Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers

30 Days of Gratitude

2009-11-09T08:00:00.043-05:00

In the most recent issue of Reader's Digest, I read an article about a guy who embarked on a journey of gratitude. Yes, I just read it last week, but, no, I don't remember all the details (I hope I have at least one kid willing to take care of me when I'm old because my poor memory is going already) and I'm too lazy to walk upstairs and get it right now. Seriously, though, the details of the article aren't as important to me as what I've decided to do with it.

We are a family of complainers. We tend, as a whole, to focus on the negative, rather than the multitudes of positives, with a lot of bickering amongst the siblings thrown in for fun. I've also noticed that nagging and griping about the bickering and negativity doesn't really affect change. Go figure. Hey, I'm just keepin' it real here.

So, our family has decided to embark upon 30 Days of Gratitude in which we've purposed to do our best to focus on the positive and on the blessings in our lives. Based on a suggestion from the Reader's Digest article, we've put a Gratitude Tree in a high traffic area.

I bought some pretty, fall-colored Post-It notes to serve as the leaves for our tree.

Each day, right after dinner since everyone will already be together, each of us will jot down some of the things we're thankful for or have appreciated during the day and add it to our tree. I'm hoping, by the end of the month, we'll have a tree full of leaves and hearts full of thankfulness. I'm hoping, too, that we'll see a change in our focus, from the negative to the positive.

Would you care to join us? I think I'll post little updates in my Weekly Wrap-Up each week. You're welcome to include updates in your Wrap-Up or leave them in the comments on Fridays. I'm probably going to need the accountability and I'd welcome some friends to share the journey toward an attitude of gratitude.

To the Blogosphere's Best Readers, Thank You!

2009-11-07T14:28:00.000-05:00

Just in case anyone is wondering which blog the best, most awesome readers read, it's this one! If you doubt me, read the comments on this week's Weekly Wrap-Up post. You ladies (and guy) are awesome! Thank you for your kind, encouraging, uplifting comments. You're all awesome!!

Weekly Wrap-Up

2009-11-06T15:50:00.000-05:00

I'm not sure I remember much of this week. It seems to have gone by in a blur, though we haven't had much going on. We've been busy getting back into the regular swing of school after having spent the last few weeks learning about France for Around the World Day. Last year, we took the week after ATWD off. I wish I'd scheduled that again this year. As it is, we haven't even tried to do history or science this week because I just wasn't prepared to switch gears that fast. Next week, Josh and Megan will be resuming history with Story of the World and we'll all begin working our way through Christian Kids Explore Chemistry.

On Monday, Brianna started her Twilight-based study, which she's enjoying, but she feels overwhelmed with work. I made today a half-day, catch-up kind of day. I needed the time to do some planning for the next few weeks and, in a little while, Brianna and I will be having a parent/teacher/student conference (I'll be the parent/teacher, in case you wondered) about her work load. I think I'm going to be dropping a couple of things and adding some expectations in other areas, but I also want to see if we can figure out why she's feeling so overwhelmed and see what steps we can take to rectify that.

Tuesday. Tuesday was a horrible day -- well, not really a horrible day, but it contained a horrible moment -- but it ultimately taught me a valuable lesson about God's love and our impact potential as the hands and feet of that love. I had a horrible mom-moment. Short story, Megan, carelessly, but accidentally, spilled an entire cup of lemonade on the kitchen table, which happened to be where Brianna's schoolwork was sitting, including her rather pricey Teaching Textbooks pre-Algebra book.

I had one of those mom-tantrums (please tell me that you've had them, too) and ultimately broke the cup -- Megan's favorite. From Disney. That she drinks from every time it's clean. That's not sold anywhere but the Disney parks. *sigh* Immediately, as soon as it was broken, I was sitting in the floor, in a puddle of lemonade, crying with Megan over the cup and how I had crushed Megan's feelings.

I started making phone calls and sending emails. Did my mom bring any extras back? No. My aunt? No. My sister? No. A new friend in our homeschool group who went the week before us? Yes. She brought back five of them and I was welcome to one, if I needed it. More waterworks from me. Just a simple act from someone who doesn't know me especially well showed me how much God loves me even when I'm being unlovable and how He cares for all my little things. I was overwhelmed and blessed beyond measure by God's love and a friend's willingness to give.

You never know how a simple act of kindness is going to affect someone else. Something so small and simple can speak volumes to someone about God's love. Remember to pay it forward as often as you can. God's love, mercy and grace are often shown through our little acts of kindness.

Wednesday was a better day. We had music, of course -- only two more weeks to go before we're off until January!! I'm ready for a break from outside commitments. Wednesday was also a gorgeous, sun-shiny, mild, perfect day for a nature walk...so we went to Target instead! I don't know why, but none of us were in the mood for a trip to the nature study this week. Since I want it to be something we do because we enjoy it and not because we have to, we skipped it this week.

The rest of the week has been pretty mundane for us. I don't even have any good pictures or exciting links to share...but give me time. I'm gearing up for a much more interesting week next week. I've already done some planning, with a bit more to do this weekend, along with a trip to the library and the store for needed supplies.

How was your week? Be sure to post about it and sign up with MckLinky. If this is your first time to join us, be sure to read the Weekly Wrap-Up guidelines.

**Remember, be sure to link directly to your Weekly Wrap-Up post so that others can find it easily when they visit your blog and be sure to post a link back here so that your readers can find the Wrap-Up and join us.

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Review: Bright Ideas Press

2009-11-06T08:00:00.005-05:00

I love Bright Ideas Press. We've used the Christian Kids Explore science series for several years. It was from Bright Ideas Press' Hands-On Geography book that I got the idea for our homeschool group's annual Around the World Day. So, I was excited to see that they were on the vendor list for reviews by the TOS Homeschool Crew. I was hopeful when I saw their newest product, Young Scholar's Guide to Composers, that it would be the review product. I was ecstatic when they sent me not one, but two products to review: Young Scholar's Guide to Composers and Christian Kids Explore Physics, the only book in the science series that we didn't already own!

Young Scholar's Guide to Composer's was just the kind of book I've been looking for to add to our curriculum list. Geared toward children in grades 4-8, it features 26 famous composers and 6 eras of music to make up 32 weeks of music study. It contains everything you need to study the featured composers except the music, which is easily found online or at your local library. The writers have made it easy to find the music online with an appendix listing websites and YouTube videos featuring work by the cited composers.

Here's some of what you can expect to find to help you in your composer study:

Concise, but comprehensive biographies of each composer
Comprehension questions after each composer bio
Quality coloring pages of each composer
Printables, including timelines and composer cards
Detailed instructions with photographs on how to make composer folder books

We, of course, did not use the book exactly as you're "supposed" to, but that was simply because we were studying France for Around the World Day and wanted to be able to incorporate the study of French composers. So, we chose to study Debussy and Faure out of order...and we still really enjoyed the book.

I found the biographies to be a bit long for the attention span of my younger two who are just barely on the cusp of the young end of the age range. That was easily remedied by breaking the reading up into two days instead of just one. Everyone enjoyed the coloring pages and we worked together to fill out the composer cards.

I really liked that the authors included a guide for planning your composer study, giving you suggestions for what to do each day of the week. I also really appreciated the fact that they took into consideration the age-range for which Young Scholar's Guide is intended, intentionally leaving out, for example, one well-known composer because his immoral lifestyle could not be covered -- or even glossed over -- in a way to make it appropriate for the book's intended audience.

I highly recommend having the binding cut from this book and having it 3-hole drilled, which I do with most of my books containing reproducible pages. I didn't do that with this book at first and it was really hard to get good, clean copies. It only cost me $0.80 to get the binding cut at my local office supply store and I 3-hole punched it myself.

