Paperless Organization from Simplified Pantry

Once upon a time, in the land of make believe, there was a fair homeschool mama.  She had four lovely children, a well organized house and life.  She never missed an appointment or a birthday, and had it all together.

Ha! Ha! Well, at least the lovely children part is right! {smile} For some reason, I used to think that I was organized, not sure sure what gave me that idea, but I have hit reality.  As my children have multiplied and gotten older, it seems that for me, organization is more like a dream than a reality.  Until now.

Recently, I was given a much needed eBook called Paperless Organization, to review for the Molly Crew.  It was written by Mystie Winckler from Simplified Pantry, a homeschool mom of 5.

 

Paperless Organization, just as the name implies, has the goal to helping us harried homeschool mama's (well anyone really) to get organized. Minus stacks, piles and binders.

Right off the bat I felt like this was a product written for my stage of life.  Busy. Homeschooling. Busy. Somewhat disorganized.  Oh, and busy.  Mystie is herself in the trenches of raising kids, homeschooling and running a household.  She is a great source of organizational wisdom, especially since she is there herself. 

Ok, enough rambling.  Here's the nitty gritty of what Paperless Organization teaches you.  First, Mystie explains all of the wonderful benefits of having a homemaking binder.  To be honest, this was not really new information to me. I have liked the idea of a homemaking binder ever since I had heard of it.  I have actually tried to make them before, but I think I got buried in the whole idea of a binder for this and a binder for that.  But Mystie's idea of paperless binders sounded a like a dream come true.  Ahhh, organization at last!

Mystie gives detailed instructions on making a paperless home binder.  Her plan utilizes 3 online programs/ apps that are F-R-E-E!  You can get organized on your computer, pad, pod or phone.

One of the apps she uses is Evernote.  I frequently use Evernote, but I didn't realize what all I could be doing with it until reading Paperless Organization.  Basically, she shows you step by step how to turn Evernote into  personal home binder files.  This is the spot where you dump everything from your brain into - to do lists, curriculum plans, shopping lists, recipes, menu plans, clothing sizes, ideas to try, and chore charts, it all goes in Evernote.  She also suggests having a blogging binder for those that blog.

Mystie also shares how to set up Remember the Milk, a task management app, and Google Calendar and Mail.

Getting organized is not an over night thing, at least not for me, but I am on my way.  Thanks to this little eBook, I am in the process of transferring everything over from paper files to paperless files.  I really love all of her ideas with Evernote and Remember the Milk.  I have been the queen of spiral notebooks, but I am moving on to being paperless.  It just makes sense for many reasons.  Here's lookin forward to never losing a list again!

You can get a copy of Paperless Organization for yourself in either pdf or kindle format for just $3.99.  

Right now, Mystie is currently offering 30% off of any of her e-books!  To take advantage of this offer use the code TOS2013 when you checkout.

Mystie has also written two other eBooks that are worth checking out, Simplified Dinners and Simplified Dinners Gluten Free/Dairy Free.

The Molly Crew has reviewed all three of these books, you can read the reviews by clicking here. 

Budding Authors & 6 Weeks to Understanding Grammar

If you have been a LSG reader for any length of time, you have probably heard me mention that we struggle with writing.  For the most part, my girls can be pretty reluctant writers.  They are good with grammar, but I think they just lack confidence with writing.

Joyce Herzog's Budding Authors Series and 6 Weeks to Understanding Grammar, a review we received from the TOS Crew, seemed like just the thing to get us going. 

Let me tell you a little about the series. The Budding Author series is a five book series that takes students from copywork and dictation to writing their own stories, researching topics and writing reports.  The books are not grade specific, you would just use the book that best suits where your student currently is with their writing. 

