Music Together {Review}

The kids and I really love to listen to music and dance around.  I really thought that getting to review Music Together would be lots of fun, and boy was I right! 

Music Together is an internationally know early childhood music and movement program for children up to 7 years old and the adults who love them!

Music Together sent us their Family Favorites Songbook for Teachers, as well as the Family Favorites CD to review for the TOS Crew.  The first thing we did was listen to the Family Favorites CD.  From the beginning one thing was certain, they had come up with a perfect name for this CD.  The songs on the CD were lots of fun and quickly became favorites for us too! 

The songs included on the Family Favorites CD are:

1. Hello Song
2. Biddy Biddy
3. Splishing and Splashing
4. Ridin' in the Car
5. Stick Tune
6. She Sells Sea Shells
7. Playin' in the Kitchen
8. Palo, Palo
9. John the Rabbit
10. Spin and Stop
11. Mississippi Cats
12. One Little Owl
13. Goin' for Coffee
14. Obwisana
15. I've Been Working on the Railroad
16. Dancing with Teddy
17. Allee Galloo
18. May All Children
19. Goodbye, So Long, Farewell

You can listen to samples of the songs here.

The kids really enjoy listening to these songs.  This is a great CD to play in the car or when during chore time, it can really get them all moving!

The Teacher Songbook added a whole other level of fun.  The book starts off explaining the philosophy of Music Together.  Then I read about using different instruments, and the games and activities that they suggest.

The next section of the song book takes each song and gives suggested activities and instruments.  For instance, for the song I've Been Working on the Railroad they suggest sitting and singing and then going into large movement (large movement, is defined as any activity done while standing).  They suggested that we use pretend sledgehammers as we "work" on the railroad and play pretend fiddles.  Talk about lots of fun!   Other fun suggestions were to play a secret singer game and read a few books on trains. 

Another really fun song on the CD is called Biddy Biddy.  This song is lots of fun.  Little Bits (4 years old) and I had a good old time with this one.  The book suggested that we use egg shakers to the tune of the music.  We didn't have egg shakers so we just put some rice into some small plastic containers and used those instead.  They also suggest using the children's names in the song and large movement. 

I feel like the Family Favorites CD could stand alone, but the Songbook does have a lot of fun ideas.  The Songbook and CD would make a full music curriculum for children 7 and under.   The Family Favorite CD is available for $14.95, the Songbook for $29.95 or you can purchase the Songbook and CD together for $39.95.  If you use the coupon code “Schoolhouse” at checkout on the Music Together online store, you can save an additional $2 on your purchase.


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

Please check out what other TOS Crew members have to say about Music Together!

 

 

Homeschool Legacy

 

 

 

Over the years I have really come to love unit studies.  I like taking a topic and totally immersing ourselves in it, covering most if not all of our subjects.  So getting the opportunity to try a new unit study definitely appealed to me.  

The TOS Crew introduced our family to Homeschool Legacy, a company that currently offers over 10 Once-A-Week Unit Studies based mostly on history and nature.  The Once-A-Week Unit Studies were created by Sharon, a veteran homeschool mom of 16 years.  Her desire was to create easy to use unit studies that were not only educational and fun, but helped parents build a strong, Godly, family legacy while educating their children.

Since we love all things nature over here in the LSG home, when I was asked which of the Once-A-Week Unit Studies we would be interested in doing, it was a simple decision.  We choose Birds of a Feather.  Each of the unit studies range from 4 to 8 weeks, Birds of a Feather lasted 4 weeks. 

 

 The Once-A-Week Unit Study is designed to go along with your regular daily studies.  You simply add in reading each day and one day of activities, which also includes a family devotional.  Family movies and field trip suggestion are also listed each week. 

I really liked the feel of the Once-A-Week Unit Study.  It is jam packed with book, movie and field trip ideas and yet it did not feel overwhelming to me at all.  There were many activities in this study that we were able to pick and choose from.  I loved having everything at my fingertips, all the work was done for me, all I had to do was choose what our books, movies and the fun activities we were going to do. 

The Once-A-Week Unit Studies cover:

family devotionals, quality library reading selections, family read-alouds, history, science, geography, language, life skills, research, art, crafts, music, classic literature, documentaries, field trip suggestions, family game and movie nights, and even some fun "Stump Your Dad Trivia."

 

Let me give you all a sampling from the first week of our Birds of a Feather study. 

• The book selections were great. My suggestions were favorites like Are You My Mother, The Story About Ping and The Little Red Hen, as well as some new ones like If You Were A Parrot and The Luckiest One of All.
• Our Family Devotional took us to Genesis chapter 1.  In reading the suggested portions of scripture, the kids are reminded that birds are part of God's marvelous creation.  We also got to talk about what the birds need to in order to survive.     
• Two of the neat, yet simple, activities from Bird's of a Feather is to set up a bird feeding station and a simple birdbath.  I did not feel like I had to run out and buy a ton of supplies for these activities.  I felt that Sharon did a great job at keeping homeschoolers in mind, the items were mostly simple things from around the house.   
• For family movie night she suggested the movie Fly Away Home, which is a really good movie BTW!   
• Another thing that I thought was pretty cool was that she includes a little section called Stump Your Dad Trivia.  I thought it was a great way to include dad and let him know what they are learning about.   

If you are anything like me, there are so many things that you want to study with the kids.  So many topics, so little time {smile}.  For me, I feel like the Once-A-Week Unit Study is a great way to a incorporate a topic of interest with out overwhelming my regularly scheduled program.  It adds that fun learning element with out too much planning and effort on my part. 

