Mrs. Mandy's Musings

A Journey Through Learning Lapbooks ~ Early Learning Review

2012-02-05T01:20:00.001-06:00

Recently my daughter has been asking to do school which has me thrilled beyond belief. My problem is that she is not yet 3 and I firmly believe structured school time for her is better late than early. I am familiar with lapbooks and having done a few with my boys decided to pull their old ones out for her to look at. She was hooked and began asking for her own books.

I found some free ones online and while they were ok I really wanted one that could become her Pre-K book. I looked for something that had colors, numbers, letters, shapes, basically one we could do a bit at a time and it would last us a long time. I was having trouble so I asked my trusty fellow homeschool moms and was directed to a new-to-me-resource, A Journey Through Learning Lapbooks.

This company has a goldmine of wonderful lapbooks for all subjects, including some to go along with very well known publishers, but I was especially thrilled to find an entire section of early learning ones. Their website also has some great resources, including freebies, not just lapbooks but unit studies, copywork, notebooking pages, and products to make lapbooking/notebooking a breeze. They have a Digital lapbook product called DigiFolios which looks very exciting as a new way to do lapbooking on the computer, kind of like digital scrapbooking.

Letters, Numbers, and Shapes was exactly what I had been looking for. A 3 folder lapbook, this is a super full lapbook. It is a 51 page PDF file and I just could not believe how beautiful and full it was when I received it. It also is available on CD, Printed, and preassembled.

Sample Pages

VIEW SLIDE SHOW

DOWNLOAD ALL

My daughter was so excited to do her schoolwork! I had precut everything for our first folder and then we got to work. The directions were very easy to follow and with the accompanying placement guide pictures my daughter could put it together almost on her own. The 3 folder lapbooks are meant for a month long study but we will be taking our time with this one and stretching it out over 3-4 months.

I am so glad to have found a product that my daughter is excited to use and really holds her interest for more than a few seconds at a time. She is very strong willed and when she decides to do a project it isn’t always the one I am wanting to work on. A Journey Through Learning has solved that problem because there is so much in this lapbook that she has plenty to pick from.

Contact:
A Journey Through Learning
420 Braemar Rd.
Shreveport, LA 71106

www.ajourneythroughlearning.com
lapbooks@ajourneythroughlearning.net

Make sure you follow them on Google +, Facebook, and Twitter.

So just who are the creators of these awesome tools?

About Nancy
Founder and co-owner of A Journey Through Learning.
I am married to a wonderful Christian man named Rusty who is a Cardiologist. We have 4 children-Lindsey, Lauren, Candace and Cameron, a Cavalier King Charles named Charlie, and a turtle.
Our children have always been homeschooled. Our oldest daughter, Lindsey, is currently a pre-med student. Lauren is in the 9th grade. Our only boy, Cameron(age 10), was adopted from Guatemala. He is the cutie pictured on our home page. Our daughter, Candace,was adopted from China. Unbeknownst to us at the time of her adoption, Candace had Batten Disease. On July 18, 2009, only six years after her adoption, we lost our sweet angel to this terrible illness. She was only 13 years old. We miss her so much.

About Paula
Founder and co-owner of A Journey Through Learning
Twenty-five years ago, I married to my high school sweetheart, Greg, whom I met when we had a class together in 11th grade. Greg is a supervisor over the Sex Offenders Department for the Sheriff's Office. We have 2 children, Alex and Audra, and an Australian Shepherd named Jedda.
Our family has been homeschooling since our children have been born. I taught public school for 4 years back in the late 80's and early 90's. When I had my first child, I knew that "at home" with my son was where I always wanted to be! While my son was still a baby, Greg and I decided that we would homeschool our son and any other children born to us in the future. That was 19 years ago! Our son graduated in 2010, having never set foot in a government school. He is currently in college, majoring in Computer Networking. Audra is in 9th grade.
It is our hope and prayer that our curriculum will be a blessing to your family and that it provides your children with many hours of smiles, laughter, fun..... and knowledge.

We are growing! Our newest team members are:

Betty Eisenhour- Technical Advisor & Promotions Director ~ Visit Betty's award-winning blog at http://peacecreekontheprairie.com/

Sheila Corbin-Lapbook Assembly

Natalia Bendele-Writer

Lauri Harrison-Writer

Cost:
Varies depending on the product, check website for details.

Be sure to visit their website and signup for the newsletter and get a FREE "Overview of the 17th Century" lapbook!

Mandy

Disclaimer: I was provided a free PDF copy of the above product in exchange for my honest opinion. No other compensation was received.

We Choose Virtues~TOS Review

2012-01-22T20:16:00.001-06:00

One of the important reasons we decided to homeschool was to combat all the bad attitudes/behavior our children were bringing home from traditional school. I began realizing even my youngest at the time in kindergarten was coming home with nastiness in his heart. It only took a short while for us to implement a study on Christian virtues.

While this is something I have always planned myself I often wondered if there was a really good curriculum out there that would be already planned out for me. It turns out there is some wonderful plans out, one of which I recently had the pleasure of checking out myself.

We Choose Virtues provides Character Education Curriculum for “Simply Inspiring Character That Lasts”! Heather McMillan created We Choose Virtues in response to the lack of self control, honesty, and perseverance she saw in the children she came in contact with as a preschool teacher and children’s pastor.

I received the Virtue Clues Cards, The Teacher’s Handbook, Kids of Virtue Ville Coloring Book, as well as free downloads from their website: Family Character Assessment, and Kids Memory Verses, Bible Heroes & Truths. There are 12 virtues addressed in the clue cards:

Attentiveness

Contentedness

Diligence

Forgiveness

Gentleness

Helpfulness

Honesty

Kindness

Obedience

Patience

Perseverance

Self-Control

Designed for use with children in early childhood through elementary age, We Choose Virtues also has products for youth up to age 18. Products are available individually or in kits for home, homeschool, children’s church/youth group, or the classroom.

Cost:
Virtue Clues Cards - $7.95 each (on sale right now),
Kids of Virtue Ville Coloring Book - $3.00 (pdf download)
Homeschool Kit - $99.99 (includes flash cards, Kids Virtue poster, three mini-posters, parenting cards, 25 sheet pad of Virtue User Review, 16 sheet pad of Personal Virtue Charts, The Three Rules poster, and Handbook and Coloring Book downloads)

I found my children to be a bit too old for the set we had gotten but I think they would do well with the older youth set. My 9 y/o son did not like the Virtue Ville Kids and my 16 y/o son pretty much liked the idea but not the cartoon like characters. Now if they were done anime style my boys would have loved them. They did work well even with my boys complaints. When I pulled out a virtue card the boys tried to be aware and correct their behavior. It will be perfect for my youngest who is 2 and beginning to need positive reminders! I would love to get the entire homeschool set since I have another child on the way and we would use it for a good while, the cost is justifiable for us.

Be sure to check out the banner at the top of this post to read other Crew reviews on this product.

Mandy

Disclaimer: I was provided with a free copy of the above product in exchange for my honest opinion. My review is based on our family’s experience and may or may not reflect your own. No other compensation was received.

Maestro Classics ~ TOS Review

2012-01-12T20:33:00.001-06:00

Have you ever tried incorporating classical music into your children’s school? It is something we try to add in each year and each year it just kind of gets put on the back burner. It just seems like we lose steam trying to pull together resources on the time period, composer, and pieces. If you are finding this to be the case with your attempts I am so excited to tell you about an amazing resource that takes all the work out of learning classical music.

Maestro Classics is a company which creates CDs called Stories in Music. These are orchestral symphonies on CD each track has a specific lesson in mind. We were given Swan Lake for our enjoyment which includes ,tracks for the story behind the music, Tchaikovsky’s life, a sing-along, about the music, and even a track with the famous ballet set to speed metal performed by famous guitarist, Joe Stump.

From the site:
“The Story of Swan Lake, Tchaikovsky’s greatest ballet score, is the tale of a prince who falls in love with a beautiful princess. The princess, however, has been turned into a swan by an evil magician, and only the prince’s love can break the spell. This narrated version of the classic tale for children is sure to delight all who love ballet and enchanting storytelling.

A 24-page activity book included with the CD contains a biography of Tchaikovsky, information on acoustic and electric guitars, sheet music and words for a sing-along song, explanation of major and minor keys, puzzles and more. MP3 download from Maestro Classics website includes a PDF of the activity booklet.”

Maestro Classics has 10 various Stories

Click here to view all products

Ages 5+ and families.

Also available on iTunes & Amazon.com

CDs $16.98

MP3s $9.98

Our thoughts:

We love these and I can’t wait to get them all. While I do think the price is a little more than I like, it is well worth it, especially if you use the MP3 versions. My children like learning composers but with Maestro Classics they love how much fun it has become.

To read other reviews on this product click the TOS Crew banner at the top of this post.

Mandy

Home School Spanish ~ TOS Review

2012-01-03T01:00:00.001-06:00

We were contemplating our choices for next years foreign language studies since my teen will be doing his first of two high school credits. He has tossed around the idea of either Japanese or Spanish, so we were blessed to have an opportunity to review a very good Spanish curriculum geared especially to home schoolers called R.E.A.L. Home School Spanish.

I have always wanted to learn Spanish myself but never thought I could teach it unless I did. R.E.A.L. Home School Spanish is a very simple approach to learning a foreign language. In fact R.E.A.L. stands for RELAX, ENJOY, ASPIRE, LEARN SPANISH. sounded like something I could do but would it be enough for my teen.

Available in both print and downloadable formats R.E.A.L. Home School Spanish uses a natural and relaxed approach to learning a new language.

“You can interact with your children in an immersion environment using REAL Homeschool Spanish's east to follow "Home Educator Tips" and our unique "idea" sections which give you literally pages of suggestions on how you and your child can use Spanish during your day and throughout the week in a home learning environment/lifestyle.

Learn how to continue your language-learning journey outside of the initial learning stage. Play games with your child...bingo, hangman, create albums, have your child design his/her own board game...These are just a few ways for you to be able to create a personalized language-learning environment in your home.”

Included in the PDF bundle we received was a text (color and B&W), activity book, answer key, audio files, and a daily curriculum guide. I am very glad for the daily guide as I tend to not be very organized with my planning. I found this very easy to implement with my family and the fact that my children can do it together, with the littles doing a few words while the bigs do more, and it can be spread out over time to revisit the units each year building on the previously learned vocabulary.

I personally would purchase the printed materials and cd’s just because of the cost of ink and binding being an issue for me right now but the cost difference in the two formats is amazing. If you prefer to plan your week out yourself there is even a worksheet in the text for that allowing you to buy the bundle sans the daily guide.

I especially enjoyed the cultural links provided for FREE on the website. These are updated every six months with much to choose from to expand and practice your child’s grasp of Spanish. You can take a look at that section of the website HERE and while you are there check out the free Samples.

I am also pleased to note there is a high school supplement in the works so I look forward to exploring that when it is released. As it stands I feel this would be a good first year to year and a half of Spanish for a high school course.

Visit the banner link at the top of this post to read what other homeschoolers thought about this product.

Mandy

Disclaimer: I was provided with a free download of the above product in exchange for my honest opinion. My review is based on our family’s experience and may or may not reflect your own. No other compensation was received.

WIR 11 and 12

2011-12-30T00:04:00.001-06:00

Since I have been without my camera for the last month or so I am pretty behind on our WIR pics. I thought I would post what I do have and anticipate a fresh start after the New Year since I got a very awesome New camera from my darling hubby for Christmas, Yay!!

So here is our catching up pics, enjoy!

WEEK 11

WEEK 12

Vintage Remedies ~TOS Crew Review

2011-12-19T01:13:00.001-06:00

I have been trying to change our habits since my son was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes two years ago. I have been looking into herbal remedies and whole foods but have not been able to learn enough to be comfortable with applying what I have learned. It is a seemingly overwhelming amount of information.

I was so thrilled to be able to look over Vintage Remedies For Kids. What better way to learn about these things than by starting at the beginning with the very basics. Geared toward the ages of 2-6, Vintage Remedies For Kids is divided into three sections.

Section One – Food & Drink
Section Two - Health & Wellness
Section Three – Healthy Lifestyles

Each chapter includes an overview for parents, a section to be read to the children, extension activities for older students, examples of how to apply the lesson daily, a list of review questions to extend learning, and a couple of practical application projects.

Our thoughts:

We Love This Book!
Seriously the best I have seen. It is simple, concise, and perfect for my 33 month old daughter, 9 year old son, and 16 year old son. They all get something out of it. The projects are perfect, my children find them fun and interesting and not over their heads (in the little’s case). I find it is just the right amount of information to digest at a time and at 194 pages a great length for an introductory course in herbal remedies, whole food, healthy living. I have to add my favorite sections were the projects, making butter, yogurt cheese, and Blue Bath Scrubbies were just a few that I know my children will always remember fondly. My only addition would be to include an index of the projects for quick reference since I can see us making these repeatedly.

Cost:
$25.00

Contact:
Vintage Remedies, Inc
230 Franklin Road suite 807
Franklin, Tennessee 37064
General Questions and Comments: info@VintageRemedies.com
Enrollment Questions and Assistance: admissions@VintageRemedies.com
Phone: 615-807-0882

Vintage Remedies carries a full line of online, distance, and print educational curricula to suit every need. Please click HERE to visit their site and see if they have something you need. I myself would love to take all their courses!

To check out TOS Crew members reviews of this and other Vintage Remedies books click the banner at the top of this post.

Mandy

Disclaimer: In exchange for my honest opinion I received the above mentioned product. I based my review on actual experience and usage of the product within my own family. Your results may vary. No other compensation was received.

I See Cards Fractazmic ~ TOS Review

2011-12-15T22:39:00.001-06:00

I have to admit I am awful at math. No really it’s true! I know what you are saying, how do I teach my children if I am so absolutely not a mathematical person? Well the truth is my kids are way better at doing math than me, so either they are little geniuses or I must be doing something right. I prefer to think it’s me!

However, back to reality, it is not me. It is some of the awesome math products we have used over the years to help me make learning math something they like. It’s true my kids love math. One of the more recent products we have used to help encourage that love is Fractazmic by I See Cards.

We had a great time reviewing and learning about fractions and their equivalents. My boys are 9 and 16 and while my oldest had no trouble my younger son had a bit of a time “getting” the game. The instructions that came with the cards was not very clear to us. So I decided to check YouTube.com to see if there might be a video to help us and I found the one below to be a pretty good one.