• Step Into Writing ($10) is the first book in this series.  It starts off gently by introducing dictation of simple stories, copywork and then "experiencing the story," which is when the child dictates their story for someone else to write down for them.This book also includes helpful checklists that remind students to capitalize, and check their spelling and puntuation.  
• Step On Into Writing ($10), the second book in the series, continues with the same format as book one, this time adding in vocabulary and "Write Your Own Story" pages.
• Adventuring In Writing ($10), which is book three, is a bit different then the first two books.  Here students see a picture, are given questions and a word bank to draw from.  This book encourages students to think more on their own.  
• Then and Now ($12), the fourth book, focuses on writing paragraph.  Indenting is automatic with built in indentions on the page.  This book includes pictures from the early 20th century, students are encouraged to compare then and now.  Then and Now helps students to develop thinking skills while learning to write paragraphs.  
• Writing US History ($15) is the final book in the series.  This level takes students through US History while teaching them research and writing skills.  Students write about topics such as Pilgrims, Patrick Henry, George Washington, the Gold Rush and the Roaring Twenties. 

 

6 Weeks to Understanding Grammar ($12) is a small, yet meaty, booklet that gives a compressive overview of grammar.  This book covers topics such as parts of a sentence, nouns, pronouns, prepositional phrases, capitalization rules, spelling rules, verbs and irregualr verbs.   

This is not a traditional grammar workbook.  It follows the teaching style from many years ago, state it simply and give an example.  This little gem helps to make grammar concepts clear in a very simple fashion. 

What we thought:

I found that I really liked this whole series, it is quite the breath of fresh air from many grammar and writing books I have seen.  Very Charlotte Mason friendly in my opinion, the lessons are short and to the point. The books have a gentle start and progression.  

The assignments are not overwhelming for the student (or for mom), but they are enough to get them thinking and writing.

I think that the Writing US History was my favorite book in the series. I like that it starts the students out with a picture and several key words, the student then has to go research based on the keywords given and write about their findings. For instance, one assignment shows a picture of the state of California, a man on horseback and 2 men panning for gold. The keywords for the assignment are 1849, Gold Discovered and California. Not only are they writing, but they are learning able the California Gold Rush.

Joyce Herzog is a veteran teacher that has many products helpful to homeschoolers. The TOS Crew

Members reviewed several of her products, click here to check out their reviews. 

The books that I have reviewed, as well as Joyce's other homeschool products are available directly through her web store.

One Minute Science Mysteries!

Once again we were introduced to a new favorite from the TOS Crew! 

When you have children that love science and mysteries, One Minute Mysteries: 65 More Short Mysteries You Solve With Science! is a winning combination. This award winning book published by Science Naturally helps in "Bridging the gap between the blackboard and the blacktop." 

 

One Minute Mysteries: 65 More Short Mysteries You Solve With Science! as you probably guessed is the second One-Minute Science Mysteries books.  Each fiction and non fiction story, as the title implies, takes about a minute to read.  After reading the story, children are then challenged with brainteaser type questions that help them to utilize their science knowledge and critical thinking skills.  

In One Minute Mysteries: 65 More Short Mysteries You Solve With Science! you'll read stories and solve mysteries about gravity, sonic booms, magnets/non magnets, rocks and measurements.  

More specifically, this book is covers topics in: 

• Life Science
• Earth and Space Science 
• Physical and Chemical Science
• General Science 

We thought the book was challenging and enjoyable. The book is geared for children ages 8-12, but I found that my younger children (4&6 year old boys) also enjoyed it and were able to interact with us.

Eric and Natalie Yoder, a father-daughter wring team, have worked together on several books.  Each available for purchase through Science Naturally for $9.95.

• One Minute Mysteries: 65 Short Mysteries You Solve With Science!
• One Minute Mysteries: 65 More Short Mysteries You Solve With Science!
• One Minute Mysteries: 65 Short Mysteries You Solve With Math!

You can also purchase the I Love A Mystery Set, which includes all three of the books listed above, for $24.95.

These books would make great summer reads.  The are stories are short, but the lessons really pack a punch!

See what other TOS Crew members have to say about the Science Naturally Books here.

