's national goal and turn it into a reality. These men (mostly men and a very few women) took vague ideas of what these craft and equipment should look like and made them real -- iconic symbols of America, even.

It is fascinating and I loved it for several reasons:

1. I want my kids to learn to think out-of-the-box {which is not something that comes to be naturally} -- and I think these men are great examples. They were visionaries, pioneer engineers (some of them were assigned to develop parts of the craft that they had no training or knowledge about), and problem solvers. One engineering team was told "you have only 10 pounds for the lunar battery." And they did it!

2. I want them to see the humbleness of these men. If not for this movie, most of these men would fairly obscure; in fact, I doubt even this movie make them recognizable. They felt honored to work on the project. It was a career high for them. And they seem fine with that.

3. I want them to see that God gifts all of us in different ways. Being the astronaut was cool, but these men were also cool, too.

Check your library for it!

A Few of My Favorite {Field Trip} Things

2012-02-13T10:10:00.001-05:00

I love so many things about homeschooling my boys. I love being with them all. the. time. (seriously, I do!). I love mentoring them as they grow in relationships with each other and God. I love cuddling on the couch to watch them learn. I love laughing with them. I love seeing cool stuff with them.

So when the Old Schoolhouse Blog Cruise topic "what is your favorite field trip?" came up, I just knew I had a few things to say about it.

You'll probably hate my answer: I love them all. As much as I love being at home learning with the kids, I love going out with them to learn as well. I love the adventure of finding new places (the kids are now used to me making 2 or 3 U-turns to find the place!) And I love that with homeschooling, "field trip" is more than just two or three times a year.

Here's some of my favorites and why:

1. I love field trips tailored to kids. We have taken a half dozen field trips to the nearest fine arts museum to participate in their Artful Adventures program. We've requested specific, themed topics (such as Early American arts, Roman art and our next is Hudson River School art) and after a 45 minute tour, we have 45 minutes in the art studio to get hands-on with some of the techniques.

I think I especially like the art museum field trips because the kids really enjoy them. I just want to do the happy dance when the kids respond with "yea!" after I tell them we're going to the art museum.

On our summer visit to Monticello, we signed up for the special child-friendly tour. Same tour, just with lots of kids asking great questions (and the kids were welcome to sit on the floor!).

A local symphony orchestra had a phenomenal kid's concert in the fall. Beethoven even came! Cannot wait to go back this spring.

2. I love field trips with hands-on rooms. They just love getting to "handle" history and science. We're blessed to live in the general Boston area had have gone to some great places.

Next to the USS Constitution in North Boston is a private museum for the ship, and they have wonderful hands-on activities: the kids can hoist sails, pretend to sleep and eat on the ship and even see if they pass the test to sign on to be an 18th century Marine or Navy officer. We had to drag the kids out of this place!
Another place I had to drag the kids out of was Monticello's children's room. It was wonderful to discover all of Jefferson's inventions!
Ben is not a huge lover of math, but they have an awesome room at the Museum of Science which demonstrates math concepts in a hands-on way.

3. I love tour guides that can adapt and include a multi-aged group. Ben tends to be the oldest and Levi the youngest on a field trip, and I think a tour guide that can be inclusive of all ages from K through 7th is amazing. We've been blessed to have some great guides who have been able to include everyone in the discussion.

So, my favorite field trip? It's the one where we're all having fun and learning together.

If you'd like to hear what others think about their favorite field trips, head over to the Crew blog to read more!

Crew Review: Aleks Math

2012-02-08T13:10:00.001-05:00

I am grateful to have been given a chance to try out Aleks.com {which stands for Assessment and LEarning in Knowledge Spaces}, an online math assessment and curriculum for grades 3 through high school (click for course products). Using artificial intelligence, ALEKS assesses and creates a math learning plan for the unique needs and abilities of your child. You can view a tour of ALEKS here.

It is correlated to the common core standards, if that is important to you.

Once a child is registered for ALEKS and a course placement is made {view this placement chart}, ALEKS uses a required 30-minute {approximately} assessment to determine what the child knows and does not know. After the assessment, a pie is created which shows what your child knows {the darker colors} compared to what he should know for that course level. Here is Luke's pie for 3rd grade:

{Just so you know, I'm totally cool with this pie, since we use Math U See and it has a unique scope and sequence to math education.}

If your child's pie is less than 15% full or greater than 85%, ALEKS will make a recommendation on course placement; otherwise, your child will work from the pie to select topics and skills.

The ALEKS database of FAQs is enormous! So I'm going to link a few questions and answers that may help you in deciding how ALEKS progresses students, assesses student progress and reviews material:

What is an ALEKS assessment?

What is the ALEKS learning mode?

How do I get review in ALEKS?

And here is an entire page dedicated to using ALEKS in the homeschool.

There is also a math fact aspect of the program that you can use or not. It is called QuickTables. You can view a demo of QuickTables at their website.

Things I like about ALEKS:

Requires an assessment before starting
Great for filling in holes in learning because the instruction is targeted at areas that need improvement
The child can chose his own topics to work on (see below)
You can create quizzes for your students and assign them whenever you want
Courses are available specifically to help with SAT prep and transitions from high school to college.
A truly individualized math learning plan
This is not multiple choice. ALEKS uses a unique system for entering math responses:

On the bottom third of the screen, your student will type in their answer in the while rectangle, using the blue buttons to type in fractions, powers, etc.

Things that did not work well for us:

The child can chose his own topics to work on. Yep, you saw this above. I believe it is human nature that we do not like doing things we feel we do poorly in. But in math (just like life), you have to work on it all. So when my Ben chose not to work on a couple areas in which he really needed some help, there was no way I could change the parameters to make him work on it for a few days.

I found this program to be hard for my 3rd grader, who is not a strong reader. All the teaching and lessons are printed on the screen and there is no option for a voice-over prompt. I ended up sitting with him and reading the assessment and lesson because I didn't want his reading comprehension to get in the way of his math skill aquisition. If I wanted to use ALEKS as his primary math to help free-up some teaching time for myself, this probably wouldn't be the right tool for him.

A subscription to ALEKS is $19.95 per month with six ($99.95)and twelve-month ($179.99) options to save you money. Thankfully, they have family discounts as well.

If you have never tried ALEKS before, I highly recommend their 2-month free trial:

Please go to the TOS Crew blog to see what others think of ALEKS:

Crew Review: Math Rider

2012-02-06T21:53:00.000-05:00

Who likes a quest? Who likes horses? Who needs to practice math facts?

If your child can answer even one of those questions with, "I do!" than you should give Math Rider a test drive. Math Rider is a wonderfully thorough, fully supported math fact game -- and it is fun to boot!

The premise is that your child is being sent out on a mission or quest. There are four quests for each of the four operations, however the rewards for completing each quest are different. In all, your child is trying to collect 16 different rewards. Here's Levi's main screen with his flower and gem from the addition quests (he's completed two of the 4 addition quests):

When you finish a math quest, you get your reward! The rewards are all animated according to how well the player answered the questions.

The fun game component is that your child rides a horse through an imaginary land and answers math problems to successfully jump over fences:

And here is Luke's quest map. He is working on the medium subtraction quest:

There are four levels for each math operation that you practice: easy, medium, and hard:

Easy: math facts for 0-5
Medium: math facts for 0-10
Hard: math facts for 0-12
Master (you cannot choose to start at this level -- you have to earn it. In fact the developer Tom Brand recommends that each student start at the "easy" level of each math operation for practice and mastery.)

Math Rider (available for $37 as an instant download) is an intelligent math fact game. What does that mean? It means the game is capturing an enormous amount of data as your child answers (or doesn't answer) each of the problems. That information is stored so that you can learn about where your child is struggling and where he is succeeding. You get this great looking chart and other statistical information:

This chart is showing, in green, all of the mat facts that Luke knows well. Yellow-shaded differences are showing partial mastery, while reg-shaded numbers are math problems that still need some work. See that white pop-up graph that has two arrows on it? You can right-click on any of the colored differences in the chart to see detailed specifics about levels of improvements, response-time trends and percent accuracy. It is amazing. On the right-hand side of the screen, there is a box with math problems that still need work and two graphs which show overall mastery of material.

[Don't worry -- there are tutorials to help you learn about the program and help you use all this data to help your child. No need to memorize it now!]

Seriously, you are going to know SO MUCH information about your child's math skills by using this program, it will make your head spin in a good way.

Here's a couple of other great features of Math Rider:

lifetime updates (they just released a new update in the past few weeks).
excellent customer service (they value your opinion and suggestions)
a great price (did I mention that if you "like" Fun Math Games: MathRider on facebook, you can get an additional $5 off?)*

Our experience:

I love it. It is easy to include in our busy day. It does not take long for the kids to complete a game, and I know that they are getting LOTS of practice. I love that it includes facts up to 12, and that the 11s and 12s are a step in math fact mastery.
Levi (6yo) loves it. Asks to play it on the weekends. Often plays it several times a day.
Luke (9yo) likes it OK. He has some attention issues which make his accuracy variable, so I think when he's feeling super distracted, he has trouble with it and he likes it less.
I recently made Ben (12yo) try it out. He thinks it is too "young" for boy-who-becomes-a-teenager-in-just-three-months. But, since he would benefit from on-going review to bring up his speed, he'll just have to endure. *smile*
I'm actually seeing progress in all the kids. Levi is improving leaps and bounds, and Luke, even with his inconsistencies, is doing better little-by-little and that is what counts.

I'm so grateful to have been able to review Math Rider. Please hop on over to the TOS Blog to see what other Crew Members thought of the fun math fact game!

* All prices and discounts are accurate as of the posting of this review.

FCC: In exchange for my honest opinion about his product, I was given a limited license to access the program. No other compensation was received.

Crew Review: Celestial Almanack by Classical Astronomy

2012-02-04T22:52:00.000-05:00

We came in a few hours ago from our first trip out to view the night sky using Jay Ryan's Celestial Almanack. God blessed us with a crisp winter evening in which to admire his heavenly handiwork.

I've never been adept at identifying constellations in the sky. Ursa Major and Minor? Well, I can find them usually. Oh, I can spot Orion's belt like no one's business, but after that, I'm done. Even after attending several "view the nighttime sky" programs at the local planetarium, it is hard for me to carryover that information and make real-life observations in the night sky.

I was SO pleased to be able to review Jay Ryan's second issue in his new Celestial Almanack publication. Mr. Ryan is a self-taught astronomer -- but his vitae is impressive. He's been writing about astronomy since 1995 and has been a contributing editor and writer for several popular astronomy publications, such as Sky & Telescope. He's also a Christian homeschooling father, who strives to point out God's handiwork in the heavens. You can read about Jay Ryan and Fourth Day Press at their website, ClassicalAstronomy.com.

You can purchase Celestial Almanack for $3 from Currclick.com . It is a PDF download that you will be able to print at home. I love that you can have immediate access to this tool -- because you'll want to use it throughout the month.

Inside, you'll find a welcoming title page reminiscent of almanacs from the early days of our country -- a nice tip of the hat to the likes of Benjamin Franklin, etc. February's introduction is an interesting explanation of the curiosities of February -- why only 28 days? Seems like Julius Caeasar and Augustus Caeasar were stealing some of poor Februa's days.

The rest of this 21-page incudes:

Astronomical Calendar
Signs of the Season
Seasonal Skies - evening
Dance of the Planets

The booklet has useful, understandable diagrams and illustrations of what the sun, moon and stars are doing in the day and night sky. My eyes usually glaze over when I see diagrams of the night sky, because they just don't make sense to me. These illustrations, however are understandable and useful. {Remember you can preview the booklet at currclick.com if you'd like to see some of these helpful diagrams.}

To capture everyone's interest, Mr. Ryan has included many activities. Tonight, we measured our moon shadows so that we can compare them with our shadow lengths at the summer solstice. Why? Because {never knew his before}

On February 3, the Moon is near te northern extreme of the ecliptic, at the place in the sky of the summer solstice.

I know, I know, today is the 4th, not the 3rd. But it was cool to do anyway.

Luke wanted to find some planets {he's sure that every bright star is a planet}, so we'll prep before our next outing and look for Jupiter and Venus.

I cannot tell you how much I really, really like this product. It is totally worth $3 a month. My only wish is that included in the guide was a glossary of terms. It isn't a big deal, since we live in a digital age and can google "intercalated" in 0.17 seconds, but it would be handy to have right there in the guide.

You might also want to look at Additional products from Classical Astronomy.

The Old Schoolhouse Review Crew has lots of other reviews about this product to read. Please visit other reviewers' blogs to see what they thought!

Happy star gazing!

FCC statement: In exchange for my honest opinion about this product, I was given a free digital download. No other compensation was provided.

Crew Review update: Kinderbach coupon code!

2012-02-03T09:23:00.001-05:00

I thought about just amending my review for Kinderbach, but feared that many who subscribe to this blog (besides my parents) might not see the addition.

If you are interested in Kinderbach, they are offering a coupon code for 30% off any of their products (online, DVD, homeschool and classroom!). Just use code . And (cool!) it is good for a whole year!

Another funny little addendum: Levi has decided that he loves this, even though we don't have a keyboard. I asked him, "So why didn't you like it at first?" "I don't really like Dodie {the donkey character who stand for the D note.}" I ask, "So what's different? Can you just deal with him now?" "Yea, I just deal."

Crew Review: Kinderbach

2012-01-30T11:16:00.000-05:00

Kinderbach is piano and music lessons for preschool and early elementary aged students. There are 6 online levels, and each level has 10 weeks of lessons. In each week are four lessons. The video lessons are 5-7 minutes in length.

It can be purchased as a computer-based (online) or DVD sets of piano lessons for children ages 2-7 years:

ONLINE LESSONS

$19.99 per month for online access to 6 levels of online video music lesson (you can print out the worksheet/ activities).

$95.88 annually

DVD PACKAGES

$40.45 per level for an activity package

{Each DVD has one Level of the web video. Lessons are packed with activities, games, crafts, funny characters and voices}

Purchase bundles here

{HINT: Click here for a New Year clearance coupon code!!}

The founder and human star of the videos is Karri Gregor, who has decades of music teaching experience (click on her name to read her bio). Karri is joined by the Piano Pals:

{each animal's name begins with the letter name of one of the piano keys}

The scope and sequence of the music curriculum is quite impressive. Music theory (from the basics of high and low, loud and soft to an introduction of chords and harmonizing) is included throughout the 7 levels. Staff and note reading is introduced. Keyboarding is introduced. It is really quite thorough.

You can log in here to try Kinderbach free for 2 weeks of lessons!

Our Experience: Unfortunately, we don't have a piano keyboard right now, and I could not find one to borrow for the five or so weeks of this review. That didn't really matter too much, because most of the beginning of weeks have been basic rhythm and keyboard introduction. We've been clapping, tapping, and banging wooden spoons together for the past couple weeks!

I think this program is great -- it probably would have smoothed over the rough spots my oldest and I experienced when I was trying to instruct him in piano when he was but a wee 6-year-old. At that time, I'm sure my oldest would have been fine with the animals introducing music notes and such. My now 6-year-old (who so wants to be like is 12-year-old brother) is not so enchanted with the animal pals; he finds them "babyish." Regardless, he's been a willing partner to sit and watch the streaming video lessons and clap along. In spite of his verbal dismissal of the lessons, he's pretty happy to work through them. If only we had had a keyboard to practice on, I'm sure his enthusiasm would've been greater!

I'd encourage you to give the trial weeks a go as well as read other reviewers thoughts at The Old Schoolhouse Crew Review Blog! Happy keyboarding!

FCC: I received an online subscription to try in exchange for my honest opinion about this product. No other compensation was received.

A {not at all funny} Thing Happened on the Way Up the Chairlift ...

2012-01-26T21:32:00.001-05:00

I guarantee you do not want to ever hear this from the chairlift attendant:

"Just drop him."

Not "it" nor the impersonal "them."

HIM, people.

Him = Levi. My baby boy.

So now that I've got your attention, here's the story:

A few warm up runs into our ski lesson today, our instructor took us to the high-speed quad so the boys (all about 6 years old) could practice on a longer, slightly more challenging green run. No big deal, really, because all the boys had gone down this run after lessons last week.

Little boys skiing back and forth behind their teacher are so adorable. Like a mama duck and her ducklings:

After completing this run, we waiting in line to load on a new-to-us lift. Little did I know that the chair was slightly higher than the other 2-person chairlifts we've gotten on!!!!!!!

So, as I've done before, I talk Levi through getting on the lift: reach back, scoot back, are you on?
But with the slight height change, Levi couldn't get his little bottom on the chair! I tried grabbing onto his coat (front and back) to help scoot him on, but the chair seemed to really gain height fast, and I couldn't get his bum up!!!

AAACCCCKKKKK!

So, I'm holding on to his coat, and he's dangling totally off the chair!!!!! And we are getting higher in the sky!

"Just drop him!"

Yea, just what a mama doesn't want to hear.

But in that second-that-feels-like-an-hour I realize that if I don't drop him now, there is no way on God's green earth that I can help him; let alone, if I lose my grip and drop him when we're higher, he's going to fall farther.

"Levi, I've got to drop you!"

So I did.

When I re-told the story to Dave, I guessed that he fell about 6 feet. This seems high, but as I think about it some more, He's about 3 1/2 feet tall, so his legs only fell a couple feet before he landed in the slightly crusty snow. At that point, the attendants stopped the chair and ran up to help him.

I hated, hated, hated that I could do nothing for him but sit on the chair above him and watch the attendant and his ski instructor help him. And then I could do nothing until we got to the top of the lift.

Fortunately {Thank you Lord Jesus} this event in no way overshadowed the pure bliss and joy Levi feels as he floats down a mountain skis.

Fortunately {Thank you Lord Jesus} Levi has regained his trust in my ability to help him get on a chairlift. We skied the rest of the day event-free.

and fortunately {Thank you Lord Jesus} Levi is OK.

Amen.