Young Scholar's Guide to Composers is available as a CD-Rom ($29.95) or a paperback book ($34.95).

Christian Kids Explore Physics is set up just like the other books in the Christian Kids Explore series. Each unit begins with a list of unit objectives, vocabulary words and materials needed, as well as a coloring page corresponding with the unit. There are weekly lessons within each unit with a Unit Wrap-Up at the end to review what students have learned. Christian Kids Explore Physics is geared towards kids in grades 4-8 and contains a glossary and suggested reading list. Each unit also offers Scripture tie-ins.

Isn't 4-8th grades kind of early to begin teaching physics? I don't think so. The very first year we homeschooled, a veteran homeschool mom gave me a wise piece of advice that I've never forgotten: when we teach our kids something, we're not rying to teach them everything about a given topic; we're giving them hooks upon which to hang later information.

It's my opinion that if I cover things like chemistry and physics when my kids are young, accepting the fact that they aren't going to retain it all, they'll have a point of reference for when they hear this information again in later grades. I think that may just help it stick better when they're older. Besides that, many of the topics covered in Christian Kids Explore Physics are things that kids are naturally interested in and curious about. Just look:

States of matter (looking for an excuse to make some Flubber/Oobleck, anyone?)
Mechanics (force, gravity, friction)
Energy in motion (explores how radio and TV work, as well as sound and music)
Energy and Magnetism (We might just have to make electricity with a potato in this unit.)

It is my opinion about each of the Christian Kids Explore books that they are not a stand-alone science program. However, I think they make a wonderful spine book and are easily "beefed up" with supplemental reading, some videos and some hands-on projects. At $34.95, Christian Kids Explore Physics, plus a library card, makes an excellent introduction to the world of physics.

Click the TOS Homeschool Crew banner to read more Bright Ideas Press reviews.

I received this product free for the purpose of reviewing it. I received no other compensation for this review. The opinions expressed in this review are my personal, honest opinions. Actual results may vary.

Twilight Study Notes

2009-11-05T08:00:00.054-05:00

Okay, I said I'd post what we were doing with our Twilight unit study once I got my ideas ironed out a bit. It's not really a full-fledged unit study, I guess. Brianna is still doing her regular math and grammar. Each day, I'm having her work through Defining Twilight: Vocabulary Workbook for Unlocking the SAT, ACT, GED, and SSAT (which I'll be reviewing soon...first impressions very positive) and And the Bride Wore White: Seven Secrets to Sexual Purity.

In addition, I'm having her choose at least two things a day from the list below, knowing that some, particularly the literature and composition projects, are more long-term and will take longer than a day to complete. I'm trying to let this be as self-paced and self-directed as possible, while not allowing Brianna to be a slacker as far as what she's capable of doing.

**Warning: There are spoilers below, if you haven't read the entire series.**

Literature and Composition

1. In Twilight, Pride and Prejudice is referenced. How is Bella like Elizabeth? How is she different? How is Edward like Mr. Darcy? How is he different? Are their other similarities in the two books?

2. In New Moon, Romeo and Juliet is frequently referenced. Bella is compared to Juliet, Edward to Romeo, and Jacob to Paris. Are these accurate references? Why or why not? Compare contrast the Twilight Saga characters to their Romeo and Juliet counterparts.

3. In Eclipse, the referenced book is Wuthering Heights. Compare and contrast the following: Bella/Cathy, Edward/Heathcliff, Jacob/Edgar. On p. 266 in Eclipse, a paragraph from Wuthering Heights is quoted. What does it mean? How does it similar to Edward's thoughts about Jacob?

4. In Breaking Dawn, The Merchant of Venice is referenced. Its comparison is not as readily apparent as the others. Do you think Stephanie Meyer chose this book at random or are there similarities in the two books?

5. Examples of descriptive writing from Breaking Dawn:

p. 383: Bella describes what she hears (good)
p. 387-388: Bella describes what she sees (better)
p. 415: Bella describes what she hears, then, what she smells (best)

After reading the paragraphs referenced above, write a descriptive paragraph of your own, describing something you can hear, see, or smell.

6. At the end of New Moon, Bella asks each of the Cullens to vote on whether or not she should become a vampire. Choose one member of the Cullen family whose opinion to represent. Write a persuasive paper with at least three point (a paragraph for each point, plus opening and closing paragraph) supporting your decision.

7. Write a book report on one of the cited classics.

8. Read several movie reviews. After watching New Moon (the movie), write a review of the movie.

10. Find examples of metaphor, simile, hyperbole (and other literary terms).

11. Do character analysis/book report on your choice of one book from the Twilight series.

12. Bella dreams a lot in the Twilight saga. Do these dreams play a particular role in the books? If so, what is the role. Be specific and give examples. What is the literary term for this ? (Foreshadowing)

13. Author Stephanie Meyer tells the Twilight story from Bella's point-of-view (POV),using 1st person. How would the story have been different using the 3rd person? Choose one scene and rewrite it using a 3rd person POV.

14. Additional literature study suggestions: Sense and Sensibility, The Witch of Blackbird Pond, Bram Stoker's Dracula

History/Social Studies

1. On a blank map of Washington, label the following: Forks, La Push, Seattle, Tacoma, Olympia, Port Angeles, Pacific Ocean. Shade the following: Olympia National Park, Quileute Indian Reservation, Makah Indian Reservation.

2. Make a timeline of historical events that occurred during character's human lives. (Time periods when each of the Cullen family lived as humans: 1600's, 1860's, early-1900's, 1920's, 1930's)

3. Topic ideas for further study: WWI, Spanish Influenza, the rise of Protestant religions in the 1600's, Civil War, The Depression

4. Geographical points of interest for further study - Denali wilderness, Washington, Arizona, Illinois, Italy, South America, Romania, Ireland, Brazil

Science

1. Rain forests of North America/Olympic peninsula

2. Learn what animals and trees can be found in Olympia National Park. Choose one of each to learn more about.

3. Learn more about the rain forests of South America

4. Research the following: wolves, bears, mountain lions

Health and Personal Safety

1. In Breaking Dawn, on p. 93, Edward tells Bella the he spoke to Carlisle about physical love: "I asked him what I should expect. I didn't know what it would be like for me…Carlisle told me that it was a very powerful thing, like nothing else. He told me that physical love was something I should not treat lightly. With our rarely changing temperaments, strong emotions can alter us in permanent ways."

How does this agree or disagree with what God says about physical love? Do you think that physical love can alter humans in permanent ways? If so, in what ways?

2. Also in Breaking Dawn, on p. 317, Jacob and Leah are talking. Jacob remembers when Leah first became a werewolf and thought she might be pregnant. He thinks, "Because she couldn't be pregnant…she hadn't been with anyone since Sam."

How does the fact that Leah and Sam had previously had a sexual relationship affect their current relationship? How does it affect Leah? How has it changed the way she perceives herself? How does it affect her relationship with others -- her pack, Emily, etc.? How has premarital sex changed Leah in permanent ways? How do you think she and Sam justified, if they did justify it, their decision to have a physical relationship outside of marriage?

3. Begin reading and working your way through And the Bride Wore White: Seven Secrets to Sexual Purity by Dannah Gresh.

4. Edward tells Bella her scent is like his own personal brand of heroin. He is referring to how appealing the scent of her blood is to him and how hard it is for him to maintain his commitment to not drinking human blood. Read about alcohol and drug addictions and the affect they have on the body. Discuss with Mom why it's so important to never experiment with alcohol or drugs.

Math

1. Plan a trip to Forks. Write to the Chamber of Commerce for travel information. Plan your budget.

2. "Your Number's Up" activity from Twilight lesson plans (pp. 6-7)

Visual Arts

1. In the Twilight movie, each of the Cullen kids wears a Cullen crest. In New Moon, each member of the wolf pack has a tattoo. Read the movie companion books to discover the meanings of each. Design a crest for your family. Tell the meaning behind the symbols you decided to include.