Menu Plan 5/20/13

Did I mention that I was in a little bit of a cooking funk?  There have just been many days lately that I would have been happy to serve cereal for dinner, and actually did on a few occasions.  The "healthy cereal" of course.

Thankfully, I am coming out of the funk and feeding my family real food again {smile}.

Here's what we are cookin' up this week:

Breakfasts

• Homemade Granola as Cereal x2 - my kids are loving this!  I had to hid the container because they will not stay out of it! I am going to try to post this recipe this week.
• Scrambled Eggs, Toast and Orange Slices
• Baked Oatmeal Cups 
• Egg Sandwiches, Fruit
• Waffles, Fruit
• Yogurt & Granola

Lunches

• PB&J's, Fruit and Chips
• Soft Turkey Tacos, Fruit
• Turkey & Cheese Roll Ups, Fruit and Baby Carrots - For these I wrap turkey around a cheese stick, very easy and portable lunch.
• Cheese Quesadillas, Salsa and Fruit 
• Homemade Mac & Cheese
• Fruit & Veggie Platter (Carrots, Celery, Apple Slices, Grapes, Strawberries), Cheese and Crackers OR Pretzel Sticks - I use my veggie platter and fill each compartment with fruit, veggies, crackers, cheese and put peanut butter in the middle for dipping.  This is probably my kids favorite lunch.
• Hot Dogs, Beans and Fruit

Dinners

• Lasagna Casserole & Salad
• Easy Chicken Pot Pie
• Pizza, Baby Carrots and Apple Slices 
• Chicken Quesadillas with Brown Rice and Beans 
• Crust-less Spinach Quiche, Salad
• BBQ Chicken Legs, Sweet Potatoes, Squash
• Tacos with all the fix-in's, and Brown Rice

Trail Guide to Learning - Paths to Exploration {Review}

 

We just recently finished up our Trail Guide to Learning - Paths to Exploration curriculum for the year. While I have mentioned it in several posts, I had not yet done a complete review of it.

The Trail Guide to Learning series was written by Debbie Strayer and Linda Fowler.  Their goal was to create a curriculum that was completely based on the teaching philosophy of Ruth Beechick. By doing so they have made a wonderful Charlotte Mason friendly curriculum as well.

The Trail Guide to Learning series includes the following teaching philosophies:

• develops thinking skills that lead to comprehension and writing ability
• use the copying and dictation process to acquire language and writing mechanics
• develops reading and writing skills through history, science, geography, and literature rather than through separate artificial activities
• gradually connects grammar to reading and writing naturally
• uses the tutorial approach, thus reducing excess paperwork
• unifies and focuses the core concepts and knowledge—rather than scattering the focus through untargeted tasks, which often occurs in unit studies
• builds skills naturally through reflective thinking and discussion

We received the Trail Guides to Learning - Paths of Exploration Complete Package.  That included the two volume set, as well as the readers that accompany this level in the series.  The books included in Paths of Exploration are:

• 2 Volume Set of Paths of Exploration Curriculum with Student Resources CD-ROM

• Meet Christopher Columbus

• Christopher Columbus

• Stories of the Pilgrims (2nd edition)

• Stories of the Pilgrims Answer Key

• Squanto, Friend to the Pilgrims

• A Lion to Guard Us

• Surviving Jamestown

• 5" RealEarth GlobeMap

• Daniel Boone Frontiersman

• Daniel Boone, Young Hunter and Tracker

• Munford Meets Lewis and Clark

• Seaman

• Trouble for Lucy

• Johnny Appleseed

• 1911 Boy Scout Handbook

• United States History Atlas

• Lewis and Clark Hands On

• Going West!

• Handbook of Nature Study

• North American Wildlife Guide

• Profiles from History

• Eat Your Way Around the World

• Classroom Atlas

• Large USA and World Outline Map

• Assessments CD-ROM

We have spent the past year studying the famous explorers and great pioneers of America. With Paths of Exploration we were able to go beyond the page or two that most history books use to explain these great people.  We were able to in depth who they were, and what their goals were.  Not only did we learn about their lives, but we learned great character lessons from them. 