I think with a little adjustment in the directions this would be a perfect game for not only practicing fractions but learning fraction equivalents, perhaps an included chart showing fraction equivalents. You can download a booklet HERE showing how to play other games with Fractazmic cards.

Geared toward grades 1st – 8th Fractazmic is fun for the whole family. Each deck of 60 cards is divided into 3 suits:

tenths – Green suit
twelfths – Blue suit
sixteenths – Red suit

On each card is a fraction and a visual representation of that fraction. Made from durable materials these cards are great as a gifts and will really hold up to many rounds of play.

Cost is a mere $6.95 per deck

Contact info:

I See Cards contact page

Please visit TOS Crew blog and see what other homeschoolers thought about this product by clicking the banner at the top of this post.

Mandy

Disclaimer: I n exchange for my honest opinion I received the above mentioned product. I based my review on actual experience and usage of the product within my own family. Your results may vary. No other compensation was received.

Artistic Pursuits ~ TOS Review

2011-12-07T01:14:00.001-06:00

I love art and my children always have so much fun when we do art lessons. However, one area I find so difficult to teach is the history part of art. Incorporating it into our lessons is usually not very successful and admittedly the first thing we tend to leave out when we are in a time crunch.

Enter a curriculum that has just made my entire year! Artistic Pursuits sent us the first book of their High School level art course to review and I am so thrilled. An art appreciation /art history course in one written directly to the student is just what I needed to get my students to really learn the masters behind the art we look at, create, and love everyday.

Artistic Pursuits has a course designed for every age/grade level. Since I reviewed the Senior program and have a high school student I really appreciated the credit breakdown and ability to modify it. The information on building a portfolio was also a tremendous help to us.
You can find that information HERE.

Senior High is divided into two years/books. The first is The Elements of Art and Composition, which is suggested as a 2 hour per week class. Units 1-7 cover the aspects of Art Elements and Units 8-16 cover Composition. An evaluation sheet is included to aid in grading and evaluating student work, very useful for those not well versed in the process of art concepts or unsure about how to grade art. Each Unit is broken down into 4 lessons:

Vocabulary

History and Appreciation

Technique

Application

Each lesson has an exercise or activity assignment color coded in red for easy and quick focus.

One of the wonderful things about this particular level is that my son can do his artwork completely independently. Which, I do not love because I want to be involved, yet I get his need for creating art privately. So it is perfect that he can do each lesson, we can discuss the concept and then he can go off and create art with the assignments.

Another thing my son stated he really liked is that there is no preconceived idea that his drawings have to look like any other persons only that he is developing his ability to really look at art and practice the techniques while learning about Artists and Art History in short fun lessons.

COST:

Senior High Book One ..........Price: $42.95

Make sure you swing by the TOS Crew review blog to read all the reviews for the other Artistic Pursuits products by clicking the banner below.

Mandy

Disclaimer: I received the above product free in exchange for my honest opinion. No other compensation was given.

Time Timer ~ TOS Review

2011-11-20T19:53:00.001-06:00

I really enjoy each item we review for the most part but when I got the chance to use The Time Timer I thought “Oh this is just what I need!” I have the worst time trying to keep track of our time for each subject. In the past I have purchased numerous timers all with the same result, they go off and are disturbing or too quiet and unobtrusive and I forget about them.

What I did not anticipate is for my son to love this little product just as much as I did if not more! I can’t tell you how many times a day he uses it by himself, nor how often he exclaims, “Mom, I love this timer!” So not only did I get a great product but I have a child who loves to use it and is becoming more independent because of it! Go Time Timer!

So basically this timer counts down time with a visual. Do you see the red section in the pictures? That gets smaller as time passes and then when time is up you get a nicely audible but not scary short beep, it’s perfect. I received the 3” version which has a protective cover made from clear frosted plastic. This cover has come in handy more than just to protect the timer itself. We have discovered it is very functional to hide the numbers but allow the colored visual to remain visible for those times when my son fixates on “how many minutes left”. This is huge as he will freak out over not having what he sees as enough minutes or too many minutes left on an activity.

This timer comes in handy for so many things cooking, school work, projects, computer time, etc. Definitely worth getting a few for Christmas gifts or even for yourself for different rooms of the house. I myself had to search a few times after the children “borrowed” it for their activities in other parts of the house, but that is a good thing!

Cost:

3” model – $30
8” model – $35
12” model – $40

PC/Apple CD - $24.00
Wristwatch - $40.00

Also available are blank faces and stickers to personalize your timer to specific tasks, puzzles, and and I-Pad App available at I-Tunes for $1.99.

Please visit Time Timer Store to purchase

Orders placed in the United States and those which total over $50 receive free shipping.

Be sure to click the banner at the top of this post to see what other TOS Crew members thought about the Time Timer.

Mandy

Disclaimer: I was provided with the above product to review for free in exchange for my honest opinion. No other compensation was received.

Huge HOAC Black Friday Sale

2011-11-20T17:33:00.001-06:00

WIR Unit 9 and 10

2011-11-19T19:17:00.002-06:00

Our last two weeks have been a bit up and down since this pregnancy has me in some pain lately. I was planning on finishing everything today but only got part of the way through Bigger day 5. I also lost my camera a bit and was bummed I missed some of our projects.
Bigger
We are still learning about Ben Franklin and his many experiments and contributions to our country’s founding. In Art we used letter stamps to simulate how a printing press would work and made some nice initial prints and also made a kite painting to remind us of Franklin’s kite experiment. We also learned about making maps to scale and map perspectives in Geography.

Our character traits have been so spot on with what we need to work on these last two weeks. Thriftiness and Wisdom are very important traits since we are in a place where a lack of those on my part have resulted in some tough experiences. I am so thankful HOD is so timely with these!

We began learning about em dashes used in poetry to signal a pause and about John Audubon in Science. My son so enjoyed doing Apologia’s Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day last year that this is a huge hit with him. We had so much fun with demonstrating the 5 types of flight. I hope this winter we get the chance to see some amazing birds like we did last year.

In Math we are reviewing Metric and Multiplication and in Grammar verbs. I am wondering if we should speed up our dictation lessons because they are seeming too easy yet I don’t want to skip any and move to another level. I may just do two passages at a time until C-man hits one he needs to work on.

In Language Arts we are also using DITHOR to work our way through a variety of types of literature. This week we were learning about setting and Character mapping.

Tot
I have put tot school on the back burner for now and we are just doing free exploration right now. I am still setting out activities for Princess D but we are not doing anything very structured since she is having some issues with following directions and not sleeping well lately. I think it may be time to give up the nap. I am going to try to readjust our schedules and see how that helps.

CTC
B-rad has been taking very long days to do his work, sometimes until 9 or later at night, taking to many breaks. I think earlier days are in order here too. Algebra is going well, and he is finally finishing up the various kingdoms in Biology is about to move on to the study of atoms and the chemistry of life.
Ancient History has been full of studying the life of King David. Making a sling this week as his project was very cool, he is a great shot! A great introduction to Biblical Law has begun and I think now is a perfect time to begin studying Torah as a family. Of course all the children had to try on the Philistine helmet from last week.

Language Arts has been a struggle as writing is not a favorite with this child. Although while reviewing a SAT Prep course I think he realizes the importance of being a good writer. Poetry is a bit of a struggle usually being done last. While his painting skills are improving and he is producing very nice paintings, he does not like the time it is taking to do them. He did very well on his recitation from last week.

We are finally in a groove with Latin, Technology, and Life Skills. PE has been spotty, it is amazing to me how easy it is to forget about moving with purpose. I am a member of Latin Alive’s Yahoo group and it has made a huge difference in helping us when we get stuck and there are some great printable resources for each chapter!

I hope everyone has a blessed Thanksgiving this week!
Mandy

Math Mammoth ~ TOS Review

2011-11-17T23:11:00.002-06:00

I have a serious aversion to math. I was just never good at it as a child and even worse I think sometimes as an adult. Homeschooling my children has taught me far more math than I ever thought possible. I understand things that would stump me BHS (Before HomeSchooling).
I have 2 boys, 9 and 16, the 16 y/o is pretty good and math or seemed to be while he was in public school but really doesn’t care for it while my 9 year old son is a math fiend and wants to do math all the time. My daughter is 2 1/2 and undecided as of yet.

Reviewing mathy things is always a lot of fun here since I enjoy the excitement my kids have for learning this subject, so I was thrilled to receive Math Mammoth.
I chose to review the Light Blue Series for 4th grade since that is where my DS9 is at. There are many choices to look at with Math Mammoth, work texts by subject or grade level and worksheets collections by topic or grade level.

The Light Blue Series is a complete years worth of work organized by grade level. Each worktext consists of volume A & B, tests, reviews, answer keys, and some manipulatives. Almost too much to name really. While Math Mammoth is for grades 1-12 the Light Blues Series is for grades 1-6.

Highlights of the Light Blue Series books:

focuses on understanding of mathematical concepts
uses clear explanations and lots of visual aids
mastery oriented: concentrates fairly long on a topic, with fairly few topics per grade
emphasizes mental math and developing number sense
very little teacher preparation needed

C-man’s Thoughts:

Mom can I do all of it right now?
Do I have to stop and go to bed?
Can we do this for school?
I love it…but it needs more pictures
I like how it shows a lot of different ways to get the answer so I can do it faster!
And, No I can not keep a shirt on this child!

Mom’s Thoughts: I found these very easy to teach and it was almost independent work for him since each new lesson has a section that quickly teaches the concept. I did think there were more problems on each page than what he is used to so we did have a few frustrating moments when he would make a silly mistake in computation. The really lovely thing about this is I can give him a shorter lesson by only working part of the lesson a day since some lessons are meant to be multiple sessions. These are fully reproducible downloads which make them such a great buy since you can just printout what you need, which may further reduce the “too many problems to look at” issue my child has. I love that there is the option to buy a printed version also from Rainbow Resource and Lulu.com.

Prices & ordering

Downloads: (sold at Kagi)
Full set grade 4: $34.00 (part A and B worktexts, answer keys, tests, cumulative reviews, a worksheet maker, and Soft-Pak) Full set for 4-A: $17.50 (part A worktext, part A answer key, tests, cumulative reviews, a worksheet maker, and Soft-Pak) Full set for 4-B: $17.50 (part B worktext, part B answer key, tests, cumulative reviews, a worksheet maker, and Soft-Pak) Supportive materials: $8.95 (Answer keys, tests, cumulative reviews, worksheet maker, and Soft-Pak. NO worktexts. Not needed when you purchase the full set.)
Order downloads at Kagi store

CD: (sold at Kagi)
Full set grade 2: $39.00 (part A and B worktexts, answer keys, tests, cumulative reviews, a worksheet maker, and Soft-Pak)
Order CD at Kagi store

Printed copies:
You can purchase printed copies at Lulu or Rainbow Resource.
At Lulu: Part A worktext $14.95 Part B worktext $14.95 Answer Keys $14.95
Tests & Cumulative Reviews $12.95 (+ shipping)
At Rainbow Resource Center:
Math Mammoth grade 4 books at Rainbow Resource
Follow this link to samples of Math Mammoth Grade 4 complete curriculum: The Light Blue Series Gr. 4

Here is a video from Math Mammoth’s Youtube channel, where author Maria Miller has uploaded tons of great videos to help with teaching math.
Please visit TOS Crew to see other Math Mammoth products that were reviewed by clicking the banner at the top of this post.
Mandy
Disclaimer: I was provided with a free download of the above product in exchange for my honest opinion. My review is based on our family’s experience and may or may not reflect your own. No other compensation was received.

SAT Prep Course~TOS Review

2011-11-15T22:30:00.002-06:00

College Prep Genius DVD SET

“There is no need to spend a fortune on SAT prep. College Prep Genius is designed to help students master the strategies behind the test and taking students step by step through each section of the SAT [Critical Reading, Math, Writing,] and gives them a plan for success for each question type.
This DVD covers all three sections of the SAT & PSAT/NMSQT and is a thorough review of the College Prep Genius curriculum.”
While watching the 12 lessons on the DVD the workbook walks the students through each lesson. The companion text gives a thorough breakdown of each lesson. You will, however, need to download a homework packet and there are no actual SAT tests are included.

2nd edition has been updated and revised:

New strategies and more detailed explanations
Easy to use format
12 straight-forward lessons
Bonus material including appendixes of must know math terms, Latin roots, and prefixes and suffixes
New motivation test
Second Edition Package Special.

The complete program only $99.00
Individual Prices
College Prep Genius 2nd Ed Textbook $49.95
College Prep Genius 2nd Ed Workbook $19.95
College Prep Genius 2nd Ed DVD $59.95
Package Special $99.00 (25% discount)
30 day 100% money-back guarantee.
Our Thoughts:
While we are just beginning our high school years with our teenager I am anticipating college testing with some trepidation. My own experiences of doing college testing was pretty much signing up for what everyone else was taking and actually falling asleep during part of the testing due to staying out late the night before. Not exactly a model I want my son to follow, but how to study for a standardized test? I was always led to believe you couldn’t study for these kinds of tests, however in more recent years that has changed.
College Prep Genius is one of those programs helping college hopefuls to study for the tests that will determine part of their college careers. My son is smart but since we don’t test as homeschoolers he felt under prepared for his entrance exams. Going through this program has given him a great experience in testing procedures and strategy. He feels better informed and knows what to expect during testing. He has even decided to take the NMQT to try and gain scholarships.
I was a bit disappointed that this was not an “all inclusive” package with real SAT tests to get a baseline. Having to download the homework package was also time consuming. I have not priced other programs so for the price I can not say whether this would make me decide not to buy it. I happened to have an SAT test prep book that does included actual tests so this was not a big issue for me. I think this would benefit anyone who is planning on sitting for the SATs, even without the actual tests.
Please visit TOS Crew blog by clicking the banner at the top of this post to get more insight on this program.
Mandy
Disclaimer: I was provided free of charge a copy of the above program in exchange for my honest opinion. No other compensation was received.

Keyboard Town Pals ~ TOS Review

2011-11-13T20:47:00.002-06:00

Being one of those homeschoolers I feel the need to teach my children how to type. It may just be because I know how to type and hate having to type for others because I can do it faster. Seems like cheating to me!
So that being said, by the time my children graduate our school they will have the skills to succeed in college because the ability to type is so necessary then. I had some trouble deciding what curriculum we would be using to do our keyboarding lessons since I had a 9th, 4th, and PK students. My oldest is a decent typist but just needed to increase his speed so that left the younger two. As a TOS Crew member I had the chance to review Keyboard Town Pals, an online/cd-rom keyboarding course geared toward children ages 6-12. Hoo-rah we were saved!