Crazy Good

2012-01-24T20:24:00.000-05:00


Here we are, Levi and I, ready to hit the slopes!

Life is a bit crazy right now. Because of homeschool ski lessons, we are gone for a full day, and our school schedule gets squeezed into four instead of 5 days. But we still have our TOG history group on Fridays, so really we are schooling three days a week instead of four or five.

But at this point in life and my homeschooling journey, I've realized that flexibility is key, and we just need to back off for a few weeks, and we'll be no worse for the wear. The kids will still learn to read, master subtraction (Levi's upcoming lessons in math), learn multiplication (Luke), and figure out pre-algebra (Ben). We're still learning to diagram sentences (Luke), and making connections in pre-Civil War America (Ben). It will all get done. Eventually.

So here's a quick run-down of what goin' on here:

1. I cannot forget that the blessing of this ski season is that I get to go with! Sadly, there are no more Mommy and Levi days, but I *do* get to ski with my sweet Levi and watch him learn. That is a huge blessing that I am treasuring. Here's a little vid I shot of one of Levi's runs down a green at the mountain:

And now that I'm back in east-of-the-Mississippi snow, I think I'm going to specialize in cruising down the greens and blues for the rest of my life. My line will be "see you boys at the bottom" and they will go off to carve some turns, try the bumps, and ski the trees. I'll take the gradual way down, working on my form, making sure I retain the original, God-given cartilage-bone connections. Then I'll hop on the high speed quad with my boys and hear about their gnarly skiing, dude. I can smile, say a few oh-my-goshes and I'm-so-glad-I-didn't-see-that and you-boys-are-turning-all-my-hair-gray and whisper a few be-careful-just-a-little-for-me (Dave says we mothers say be careful to boys too much). It'll be the perfect way to spend my mid-to-late forties and beyond.

2. Back to school. I've made some good additions and changes to our schedule.

Writing. I'm including more narration for Luke, using these great notebooking pages from Westvon Publishing. They help me to focus on the theme for the week's history. I'm also including more writing for Ben. He is taking a fantastic writing class this year, but I'm wanting to have him write more for the practice of it. I've typed up a mini-poster of IEW dress-ups, banned words and sentence openers for him to reference as he is writing up short (like only a paragraph or two right now) summaries about historical events.
Spelling. Both Ben and Luke are using BigIQKids.com for spelling during ski lessons. I typed in their SWR word lists and they are following whatever the program tells them to do. It is freeing me up to make sure that everything else is getting done in our shortened day. When skiing is over, I'll give the boys another diagnostic test (they are supposed to be done monthly) to see where they are and then we'll go back to the regulary program.

3. Levi has blown my socks of with reading. I'd be really curious to know what his reading level is, but it is really not relevant -- he reads, and reads, and reads. He's at the point where he's totally cracked the reading code and is figuring out mulit-letter phonograms that I have not taught him yet. I'm really going to have to get in gear when skiing is over and begin to use Spell to Write and Read with him.

4. And for Christmas, the boys/ we received this puzzle:

They love working jigsaw puzzles, but Dave can be a bit neurotic about them. It is good he has a job outside the house to go to, otherwise he might just sit here until it is done. We've all had a fun time finding matching pieces. And I love that we hare studying in detail this piece of art.

5. Although it is harder to find time to run with school stuff. I'm trying. I'm on week 7 -- running 28 minutes non-stop.

Crew Review: We Choose Virtues

2012-01-16T23:05:00.005-05:00

Transparent moment here: One of the main reasons my husband and I chose to home educate my children was to pass on the moral and religious values that are dear to us. It is important that my children view all of creation from God's perspective, and that they see that God has a plan through history to redeem those who come to Him.

But let me tell you, I often get off track from this primary goal and get sucked into the academics of homeschooling. A friend of mine who has the same tendency says we are more like Solomon than David sometimes.

I'm so happy to have reviewed this product. It is amazing. There is SO much here and having just a few weeks to review it hasn't been enough to really dig down into it. But I want you to know that I love it!

We Choose Virtues (WCV)provides character development materials for both secular and Christian families and groups. The creator, Heather MacMillian, developed the materials (with great illustrations from Pete Sutton) based on her own experiences working with children. I highly recommend reading about Heather at the ABOUT page. She has a great story.

For this review, Heather sent out these handy cards, called Virtue Clues ($5.99):

The card explains the trait, telling the child what "attentiveness" (for example) means..and what it does not mean. There's also a catch-phrase included to help the children memorize the meaning. As a separate PDF, you can get a downloadable page that includes a Bible verse (using the NIrV) and Bible character that exemplifies each trait. And best of all, each one of these attractively illustrated cards has a character challenge on the back -- I LOVE that. This give me as a mom -- and my kids -- a tangible skill to work on during the week/ month of practice.

I was also sent a pdf version of the 50ish-page handbook ($4.99 download; $19.99 printed):

This is primarily meant for school teachers (preschool through early elementary) with classroom ideas for implementing a character-focused curriculum. The basic message in this guide is to incorporate character into all aspects of teaching and learning. Now, honestly, I'm pretty good at doing this in our daily life. We talk about diligence and attentiveness a LOT here. But there are some creative ideas in the book that I thought were fun. For example, using some "I Spy" type activities to teach the idea of "Focus."

The third resource that I was sent was the VirtueVille Coloring book ($3.00 download):

Each virtue has a associated child who exemplifies that trait. The six children in this coloring book are adorable and I think the complexity of the coloring pages are appropriate for the targeted ages. Sadly, I have children who do not like to color anymore.

I also LOVE that this program has plenty of self-evaluative tools so that kids and parents can assess their own character. You can find some here (Family) and here (Youth). These tools are free downloads -- a generous way for WCV to allow others to get a feel for their program!

We Choose Virtues has many sets of materials for different audiences. The two that related most to my audience (homeschooling) is the Homeschooling Package ($99 - there is a faith-based version as well) and the Family Faith-Based Package ($69). Both of these packages use the preschool-elementary resources, but do say that the resources are appropriate for ages 3-through-18 years. How did my 12-year-old respond to the younger grade materials? He didn't hate them but I think he would feel more comfortable with the youth materials. I so wish there was a way to add some of the youth materials into a homeschool/family program.

If you do have just 12-year-olds and up, please look at the Youth materials. I love the layout of these materials!

If you need to see what is included in all the different sets, you can check out this comparison chart.

And now, are you ready for some deals? {These are all accurate as of the date of the post}"

JANUARY/FEBRUARY-The 100 Days of Virtue Poster and Stickers will be included FREE with any Homeschool Kit purchase during these months.
Promo Codes (can only use one at a time):

VIRTUE15 for 15 % off the shopping cart
FAMILY for $3.00 off the Kids Virtue Poster
SHIPFREE for free worldwide shipping

To see what others thought of We Choose Virtues, please visit the TOS Crew Blog!

Now.....I'm off We Choose Virtues to go make a wishlist!

FCC statement: In exchange for an honest review, I was sent the above mentioned products for free. No other compensation was given.

Goals

2012-01-15T20:27:00.000-05:00

Last year, I got the "bug" to set a couple personal goals. It had really been far too long since I set some personal goals that had nothing to do with homeschooling, reading, math, algebra, etc. So last January (I'm talking 2011) I decided to read the Bible in 90 days. Simultaneously, I decided (rather grudgingly) to get my rear off the couch and start moving: I decided to use Britain's NHS Couch-to5K podcast.

After about 3 weeks, I bagged the C25K. I hate running. and I hate the treadmill.

But the Bible goal -- I rocked it, thank you God!

Fast forward to 8 months to November 2011. I started thinking of goals again. What do I want to be when I grow up? What do I want to learn? What do I want to do with the Free Time that is becoming slightly more plentiful?

I didn't have concrete answers for all those questions....and honestly, just asking the questions means I need to pray about it (which I've done and am doing).

One activity that has been just nagging at me was exercise. Ugh. I hate getting started, but love how I feel afterwards (usually). My kids are growing, getting faster and harder to keep up with and I have vowed to myself that I will not be left behind. And, I'm not getting any younger and would really love to be fit for the rest of my life.

Over our extended Christmas vacation, I decided to jump back in to the Couch to 5K plan that I had started at the beginning of the year. No sense putting it off to Jan. 1, ya know?

I'm so glad I did! I'm now finished with week 7 of the 9 week program. I can run for 25 minutes without stopping now. I'm over the mental monotony of running at this point. I now set little mental goals for myself as I'm running. I am (gasp!) enjoying running.

Next week (starting on Monday, Jan. 16) I'm going to run for 28 minutes. The following week, I'll be going for 30 minutes. The goal for myself was to be ready for a 5K at the beginning of May. I don't think I can wait that long! I'm going to have to find a February (brrrr) 5K. And now (shhhhhhhhhhhhh -- do NOT tell anyone) I'm thinking 10K!!

I guess the reason I'm writing this post is because I want to remind myself that GOALS FOR ME ARE GOOD. I need to have them (again). I need to have goals that are not just IN MY HEAD -- that's how I described it to Dave. I'm good at setting mental goals like "read X number of books this year" "research foreign language learning programs for the kids" "learn how to do X" -- brain-y-ish goals. I need to challenge other parts of my life -- physical, spiritual, relational.

I'm thinking this year is going to be a GREAT year.

Crew Review: Learn Our History DVDs

2012-01-13T09:00:00.000-05:00

Learn our History is a new company that is making animated videos to teach kids about American history in a 21st Century, fun way. It's mission (from their website) is:

We're dedicated to celebrating America's contributions to the world and making it fun for kids to learn our history.

The premise of the series is fairly common these days: a group of kids travels through time {on a bicycle} to experience historical events as they happen. In the video on September 11 and the War on Terror, for example, the TimeCycle {see the theme?} Academy kids watch as the Twin Towers fall, travel further back in time to Afghanistan to see the Al Qaeda operatives prepare for the attack , and then watch as Americans begin the healing process just days after the tragedy.

You can see a number of two-minute previews at the website here {Columbus}, here {Revolutionary War} and here {War on Terror}.

The company has five videos available right now, with plans for the release of nine more this year.

I really like the topics that have been selected for the videos. It is often hard to find materials for 20th Century events that do not slant towards a left-leaning political interpretation. {I'm not left-leaning in my politics or worldview, by the way.}

Columbus and The Great Discovery
The Birth of a Revolution
9/11 and the War on Terror
Origins of World War II
The Reagan Revolution

Coming soon {beginning in March}:

The Declaration of Independence
The Battle for Our Future
The Mayflower and the First Thanksgiving
The Adventures of Lewis and Clark
The Race to Space
A History of Women in America
The Cold War
World War I

You have the ability to stream the content on any of your favorite devices by logging into your account. Along with each video are online word puzzles and discussion questions to help students think deeper, recall information learned on the video, and {perhaps} even do a little more research to extend learning. Ben and I really liked the timelines, which provide a nice combination of graphics, labels and pictures/photos to track events.

Purchasing the videos reminds me of a Book-A-Month club system. When you sign up, you will get the first DVD with a free second DVD and four free gifts, (including a Learn Our History DVD storage case, a shoulder sack, a pair of binoculars and a Learn Our History sticker set) for $9.95 plus $3.95 shipping. After that, you'll get another DVD about once a month. Subsequent DVDs are $11.95 with $3.95 shipping. There is no obligation to purchase any other DVDs, and you can cancel at anytime. You can skip a shipment or cancel at anytime with 24/7 customer service. {Please check the website for current specials and promotions. This information is accurate as of the original posting of this review.}

You can order online at the website (you'll need to log in with your personal information first) or by phone at (877) US HISTORY (that's 877-874-4786). Oh! The company also offers a 30-day satisfaction money-back guarantee with each and every video.

Our experience with the product: I really love the idea behind this series. The boys LOVE anything that is DVD for school, and were eager to watch. I even had our history group watch the The Birth of a Revolution DVD during one of our recent meetings {we studied this topic last school year}.

The general consensus was that the content of the DVD was good, but the animation wasn't what the kids were expecting. It really bugged my Ben (12 yo) that the lips were not synced to the words being spoken. Most of the background extra characters do not move and are stationary. This made for a bit of distraction {because modern animation has spoiled us all to expect Pixar-type visual experiences} from what the main characters were learning.

Despite the graphics, Ben cannot wait to watch the World War I and World War II movies.

The targeted age ranges for these videos is 6 years and up. Levi loved watching them and will watch them whenever I put them in, but the content isn't quite "clicking" with him right now. That's OK though; I subscribe to a "trickle down" theory of multi-level education: I know he's getting something and when the subject materials comes up again, he'll absorb a bit more as he's able.

To see what other Crew members thought, please check out the TOS Crew Blog.

FCC: In exchange for my honest opinion about this product, I was given one free DVD from the company and online access to one additional product. No other compensation was received.

Crew Review: Maestro Classics's "Swan Lake"

2012-01-11T00:57:00.000-05:00

I'm pleased {thrilled, full-o-joy} to be able to review Maestro Classics for the second year in a row. This product is such a treat -- and while my contemporary Christian, Skillet-loving kids might grumble a bit when I bring out classical music such as this, they end up with big smiles on their faces by the end..and are curious to hear more.

No, really, I'm not kidding. These are Luke's EXACT words: "Mom, I'd like to see the Swan Lake Ballet."

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Maestro Classics is a great company that puts together incredible music appreciation products. In 55 minutes, you child will learn some music ihistory, theory, learn the story behind a piece of music, learn about the composer and even about the instruments that bring life to a piece.

Additionally, there are homeschool curriculum guides available to extend your learning into all subject areas {and they are free, people!}.

Each physical CD purchase (which comes with an activity guide the size of a CD case) is $16.98. Mp3 downloads are also available for $9.98 (the activity guide is a .pdf download). You can also buy sets as well! Click here to link to their store website.

Here's a list of all the CDs available:

The Tortoise and The Hare;
The Story of Swan Lake,
Juanita the Spanish Lobster in English
Casey at Bat;
Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel;
The Sorcerer's Apprentice;
Peter and the Wolf;
A Soldier's Tale;
My Name is Handel: The Story of Water Music;

Music Theory, history and teaching about the acoustic vs. electric guitar are included in the activity guide. Levi loves the dot-to-dot (of a swan of course) and I like the crossword puzzle to help reinforce the story of the ballet.

The CD is more than just a recording of the piece. Here are the chapters on the CD:

The Story of Swan Lake (narrated)
Tchaikovsky's Life
Speed Metal Swan (!!) {Warning: clear the room, you'll have a house full of air guitars!!}
About the Music
"Tchaikovsky Wrote a Great Ballet"
Prepare to Perform
"Tchaikovsky Wrote a Great Ballet" sing-a-long.

I hope you can tell that we love this product! Please read other Crew members' thoughts at the TOS Review Crew blog.

FCC: In exchange for my honest opinion, I received a free copy of this product. No other compensation was received.

Crew Review: Z-Guides to the Movies

2012-01-08T18:03:00.000-05:00

Over Christmas break, we were given the opportunity to review a "Z-Guide" from Zeezok Publishing. Z-Guides ($12.99) are promoted as ways that families can integrate movies into their curriculum with the benefit of more than just passively watching an movie and then turning it off.

The PDF downloaded guide includes 10 activities for each movie. Guides are produced with two different audiences: elementary/middle school and high school. Zeezok also sells copies of each of the movies that have guides for.

What is in a Z-Guide:

...All of the guides contain ten educational activities that build upon the movie. The guides are movie specific. We tell you exactly which movie we used, and almost all are available thru Netflix. Most you can probably get through your local library. So you don’t even need to buy the movie to use our guides!
Each guide starts out with a topic overview. This overview provides the student with more information regarding the specific time period in which the movie is based. Next is a movie synopsis. The synopsis will assist the student in understanding what is going on in the movie and how relationships, situations, and events all relate together.

We were given a downloadable Z-Guide for the movie "Flyboys." When I signed up for it, I checked to make sure Netflix had it {they did} and happily awaited its delivery in my inbox. I guess I had a major brain-drain because I didn't check the ratings for the movie, nor did I check other sites I use to determine if a movie is appropriate for our family. I should have! Please, before you purchase a guide like this -- check out why a movie is given its rating.

That said, I contacted Zeezok and they told me that this guide I have is rather new and should have a warning label on it that provides a parental warning. It didn't when I wrote this review -- but hopefully it will be there in the future. Let me be clear to say that I'm not faulting Zeezok for putting out a guide for this movie. It is my responsibility to check what comes into my house. But I do want to warn my readers that this movie has some adult content that you will want to check out before you slide it into the DVD player!

click cover to go to website

The guide is set up so that you complete two activities a day for one week. The guide recommends you watch the movie more than once. For Flyboys this is what we had:

Day 1: Review questions and some history learning about the French Escadrille.

Day 2: Arts and crafts activities.

Day 3: Creative writing activity with a number of four possible writing prompts. A crossword puzzle is also included. The answers for the puzzle are a mix of character names as well as vocabulary words that you were exposed to in the course of the movie.

Day 4: Write a letter to a veteran as well as two reading comprehension passages about a real World War I personalities. The questions are free-response and encourage critical thinking and reading skills.
Day 5: Worldview activity. A parallel is drawn between two characters in the movie who experience conflict and two fictional children who experience conflict.

We didn't do as much with this product as I'd hoped, because of our 3-week Christmas vacation. That said, I was mostly impressed with the activities in the guide. Since I have both elementary and middle school in my house, there are different activities to use with each set of kids: Ben {middle schooler} and paper airplanes are a think of the past; Luke and Levi make them often. But I was pleased to see the worldview component -- which I think is a really important component of middle school ~~home~~ education. I actually wish there was more worldview suggestions for middle school (I might have to check out the high school version for that)!

I think this is a great supplement to our classical history rotation or to a unit study approach to history. Zeezok has a number of guides that span topics and history and it would be great to incorporate some additional ones into our studies, since we like movies so much.

Check out the Z-Guide Timeline on the left side of the page here.

To see what other Crew members thought of the guides (for lots of other movies), head over to the Crew Blog.