2. Draw a key scene from the book. Choose a scene that is described well and include as many key elements as possible.

3. Create a visual display (presentation board, collage, diorama, etc.) representing some of the things you learned from your Twilight unit study.

Critical Thinking

1. New Moon Soundtrack -- Listen to the soundtrack. Based on the mood of the music and/or the lyrics of the song, when/where do you expect to hear it and why?

2. Twilight author, Stephanie Meyer, writes Bella's character as not having faith (as in "religious upbringing"). Meyer, herself, is Mormon. Why do you think she would develop Bella's character as one without a sure belief in God -- or heaven and hell? Does this lack of faith on Bella's part advance the plot in any way?

3. There is a saying that says, "Absolute power corrupts absolutely." After reading Breaking Dawn, do you think that applies to the Volturi? Why or why not?

Those are just the basic ideas that we're working with right now. Obviously there's some great literature associated with the Twilight saga (Brianna began voluntarily reading Romeo and Juliet a couple of weeks ago), so a lot of the reading will count toward her 9th grade literature and composition credit for high school. We may be adding more ideas as they occur to us, but this seemed like a good starting place.

This post is linked to Thirsty Thursday.

Works for Me Wednesday: Silent Reading Time

2009-11-04T08:00:00.047-05:00

SSR. Sustained Silent Reading.

That's the official name from The Read-Aloud Handbook, by Jim Trelease. We just call it "silent reading time" at our house and it's my favorite time of day. Brianna loves it, too. Josh tolerates it. Megan hates it ("Because it's silent," she says. That's funny for those who know her well.). I have a feeling that it will grow on them as they become stronger, more independent readers.

Silent reading time is always after lunch, usually just after the kids each do their reading drills, which I think helps them get warmed up for reading. Because silent reading time is time to cultivate a love of reading, everyone is free to choose what they want to read with no restrictions. The only exception is that I have the younger two select the book that they'll be reading aloud to me after silent reading time and something of their choosing to read after that. That way, they can pre-read whatever they'll be reading to me and still have time to read something of their choosing after they're finished.

My favorite benefits of silent reading time are:

It gives us time to transition back into our school day after lunch.
It allows the younger kids to pre-read their practice reading, giving them more confidence.
It gives us all some quiet time in the middle of the day.
It encourages reading for pleasure.
It gives me time to enjoy my own personal reading each day.

I'm glad that my younger two are reading well enough that we've been able to add silent reading time to our school day. I can't wait until we're all wishing we had longer to read! Visit Kristin at We Are THAT Family for more Works for Me Wednesday tips.

Around the World Day 2009

2009-11-03T09:00:00.059-05:00

As I mentioned in my Weekly Wrap-Up, last Friday was our homeschool group's sixth annual Around the World Day event. It's a geography fair born of an idea from Hands-On Geography. Each family chooses a country to represent. They spend some learning about their chosen country, then, they put together a display for our event.

Each display contains:

A presentation board displaying fun facts about the country
A food and/or drink from the country
Fact sheets for each family
Passport stamps for each child

The displays can also contain any of the following or any other ideas a family may have:

Postcards
artwork
crafts
brochures
dioramas
currency
posters
music
reports
souvenirs
stamps
maps

Many of the kids (and adults!) come in costume and all the kids bring a passport book to be stamped at each country they visit. The stamps can be stickers representative of the country (we usually make homemade flag stamps on address labels) or ink stamps.

Our attendance was a bit off this year, but we still had a great time (after the initial stress of the day) and all the kid did a fantastic job on their displays, as you can see:

France (ours)

China

Egypt

Mexico

Russia

Afghanistan and New Guinea

Mexico II

We always really enjoy Around the World Day, though I'd be lying if I said this year wasn't really stressful for me and I'd have totally bailed if I hadn't been the event organizer. I'm glad I was forced to follow through, though. I always enjoy looking back on it, even if the actual event and the preparations for it sometimes stresses me.

Review: ACT Advantage Discover

2009-11-03T08:00:00.006-05:00

Remember the high school guidance counselor's office? The only thing I really remember about it is going in there to look the yearbooks from some of the area colleges. That may or may not have been because an older guy on whom I had a crush was in one of said yearbooks. I'll never tell. I don't really remember ever getting any especially good guidance from the counselor, though.

ACT Advantage offers kids some much more personalized guidance on their college and career choices. The offerings from ACT Advantage are three-fold: Explore, Plan, and Discover. I'll be posting more about the Explore and Plan options in a subsequent review. Today, I'll be focusing on Discover, which is an online, student-directed planning tool.

With Discover, your student can take three different surveys to help determine their abilities, their interests, and their values. Brianna really enjoyed taking the surveys. I think she's a lot like me in that we like quizzes that help us discover or confirm things that we suspect about ourselves. The surveys give a statement and you click buttons to indicate how true that statement is for yourself.

Once the surveys are completed, you can view a summary of career fields and specific jobs within those fields for which your results have shown a strong aptitude, interest, or value. Then you can look at a keyed chart that will show you which career paths might be of interest based on each of the three surveys with the hope being that your student will find something intriguing in a field shown to be high in all three categories -- interest, ability and values.

Brianna and I found the program interesting. It suggested some career paths she never would have considered. Of course, they weren't anything that seemed to really interest her either, but she is just 14.

In addition to the surveys, you can learn more about the specific job suggestions -- what type of work is done by a person with that job, the type of education required (college degree, graduate work, etc.), and the type of pay that can be expected. You can also explore colleges offering degrees in the programs that interest your student.

To quote the email that Crew members received about ACT Advantage, Discover will enable a student to:

Identify his or her strengths and needs with an assessment of interests, abilities and job values
Build a plan based on her personal profile
Explore occupations, majors and schools
Build an education plan that relates to career plans
Improve job-seeking skills and develop a resume.

The home version is available as a 3-month license for $19.95 and 6-month license for $24.95. Additionally, ACT Advantage offers a free curriculum guide with your purchased Discover license to help students get the most out of the college and career planning process.

While Brianna thought that the surveys were kind of fun, I'm not sure that I felt that we got $20 worth of use from it, but that very well may be because Brianna is still young and doesn't have a good idea of what career fields interest her. I would definitely consider revisiting the site in a couple of years because it did bring up career paths that we would have never considered for her and which might prove to be of interest to her. Of course, I'd be perfectly happy is she decides she wants to be a full-time, homeschooling mom...but, then, she can always be a full-time, homeschooling mom with a good education.

Click the banner above for more ACT Advantage reviews.

Homeschool Showcase #35

2009-11-02T08:00:00.118-05:00

It's time for another edition of Homeschool Showcase, where we spotlight all encouraging, inspiring, hands-on, and just plain fun ways that homeschooling families live, learn and enjoy life together. I've got some wonderful posts to share with you this week, so pull up a comfy chair and pour yourself a nice, big glass of sweet tea (or coffee, if you must) and enjoy!

Paige Hudson has a wonderful post about a subject surprisingly close to my heart, Science Corner: How does nature study fit in? Visit Paige at Elemental Science for tips on how to incorporate nature study into your homeschool.

With a perfect tribute to "The House that Jack Built," Amida invites us to join her family, vicariously, Off to the Dump to learn how methane gas is processed into power for local homes -- and to see the goats! Visit Journey Into Unschooling to join in the fun.

I love the activities that Sadie, of It's a Boy's Life, has put together for her Chemistry Unit- Lesson 12. We're getting ready to start Christian Kids Explore Chemistry and I am totally stealing some of Sadie's ideas to round out our study.

photo by sadie

Amy, of Buffaloes & Butterfly Wings, share some fun and practical ideas for Preschool at Home saying, "Homeschooling a preschooler simply and without lesson plans." If you've got preschoolers, you're going to love her activity box ideas!