Keyboard Town Pals is a series of video lessons to learn keyboarding in an hour that allow a child to focus on one finger at a time. Each video consists of puppets showing the positions of each key as a house on one of three streets. Each street related to the rows on the keyboard, allowing a child to become familiar with the positions of each key in a relaxed, fun way.

Our Thoughts:
While I am not a huge fan of puppets and neither are my children I thought this would be something new and interesting to them. My 9 y/o son tried it out and just found that it was below his level and he had trouble getting past the puppets. He still uses only one finger or two to type but he already knows where all the letters are located. He thought it might be good for a younger child though.
My 32 month old daughter was absorbed in the videos and began looking at the keyboard trying to match the letters shown on the screen. Here is where I think an improvement needs to be made. The on-screen letters that appear in the videos are in lower case, while on most keyboards the letters are in upper case format. I also do not think a child could learn how to type in an hour with this program, begin to type yes but certainly not be very proficient.
Other than the letter formatting issue I think this is a wonderful, gentle way to introduce keyboarding to children. I think the method of teaching one finger at a time is genius and worth a deeper look. I would not hesitate to recommend this to younger children to first learn keyboarding, and since each lesson can be replayed as often as needed, it also works well with a child that has learning challenges.

Keyboard Town Pals
Contact:
1-866-200-8881
Fax: 412.521.0106
Cost:
$30.00 as either CD or online
$45.00 as a bundle with companion products
Also available are individual companion products at various prices.
Please visit the TOS Crew for other reviews by clicking the banner at the top of this post.
Mandy
Disclaimer: I have been provided with free online access to the above product in exchange for my honest opinion.

Week 8 ~ HOD WIR

2011-11-12T21:47:00.002-06:00

Using Heart of Dakota has been such and enormous blessing to our family yet lately I have been wondering if I am not pushing my children enough. I have family who are worried because my 9 y/o son does not know his multiplication tables and others who think my oldest in high school should be doing less hands on and more book work. That maybe I should have my 4th grader doing extensions in his curriculum even though he is only a year and a half away from loathing reading and just beginning to bloom with books. I even thought that maybe another curriculum may be better for my oldest *GASP*!

Bigger for the 4th grader

This week’s art project was a big hit with both the tot and the 4th grader!

Hymn study with lots of beautiful singing going on.

Science note booking after our experiment that was nearly blown away. Unfortunately I did not get any pictures of that!

Cursive, which is going well enough but he is such a perfectionist some days and other days not so much. I am thinking he is just not seeing the point of cursive right now.

History Project –we forgot to leave a door in our fort but at least our settlers are safe.

Story time with Snow Treasure narration on the left and climax diagramming on the right.

Vocabulary
CTC for the High Schooler

History Project – Joshua and the 12 tribes of Israel Crossing of the Jordan

Poetry

Write With The Best – working on Descriptive paragraphs this week.

Apologia Biology – sometimes this takes music to really concentrate

Reading Hittite Warrior for History
Tot school – when it works

Doing some geography with the globe

Playdough geometry – I even made it myself I feel so productive!

Prewriting and shapes drawing

Not even 3 and has a sense of humor! She was being so cute with her pencil and then when I went to snap her picture she did this

nice huh?!
I think my thoughts have made our last week drag on but I am hopeful that God will make his will for our family known and get us back on track. I realized my children are right where He wants them and where they are thriving. My oldest had an “I Got It” moment with Algebra yesterday. My 9 y/o loves math and continues to each day eagerly complete his assignments. My daughter, at 32 months, understands so much more than I ever thought possible yet pre-k is not quite an interest full time for her. We are at a strange and uncomfortable place, living with family, but I see everyday how God is using it to grow us even when we resist Him. If I had a fear of man instead of a fear of the LORD I would long ago have neglected to see the miracles that are my children.
I still have some doubts about things and whether or not I am doing what I should BUT I am learning to trust the LORD and not everyone else’s opinions.
Monday we finish up week 9 and I will have that post up then. So how are your plans coming along?
Mandy

Imagination Station Books 5 & 6 ~ Review AND GIVEAWAY!!!

2011-11-12T17:26:00.005-06:00

I have been so happy with C-man’s reading ability, from just a year ago he has really taken a shine to reading just about everything. His current favorite series of books is Adventures In Odyssey’s The Imagination Station. We have recently received books 5 and 6 and he again devoured them in no time.
Book 5 Showdown with the Shepherd and Book 6 Problems in Plymouth are the newest books in the series with at least six more titles planned, including book 7, Secret of the Prince’s Tomb, due out in January of 2012 and book 8 in May 2012.

“Written for ages seven and up, the series features the virtual reality device the Imagination Station, which is one of the major plot devices used in the Adventures in
Odyssey audio drama series. Nobody knows the inner workings of the mysterious device, invented by Mr. Whittaker, but with a push of a button, it launches users back in time to experience historical events in-person.
In Showdown with the Shepherd, cousins Patrick and Beth return to the Holy Land in the tenth century BC. Set against the backdrop of the David and Goliath story, the cousins learn that having a giant faith is more important than having a giant on your
side. In Problems in Plymouth, Patrick and Beth’s meet William Bradford, Miles Standish, and Squanto, who are trying to establish peace between the Pilgrims and
the Indians. Things are anything but peaceful, however, when a musket is stolen and the Pilgrims conclude the
Indians are planning war.” From official press release.

We were so excited to get our hands on these, especially Problems in Plymouth because that is right where we are in our history readings with school. I loved how he could pick up a book “just for fun” and it actually tied in with school in such a meaningful way.
Showdown with the Shepherd, 5 ½ x 8 ½, $4.99, ISBN: 978-1-58997-631-3
Problems in Plymouth, 5 ½ x 8 ½, $4.99, ISBN: 978-1-58997-632-0
Can be purchased anywhere fine books are sold or buy through Focus on The Family’s website.
Please feel free to visit any of the other blogs on the Blog Tour List below to see what others thought about the newest faith filled adventures in this wonderful series!

So to all of you who have been waiting so patiently here are the giveaway details. I am using Rafflecopter to choose one winner of both books 5 & 6.
All you have to do to enter my contest is…

Mandy
Disclaimer: Tyndale House Publishers has provided me with complimentary copies of these books in exchange for my honest opinion.

Bower Books ~ TOS Review

2011-11-08T23:42:00.002-06:00

The teen years, dating, courting, marriage all words that strike fear into a mother’s heart. Alright maybe not all mothers but certainly mine. I have a teenage boy and while my husband and I wish for him to keep his relationships godly and court, he has other family that do not follow the Lord, so I know our influence only goes so far. My son has expressed interest in girls recently so I was so thrilled when we got a copy of The Person I Marry from Bower Family Books.

A beautiful book written by Gary Bower and illustrated by his wife Jan, children of all ages will enjoy it’s timeless ideas and thoughts on what they want from a future spouse. At 32 pages with a hardbound cover it is a book to last a lifetime, from the little children dreaming of their future to the teenager planning their life with that someone special. It is a great place to start many heart to heart conversations about the things we should be seeking in a mate and the type of mate we should be. I wish we had this book years ago as it is a tremendous help in approaching a subject that is sometimes confusing to say the least. My oldest read it and said he liked it and thought it was very cute. He especially liked the worksheet for “Things to look for” at the back saying he would go back to that throughout his life.
We reviewed a digital format of this book and I am definitely planning on purchasing it in the available hard bound edition. I have younger children that I am anticipating reading this book with for many years to come. I might even have to buy it as a gift since my sister is getting married next year and it would make such a lovely gift.

The Person I Marry retails for $11.49 currently and is available at:
Bower Family Books
7700 Timbers Trail
Traverse City, MI 49685
Phone: 231-941-0899
You can read other TOS Crewmembers thoughts of this book by clicking the banner at the top of this post.
Mandy
Disclaimer: I received a copy of the above item in exchange for my honest opinion. No other compensation has been received.

Memoria Press Classical Phonics ~ TOS Review

2011-11-04T01:16:00.002-05:00

We are only in our 3rd official year of homeschooling and my daughter is going to be the first of our children that I will be teaching from the very beginning. To say I am nervous is an understatement. I have been thinking about which approach to use to teach her and which curriculum will work for us for a few months now and even though she isn’t yet 3 I know she is slowly getting more interested in her letters, words and sounds. I don’t want to push but want to take advantage of her interest.

What I am looking for is something very laid back and simple. After looking at Memoria Press’s Classical Phonics and First Start Reading program I think it is just what I have been looking for. Classical Phonics is a simple little book based on a 1913 text, Word Mastery, used to teach phonics. Since we use Charlotte Mason methods in our homeschool the word family lists work perfectly for our children’s lessons. Starting with the alphabet and progressing through the various phonetic lessons, Classical Phonics is a handy compendium for students to use as a review of all the phonics learned in K-2.

The first section of Classical Phonics has been incorporated into First Start Reading providing a very fluid and familiar program. Consisting of 3 work texts and a teacher’s guide First Start Reading is a very simple phonics, reading, and printing curriculum. Since my daughter is not yet 3 we are not using the printing lessons but that is easily accommodated in the teacher guide. The lesson plan is divided into sections that train the tongue, ear, and mouth and then separately teach the letter formations.

My daughter loved the simple hand drawn images that go with each lesson. We spent a week or so on one letter just basically getting her to recognize the sounds of each and the words that use that letter. After a bit she would ask what the letter was and is beginning to recognize the difference in upper and lower cases. I love that these books are set up with both on each lesson and that they quickly learn how to make words from the letters they know. After seeing how she is interacting with this curriculum I have no doubt she will be reading in no time and my job will be much less scary than I first thought.

Memoria Press has done an excellent job of providing a simple and effective instruction program based the solid method of phonics. Sight words are included as well for those words that do not fall into a phonetic category or are otherwise very common. During a time when the whole language approach is causing much frustration to many children, Classical Phonics and First Start Reading is a welcome revision of a tried and true method of learning how to read.

COST:
Classical Phonics $14.95
First Start Reading Complete set $29.00 without the Teacher Guide $22.00
Memoria Press provides a 60 day guarantee on all purchases. You can check out these and other products at www.memoriapress.com.
Please visit TOS Crew for more reviews of the above items by clicking the banner at the top of this post.
Mandy
Disclaimer: I was provided with one copy of the above curriculum for free in exchange for my honest opinion. Not other compensation has been received.

Tot Swap ~ Busy Bag Swap

2011-10-26T01:24:00.001-05:00

I recently participated in an awesome swap. If you have never been involved in a swap they are the best way to get new items or ideas for a minimal amount of time and money. Depending on the theme you create a project for a set number of participants and mail it to the swap organizer who then divides all the goodies up and sends them out to the members of the swap so everyone gets one of each item that was sent in.

So I was part of my first swap. It was a toddler busy bag swap, creating fun activities for pre-k ages. My daughter is 31 months old and has been begging to do school with her big brothers which generally results in a messy house/schoolroom. I was so excited to see what we would get, but I was not even remotely prepared for D’s reaction when the box came.

She was so excited and wanted to dig right in to EVERYTHING!

I created 10 sensory bags that the child matches items by feeling them. In return I received 3 different sized button snakes, a cupcake counting game, 2 different fishing games, a bead matching activity, lacing shape activity, Build-A-Frog, and a pompom tweezing activity.

I am excited to have so many neat things for my daughter learn and play with. She is showing me so many things she already knows and it just amazes me how fast she is picking things up. I can’t wait to sign up for my next swap!

Mandy

Wits and Wagers ~ TOS Review

2011-10-25T21:29:00.001-05:00

Please visit The Old Schoolhouse Magazine’s Review Crew by clicking the above link for more awesome homeschooler reviews of this product.

We decided years ago to just accept the facts. We are a gaming family. We have a weekly tradition of playing some kind of role playing game or other board game. Every week we pick a fun game and try to beat the pants off each other. What we usually avoid playing are trivia type games since the littles are at a disadvantage.

Imagine my surprise when we received NorthStar Games Wits and Wagers Family game, a new twist on trivia based games. Geared for ages 8+ and 3-10 players (we have used only 2 players with no problem), each player or team answers one of 300 trivia questions. Instead of getting the answer right or wrong you bet on whose answer is closest to correct without going over, using cute wooden people shaped pieces called Meeples. This has made it so much more fun for my family. It is less about the trivia answer and more about guessing who has the right answer so it is very relaxed and fun for the younger players.

This is one of our new favorite games, the dry erase component is a huge draw for my youngest and my 9 year old doesn’t feel like everyone else knows things he does not. I love that the trivia questions are more of an educational type than useless information normally found with typical trivia games. Each answer is in the form of a number and the card gives more information with the answer which is kind of nice for children like mine who always like to know who, what, where, when, why things are the way they are.

Sold in various national retailers go Here to find the nearest location or purchase through Amazon.com. Prices vary according to retailers.

Disclaimer: As a TOS Crew reviewer I received a copy of the above product in exchange for my honest opinion.

Mandy

Week In Review ~ Unit 7

2011-10-24T21:48:00.001-05:00

We had a short week last week since I had a couple appointments, so we are still finishing up Unit 7 in Bigger but I managed to remember to take a couple shots of the children hard at work. Industriousness is the theme this week and they are really taking it to heart.

To aid my oldest in completing all his subjects I came up with a very simple schedule using the time chart cards I made here. I tweaked it a bit and made it more portable since he does his work where ever he is most comfortable. He was having a problem remembering to actually check for subjects that are not done everyday. I will be adding that post soon along with some more reviews!!!

This pregnancy is harder on me than any of my others so I am letting that dictate our speed but we are generally doing about 4 1/2 hours for Bigger and 6 for CTC plus. My tot received a package of Busy Bags last week as part of a swap I participated in and we are having a blast with them. I will post all of those later also. Hope your school days are now in full swing and enjoyable.

Bigger

Science & Art

Math

History

Cursive

CTC

Math

History Project

History Notebook

Extension Narrations

I really need to get better and covering my 16 year old’s work but he is usually reading in some hidey hole or does his projects when I am otherwise occupied and I miss it.

Tot School

I have not really began any kind of structured learning with D as she is only 31 months old. It is still mainly playing for her but she does ask to do certain things and so I will have things out for her but she usually asks for something I have out of sight (which isn’t much since we have no real storage here). This past week it was mostly things from our swap, her favorite being the sticky foam letters and shapes.

This is a hand drawn do a dot with those decorative stones (they are flat on one side) she loved it!

