Taking Another Look at Reading Kingdom {Review}

                 

You may remember that a few years ago we had the opportunity to review Reading Kingdom, an online program that teaches children ages 4-10 to read and write to a 3rd grade level. 

Well, to be honest, at the time Reading Kingdom was not one of our favorites.  I used it primarily for Computer Girl and Alpha Boy, who were 7 and 4 at the time.  They did not really enjoy Reading Kingdom which I attributed that to the lengthy Reading Skills Survey, but I noted in my review that I believed this was a good program and could be a good fit for other children. 

It turns out that Little Bits is one of those "other" children.  He LOVES Reading Kingdom and is doing really well with it. 

Little Bits likes to build words and sound them out with Reading Kingdom. 

Little Bits just turned 5 in July and started kindergarten about 6 weeks ago.  Up until now, we had not done much in the way of formal phonics with him.  At this point he is learning phonics, but we are moving at a gentle pace.  He has been doing Reading Kingdom several times a week, as a supplement to his phonics program. 

Let me tell you a little about how Reading Kingdom works.  Reading Kingdom is based off of the research and experience of Dr. Marion Blank, "a world renowned expert on literacy and the Director of the Light on Learning Institute at Columbia University," who developed this 6 skill model approach to reading...

The Reading Kingdom approach goes beyond the phonics and whole language approaches, and includes several other necessary skills for reading and writing success.  By focusing on all six of these skills, children can master both reading and writing more easily.  Reading Kingdom is currently the only program that includes all six of these skills in their approach to learning to read and write. 

The Reading Kingdom believes that every child is different.  Instead of fitting each child into a "one size fits all" box, children are given a thorough Reading Skills Survey test to properly place them in the program. 

Once children are tested on their reading and writing skills, they can then beginning learning from their personal reading level.  Children do not have to continue going over something that they already know, which can lead to boredom and lack of interest.  Nor are they pushed a head to a level they are not ready for, only causing frustration.  I believe that with the help of the very thorough Reading Skills Survey, Reading Kingdom can almost perfectly place a child in the right reading level.

Children also learn their way around a keyboard while they are learning to read.

My little guy is just learning his letters, so after taking the Reading Skills Survey test he was placed at the beginning of the program.  He started out doing visual sequencing and keyboard skills.  He is great with a mouse but is still getting used to when the letters on the keyboard are, which is a big part of Reading Kingdom. 

Little Bits has been having a good ol' time with Reading Kingdom.  He is currently "making words," as he calls it.  He gets pretty excited and likes to call me over when he learns a new word. 

My little guy has been processing well with Reading Kingdom.   I plan to continue out the 12 month subscription with him, along side his regular phonics program. 

A Reading Kingdom subscription is available for $19.99 per month, or $199.99 per year per child.  The yearly subscription gives you a 20% discount.  Additional children are given a 50% discount at a rates of $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year. 

Reading Kingdom offers a 30 Day Free Trial that you might want to check out prior to subscribing. 

Visit the TOS Crew Blog to see what others are saying about Reading Kingdom!

Character First - A Character Training Curriculum {Review}

I am always trying to instill good character values in my children.  I firmly believe that it is up to parents to teach and train our children, the results of course are up to the Lord. 

 

In saying that, I am always on the look out for books, videos and curriculum to help us along the way.   I was very excited when I came across a little gem called Character First!

 

Character First is a wonderful user friendly character training curriculum that can be used in a classroom or family setting.  The curriculum is divided into a 4 part series covering 36 character traits.  Here is the break down of what character traits are covered in each series:

 

Series 1: Attentiveness, Obedience, Truthfulness, Gratefulness, Generosity, Orderliness, Forgiveness, Sincerity, Virtue

Series 2: Responsibility, Patience, Initiative, Self-Control, Punctuality, Resourcefulness, Tolerance, Creativity, Discretion

Series 3: Diligence, Loyalty, Hospitality, Sensitivity, Enthusiasm, Flexibility, Discernment, Cautiousness, Boldness

Series 4: Dependability, Thoroughness, Determination, Thriftiness, Availability, Deference, Compassion, Persuasiveness, Wisdom

 

We were blessed with the Series 1 elementary materials from Character First, which included:

 

The Series 1 Elementary Teacher's Guide - 3 ring binder with lesson plans, coloring sheets, historical and nature stories, crafts, songs and memory work for each of the 9 character traits in this series.  This is the meat and potatoes of the curriculum. 
 
 

 
Character Cards - These 9 little cards, the size of a baseball card, have been great for us.  They fit right into our memory box for daily review of the trait we are currently working on, as well as the the ones we have previously done.
 
 

 
Student Guide Collection - We received the elementary guides for each of the traits in Series 1.  These are individual guides for the kids that include stories and activities.  The kids can write in them, color the nature picture and keep them in their own notebooks.  I was glad that these were included.  My kids enjoy these and are always excited to get a new.
 