TGTL uses living books.  Books that are nothing short of AMAZING!  Not only did they teach us history, but they are enjoyable.  Yes, enjoyable!  We have not yet encountered a book in this program that we did not thoroughly enjoy.  My girls always have great things to say about their readers, this is always a good sign.  I personally have loved the biographies that we have read.  

Next to the historical fiction and biography books we've read, digging into the North American Wildlife book has been a favorite for everyone! We have learned so much this year just from the nature studies. My kids have fallen in love with beavers and prairie dogs! When ever we are outside and there are fallen trees, Little Bits swears knows there are beavers close by.  I tell him he has Beaver Fever! 

TGTL also incorporates hands on activities.  The activities through out the curriculum have been a wonderful addition to our year.  We have especially enjoyed the cooking and science diagrams.  The animal ID sheets were also a huge hit with my kids. Learning Morse code was also pretty popular.

I think that the Trail Guide to Learning Series is a fabulous and engaging way to study American history! Home schooling with TGTL is something we look forward to. I am sorry we didn't find it sooner.

The Trail Guide to Learning Series is a complete 3 year study of American History, which is broken down into 3 paths. Each path is a full year course that consists of 6, six week unit studies:

Paths of Exploration

• Columbus (includes people such as Marco Polo, Christopher Columbus, Gutenberg)
• Jamestown (includes people such as John Smith, Pocahontas, and Leonardo da Vinci)
• Pilgrims (includes people such as William Bradford, Squanto, and Galileo)
• Daniel Boone (includes such people as James Cook, Benjamin Franklin, and Handel)
• Lewis & Clark (includes such people as Sacagawea, Thomas Jefferson, and Mozart)
• Trails West (includes people such as Johnny Appleseed, Zebulon Pike,    and Jesse Applegate)

Paths of Settlement

• Growing Pains (includes people such as Samuel Adams, John Audubon and Paul Revere)
• Freedom Decided (includes people such as George Washington, John Adams, and Benjamin Franklin)
• Nation Building (includes people such as Andrew Jackson, Thomas Jefferson, and Francis Scott Key)
• House Divided (includes people such as Abraham Lincoln, Robert E. Lee, and Clara Barton)
• Unity Restored (Includes people such as Samuel Francis Smith, Laura Ingalls Wilder, and cowboys of the American West)
• Sea to Shining Sea (includes people such as Theodore Roosevelt, Will Rogers, and Booker T. Washington)

 Paths of Progress

• Great Leaps
• Making Connections
• Perseverance Pays Off
• Cultivating Greatness
• Success Takes Flight
• Reach for the Stars

 This series in geared toward students in 4-7th grade, but they are easily adaptable for younger and older students. My 1st grade followed this program just fine, with help of course, and he loved it! My little 4 year old even did some of the activities and was in on most of the reading. I just want to encourage you in the fact that this program very flexible and great for multilevel teaching.

For the older crowd, there is a middle school supplement, which we loosely followed for my 7th grader.

Final Thoughts & Favorite Things:

Mom- I loved the open and go feel of this curriculum, all of the hard stuff was done for me. I liked being able to print out the student sheets as we needed them.

I loved that TGTL is not a spoon fed curriculum. My kids were encouraged to think for themselves, and not just regurgitate facts. Loved the discussions!

Teaching from this series, as well as learning myself, was just awesome! Just thinking over the past year with school, it was a huge blessing to use this curriculum.

Lil' Chef - "The books were the best part! Pocahontas and the Captain's Dog were my favorites."

(These were her independent readers from the middle school supplement)

Computer Girl - "I really liked learning about Daniel Boone and Lewis & Clark. I liked learning about what they did, where they went and who they met. You know, their life. Oh, and I love Munford!!"

Alpha Boy - "The Pilgrims were my favorite, no Jamestown, no Daniel Boone. Ok, I just liked it all!"