Intense art/drawing with erasable pencils

Practicing color sorting

Matching bead colors

Magnetic alphabet book, she is a little young for this books real purpose which is spelling but she has fun with all the magnetic letter tiles.

One to one correspondence

Fav of the week!

Apparently my computer was in trouble and needed help.

And here is a - just because she’s starting to enjoy having her picture taken since she used to hide from the camera – shot.

Mandy

Visual Latin ~ TOS Review

2011-10-16T22:12:00.001-05:00

We had an opportunity to check out a new to us Latin curriculum. We had been using a program we truly loved that is textbook based. When I saw a chance to try something new based on videos I thought it might be a fun change of pace, especially for my high schooler.

Compass Cinema produced Visual Latin is a DVD based Latin curriculum that incorporates humor in each lesson, recreates the immersion experience in the classroom, and requires little teacher prep or interaction. Moving from grammar to reading to translating the Latin Bible, it is very much a self paced, self taught program. Visit Compass Cinema to view a sample of free lessons.

Visual Latin | A Quick Explanation from Compass Cinema on Vimeo.

Visual Latin is, in my opinion a very well thought out and impressive curriculum. We found it engaging and easy to slow down or speed up where needed. Each lesson is broken up into 3 sections, A-grammar, B-sentences, and C-reading, with PDF worksheets for each. We worked at a slower pace doing one section a day for three days a week for a single lesson a week pace. Each video is between 5 – 8 minutes long so doing a single lesson in one day certainly is not a strenuous pace. Two lessons a week is the recommendation for an average pace.

My son enjoyed the videos and liked the humor. He felt that he retained the info with little effort and the lessons were short and sweet. As Charlotte Mason home schoolers these lessons were wonderful as each is simple, concise and teaches usable information right away instead of a repetitive list of words you could not use in conversation.

I highly recommend this program for anyone who wants an independent program for their student. If I had the money I would be buying the entire series since my son liked them so much. It can be used for students from ages 9 and up. While Visual Latin is not enough for high school credit you can read here the suggestions on how to make it so easily along with other FAQ’s. Compass Classroom’s blog is a great place to check for updates and other info.

Cost:
Visual Latin – Latin 1 Download $25 (10 lessons) or $75 (all 30 lessons)/DVD $80 (lessons 1-30)
Latin 2 Download $25/DVD $30 (lessons 31-40 with more coming)

Also check out the online lessons for Lingua Latina HERE which you could use for High school credit.

Contact:
The Compass Store
609 West Iris Drive
Nashville, Tennessee 37204

Website: http://store.compasscinema.com/
http://www.visuallatin.com/
http://compassclassroom.com/visual-latin/

For other reviews on this product click the TOS Crew banner at the top of this post.

Mandy

Disclaimer: I was provided the first 10 lessons of the above product for free in exchange for my honest opinion.

Week In Review Unit 6

2011-10-16T01:22:00.001-05:00

This past week was Unit 6 for both boys and They are really enjoying school this year. We took a Sabbath week to regroup and after this past week I am wishing I would have switched them. Celebrating my oldest’s 16th birthday has nearly exhausted this momma! I got their grades entered and they are very pleased with only having 1 sick day so far. I am feeling ragged tonight so I will just let the pictures speak for themselves.

Bigger

For the record, I really try to keep my middle child in clothes but he has recently felt the need to act like tarzan for some reason!

CTC

And some tot school fun

We also did some glue activities but they got lost when I imported my pictures grrr!

Mandy

Week In Review Unit 5

2011-10-06T23:33:00.001-05:00

This past unit I spread out a bit so it ended up being more like 2 weeks.

Deirdre is getting more interested in doing school so I have been forgetting to take pictures. I hope to have more next week. Both boys are now doing the same unit in their respective programs and are doing really well. It is a very complete program so I am having trouble adding in my high schoolers electives. It seems if it isn’t in his manual then he forgets to do it. I see a lot of weekend intensives in his future!

Bigger

Poetry

Science

Storytime

Art

CTC

Poetry

History Notebooking

We also did a bit of a later unit using the book One Small Square: Woods because we happened to find some huge mushrooms in our yard and decided to not wait until we got to that lesson as it will probably be harder to find them then. Which is why home schooling is so cool we can learn what we want when it is an interest not at some predetermined time.

Also Princess D is 31 months old and begs to do school so here is a bit of what we did last week. A lot was repeating the same things but she is learning new things each and every time.

Drinking from a big girl cup

Gluing packing peanuts to a form (these are made from cornstarch and melt when wet)

What happens when you take a marker under the table for 5.5 seconds. I never said a word to her but apparently she decided Hitler was not a good guy to pretend to be. I have to fess up here, I was busting a gut!

More cutting practice

Color matching game

Painting with watercolors

Mandy

Aletheia ~ TOS Review

2011-09-29T02:01:00.001-05:00

As a homeschool parent who loves to write I often wonder if my children will pick up my love for writing poetry or perhaps branch out into novels or short stories. I love seeing young people get published but I had never been aware of a publication that makes it easy for homeschools to do so. I had the opportunity to get acquainted with a magazine that does just that, Aletheia.

Aletheia is a Christian magazine for teens 13-19, and while not specifically aimed at homeschool writers does feature many pieces written by them.

My oldest is a great writer but does not like writing himself. He does enjoy animation and video games so when he grabbed the magazine and disappeared with it on numerous occasions I knew this was a good thing.

He finally let me read it and I loved the stories and articles, but my favorite feature was the photos that accompanied the writings. All of my children love taking pictures and this was a great opportunity for them to have a goal with their hobby.

I think the only complaint from my son was that he would like the writings to be organized into sections. I think he is just logical like that, so for him all the poems should be together, all the short stories together, articles together, you get the idea. While this might be good for my Aspie it is in no way a problem with the magazine. I personally thought the layout was good.

A subscription is 4 issues quarterly at $26/year and guess what shipping and handling FREE!

You can view a sample of their Spring 2011 issue here.

Please click the TOS banner at the top of this post to read what other Crew members thought about this magazine.

Mandy

Disclosure: I received the Fall issue of the above publication in exchange for my honest review.

Week In Review–9/16

2011-09-24T23:18:00.001-05:00

Bigger Unit 4

Math-learning 3 digit addition and subtraction

Art-Indian blanket

History-learning how explorers and American Indians used the barter/trade system

Geography-Graham Cracker Continents

Narration- Copying the main idea

DITHOR-Biography

Science-evaporation of salt vs. fresh water

CTC Unit 3 & 4

History project

Poetry week 3

History Notebooking Week 3

Poetry Week 4

History Notebooking Week 4

Obviously this is more than just one week. I decided to let C-man off this week and work one on one with B-rad to fix some kinks in scheduling and where and how to do certain work. I am hoping it sticks and he remembers what we discussed so he doesn’t have so much to re-do. We really didn’t have a method for his bible study, extension, and storytime narrations and he needed to be more in depth with some others.

So now both boys will be working on the same week from now on (unless we need to do some later adjusting). I would have posted this last week with just week 3 CTC and week 4 Bigger but this way my posts will match what we are actually working on!

I also wanted to mention how much I am loving HOD. My absolute favorite thing is that my hubby can quite literally walk in and take over classes, which since this pregnancy is a bit harder on me than previous ones helps soooo much! I HOD

Mandy

AIMS Getting Into Geometry ~ TOS Review

2011-09-22T23:45:00.001-05:00

Recently I had the chance to review a product from the AIMS Education Foundation. AIMS stands for Activities Integrating Mathematics and Science and is a non-profit publisher of hands-on instructional materials that build conceptual understanding. Beginning with a grant in 1981 from the National Science Foundation AIMS Education Foundation set out to make math and science fun and exciting to students through their materials, and help educators gain expertise in teaching math and science through their sponsorship of a national professional development program.

I was so glad to get this particular book, Getting Into Geometry, which is geared toward grades K-1, because I have a 30 month old daughter who is chomping at the bit to do school. The layout of this book is in 3 sections, lesson plans, games, and literature selections. I love that the lesson section can be used in any order you like, for example the section on 2D shapes has a number of activities you can choose from. The games reinforce the lessons in a fun and laid back way. The literature selections section has many books that are great for children to enjoy as a read aloud over and over.

Each lesson has a topic, key question and learning goal, materials list, and for those of us that like to check things off standards and topics met in the lesson. Any needed background information and prep work is noted, and the procedure is step by step for easy implementation. Most lessons have more than one activity that can be done using the materials and concludes with a list of learning connections. After each lesson is a copy master for the materials needed for the lesson work, however a CD is provided with a PDF of each lessons printables.

We loved how easy it was to use and how the CD was provided so I could just print out what we needed at the time. I am very excited to use this full time with my youngest as she gets older and is better able to fully attend to the lessons. Each lesson was so simple and the materials needed were on hand and fun to use. For a hands on math you can’t do better than AIMS.

You can check out the other AIMS titles HERE.

Getting Into Geometry can be purchased for $24.95
Don’t forget to check out the free activities page here for a sample of how the lessons are laid out.

Be sure you visit TOS Blog to check out the reviews on this and other products by AIMS by clicking the TOS Crew banner at the top of this post.

Mandy

Disclosure: I have received the above product in exchange for my honest opinion. No other compensation has been received.

Child’s Apron from an Old Towel

2011-09-20T23:12:00.001-05:00

I had seen this idea somewhere online before and thought “Oh, that’s looks easy!” Ummm…yeah if you have a sewing machine that is not possessed and locks up every fifth stitch for no strange reason. I did finally finish my project tonight however and have decided to post pictures so you can try this easy-peasey project for your little one.

Materials:

1 Hand towel or terry cloth material about 16 in X 24 in

1 piece of 10in X 7in

2 yards of double fold bias tape

Quick Instructions:

First measure your child against one short end of the towel and pin where you would like the ties to be placed for the neck.
Next measure and pin the long sides where you would like the ties to be at the waist.

Not measured here, just illustrating where to pin and cut.

Now take your towel and lay face down on your table. Fold each top corner in toward the center from the pinned top and side this will be your 1/4 inch hem on each side. after sewing trim the extra off.
To make the pockets sew your coordinating material with a 1/4in hem all the around, or if you want to save some time sew the long edge that will be the top off the pocket with a 1/4in hem, fold and press the other 3 sides with 1/4in under, center on towel and sew around two sides and the bottom making sure to catch the hem in your stitches. Sewing a straight line down the middle of your pocket will give you 2 pockets.

Cut the bias tape into 4 pieces at the length you would like for your ties adding 1 in to each piece. You will turn in the each end of each piece of bias tape 1/4in and sew to give a clean edge to each.
Pin your ties to the top and sides 1/2in in from the edge of your towel and sew a square at the end of the tape to attach your ties.

I would suggest stopping and measuring on your child as often as you need to to ensure fit.

Enjoy your new little one’s joy as they help out around the home in their new apron.

I would love to see your finished aprons!

Mandy

Before Five In A Row ~TOS Review

2011-09-19T00:03:00.002-05:00

Since I began homeschooling 3 years ago I discovered our favorite method of learning is through reading living books. With each book our children have a new world opened up before their eyes. I am so excited to begin homeschooling my 30 month old in the same style, reading books with my baby girl is such a joy.
I have a problem trying to figure out just what activities to use to extend the learning with my youngest. I have purchased a couple books and while I really enjoyed the activities in them I felt they lacked the necessary literature aspect. I recently had the opportunity to review Before Five In A Row, an early learning curriculum based on picture books for ages 2-4.
Before Five In A Row is not your typical curriculum for pre-schoolers. BFIAR is a wonderful resource to gently teach your child all about the world around him. Divided into 2 sections, you can easily do any activity or unit you choose in any order.

The first section is twenty-four cross curricula units that center on a specific picture book. Each book is “rowed” for a week (or longer if you choose) at a time during which you read the story with your child each day. After each reading you select a few of the activities from the unit to do. Each unit is set up very loosely in a natural way to simply encourage learning through play.
The second section of the book is a selection of activities to foster learning in each content area such as large and small motor, language development, reading readiness, life activities, toys, and the arts. It really is, as the author states, “A parent’s treasury of creative ideas for learning readiness.”
Even though sample lessons are not posted on the site a sample lesson breakdown / overview can be viewed here.
My thoughts for this book:

Great resource and time saver
Loved the relaxed approach
My daughter loves hearing the same story over and over
Low key activities too for days when my child is in a mood of not wanting what I planned
A little pricey for me, however it is worth it.

Before Five In A Row can be purchased at Rainbow Resource for $35.
Be sure to check out the Fold and Learn Folders and other Five In A Row Digital items available.
Don’t forget to stop by The Old Schoolhouse Review Crew Blog to see what other TOS Crew Members thought about this product.
Mandy
Disclosure: I was provided a copy of the above product in exchange for my honest opinion and review of said item. I was in no other way compensated for my review.

Week In Review (9/9)

2011-09-10T00:25:00.002-05:00

This week was a bit of a struggle as I have not been feeling well and that makes for late starts all around. That, of course, makes for very long days. We did discover Miss D is getting very good at cutting paper, which only a month or so ago she could not even make the scissors open and close, yeah! Both boys have been having fun with their poetry even doing them in Irish and Scottish voices. I am not feeling pressured to “get it all done” which is a huge plus.

We will start with youngest first ~ Miss D

First puzzle time which lasts at least 20 minutes.

Scissor Practice- I did not expect her to do this well

More Scissor time – she requested this multiple times and just loves to make “confetti”! This time I added some colored strips to make it interesting. I think she might conceivably do this one activity all day if I let her.

C-Man – Week 3 of Bigger

Science- Testing different types of bird beaks on a beach.

Science – Floating egg experiment, Salty vs Clear water

Science- Writing out the experiment sheet

History – Compass Rose practice

Science –Notebooking

Science- Changes to the shore experiment

Poetry – Working with similes

And our eldest B-Rad – In week 2 of CTC

Poetry – Painting with watercolors.

Poetry – Reciting Frost’s “the Pasture” with a Scottish lilt.

History Project -
Cylinder seal, which did not dry properly so we improvised.

I really want to try to get more pictures of my oldest working next week, for now here is my favorite pic of the week. All three of my darlings working in the same room, they love our school room!