Angela England presents lots of fun ideas, perfect for this time of year, for enjoying a Fall Season Preschool Unit Study posted at Suite101 the unit includes math, science, art, music, language skills, food, outdoor activities and more.

With cold and flu season fully upon us, Quirky Momma's post, Glitter Germs: Preschooler Learning couldn't be more timely. Although the post is listed under "preschooler learning," I think there are plenty of older kids (mine included) who could learn from this experiment. Visit quirkymomma.com for more details.

Ticia Messing shares another installment of her family's Me on the Map adventures in her post, Me on the Map: My House posted at Adventures in Mommydom, saying, "I finally got the house portion of the map done, and I think it's the best one yet."

Richele McFarlin offers a fun and timely preschool unit, A is for Apple posted at her blog, Under the Golden Apple Tree.

Need a fun way to get the kids active, burn off a little energy and learn a little geography? Check out Jolanthe's Toss the Globe Geography Game posted at Homeschool Creations! Fun, education, and a good excuse for siblings to throw inflatable balls at each other in the middle of the school day.

photo by jolanthe

Brenda Sain shares a wealth of wonderful ideas from her family's Shakespeare Unit, posted at The Tie That Binds Us. From links to her downloadable Shakespearean quotes poster, you're sure to pick up some fabulous ideas for incorporating in your own study of Shakespeare.

If you read my blog regularly, you know that I've already incorporated Jimmie's hands-on ideas for learing the x9 Facts and the x8 Facts. You can check out these great hands-on math activities and much more at Jimmie's Collage.

photo by jimmie

You can check out the way we used Jimmie's ideas in my post, multiplication games.

A special thanks to everyone who submitted a post for this week's Homeschool Showcase. Be sure to mark your calendars for the next submission deadline, Sunday, November 15 by 4 PM (EST). You can submit your post using our carnival submission form. If you're unsure about what to submit, you can read the guidelines here. An archive of past posts can be found on our Blog Carnival index page.

Happy Halloween 2009!

2009-10-31T20:49:00.001-04:00

I hope everyone had/is having a wonderful Halloween. I just wanted to share some pictures for our evening.

Lucy of Narnia:

Josh, the Swashbuckling Pirate:

And, my magnum opus, Alice Cullen:

I leave you with my favorite Halloween video ever. Enjoy!

Weekly Wrap-Up: Cullen Cut and Around the World Day

2009-10-30T20:56:00.002-04:00

No, I did not fall off the face of the earth; it's just been an incredibly busy week -- especially the last two days. Today was long and stressful and I'm glad it's over.

The week started off innocently enough. I had a doctor's appointment and Brian was off, so he took the kids and met his parents for the day, giving me a day to myself. After my early (to me) morning appointment, I hit the local used bookstore -- all by myself -- then, headed to Panera Bread for a date with my laptop. It was really nice to have some uninterrupted planning time...well, nice except for the fact that it was about thirty degrees in Panera Bread. I left earlier than I would have because I was so cold.

Tuesday, was a busy day of wrapping up loose ends for our presentation of France for our homeschool group's Around the World Day.

Wednesday, of course, was music and a trip to our favorite nature center. After music, we hurried home to fix desert for dinner at my sister's house that evening. In between music and home, I stopped by the store to pick up a few things. They had these beautiful dishes on sale. I loved them! They reminded me of the dishes at the place where we stay when we go to Disney. After calling and consulting with Brian, trying to avoid a pure impulse purchase, I bought the first new dishes that we've had since we got married over 18 years ago! What do you think?

Thursday, the kids did their independent work while I printed off all our various and sundry printed items for Around the World Day -- our passport stamps, our fact sheets, and the lettering and information sheets for our presentation board.

When Brian got home, I took Brianna to get the haircut she's been dying to get. Meet our little blond Alice Cullen:

And, just in case you don't know what Alice looks like, so you can see what a fabulous job Brianna's hairdresser did, here's Alice:

Then, we ran by Walmart for some last minute supplies for Around the World Day (ATWD) before I dropped Brianna off at home and went to meet some friends for dinner.

Friday, we were up at the crack of dawn (to us), getting ready for ATWD. We had to drive into town to get the key for the building. Almost to the exit we were to get off, the van started making this horrible knocking noise. We wound up sitting on the side of the road for about 1/2 an hour waiting on Brian. It turned out that it was a belt that needs to be replaced, but Brian was able to fix it enough for us to get back on the road. He followed us, though, to make sure everything was okay.

We got to the place to pick up the key and there was a miscommunication about the deposit needed to get the key (I wasn't told that it was supposed to be cash and I only had a check). I didn't think the lady was going to give me the key and I was in a panic because we were already behind schedule and I knew I was going to have a dozen families waiting for me to come unlock the door. Thankfully, she took pity on me and took a check for the deposit.

From that point on, the rest of the day got much better, though it was still hectic. Our event went off without any further problems. All the kids did a fabulous job with their displays (pictures to follow soon) and everyone enjoyed spending time with friends. My dad was able to take me to return the key and, when I got home, there was an unexpected check in the mail. Yay to unexpected money!

Everything considered, I'm glad this week is over and I hope for a less stressful one next week. How was your week? Be sure to post about it and sign up with MckLinky. If this is your first time to join us, be sure to read the Weekly Wrap-Up guidelines.

**Remember, be sure to link directly to your Weekly Wrap-Up post so that others can find it easily when they visit your blog and be sure to post a link back here so that your readers can find the Wrap-Up and join us.

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Works for Me Wednesday: Audio Books

2009-10-28T00:05:00.000-04:00

I tried listening to an audio book. Once. I didn't like it. I'm a pretty fast reader and I have a difficult time listening to someone else read, especially when they're trying to read slowly and enunciate well. And, it probably didn't help that I tried listening to my one and only audio book while I was walking on the treadmill.

Just a few weeks ago, however, I had a book review to do and it just happened to come with a free audio book download. It also just so happened that this was about the same time that I was rediscovering a passion for sketching.

Hmmmm...hands-free reading while I sketched? Not a bad idea. Turns out that the lady reading this particular book (Sarah's Wish, if you're curious) is very enjoyable to listen to...and she does great voices. I actually enjoyed listening to the book while I sketched.

After I finished the book, I went back to my newest ~~obsession~~ passion, which I know will make my regular readers groan and think, "Seriously, would you just get over it already," but if you're visiting for Works for Me Wednesday you may not know, so I have to say it -- reading (and rereading and rereading...) the Twilight Saga. However, I still really wanted to find time for sketching.

Yes, it was a light bulb moment and I so appreciate my local library for conveniently having all four books in the Twilight series in handy audio book format for me. While I still prefer to read a book myself, audio books are definitely a nice option for when you need your eyes and hands free for another project that doesn't require an immense degree of concentration. I would think that sewing, knitting, scrapbooking, and other craft projects would fall into that category...though scrapbooking is the only one this very non-domestic homeschool mom would actually know anything about.

Visit Kristin at We Are THAT Family for more Works for Me Wednesday tips.

Twilight Saga audio book image shamelessly lifted from Google Images. All rights belong to its rightful owner.

HSBA Swap: Thanks, Julie!

2009-10-27T08:00:00.003-04:00

I wanted to say a special thanks to my Homeschool Post Swap Sister, Julie, for the wonderful box of goodies that she sent.

I've been having a very hard time keeping the kids out of the Skittles and have finally had to give in and share a few. They know better than to touch the dry erase markers, though. Julie was kind enough to send glow sticks for the kids, which they're already planning to carry when we go trick-or-treating this weekend.