FCC: In exchange for an honest opinion about this product and how it worked in our homeschool, I was given a free e-book of this product.

Sweet Memories

2012-01-04T20:48:00.000-05:00

When my parents visited recently, they brought me a box that I've been waiting a while for: a box of my grandmother's dishes.

These dishes give me sweet memories of holiday dinners and such at my grandparents' home. Often there were enough aunts, uncles and cousins that we little cousins would get stuck at the end of the room and have to crawl under the table when we were excused!

I have memories of my grandmother using a --ahem!-- bra for an impromptu Santa's beard one year. I will die an old woman with that image burned into my head! Lest you think she was a total nut, I have the utmost respect for her: when in her 50s she went back to school and became a LPN and complete more trainig (probably when she was in her 60s) to become an LPN who could administer medication. She worked until she died at age 71.

Until a week before my parents arrived I was thinking: I cannot wait to have them....but what am I going to do with them? I don't have a China cabinet {don't want one either} and my cupboards are already full of kitchen gadgets and foodstuffs. {not complaining at all -- I know I am blessed}.

Then an idea popped into my head. Why not just use them as daily dishes? My own dishes have dwindled down to 8 plates, zero soup bowls, and some bread-and-butter plates. I love the pattern but --alas!-- they've been discontinued from Pfaltzgraff for about a decade now. I've looked online to see if I could buy plates of ebay, but it isn't worth the cost for me.

Instead, I know God put it on my heart to just use the plates on a daily basis. In just the week since I started using them, I'll be reminded of some memory and share it with the boys. I smile as I wash the dishes. Now that she's been gone for 20 years, it just brings me joy to know that I can connect with her at this stage in my life: boys on the cusp of teenager-hood, stretching their wings, wanting to see more, do more, and be more. My grandmother was always an encouraging soul -- the kind to give unconditional love.

I think a daily reminder of that is good for me.

{The Friendly Village}

It's a great pattern for a New Englander, don't you think? It sort of goes with my country kitchen decor, too.

What treasures have you been given from your family members? How do you use them?

What I Did On My Christmas Vacation

2012-01-02T10:36:00.001-05:00

1. Best decision ever {well, except for submitting to Jesus, saying "yes" to Dave's proposal, and having children}: Taking an extra week off for Christmas vacation. It has been enjoyable and stress free. All the shopping is done, the baking, and we took lots of time for fun stuff: games, movies, bowling, lunch with daddy, naps, The Muppet Show reruns.

2. I bought my hubby a Kindle Fire. He needed a toy. Daddies don't get toys enough! The only bad part about it: I couldn't tell him for almost 2 weeks.! I hate keeping secrets from him.

3. Lesson learned: only make Christmas cookies I do not like. Otherwise, I'll be baking a replacement batch after having eaten the first batch.

4. I decided to use this three week vacation to {re}begin running. I just do not have the same metabolism that I used to. I'm back to using the British NHS Couch-to-5K podcasts and began at week three. I've been consistently running three times a week each week on vacation! Go Me!

5. I've also taken the opportunity to use the 30 minutes of running as a training exercise for the boys. They are to imagine that I'm not here and Ben is left "in charge" of the younger two. I'm trying to discuss servant leadership with Ben as he "babysits" his brothers. Ben will be working on First Aid merit badge this winter, and I told Ben that when he accomplishes this, I'll be able to pay him {a little} to watch his brothers.

Crew Review: REAL Homeschool Spanish

2012-01-01T21:50:00.000-05:00

I loved learning Spanish in high school. I loved it when I got to the point that I was thinking in Spanish and not just trying to make literal translations from English into Spanish.

Ben has decided that Spanish is the language he wants to learn, so I was very happy to take a few weeks to work through this product.

For my review, I received the downloadable product. WOW, was I overwhelmed a bit when I saw all that is in the file:

Book
Activity Book
Daily Curriculum Guide
Audio files
and The Answer Guide

...and then there is the free links for cultural information on their website! Phew!

There are several price options. For digital downloads, prices range $49.95 and $59.95. I received the $59.95 package. Hard copy packages are $89.95 and $99.95, both offering free shipping. Please visit the E-Store for all the pricing options.

The idea behind REAL Spanish to incorporate the language into your daily routine. Instead of looking at a textbook and focusing on reading, writing, and comprehending Spanish, this program is founded upon speaking the language. It is meant for parents who are learning the language along side their children. And it is specifically written for homeschooling families. {A high school supplement is forthcoming.}

You can view a sample here or a PDF sample here.

Pros:

Lots of resources. I think the author of this program has nearly all learning styles incorporated into the basics of this program. Do you have a more active learner? Use puppets! (or stuffed animals in our case). The audio, the activity book (with lots of worksheets), or just the social aspect of using the language between family members. This isn't just a workbook program.
I love emphasis on speaking the language between family members. This program reinforces the values of family and relationship that we're working on passing along to our kids. It works really well with a variety of ages!

Cons:

The amount of information might be a bit overwhelming if you are accustomed to sequential lessons. I wished the daily curriculum guide (which is included in the more expensive of the download and print sets) was more integrated into the rest of the resources. BUT for those who don't need a curriculum guide, and just need the meat of the program, it is great that you don't have to purchase it! Obviously, this is an area of personal preference.
The cultural links are great...I just wish there were more (some of the subjects have no entries yet).

As you can see, I don't think there are too many "cons." And like I said above, if you are a linear, sequential thinker who likes lessons that are step-wise and laid out for you, this program will challenge you to think beyond your comfort zone which isn't a bad thing!

To see what others thought of the program, I'd encourage you to hop over to The Old Schoolhouse Crew page.

adios!

FCC Statement: In exchange for my honest opinion on this program, I was given an e-book copy of the materials for my own use. No other compensation was received.

Crew Review: Vintage Remedies

2011-12-18T17:43:00.000-05:00

I thought this would be a good review for me to participate in to help me expand my horizons. I'm not a very "green" person, but I'm made the transition to some natural cleaners mostly because they seem to do as good a job, but for less money. I'm frugal sometimes.

Vintage Remedies for Kids ($25.00) has three sections: food and drink; health and wellness; and healthy lifestyles (this includes recycling, pollution and littering, keeping clean):

"Vintage Remedies for Kids helps parents teach healthy and natural living to boys and girls ages 2-6. This new workbook is packed with projects covering every aspect of natural living including wellness, nutrition, immunity, natural body care, and the conservative use of valuable natural resources - in terms they will understand and remember!

This curriculum helps you teach little ones how to choose healthy foods, how to prepare some fun and delicious snacks, how to establish prevention based habits, and how they can participate in your family's natural lifestyle..."

Each chapter of the book (there are 18) has a parent section to read, which includes information about the topic, a summary of some research that has been done (although no foot or endnotes are given to read the primary sources. I do wish books that say "Research has shown..." would include information to look up the studies.) and some helpful information for making more natural choices. The next section is called "Read to Me." and it contains pertinent information for early elementary students. There is a handy "Additional Comments" section for slightly older students that want to be included in the discussion.

There are some questions to discuss with your students and then the fun starts! Each section has a hands-on, mommy-and-me project to make. Many of them are edible:

hot cocoa mix
almond butter crunchies
green smoothies
planting a tree
visiting a farm
bread started (a great way to talk about "bugs" and bacteria that is yummy)

There are usually a couple activity projects to choose from. I appreciate that many of the recipes suggest organic ingredients, but do not require them. Most organic ingredients don't fall into our food budget.

How It Worked for Us. We're on Christmas break right now, so I was especially excited to set aside the time to make several of these projects.

I don't know if the authors planned on it, but the variety of activities that are suggested really span the seasons. This means that you could easily plan on using this throughout the school year and have seasonally relevant, hands-on learning. This would make a great resources for a health and nutrition class for your kids!

Recently we read about "real" and "processed" foods. The fun activity? Making hot cocoa mix. The recipe was simple, we had the opportunity to discuss measurements, and we got to drink our work:

{side note: Levi's Perry The Platypus shirt is freaking me out in this picture. He's staring me down.}

I felt that the information in the "Read to Me" section was helpful and detailed...but not too much to bore an early elementary student. We did not work through the first section sequentially, and this just required a slight bit of adjustment in the explanations. Not a big deal at all.

I really like the Parent section as it gave me a lot of interesting detail that came up in conversation with Levi while we were making the hot chocolate. I like being able to answer his questions without having stop and google the answer.

If you have a child who is in middle school, Vintage Remedies has resources for older students: Vintage Remedies for Girls and Vintage Remedies for Boys. Both of these other products were reviewed by Crew members....head on over to see about these!

FCC statement: In exchange for a honest of this resource and a written review, I was given a free copy of this book.

A Message for My Boys

2011-12-17T19:19:00.000-05:00

A friend who lives in my computer, Debra at Footprints in the Butter, posted a link on her facebook page to the blog post below.

A Girl You Should Date by Rosemarie Urquico

I love it.

I'm posting it here so that I'll have record of it someday when my boys are ready to date.

Please be sure to click through to the site and read this post. Even if you just have girls.

Crew Review: The World's Greatest Stories

2011-12-14T09:39:00.001-05:00

I absolutely love, love, love this product. It isn't helping my children to read better, or do math more accurately. We're not mastering a new skill.

I just love products that help me to get the Word of God into my children's heart.

Performed by actor George Sarris, The World's Greatest Stories present the actual Biblical text dramatized in an engaging manner for not only children, but adults as well. Have you ever read a story from the Bible and wondered about the desperation in the woman Elijah encounters as he goes to prepare her last load of bread with the little flour and oil she has left? How might the people who have encountered God feel? Using only a bit of background music to set the scene and mood, George Sarris presents the many voices of characters in a captivating re-telling of the Bible that is mesmerizing my children when we listen at lunch. It has opened up discussions for us to talk about God and his love for us.

Priced at $7.95, each CD (cassettes are available as well) has approximately 1 hour of dramatization. We have been blessed to listen to The Prophets CD this past month (click HERE for an audio clip from the NIV). The other CDs available are:

The Prophets (which is the one we have)
The Life of Christ
Beginnings
Joshua and Esther
Joseph and His Brothers
Defeating Giants (this is not just the story of David and Goliath)
The True Story of Easter ($9.95) (This is a DVD product. The Biblical text is presented in 'The Life of Christ' CD as well. Shot in St. Batholomew's Church in NYC, Mr. Sarris uses a scarf as his only prop to retell the Easter story in the NIV translation.)

Each of the stories on our CD has a short introduction where Mr. Sarris sets the stage for the story in the context of the Bible as well as in God's plan for humanity.

I can tell Mr. Sarris has a passion for proclaiming God's Good News in this way. The price of the CDs is so reasonable and the dramatic quality is wonderful.

This is a great multi-age/ stage product. It isn't "babyish" at all for my 12-year-old, yet it is not inaccessible for my 6-year-old. And, um, I love listening, too. We even have fun adding in our own dramatic miming to Mrs. Sarris' words!

To read what others had to say about The World's Greatest Stories, please visit The Review Crew.

Getting in the Mood!

2011-12-09T22:32:00.000-05:00

Our Victorian Christmas Party/ High Tea was today, officially ending our schooling for the 2011 year. I'll have to post more about how this fall went, the highs and lows, but right now, I'm ready to celebrate Christmas!

I'm working on scrapbooking 2009 (but shortly we need to be doing this year's Christmas celebrations so I don't forget all those wonderful memories of 12-9-6: the boys ages), and made this page to get me all festive feeling:

Lukie looks like a total rocker with that long hair.

I think another gingerbread house ~~eating~~ making party is in our future next week.

Crew Review: Fractazmic! Game

2011-12-09T10:36:00.000-05:00

Don't tell my kids: mental math is not my strong suit.

So one of the benefits of homeschooling my kids is that I get to re-learn a bunch of stuff that I never learned while in school. Mental math is one of those skills.

Fractazmic ($6.95), published by I See Cards, is another math game to help make learning math fun. Yes, "math" and "fun" can be in the same sentence!

The goal of the several versions of Fractazmic is simple: make a whole "1" by using factions. There are three set of cards in each deck (you play a game with all the cards). The blue set is based on 12ths, the red suit is based on 16ths, and the green suit is based on 10ths. Here's an example of a card:

Each card has a visual clue to help assist in making equivalent fractions. Can you see the little grasshopper and ants? They are showing 7/16ths on the ruler. A card with 1/4th is going to have a grasshopper to show that it is equivalent to 4/16th on the ruler.

The green set (10ths) uses a 1 liter water bottle to show equivalent fractions, such as 2/5ths.

The blue set uses an egg carton to show the equivalence between 1/3rd, 1/4th in the 12ths deck.

I've had a few weeks to play a games recommended at the Fractazmic website Wiki: Trap and Rummy. The rules are clear and easy to remember. We've also make up variations of these to meet our time constraints.

As you can imagine, I really like playing this game (I still rarely win). But, I've been really surprised that Ben has willingly played with me -- no grumbling. We sometimes write down a little cheat sheet of a few of the conversions that stump us, but I can already tell that he's getting faster at making some mental calculations. I suspect that as we play more, we'll get even better and will not have to count out the eggs, ounces, and bugs on the cards!

You can purchase a deck of cards at the ISeeCards.com website. You can also play an online version of Fractazmic with a chance to win a deck of cards. (Warning: I find the website hugely confusing. This is a great add-on to your math program, so hang in there when you get to the website. It is worth it.)

To see what others thought, please visit The Old Schoolhouse Review Crew.

FCC statement: In exchange for my honest opinion about this product, I was given a free copy of the product for my use.

A New Addiction

2011-12-08T08:09:00.000-05:00

Digital Scrapbooking.

I was blessed to win a complete copy of MyMemories Suite 2.0 digital scrapbooking software at the end of October. Oh. My. How easy it is to catch up on all my pictures!

I've never used any other software for scrapbooking (no Photoshop, no Creative Memories), so I really have no comparison of anything else that is out there.

At this point in life, paper scrapbooking involves lugging out two Creative Memories cases. When I put the one bag on my right shoulder and hunch over just right, I can actually carry both cases at the same time. Saying a quick prayer for safety, I can get both down the stairs to the dining room. 20 minutes to pull out all my necessary supplies, an hour to figure out where I left off last time, and then about an hour a page. If I'm doing this while Dave is getting the kids to bed, I've maybe done 2 pages before I have to clean it all up and put it all away.

OR: Start software and open the software (Memory Manager from Creative Memories) where I keep my photos organized. This takes a minute or less. There have been a few evenings that I've finished 2 or 3 (gasp: FOUR) pages in just a few hours......and there is no clean up!

I've been pleasantly surprised at the variety of kits and embellishments that are at the MMS 3.0 site. I scored a couple free coupons worth $5-$10 for designer packages. The MyMemories Suite facebook page offers frequent freebies for members. A few designers I've "liked" on facebook have also had awesome freebies. In all, I've invested $40ish into digital scrapbooking and it all fits in my laptop! No cases to lug anymore!

Here's a few pages I've made. I'm working on 2009. Sadly, I lost a huge number of photos (I kept meaning to back them up) in a computer meltdown, so I don't have a lot for that year, so I'm nearing th end of the year already. [2010 and 2011 weren't much better: my camera stopped working for the better part of a year, until one day my oldest picked it up and *ta-da* it started working again!]

Stay tuned to after Christmas. I think I have a copy of the software to give away!

FCC statement: Although I won this software for free, this an unsolicited review on my part. All opinions are mine.

Gratitude Challenge: Wrap Up

2011-12-01T14:38:00.000-05:00

Don't mistake an absent two weeks of posting of things I'm grateful for with apathy. It just got busy around here!

I'm so grateful for every person, thing, belief, and circumstance in my life. The hard times make me thankful and teach me more about myself and my God, and the good times make me thankful and teach me more about myself and my God.

Our Thnksgiving was great. The 5K that my husband and his running club put on Thanksgiving morning was great. God blessed us with a beautiful, crisp morning. 600 people showed up to support the homeless shelter. No one was injured during the race. People smiled and had fun. My boys ran well and fast. Ben made a personal best at 24:01! That kid will be fast once he decides to actually train for a run!

After the race, we came home for a couple hours to clean up and pack. We left for a 1:30-3:30 shift at a local church that puts on a Thanksgiving dinner. We served as the wait staff for two tables. Initially, my boys were not excited to do this at all. As a matter of fact, two of the three cried when I told them were were volunteering this Thanksgiving and not eating with Grandma. Wow, I didn't expect tears. So I made a few quick mental adjustments and we decided we could have our cake and eat it too!

Although we did not have many guests to serve at our tables, the boys were very considerate and careful while we worked. We pitched in and did some extra clearing and cleaning up. Luke even said, "I like doing this!" Levi emerged from his shy shell and politely served drinks to guests.

After serving, we hopped in the car and drove down to Grandma's house. We helped her eat leftovers. And the kids played with their cousins, ate cookies and watched a movie. We spent the night there, and they played on Friday with cousins and raked leaves for grandma.

I'm so grateful for a well-rounded Thanksgiving. Family. Grace. Memories.

God is good.

The Reading Game

2011-11-21T08:01:00.007-05:00

Despite all the great computer-based phonics and reading programs we've been truly blessed to review so far this year, I bet if you ask Levi which is the most fun learn-to-read product, he'd vote for The Reading Game. ($24.95)

It's a simple premise: play a memory game with common sight-word over and over again until your child can read the words. Use a few "test sentences" to make sure said child (let's call this child "Levi" to make it easier) can read the words within the context of a sentence. If he can, then pull out a nicely illustrated rhymed story so he can read it to you. After reading a book, Levi has learned 30 words! After all six sets of cards, Levi will know 180 words.

This new game was created by Kenneth Hodkinson, who is familiar to many homeschoolers in my area because of his Wordly Wise vocabulary program. You can read how he developed the game and some field testing that was done here.

I tend to steer towards phonic, Orton-Gillingham-ish approaches to teaching reading (the rules and patterns make sense to me). So, using The Reading Game, which presents words without instruction in phonics, is different for me.