Mandy

Week in Review x 2

2011-09-09T12:48:00.001-05:00

I meant to do a week in review each week for each child but already got behind. Nothing new here, right? Moving in with extended family kind of drains you so I am just doing our first 2 weeks at once, I hope you don’t mind all the pictures.
Which reminds me why do we think everyone wants to see our pictures?
I mean wasn’t it just a few years ago we dreaded going to Aunt Myrtle’s to see the boring vacation pictures? Oh yes that’s right we have all this cool technology so the pictures are instant, like as in the same time the action happened the picture was viewed by everybody and of course we cool software to make our pictures more interesting.
Alas there are some people who still take boring pictures but I hope you don’t think I am one of them…Ahem! So now to the review, we are using Heart Of Dakota for both the boys, Bigger for C-Man who is 9, and Creation To Christ for B-Rad who is 15 (with adjustments for High School).
C-Man started a week before his big bro so I will put him first.
Bible Study Time – doing motions to go with our memory verse. I think this is his favorite part!

Poetry - He really enjoyed doing the painting and did such a super job too!

Of course Lil Sis had to get in on the painting action too.

Then there was Maths…

Copywork and Cursive…

Hymn study, Geography and History, and finally Science.
B-Rad Has mostly independent work so not quite as many photo ops for his first week, although I did let him schedule himself and he is doing rather well with that. We do need to work on time management this year a bit.
Here is a shot of his schedule, we don’t do everything everyday that’s listed and we don’t start until 10ish but that’s why he isn’t getting done until 4ish. Working on that slowly. The times are approximate and the color coding is for levels of independent work.

He did an amazing job with his poetry and watercolor painting.

Taking notes in Maths

History Notebooking – He is really making this his own!
Overall the boys enjoyed their first weeks and we have had one of the smoothest starts yet! I am loving HOD and while we need to be more diligent in time management (me included) I think this will be a great year and a wonderful blessing. I look forward to sharing our Weeks In Review as the year progresses!
Mandy

New School Pictures

2011-09-08T00:39:00.001-05:00

We decided to take first day of the school year pictures every year since we began homeschooling and this years were especially fun. We took it outside this time around and just had fun being cute!

B-Rad

If he would just quit laughing when I take his pic they’d be great. I always here how he won’t smile for others when they try to get his picture but I never have THAT problem it is usually the opposite. So this was the most serious I could get.

C-Man

He was loving the whole process and posing it up. This one is my favorite shot and he looks so grown up.

This was another great one but all the bench shots were too sunny to turn out well.

Lil Sis Miss D

She was being such a good sport and even let me do her hair. She was so excited to get her school pictures taken with the boys.

And one of her usual face when I am taking her picture although this one was perfect until I snapped it then she morphed!

What are some of your First day traditions?

Mandy

First Day of School

2011-09-03T15:08:00.002-05:00

We started school differently than in past years. I wanted to do something special for the children since this is the first year I am homeschooling all three of them. I had read about another families first day traditions using German schultute, paper cones filled with treats, and thought it was a perfect way to kick off the new year.

I had a bit of a hard time trying to get the poster board to make the right shape but finally with some hot glue made it work. Needless to say I am not an engineer! I filled the cones with small baggies of snacks and single serving kool-aid packets with paper cups and napkins. The children loved them!

There really is a child behind that, I promise!

After we opened the treats I did a kind of orientation since this is a new place and things are not in ideal places. I basically showed the boys where to find all their books and supplies as well as lil sister’s things. We also previewed our new curriculum, Heart Of Dakota, and discussed schedules. I really think this was the best first day ever!

Hope you all had a wonderful start to the new year. I would love to hear about how you make the first day of school super special!
Mandy

Flea Circus R & R Games ~ TOS Crew Review

2011-08-31T22:33:00.002-05:00

For our first review this year as a TOS Crew member we received a new game. My family loves playing games and even have been known to do some pretty heavy game nights. My 9 year old is especially fond of our game night events so he was perfect to try out this new game. Each member got a choice of two games and we chose Flea Circus.

Using a special deck of cards each player tries to create a spectacular flea circus show and collect the most cats and dogs which are the audience spectators. The winner is the person with the most spectator points at the end of the show. This game is a fast paced back and forth change of hands. There are chances to lose your spectators to both other players and the Animal catcher so it’s truly anybody’s game.

Our Thoughts:
This game was perfect for my 9 y/o son and we all enjoyed it’s simple concept and design. It subtly reviews simple addition while being fun for all ages. I really liked the quality of the materials personally. The cats and dogs are made from a flexible rubber like plastic and the cards are durable and have great graphics.
We had a casualty however, the dog likes the cats too (no really our dog tried to eat a cat) and so now we have 20 dogs and 19 cats instead of the 20 it came with. I think it would be good if the game came with a couple extra pieces in case of accidents like ours.

Overall we really loved this game and even my 2 year old was able to play with help even though the target ages are 6+. This has been a great fun addition to our home and is such an easy quick way to review addition during school. Even my high-schooler was surprised at how fun the back and forth component was. The rules were easy to understand and enabled us to begin to play the game in no time at all.
R & R Games – Flea Circus Award winning game

Cost: $15.95
Ages 6+
Players 2-6
Contact Info:
R&R Games, Inc.,
PO Box 130195,
Tampa, FL 33681
Phone: 1-888-8RIDDLE
Please visit TOS Crew blog by clicking the banner above this post to see what other bloggers thought about this product.
Mandy
Disclaimer: I received the above named product in return for my honest review. I have not been compensated in any other form.

After a long break

2011-08-20T13:25:00.000-05:00

I am finally back to blogging. We had some hardships this past summer ,we no longer own a car or a home, and through God's goodness have come through them wonderfully,however my blog has been sorely neglected. I am again sailing with TOS Crew doing reviews so please visit the Blog Hop and discover some wonderful bloggers who are also joining the Crew this year.

I am having difficulty getting our things for school organized because even though we have a school room (PTL) it is a struggle to figure out where everything should go. I did not have chance to purge anything and many things I need are in storage not to see the light of day anytime soon. No worries though as The Father is my provider! I do want to point out that I am so grateful for Heart Of Dakota which is our curriculum choice for this year. The fact that it is planned out for me is a huge weight off me, God surely had planned this for us and led me to it knowing what we were to be enduring.

I plan on starting Monday with C-man my 9 y/o son in Bigger Hearts For His Glory and then next Monday my oldest B-rad will begin with Creation To Christ, Princess D my 2 y/o daughter will be doing Little Hands To Heaven with me and her brothers throughout the day. I still need to work on daily scheduling but have an idea of the direction I want to go so our first week will be getting that set for the littles then working in my oldest's studies since alot of his is independent.

Of course all this is flexible to accomodate our review items but this year I am trying to be more discerning in what we review so as not to overwhelm ourselves. I do hope for a more relaxed year this year but since this is our first year doing High School could use plenty of prayers. So here is to a great year! How are your first days shaping up?

Oh and if you are looking for my 50 States Series, it's been put on hold until we get school started and back into a routine. But don't worry I will try to do a few at a time to catch up!

Mandy

The Son In My Eyes ~ Review

2011-07-18T23:06:00.001-05:00

We are told to pray without ceasing, specifically “Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18), I thought this was something everyone strived for, I thought I was someone who did this. After reading The Son In My Eyes by Mai Spencer I have found I have so much more to learn.

I was first introduced to Mai’s story as a poor Buddhist girl in Viet Nam, her life there during the Viet Nam war, and subsequent life in America as the wife of a U.S. soldier as just another book review. My father had served as part of the 101st Airborne in Viet Nam during the height of the war and it is a time and place which has so profoundly affected his life that I had wanted to read Mai’s story to try and understand a little of what he had seen during this time. You see my father never speaks of Viet Nam. Sure he will make flippant remarks here and there but it is never any real story, you never hear about the real people. The ones like Mai, that had to live in the middle, that suffered before and after the war because of their own country’s policies.

Mai recounts with amazing memory her years as a young Vietnamese girl and the things she had to do to survive. After she meets and leaves Viet Nam with Dennis Spencer her American husband she feels called to help her native people. She endures trial after trial and eventually answers God’s call which she has been hearing all her life but never knew it.

This a heartbreaking, yet poignant tale of how we as humans can endure so much yet God never is far from us whether we know him or not. Mai has had it all and gave it all away to follow her Lord, she has lost 3 children but has worked tirelessly for all children in Viet Nam. Through out her story Mai uses scripture to point us to God’s goodness in her life. Even before she knew him she has recognized his love and has passed that onto others by introducing them to Christ and by being a step on their journey to know the Lord.

As Mai’s tale takes us back to Viet Nam where God first touched her heart we see he is using her to do his good works there. As founder with her husband Dennis of Jesus In Viet Nam Ministries, Mai works tirelessly for her Savior and the heart of Viet Nam.

I really enjoyed this book, it broke my heart to see all that this woman has endured but I rejoiced as she did with the blessings God has given her. I truly understand what it means to pray without ceasing and to rejoice in all things. Perhaps God’s mercies come with pain, tears, and suffering for without it we may miss his love.

You can find this book at Deep River Books, retail price is $14.99.

Mandy

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from Bring It On! Communications for review purposes. I received no other compensation for this review. All opinions are my own.

The Imagination Station ~ Review

2011-07-18T22:04:00.001-05:00

I recently had an opportunity to review a couple books that were written with my 9 year old son in mind. I mean they had to have met Peanut and wrote these just for him. History, adventure, danger and puzzles all completely up his alley!

The Imagination Station books are a series from Focus On The Family’s Adventures In Odyssey. Each book follows a pair of cousins through time as they search for certain artifacts and clues to save Mr. Whittaker’s friend. Mr. Whittaker is the inventor of The Imagination Station, a time traveling device, and the cousins friend in the town of Odyssey.

Bringing history alive with a strong focus on moral and biblical principles The Imagination Station uses vivid imagery and intriguing characters to take your children on a trip they won’t soon forget. Each book is a stand alone story and has a fun puzzle at the end that helps with comprehension. Additional online fun can be found with each book at TheImaginationStation.com.

We reviewed Peril In The Palace Book 3 and Revenge Of The Red Knight Book 4 both written by Marianne Hering. At first I thought my son wouldn’t really read these because he is 9 and the recommended ages is 7+. The Flesch-Kincaid grade level is 2.1 and so a bit young for him. I gave him both books and he really enjoyed the stories, quickly reading both in one sitting. The fact that they were something he could read easily and without any help allowed him to really get caught up in the storylines. I was informed I am to buy all the books in this series so he can read them all! I even read and enjoyed them myself. I can say these were a hit with our family.

These may be purchased at Amazon.com, Christianbook.com or BarnesandNoble.com average retail price is $4.99.

Mandy

Disclaimer: I was provided the above books free of charge from Tyndale House Publishers,Inc in exchange for my honest opinion.

Color It Winners

2011-07-05T19:37:00.001-05:00

I must apologize for not posting this sooner! I got sidetracked this weekend and forgot to put it up.

I chose 3 winners using Random.org and I will email them the details. So here they are:

Wendy62 said...

Liked Color It By Numbers on Facebook

Patriots of the Republic Academy said...

I looked around your blog a little and your 50 States series really caught my eye. How fascinating! You are doing a good job with this, Amanda

Lisa said...

I like Color by Number on FB

Congrats!

Mandy

IA Homeschool Links

2011-07-01T13:44:00.001-05:00

Welcome to Homeschooling through the 50 States today we are visiting Iowa!

Getting Started
HSLDA New Homeschoolers
Law
Home School Legal Defense Association
HSLDA IA homepage
IA Law Analysis
IA Legal brief

Statewide support groups
Network of Iowa Christian Home Educators
Searchable database for IA support groups
Homeschool Centrals IA links page
Lot’s of great regional groups here!
Homeschooling in IA
Yahoo support groups
Used Curriculum Yahoo Group
Homeschool Iowa Yahoo Group
IDEA-2 Yahoo Group

Methods
About.com Articles and Links
Homeschool Advisor
Homeschool stores and curriculum providers
Rainbow Resource
Christian Book Distributors
Timberdoodle
Currclick

Free
http://amblesideonline.org/
http://oldfashionededucation.com/

Compulsory attendance:
Age 6 as of September 15 and less than 16.

Required Days of Instruction:
148 days total, 37 per “school quarter”

Required Subjects: None, however, for grades 5 and below, reading, language arts and math must be
assessed. For grades 6 and above, social studies and science must also be assessed.

Teacher Qualifications: None unless using the supervising teacher option.

Standardized Tests:

If under the supervising teacher option, none. If under the annual assessment option, assessments are required beginning the year the child is 7 on Sept. 15 (or their first year of homeschooling, if older). This first assessment is considered the “baseline” assessment, and it is simply used as a point from which to measure future progress.
Beginning with the year the student is age 8 on Sept. 15, an annual assessment must be submitted that
shows adequate progress from the previous or baseline test. This assessment does not have to be a standardized test, it can be a report card from a accredited school or correspondence school. School must be accredited by an agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Additionally a portfolio review may take the place of either assessment as long as it is evaluated by a teacher with at least a substitute teaching certificate.

The assessment is due June 30th of each year.

Home School Statute: Iowa Code Ann. § 299A.1−299A.10 There are 2 choices under which to homeschool Teacher supervision or assessment.

Letter of Intent: Parents must annually submit a “Competent Private Instruction” (CPI) form (2 copies) to the school board secretary. You must state which method of homeschooling you are using, either Teacher supervision or assessment. Much of this information will be treated as public information unless you give clear written instructions to the school district each time you file the form. It is recommended you use the “privacy notification form” on the members-only section of the HSLDA website.

Forms:

Families must submit Form A to the district of residence for each child by August 26, or within 14 days of removing the child from school, or within 14 days of moving into the district.

If a child requires special education services, the Director of Special Education at the AEA must pre-approve CPI for the child.

If filing Form A for the 1st time, attach immunization information. Proof of immunization is required of all children receiving CPI, including those enrolled in a HSAP unless the immunization exemption form is also completed for religious or medical reasons.

Form A

Certificate of Exemption for Immunizations (Medical/Religious Reasons)

In 2007 Legislation was enacted Iowa General Assembly requires all children under the age of 6 to have a blood lead test. Compliance with this requirement will be verified for children enrolling in kindergarten and children under the age of 6 for whom a Competent Private Instruction report form is filed. This will be done by matching the names of these children with the Iowa Department of Health’s blood lead database.

Certificate of Exemption for Blood Lead Test (Religious Reasons)

Overall, Iowa seems a fairly restrictive state to homeschool in, within those restrictions are a few options to allow you to homeschool in your preferred way. My advice is just to make sure you are only filling out that which is absolutely required, check with HSLDA to be sure.

Disclaimer: In no way is this the only info you need. Do your research and do your part to keep homeschooling free for all of us. This is for informational purposes only and not legal advice.