Julie's sweet son, Andrew (age 7) made the pot holder for me. Isn't that the sweetest? Thank you, Julie and family, for making me smile and putting something in my mailbox besides junk and bills. ;-) The next swap is on November 14. Be watching The Homeschool Post for more details.

Multiplication Practice Games

2009-10-26T08:00:00.063-04:00

I spent some time this weekend making some multiplication practice games for Josh and Megan. I thought they'd make a nice addition to our workboxes. I got the idea from Jimmie, over at Jimmie's Collage, in her posts: Learning X9 Facts and Learning X8 Facts, then, I modified them a bit to work with the materials I had available.

I made an 8's tables file folder game almost exactly like Jimmie's, using the "matchbooks." I may decide to modify this one later since I realized that I'll have no way to check that it's actually been done and been done correctly and I have two who might just try to get away with saying they did it when maybe they didn't. I'm just sayin'.

For the 9's, I loved Jimmie's idea of helping her daughter see the pattern -- a pattern that I had never seen in that particular light until I saw it on Jimmie's blog. I decided that I really wanted this to be another file folder game so that all the pieces could be easily stored and easily slipped into one of the kids' workbox folders. So, I used some library pockets and blank 2X3 cardstock flashcards that I already had.

I cut the library pockets in half, taping up one end of the ones that wound up open on both ends, so that when they flashcards were placed inside, the numbers could still be easily seen. I wrote the 9's facts on the library pockets and glued them into a file folder with an extra one to store them in. Then, I filled up two sets of flashcards with the numerals 0-9 and two freebies -- 99 and 108. (No, there's no rhyme or reason to the color scheme...just using up the remaining pockets that I had from when I made our chore chart.)

I'm going to have the kids lay the flashcards out in two sets, each in numerical order and two cards must go into each library pocket, so that, hopefully, they'll soon see and remember the number patterns.

Finally, I did a couple of easy-to-create sets of cards for the 4's and 6's. I simply wrote the multiplication fact on one card and the answer on another, shuffling the answers. Then, I put the facts and answers, along with 12 paperclips into snack bags. The kids can match the fact to the answer and paperclip them together so that I can check them when I check their completed work each evening.

I'm hoping this will prove to be a simple and somewhat fun way to practice some of the harder multiplication tables each day and, thanks to the workboxes, I shouldn't have to nag.

Have you created any games that your kids enjoy and that complement workboxes nicely?

Review: Sue Patrick's Workbox System

2009-10-24T08:30:00.147-04:00

Having heard all about the workbox craze, I was anxious to try it myself. Thanks to a review opportunity through the TOS Homeschool Crew, I was able to do so. I received the e-Book, Sue Patrick's Workbox System right about the time we went on vacation. Since we were headed out on vacation, I wasn't able to implement the system right away, but we have enjoyed using it the last few weeks.

If you've been living under the proverbial rock and don't know anything about the workbox system, it's an organizational system that was developed in the autism community and has been tweaked by author Sue Patrick for use in homeschools with kids off all ages and abilities, including those with ADHD and autism-spectrum disorders. You can click here to see an informative video that will thoroughly explain exactly how the system is intended to work.

It is important to note that Ms. Patrick is rather adamant that you first try the system exactly as she has designed it before making any adjustments so that you can get the full effect and see how the system works for your family. That being said, those who know me know that I rarely use anything exactly as it's "supposed" to be used in our homeschool.

While I can fully appreciate how the system was designed to work and why Ms. Patrick strongly encourages families to use it that way, there are three reasons why I knew I had to adapt it for our family:

1. We don't have a separate school room and my husband is not about having three wire shoe racks filled with a total of 36 plastic shoe boxes in our dining room, nor is there room to do so.

2. The system, as written, seemed very rigid to this rather relaxed, eclectic homeschool mom. I'm not about pointing to a "be quiet" sign on a Popsicle stick when my kids are talking. We tend to take the home part of homeschool pretty seriously, which can include relevant rabbit trails or telling somebody to save that thought for a more appropriate time, as the situation warrants. And, I don't mind my kids asking for help when they need it, so the three "ask for help" cards coupled with the "use 'em and they're gone" philosophy did not fit with my parenting style.

3. We do history, science, art and music together -- everybody -- and I typically do grammar on the white board with Josh and Megan, so setting up the entire system for the handful of subjects that the kids do independently seemed a bit much.

As I was considering the best way to set up our modified system, I began to feel a bit like I was trying to fix something that wasn't broken. However, after using it for the last few weeks, I'm liking it pretty well. It does encourage independence and the kids like the portability. Are you dying to know what we've done?

Milk crates and hanging file folders, baby!

I found milk crates -- the kind designed for home offices, with a lip to hold hanging file folders -- for $3.50 each at Big Lots. I got a set of colored hanging file folders -- because, let's face it, bright and cheery is a better way to greet a school day than green and drab -- and Velcro dots. I printed off the number strips and we were good to go.

Instead of cutting the schedule strips into strips, I taped the whole grid on the front of the kids ~~milk crates~~ workboxes. I then put the numbers on the file folders. As they finish the work inside each folder, they move the number from that folder to the schedule grid. They are not to move the number until the work in that folder is finished, not when they start on it...because, um, yeah, we have a couple of kids who get halfway through something then 'forget' to finish it.

One of my favorite things about the workbox system is the fact that Josh and Megan's music folders and recorders fit in one of the file folders -- no more nagging about doing music homework!

Almost immediately, Josh asked me if he had to do the work in his box in numerical order. Honestly, I've always been an "I don't care when, where, or in what order you get your work done as long as it gets done" kind of homeschool mom because I think that teaches independence and time management, so, of course, I told him no. However, I did tell him to put the numbers in the right order on the "completed work" grid so that he could easily see if he'd missed something.

Oh, and for the record that "when it gets done" comment is mostly for my oldest who sometimes likes to do the next day's schoolwork at night before she goes to bed. I guess, technically, I do care when it gets done as I have two who would put off their work indefinitely, if I'd let them.

The kids are to put their completed work back in their boxes and stack them up (I love that the milk crates are stackable!) in the dining room when they're done, so that I can check their schoolwork. A surprising benefit I've found is that this method makes checking school seem easier. I'm still checking the same amount, but since I'm now checking each child's full day's work together, it seems easier. I guess that's because I used to check all the easy stuff first and leave the more time-consuming work until the end, whereas now, it's spread out. Yes, I know that's all psychological, but I can deal with that.

So, while our modified workbox system hasn't totally streamlined our day, it has made certain aspects of it easier, such as:

The kids like the portability of being able to take their entire box of work to their preferred study spots.
It is encouraging greater independence in my younger two since one of the things I put in their boxes, Daily Grams, is something we had been doing together. Josh still likes to have my help, but Megan likes to take her box and at least attempt the Daily Grams on her own.
As previously mentioned, no nagging about music homework and easier schoolwork checking time for me.

So, overall, I've appreciated the opportunity to read through Sue Patrick's Workbox System and implement the ideas that work best for our family. In addition to explaining the workbox system, Ms. Patrick's book offers many practical and idea-sparking suggestions for ways to present schoolwork in a more kid-friendly way, such as making games from posters, creating file folder games, and setting up fun learning centers.

Sue Patrick's Workbox System is available as an e-Book download for $19 or a print book for $19.95. Ms. Patrick also offers, on her website, a consulting service and supplies for setting up your workbox system and/or learning centers.

Click on the TOS Banner to read more Workbox System reviews.

Review: Bible Timeline

2009-10-24T08:00:00.006-04:00

A few weeks ago, I received a product that I was very excited about reviewing -- The Amazing Bible World History Timeline. I have a really hard time picturing what was going on in "the rest of the world" when I'm reading about various events in the Bible. Studying Ancient Greece and Rome really opened my eyes during my personal Bible study time, so I was very excited about a timeline that would show me Bible and world history together.