 

Nature Mini Posters - These are 8.5"x11"mini posters.  There is a set for each series, each one contains of the 9 character traits.  Each mini poster corresponds with the nature lesson.  There is a beautiful picture of the animal and character trait on the front and the nature story on the back.  I laminated each of these because the are so nice.  I hang them up as we work through them.
 
 

 

Classroom Demonstration DVD - These DVDs help to teach kids the songs, memory work, hand motions and nature stories from each character trait.  There is a 5 DVD set to go along with each series.  This is an essential part of the program, in my opinion.  My kids really get a lot out of these videos, it helps to cement what we are learning from the teacher's guide. They LOVE to do the memory work, hand motions and sing the songs in the DVD lessons.  (Mama likes the teacher tips!)
 

Let me take you through one of the character traits. When studying Truthfulness the teacher guide explains the definition, an illustration, ideas for application and about how to praise kids for being truthful. 

 

You are given the I Wills of Truthfulness.  I will:

• tell the truth.
• encourage others to tell the truth.
• not cheat or steal.
• admit it when I am wrong.
• not exaggerate to make things seem different than what they are.

 

Next we read about lions. We learned that lions are truthful about how they feel, and show it with their mouth, tail and posture. Then we read two stories about a boy in Africa that wanted to prove his courage by killing a lion, one was true and one was false. We had to figure out which was which was which. Then we read about Abe Lincoln, now we know why he is called Honest Abe.  

 

Some of the other activities included in the truthfulness unit are:

 

• Truthfulness Mural craft that illustrate the five I Wills
• Definition Scramble
• If You're Truthful and You Know It... Song
• Truthfulness crossword puzzle
• Geese Fly game
• Memory Work poem,
• Truthful Lion craft
• Notes of Truth Project
• The Pocket Watch Story & Craft
• Pass It On game
• Lion picture to color

 

Then watched the DVD and used the mini posters and character cards for further reinforcement of Truthfulness.

 

 

The Pros: 

I really love this curriculum, they are like mini unit studies! I think what makes this curriculum great is that there are several activities for each character trait.  There is repetition, yet there is variety.  Certain things you go over and over, like the memory work and the hand motions, but there are other things that add variety.  The games, videos, stories, crafts and coloring keep the children interested and having fun all while building character. 

 

I feel that the teachers guide is very simple, straight forward and easy to implement.  I have had no problems or concerns with this curriculum. 

 

Character First is a great tool to build character for families.  Our children range in age from 4-12 and while we only reviewed the elementary series, I felt it was a good fit for everyone.  I will also keep in mind that they do offer the student guides for older kids. 

 

The nature and history stories are captivating.  The kids and I have enjoyed every single one that we have read so far.  

 

The Cons:

This is really not a con, more of a suggestion.  I do wish that CF incorporated Bible stories and scripture into the curriculum.  An add on booklet with scripture suggestions to go with each character trait would be an awesome addition to the program.  I have added in some scripture myself, which no big deal. 

UPDATE:  When I inquired about this, they pointed me to some resources for biblical content that related to the character qualities. Yay!   

Conclusion:

I highly recommend Character First.  I plan on continuing to use Character First with my children, hopefully through the whole series.  It is a great addition to our studies, and I can see the fruit from using it. 

 

 

We received the above mentioned Character First materials at no charge to us in exchange for a fair and honest review. 

Dayspring Christian Academy - The Pilgrim Story

 

 

For history this year we have been focusing on early American history.   I have been excited and blessed to be able to teach my children the heritage of our nation from a biblical point of view. 

To go along with out studies, we requested to review The Pilgrim Story from Dayspring Christian Academy.  Dayspring Christian Academy is a Principle Approach School, based in Pennsylvania, whose goal is to teach according to biblical principles for the purpose of America being the restored to it's original heritage.  Their belief is that...

By educating ourselves and our children in the biblical principles that formed our nation and affect every aspect of our lives, we will once again see America as “one nation, under God.” 

Dayspring Christian Academy recently launched an online, self paced, interactive class called The Pilgrim Story.  This class is offered as a six month online subscription, geared towards children in grades 3-6.  The Pilgrim Story teaches children about the foundation of our great nation.  With this course, children learn the true history of the Pilgrims from a providential point of view. 

 

The Pilgrim Story offers 17 lessons.  Some of the lessons included are:

King Henry
Geneva Bible
Liberty of Conscience
Leaving Leiden
Conditions on the Mayflower
Building Christian Character
The Mayflower Compact
plus many more

The Pilgrim Story's online video lessons, which are in the form of interactive, narrated, slide shows, can last anywhere from about 30-45 minutes to complete.  In addition to the video lessons, there are many activities to go along with each unit.  There are crafts, map making, application, vocabulary words, live action and a virtual field trip to Plymouth, MA at the end of the course.