Mandy

NE Homeschool Links

2011-06-20T23:27:00.001-05:00

Welcome to Homeschooling through the 50 States today we are visiting Nebraska!

Getting Started
HSLDA New Homeschoolers
NE Department of Education
Law
Home School Legal Defense Association
HSLDA NE homepage
NE Law Analysis
NE Legal brief

Statewide support groups
Nebraska Christian Home Educators
Searchable database for NE support groups
Homeschool Centrals NE links page
Lot’s of great regional groups here!
Homeschooling in NE
Yahoo support groups
Used Curriculum Yahoo group
Catholic Homeschoolers in Omaha Yahoo group
Blair Area Homeschool Yahoo group
Searching Yahoo Groups really wasn’t any help and I found very few groups. If you know of any please put them in your comments below!

Methods
About.com Articles and Links
Homeschool Advisor
Homeschool stores and curriculum providers
Rainbow Resource
Christian Book Distributors
Timberdoodle
Currclick

Free
http://amblesideonline.org/
http://oldfashionededucation.com/

Compulsory attendance: Between the ages of 6 and 18 as of January 1st of that year. Parents may file a notarized statement with the local district to exempt a child under 7 for one year. Parents may also graduate a child when the homeschool program is completed, or may exempt a child from attendance after age 16 by signing a notarized release.

Required Days of Instruction:
Elementary – 1032 hours
High School – 1080 hours
Required Subjects:
Language arts, math, science, social studies, and health

Teacher Qualifications: None.
Standardized Tests: None required but the State Board of Education has the option to adopt regulations for testing.

Home School Statute: None, but there are Alternative Statues Allowing for Home Schools. Parents have 2 choices, either assertion of religious or non-religious objections to state requirements. The state has one set of rules and forms for religious objections(Rule 12) and a another for non-religious objections (Rule 13). The forms must be filed each year. If filing under Rule 12 must comply with vaccination requirements of the state.

Letter of Intent:
None required but there are other forms that must be filled out. To operate a home school under Rule 12 or Rule 13, parents must annually file the following:
A.“Parent or Guardian Form” (Form A) - Each of the parents must sign (and file) a separate notarized “Parent or Guardian Form” (Form A).
This form states which rule the homeschool falls under, that the program of instruction complies with the required subjects, and the instructors are approved by the parents.
B.“Parent Representative Form” (Form B) – Some adult (usually but not necessarily a parent) must annually also file a notarized “Parent Representative Form” (Form B). The Parent Representative must affirmatively accept certain legal duties. This includes the duty to submit information on student enrollment and attendance, monitors, and the sequential program of instruction.
C.”Information Summary” (supplemental sheet to Form B) – The Parent Representative must also file an Information Summary prior to the date that the home school begins operation and annually thereafter by July 15th. This must include the following:
i. A calendar for the school year indicating instruction hours (For a home school, this can be a very general statement of when the school term begins and ends.).
ii. A list of all “instructional monitors” in the home school (typically the parents); including name, address, age, highest level of education completed, names of educational institutions attended and the specific years attended, and a summary of prior teaching experience.
iii. A scope and sequence for each grade level.

Upon enrollment of a child’s first year of home education, a certified copy of the child’s birth certificate (or other proof as allowed by law) must be submitted.

Most important, in my opinion, is that in order to comply with the law is that both parents, even if they are married and living in the same home, must file these forms separately.

AR Homeschool Links

2011-06-20T22:10:00.001-05:00

Welcome to Homeschooling through the 50 States today we are visiting Arkansas!

Getting Started
HSLDA New Homeschoolers
AR Department of Education
Law
Home School Legal Defense Association
HSLDA AR homepage
AR Law Analysis
AR Legal brief

Statewide support groups
Searchable database for AR support groups
Homeschool Centrals AR links page
Lot’s of great regional groups here!
AR Homeschool
Yahoo support groups
Used Curriculum Yahoo group
Central AR Homeschoolers Yahoo group
N.A.C.H.O. Yahoo group
Searching Yahoo Groups with the terms “Arkansas homeschool”, “Arkansas Homeschooling”, or “Arkansas Homeschoolers” I found there are quite a few groups listed.

Methods
About.com Articles and Links
Homeschool Advisor
Homeschool stores and curriculum providers
Rainbow Resource
Christian Book Distributors
Timberdoodle
Currclick

Free
http://amblesideonline.org/
http://oldfashionededucation.com/

Compulsory attendance: Between the ages of 5 and 17 on or before September 15th of that year (2011-2012 school year and after the dates are changed to August 1st). A kindergarten waiver is available for students not yet 6 by the date for that particular year.

Required Days/Subjects: None Specified.
Teacher Qualifications: None.
Standardized Tests: No minimum score must be achieved. Every student that is being homeschooled and in a grade level (or no more than 2 years above the normal age for that grade) which testing is mandated for the state, currently grades 3-9, must take a nationally recognized norm-referenced achievement test selected by the State Board of Education.

Unless alternate testing procedures are approved, the administration of the tests is the responsibility of the directors of the education service cooperatives. The cost of testing is
the responsibility of the Department of Education unless an alternate testing procedure is approved.

Home School Statute: Ark. Stat. Ann. § 6-15-501 et. seq.

Letter of Intent: Must file written notice by August 15th for the beginning of each year, or by December 15th for the spring semester, or 14 days before withdrawing a child from the local school district during the school year. If moving into a school district during the school year the notice must be filed within 30 days of establishing residency. The current year forms can be found HERE.

Color It–A Color By Number Review

2011-06-19T01:45:00.001-05:00

I have 2 boys and sometimes coloring books were never really something they used very much. Oh I tried to get them to but they just like to freehand it on scraps of paper. Any paper actually, I always had (and still do) little bits of bills or notes with their doodles on them.

Now my daughter on the other hand loves to color in coloring books and at 2 is getting pretty good. She knows which color she wants to use for which part of the picture and everything. I am going to begin doing some preschool work with her soon and have been using a few aps on the phone with her every once in a great while.

Imagine an app that combines the simple exercise of a coloring book with number and color exploration and recognition. Well I got the chance to review just this type of product, Color It By Numbers. I wasn’t sure what to expect but remember those anti coloring boys I have? Yep, they love to do these too.

It is an application for Mac, Windows and Linux where you color in pictures according to numbers. The program helps children learn numbers while having fun.
Program features:
-three coloring modes
-easy to change preset colors
-cute and exciting images
-beautiful effects.
-adapted for all screen resolutions
-the picture is automatically saved after exiting the program
-music and sounds
As well as being in English, the program has been translated into German, Spanish, French and Russian.

There are 3 themes which are purchased individually, animals, princesses, and vehicles. Each theme has 21 images you can color in 3 different ways; by number, to find the image, and favorite colors. Coloring by number has the image numbered by color for each part, Color to find it has the image broken up into smaller pieces and as you fill in the color the pictures becomes visible, and finally favorite colors is just using whatever colors you would like to color the picture.

I really enjoyed letting my kids play with these and my 8 y/o son really liked it the best. My daughter is 2 and was a little impatient with the whole process but I know she will just love it when she masters the mouse! I loved the themes and the music set to each one. The princess music is especially beautiful and I could let it play during school time to encourage the children to work diligently so they can use the ap. I highly recommend heading over to get your free trial.

Each app costs $9.99 to buy

If you choose to download the trial and then purchase it you will receive a key that needs to be entered into the trial version to make it fully functional. Check out the video for more information on how this product works.

And the best part I have saved for last. I am having a super cool contest since I missed doing one on my 200th post (this is 210)! I am giving away one of each theme to my wonderful readers absolutely free.

*All you need to do is leave a comment here about any of my other posts.*

Additional entries:

1. Follow my blog

2. Like Color It By Numbers on FB

3. Follow Mrs. Mandy’s Musings on Twitter

4. Follow Color It By Numbers on Twitter

Remember to leave a separate comment for each entry! I will draw the 3 winner’s on July 1st and post them here on July 2nd. Be sure I have an email to contact you or I will pick a new winner.

Disclaimer: I received this product free in exchange for my honest opinion. No other compensation was received.

Mandy

My Son’s First Review

2011-06-19T00:28:00.001-05:00

Recently my son had an opportunity to review a planner for High Schoolers from The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. I have used the planner from last year and loved it you can read my review here and here. So when the chance came up for him to try it out he jumped on it. My boys share a blog but it has not been well loved yet. Please feel free to follow as I hope to have them do more with it this year.He would love you all to read it and leave some comments on their blog. You can find his review by clicking on the following link:

Purple Biker Gamer Guy

Mandy

Family Movie Night

2011-06-10T16:59:00.001-05:00

Field Of Vision Saturday June 11th 8/7 c

SYNOPSIS

Through mysterious footage captured on an old malfunctioning video camera, Sinclair High School's star quarterback, Tyler McFarland, learns that some of his teammates have been bullying Cory Walker, a troubled new transfer student. Aware that sharing this information with the coach might get his friends kicked off the team and ultimately cost the school the state championship, Tyler must choose what's more important: winning or doing what's right.

As these events unfold, the camera also reveals more surprising footage to Tyler's kid sister Lucy. She learns that Cory has a secret past, unknown even to him. Now Lucy must convince her mom (Faith Ford, Murphy Brown) and family that the camera's revealing insight is not a product of her imagination as she enlists their help to find the answers Cory so desperately needs. It's a compelling and intriguing story that shows both the challenges and rewards of doing the right thing even when it's tough to do.

Preview Trailer

My Thoughts:

This is a wonderful heartwarming movie about the struggle to do the right thing. I did expect it to be centered on the character who is the popular kid and must make this tough decision but after viewing it was pleasantly surprised to see there was no single main character as each is focused on as the movie progresses. I watched it with my boys and we all enjoyed it immensely.

We do not have cable and usually watch Netflix but I am wonderfully thankful that P&G and Wal-Mart have partnered to bring Family Movie Nights to households all across the United States. Wholesome movies with good family values are needed more than ever. This endeavor brings back memories of what watching TV with the family was like when I was a child.

Please be sure and watch it this Saturday (tomorrow) with your family at 8/7 central on NBC.

"Field of Vision" is an uplifting movie that addresses bullying in schools and the importance of standing up in the face of adversity. Nearly three-quarters of Americans consider bullying harassment a serious problem and more than 45% of students admitted to having been bullied in school. This movie provides a great opportunity for families to spend time together in watching and discussing the issue of bullying from a biblical world view.

Starring Faith Ford, Tony Oller and Joe Adler this movie airs on Saturday, June 11, 2011 at 8/7c on NBC.

"Field of Vision" FAMILY MOVIE NIGHT

Website:
http://www.familymovienight.com/field-of-vision/

Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/familymovienight

Mom's for Family TV:
http://www.moms4familytv.com/

Dove Foundation Review:
http://www.dove.org/reviewpopup.asp?Unique_ID=8834

Mandy

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

What I did today…

2011-06-07T23:08:00.001-05:00

Moved a rose bush

From here:

Ok so maybe I did not do ALL the work but I did quite a bit while the boys were complaining it was too hard. Of course then they were into it when they discovered there were only 3 roots to unearth. Although to their credit the soil was very rocky here.

To here:

Doesn’t it look happier already? Hubby dug the new hole for me since we made it a wee bit narrow, thanks hun! This is a climbing rosebush and was going up our wall and into the roof so it had to be moved. It was in a very bad spot with a ginormous honeysuckle and another bush, that I can’t think of what it is right now, blocking all the light and making it very difficult to prune.

The previous owners really had no clue as to what they were doing and much of this house is a confused mess but we hope to eventually put it to rights! If you look there is no footing for the deck post behind the bush and that is a second story deck! The deck is next on my list to get fixed.

Here is the little garden area behind our house under the kitchen:

I would love to have this as my veggie garden at some point to start with since it is right out the back door (and down the deck stairs). It would get full sun from about 10 am on if I get it all cleared of that bush but I feel bad because it has been our bird watching spot for the past 3 years. What to do, what to do?

So before I started this project I worked on an apron for little miss but need to save my pennies to buy some ribbon for ties and trim but otherwise it is finished and super simple. I post later on how to make one.

Also not sure if these are cicadas or not since I have not heard them this season but I am pretty sure they aren’t butterfly chrysalis like my son thinks. I am going to go up on the ladder tomorrow to find out for sure. I have never had them on the house like that before.

Made some yummy pasta tonight for supper with the peppers and tomatoes from my plants, added some oregano and thyme and it was super yummy! Sorry no pics though as we devoured it immediately after our hard work outside today!

Well some of us just played in the sprinkler but you know that’s hard too!

Mandy

A Daughter’s Walk

2011-06-07T00:51:00.001-05:00

What would you do to save your family’s livelihood? Would you walk cross-country, from Spokane,Washington to New York, New York in 9 months? How about in a long dress with no secure lodging or food? Well that’s just what Helga and her daughter Clara Estby did in 1896 for a $10,000 wager to save the family farm.

Jane Kirkpatrick, drawing on this factual account, takes the reader through the trials, triumphs, heartaches and losses that plague this mother and daughter throughout their trip. Something else is along for the trip and that is Helga’s firm faith and devotion to do what is right.

As the trip draws to a close Jane let’s imagination take over as she creates what might have occurred to separate Clara from her family and prompt her to live out her days away from them and make it as a successful young lady. Sources as to the speculation of this part of the novel are included and I found the information fascinating. Also included is a discussion guide for use with a group which makes it great to use in our home school.

I love historical fiction and Jane has done a superb job or crafting a tale that draws you in and holds you by the heart making you truly care and wonder about each of the characters in the story.

Here is a link to the 1st chapter:

Chapter 1-Decision

Available as an e-book $9.99, paperback $14.95 from Waterbrook-Multnomah Publishers

or audio book from Audible.com: $7.49

Disclaimer: I received this book from Waterbrook-Multnomah Publishing Groups a part of Blogging For Books in exchange for my honest review. No other compensation has been received.

Mandy

IL Homeschool Links

2011-06-05T23:52:00.001-05:00

Welcome to Homeschooling through the 50 States today we are visiting Illinois!