When I unrolled the timeline, I was interested to find that the descendants of Noah are color-coded, making it easy to see which nations descended from each of Noah's three sons. It also has an index printed right on the map for quick and, well, somewhat easy, reference when you're looking for certain individuals.

However, I was rather disappointed once we started trying to use the timeline. It's huge size -- 38" X 46" makes it really awkward to use unless you can hang it on the wall, which we can't exactly do in our dining room In addition, I found the circular format to be difficult to read and figure out.

Finally, it was brought to my attention -- and I'm not sure I would have noticed this on my own due to the awkwardness I found in using the timeline -- that there are several references from the Book of Mormon included on the timeline, which doesn't mesh with my family's beliefs. Additionally, there were some vague references to a book about "pre-Adamites" and other books that, I'll admit, I didn't quite understand and which seemed more doctrinal than historical to me.

With it's awkward format and inclusion of references that don't fit with my family's personal belief system (and some that were just downright confusing), the Amazing Bible World History Timeline was not a good fit for our family. However, if it sounds like it would work for your family, it can be purchased for $29.97. Your purchase includes and Interactive Map of the Holy Land, the Genealogy of Jesus and a pdf file of the Amazing Bible Timeline.

Click on the banner above to read more Amazing Bible Timeline reviews.

Weekly Wrap-Up: Wrapping Up France

2009-10-23T18:22:00.001-04:00

Are you curious about why the Weekly Wrap-Up is later than usual this week? Did you even notice? I took a nap after we finished school today! *gasp* I rarely do that, but I was so sleepy and Brian was home from work early, lying in the bed watching TV and my dog, my own personal space heater, curled up on my feet and that was all she wrote.

So, now that I'm awake again, have my glass of sweet tea by my side and some good music playing, let me see if I can recall anything interesting we did this week.

Mostly, we tried to catch up on our reading about France for Around the World Day since we had a light week last week with everyone being sick. Next week, we'll devote to tying up all the loose ends on the projects for the actual event on Friday. Our main book this week has been Touch of Light: The Story of Louis Braille, which the kids have actually enjoyed, rather than simply tolerating. In addition to reading, we discussed what we wanted to include on our project board, what foods we'll serve, and what representative artifacts we want to put on our table.

This was Brianna's last week of official volleyball practice, though they'll still be having "open gym" nights from time to time during the off-season. Brian is finishing up fall softball, as well, so we'll soon be enjoying more free nights at home. I enjoy everyone's activities, but I'd be lying if I said that one of the nicest things about fall/winter isn't the reduction in outside activities.

Wednesday was a beautiful day for our nature study. The sun was shining and the temperature was perfect -- not cool, but no sweating involved either, though we did have to contend with mosquitoes the size of small birds. Seriously, we found a pile of bird feathers where some bird had obviously met with a violent encounter and Josh speculated that maybe the mosquitoes got him. I love that kid's wit.

I found a wonderful site for identifying trees by their leaves or their fruit. I posted the link on my nature post Thursday, but here it is again, in case you missed it. It wasn't without error (probably operator error, if the truth be known), but it definitely helped narrow down the possibilities.

Thursday night, Megan was invited to go see Disney on Ice with her cousin. Brian had a ball game and Brianna was supposed to have volleyball practice, so it looked like Josh and I were going to get a date night. Brianna's practice got canceled, though, so the three of us went out. It was really fun. It's amazing how just being a couple of people short changes the whole relational dynamics of a group. Josh didn't even mind when Brianna and I got off on "New Moon" tangents. He's growing up so much and turning into a real gentleman, holding my door for me every time we got into the car. Brian doesn't even do that!

We went and got something to eat then we went to look at Halloween costumes and hit the used book and thrift stores. We just got ideas at the costume stores because Josh hasn't decided what he wants to be. Brianna wants to be Alice Cullen and we got some great ideas from this site. We found a great shirt for the Alice look at the thrift store (we've got to get her hair cut next week). We hit the jackpot at the used book store, too -- no books, though. We found two CDs that I've been looking for -- All-American Rejects (I think I may be hitting my midlife crisis and trying to relive my youth) -- and one that Brianna has been looking for. Josh found two video games, but that's nothing to write home about; he never has any trouble finding things he wants.

In the educating me department, I've still been enjoying sketching, though I haven't spend as much time at it this week. Here's what I sent in for Sketch Tuesday last week (inspiration photo courtesy of nirazilla):

This week's assignment is to draw your hand holding a leaf. Here's what I've got so far, though I haven't decided if this is the final sketch that I'm going to send in:

That's our week, in a nutshell. How was your week? Be sure to post about it and sign up with MckLinky. If this is your first time to join us, be sure to read the Weekly Wrap-Up guidelines.

**Remember, be sure to link directly to your Weekly Wrap-Up post so that others can find it easily when they visit your blog and be sure to post a link back here so that your readers can find the Wrap-Up and join us.

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Review: American Heritage Education Foundation

2009-10-23T08:10:00.003-04:00

American Heritage Education Foundation is, according to their website,

a non-profit, non-partisan educational foundation (501.c.3) dedicated to the understanding and teaching of America's factual and philosophical heritage to promote constructive citizenship and Freedom, Unity, Progress, and Responsibility among our students and citizens.

They distribute free K-12 lesson plans to students, teachers and parents in all 50 states. The lesson plans come in the form of pdf files on a CD-Rom. While the plans are geared toward a traditional classroom setting, most of the activities can be adapted to a homeschool setting and could definitely be used with a co-op.

The lesson plans address character traits such as freedom, unity, and responsibility, while exploring aspects of our nation's history such as:

Colonial America
The U.S. Consitution
The Declaration of Independence
Our National Anthem
The Gettysburg Address
Our National Motto
The Bill of Rights
Thanksgiving and much more

Lesson plans for elementary (in English and in Spanish), middle school and high school are all included on one disk, providing a wealth of information that would certainly complement a study of United States history, whatever your curriculum choices may be. While much of the material is more formal than I would typically use, there are nice printables, games and activities that will appeal to even less formal, eclectic families like ours.

One thing that I appreciated was that the CD includes a teacher resource section devoted to detailing national guidelines for religious expression in public schools, something I think many parents, students, teachers, and school administration really don't fully understand. I know, in our area of the country, there has recently been a huge uproar about what religious expressions are and are not acceptable for students -- an uproar that was caused, in my opinion, by an ignorance about the law and the rights of students.

Did you catch the free part? That's right! You can view the material's directly from American Heritage Education Foundation's website or request a free CD. If you'd prefer the information in a printed binder, they're available for $19.50 per level.

Click the TOS banner above to read more AHEF reviews.

Nature Study: Root Systems

2009-10-22T08:00:00.005-04:00

We were able to get back to our nature center today after two weeks away. I've been thinking of making a new "you know you're a homeschooler when" list. If I do, I'm going to have to include "when you miss two weeks at the nature center and are greeted with, 'Hi, Stranger!' when you go back."

Yeah, seriously.

Our first stop this week was to check on our tree, a dawn redwood. We knew, from learning a bit about it before, that it has the unique distinction of being a deciduous conifer (it produces cones, but the leaves -- or needles -- change color and fall off), so we were curious to see how it had changed. When we first approached, we all thought that the leaves were withering. We were fascinated to discover, however, that they were simply going to seed:

I love when things like that even impress the kids. I got a much better picture of the whole tree this time, so that the shape is much easier to see:

It's funny how we seem to find a common theme each time we go, though it's never intended. This week, we seemed to focus on tree roots. We noticed a lot of roots on the trails and were discussing how there is at least as much of the tree underground as there is above ground. When we started really looking, we discovered all kinds of interesting root systems.