We are enjoying The Pilgrim Story.  The lessons are engaging and enjoyable for the children.  For mom, I am glad to rest easy that the history lessons that they are getting are truthful and biblically sound.  We also like that there are book suggestions at the end of the units. 

The Pilgrim Story has the children putting together a notebook for their note sheets, activity and vocab papers and any other worksheets that they complete. 

The Pilgrim Story is currently available for $99.  Your purchase includes full access, at anytime, for six full months. Access to the course begins about 48 hours after your purchase.

We look forward to continuing to use The Pilgrim Story along with our current history studies.

 

Please take a peek at other reviews from TOS Crew members!
Disclaimer: We received a six month subscription to The Pilgrim Story at no charge in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Heroines of the Past Bible Study by Amy Puetz {Review}

 

 

 

One of my very favorite things that we have reviewed this year with the TOS Crew has been the Heroines of the Past Bible Study from Golden Prairie Press. 

Golden Prairie Press is owned and operated by Amy Puetz, a homeschool graduate with a passion for God and for history.

 

Amy offers several different studies that look amazing, but we finally settled on Heroines of the Past.  This study included my two favorite subjects, Bible and history!

 

 

Heroines of the Past is a 13 week long study about real women from the past that showed real virtue in their lives.   The stories we read were powerful and the Bible study portions were pretty meaty.  I was very impressed!

Each study starts off with a story of a girl or women.  For instance in the story "Living and Dying for Jesus," we read about a young slave girl named Blandina and her Mistress.  We read about the Mistress, how she shared her faith in Jesus and how Blandina came to know the Lord. 

After the story we started a new memory verse for the week (Hebrews 11:1) and then answered a few discussion questions.  We read and discussed several scriptures, including the Parable of the Sower. 

Through out this study we got to read stories from the lives of women like Mary Slesslor (missionary), Katherine von Bora (Martin Luther's wife), A Brave Little Girl and many others.  The stories that we read displayed acts of courage, faith, compassion, gentleness, mercy, and love.  I felt that the stories included were great examples for my children, especially my girls. 

You can view sample pages and the table of contents for Heroines of the Past here.

We really are enjoying this study and I plan to continue using it.  I think it would be a great study for Bible or history or both! 

My first thought was that this study was going to be too girlie for my boys.  For the record, my boys really enjoyed the stories, especailly the one with a knight in it!  When we worked on memorizing Proverbs 31:10 (Who can find a virtuous women, for her price is far above rubies) my initial thought was to give the boys something else to memorize but the Lord led me to have them memorize it too.  My boys may not need to learn how to be a virtuous woman, but they are going to need to know what one looks like!  So, in other words, boys can definitely join in this study too.

As I mentioned, Amy offers several different studies to choose from:

• Heroines of the Past (this is the one we did)
• Ten Girls From History
• Costumes With Character
• Uncover Exciting History

These studies are available in Print or Ebook format and they range in price from $14.95 - $27.00.  Currently on sale for 20% off! The sale price of Heroines of the Past is currently $21.60.

I highly recommend this study, especially for young ladies in training to be Virtuous Women. 

Please check out what other bloggers from the TOS Crew have to say about studies from Golden Prairie Press.

 

 

Disclaimer: We received this product at no charge to us in exchange for an honest review.

Time 4 Writing {TOS CREW}

For the last 4 weeks or so the Lil' Chef has been using a new program for writing.  She has been doing an online writing course with Time 4 Writing. 

Time 4 Writing offers several different writing courses for students in grades 2-12.  The Lil' Chef took the Middle School Writing Mechanics.  Here is how Time 4 Writing describes this course:

This eight-week course is the first of two courses focusing on "boosting the basics" at the middle school level.

Basic Mechanics A allows students to strengthen their foundation writing skills. The course teaches the fundamentals of writing such as: sentences vs. fragments, subjects and predicates, subject-verb agreement, and capitalization. 

The class is completely online and she was given 8 weeks of access to complete the course.  I never did tell her how long she had to complete the course {smile}, she is pretty motivated to get her work done, so I didn't think it would be an issue.  Time 4 Writing does list a 4 and 8 week suggested schedule that the student can follow but the she just worked at her own pace. 

The Middle School Mechanics Course covered the following topics:

1. The Sentence, The Fragment and The Run-on
2. Nouns, Nouns and More Nouns!
3. Subjects of a Sentence
4. Predicates of a Sentence
5. Subject - Verb Agreement in a Sentence
6. "Tricky" Subject - Verb Agreement
7. Capitalization
8. Sum it ALL UP!