But different isn't bad. As a matter of fact, I've been able to use many of the words to reinforce some of the phonograms we've learned!

We used some of their Pre/ post-game worksheets to track progress before Levi began working with the 3rd set of cards (green). Before playing the game, Levi knew 18 of the words easily. After a day and a half of playing the game, he knew 28 of them easily, but with a little (very little) help from me, he could get all 30. What a great way this has been to reinforce and learn more words!

Most of the words Levi has learned will be frequently used in English. According to the website:

Of the twenty-five most commonly used English words, twenty-three are on that list; of the most commonly used fifty words, forty-two.

Obviously, this isn't the only tool you'll need to teach your child to read, but if you have a child who isn't too keen to sit with you and look at a phonics instruction book and doesn't love workbooks or writing, this would be a great introduction to reading tool for you to consider. This would've been great for Luke when he was 5 and wanted nothing to do with the traditional phonics books that lived in our house.

I know that the memories Levi and I build because we are playing this game are going to stay with him, and hopefully he'll always associate reading with fun!

Head over to The Old Schoolhouse Crew to see what others think of this game.

Crew Review: Read Naturally Live

2011-11-17T22:38:00.001-05:00

If you've been reading my posts about homeschooling my boys, you might recall that Luke struggles a bit to read. While he might be testing at a generally appropriate grade level, and listening to him read makes me think that he gets the gist of the passage, reading is not easy for him. And, while his comprehension is fine now, I know that as he begins to rely more on reading for learning (as opposed to me reading aloud to him), his comprehension will break down and he'll get lost.

So I practically begged to be able to review Read Naturally Live, an online program that purports to help students improve their reading fluency and comprehension.

The Product: Here's a video explanation of what it does:

And here's some quotes from the website (which is huge and is full of information and research about their approach!):

...Our industry-leading programs develop and support the five essential components of reading, identified by the National Reading Panel: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. ...

Read Naturally's structured intervention programs combine teacher modeling, repeated reading, and progress monitoring — three strategies that research has shown are effective in improving students' reading proficiency. Using audio support and graphs of their progress, students work with high-interest material at their skill level.

With teacher modeling, a proficient reader models good, correct reading for a less able reader. In Read Naturally, students read along while listening to a recording of a fluent reader. This helps students learn new words and encourages proper pronunciation, expression, and phrasing.

Repeated reading is another strategy that research has shown improves fluency. In Read Naturally, students practice reading a story until they can read it at a predetermined goal rate. Mastering a story helps students build fluency and confidence.

Daily monitoring of student progress has also been shown to improve student achievement. Students become more involved in the learning process, and teachers remain aware of each student's progress. In Read Naturally, students monitor their progress by graphing the number of words read correctly before practicing and then again after practicing. The graph shows the students' progress, motivating them to continue to read and improve.

Each Read Live seat includes:

·         Access to 13 Sequenced and 6 Phonics curriculum levels for each enrolled student (Read Naturally Live).
·         Access to oral reading fluency benchmark assessment passages and reporting for up to 30 students (Benchmark Assessor Live).
·         Online teacher training videos.
·         The ability to reassign purchased seats if a student completes or leaves the program.
·         Technical support...

Read Live is $149.00 for a 12-month subscription. You can find a free 60-day trial here.

Our Experience: Luke is currently working on the Phonics Series reading material. These stories are reinforcing simple phonics rules (short/ long vowels, digraphs, blends). How are they reinforced? When Luke first picks his story (there are 12 to chose from), three key words are shown on the screen, with an explanation of the phonic pattern (short i, for example). There are additional words that are shown as well. He's asked to repeat these words that the speaker (not a computer-y voice, but a pleasant, patient female) says. He'll see these words later in the lesson when he's asked to read lists of words for speed and accuracy.

OK, so Luke picks a story. His most recent one was about a Rosy Spoonbill, a bird. All the stories are non-fiction, and there is a wide variety of content: science, social studies, and biographical information. He's enjoyed each story so far!
After go over the Key Words (which I explained above), Luke is asked to type in a Prediction of the story's content, based on a simple photo, the Key Words, and the title. This is hard for Luke, because he's not a confident speller, but I don't care in this situation. Near the end of this lesson, I'll determine if his answer is correct of not, so maybe someday I'll decide to count spelling. Or not.
Next is Wordtastic, a vocabulary game where Luke is given four choices from which to pick a synonym or antonym. I'm glad that the definition of synonym and antonym is on each page, and I just discovered that the program will read each word to the student if they are having trouble decoding it! I cannot wait to show that feature to Luke tomorrow!
Wordtastic is a great little game, but it is really just purposeful busywork [please don't get me wrong, I love this game. It is good for Luke!]. Luke plays this while he waits for me to come listen to him read the passage he selected for a "Cold Timing." This is his first time reading, and the purpose is to baseline is reading speed in words per minute. [This is part of the "monitoring progress" the graphic above.]
After this, the Read Along session. Here, a pleasant female voice reads the passage at a comfortable rate and the student is supposed to read aloud as well. The sentence that is being read is highlighted in blue to help your student follow along.
Next comes Practice. Luke clicks the "start time" button, and begins reading the passage aloud. When 1 minute is up, he clicks on the last word he read. His goal is to read fluently at the words/minute goal that I set for him (right now he's working on 90 wpm).
When he's met his goal, Luke has read the story a minimum of 5 times! He's now asked 5 Quiz Questions. These quiz questions are factually and inferential. I love this part. I feel like I'm killing two birds with one stone: making sure he is reading for the sake of practice, but also getting some practice with thinking about his reading. When I have him read aloud to me in other situations, I sometimes get so narrowly focused on the mistakes that he's making that I forget to consider "is he getting the message of the story?"
Next Luke has to practice the Word Lists. This is unique to the lower level, Phonics Series. Here, Luke has to read approximately 28 words that are in groups of 3-4 from the same word family. This section is probably the most helpful for Luke, as he struggles with reading accurately. He does a "great" job of guessing at words, and this task has caused him to slow down and pay attention to the whole word. Here's a sample:

When he's done practicing this list (read in columns and then in rows), He's ready for the Pass Activities. This is when I listen to him read (counting his errors), grade his Prediction answer, and listen to him read his word lists. The program has specific criteria which the child must meet, but many of the parameters are customizeable.

I need to be honest and say that Luke does not like this at all. Have I noticed any generalization yet? Well, no, but I plan to continue to use this through our complementary subscription period. I know he's learning something about reading, because his fluency has gotten better and he has certainly gotten the "hang" of reading the words lists much more than at the beginning. I suspect with more practice, I'll see his reading in subject work improve as well.

To see what others thought of Read Life (and their paper product, One-Minute Reader), please visit the Review Crew!

FCC: Thanks to Read Naturally for a complementary subscription to this product in exchange for my honest opinion about our experience with this product.

Gratitude Challenge: A Week at a Time, part 2

2011-11-15T08:03:00.000-05:00

This week I'm thankful for:

7. Music that brings joy to our souls. {Luke had his first guitar lesson}

8. Our neighborhood friends. It is such a blessing to live close to such great friends.

9. My husband. He's a great father and an awesome friend. He reminds me to laugh.

10. Family dinners. I love sitting down together, the 5 of us, and enjoying a meal together. I'm grateful for our health, the blessing of our food, and our love.

11. I'm grateful for homeschooling our boys. I'm glad Dave thought it up, and I'm glad God opened my heart to it.

12. I'm grateful for all the hard work we all did today. Hard work feels good! (have to remind myself of that sometimes).

13. So nice to be back at church after a crazy fall football season. I'm grateful for God not forgetting any of us. I'm grateful for His living word that speaks to me

Review - A Young Scholar's Guide to Composers

2011-11-14T23:05:00.000-05:00

We all have high hopes at the beginning of the school year, right? Nutritious breakfasts daily. Quality family time. Joyful students happily doing math. Everybody loving and enjoying one another.

Then we wake up.

I had the best of intentions of incorporating music history into our study of the 1800s this year. There are so many fantastic composers to learn about! But as the summer warmth faded and my planning time dwindled, I realized that I probably could not pull it all thogether myself.

Thankfully, I had the opportunity to try out a .pdf version of Bright Ideas Press' A Young Schoar's Guide to Composers (available for $31.50 as a book at Timberdoodle.com,).

This is one stop shopping at its best! You really couldn't ask for a more complete program. Here's what's in it (I've included some of my own clarifying comments so you can get more than just the salesman's schpeal):

32 Weekly lessons (a week is spend on each composer or musical period)

26 Bios of famous composers (These are nonfictional accounts of their early lives, their rise to prominence, and their contribution to music. Musical terms like "oratorio," "movements," as well as music theory concepts are used throughout these narratives. Also, the composers spiritual lives are explained, if they had one.)

6 eras of music explained (Ancient/Middle Ages, Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic and Contemporary)

Easy-to-use comparative timeline (You can see the overlap of the composer's lives as well as a few major historical events which are printed on the customizable sheets. Directions are given so students can mark relationships and influences amongst the various men)

Easy-to-use maps (maps of the continents for showing where various composers lived/ worked/ were born)

Composer info-cards and game directions (Go Fish, Bingo, and Memory Match type of games with suggested variations to make it more difficult for older students -- like matching the composer to his musical time period)

Note-taking pages (these are fill-in-the-blank sheets to copy for your students for each musical era)

Quizzes (after each composer, a variety of questions are provided for the student to fill in to demonstrated some understanding of these amazing men. They do not have to be used as quizzes.)

Answer keys

Listening suggestions (links to youtube.com videos of the recommended selections, such as this one for the Farwell Symphony)

Blackline coloring pages (Beethoven sitting at a legless piano, for example)

Recommended additional resources (8 pages of books, coloring books, games and websites to take your studies further)

Our Experience: As much as I loved this resource, it sort of fell flat with my kids. Here's some of my "learn from my mistakes" lessons:

This resource is recommended for grades 4 - 8. While it is adaptable for all ages, I could really see my younger kids zone out during our reading about the Classical Era and Beethoven (and they like Beethoven!) The authors do not shy away at all from incorporating some simple music theory into the narratives (which are guessed to last about 15 minutes of read aloud each). For our family (read: no musical proteges or geniuses), this information was somewhat confusing, and since we had no listening experience to make comprehension of "polyphony" (for example) meaningful, it was easy for the the kids to discard the information and begin to zone out.
Now, since our school year is solely about the 1800s this year, I was most interested in matching up music history with our time period. I think we really lost a lot of valuable pre-Classical information (especially being able to see how the periods intertwined and influenced each other). We should have just started from the beginning so we could see the whole sweep of history and get some musical terms under our belt to make our learning better.
For as much as is included in this one resource, I think it's fair to say that sometimes less is more. Especially with younger students. To that end, instead of loading my grammar aged students with coloring pages (not something they usually like), instead we decided to listen/ watch a few Youtube.com songs, and then (serendipitously) take them to a local symphony's children's concert highlighting Beethoven's life and work. Thank you PSO!

At the PSO Children's Concert, October, 2011

Ben (the 7th grader) is doing much more writing this year compared to last year. This is a good thing. I decided however, to cut him some slack and not have him do the composer information sheets. In retrospect, I should have had him use the notetaking pages or complete the reviews, because I think he would have paid better attention.

My only major criticism of this resource is that my kids love to crowd around me when I read a book to them (and I love it, too) because there are inevitably awesome pictures and illustrations to augment what they are hearing me read. Unfortunately, there were not illustrations outside of simple line drawings of each composer such as these:

This is unfortunate, because putting music into the context of geography and history is something that can help to cement new information (especially if your children have little previous introduction to music history, like my kids). It would be wonderful to have photos of the instruments used during these periods as well as pictures of the beautiful cities of Europe to help spur our children's imaginations as they hear about these interesting, talented men.

In all, this is a great, comprehensive product -- we just got off to a bad start with it. I know that we will use it more as the school year progresses, and I'll do a better job of showing how we use it once we get re-started!

Timberdoodle has lots of great resources to help you create a great music appreciation program. Just click HERE. If you'd like to see more of what Timberdoodle has to offer your homeschool, sign up HERE for a free catalog.

FCC disclaimer: I was sent a free digital copy of this resources in exchange for my honest opinion -- the good, the bad, and the ugly. :)

Crew Review: Vocab Cafe books

2011-11-09T18:56:00.001-05:00

Ben, my 12-year-old, will read almost anything. I say "almost" because if there is a mushy love story and not enough adventure and danger, then Ben's response to the book resembles Superman's response to kryptonite -- Ben will stay far, far away.

Fortunately the Vocab Cafe books, available at College Prep Genius ($12.95 each or get the set of four books is $38.85), strayed away from mushy and have been given a Ben seal of approval.

The purpose of the Vocab Cafe books is encourage vocabulary development through engaging reading. Each book has 300 vocabulary words used within the context of the story. Definitions (and pronunciation guides) are in the footnotes to help the reader. At the end of each chapter, the words are listed again, and there is a glossary at the end of each book. I received a set of all four books for review:

I.M. for Murder
The Summer of Saint Nick
Exile Planet
Operation High School

The books are written by Josh Burk, who recognized that learning vocabulary could be make easier by reading the words within context. You can read his full biography here. There is also some information about the books (but not all four) at VocabCafe.

When I asked Ben if he liked the books, I heard an enthusiastic "YES!" yelled in my direction. [At the time of this writing, he's finish reading I.M. for Murder and The Summer of Saint Nick. I do not expect his answer or enthusiasm to change after reading Operation High School or Planet Exile.]

My opinion of the books is that they are geared towards almost-teens and teens (I hesitate to use the term 'preteen' because that seems to include a much wider age range than it did when I was one). There is no bad language nor sorcery. But, there are boys who like girls -- and try to impress them and even go on a date with one or two of them-- and girls who are trying to make themselves pleasant to look at for the boys.

I was a little disappointed that there was not more directed vocabulary development in the books themselves. The description on the website:

"Based on a three-step approach to increasing vocabulary, each book highlights 300 advanced words by using DEFINITION, REPETITION, and REINFORCEMENT.
Readers find the definition of every highlighted word at the bottom of the page — a word review and appendix complement the learning process!"

This made me think that "a word review" might have some sort of review activity -- a multiple choice questionaire, fill-in the blank...something to actively help readers recall and remember the word meanings. That certainly fits my learning style and preferences. But, this series is different. You and your student might need to be creative to encourage recall of each books 300 words.

The forward of several of the books says that there are flashcards available for purchase to help review the words, but I have not seen them on the website.

Would I recommend the series of books? Well, yes, but not as a vocabulary program. I certainly am pleased we have them for my avid reader (and avid readers in training) and I appreciate the rich vocabulary used in the stories as a way to show my kids how rich language can be and to introduce the idea of more advanced vocabulary usage.

You can read what others thought of the books at the TOS Crew Review. You can also read what reviews thought of College Prep Genius' SAT materials as well.

FCC statement: Thanks to College Prep Genius for sending me a set of the Vocab. Cafe books for review. In exchange, I agreed to provide my honest opinion.

Our School Year: First Quarter

2011-11-08T09:20:00.001-05:00

It is hard for me to say, precisely, when the first quarter of our school year ended. Seems like a silly think to admit, right? Divide the number of weeks by 4 and --- whaa lah -- one quarter of the school year is done.

Since we use Tapestry of Grace, which itself is divided neatly into four units, I tend to follow it for our school year divisions. And, since it's my homeschool, I'll divide it as I want. *grin*

I've decided to be much more intentional in looking at our goals for the year, and assessing our progress. Here goes:

Levi's reading and math is coming along fine. We've been blessed to work through several computer programs so far this school year that have been a blessing to him and his skills. We have a game review that is coming up, and we need to buckle down and work through that more now. He's doing well with the memory work (for history and Bible), and I just need to be more thorough in reviewing it better with all the boys. (emphasis is for my benefit). I also need to be more organized to have his Cursive First handwriting pages ready for him, so they'll get done more consistently.

Luke is working through reading The Day by Day Bible. He is doing well with it. I've noticed that he really needs help with multi-syllable words, and I think the decoding of this type of word needs some explicit help. So, I've dug out The Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading to work through the last one hundred or so little lessons with him. I'd also like to get him reading some more chapter books aloud to me, but right now we're using a product called Read Live for review, and I think that is giving him a challenge right now, so I don't want to overdo it. He's doing well with math and we're making progress in spelling with 30 words/week right now.

We've taken a bit of break from science right now, which I'm not happy with myself for allowing it, but since we are still working on the basics, I feel that something has to give. He loves to watch Ben's science experiments when we go for science class everyother week, so I guess I can count that for now. But really, would I prefer to spend time working on reading or entertaining him with science right now? My vote is for reading.

Ben: I still have it in the works to use Teaching the Classics. A plan is being formulated. I haven't been very systematic in teaching note taking, but I am being more consistent in telling Ben to write stuff down as he reads. Gotta help the poor kid with that more. He's started taking science tests and is learning to study for them -- that's a good skill. This week we're going to learn how to study for a unit test! And although my plan was to teach writing to him myself, he is taking an outside class and that is a huge blessing to me since I am spending more time with Luke and reading than I'd planned/ hoped. I've adapted SWR (Spelling) so that we're working on what Ben needs to work on, so it is more challenging and less boring. I might have to write about that at a later time.

It's been a good first quarter, I realize as I write this all down.

How has the first quarter of your school year progressed? What "to do's" do you need to bold in your homeschool?

Gratitude Challenge: A Week at a Time, part 1

2011-11-07T08:07:00.003-05:00

Brenda, at Garden of Learning (and one of our fearless TOS Review Crew leaders), has put up a challenge to blog about something you are grateful for everyday.

Well, that'd be, like 30 posts, and I just don't have it in me to put up a post a day. So I'm going to participate, but I'll do it weekly.

November 1: Electricity. We lost power for about 36 hours in The Great October Snowstorm on the 30th.