The Once-A-Week Unit Studies range in price from $15.95 to $19.95.  Each of the studies are suitable for students in grades 2-12.  We The People, being the only exception, is recommended for grades 4-12.   As I mentioned, there are currently over 10 Once-A-Week Unit studies available

• Horsing Around    
• Knights & Nobles   
• Forest for the Trees   
• Birds of a Feather   
• Native America
• Lewis & Clark: From Sea to Shining Sea
• Early Settlers in America
• Revolutionary Ideas
• Weather on the Move
• We the People: Getting to Know Your Constitution  

I like and would recommend the Once-A-Week Unit Studies.  I think they are great for a unit study veteran as well as a newbie! 

In the near future I am hoping to do the We the People: Getting to Know Your Constitution study to go along with our American History studies. 

Check out what others on the TOS Crew have to say about Homeschool Legacy! 

  

Disclaimer: We were given a copy of the Bird's of a Feather Once-A-Week Unit Study free of charge  in exchange for an honest review. 

Menu Plan Monday 9/24/12

I just can't seem to be faithful with my menu posts.  Between real life, homeschooling and everything else, my blog has been suffering a bit.  I am going to try to get back on track with my blog, starting now.  So here goes...

I have still been menu planning, mainly because it keeps me sane and the people fed.  Last month I actually planned out a whole month of dinner ideas.  I think I like doing my planning this way best, it means that I only have to rack my brain once a month verses 4 or 5 times. 

I just jotted down 5 weeks worth of dinner ideas and each week I have been pulling from that list, checking them off as I go.  In addition to the monthly list, each week I write up a quick weekly menu and fill out my grocery list.  I then hang weekly menu plan on the refrigerator so I that I can refer to it through out the week. 

Our breakfast and lunches pretty much stay the same every week.  I guess we are pretty boring that way.

Breakfasts
Cereal
Waffles
Baked Oatmeal
Bagels
Yogurt & Cereal Bar
French Toast

All breakfast meals have a fruit of some sort to go along with them.

Lunches
Hot Ham & Cheese
Mac & Cheese
PB&J's
Chicken Nuggets & Fries
Cheese Quesadillas w/ Salsa & Sour Cream
Dogs & Tots
Egg Salad, Tuna Salad or Chicken Salad

I know, not very fancy at all.  We also have a fruit and/or a veggie with lunch and sometimes the occasional potato chip. 

Dinners
Crock Pot Sloppy Joes, Mixed Veggies
BLT's, Carrot Sticks, Cantaloupe
Oven Fried Parmesan Chicken, Brown Rice and Broccoli
Homemade Pizza (we usually have this once a week)
Italian Sausage with Bowties (this is so yummy!)
BBQ Chicken Sandwiches, Potato Salad, Fruit and Chips

As you can see the theme for this week is easy! 

My Redeemer

by Phillip P. Bliss

I will sing of my Redeemer,
And His wondrous love to me;
On the cruel cross He suffered,
From the curse to set me free.

Refrain

 

Sing, oh sing, of my Redeemer,
With His blood, He purchased me.
On the cross, He sealed my pardon,
Paid the debt, and made me free.

 

I will tell the wondrous story,
How my lost estate to save,
In His boundless love and mercy,
He the ransom freely gave.

Refrain

 

I will praise my dear Redeemer,
His triumphant power I’ll tell,
How the victory He giveth
Over sin, and death, and hell.

Refrain

 

I will sing of my Redeemer,
And His heav’nly love to me;
He from death to life hath brought me,
Son of God with Him to be.

Refrain

 

 

 

You can listen to My Redeemer here.

Marshall Publishing

 

 

I love it when we get the opportunity to review a product from a company we already know we love!  A while back we reviewed, and loved, the Lots and Lots of Firetrucks video from Marshall Publishing. 

This time we were given the chance to review one of 4 videos that Marshall Publishing offers.  We could choose from.....

• The Historic Expedition of Lewis and Clark – We Proceed On
• The History of America in the 1880′s – A Decade of Progress
• The History of the Oregon Trail & The Pony Express
• Lots & Lots of Penguins and their Happy Feet – 2 DVD Set

They all sounded good so I took a vote.  The History of the Oregon Trail & The Pony Express won!  The kids all seemed to have an interest in learning about the Pony Express.  This year we are focusing on early American history so I knew this video would fit perfectly into our studies. 

 

 

 

We enjoyed watching The History of the Oregon Trail portion of the video, which was about 35 minutes long.  It really explained the reasons why so many people risked their lives to take the 2,000 mile trip across the country on the Oregon Trail.  Seeing the trail, covered wagons and illustrations were very helpful in visualizing what it was really like to take this massive journey.   We learned a little about steam boats, the prairie, and wagon trains.  We also learned about the beautiful landscape that they encountered on their journey.   

Our favorite part of the video was the part about The Pony Express, which is about 16 minutes long.  It was neat to see how the Pony Express started, how it worked and how it paved the way for US Postal Service.  The boys, of course, liked watching the cowboys race across the prairie to deliver the mail.  Until watching this video I did not realize that The Pony Express was an independently run company, I always thought it was run by the government.  Nor did I know that it lasted such a short time and went bankrupt!  I really loved hearing the oath that the Pony Express riders took!

 

Lots and lots of interesting information on this video.  The History of Oregon Trail & The Pony would be a great addition to any early American History study. This video would be most helpful for audio and visual learners. 

 

The History of the Oregon Trail & The Pony Express video is currently available for $19.95.  You can use the COUPON CODE - TOS27 to receive FREE SHIPPING! 

 

 

Check out what others on the TOS Crew have to say about Marshall Publishing Videos!

 

Disclaimer: We were given this video free of charge is exchange for a honest review.