The Lil' Chef enjoyed the assignments, although they were challenging.  She is the Perfect Paula type, and thrives on good grades.  She liked that when she had mistakes on an assignment she would be able to get feedback from her teacher and make the necessary corrections.  I also liked this feature of the program, the focus seems to be more about mastery than a grade.

As I mentioned, she has been doing this program for about 4 weeks and only has one more assignment left.  I think that the Time 4 Writing course has helped her to improve her writing skills. 

Here are the specific things that the Lil' Chef said she liked about Time 4 Writing:

I like getting graded. {told ya}
I like that everything is on the computer, including my writing assignments.
I am excited to get a certificate for completing the program. 
Time 4 Writing really helped me to better understand the difference between simple and complete predicates.
I liked having a teacher to explain this things I got wrong.
I liked that I could work at my own pace.

Mom's Thoughts:
I thought that over all Time 4 Writing was a good solid program.  For some reason I thought that Time 4 Writing was a teacher/ video class kind of thing, which it is not.  Not saying this is a bad thing, just not what I expected.  Basically, the student reads over the lesson and then completes the assignment online.  The teacher then grades and gives feedback on a job well done or corrections that need to be made. 

Even though the teacher is not teaching via video, they are just a message away if there are any questions from the student or parent.  The was a big plus for in my book!  The Lil' Chef really didn't have any questions regarding the work but on one of her assignments she received like a 90 - 95% on the paper but there were not remarks on what she missed.  I thought that was a little odd, usually the teacher, Mrs. Gilg, was very good at explaining Lil' Chef's mistakes.  I told my daughter to message her and ask what she missed to get the grade she got, because it appeared to be a perfect paper.  She was a little reluctant but I encouraged her to write the message.  The teacher wrote back and apologized that she had indeed clicked the wrong button, she immediately corrected the grade to 100%.  The Lil' Chef, of course, was THRILLED! 

I also liked the fact that she was getting feedback from a teacher that had more grammar and writing knowledge then me.  Did I mention that I received an email after each assignment that the Lil' Chef completed and got graded?  I really liked this feature, it helped to keep me in the loop. 

We were very happy with this program and would love to enroll in the another course soon!

The Time 4 Writing Courses are 8 weeks long and cost $99.00.  The courses range from Elementary to Adult Level.  Time 4 Writing even offers a guide to help you to select which course would be best for your student.

Please check out what other members of the TOS Crew have to say about Time 4 Writing. 

Disclaimer:  This product was given to us at no cost in exchange for an honest review. 

Vocabulary Spelling City {TOS Crew}

My kids seem to enjoy the challenge of getting new spelling and vocabulary words every week or so, but workbooks and flashcards can definitely be boorrinngg.  So, we were very thankful to get to review Vocabulary Spelling City for a second time. 

We reviewed it for the TOS Crew last year, which you can read about here. 

Even after our review period was over, from the first review, my kids still enjoyed playing learning their spelling words with Vocabulary Spelling City.  To me, that says a lot!  While they did enjoy it, with out the premium membership I had to enter their spelling list every time they wanted to play.  Since it was pretty time consuming, we didn't play much. 

You can get a free membership with Vocabulary Spelling City, which is a great way to try before you buy, but it surely does not come with all the great perks of a premium membership, like:

Individual Student Logins - this saves the student's assignments as well as the spelling lists (one of my favorite features).  Having these assignments saved is great for end of the year reviews. 

Premium Learning Games and Features - With the free membership you do get several cool features but with the Premium Membership you get more games and features like....

As you can see, there are lots of extra goodies with the Premium Membership, which is available for $29.99 for up to 5 children.  The Premium Membership is good for 12 months. 

My kids really do love the interactive games on Vocabulary Spelling City.  I think their favorite so far is Hang Mouse, which is a twist on the old favorite Hang Man.   I am pretty sure that Vocabulary Spelling City will be something that we continue to use for years to come. 

You can read what other members of the TOS Crew are saying about Vocabulary Spelling City here.

Thomas Jefferson Education {TOS Crew Review}

We received a subscription to This Week in History, from A Thomas Jefferson Education, to review for the TOS Crew.  This Week in History was created by Rachel DeMille to inspire children to learn and explore thru history!

Our subscription gives us a weekly email that shares tons of information about what has happened on that particular day in history {This information can also be found via their website, with a paid subscription}. 

This Week in History is filled with daily facts, math, science, language skills, current events, geography and arts, all of this being tied to history. 

For instance, with This Week in History we learned about The Leaning Tower of Pisa.  Here are some of the suggested activities and things we learned:

Facts about the Tower of Pisa:
I never knew that the Tower of Pisa was a bell tower!
Did you know it took over 200 years to construct the Tower of Pisa?