Nov. 2: My mother-in-law. She offered to have us come down as soon as she heard we were out of power, and even sounded disappointed that we got our power back (and were going to stay home).

Nov. 3: My husband's employment. He's been at his job for over 5 years and the stability has brought much peace to our family.

November 4: My friend. God's blessed me with friends all over the country -- the world, even -- whom I love dearly and miss much.

November 5: My wonderful husband, who took the boys out for the day with him. He knows just when it would be good to give me some quiet time -- without being asked.

November 6: The end of football season & our church family. Luke's last game was today. I am so looking forward to returning to our regular habit of going to church on Sunday mornings.

Crew Review: Ooka Island

2011-11-06T18:24:00.000-05:00

This past 4 weeks or so, Levi has loved being the guinea pig for our review of Ooka Island. Why?

Quite simple, he LOVES it. I often have to tell him to stop playing. Even better than his enthusiasm for Ooka Island is that I'm seeing measureable learning in his reading skills using phonics that I've not taught him yet. And it is carrying over to into his daily reading!

It would be correct to say I'm impressed by this program!

Here's a basic overview:

Ooka Island is an early literacy program for preK through 2nd grade. It uses technology that advances children individually through a track of pre-reading and reading skills. If the child completes the task correctly, he is advanced to a more challenging level; if he needs more help, he's given a different situation where he/she needs to practice the skill again. This is called the ReaDirect (TM) learning algorithm.

No matter what level of pre-reading your child is at (the program is geared for ages 3-7 years), all heroes (as the players are called) must work through the basics of phonological awareness: discriminating the sounds that make up English, understanding the sound-letter relationship, breaking words apart into their sounds and then "smooshing" the sounds back together to make a word (my very technical language). This strategy is called the OokaMethod. By starting at the beginning, you are giving your child a rock solid foundation upon which reading can be built.

So what happens when Levi sits down to play? Well, usually I have to kick him off the computer -- that's how much he likes it!

I love the fact that when Levi logs on to the game, all he has to look for is his name and then a graphic "password" -- for example, some of the possible passwords are a firetruck or skateboard or bubbles. We don't have to remember a code with this game. (I do have to be logged onto the game first, then he can sign in)

OK, so after logging on, Levi's self-made avatar plays through the games for about 20 minutes, after which he gets some free-time to explore games he's unlocked on the island, or read books, or purchase items at the playhouse. If you would like to see all the learning games available on Ooka Island, you can download this quick Guidebook (a pdf) which gives a diagram of the island and explains the learning objectives.

At the Popcorn Library, Levi has collected a number of books that are read aloud to him, with words highlighted to help him read along. There are 95 books in all. Right now, he's reading along with narration and highlighted text. As he continues through the program, he'll read with only highlighting, then finally he'll be reading the stories on his own. Each story has comprehension questions (all questions and answers are read to him right now) and selects his response after looking at answers with lots of visual clues. This type of scaffolding is giving him confidence outside of Ooka Island to try reading more and more in our environment.

Yippee!

I've been very impressed with how well Ooka Island has held my son's attention over the past month. I like that Levi is "working" for a prescribed amount of time, and then can have "recess" on the island. Usually, he words for much longer than just the one cycle.

I should say, however, that this program is very new, and there are a few glitches that need to be worked out:

Reports. In the works is a reporting system so you can see what your child has worked on and their progress. After a month of playing the game, I really have no idea what has been easy or hard for Levi.
Graphics. Occasionally some of the elements on the game don't line up or elements disappear for a minute (like Levi's avatar's body), but on another screen come back. Over the course of our trial, these sorts of errors have definitely decreased. Most of the graphic problems have only minimally impacted my son's ability to play the game.
Speaking into the Microphone. It might just be us (so please check some of the other reviews out there), but when my son is required to speak into the microphone to say a letter sound, sometimes it seems like it doesn't matter what he says -- the gate opens and he gets to play. I applaud the program for including phoneme production into it's program, but it doesn't always work accurately at our house.
Download. This isn't a problem or glitch, but more of a warning. You will be downloading a software program to your computer, but will need to be connected to the internet at the same time. This isn't a big deal for us -- we're always connect. The download is a BIG file: 2 GB! We have high speed internet and it took approximately 20-30 minutes to download. My recommendation: purchase and download when the kids are not breathing down your neck, ready to play. You'll thank me.

As I've been writing through this review, I'm been trying to figure out to whom I'd recommend Ooka Island. There's definitely an early-elementary feel to the program -- and my 9-year-old (3rd grade) has said he wouldn't play it because of this. But, if I really had a 2nd or 3rd grader who needed some additional work on phonological awareness and pre-reading skills, I'd certainly consider this as an option.

Ooka Island has many pricing options:

If you'd like a free 14-day trial of Ooka Island, you can go go HERE. To PURCHASE, go to this page. If you have more than 5 students who will use it, consider a classroom option. And here's a coupon code if you do decide to purchase!

Please be sure to see what other kids and moms (and dads) thought of Ooka Island at TOS Crew webpage!

FCC statement: Thanks to Ooka Island for a free trial of their new computer based reading program in exchange for my honest opinions and thoughts.

Psalm 145:21

2011-11-04T22:34:00.002-04:00

A friend posted this video on her Facebook page. It is incredible! Be sure to watch it with your kids (not scarey). It is a murmuration. Never heard of a murmuration before? Nor had I.

It is a group of starlings. Murmuration is the collective noun for starlings.

There's your vocabulary word of the day.

This article explains that this dance of Scottish starlings signals the coming of winter and is baffling to scientists:

Even complex algorithmic models haven’t yet explained the starlings’ acrobatics, which rely on the tiny bird’s quicksilver reaction time of under 100 milliseconds to avoid aerial collisions—and predators—in the giant flock.

Aftering viewing such a beautiful dance, and it immediately reminded me of this verse in the Bible:

My mouth will speak in praise of the Lord. Let every creature praise his holy name for ever and ever. -Psalm 145:21 (emphasis added)

This is one example of how nature glorifies and praises God. The seasons change, the birds have successfully migrated from the cold reaches of Russia and Scandanavia, and they are praising the Lord. Creation glorifying its creator.

Beautiful.

A Flurry of Field Trips

2011-11-02T22:32:00.001-04:00

October is usually a busy family month because we have TWO birthday boys in the house, which undoubtedly means a visit from my parents. I usually try to plan a few field trips while they are here, and this year was no exception. I out-did myself.

First to the Museum of Science to (primarily) see the exhibit about life in Pompeii. If you have a chance to see it, please do. The body casts were unreal. It was solemn viewing the casts, and I couldn't help but thing about those who have been killed in more recent natural disasters (Haiti, the Thailand tsunami, and the Japan earthquake immediately came to mind).

The MOS also had a great display about nanotechnology in medicine, which Ben really enjoyed. The most shocking display that Ben enjoyed was the math-in-science display. For as much as he says he doesn't like math, I think he be fibbin' (newsflash: still working through Math-U-See and we're still free of tears!).

A few days later, we went to see the USS Constitution. And -- who knew! -- we visited on Old Ironsides' birthday! She went out for a Boston Harbor cruise in the morning, had a post-lunch rest time, but we were able to board her and ask the crew questions:

Ben is giving Levi a test to see if he has what it takes to be a Navy man.

Luke and Levi are tying up masts (I'm sure there is a much more technical name for it).

Our final field trip was to the Portland Symphony Orchestra's Youth Concert. It was awesome! The education department had sent some teacher materials, so we went through those the day before the trip to review about the featured composer: Beethoven. The performance was just the right length, the conductor was oh, so expressive and energetic about music, and they even had an actor portray Beethoven himself. We loved that the sections of the orchestra all wore different colored t-shirts.

See that beautiful pink scarf around my neck? My sweet consignment shop find: $13 for a 100% pashmina wool scarf of gargantuan size. I plan on wearing it nearly every day in the winter, because it keeps my neck warm and therefore makes me happy inside.

Crew Review: Excellence in Literature

2011-10-27T12:33:00.000-04:00

Over the past month, I've had the opportunity to review Everyday Education's English 1: Introduction to Literature curriculum. This curriculum (available as either an e-book download for $27 or a printed book for $29+shipping) is designed for 8th graders through 12th graders.

The author, Janice Campbell, suggests that students already have the basic mechanics of writing down before starting. As an additional prerequisite, she encourages your student to already understand the basics of literary analysis and essay writing; if not, she refers to her favorite prerequisite resources.

The course has nine units, each meant to take approximately one month to work through. There is also an optional honors track, which adds eight additional works of literature into the program as well as a final paper for additional credit. For the honors program, you child reads the additional work, then writes one 6-10 page research paper about the author's life and influence.

The first unit is short stories (You can Google these works and find them online):

• Sarah Orne Jewett: A White Heron
• Edgar Allen Poe: The Purloined Letter (This one is not scary, if you're concerned about that.)
• Guy de Maupassant: The Diamond Necklace
• O. Henry: The Ransom of Red Chief
• Eudora Welty: A Worn Path
• James Thurber: The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

The remaining 8 units include Jane Eyre, Pygmalion, The Tempest, and Animal Farm among other equally as important works of western literature. You can visit Janice's blog to learn how she chose the highlights works.

What do you get with your purchase?

Well, since I have the e-book, I have a 132-page document (I printed out a portion of it to use with my 7th grader) that is written to my student. This is meant to be a course that your high schooler could walk himself through. There is a suggested schedule to complete the work within a school year - but it will not tell your student how many pages to read each day (I have this in italics not because it is a bad thing, but it is a distinctive that you should consider when you choose high school level material). Your student is going to have to manage his time to complete the novel and context readings (which for many works includes an extensive collection of interviews, videos, photos, and written resources -- not all are required). Although you can download copies of nearly all the works used in the course for free (!!), it is recommended that you have hard copies of the books.

Here's something important to consider if you have a student who benefits from audiobook: I love that auditory learners are not left out of this very linguistically-based program. Audio books are discussed as appropriate add-ons for those who would benefit from their use.

The course includes grading rubrics for instructors to use to assign grades to their sudents. The grading rubrics are general guides -- not specific to each piece of literature. There are separate rubrics for those who use the IEW style of writing and those that do not.

What are the goals and outcomes expected from this course?

• Introduce students to great literature from the western literary tradition.
• Teach students to read with discernment. (She has written a whole chapter in the guide on how to read a book)
• Train independent, self-motivated learners.
• Provide tools that students can use to strengthen their writing skills. (Models are provided of the different types of papers your child will complete. If you are familiar with IEW's writing program, you will be pleased for an opportunity for your student to use their skills within this course)
• Introduce students to sources for high-quality online and offline research.
• Prepare students for college classes by expecting carefullyresearched, well-thought-out material to be presented

How does this high school literature program work?

I couldn't find any samples of the literature program at the website, so it would be hard for me to even consider this program without more detailed information. (I will note, however, that the blog posts/ articles that are available at the website are great supplements and tools for teachers and students to understand writing and literature studies) So, I've decided to outline the basics from unit 2 (Around the World in 80 Days) so you can get an idea of whether or not this would work for your student.

Weeks 1 and 2: The first two weeks of a unit is spent reading the book as well as reading/ viewing the context resources. You are encouraged to actively read -- underline important parts, favorite lines, etc. Also, your student will write an author profile (this course does a great job of providing models of each type of writing that is required, so that you know what you are aiming for) as well as an approach paper (I had never heard of this before, so I did a bit of online research and found this example here: StudyGuide.org)

Week 3: Draft a 500-word essay based on a question given in the guide. (Watching the movie is an additional option, too!)

Week 4: Refine your draft, finish and proof it. The student is to use the rubric as a guide for completion.

How this course worked for us

Um, well, it didn't work for us. But that is okay, because I have a 7th grader! We went ahead and started at the short story unit (unit 1), and worked through some of the material verbally. Up to this point, my son (who has excellent reading comprehension) has been reading books just for the sake of reading. He doesn't read and then think about the elements of what he has read. It quickly became apparent that we need to brush up on our literary analysis skills, and we plan to use a pre-requisite product that Janice recommends: Teaching the Classics. Although my son didn't write the approach paper, we did discuss the components of it. I can see the value of the approach paper, especially in helping a student to think about the author's work. Writing out essay questions within this approach paper is certainly a great way to teach a student to think deep and wide!

What I think

I want readers of this blog to trust that I will tell it like it is.

1. I think this could be a great college-prep course for a motivated student.

2. In my opinion, you will want to make sure your student is ready for this course. Heed Janice's recommendations about prerequisite skills and abilities. Teach essay writing, teach mechanics, teach how to read literature and how to begin to analyze it.

3. I would not be comfortable teaching this course without having some background in the stories that are used, especially grading my students essays for content and accuracy. You might want to get the Sparknotes or Cliffs Notes for these books -- or spend the summer reading them yourself.

Please head over to The Old Schoolhouse Review Crew to read how this resource worked for others -- especially those with high school students!

FCC statement: I was given a free copy of this course material in exchange for my honest opinion about this resource -- the good, the bad, and the ugly. No other compensation was received.

Review: Raising Real Men

2011-10-27T10:27:00.000-04:00

Very early in our love story, I told Dave I wanted boys. Three to be exact. I don't know why. I probably thought they would be fun and a lot less of a headache than girls. How hard could they be?

But, wow, they sure are a different breed. I don't mean that in a "bashing" way. It is the truth. God made them different than me, and I need to celebrate that difference instead of getting frustrated by it.

This boy loves dirt.

I was excited, then, to be able to review Raising Real Men ($12.75; audiobook available for $20), the 2011 Book of the Year from the Christian Small Publishers Association. This parent resource is sold at Timberdoodle.

I've read several other books about raising boys, and found this particular book to be the most enjoyable. Its style is conversational, peppered with lots of stories from Hal and Melanie Young's posse of boys (six boys, two girls). The chapters are not too long, so it was easy to read in between our studies, cooking and laundry.

The first section of the book is a chapter-by-chapter discussion of male virtues. You know those virtues -- The ones that mommies usually say, "careful!" and "watch out!" when boys are acting them out. Reading this section helps to remind myself of my purpose in raising these God-given boys. Do I want brave, hard-working, resilient young men who leave my home? It was a good reminder for me to check my attitude before I open my mouth to warn them about their next adventure or challenge.

The second section of the book is designed to help parents capture the essence of boyhood and celebrate it in the various roles and responsibilities boys find themselves.

The book helped me have a light bulb moment for our homeschool. We use our whole house for teaching. Sometimes were at the dining room table, sometimes at the breakfast counter, often on the couch. I just revamped our school room in August -- and will revamp it again after reading this book. The boys only use the school table for dumping books on it -- or maybe opening up two or three books when they are working on an art project or report. Why fill a room with a big table, when where they really learn is standing or laying on the floor? And for that matter, why not try a bean bag chair? They love creating forts and fortresses before settling down for reading or math or history. Why fight their natural proclivities? I want my boys to learn and love God's world. We can accomplish both these goals without sitting at a table or desk.


First day of school picture. "Boys, stand
nice and smile." What do I get? A rifle. You can
take the boy away from the gun, but you
cannot take the gun away from the boy

Although the authors do homeschool their families, this book really does help parents to encourage boys in a healthy and robust manner, no matter where they are schooled.

{Um, and if you don't have boys, but have daughters who will someday marry a former boy, I really, really encourage you moms to pick up at least one book about boys or men sometime before dating begins. Society, TV, and popular culture have so emasculated men that it is important to understand how different God designed men to be.}

I encourage you to stop over at Timberdoodle and see their other parenting helps. They also have some amazing outdoor activities and fun stuff for boys (think Christmas!).

You can catch some other reviews for this resource at the Because Mom Said! blog.

As a member of Timberdoodle's Blogger Review Team I received a free copy of Raising Real Men in exchange for a frank and unbiased review. Click here for a copy of their free homeschooling catalog.

Crew Review: Lots and Lots of Fire Truck Songs DVD and Book set

2011-10-24T08:35:00.003-04:00

Firetrucks, firefighters and siren noises have been part of my life for the last 12 years as each boy has passed through the fireman phase. My baby (who is now ican'tbelieveitSIX!) has likely passed through the phase the quickest since he has older brothers who had additional interests.

But -- have no fear -- even when my baby is six-going-on-twelve, plopping in a DVD about fire trucks, firemen, and fire safety enchants and enthralls him as much as it should.

Marshall Publishing sent me their Lots and Lots of Fire Trucks and Firefighters book and Safety Song DVD ($29.95 internet pricing - enter code TOSF1 for $10 off) for review as part of The Old Schoolhouse Review Crew. From their website:

Marshall Publishing and Promotions, Inc. is a multi-faceted media publishing organization. [Their] goal is to provide lots and lots of media fun for everyone through award-winning DVDs, books, CDs, CD-roms, and broadcast and internet programming that will amaze, amuse, entertain, and educate. We are an Illinois Corporation having been in business since 2007.

I also received a copy of their DVD on George Washington Carver from their educational historical line of DVD products. (I plan on reviewing this with my 12-year-old when we get to Carver in our history studies.)

We were originally told the firetruck book and safety song DVD were for grades 4-8, but I had all three boys watch the DVD to gauge their reactions. Both Levi and Luke could have watched the DVD multiple times without complaining. The songs, which teach fire safety tips like stop, drop and roll and calling 911, are catchy and appeal to their ages and stages (kindergarten and 3rd). However, it was all my 12 year old could do to sit there through the songs and video. I thought he'd be interested in how they make firetrucks (a segment on the DVD), but he prefers narrated video segments which can go into much more detail.

The book has large, captivating pictures that are good to excellent in photo clarity. There is also a LOT of detailed information about the fires, fires safety and the careers of firefighting professionals (and the equipment they use) in the book.

I think that the range for this set is greater than 4th - 8th grades. The DVD is a great tool for teaching fire safety to young students -- my guess is preschool up through the mid-elementary ages. The book has such great pictures of trucks and equipment that younger students will love it because of the photos and will grow into it as they become readers interested in all sorts of facts about the fires, firefighters and equipment. My 7th grader has picked up the book a few times to read. I can guarantee you he'll pull out a couple of these facts in the next couple years in a trivia game of some sort and beat me!