The Trail Guide to Learning Series is available through Geography Matters. There are several packages available for purchase, including just the teaching guides, the core materials, the resources and complete package. I feel like they have several selections available for different budgets.

There are several bloggers out there that use the Trail Guide to Learning series, you can check them out on my TGTL Blog Roll.  Kris over at Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers and Sam at Sam's Noggin have also reviewed TGTL. Like me, they both love it!

We received this product at no cost to us in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Papa's Pearls: A Gift of Love and Wisdom to His Children and Grandchildren

With age and experience, wisdom usually follows. Wisdom is exactly what Carol Joseph Flynn gained through the ups and downs of his life. Living through the Great Depression, and being a kid going down the wrong path, he turned life lessons into great pearls of wisdom.

Diane Flynn Keith, his oldest daughter, wrote about these pearls of wisdom in her book, Papa's Pearls: A Gift of Love and Wisdom to His Children and Grandchildren. 

 

I knew when I saw this book it would be a little gem. This book is full of humor, love and of course, wisdom. The way that Diane writes of her dad shows the immense love that she has for him, and that he had for their family.

Papa's Pearls takes us through many of the lessons Papa learned in his life. I just love the sayings that he came up with to remember them! Here are some of my favorites:

You don't kick someone when their down, you give me a hand up.

Let it go, like water off a duck's back.

Be grateful every day.

Life is too short. Take a little time off.

Keep a foxy pocket.

Doodle-lee Do It!

Papa took life experiences, like growing up in the depression and living with out necessitates and turned them into little rules for himself. As he grew up and earned money he saved and invested it. He taught his children and grandchildren to do the same. He encouraged them to save half of any money they were given or earned. He even doubled any money they put in their savings account as an added incentive. He taught his kids and grand kids to always "keep a foxy pocket," so they would never be without a little emergency cash.

Diane, thanks so much for sharing your daddy with us. I was glad to hear he got his whistle back!

Papa's Pearls is available for $21.95. It would be a great summer read!

 

Click to read more reviews from the Schoolhouse Review Crew.

Phonics and Reading with McGuffey App

Over the years I have heard great things about the McGuffey readers series. Many moms have successfully used this set to teach their little ones to read. It wasn't until recently that I got to check them out for myself.

LiteracySoft has taken a tried and true McGuffey reader, and turned it into an interactive phonics and reading app.  The Phonics and Reading with McGuffey App is a complete beginner level phonics and reading program.

I loved this quote from LiteracySoft's website....

“The generations which made America rich and great all grew up reading the McGuffey's Readers.”

The goal of the program is to bring the user to a 1st grade reading level. The App consists of 53 Lessons that are based off of the McGuffey Eclectic Primer, which has been successfully used for over a century. 

Each lesson has several different activities to help students learn, as well as retain letter sounds and words. There is plenty of reading and spelling practice in the program, but with enough variety to keep it fun and exciting. The program is flexible, allowing students to work at their own pace, and even repeat lessons when necessary.

According to LiteracySoft's Website, this app includes:

• All 53 McGuffey Primer lessons

• All 44 letter sounds of English and their graphemes

• 60+ letter sound animations

• 400+ practice word vocabulary

• 9000+ nonsense word audio dictionary

Here are a few pictures of this app is action....

By dragging the letters into the Phonics Blender, students practice spelling words.

Illustrations through out the lessons add interest to the stories.

Here you can see the different activities in the lessons....

This activity was probably our favorite! You are asked to build (or load) a word, after you have spelled the word correctly the truck drives off.  Pretty cute!

 

Little Bits, my Pre-K'er, was my guinea pig for this review.  He seemed to do pretty well with it. I think t hat for him, the progession of learning the letters and words was just right.  I do feel that this is something that I need to be near by to keep a watch on what he is getting and not getting.  This way I know what he needs to repeat.  