Hands on Activities:
Make a tower out of Legos, Lincoln Logs, blocks, pancakes, or what ever you have.  Then answer these questions -

• How tall can you make it before it falls?
• Why does it fall?
• Does it lean? Why or why not?
• Do you have materials that are less inclined to fall or lean? Why are they different?
• Can you make a 3-D model of the Campanile of Pisa?

Ideas for writing or discussion:

• Do you know of other campaniles? Are there any examples in your community or somewhere not too far away?
• What is the purpose of a campanile?
• Does your home have some system for calling the family together?  (in our house, Mom whistles!)
• Does your community have a system for calling people together for important events or circumstances?
• Ask an elderly friend or family member if they have memories of bells, sirens, horns or other sounds in their community, and what those meant for them.
• Is there a landmark in your area – some building, mountain or other feature – that is especially memorable or iconic?
• What is the history of your local icon?
• What is a cathedral?
• Is there a cathedral near your home?

We also learned about the State of Missouri, Annie Oakley, Silly Putty, Tim Tebow, T- Rex Sue and Meteor Showers {and this isn't even the complete list!}

This Week in History is jam packed with facts, learning activities, links, and pictures.  I thought that this was a great starting point to get kids interested in something that they could further study if they wanted to. 

You can view a sample week here!

The goals of This Week in History are to:

• relieve fear, stress and burnout
• energizes your kidschool
• fill in the gaps
• cultivate cultural literacy
• facilitate state or provincial compliance
• correlate resources for co-ops, classrooms and family learning
• harness the power of technology in a classical leadership education
• harmonize with Unschooling, Charlotte Mason, Montessori, Trivium/Quadrivium, IEW, eclectic, etc.
• deliver new ideas and areas of learning to you and your child
• instigate discussions and projects that expand wisdom and understanding
• connect the subject areas–from music to math, from geography to world religions, from hobbies to science projects, etc.
• motivate you and your students to greater excellence
• deliver Face to Face with Greatness
• empower you to mentor your students in the classics
• enliven the 7 Keys of Great Teaching
• activate Phases of Learning

This Week in History is available for $9.99 per month.

Check out what others on the TOS Crew have to say about Thomas Jefferson Education!

Disclaimer: As a member of the TOS Crew, I received this product, at no cost to me, in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are mine.

Back to Homeschool Blog Hop - Homeschool Planning

I had to laugh when I typed up the title to my post, because I always feel like I am planning.  My little OCD mind is always planning and tweaking things, or so it seems. 

Even though I always feel like I am planning, I do a major planning session in the summer prior to starting school.  It looks something like this...

First, I search and pray. 
I ask myself if the current path we have been on is working.  If not, why or what is the problem?
I think about the children and their different learning styles.
I figure out what kind of budget I have to work with. 
Since a lot of what we do revolves around our history program, I figure out what time period we will be studying.  I use this as a starting point for our main curriculum. 

Once I have it all figured out {as if that is possible} I start going over our curriculum to get a feel for our year.  Using all in one type curriculum, like Trail Guide to Learning and My Father's World, really take a lot of the guess work and planning time out of the equation.  Both of these programs are pretty much have the year laid out for you, unless you plan on tweaking something. 

I have tried planning out our whole year and writing every thing out in my little planner.  Can I just say, for the record, I only did this one time.  Praise the Lord I know better than to use pen in a homeschool planner {smile}.  Since I learned my lesson on that one, I now only plan one week at a time. 

Usually, I take some time on Sunday evening to fill out my planner and go over our material for the week.  I try to make sure I am prepared and have all our papers printed out for the week.  Planning on a weekly basis has been a much better plan for us, it allows for plans to change and life to happen.

Do you plan for the whole year at once or as you go? 

Back to Homeschool Blog Hop - Curriculum Plans for 2012-2013

Today I am talking about Curriculum Plans.  Am I the only one that gets a little bit stressed about this process??  Even though I have been schooling for about 7 years I still get the "am I using the right such and such program for so and so" feeling.  You would think I would just be a little bit more relaxed by now.  I am a work in progress!

I originally started this post out by saying I wasn't quite sure of all of my plans for the year, a not so great week can do that to a homeschool mom.  I have since gotten into a little bit better of a grove and reminded myself that there is usually a learning curve when starting a new curriculum.  I also had to remind myself that there is a grace period at the beginning of a new school year. 

No matter what curriculum we choose, it should not totally stress us out.  We need to not be slaves to our curriculum, but have the freedom to adjust it to our family. 

So after all of that rambling, here's what we plan on using this coming year..... drum roll please

Things we will be doing as a group:

Bible & Character
My Father's World - Exploration to 1850 - I had purchased a used copy of this prior to getting trail Guide to Learning.  i am pretty sure that we are going to us their plan for Boy Have I Got Problems by Kay Arthur, as well as their plan for memorizing the book of James. 