If you'd like to hear what other reviewers thought of this product, you can read more at the Review Crew website. You can also read what homeschool moms thought of the George Washington Carver DVD as well!

Thanks to Marshall Publishing or supplying me with free copies of the items mentioned in his review. In exchange I have offered my honest opinion about the products.

My First Digital Scrapbook Page!

2011-10-22T22:13:00.000-04:00

Last week I won a free copy of MyMemories Suite 2.0 digital scrapbooking software from Sara at Embracing Destiny. Yea, me! Thank you Sara!

I have a corner of my closet devoted to all my paper scrapbooking supplies that I don't use anymore -- mostly because I haven't scrapbooked in over two years, and it is a daunting task to even get organized to restart!

So, I figured I would give digital scrapbooking a try and for about $20 to purchase some digital pages and embellishments and fun, pretty stuff, I've completed 3 pages so far this weekend.

Here is my first page:

The first three pages have been quite a learning experience - trying to figure out where the software puts your downloadable purchases, how to manipulate, shadow, and create word art, layer pictures and embellishments. It was fun, but a very different set of mental skills right now because I have to be so intentional about how I'm doing all this as well as paying attention to the creative aspect. I know it will get easier and I won't have to be so cerebral about the process of digital scrapbooking.

The best part so far? No mess to clean up and organizers to haul back up to my closet!

PS- They have a dandelion themed set on sale for only a few dollars. I'm thinking I might try to make a new blog header soon!

Crew Review: Wits and Wagers Family

2011-10-19T20:24:00.004-04:00

It can be hard to find a game that can entertain a 6, 9, and 12 year old -- and still be mentally stimulating for adults, all at the same time. After a few weeks of playing Wits and Wagers Family, we think NorthStar Games has a hit!

This isn't your typical trivia game and that's a good thing. It's trivia with some guessing and strategy.

In this game, a player reads a question. All the questions ask for numerical answers ("How many colors are there in Fruit Loops?") and then each player writes down a number. When everyone is done, the dry-eraseable tablets are turned over and put in order. Then you get to play with these cute little Meeples -- a Mama and a Baby Meeple. Each person decides which two answers are most likely correct --place your Mama Meeple on the correct answer and you'll get 2 points while a correct answer from your Baby Meeple gives you 1 answer.

The strategy comes in when you have little brothers than constantly copy your Meeple placement. Big Brother Ben *might* need to re-consider his Meeple placement to throw them off track a bit. Or even throw the brothers off track by *not* putting the correct answer down. Hint, hint, Ben.

What's great about this trivia game is that you really do not have to know the answer. We all laughed and giggled when Levi's answer was closest to being correct. It's also great in a math-y (less-than/ greater-than) sort of way because you "win" a round by selecting an answer that doesn't go over the true answers.

We've really enjoyed this game, and I was tickled pink when I woke up from a little afternoon nap and heard the boys playing it all by themselves. *sniff* Sweet memories.

I was very happy to see that the game used mini dry-erase markers and boards for score keeping and answering. I need more pads of paper in this house like a hole in the head.

You can purchase the game online at Amazon.com as well as from local retailers The North Star website has a store locator -- type in your zip code and up pops push-pin store locator icon. A quick search of other online retailers showed that it was available at Target and Toys R Us. The game retails for $19.99.

They also have a game called Say Anything that some Crew members reviewed. You can see what others said about Wits and Wagers Family by clicking the link below:

Crew Review: E-Mealz.com

2011-10-14T09:02:00.001-04:00

I've said previously that I can do a decent job juggling two of my responsibilities as a homeschool wife and mother: homeschooling and eating healthy meals or homeschooling and keeping up with laundry, but not all three in the same week.

Take your pick, I been known to say (almost sincerely). Do you want clean undies or dinner this week?

Since trying E-mealz.com, we've been eating healthy and having clean laundry!

The inspiration behind E-mealz is just so commonplace in my circle of friends (homeschoolers or not) that anyone of us could have written it ourselves: we want to prepare healthy food with minimal time planning and preparing so that we can enjoy these fleeting moments with our kids.

Just so you know where I'm coming from: a few Febrarys ago, I scoured my recipe boxes and cookbooks and found dinner meal that at least 80% of the family would eat. I made sure I was using meats that were regularly on sale (boneless, skinless chicken breast goes on sale about every 4-5 weeks here) so that no week would break our grocery budget. I created a three week menu rotation so that planning and purchasing was simple and straightforward: look at the day, see what we're supposed to eat, and cook it. This system worked wonderfully for 3 or so months until summer, when it was too hot to turn on the stove. I tried to come up with a modified, summer-friendly menu plan, but it took too much work -- and I'd rather be outside with the kids!

Come fall, the menu plan worked well enough again, but I was getting a little bored of the options I'd given us. Three weeks wasn't enough variety anymore. That fall was busy. I just didn't have the energy or time to invest a few hours into finding new, exciting dinner ideas. Instead, I went extreme and abandoned all planning whatsoever!

I have been winging it ever since. But it hasn't been smooth and it isn't pretty. Let's just say, the kids have stared at the computer monitor one too many times waiting to see the Dominoes.com progress bar announce that our pizza is out for delivery:

All this is to say that E-mealz has been a huge blessings these past few weeks.

OK, so how does it work? After signing up and logging in, (the service is $15 for 3 months of recipes) you pick from one of the site's 28 meal plans:

(This is just the selections from the Family plans. There are also plans for 1-2 people.).

Second, you download your menu plan for the week. Menus are rolled out on different days of the work week - I get my Low Carb meal plans each Wednesday. Last week's is always available, so when you first sign up, you'll have two full weeks (14 days) worth of dinner ideas right off the bat. You'll be able to print out a menu plan that looks like this sample and the third page is your shopping list. (PS- don't forget to set up a folder on your computer to save the menus!)

When I first get my shopping list, I decided which meals I'd try and which I wouldn't (all the meals we've tried have been delicious and easy to prepare). Next, I went through my pantry and freezer to cross off items I had on hand.

Then I went shopping -- with a plan! It feels awesome to have a plan again! (And I loved that the shopping list was categorized, making it much harder to forget items.)

Because we are having the usual "crazy fall," my shopping for one week of e-mealz is lasting for 9-10 days. But when we aren't running around crazy-like, we are eating a well-balanced dinner with yummy flavor. We even tried some new things that we decided we liked! My kids liked the Turkey Sausage and Shrimp Gumbo.

Did you hear that, universe: they liked gumbo!

You can see from the meal plan selections that some are meant to correspond to specific grocery stores to help save $$ by following specific store sales cycles. Unfortunately, none of these stores are in the New England area, so I chose to get the Wal-Mart menu to try. Using this, the shopping list said I'd be purchasing about $90 worth of food for 7 dinners. That's $12 per dinner -- a LOT cheaper than a delivery pizza every night. Some of my shopping lists have been as low at $79 -- bring the cost per dinner for a family of 4-6 to $11.30 per dinner.

They have options for gluten-free, low carb, portion control (probably helpful for Weight Watcher lovers), low fat and vegetarian. During your subscription period (3 months), you can switch your plan once.

Here's a few pictures of some meals we've had:

Salmon with honey dijon glaze and acorn squash

This was a delicious Greek steak wrap with cucumber sauce, peppers and onions.

I love the side dishes we've been having with E-Mealz. Here was a garbanzo bean salad. Everybody ate it and Luke even *liked*it!

The recipes are very forgiving and flexible. Don't have the exact cut of meat? Use what you can find or have already. Forgot the fresh cilantro? I've found that subbing dried spices has not ruined the recipes at all.

Pros:

We don't get bored by eating the same thing week in and week out
Well balanced meals
Most meals leave enough leftovers for lunch for my husband the next day!
Recipes have been easily adaptable to meat our specific tastes and food on hand (I added some yellow squash to the Italian Skillet Chicken because I had it and needed to use it up!)
The side dishes (every day's menu has a main and side dish), have been so yummy and such a wonderful change for us. If and when I make a great meal, I usually forget to be inspired with a side dish. I have yet to be disappointed with one of these!
Since we started this at the end of August and are now in fall, I've noticed seasonal meals and vegetable -- lots of grilling in August and September (with tomatoes and cukes!) and more soups and stews (so far) in fall.
Endorsed by Dave Ramsey.

Cons:

No store-specific plan for the New England area
You can only switch plans once per subscription period-- so choose wisely! (but they do have adequate samples available from all the plans, so you are not choosing blindly)
Does not come with a personal chef (just kidding on that one)!
Total cost per meal might still be a little pricey for those on a super strict food budget. But, I read an interesting blog post on their website about how the plan fits in with budgeting.

This has honestly made my life so. much. easier.

I cannot over emphasize this fact: Having a plan for dinner for the week really make home schooling better. E-mealz is such a blessing in this house and home! And this is from someone who has never thought it worthwhile to pay a subscription fee (small or not) for menu planning -- but I've seen the light!

One other quick thing before I finish: I do not have any food allergies in this house to worry about, so E-Mealz is really easy for us. But I know there are several TOS reviewers that must cook around significant food allergies, so I really want to encourage you to head over to the Crew Review and read some other reviewers who need to follow specific diets for health reasons.

Thanks to E-mealz for a free 3-month subscription to their service for my honest opinion about their product. This was a delicious review!

Craziness = Fall (The first 7 weeks of school)

2011-10-12T08:44:00.004-04:00

I had really wanted to be better this year about documenting our homeschooling journey. This is my last year in Kindergarten (*sniff*) and my first year in 7th grade (WOW!). Lots of changes all around to document for our family's memory book.

But, fall is just crazy here! Ben runs cross country, Luke has football and Levi is playing soccer. We have Boys Scouts and Cub Scouts. My husband is starting a side business. I need to sneak out weekly to by groceries (my "alone" time). Thanks to E-Mealz.com (review coming soon), we've had a few more family sit-down dinners than last fall, but it is still wacky a majority of the evenings. And, since Ben is playing a public school sport, afternoons are quite full as well.

By the time the day is done, I'm often brain-dead. And that, friends, is why I have not been better about writing updates on school

But anyway, from what I remember about our first 7 weeks of school:

I'm really thankful Ben is taking a writing class. He just wrote his first essay: why Peanuts is the best cartoon of all time. The teacher (and her dog, Penny) incorporates lots of great vocabulary, usage, and brainstorming techniques. She's way more fun that I would be at this point in the year.
Levi's reading is coming along, and he is a lover of math. Some days I have to tell him, "No more math today!" but he doesn't listen. "Mom, I have to write my numbers up to 100 again!" Love him.
Luke is hot-and-cold with reading. I'm still working with him to figure out what exactly is making reading hard for him. We're doing some Dianne Craft exercises (I found 3 of her DVDs at the used curriculum sale for $1 each!), and it brings me back to my days as a speech pathologist. I always liked the diagnostic part of my job, I just never thought I'd have to use it with one of my own children.
I wish it felll within my moral code (and budget) to offer Luke $10 if he read a book from cover-to-cover. He's working through the Karyn Henly's Day-by-Day Bible (the New Testament) and is reading aloud a portion of it to me. I need to be happy with that right now. Oh, and he has discovered Captain Underpants books. Ick. I was good at keeping this series away from Ben when he was younger, but not so much for Luke. At this point, I'm just happy he picked up a book! I want him to get interested in reading Magic Tree House books, but he is balking right now. I will have to pull out the Pizzza Hut reader coupons, I think, and offer those up for a reward.
I love General Science with Dr. Wile. Right now, I'm using the tests to underscore the importance of studying. Ben is having to use the study guide (as well as flash cards) to review information. I also am making him take notes. I'd love to be a bit more hands-on with him for this process, and I hope we'll get there.
Math is the easiest thing this year. That is a huge blessing for me.
I'm being more intentional to do narrations with Luke. We're using Writing With Ease, which has fictional narrations, but I'm also incorporating it into history and science. I'm not being a drill sargeant with WWE, however, so when we have been successful with a history narration, I forgo the WWE one. We started in WWE level 1, but I plan to move him up to the 2nd level
Ben's subjects this year are much more intense. With writing class, science and history/ literature (he's sort of doing two literature courses right now because we're reviewing a program), he has a lot of work! To balance this out, I've decided that for spelling, if Ben can take dictation and mark his words with no errors and explain to me the spelling rules that we're using (with decent accuracy), then I'm not going to give him a spelling test at the end of the week. However, he is still responsible for correctly spelling the words. During the week, I am still making him complete some of the reinforcements, especially ones that have to do with derivations, analogies, adding prefixes/ suffixes etc.. This is freeing us up to spend more time on history, writing and literature. Its amazing how content has become the big player for him this year; but not just that, it's learning how to learn all this content that is the big task.

My camera shutter hasn't been snapping as much as in the past, but here are some pictures:

We're doing the science activities in Exploring Creation with Astronomy this year. Nothin' like lava flow! This kid is so happy when we are doing science-y things.

This is Levi's purposeful busy work -- a MCP Plaid phonics workbook. He takes it in the car or does it when we're not reviewing a reading computer game. (We're reviewing one now, so the workbook isn't getting used as much.)

I made a customized assignment notebook for my future Air Force pilot. The back has tons of scripture to encourage a pre-teen.

The inside is pretty basic, but this is what he wanted. He is doing nearly all of his own scheduling of assignments; I wrote sequences for some of his subjects (like Grammar), but he is responsible for fitting it in during the week.

Levi has been a drawing monster these past few weeks. He drew a mail truck and VW Beetle-like car this week for his birthday thank you notes. He drew a whole street scene today. Picassa isn't cooperating and rotating my pictures correctly, so I'll have to post those another time.

Crew Review: Visual Latin

2011-10-10T08:10:00.001-04:00

Hi, my name is Alane and we {deep sign} are Latin drop outs.

We've run our course through three Latin programs so far in Ben's educational career. By 5th grade, the academic luster had worn off of the idea of studying Latin (Improve Your Brain power! Raise your SAT scores!) and it had become just plain drudgery. So, we stopped, and I was content and happy in that decision.

Then last spring I began hearing about this program called "Visual Latin." Yea, yea, yea, I think to myself, Another Latin program to drop out of. (sorry, but my stream of consciousness sentences do end with prepositions sometimes.)

But just for kicks and to torture my drop-outta-Latin soul even more, I decided to watch an online demo of the program.

It wasn't even boring. And this was not just my opinion, but also the opinion of my 12-year-old. He asked to do it.

Good job, Dwayne.

Fast forward to this fall when I'm blessed with the opportunity to review this program. I'm most impressed. I could even want to include Latin in our homeschool again!

From the beginning I noticed several distinctives which set Visual Latin apart from other programs we've used:

The teacher is a guy!! This is a big deal in our house. I have three boys and they are surrounded by women (moms) who teach them. Their exposure to male teachers is zilch, so this is a huge selling point for me.
It's funny and quirky and....normal. Dwayne makes mistakes and misspeaks. He make you smile and chuckle a little -- about Latin and learning and languages and humanity.
It is bite-sized. The DVD lessons -- three for each lesson -- are short (6-8 minutes or so) and there is the corresponding one-page worksheet that goes with it. The worksheet is clutter free and makes sense, teaching 1 concept at a time.
This program is laid out with homeschoolers in mind. I don't have to adapt it and try to mold it into a homeschool subject for 1 or 2 students.
You can purchase it as a physical DVD product, or download-able product, which you can watch on multiple computers, iphone, ipad or ipod. Your Latin lesson is portable!

Another thing which is unique about this program is that Dwayne works on getting kids to think in Latin from the beginning. Instead of having kids memorize a weekly lesson of 10 words and then having them complete several workbook-styled vocabulary tasks, Dwayne uses easy translations of Bible stories to begin to have the children think in Latin in the context of the story. By focusing on just a few vocabulary words and trying your had at translation and reading, my 12 year old was actually getting the gist of the language -- which is exactly what would happen in a real life, modern language immersion situation.
A year's worth of Latin 1-- 30 lessons -- will consist of three DVD sets. Each set is $30 -- or you can purchase the whole set for $80. The program is also sold as a download-able product for $25 for each of the three modules. Visit The Compass Store for more details. Latin 2 has the first set of 10 lessons completed, with more coming this school year.

Visual Latin is appropriate for all age ranges, so it makes it a great investment for late elementary, middle and high school. You will want to speed up the pacing of VL for a high school student to get a full year's credit for the course. This web page will also answer questions on how to create a high school Latin course using Visual Latin.

If you are interested in trying out Visual Latin, I highly recommend downloading their first 6 videos for free. This will include 4 intro segments, which really does a nice job of explain why we study Latin and underscores the importance of Latin in our own language. The final two freebies are actually the first two lessons on the first DVD.

If you'd like to hear what others said about Visual Latin, visit the Crew Review blog with link-ups to other blogs to read.

Thanks to Visual Latin for a copy of their DVD lessons 1-10. In exchange for a free copy, I have written an honest review of our experiences using this product -- the good, the bad, and the ugly.

I"m on a Math U See High.....

2011-10-06T11:44:00.001-04:00

I know the title of this post sounds weird. But, that is me. Weird.

For 6 years, Ben used a fabulous math program. I chose it because it consistently produced the highest math scores for its home country in global assessments of mathematics education. Following the if-it's-good-for-them-it's-good-for-me philosophy, I bought the whole kit and kabooddle. When we got to portions of the program that just didn't fit with Ben's learning needs and styles, I ignored my gut and pushed through. Ugh. It wasn't pretty.

I contemplating switching SO many times, but I was petrified with fear that I'd make a wrong choice and ruin his future as a STEM prodigy (I'm being facetious). The scope and sequence of our program was different enough that I didn't want to switch for fear of having to back up very, very far to catch up to his grade level peers. And (transparency here) my pride was in the way: my kid is smart, and he should be able to learn with this program!!!