I was proud to get a decent picture of the sun creating a rainbow in a spider web, since I'm not usually able to get good spider web shots with my point and shoot camera.

The girls were fascinated to discover these leaves as big as their heads...they were huge!

We don't know what they are yet, but we're working on it. Speaking of which, I found this wonderful site for identifying trees by their leaves or their fruit. I wasn't 100% successful, but it did, at least, point me in the right direction most of the time. We were able to identify some of the trees in our yard -- a white oak, in additon to the Southern red oak, a Norway spruce and an Eastern red cedar. We're still trying to figure out a couple of others.

Brianna and I were really impressed with how tall this tree appeared:

And, of course, what would a nature walk be without adding a mushroom photo to our collection. I thought this near-perfect mushroom was beautiful.

Another fun week outdoors for us, especially the the gorgeous sunshine and the perfect temperatures we had today. I love fall.

Works for Me Wednesday: No-Bake Cookies

2009-10-21T08:00:00.021-04:00

Do you ever have an uncontrollable urge for something sweet...and preferably chocolate? I do and I love that the ingredients for No-Bake Chocolate Cookies (a.k.a "cow pies" or "doo-doo" cookies, depending on how strong your stomach is) tend to be staples that I have on hand, meaning that, in no time, I can whip up a batch of chocolatey, gooey goodness. Want the recipe?

No-Bake Chocolate Cookies

2 cups sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
1 stick butter or margarine
1/2 cup milk
1/c cup peanut butter
3 cups oatmeal (quick-cooking seem to work best)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt

Bring sugar, cocoa, butter and milk to a boil for one minute. Add remaining ingredients. Drop by spoonful onto waxed paper.

This one definitely works for me...the sweet tooth side of me, anyway. The side that needs to lose weight, not so much. Visit Kristin at We Are THAT Family for more Works for Me Wednesday tips.

Reveiw: JumpStart Pet Rescue

2009-10-20T08:00:00.006-04:00

Just before we left for vacation, I got an email from the folks at JumpStart asking if we'd like to review their brand-new game for the Wii. A free, brand-new-to-the-market Wii game to play? You betcha!

JumpStart Pet Rescue, with an ESRB rating of "early childhood," is the first educational game created for the Wii for children ages 3-6. Yeah, I didn't catch that "ages 3-6" part, at first. All I knew was that whenever my kids played JumpStart online, they were seeing that Pet Rescue was coming out soon and they were anxiously awaiting its release date. So, we were a little disappointed when the kids started playing and quickly realized it was too young for them.

Not to be deterred, though, we enlisted the help of some friends who had the two key elements -- a Wii game system and kids in the target age range. Never let it be said that I'm unwilling to share the love.

The first set of friends had mixed opinions. Their boy who is in the right age range is used to playing more "big kid" games with his older brothers, so Pet Rescue did not hold his attention and his younger nephew (yeah, he's got a nephew just a couple of years younger than him...how cool is that?), age 3, couldn't quite get the hang of it. Big sister, although too old to get much educational value from the game, really enjoyed playing.

The second family with whom we shared the game has two children in the 3-6 age range. Although they had a bit of trouble figuring out how to play the game at first, big brother saved the day and got them started. Both girls, ages 3 and 6, found the navigation of the game to be a bit frustrating. Both are used to using the Wii-mote, so the frustration was with the general navigation of the game itself. They also said that there was a long lag time when moving from one "land" to another, which was something my kids mentioned as well.

Overall, though, the girls enjoyed the game, which looks and plays very much like JumpStart's online game. During game play, kids search for lost pets in five different lands as they build skills in pre-reading, gross and fine motor, listening and memory. In each land, or Discovery World, preschoolers will find a JumpStart friend to read a guided story.

Chloe, age 6, who really enjoys the game now, says that her favorite part is Petland, where players bathe, dress up, feed, and play with the animals. Jaida, 3, who is getting the hang of navigating the game and only needs occasional help these days, says her favorite part is in the neighborhood where she can watch videos of kids singing songs.

Family #2 enjoyed the variety -- even older brother, Ethan, enjoyed riding zip-line in the jungle and completing the various levels of the game in order to unlock new lands in which to play. They rated the educational content very good, giving it an 8 out of 10, with the overall function of the game earning a 5.5 out of 10.

If you're eager to give JumpStart Pet Rescue a try for yourself -- or get started on your Christmas shopping for your favorite preschooler -- you can find it at Walmart, Toy R Us, Best Buy, Fry's, and other retail stores for $39.99.

I received this product free for the purpose of reviewing it. I received no other compensation for this review. The opinions expressed in this review are my personal, honest opinions. Your experience and actual results may vary.

Homeschool Showcase #34

2009-10-19T08:00:00.004-04:00

Welcome to another fantastic edition of Homeschool Showcase, where we spotlight all encouraging, inspiring, hands-on, and just plain fun ways that homeschooling families live, learn and enjoy life together. I hope you enjoy it as much as the spammers do! Submissions are still nearly 4:1, spam to actual posts, but I think it's worth sifting through the junk for the gems. I hope you agree!

First, my public service announcement, The Homeschool Blog Award nominations start today at The Homechool Post. Be sure to stop by sometime this week and nominate your favorite blogs. If you need some inspiration, visit some of the contributors for today's Homeschool Showcase. We've got some fabulous blogs represented with this week's post submissions.

Kristen H. shows us how she saved a potentially doomed science experiment when she pulled out the K'nex in her post, Science Demonstration Redesigned, posted at A Day in the Life. Gotta love the ingenuity of a homeschool mom!

Barb shares her ideas for Keeping Things Fresh with Electives at Handbook of Nature Study -- a good reminder for those of us with high school age (or almost high school age) kids.

With another fantastic-looking lapbook, Jimmie shares notebooking pages and links to things she and her daughter used in their Civil War Lapbook. You can find all the details and inspiration at Jimmie's Collage.

photo by jimmie

When, a week or so ago, I followed a link from Jimmie's blog to Amy's blog, Buffaloes & Butterfly Wings, to read her post, Simple Notebooking, I didn't leave without leaving a comment ~~pleading with~~ asking Amy politely to please share her post for this week's Homeschool Showcase. I'm so glad she did! This is the perfect post for anyone new to notebooking or anyone who's ever thought that they'd love to try it, if only the whole process didn't sound so intimidating.

photo by amy

October is Fire Safety Month, the perfect time for Jennifer's Fire Safety Unit Study. You can find the unit, along with lots of great ideas, links and resources, posted at schooling memoirs.

If this is the perfect time of year for a unit on fire safety, then it's just as perfect a time for an Apple Unit Study! Sarah at SmallWorld, shares a wonderful assortment of ideas and resources including everything from writing tips to crafts to recipes for capitalizing on apple harvest season.

And, with Halloween right around the corner, Michelle Sweeney presents Halloween Lesson Plans posted at Always Learning featuring not so much lessons plans as much as links to learn about the history of Halloween, 101 things to do with a pumpkins, and more.

In another artistically impressive moment (that would go perfectly with those Halloween lesson plans), Amida shares the secrets to making a delightful Haunted House Craft over at Journey Into Unschooling.

photo by amida

Cheryl Henderson-Khalid presents Educating the Colors: Red – The Color of Power, in which she explores the various learning styles of children using colors as style markers, saying, "I am helping parents to know how to strategize ways to make their day run smoother." You can visit Homeschooling for 3 for more details.

Joesette shares the highlights of what her family has been learning as they study Pennsylvania in her post, Pennsylvania Week Three (The Weather Man Cometh), which can be found on her blog, Learning Curve. You'll find lots of resources for Pennsylvania, as well as fun experiments for a unit on the weather.

Samantha, of To Be Busy at Home, looks at her "messy house" with a different -- and probably healthier -- perspective in her post, Signs of Life and Creativity.