Character Sketches - We try to read through a few of these each week together in the evenings.  We usually read the nature stories and the kids color pictures that go along with the animal.  This is part Bible and part nature study, the pictures end up in their nature notebooks.

Character First - We are reviewing Volume 1 from Character First and so far we really like it.  So far we have been focusing on one character trait for a few weeks at a time.  Character First has songs, nature stories, historical stories, games and crafts.  The kids are really enjoying this! 

We Choose Virtues - We will continue going over these, my kids love them.


History, Science, Geography, Art, Thinking Skills
Trail Guide to Learning, Paths of Exploration - The older 3 children have been all been doing the TGTL program.  My 1st grader mostly just listens, discusses, narrates and draws, although I was informed today that he wants to do the notebook pages too!  So far the literature is fabulous, you know the kind of books that your kids beg you to read more of. 

In TGTL- POE we will be studying the following units:
Unit 1 - Columbus (Carry On Mr. Bowditch)

Unit 2 - Jamestown (Pocahontas)

Unit 3 - Pilgrim (Almost Home)

Unit 4 - Daniel Boone (Sign of the Beaver)

Unit 5 - Lewis and Clark (The Captain's Dog)

Unit 6 - Trails West (Bound for Oregon)

The books that I have posted here are the middle school supplement books that my 7th grader is supposed to be reading independently but we decided to read them aloud together.  It is extra reading for me (by choice) but I am so glad to be reading Carry On Mr. Bowditch.  It is a really good book and the little guys are really enjoying it too!

For science the kids will be doing nature studies as guided from TGTL.

I really would love to get a little co op going for hands on stuff to go along with our TGTL studies.  I am praying about this and we'll see what the Lord does : )

Music
Hymn Study - we are going through different hymns this year using the book, Then Sings My Soul.
Singing - my girls love to sing.  It has been on my heart for several years now to take my kids to nursing homes to visit with the elderly patients.  Our thoughts are that the girls {and possibly one friend} are going to visit and singing to some of the patients, maybe one a month.

Life Skills
Lessons in Responsibility for Girls 1 & 2- I know it is for girls but Alpha Boys can do some of this stuff too.
Chores - Yep, my kids have them. Every day in fact.  I am continuing to teach them to cook, do laundry, vacuum, clean bathrooms, clean their room, dust and sort socks {can I get an amen to the sock sorting!}

Independent Studies -

Just to clarify, by independent I mean separate from our group studies.  Most of these things are done one on one with Mom, like math, phonics and grammar.  

There are certain things that my 4th and 7th graders do independent, meaning alone, be they will come to me with questions and for corrections.  Like with Teaching Textbooks, I am not really involved unless there is a question, technical problem or to show me a good grade.  Same thing with copy work, I am not really doing this with them, I just go over it  once they are finished.  : )


The Lil' Chef - 7th Grade

• Abeka Spelling 7 - I asked her if this year she wanted to try something different and she said no.  She loves to spell and likes the challenging words that she gets from this program.
• Teaching Textbooks 7 - This is the 2nd year we will be using TT7.  It is a great fit for her.
• Time 4 Writing
• Easy Grammar Plus
• IEW
• Apologia General Science - she is doing the experiments mostly on her own, but she gathers her siblings to watch all the cool stuff their big sis' is doing.

Computer Girl - 4th Grade

• Abeka Spelling
• Daily Grams 4
• Math Made Easy - to get those multiplication facts down.  So far so good!
• Teaching Textbooks 4 or Math U See - not 100% sure on her math yet.
• IEW - this is a maybe

Alpha Boy - 1st Grade

• Abeka Letters and Sounds K & 1- we jumped ships last April so we are finishing up the K book before we move on
• Abeka Arithmetic 1
• Handwriting - manuscript
• FIAR - mostly just using the list of books but I may grad an activity here and there

Little Bits - Pre K

• Letters - I am going through the letters with him at a very slow pace.  We are making little letter books for each letter from Hands-On Alphabet Activities for Young Children, as well as the letter crafts from No Time For Flash Cards.
• Playing
• More Playing

Here is what I am not doing this year:
I will NOT be looking at other families and all the activities that they are doing and think that our family should also be doing them too{excuse the run on sentence, just had to get that all out}.  That was a life lesson I learned last year. 

There are lots of families that thrive on the go, and enjoy doing all kinds of different activities.  We are not one of them.  We do better when we are home.  If we commit to doing something this year it will only be one thing.  This is just not the season for us to be running.

Big Curriculum Changes are Coming! {Trail Guide to Learning}

I am so excited!  We are going to be starting a new curriculum next year, mid July to be exact.

We are going to be using Trail Guide to Learning - Paths of Exploration {POE} by Debbie Strayer and Linda Fowler.  For times like this, I really wish there was a cute little abbreviation for a homeschool mom doing cartwheels in her front yard!