OK, he did learn -- a lot -- and has some great mathematical problem solving skills. But our math history is not pretty and is filled with tears and frustration for both of us. It shouldn't have been so tortuous.

As we neared 6th grade, I was really ready to switch -- but since this program is only an elementary program, I figured we'd push through. I could see the light at the end of the 6th grade tunnel. I decided we would stick it out until he was ready for pre-algebra which is when I knew I would have to find another curriculum anyway.

Fast forward to this August. Our school year was to start in just a week or so, and I had no pre-algebra program for Ben. I couldn't decided between Math U See and another fantastic program. I asked Dave and Ben to watch the sample lessons for both and they choose Math U See.

[insert angelic choirs singing 'Halleluah']

A month into the program, and math is no longer a struggle. There is enough practice (and an online drill page generator for more if we need it) and systematic review (which Ben really needed all through elementary school).

While researching middle school math programs, many people complain that MUS is too easy. Here's my response to that complaint:

MUS is a mastery-based program; if a lesson is 'too easy,' than I have my son take the lesson test and pass out of it -- then we move on. I've decided that 'mastery' in this house is at least an 85% or better on a test (depending on the concept being taught; I can foresee that certain foundational concepts might require a minimum score of 90% to be considered mastery)

This means that we could scoot through this level of MUS quickly or linger through it until Ben is solid. Whatever it takes, people, we'll do it.

I've got Luke in the last third of Beta and Levi is at the beginning of Alpha. They are both learning tons and it is painless. Luke is working through the concept of regrouping with subtraction, and I'm so pleased that it has been very effortless up to this point. This means that my Lukie has learned regrouping without tears. Priceless.

I'm not naive enough to think all math concepts to come will be easy to the boys (multiplication facts are right around the corner for Luke), but I am confident that the step-by-step approach that we are following with MUS is going to bless our entire family.

P.S. - Ben doesn't hate math anymore. He may not like it, but he doesn't hate it. *smile*

Birthday Boy

2011-10-04T09:14:00.000-04:00

My baby is having his birthday this week. He has got the whole "count down" thing mastered.

This boy grows so fast, because he's trying to catch up to his 12-year-old brother.

I decided to create a slide show of pictures since birth. The baby and toddler stage went so fast.
Sorry: it is long. 110 pictures long. Give me a digital break: he's my first child to have all his photos taken with a digital camera!

Oh, and I didn't put order he chronologically. Honestly, it's a slideshow only a mother could love. And a grandmother.

Schooling with a Plan

2011-10-02T18:33:00.003-04:00

The TOS Blog Cruise is a Blog Carnival through TOS Crew Member blogs. Each week, a new homeschool topic is addressed. Participants are encouraged to express themselves however the question leads them; everyone has a different style and personality when it comes to homeschooling, and that’s what makes this so much fun.

Every May, I write out a report about the school year that is drawing to a close. I don't have to do this for anyone buy myself; it just helps me process our school year and I typically answer the questions-that-are-always-in-my-head, such as:

What worked this year?
What didn't work, but should have? Why didn't it work?
How well did I do as an educator? What should I do better?
What new struggles and/or gifts did my children show this year?
How well are we abiding by our mission?

I also always write out goals for the following 12 months. These are a mixture of year-long and short-term goals. Sometimes the items on the list look more like a to-do list for me to prepare to teach my kids, but usually they help me direct the resources (time and books) to complete an educational goal or skill for the child.

For this year, I wrote out goals for Ben and Luke; Levi didn't have a written end-of-year summary for his preK year, so his goals are just floating around in my head.

~Levi (kindergarten)~

1. Read. I'm using the I See Sam books I reviewed last year and The Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading. I also have the MCP Red Plaid phonics workbook that I use for purposeful busywork.

2. Cursive First. Levi is reviewing the letters he learned last year, but by the end of the year, he'll know his alphabet and be spelling words using cursive!

3. Math. Addition/ Subtraction math facts.

4. Bible verse memorization

5. History, Literature and Science. He's listening in on astronomy, our history of the 1800s, and the literature books that Luke is using this year. He's learning geography that the older boys are as well. He's doing arts and crafts, too.

~Luke (3rd grade)~

1. Continue to focus on phonics, spelling and reading skills.

Restest with SWR diagnostic monthly
Us SL reader lists for appropriate reading material
Progress through WISE lists at 30-40 spelling words/ week

2. Get back to doing science experiments weekly; Continue with Apologia’s Astronomy

3. Be consistent with copywork for cursive practice and modeling sentences

4. Have Luke write daily (copywork, dictation, journal, assignments)

5. Introduce music lessons (he’ll take guitar lessons with Indra Edmonds in the fall)

6. Bible verse memorization (especially with song) and some sort of Bible study with me.

7. Use a lapbook for summarizing with history

8. Investigate a Jr. Lego Team

~Ben (7th grade)~

1. Begin to discuss literature and literary analysis using TOG’s resources and Teaching the Classics.
2. Continue with more systematic instruction in note-taking, graphic organizers, and outlining in history and science
3. Develop writing skills in expository and creative assignments, using IEW’s stylistic techniques as a guide for completion of a variety of writing assignments from both IEW and TOG. Use Remedia Outlining for systematic practice.
4. Complete quarterly projects, based on a history or science or other topic.
5. Teach test-taking study skills. Work toward completing history quizzes and at least 1 unit test in history.
6. Continue to provide opportunities for Ben to expand his knowledge in areas of interest: computer programming, computer animation.
7. Participate in music lessons (drums)
8. Find service opportunities outside of Scouts for Ben.
9. Pray about the next step in mentoring Ben spiritually after completing our 6^th grade study.
10. Ben will take more responsibility for maintaining his portfolio of schoolwork in a systematic way.

Do write annual goals for your kids? How to you keep track of progress?

Wisdom for the Long Haul

2011-09-29T09:27:00.000-04:00

From my loving husband this morning:

Dave's text this morning: "I luv u. Have fun. Stay strong. Remember it is a boy thing."
Me: "What's a boy thing?"
Dave: "Whatever they do today that makes u scratch your head."

And just to add some cuteness to this post:

Indeed, Dave. It's a boy thing!

It's gonna be a Good Morning sorta fall

2011-09-19T18:42:00.001-04:00

I'll be transparent here: Having daily quiet time with God is hard for me to "squeeze in" because I {~~sometimes~~ often} get sucked into making bad time management choices. I have experienced the powerful changes that can occur with daily devotional time, but...., well, I could finish that thought with lots of excuses, none of them worthy, however, of skipping out on my Lord and Creator.

I heard about Good Morning Girls a few weeks ago from another Old Schoolhouse Crewbie and decided to give it a try.

Daily you read a bible passage, write it down, and make some observations, applications and end in prayer -- it's called a SOAP note. Groups of women share their insight for accountability and encouragement.

My group is connected via Facebook, but there are plenty out there connected with other social-media tools.

In 12 weeks I'll have written out the entire book of 1 John and meditated on each verse. Awesome, eh? I'm looking forward to having this time with my Savior.

How about you? If you are unable to attend a IRL Bible study, what online tools have you used to meet your spiritual needs?

Crew Review: Nature Nuts by Griddley Games

2011-09-02T10:00:00.001-04:00

I'm embarrassed to admit this after playing several rounds of this game with my kids, but in the interest of fairness to them and honesty with you all....................

I am no nature nut.

But, I am OK with that, because my losing streak makes the kids laugh and they want to play again. And again. And again.

Nature Nuts is a simple idea -- a game asking trivia about animal, plant and earth sciences -- with some fun and silly add-ins which make for a fun learning activity. Here's how to play:

According to the website, this game is for two to four players, ages 8 and up, but it was fairly easy to modify to allow my 5-year-old to play. We set his point value low (20 points) and (depending on the question) we made up multiple choice answers for him. With these two adjustments, he was very competitive (heck, I'd be more competitive with multiple choice!).

The animal category questions were definitely some of the easier questions for us. What is the name of a female lion? What is the difference between the feet of frogs and toads? Not that we knew all the answers! The Earth question topics were a real hodge podge -- magnetism, the moon, environmental science, geology, basic chemistry. We really didn't know what we'd get in that subject, which made this my favorite type of card to get.

Questions about plants were from ecology/ environmetal science and plant biology topics. Some of the 7-point questions were T.O.U.G.H. for us. It's been a few years since my 12-year-old (rising 7th grader) has studied plant biology, so he was definitely befuddled by many of the 7-point questions. For my 8-year-old 3rd grader, however, the types of 3-point questions were fairly spot-on for his knowledge base -- not that he could answer all them.

I think a good percentage of the 7-point question could be more easily answered by both my 8-year-old and 12-year-old if we had just finished a science course on plants and/or animals or had an on-going interest in biology. As much as Ben likes science, he's more of a physics kid, so these questions challenged him, which is a good thing. It isn't often that he gets stumped!

But it is the purple Wise Alec cards that make this trivia game fun. Tongue twisters, yoga poses, open ended brain teaser questions and other action cards (bird calls, making a fish face) made us laugh. The kids couldn't wait to get a purple card! As we waited in the car at a music lesson, Luke and Levi giggled to no end when I had to get out, run across the street (so they could snap a picture) and do the tree pose:

and this picture was snapped after pulling the Wise Alec card that said, "Your horse passed gas. Minus 3 points:"

Laughing and trivia at the same time -- the creators of this game deserve a high-five for that card. Another high-five for Griddley Games: the directions are imprinted on the cover of the case. That's one less game in Toy Heaven because of a lost set of directions. As a matter of fact, Griddley Games was founded by a mom (who must've had her own collection of direction-less games). Their products have won TONS of game and toy awards, so even if Nature Nuts doesn't sound exciting to you, it's worth a browse through their website to see what else they offer.

I forgot to mention earlier that Nature Nuts can be an add-on expansion kit to Wise Alec, a full-blown trivia game for the family. At the time I am writing this, Griddley Games does not have a storefront of their own. However, the games are readily available at retailers and online. It is retailing for $14.99 on Amazon right now.

I hope we can use this game more in the future to supplement our science learning in a fun, crazy way.

If you'd like to read more about Nature Nuts and Civilize This! by Griddley Games, click on over to The Old Schoolhouse Review Crew to read more!

Thanks to Griddley Games who provided a free game for my family to use in exchange for our honest opinion about it!

Time is on HIS side

2011-09-01T17:30:00.000-04:00

As usual, I'm amazed by God.

Sometimes {sheepish confession}, I've gotten a little sidetracked by the academics of homeschooling and have forgotten to focus on our most important reason for homescholing our family: imparting our faith in our children, living it out with them on a minute-by-minute basis.

So, I'm making a conscious effort this year to begin with what is important: God. I am using a resource called Sword Fighting to engage all the boys at the same time in scripture memorization and Bible reading as a start to our day. We've changed up our morning routine a bit to include breakfasting at the table {instead of the counter} and while we all eat together, I read the passage of the day and we practice our sword fighting -- the word of God.

What I've noticed is that when we are faithful to set aside time in our day for God, he is faithful to us and provides for us abundantly -- and this includes an abundance of time. After reading our scripture passage on Tuesday and talking together, the boys spend a good 30-45 minutes drawing swords and writing our verse (Psalm 119:11) on them. They were having fun creating decorative hilts on their swords and even translating the verse into codes Ben had created a few years ago.

Displaying {God inspired} patience, I just let them have fun and enjoy the activity. And I was richly rewarded by my precious Lord: even though the boys spent a good hour working on all this, we were able to still get to all the other school work I'd assigned and with darn good attitudes to boot.

For a mama who often time feels like I've got to race against time {uh, that mama would be me} to fit in all that needs to be done some days, I'm just so grateful to God for the reminder that He is in control of it all.

Cake, Not Pie-in-the-Sky

2011-08-29T19:15:00.000-04:00

This had to be one of our best First Days of School ever, and I think I know why.....I didn't set the bar too high this year.

I didn't expect to have everything planned out perfect for myself. That way, I wasn't disappointed in my own performace.
I didn't expect everyone to be happy about starting our school year.
I didn't expect to complete work in every subject.
I didn't expect perfect retention of math facts and other skills from last year.

By God's grace, we:

Started our day with smiles because we had chocolate cake and candles for breakfast. You read that right. Mama's off her rocker.
Started with God first. We're using Sword Fighting to memorize scripture this year. Everyone participated.
Watched a Netflix.com documentary about the White House for history today. Movies always get a thumbs up from my crowd.
Did a little math -- just a little. Ben said the first part of his math (he took a Math U See placement test so we know what to do this year) was hard but it got easier as we went along. He agreed to the analogy that he was like the Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz who needed some oil to get his limbs moving. "Oil Can!" Luke and Levi practiced place value with Math U See blocks, then Luke did a practice page of math.
All three boys helped me to create our new chore chart for the year. I think they appreciated having input into the plan, and then when I had to make a few executive decisions, there was no unrest or revolting from the masses.
Everybody read to me, and I did a read-aloud to the boys. We all love the read-alouds, and I am making intentional efforts to re-introduce that again this year.

In year's past, we've taken the gradual approach to starting school -- we start with a few subjects the first week and gradually add in more as the weeks pass. I'm sort of doing that this year, minus the pie-in-the-sky dreams that will inevitably come crashing down and leave me in a puddle of first day tears.

No tears today.

God is good.

Crew Review: Apologia's How to Have a H.E.A.R.T. For Your Kids

2011-08-29T09:26:00.003-04:00

I've finished reading How to Have a H.E.A.R.T. for Your Kids by Rachel Carman -- just in time for the beginning of our school year...and I'm so glad I did!

Each letter of the word 'heart' is an acrostic:

H = Have a heart for the things of God
E = Enrich your marriag
A = Accept your kids
R = Release them to God
T = Teach them the truth

Here's a description from the Apologia website:

How well do you really know your kids? What has God shown you about who they are and who they will become? He has sent these children into your home at this specific time for His glorious purposes. Indeed, you have been invited on the adventure of a lifetime, a journey on which you will see walls fall, seas parted, and giants slain. You don't need special skills or training for this journey—you need only to seek God and hold tight to His mighty hand! As with so many things, the first step to having a heart for your children is knowing your heavenly Father. As you seek daily to share His heart for your children, keep this inspirational book close at hand.

Rachel does a wonderful job weaving anecdotes from her own homeschooling journey teaching her seven children with scripture and familiar Bible stories. Her style of writing was so friendly that I often imagined Rachel was sitting across a table from me and sharing her own heart.You can go to the Apologia website to read a sample chapter from the book, which is selling for $13.

I have to admit, I didn't read anything here that was brand-spankin' new to me, but what I did get was a wonderfully encouraging and inspiring reminder of the God-honoring job I'm about to restart. The book's compactness (in size and chapter length) made for convenient reading in between and around our late summer obligations and activities. A wonderful feature of the book is the thinking questions at the end of each chapter; this is the rubber-hits-the-road part of the book that I can use to make this book's material my own.

Reading this book (as well as the work God has been doing on my heart recently) has helped me to realign my goals and priorities for this year. I'm really taking Matthew 16:26 to heart:

And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?

I have to admit that I sometimes get so caught up in the academics of homeschooling that I forget to see the big picture -- honoring God and leading my children into lifelong worshipers. This book was a gentle reminder to get back on track and run the race to win (1 Cor. 9:24). I know without a doubt that it I will continue to re-read it throughout the year.

If you'd like to read what other reviewers thought, head on over to The Old Schoolhouse's Review Crew Blog to read more.

FCC disclaimer: Thank you to Apologia Press for a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion about the book. If I like it, I'll tell you. If I don't, I'll explain why it didn't work for my family. The good, the bad, and the ugly.

The Old Schoolhouse Review Crew Blog Hop!

2011-08-21T10:05:00.001-04:00

I'm joining in on the first evah (as they say it here in New England) Blog Hop. This gives me (and you) an opportunity to visit other homeschooling blogs. As the school year progresses, many of these bloggers will be reviewing homeschooling products, so you might choose to follow them with Google Friend Connect.

If you have a blog and would like to participate, you can click on the picture/ button (above), and it will take you to a McLinky tool. Sign up your blog there, and you're in! You can view other blogs from that webpage, too. Follow blogs via Google Friend Connect. And if you follow me and leave a comment, I'll follow you!

Have fun, and enjoy these last days of summer!

Cooking and Staying Sane -- a great {free} online tool!

2011-08-20T10:10:00.001-04:00

This is what the web app looks like on a smart phone

My BIL designed this web app that I've been using for a year or so, and am loving it even more because I'm starting to collect my recipes for my fall meal planning. You can use it from any smartphone browser (just bookmark it) and you can access it from any computer. Plus, it doesn't require you to part with lots of personal information -- I think only your email address. Oh, and it's ad free!

It preserves recipes in great form from traditional recipe sites yet still saves the webpage for a recipe, say, from someone's blog. Very simple, very easy to use, very convenient -- especially when you are in the grocery store and realize you forgot to write down a couple ingredients -- as long as you can get a couple bars, you can look it up right there on your phone (ask me how I know this!)

This is a screen shot from my laptop.

Oh, and another thing -- you can edit the title of the recipe. See that little pencil to the right of the recipe name? Click that, and you can change the title!

Simple and super convenient. Love it.

Gettin' Ready for School: Breakfast!

2011-08-19T21:27:00.000-04:00

In preparation for school starting in a couple weeks (I really should nail down a start date...), I made Refrigerator Molasses Muffins to try this week. I've loved the idea of refrigerator muffins (which basically means you can make up the batter and store it safely in the frige for up to six weeks, depending on the recipe). In searching recipes online, I found many recipes which called for a bran cereal. Those would've been fine to try.....except I didn't have any bran cereal to use. But, I have had a jar of molasses in my cupboard for far too long, so I decided to offer it up.