Getting Started
HSLDA New Homeschoolers
Law
Home School Legal Defense Association
HSLDA IL homepage
IL Law Analysis
IL Legal brief

Statewide support groups
Searchable database for IL support groups
Homeschool Centrals IL links page Lot’s of great regional groups here!
IL Christian Home Educators
Yahoo support groups
Used Curriculum Yahoo group
Homeschool IL Yahoo group
Seriously if you search “IL homeschool” in Yahoo groups there are too many groups to list here so I am just linking the search results HERE

Methods
About.com Articles and Links
Homeschool Advisor
Homeschool stores and curriculum providers
Rainbow Resource
Christian Book Distributors
Timberdoodle
Currclick

Free
http://amblesideonline.org/
http://oldfashionededucation.com/

Compulsory attendance: Between the ages of 7 and 17 inclusive unless graduated from high school.

Required Days/Subjects: 176 days and instruction must be in the English language. Parents must provide instruction in the same “branches of education” that children of “corresponding” age and grade receive in public school. The statute identifies the branches of education as: language arts, math, biological, physical and social sciences, fine arts, and physical development and health.

Teacher Qualifications: None.
Standardized Tests: Not required by statute.

Home School Statute: None but there are 5 alternative statutes that allow for homeschooling including one which states:

“A child shall not be considered neglected or
abused solely because the child is not attending school …”

And there is even an Education Tax Credit available if you qualify and you go for that sort of thing. For more information:
http://www.revenue.state.il.us/Individuals/Credits/educationexpensecredit.html

Humble Gardening

2011-06-05T16:26:00.001-05:00

I like that word, humble, it just kind of bounces out of the mouth. I have, unfortunately, not been a person that does humble very well. I am not given praise very often and I usually get haughty about that fact. I often feel that I should have been recognized for my efforts doing such and such. Now don’t get me wrong I have tried to become a more humble and contrite person but that is not my nature. I anger easily and am too darn proud to say I was wrong. The Lord knows my nature and has gently brought me to his feet to learn how to overcome it and work for His glory.

My darling 2 y/o was helping and picked these a wee bit early

Knowing my heart the Lord has seen my family through tremendous adversity and currently we are in a season of unemployment. He has provided for our every need and I know He will continue to do so. As such he sent me my wonderful aunt who brought me a potted pepper and tomato plant when I simply mentioned I saw them at the store. I have also received an Aerogarden from the same aunt and have herbs growing there.

Mint & Basil

Thyme & Oregano

Let me explain a bit. My husband came from a family who on one side ran a catering business and on the other side ran a farm. In the past few years God has put it in our hearts to homestead and run a sustainable home. I am a complete city girl and have the brownest of thumbs. I am awful at growing things, or I was until about 6 years ago when the Almighty sent some amazing people to us during our years in the military. They taught me much about planting and growing the things God made. Now I am no pro but am able at least to get most things sprouted.

So as I said we have it on our hearts to homestead in the future (financially we are in a tough spot so this is on hold) but growing food is something altogether foreign to me. My tomato and pepper plants are doing well and I have fruit from the vine to prove it! We used some Impatiens for a science project and they are coming back and my son planted some seeds in Children’s church before Easter and wow are they growing! I am beginning to get a vision for container gardening since we don’t have the tools for a larger size garden that way as we are able I can plant in the ground.

Any idea what this vine is?

So many of my homeschool, homestead, & blogging friends have given me encouragement and inspiration I realized last night the Lord sent all of them in the same way he sent the wonderful ladies to me years ago. To each of you I want to say Thank you and you are a blessing to me, may the Father Almighty pour out his blessings among you.

Tomato & Pepper Plants

Mandy

The Write Foundation ~ Essays

2011-06-04T22:01:00.001-05:00

I had the chance to review The Write Foundation's Essay Curriculum, I reviewed their paragraph curriculum here, to see first hand the changes they had made. At first my son still was reluctant and kind of trying to avoid doing it but I soon learned the genius of the lessons and how it worked best for us.

We began doing a lesson over an hours time which was requiring my son to work on multiple worksheets. He was feeling overwhelmed until I realized these lessons could be Charlotte Mason –ized (forgive the word creation) into short lessons if we only worked on one concept/worksheet a day.

I still wish there was a copy of the students sheets in the Teacher’s Manual because often times I would be writing what my son was to fill in on his sheet and it was already there or I would be giving him instructions and it was already printed on his page to read himself. At 15 my son likes to be able to just take the work and do it mostly with out my help unless needed. This is where I stumbled onto what worked best for us, I got tired of having to go look at his page and just gave him the TM instead of writing it on the board and then we would talk about it as he wrote, brilliant, huh?!

Now let me point out here that there is an additional resources file that you receive with your purchase that includes copies of the student pages meant to be used either on an overhead projector or from your computer. I could never remember to go to this file and get what we needed so for me sitting the TM in front of my kid is what worked best. Not I am sure the author’s intent but that is why TOS Crew just voted this the Most Adaptable Curriculum in their Blue Ribbon Awards.

Check out the video below for the How-To’s of teaching this curriculum.

Here is what you get when you purchase the Essay Writing Curriculum package:

Spiral-bound Teacher Instruction Manuals with Lesson Plans (about 160 double-sided pages)
1 set notebook-ready Worksheets (about 200 pages)
1 downloadable Additional Resources file
- Grading System
- Grading Record Sheets
- Word Games
- Checklists
- Teacher Presentation Sheets
- Weekly Assignments
- Extensive Reading list

There are a few ways to buy this package so to be clear I will explain. You can order the first half of the lessons, the second half of the lessons or all of the lessons. Basically this is so you can use it either by semester or an entire year. The complete package is 30 lessons and costs $70 plus tax and shipping. You may email or call for other package options.

To contact her:

Email: bcelsor@sbcglobal.net

Phone: 281-356-3556

There is also a Yahoo Group which can be found at thewritefoundation.

Overall I would say I am very pleased with the changes made and the curriculum in general. More specifically I really enjoyed the subject matter contained in the exercises for Essays and found my son was picking up on the teachings in a much easier fashion, he was learning and really did not realize it. I would say he was naturally becoming a better writer through the use of this program.

Disclaimer: I was provide with the first 15 lessons of this curriculum free of charge in return for my honest opinion. No other compensation was received.

Mandy

2010-2011 TOS Crew Blue Ribbon Awards

2011-06-01T23:45:00.001-05:00

As the 2010-2011 Crew year comes to a close, each crew member has selected their favorites, The votes have been counted and now I am proud to present the recipients of the award this year:

Favorite Language Arts Product => Institute For Excellence in Writing (IEW)

Favorite Social Studies Product => Bright Ideas Press-Wondermaps

Favorite Science Product => Eagle’s Wings-Considering God’s Creation

Favorite Math Product => I See Cards-Pyramath

Favorite Online Math Product => Ten Marks

Favorite Writing Product => Writing Tales

Favorite Reading Instruction Product => Talking Fingers

Favorite Foreign Language Product => Classical Academic Press

Favorite Fine Arts Product (art, music, etc.) => Artistic Pursuits

Favorite Preschool Product => Go Go Kabongo

Favorite Elementary Product => Speekee

Favorite Upper Grade Product => Vocab Ahead

Favorite Special Needs Product => See-N-Read

Favorite Christian Education Product => Apologia

Best Resource I Didn’t Know I Needed => Lanschool Technologies

Best Customer Service => Peterson Directed Handwriting

Best Online Resource => Big IQ Kids

Best e-product => Zeezok Publishing-ZGuide to the Movies

Best Technology Resource => Collectorz

Best Homeschool Resource => Yesterday’s Classics

Best Book, Novel or Magazine => Zoe & Sozo Publishing-Foundlings

Best Children’s Book => Kregel Publications-Circle C Beginnings

Best Hands-On Resource => Corps of Re-Discovery

Most Adaptable Resource => The Write Foundation

Most Unique Resource => GoTrybe

Most Family-Oriented Product => Growing Healthy Homes-Nutrition 101

Kid’s Choice => Schleich Action Figures

All Around Crew Favorite => Institute For Excellence in Writing

Each winning vendor has received this wonderful award to display with pride:

If the next few days I will be posting our families favorite Crew products from the past year so be sure to check back and see what we consider our must haves for this year’s schooling!

Mandy

TN Homeschool Links

2011-05-27T01:42:00.002-05:00

Welcome to Homeschooling through the 50 States today we are visiting Tennessee!

Getting Started
HSLDA New Homeschoolers
Law
Home School Legal Defense Association
HSLDA TN homepage
TN Law Analysis
TN Legal brief
Statewide support groups
Searchable database for TN support groups
Homeschool Centrals TN links page TN Home Ed Tennessee Home Education Assoc.

Yahoo support groups
Used Curriculum Yahoo group
Tennessee Homeschoolers Yahoo Group Homeschool Passport Yahoo Group

Methods
About.com Articles and Links
Homeschool Advisor
Homeschool stores and curriculum providers
http://www.rainbowresource.com/index.php
Christian Book Distributors
http://www.timberdoodle.com/
Currclick
Free
http://amblesideonline.org/
http://oldfashionededucation.com/

Compulsory attendance: Between the ages of 6 and 17 inclusive unless exempt by either request or graduation from school.
Required Days/Subjects: 180 days and subjects not specified in grades K-12 if operating under church cover school. If not then grades 9-12 must be taught either college prep material or general course subjects.
There are 4 options by which to homeschool and while I won’t go into detail the most regulated is to operate outside of a church cover school. You would need to register, take attendance, submit vaccine records, and provide at least 4 hours of instruction each day. The content and scope of curriculum is not required to be inspected.
There are teacher qualifications depending on which option you use to homeschool the least of which is a high school diploma or GED. Grades 5,7, and 9 are required to submit standardized testing and the results may be used to prescribe remedial courses. These must be the same tests given to the local school district children. This only applies to certain options as well.

Disclaimer: In no way is this the only info you need. Do your research and do your part to keep homeschooling free for all of us. This is for informational purposes only and not legal advice.

Mandy

Read For The Heart ~ TOS Review

2011-05-27T01:00:00.001-05:00

I have loved books from the day I was born. Ok, well maybe not quite that early but it seems to me I was never without a book, and an adventure, near to me.

I have a tough time dealing with the fact that my boys do not always share my fervor for reading, although my younger son is beginning to devour books in a similar fashion. My daughter, at the wonderful age of 2, is showing signs of being just like her momma. I often find her perusing our plethora of books, picking and choosing with care just which she will look at next.

Read For The Heart is a blessing to me. Here I have been lamenting over the last few years how all the books I loved as a child will be missed by my children because of my horrid memory and God just plops this little gem in my lap, as if to say “You don’t need to try to remember any more, stop your fretting.”

Sally Clarkson has drawn on her own fondness for reading and kinship with books to share with us the secrets of reading books to others. She explains why sharing books and reading aloud is such an important and loving thing. Following this part of the book are her amazing and (for me) perfectly chosen book lists based on many varied points such as age of reader, illustrators, type of books, etc.. I know this will be my go to book from now on for finding just the right books and for filling up Christmas lists and birthday wishes for years to come. (Mom are you reading this?)

Here is a link to read the first chapter.

Put out by Apologia Press you can be assured of it’s wonderful devotion to our Lord and the morality of the books suggested.

From the site:

“A great book spurs the imagination in childhood, inspires our dreams in adulthood, and nourishes the soul with depictions of life fully and courageously lived. Among the greatest gifts you can bequeath to a child are a love for reading and a passion for books. But how do you sort through the many thousands of books available to your children to find those that are worthwhile? Apologia has the answer. Keeping Read for the Heart close at hand is like having a children's librarian for a best friend! Let Sarah Clarkson be your guide to the best in children's literature for your family. From timeless classics to modern favorites, from picture books to adventure novels to read-aloud favorites, more than 1,000 wonderful stories for young people are recommended within these pages. Now you can make great literature a lasting part of your child's life and education.”

If you would like to see the Table Of Contents follow this link.

Sarah has a way with words and her philosophy on what reading great literature means for the future has absolutely enthralled me. I admit at first I thought this would just be another book list book but it is so much more. Take the following quote for instance:

“On a more spiritual level, the habit of reading influences the ability to think deeply about life-altering ideas of faith and belief. Madeleine L'Engle, author of A Wrinkle in Time, once wrote that the decreasing vocabulary of modern culture would result in an inability to think greatly about God:
"The more limited our language is, the more limited we are; the more limited the literature we give to our children, the more limited their capacity to respond, and therefore, in their turn, to create. The more our vocabulary is controlled, the less we will be able to think for ourselves. We do think in words, and the fewer words we know, the more restricted our thoughts. As our vocabulary expands, so does our power to think."
. . .
A young intellect nourished by a feast of words can tackle any concept -- whether mathematical, scientific, spiritual, or imaginative - with confidence.” (pages 20-21)

Sarah has completely put into words my thoughts about why we homeschool and do not trust institutions to educate our children and why we use living books and great literature to do so.

Author: Sarah Clarkson

Cost: $17

Format: Paperback

Apologia Educational Ministries
1106 Meridian Plaza Suite 220
Anderson, IN 46016 US
Phone: (888)524-4724
Fax: (765)608-329

Please visit the TOSCrew to see what other homeschool families thought about this book!

Mandy

Disclaimer: I received this as a review product, free in exchange for my honest opinion. No other compensation was provided.

Eagle’s Wings ~ TOS Review

2011-05-25T00:00:00.000-05:00

I think I am in love, with a homeschool curriculum that is. I have a love/hate relationship with some of the curriculum we are using this year. I love the material yet it lacks the focus on the Lord I desire. I had the opportunity to take a break from what we have been using and check out a a program with the similar approach of note-booking we have not tried before. Of course I jumped on that and I just might not ever look back!

Eagle’s Wings is a biblically based curriculum provider that uses note-booking to engage student creativity and a hands on approach with simple activities to help the student really get their curiosity going.

Considering God’s Creation is a low cost, high quality complete Science curriculum geared toward grades 2-7 but completely adaptable for younger or older grades making it a great choice for large families. The teacher’s Manual has a section that easily explains how to do just that.

Using the scripted Teacher’s Manual you guide the student along in their study of Getting to know God through his creation. Letting your children become real scientists and showing them how to look for the knowledge they seek. The Student Notebook is a thing of beauty, as the children work in their notebooks they are creating a record of God’s world as they discover it. Included are songs and poems that are catchy and remind the children how God’s creation works.

My Opinion:

I really love this program, it is gentle yet through and you can really do it in your own way, it is that flexible. For example my son wanted to learn about the earth because it tied in with what we are learning in My Father’s World right now. It meshed perfectly and I was so happy with how easy it was to do the lesson. The lessons are short and provide natural breaks, where we were used to a lesson seeming to take forever because I did not know just how to break it up.