I knew that we were going to be studying American History this year and I had assumed that we would just continue with our regularly scheduled program {curriculum} but then I started peeking around to see what else was out there. 

Here was my criteria for potential new curriculum:

• Biblically sound - check!
• It had to be something everyone could do together {I am not about to embark on 3 different history books thank you very much} - check!
• Bible, History, Science  should flow together - check!
• I wanted to read REAL BOOKS - check, check and check!
• We do oral narration but I felt like I we needed a little more, like discussion questions - check!
• Charlotte Mason friendly - check!
• Notebooking and lapbooking - check!
• TM needs to be laid out in homeschool mom terms that my brain  could understand AND follow through with - double checkity check!!
• Interesting books and hands on activities - check!
• I would like to keep Fridays free or light - check!

When the UPS man delivered the box I tried to act like it was no big deal and sneek into the house.  ALONE.  But as you can see I ended up having help.  My little dude loved that everything was wrapped.  He helped unwrap everything while asking me if these were for his birthday {smile}.

Things that exceeded my expectations:

• Character Traits are something I am always trying to incorporate into our day but sometimes fail to do so.  I love that this is integrated into the Bible Portion of POE {Light for the Trail which is sold separately}
• We love Nature Studies but rarely fit in Nature Walks and never get around to using our Handbook of Nature Study book.  Would you believe that a main component of POE's Science is the Handbook of Nature Study!!!
• I really like that the TM is broken into 6 week unit increments.  I also like that week 6 is for review and catch up. 
• Language Arts in included in this curriculum.  From what I understand so far, it is taught through literature Ruth Beechick style. 
• Not only are there hands on activities there are GAMES!!  My kids are going to love playing Columbus Bingo and Charades!

 As you can see, this looks like a great curriculum!  I will update my thoughts on POE once we get started and as we move along. 

Anyone else starting something completely new this year?

Disclaimer: I received Trail Guide for Learning - Paths to Exploration, at no cost to me, in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are mine.

2011-2012 Curriculum Choices Part 2 {LINKY}

As I said in my last post, I am really doing a mish mash of things this year.  Here is the complete run down:

Together as a Family:
Bible
My Father's World  (MFW) - We will be studying the Life of Christ and the New Testament.  Last year we used The Victor Journey Through the Bible and we have really come to LOVE it!  we read a chapter in the Bible and then we read the corresponding pages in The Victor, it is like a commentary of sorts plus it gives lots of history facts about the cities and time period - a must have in my opinion.

We will also pull from KONOS and I am sure we will continue with Keys for Kids, at least sometimes since the kids love to listen to them.

History
MFW - Rome to Reformation, the books that go along with it except we will use Mystery of History instead of Streams of Civilization.  KONOS - we will be pulling some fun activities from KONOS.  we plan on including lots and lots of living books.

Science/Health
MFW - Rome to Reformation which will include the study of the human body using The Body Book and planets using the Apologia book, Exploring Creation With Astronomy (Young Explorers). 
We are also going to pull in some fun projects from KONOS like dissecting a cow eye. Can I just tell you that I CAN'T HARDLY WAIT!!

Reading
We definitely read around here.   We do read alouds daily after Bible and then the kids have quiet time.  For at least a half hour I have the girls read and the boys look at books until they fall asleep for their naps.  We discuss our read a louds and I have the girls narrate their readings back to me. 

Art
My kids draw daily.  And craft almost daily.  I frequently have them color something to go along with what we are reading.  We also have several art idea books that we can pull from and the Abeka Art books that we complete projects from occasional.

Extra Curricular Activities I like to do stuff out side of the home but to many things can stress me.  I have been praying about speech, choir, soccer and piano lessons.  These are all things that I want to with me kids but I know that all those things would really be too much.  So, I have just been laying it before the Lord and asking Him what His will would be for us.   So far I think that all the kids will do choir, the girls will do speech and it looks as though the Lord is going to provide flute lessons for the girls.  I think for now soccer may be out. 

The Lil' Chef - 6th Grade
Bible
I am really excited to be adding Draw to Learn from Notgrass this year.  It is like a daily devotional that the children can use independently or together as a family.  Each lesson has a portion of scripture to read and then something for them to draw.  They have several of these to choose from, we are doing the Life of Jesus to coincide with our New Testament studies thru MFW Bible.  VERY EXCITED!!

Language Arts
The Lil' Chef is going to be using Easy Grammar & Daily Grams and Spelling Power. We are generally Abeka users but we are trying something new, I let ya'll know how they work out.  Lil' Chef is also going to continue with Institute of Excellence in Writing (IEW), which we reviewed last year.  IEW is a keeper by the way. 