Molasses Refrigerator Muffins

from RecipeSource.com

4 c Unbleached Flour, Sifted

2 ts Baking Soda

1 ts Salt

1 ts Ground Cinnamon

1 ts Ground Ginger

1/4 ts Ground Cloves

1/4 ts Ground Allspice

1/4 ts Ground Nutmeg

1 1/3 c Vegetable Shortening

1 c Sugar

4 ea Large Eggs, Slightly Beaten

1 c Molasses

1 c Butter/Sour Milk

1 c Raisins

Sift together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice and nutmeg; set aside.

Cream together shortening and sugar in mixing bowl until light anf fluffy, using electric mixer at medium speed. Add eggs beat well.

Blend in molasses and butter/sour milk. Add dry ingredients all at once, stirring just enough to moisten. Stir in raisins.

Spoon into greased 3-inch muffin-pan cups, filling 1/2full.

Bake in 350 degree oven 20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve hot with butter and jam.

NOTE:    Batter can be stored in refrigerator in covered container for up to 3 weeks.

Yield: 12 servings

Conclusion: delish! All the boys loved the muffins for breakfast. They were moist and flavorful. Ben said they had a banana bread taste to them, but I could imagine pumpkin bread! (neither of these tastes are disliked in this house.)

Oh, yes, the boys are not that keen on cooked raisins, so I substituted chocolate chips instead.

Yes, I fed my kids chocolate chips for breakfast, OK?

I'm thinking that one batch of muffins is going to give us about 4 breakfasts; I'l probably make 2 meals worth right away, and save the batter for a week or so before using the rest. I'm also going to experiment by adding in dried apples instead of the chocolate chips, as well as substituting applesauce in for the sugar. And, I'll definitely give the bran cereal-based muffin mixes a chance, depending on the cost of molasses vs. cereal.

Now, to figure out a way to get the kids to eat hot oatmeal and ignore the fact that I hate it........any ideas are appreciated!

2011 Not Back to School Blog Hop Week 3: Student Photo Week

2011-08-17T10:14:00.001-04:00

Dave and I were just discussing the need to have a new formal picture taken of the boys -- the last was about two years ago when we had a wonderful group portrait of the boys taken at Picture People. I'm going to need to re-sign up for coupons to have a new one soon!

In absence of some formal picture, here's a grainy group picture of the boys from our summer trip:

We've got 7th grade, 3rd grade and (officially!) a Kindergartener this year. You can read my descriptions of them here.

2011 Not Back to School Blog Hop Week 2: Our School Space

2011-08-15T08:45:00.001-04:00

I spent the past two weeks getting our school room back into shape. After school ended in June, it became The Official Family Dumping Ground for a few months.

Our room has definitely changed a lot since the last time I blogged specifically about our room here. We still have highlighter yellow walls and two white bookcases, but that is about it:

This picture (above) is what you see directly across from the door when you walk into our room. . On top ofthe unit is our in-box (one lot per kid) and pencil sharpener. The top three cubbies are (from L to R): Ben's books and notebooks, markers/ colored pencils etc. in a Sterile drawer set, and art pencils/ makers in a basket. The middle two cubbies hold math manipulatives and library books. The bottom two cubbies will hold our current unit's TOG resources. Dave built this cubby bookshelf two years ago.He's going to add more shelves above this.

To the right of this unit is the former dry erase board wall:

Now it is just a blank yellow (not green) wall. Ah. I like it. The blue and red pocket holders mark the kids' progress through their daily assignments.

On the far wall from the door is the space formerly used by my desk:

I got this wonderful lateral filing cabinet last spring off Craigslist. The printer and school supplies live here.

Next to it is my newest bookshelf, which now holds mostly my teaching guides, books we haven't used yet, a reference shelf for the kids and some crates of kid stuff. The bottom two shelves are still a work in progress.

To the left of the new bookshelf is a reading chair, which I love having in the school room. Dave actually took a nap on this chair this weekend. I think that is the most time he's ever spent in here!

And, finally, our same-old bookshelves. They've been reorganized but are still pretty full. The small drawer set to the left of the bookcases hold items for mailing, note cards, the label maker and blank DVDs. Behind the blue curtain (I took the closet door off a long time ago) is another filing cabinet, blocks, the microsope.... hands-on things we use for learning and fun.

I forgot to take a specific picture of it, but you can see that the little school desks are gone. We are going to just use this drop leaf table for working at. Honestly, we learning in all corners of the house, so having a table in here is just one of the many spots one kid or another will use during the day. I tend to spend a lot of time at the kitchen table teaching reading and spelling, but maybe this year, I'll teach from this room.

I'm planning on cutting down our huge shower-panel-turned-dry-erase-board ($12 from Home Depot) into a smaller board that we may use in here.

Next up in the Not-Back-to-School hop is My Monsters!

2011 Not Back to School Blog Hop Week 1: Better Late Than Never

2011-08-14T20:35:00.000-04:00

It has been years since I participated in this blog hop, but since I have about 10 blog post ideas running around in my head yet am having a difficult time putting ideas to paper (or screen), I thought I'd go the easy way this weekend and back up to participate in this blog hop. Life With My 3 Boybarians started this hop, and just this year I found out Heart of the Matter is managing it these days --that's how long it's been since I did this!

So week 1 is/ was curriculum week. If you'd like to know what we're using this year, click on over to my 2011-12 Curriculum page to see my plans.

I've had a laid-back, wonderful summer and am not stressing about school this year for like the first time ever. We've been homeschooling now for 8 (official) years and I have a pretty good idea of where I want to go this year academically. The academics isn't the hard part of homeschooling. It is the heart.

Character. God. Faith. Standing in line at the grocery store and resisting the urge to kick your brother for the heck of it. These are the issues that I'm praying about for this school year. For us all.**

**Please note that I don't want to kick my brother. I've been there, done that a million times decades and decades ago. Not that I stood in the check out line and kicked him.

Getting My Ducks in a Row: Planning TOG

2011-08-05T12:00:00.001-04:00

Many (if not all) Tapestry of Grace (TOG) Moms are familiar with The Fog that rolls in shortly after a purchase of one of Tapestry of Grace's year plans. It is a non-meteorological event that all new TOGgers are warned about. Me included.

This fall marks our third full year with TOG as our main curriculum. Each year, I get a little bit better at planning for our school year and using TOG. Not perfect, mind you, just better.

With 12 more years to use it, I think I'll get the hang of it at some point.

So, in my offering to help lift The Fog of TOG, I thought I'd share how I begin to plan a year.

Step 1. I purchase the DE only package (DE = digital edition; a secured PDF product that I download to my computer), and after I've installed it to my computer, I begin the process of printing only the parts I'm going to use for immediate planning: the threads pages (purple pages), the reading assignment charts (yellow), and the writing assignments (red). I do this for the whole year plan during the early part of the summer. These pages help me to understand the topics that are covered in each year plan and the books and resources I'll need to acquire for the year.

[Note: this part of the preparation is only done once per year plan. For example, I'm using Year 3 this school year, but I only had to print up the first semester of material, because we used the second semester a few years ago to learn about the Civil War and Reconstruction.]

Step 2. After I've got the reading assignment charts (yellow pages), I begin to look at the resources (books) I'll need to use this year. I will admit that TOG can get pricey with all the books to purchase, especially at the onset. That's why I acquire books from a variety of sources: used sites, Amazon.com, our library, and borrowing from friends who are using different year plans. I usually download a list of TOG books and put them in a spreadsheet so that I can make marks and notes on where I'm getting the resources. I *heart* my library's list making function, which allows me to make a reading list of books I'll need to borrow for the year.

After I figure out where I'm getting books (purchasing or borrowing from library), I mark on the reading assignment sheets either an "h" for "I have this book" or an "L" for "borrowing from library." I'll also mark "ILL" if I need to get an inter-library loan book, but I've shied off from doing this over the past couple years because I hadn't been giving myself the leeway necessary to get the book on time.

Oh, another thought when deciding which books to purchase vs. borrow: If I'm going to need a book for longer than 3 or 4 weeks, I usually purchase the book. My library system allows you to check out a book for 3 weeks and renew once for a total of 6 weeks. Some of the arts and crafts books for grammar-aged students are used periodically throughout a whole unit. Sometimes I'll purchase the book (if I find it really cheap!) other times I'll just check it out periodically from the library and copy a couple activities that I think we'll use for the next few weeks. I'll do this several times during the year.

Step 2.5. When I'm deciding which books I need, I also have to factor into the equation which levels I'm going to have my students work at:

lower grammar (typically k-3rd),
upper grammar (3rd-6th),
dialectic (6th-9th),
rhetoric (9th-12th)

As you can see there is some planned overlap which is lovely. Let me show you how this works: When Ben was in 5th grade, he read upper grammar history books and dialectic level literature books. I knew he wasn't ready for the themes and threads of the dialectic history books (although he certainly had the reading skills to pull it off) and wanted him to have a solid understanding of the facts and events of the time period. However, the literature books at the upper grammar level were not at all challenging for him (a few were picture-bookish), so I bumped him up to dialetic books . However, we didn't use the literature worksheets to begin to learn about literary analysis because he was in, uh, 5th grade. See how we flexed between upper grammar and dialect?

For this year, because Luke has made huge strides in his reading this summer (!!!!) he's now at the point that he can read some of his history and literature books by himself. So this year instead of bumping him up to the upper grammar-level materials (which are for a proficient reader who's reading at a 5-6th grade level), I'm going to keep him in lower grammar books. This way, the exercise of reading won't be so challenging that he cannot focus on the content of the information he's learning. I'll pre-skim all the books for difficult vocabulary and we'll practice breaking those words about syllable by syllable; then he should be good to go!

One of the things I really like about TOG is that you are given a whole years' worth of plans for every grade level, yet you can move your students up and down in each subject as you see fit.

Step 3. This is when I do my second round of printing. I print off the SAPs (blue Student Activity Pages) and the Teacher Notes. If I had only grammar level students, I would probably not print off the Teacher Notes to save on time and money (for ink and paper) and just read them on my computer. Also, I only print the SAPs for the levels I'm teaching. I'm not teaching a rhetoric (high school) student, so I don't need to clutter up my mind and school room with unnecessary information. I usually print off these SAPs unit-by-unit.

Step 4. Honestly, the previous step are easy compared to this step -- The Foggy one. This is when you really need to focus. If you have students at many different levels, this is when you take one level at a time and focus on each unit for that student. Which books will you have the student read himself? Which will be read-alouds? Will you use the geography assignment this week? Will you use the SAPs for literature this week? How about the Thinking and Accountability questions? What will you do with the vocabulary and people for the week -- have the student write them out or go through them orally with you? Will you do a craft? Will you have your student take one of TOGs weekly assessments?

You know all those sweet little check-boxes on your year plan? Well, if you have DE, do NOT be afraid to check-off what you'll want to do; remember, you can always print off another copy later.

In the past, I've also gone through and made weekly lesson plans with Homeschool Tracker Plus. I've made TOG-only spread sheets as well. This year, I'll just be putting (pencil) check marks on the items I'm planning on using. This way, I'll always be referencing all the great information I've printed off and (I think) I'll be more accountable to myself and the curriculum.

Now, each week, I'll pull out my binder, look to see what needs to be read, assign it on my student's log book, pull out the SAPs we'll need for the week and read the teacher notes so I have a clue about what we're learning. I try to do all this work (maybe 30 min. of concentrated work) on the Friday or Saturday before we need it. I hate having busy Sunday nights.

I cannot say that my system is flawless, but it works for me and our lifestyle now. How do other TOGgers plan the basics of your years? If you've written about it, paste a link in the comments so I can glean some awesome ideas and inspiration from you!

Peace in the Puzzle (Blog link)

2011-08-02T17:47:00.000-04:00

Do you live with a child who has been diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder? Perhaps this blog will be a blessing to you. It is a new community lead by a dear friend's sister.

Finding Peace in the Autism Puzzle

It has a Christian ministry focus and is for Christian families who live with a child with autism spectrum disorders. Claiming this verse from Jeremiah:

"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil,
to give you a future and a hope." Jeremiah 29:11 (NKJV)

How to road trip without DVDs - Part 1

2011-07-26T22:09:00.000-04:00

Ready to Go!

The boys and I have returned from a 9-day, 2,000 mile road trip. It was so much fun to explore with them and travel with them that I cannot wait to do it again....it could only have been better if hubby had been there.

Our trip required us to return by a specific day, so we decided to leave a few days early to enjoy a leisurely drive to our destination and take in a few field trips to round out our study of early American history from this past school year.

We are one of those "weird" families without a DVD player in our car -- and to be honest, I'm quite content without one. It didn't even cross my mind to consider a portable one either. I mean, I grew up on two-week car trips without a DVD and I turned out OK, right?

Don't answer that.

After a bit of internet searching, I discovered the website Mom's Minivan.com. She has LOADS of great printables to keep your kids entertained for a portion of your trip.

After printing out classics like tic-tac-toe, squares and dots, the license plate game, and an (ingenious) version of paper and pencil Battleship game, I decided to make booklets our of them with my laminator (don't forget some dry erase markers) and new comb-binder.

First, I found some road trip clip art and added some cool lettering to create covers. I decided that the books would be identical to one another (to keep arguing to a minimum) and that we'd call them The Yellow Book, The Red Book, and (can you guess it?) the White Book.

Creative, huh?

I laminated the covers with The Dot Gae on the backside. The boys love this game at restaurants.The boys also love tic-tac-toe, and since this can waste a ton of paper, I decided a laminated copy was in order.

No car trip is complete without the license plate game. Since Levi isn't reading the names of states (yet) I decided to throw in both a map (he's good with knowing where most of the states are!) and the state names list. This worked very well. Uisng the map, Levi loved putting a neat dot on the center of each state while Luke was enjoying the fruits of all his hard work this year and was reading the state names from the list. The boys aren't competitive about this game, so we end up helping each other out.

After all that laminating, I decided to add in a plastic pocket to each book to hold consumables: scavenger hunt games, road bingo games, and even a cow game:

And, the fortune teller game:

The boys had a great time making and playing with these. That simple piece of paper occupied them on-and-off for an afternoon of driving. Next road trip, I'll give them blanks to make their own fortunes (with Magic 8-Ball type answers).

Although the boys didn't use all the activities that I included in The Books, I'm happy to have invested the time I did into making them. I know we'll add more to them for our next few trips. I'll probably make one for me so I can play along, too.

The Road Trip books were only part of the multi-pronged activities we had planned for our trip. More of our fun to com!

Getting Real

2011-07-12T10:30:00.000-04:00

It is really easy to portray the wrong message when blogging. I can choose to only write about what I want to and I can flower it all up any way I want.

But I don't want to do that.

So in the interest of more transparency, I present the following:

1. I really do not have this parenting thing under control. Each of my children has an issue or two that we're constantly working on. Right now, Levi is pushing the envelope with back-talk. Some days we deal with it well, some days not so much.

2. I have an issue or two as well {gasp!}. I struggle with patience sometimes, a low frustration tolerance sometimes, contentment sometimes, self-control sometimes. OK, I'll be honest: those fruits of the spirit?
Well, let's just say I'm a work in progress.

3. One of my goals in homeschooling my children is for them to see God's hand in all of creation -- his order, his plan, and his love We use some tools which make God readily apparent to us-- and I'm quick to point that out. But, I must admit that if it isn't easily handed to me, my intentions to seek Him and share Him often get lost in the mundane of life.

4. I can handle two or three big responsibilities at a time. I can educate my kids and prepare 3 squares a day OR I can educate the kids and have a constant supply of clean clothes, sheets, and towels. But rarely do all three occur in the same week.

5. Dust is a regular visitor in our home. I try to remember to kick it out, but I usually forget. I'm thankful we don't hacve allergies here!

6. I like starting new routines. It's usually day #2 that is the hard part.

7. My kids are not homeschool prodigies. They have academic strengths and weaknesses. The sometimes cry when the have to do their assignments. I've been known to answer, "Because I said so" to questions about why we have to learn or study something. They don't wake up begging to start school. In fact, Mondays can be very ugly.

So, I've bared a bit of myself for now. What myths about your homeschool have you inadvertently portrayed?

Secret Blessings

2011-07-07T21:23:00.000-04:00

I had a great idea this week, and I actually did something about it.

The genesis of the idea came a few months ago, before we stopped school for the summer. I remember telling Dave about it, then I apparently forgot about it until this week. Perhaps it was an Adventures in Odyssey episode that brought the idea back to the front of my brain. Thank you, God, for putting whatever-it-was in front of me to jog my memory.

Just a warning: this wasn't a rocked science idea. Don't get you expectations too inflated.

Here goes: One of the four of us (Daddy was at work) would draw a piece of paper with an X on it. The X Person would then be responsible for secretly blessing another family member during the week. Ideas to bless that person were to do one of their chores secretly, help the person spontaneously, do something for them...... The boys liked the idea (who doesn't like a secret?), and paper slips were made.

In typical 5-year-old fashion, Levi yelled out, "I got the X!" about 3 nanoseconds after looking at his piece of paper and right as I was saying, "Now remember, don't tell us if you go the X."

So today, with only one day left to bless a family member, Luke reminded Levi about his secret mission. Levi huddled with me and said -- as if reading my mind -- "You know what I'm going to do?" His eyes are about the size of half-dollars. I'm going to make Ben's bed for him!" Right on buddy, I think. He got the idea. Totally got it.

A few minutes later, he came downstairs, barely able to contain his excitement. "Mom, I even made Luke's bed, too!"

I wanted to squeeze the stuffing out of him!

We're home from soccer and The Monsters are finally quiet (Luke scored a goal tonight, so Daddy had to make good on his promise of ice cream) and not one thing was said by Ben or Luke about their beds. And that is okay. Because my purpose in doing this wasn't for recognition by the blessee (not a word, I know) or even recognition from Dave or I. The purpose in doing this was to experience the inner joy that comes from doing something nice for someone, just for the heck of it.

As it turns out, I'm really glad Levi blew it and told everyone that he was the blesser for the week. And, I'm glad I was able to see all Levi's joy from blessing his brothers. Even though it didn't work out as I had planned, it worked out the way God had planned.

God is good all the time, and all the time...God is good.