My son is only beginning to feel confident in his researching abilities and so for him to be able to do the notebook pages on his own was huge! Considering God’s Creation covers natural science including the following topics:

Creation
The Universe: Stars, Sun and Planets
The Earth
Non-Living Things : Rocks and Minerals
Weather
The Plant Kingdom
The Animal Kingdom
Animal Anatomy and Physiology
Man: Made In God’s Image
A variety of scientists

My son is 8 and he really enjoyed the time we spent with this product, especially the songs and poems, and he can not wait until we fully incorporate it into our year in the fall. I was hoping there was a series of the science curriculum for sale but right now this is the only science program sold by Eagle’s Wings, I look forward to using it and any future programs.

You can see more samples HERE of the student notebook.

Considering God’s Creation

Includes:

1- Teacher Manual and CD with the songs and poems 272 pages

1- Student notebook 384 pages

Cost: $29.95

Additional notebooks are $13.95 and CDs are $3.00

Available at:

Eagle’s Wings Educational Materials P.O. Box 502
Duncan, OK 73534
Ph.: 580.252.1555
Info@EaglesWingsEd.com

Also available:

History, Bible, Geography, Math, Phonics programs that are affordable and God honoring.

Please visit TOS Crew blog to read other reviews on this product by clicking the banner at the top of my post.

Mandy

Disclaimer: I was provided with a copy of the product for free in exchange for my honest opinions. I received no other compensation.

Talking Fingers–TOS Review

2011-05-20T00:00:00.000-05:00

Teaching my 8 year old his spelling rules and trying to get him to stop using invented spelling has been a source of stress for me lately. It is with great pleasure I introduce to you all the reason I am still alive to tell about it.Talking Fingers Wordy QWERTY. Geared to grades 2-4, Wordy QWERTY is a online software program that teaches reading and spelling. It is the follow-up program to Read, Write & Type Learning System.

Teaching children about spelling rules and word construction can seem daunting and tedious, however, using Talking Fingers program makes it fun and exciting. There are 20 lessons that teach using games, music, and catchy tunes called JingleSpells. You will even find yourself singing along, I know I did. My son and I really enjoyed this program. I have been worried about how to teach him the spelling rules and break his habit of using the invented spelling he was taught in public school. I notice he doesn’t remember the rules very well when we do them during spelling but once he started Wordy QWERTY he remembered the ones he learned rather quickly and easily. He has even been caught singing them just when he is around the house!

Talking Fingers from the website:

“The Talking Fingers approach is unique and is based on a simple idea: text is speech made visible! We use our mouths to talk, to make the sounds of words. We use our fingers (with a pencil or keyboard) to represent those sounds on paper. When children learn to link speech sounds with letters, they can use the alphabet code to write any word they can say. Their fingers are "talking". This approach is aimed at maximizing the activation of the left side of the brain where skilled reading and writing are processed.”

If you’d like to see what is covered check out this scope and sequence.

Cost:

Note: All Online editions are for 5 years

Wordy Qwerty - Online Edition - 1 user
$25.00

Wordy Qwerty - Online Edition - 2 users
$40.00

Wordy Qwerty - Online Edition - 3 users
$52.50

Wordy Qwerty - Online Edition - 4 users
$60.00

Wordy Qwerty - Online Edition - 5 users
$71.25

Wordy Qwerty - CD Home Edition
$35.00 Includes-

1 copy of the Wordy Qwerty program CD
1 Wordy Qwerty Program Guide in a three-ring binder
1 JingleSpells audio CD of the 20 songs contained in Wordy Qwerty

Jingle Spells CD also available for $10 separate purchase.

If you’d like to see what others experienced using this program please click the banner at the top.

Mandy

Disclaimer: I was provided the above product for free in exchange for my honest opinion. No other compensation was provided.

2010-2011 Reviews

2011-05-19T00:23:00.002-05:00

I have decided to create a page in addition to this post, so look for it on the right sidebar, to make it simpler to locate my reviews. This listing is for my TOS Crew Reviews for the 2010-2011 school year. I and my children will be going back through all the blessings we have received this year because of the Crew and will be picking our faves. Keep an eye out for those to be noted here.

Monki See
Considering God’s Creation - Eagle’s Wings
WonderMaps - Bright Ideas Press
Mad Dog Math
Talking Fingers- Wordy QWERTY
Go Trybe
Read For The Heart – Apologia
Growing Healthy Homes
Writing Tales Level 1 & 2
All About Reading – All About Learning
See The Light Art
Kinderbach
Go Go Kabongo
Zeezok Movie Guides
Big IQ Kids
Science Weekly
Latin Alive 1 – Classical Academic Press
Kid Scoop
Reading Kingdom
Math Rider
Who Is God – Apologia
Zombie Fire Ants – The Curiosity Files
Dig It Games
Vocab Ahead
TenMarks
Times Alive – City Creek Press
Speekee
Illustrated Bible Dictionary – Lifeway Christian Stores
See N Read
Aleks
Travel The World Module
Time 4 Writing – Time 4 Learning
Math Tutor DVD
Salem Ridge Press
Zoe and Sozo Publishing
Hey Andrew! Teach Me Some Greek
The Write Foundations
Buckets O Fun
PG Key
KB Teachers
Tiny Planets
Help Lord! I'm Homeschooling a High Schooler
Molly's Money Saving Digest

Mandy

Mad Dog Math ~ TOS Review

2011-05-18T00:00:00.000-05:00

I am happy to present today’s review, Mad Dog Math, a math drill software program that encourages children with incentives to improve their math facts skills. Can be used either at home or in a classroom to achieve math mastery in basic operations. Using short drill lessons enables the child to enjoy the lesson and become more confident as they progress.

I do want to point out this is only the software we reviewed but the Mad Dog Math program is much more than just the software. The video explains how the program is set up for schools but I can see this translating into homeschools very easily.

There are four levels of ability to drill math facts

Level 1 +/- focusing on 0-18 families
Level 2 +/- more focus on 10 – 18 families
Level 3 Multiplication and Division
Challenge Level mixed operations drills

Also available are flashcards, certificates, paper and pencil forms, instructional materials.

Cost:

Download available in 3 prices

1 year license – $19.99

2 year license – $29.99

Perpetual License – $39.99

E-mail
julie@maddogmath.com

Phone
(562) 533-5772

Mailing Address
Mad Dog Math
4562 Ocana Avenue
Lakewood, CA 90713

My boys are not close enough in age to appreciate the competitiveness with each other but they did enjoy the self competition trying to beat their own times and such. I loved that this program can be tailored for multiple ages and they can progress at their own speed. The program tells the student what to work on as they progress and pass each set of problems.

I can’t wait to start my daughter with this program. She is only 2 but I love how I can do math drilling straight from the beginning with her. My boys never got the foundation in math drilling they needed until we began homeschooling 2 years ago and now it is a bit of a struggle. After drilling multiplication this year with my oldest DS15 he has vastly improved his speed and accuracy.

To see what other TOS Crewmembers thought about Mad Dog Math software click the TOS banner at the top.

Mandy

Disclaimer: In exchange for providing my honest opinion I received a free trial of the above mentioned program. No other compensation was provided.

50 States of Homeschooling

2011-05-16T23:39:00.002-05:00

Recently I have had quite a few requests from people on how to start homeschooling their children. I am so flattered God has given me this opportunity to minister to other families in this way. I am still fairly new at this myself but wish to bless others and so I thought what better way than to put some of the links up that have helped me.
I wanted this to be applicable to all families so I decided to do a blog feature weekly (I aim for Tuesdays) of each state in the United States. Each week I will highlight a bit about the requirements for homeschooling, helpful support websites, places to find curriculum, and whatever else I find helpful.
I will create a page where I have each state listed with a link to it's post in no particular order. You can find that in the left sidebar under pages or by going to 50 States Page.
I want to point out how important it is to do your own research. I hope my information helps you but we all need to make sure we are complying with our states laws so others who come after have the same freedoms we enjoy now.
My last big bit of advice, if in doubt Google It! Seriously don’t be shy, if you need info fast do a Google search. You can Google images of homeschool classroom (you’ll find tons) to method specific curriculum (like Montessori maths). I have usually found what I am looking for within the first 3 search result pages. If you have trouble try rewording the search terms a bit.
Oh and blogs, homeschoolers of every type blog and they have been a source of unimaginable help and possibility to me. As a matter of fact check out my Bloggy friends on the left (let me know of broken links will ya) and see if something doesn’t catch your interest.
Mandy
Disclaimer: In no way is this the only info you need. Do your research and do your part to keep homeschooling free for all of us. This is for informational purposes only and not legal advice.

WonderMaps ~TOS Review

2011-05-16T03:35:00.000-05:00

When I started our 1st year homeschooling the fall of 2009 I had trouble finding maps to go with our studies. I wanted maps that had certain periods of history or focus in on certain smaller areas from biblical history. Wondermaps from Bright Ideas Press has taken that stress and made it disappear for good!

Wondermaps is a clickable linked PDF document that enables you to turn on or off map labels with the click of a mouse. No more searching for that perfect map of Europe with only country names or maps from WWI. It’s all there, over 350 maps at your fingertips.

There are four menus to choose from The World, The U.S.A., Historical, and Thematic. Each menu has it’s own index which is organized alphabetically for the World and U.S. maps and chronologically for the Historical and Thematic maps. If you use any Bright Ideas Press curriculum for history they have the maps for their Mystery of History and American History programs also.

I love this product and am so happy to have found it. It truly is a blessing in our homeschool for me to not have to search forever and still not find the exact map I need. You can make your maps as basic or advanced as you like so the fact that it can be used with multiple grades is a big plus for me. This has saved me so much time and aggravation.

Here is a video tutorial so you can see just how you might use it.

Bright Ideas Press

PO Box 333 Cheswold, DE 19936

Phone: 877.492.8081

Email: contact@BrightIdeasPress.com

WonderMaps Cost: $49.95 on CD or download

Other products available:

Illuminations, Mystery of History and All American History for a complete curriculum.

To see what other reviewers thought of this product please visit TOSCrew.

Mandy

Disclaimer: I have provided my honest opinion in exchange for a copy of the above product. No other compensation was received.

Homeschoolers in need

2011-05-14T22:04:00.001-05:00

As a member of The Old Schoolhouse Review Crew I have gotten to know some amazing, strong in the Lord, blessed woman. One of these beautiful ladies is in dire need of our help. Heather Laurie is a homeschool mom in West Virginia who is in desperate need of our help. I don’t believe I have every met or heard of anyone in such a difficult place. My heart truly aches for this family. In order to give you a brief overview of her situation, I have a list of 10 facts about Heather Laurie.

1. Heather has an illness called Mitochondrial Disease. It is degenerative. It is fatal. It is incurable. There are no existing treatments for it. For more information concerning this disease, click Here.

2. Heather has 5 children. All of them also have Mitochondrial Disease. All of them also have cerebral palsy.

3. Heather’s faithful Navy Veteran husband, Chris, has a job that is 3 hours away from home. He is forced to live in a different city for 5 days of the week, leaving Heather alone to care for and home school 5 severely disabled, terminal children, while simultaneously dealing with her own terminal disease.

4. Heather recently had a stroke. She can no longer drive. She still must somehow care for the children.

5. Heather and two of her children are confined to wheelchairs. Her 6 year old will need a wheelchair very soon. Her youngest is also showing signs of needing one.

6. Heather lives in a two story house. The children cannot walk up and down the stairs, and Heather can no longer carry them. They must slide up and down the stairs on their bottoms.

7. Heather’s yard is on a hill. Due to their disabilities, the children cannot play on a sloping surface and the street offers the only flat area for play. Therefore, Heather’s children do not play outside.

8. Heather cannot afford to move into the city where her husband works because huge medical bills have completely destroyed their credit.

9. Four of Heather’s five children have suffered strokes, stroke-like episodes and seizures. One child needs brain surgery.

10. Four of the children are autistic, and struggle with learning disabilities, behavioral problems, GI dysfunction, immune deficiencies, and migraines.

Heather Laurie has ministered to others for years in the special needs community. She gives hours of volunteer work from her home: posting encouraging articles, messages, advice, links, blogs, and more to parents with special needs children. The BIP team has decided that it’s time for someone to give back to her. (If you’d like to read more about the Laurie family, visit their website at http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/lauries)

How You Can Help!

The Laurie family needs a new house. It is inconceivable that they have made it this far in a house that is so unsuitable for their needs. They need a single-story house that can accommodate at least 5 wheelchairs, and has temperature control, air filters, and other special amenities that these children require to live a healthy life. The well-known TV show Extreme Makeover Home Edition is looking for a family to help in West Virginia. The Laurie family has applied for a house, and they have a chance of getting on the show and receiving a specially built house for free. However, the decision makers at the TV station want to know that people care about this family enough to nominate them. In order for the Laurie’s to get on the show, the EMHE inbox needs to be flooded with emails and Facebook posts nominating them! That’s where you come in. Here’s what you can do:

Send an email to EMHEcastingdept@gmail.com with the name “Heather Laurie” or “Laurie Family from WV” in the subject line. You can type a detailed message about their situation, or you can say something as simple as “I would like to nominate Heather Laurie of West Virginia for a new house. Please help this deserving family!” You could also include a link to the Laurie Family website: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/lauries
2.

Go to the Extreme Makeover Home Edition Discussion Board and post a topic with the Laurie family’s name in the title. In the message body you can write a new message, re-use the message that you emailed, or you can copy and paste part of this newsletter.
3.

If you have a Facebook account, go to the Extreme Makeover Home Edition Page, and click “Like”.In the discussion board section, search for the topic posted by Heather Laurie with the title “Our 7 member family has 6 with a progressive life shortening disease. We need your help!” and write a message nominating her. Again, you can copy and paste the facts from this newsletter, or compose your own unique message.

Feel free to do one, two, or all three of these steps. It only takes 5 minutes and could totally rock this family’s world.

In addition to nominating the Laurie’s for EMHE, Bright Ideas Press is hosting a special fundraiser sale on Saturday, May 21st. On this day only, 20% of all sales made with the Laurie family’s name in the comments section of your order form will be donated directly to the Laurie family. If you are planning on purchasing any curriculum from Bright Ideas Press for the next school year, I encourage you to make your purchase on May 21st. Do not forget: putting the Laurie family’s name in the comments section of your order form will give 20% of your payment as a donation to the Laurie Family Fund.

Thank You So Much for Your Help!!!

Please continue to keep the Laurie’s in prayer. We know that God will provide for them one way or another!

Mandy

Disclaimer: Post used with permission from BrightIdeasPress newsletter.