Tara Kinser, of Mommy's Life, offers her views on the excuses many parents give as to why they couldn't possibly homeschool in her post, You CAN teach your kids!.

Stephanie shares photos of a recent field trip to see replicas of The Nina and the Pinta on her blog, Adventures in the 100 Acre Wood. My family was able to see these replicas a couple of years ago, and, like Stephanie, I was shocked at how small the ships actually were. There's no way I'd have crossed the Atlantic on one of them!

That's all for this edition of Homeschool Showcase. If you've got an article that's actually homeschool-related rather than 101 Ways to Use Twitter in the Classroom (because, seriously, do I need any more excuse to be on Twitter more than I am?), I hope you'll submit it for the next edition using our carnival submission form. Past posts can be found on our blog carnival index page. You can read the Homeschool Showcase guidelines here.

Review: ABC Teach

2009-10-17T10:00:00.011-04:00

If you've homeschooled for a while, you've probably come across ABC Teach at some point, while doing searches for printables or worksheets for your kids. ABC Teach is home to over 5,000 free printables with an additional 35,000 available on their member site.

I'll be honest, I'm not really a big fan of printables. The handful of workbooks that we use in our homeschool provide all the written work we really need and our other activities tend to be more hands-on or literature-based. So I know that I didn't get as much out of my trial membership of ABC Teach as other people might have. Even so, I did find some fun things for us to use during our study of France, such as journal pages for an imaginary trip to France, a French flag, and related clip art.

Some of the things you can find and do at ABC Teach include:

Clip art
Record-keeping and planning forms
Create your own handwriting sheets
Create your own word puzzles, such as word finds and crosswords
Printables for math, language arts, science, social studies, art, music and more
Create customized worksheets
Border paper and shape books

Watch this video for more detailed information on what you can do with an ABC Teach membership. If you're constantly searching for worksheets and/or clip art online or you're using the workboxes that everyone is talking about and would love fun extras to include, ABC Teach may be just what you're looking for. Membership is only $40 for one year or $70 for two years. Group discounts are also available.

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Because the FTC says I have to...I received this product free for the purpose of reviewing it. I received no other compensation for this review. The opinions expressed in this review are my personal, honest opinions. Actual results may vary.

Review: Virginia Soaps and Scents

2009-10-17T08:00:00.006-04:00

A few weeks ago, I received a very clean-smelling package in the mail -- it was from Virginia Soaps and Scents, a homeschooling, soap-making, family-run business based in -- you guessed it -- Virginia. The Spargur family's business started innocently enough -- as a one-time school project.

The family enjoyed the project so much that they continued to experiment and, six months later, in 2008, their business began. Today, they product a wide variety of products such as soap, lip balm, pet shampoo and a shampoo bar. The products are made with all natural ingredients, such as olive oil, coconut oil, and castor oil, and no added chemicals.

We received three different soap scents, a shampoo bar, and a make-your-own-laundry-detergent kit to sample. We've had mixed reactions. My older daughter, age 14, loves the soaps and their scents. My husband, who suffers from severe skin allergies, said the soap made him itch, though he did just try one scent and thought it might be the cinnamon that was making him itch.

I thought the smell of the soap itself was very strong, at first, but I think that it may have just been the fact that it was package with the laundry detergent ingredients because, after a few days the soapy smell wasn't as strong. I have noticed that the soap leaves an oily film on my body -- which isn't a bad thing. It's similar to using baby oil for dry skin and seems to have a similar effect of holding in moisture. I've noticed that my skin is much softer and places where I tend to get dry and itchy (especially in the colder months) are staying soft and, well, not itchy.

I've waffled on my opinion of the shampoo bar. It lathers well and is very convenient to use, but it leaves a strange-feeling film -- not quite greasy -- on my hair. I thought, the first time I used it, that my hair was going to appear oily, based on the way it felt, but it didn't and I didn't have any trouble styling it as usual, with the exception of not adding styling products. So, the strange-feeling film did not seem negatively affect the appearance of my hair, though I could feel it even the next day when I wet my hair again.

However, after a few days, it did seem to leave a heavy build-up that left my hair very greasy-looking and feeling when I washed with my regular shampoo. Even after re-washing my hair that same day, with my shampoo, it still looked and felt oily and heavy. Since then, I've been afraid to use it again, although it seemed to be good for my hair the first couple of uses.

I was a bit afraid, with my husband's skin allergies and the fact that he said the soap made him feel itchy, to try to laundry soap kit. I did finally try it this week, though, and haven't noticed any problems. It is supposed to be effective for even HE washers and, so far, it seems to do well in my washer. The laundry soap can be produced for as little as four- to seven-cents per wash.

I know a lot of my readers will appreciate the fact that Virginia Soaps and Scents' products are all-natural with no added chemicals, so be sure to check out their full product line, including their new Bed-and-Breakfast size samplers. The 4.5 oz. soaps are available for $4.50 each, 3 for $12, buy 4 get one free or 10 bars for $35. The laundry soap kit is just $4.95, and the shampoo bars are $5.50 each or 2 for $10.

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Weekly Wrap-Up: The Sick Kids Edition

2009-10-16T08:00:00.064-04:00

I thought I'd go ahead and post the Weekly Wrap-Up early today since it's been a sick week for us and I don't foresee us doing anything exciting that I'll want to post about later today. We've been getting the basics done this week in the midst of trying to get more rest so that everyone who is sick can recuperate and those who aren't sick can keep their immune systems up. Thankfully, that's worked fairly well.

Um, gee...really, two of my three kids have been sick all week, so there isn't much exciting to report. We did still manage to do an at-home nature study on Wednesday. In the course of completing our nature challenge, I discovered that I was completely wrong about the type of oak tree we have in our front yard. After discovering that it is, in fact (at least I'm mostly sure) a southern red oak, I developed a wild hair to try to discover what all the other trees in our yard are since, you know, I have no earthy idea.

So, on Thursday, I went out in the rain and collected leaves and, where applicable, nuts/cones from the trees in our front yard. The identification process is still underway (read: I've spent more time reading Twilight for the third time, surfing the 'net, and Tweeting than I have looking up tree types), but, if it's successful, I'd like to eventually try to identify all the trees in our yard. Wouldn't that be interesting after living here clueless for over 16 years?

Did you read about our really cool snail find? I found at least two more baby snails! I think there might have been three, but they were so small it was hard to tell. They were even smaller than the one I found last week. They were about the size of the tip of a pencil. I know this because I was poking around in the dirt around my plant with a pencil and of them kind of stuck to the end of it. I've never seen anything so tiny in all my life!

This is the adult and the bigger of the babies that I found last Saturday:

Another thing I've been doing this week is trying to catch up on all my review posts. I apologize if you're feeling deluged with review posts. The last thing I wanted to do was turn my blog into a review blog. However, I have gotten some real gems this year that I never would have looked at otherwise, such at 5 Minutes to Better Reading Skills, Rocket Phonics, and, of course, my Study Pod, not to mention some I've yet to review, but am either using and loving right now (from Bright Ideas Press) or getting reading to use (such as All About Spelling, which looks very promising).

So, all that to say, I hope you're either enjoying the reviews or, at least, just skipping them and keeping up with my regular posts.

Since nothing terribly exciting has gone on at my house this week, I'll point you to some exciting things coming up next week...and they're both coming up on Monday. First, the next Homeschool Showcase will be posted on Monday, so be sure to get your post submissions in by 4 PM (EST) Sunday.

Second, the Homeschool Blog Award nominations start at The Homeschool Post on Monday. There are 25 award categories, so be making your list of your favorite blogs to nominate.

How was your week? Be sure to post about it and sign up with MckLinky. If this is your first time to join us, be sure to read the Weekly Wrap-Up guidelines.

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