For the most part, I was pretty impressed.  I do wish that the app keep track of what they have mastered and what they haven't.  We plan to continue to use this as a supplemental activity.  

You can purchase the Phonics and Reading with McGuffey app for $19.99  It is currently available for your PC, Mac, iPad and iPhone.  We use ours on the iPad.  

LiteracySoft also offers a Lite version of this app.  They give you the first 10 lessons to try for FREE!

Check out what other Schoolhouse Review Crew members are saying about this app! 

Menu Plan 5/6/13 - A few new recipes

I don't know about you all but I have NOT felt like cooking lately.  Every once in a while the daily grind of breakfast, lunch and dinner gets tiring!  What's a wife to one and mom to four to do?  Well, for me, it means it is time for start to find some new or different recipes. 

So that is just what I did!  I pulled out a cookbook that I haven't used in a long time, Supper's on the Table, Come Home by Rachel Masters.  This mama/cookbook author is a homeschool mom of 5, in other words we live in the same world, minus one child.  It's actually a neat little cookbook, she has 13 weeks of recipes along with shopping lists.  The recipes are of the simple, family fare variety, however, I found several new recipes and was reminded of some old ones. 

Okay, enough yapping {smile}.  Here's what I am serving up this week....

Breakfast

• Cereal w/ Banana Slices (x2)
• Waffles w/ Berries
• Oatmeal (x2)
• Eggs, Toast, Orange Slices
• Egg Wraps

Lunch

• PB&J's, Carrot Sticks and Chips
• Turkey & Cheese Rolls Ups w/ Fruit
• Ham, Cheese, Crackers and Grapes
• Cheese Quesadillas, Salsa, Fruit
• Hot Dogs, Fries, Apple Sauce
• Egg Salad Sandwiches, Fruit and Chips

 Dinner

• Hot Dogs, Veggie Pasta Salad, Corn on the Cob
• Homemade Hamburger Helper, Broccoli and Cauliflower
• Upside Down Pizza, Salad 
• Honey Baked Chicken, Sweet Potatoes, Mixed Veggies
• Cavatini, Peas, Fresh Bread
• Turkey Clubs, Potato Wedges,  Cucumber & Tomato Salad
• Broccoli & Cheese Soup w/ Panne Bread

The last 5 dinners are from the Supper's on the Table, Come Home cookbook.  Do you have any go to cookbooks? 

Weekly Wrap Up! {The week we had nothing to do)

I tell ya, I just can't seem to keep up with this little blog lately.  Life seems to be pretty busy lately.  We have been keeping busy with school, taking weekly field trips and decluttering a bit. 

We completed Trail Guide to Learning Paths of Exploration a few weeks ago, and have moved on to KONOS for now.  TGTL is a wonderful program, and I hope to continue with it again next year.

We just finished a unit on lighthouses and we are starting to study horses now.  I think that the flexibility, living books and hands on activities are a better fit for our crew at this point.  I will keep you all posted as we go along. 

We have also been taking field trips on Fridays with a few other families.  That has been lots of fun!  So far we have done a train museum, nature center, the National History Museum and today we did the zoo.  It has been so nice to get out and explore!

As I mentioned, I have been declutting a bit.  It all started one lovely day when I went to the garage to pull out the spring/summer clothes for the kids.  I had been saving baby clothes and baby "stuff," but at this point I am feeling led to get rid of them.  So I am Ebaying some things and yardsaling others, my thoughts were that the funds from selling this stuff would go nicely towards next years school books.  It will also just be nice to get rid of extra stuff. 

This past week we actually took our week off.  You know 6 weeks on and 1 week off with school.  I was kind of torn about taking the week off because other than the zoo we weren't really doing anything.  BUT the down time gave me the extra time to work on the sorting through stuff and listing them online.  For the kids,  it gave them time to play and relax.  It was perfect!  There were forts, train tracks through the WHOLE playroom, READING, an impromptu trip to the park and LOTS of outside play.

Here are a few pictures from our zoo trip today....