Math
I am still on the fence about this one.  I really, REALLY, REALLY want to use Teaching Textbooks.  I really lack confidence in teaching math,  and it is not my favorite subject, so the idea of TT is very appealing to me.  After researching it, ALOT, and talking to a few homeschool mom's I decided that maybe it was not a good idea for us.  I have heard mixed reviews Teaching Textbooks, one of the not so great things I have heard is that many children do not test well in the upper grades which was a huge disappointment to me.  I had really hope to ride that little wave all the way thru high school but am now having second thoughts.  If anyone has had good experience with TT and would like to way in, please leave a comment.

As it stands right now she is going to use Abeka Math and continue doing Math Facts Now and Times Alive, which we LOVE!


Computer Girl - 3rd Grade
Bible
Computer girl is also going to include Draw to Learn - The Life of Jesus into her quite reading time.

Language Arts - She is also going to try Easy Grammar, Daily Grams and Spelling Workout this year.  I think I am also going to have her work from the IEW book at a very slow pace. 

Math
Computer Girl is using Mathematical Reasoning 3 from The critical Thinking Co. this year.  We reviewed another level of Mathematical Reasoning last year and LOVED IT!!  She will also be doing math drills using Math Facts Now and Times Alive.

Alpha Boy - Kindergarten
Phonics
Alpha Boy is going to continue using Sing, Spell, Read and Write, which  he really loves and BEGS ME TO!  I mean we aren't even doing school right now and it was a SATURDAY and he brings me his book to do.  I was thinking, REALLY!! 

I also decided, just last week actually, when visiting with some friends that I really wanted to incorporate MFW Kindergarten.  I really just wanted it to pull some of the hands on ideas into the letters that we are learning. 

Math
He is going to be using Arithmetic K from Abeka.  I am also adding in Mathtacular for some added hands on fun. 

Little Bits - Pre K
I don't do anything formal with this little guy.  We is more than welcome to hang with Alpha Boy and I when we do our Phonics and Math.  He is generally around for all our reading and I do read to him. 

I plan on setting up a workbox for him to have with lots of hands on goodies to play with.  I am going to include things like wooden puzzles, Play-Doh Cookie Monster Letter Lunch, Lauri Toys Number Puzzle Boards and Pegs and Lauri's Phonic Center

What is your family going to use this year??  Please link up and share with us.

2011-2012 Curriculum Choices Part 1

After much prayer and consideration, and a nudge from a good friend, I think I've  f i n a l l y  got my curriculum for next year figured out.  I think. 

For those of you that don't know, we have been using My Father's World for the last 3 years.  For some reason I was not really crazy about Creation to Greeks.  I loved, loved, LOVED the Old Testament Bible studies but really got tired of studying Egypt.  I was telling a friend today that I felt like we studied Egypt for like 40 years : )

So when you home school and you are not happy with a curriculum you can either 1) suffer through it, 2) do a switch ola or 3) tweak it.  I am deciding to tweak it!

I really wanted to continue the chronological wheel of MFW but just felt l I really did ALOT of tweaking to our curriculum last year and need to change something.  I have been eyeballing KONOS for a long while now.  I just couldn't really seem to wrap my little finite mind around it, so I dug a bit and learned a little more about it.  The more that I learned the more that I liked it.  I was really drawn to the fact the the focus is character traits.  So, long story short I decided that I wanted to find KONOS used and do it along with MFW.  Crazy right??!!  I did indeed find it used, all 3 KONOS volumes as well as the timeline figures to go with it. 

After looking through the KONOS curriculum I began to reconsider doing MFW.  I decided to focus on just KONOS.  We tried a part of the Attentiveness unit at the end of our last school year and really enjoyed it.  We loved the read a louds, the discussion, the hands on projects and such.  BUT, I still didn't feel settled in my mind with it for some reason.  I had been asking the Lord to lead me to the right curriculum and give me a peace about it, but I just really didn't have it. 

Fast forward to last week, my friend Marta (remember the girl from the zoo) stopped by to see the KONOS books because I was trying to get her to co-op and do Konos with me (mind you I am the one that got her using MFW).  She is an hour and a half a way from me but I figured, hey we'd work that little detail out later : )   Once she looked at the MFW book I'd be using next year (Rome to Reformation) and Konos she said, hey why don't you tie them together.   The Lord reminded me that this was the original leading that I had.  But I really didn't think I could do it since there isn't a ton of Roman studies in Konos.  Marta encouraged me to just sit down and take a look at both curriculum's, and that is just what I did last Friday evening. 

What I figured out was, where I couldn't pull from Konos to match up with the MFW history I could match up the science.  So, some weeks we will pull in some science from Konos and some week history stuff.  Hope this makes sense outside of my brain.  I am really excited to finally feel at peace about it our curriculum for next year.  I don't know about you but I am a little bit stressed when my school plans are in limbo.  Ya know what I am sayin'!

I tell you what we are doing for the 3 R's in another post.