Life With My Giggly Girls

Review: Scaredy Cat Reading

2013-05-19T14:32:00.000-04:00

Our latest review opportunity was the Scaredy Cat Reading System, level 2, from Joyce Herzog.

Dr. Joyce Herzog has been an educator for over 25 years and has developed many different learning products that cover grammar, reading, writing, history, and more.

About Scaredy Cat Reading

This is a mastery based phonics program that covers spelling as well as phonics. It incorporates a variety of games, stories, and songs to make learning to read fun. The program includes a teacher's manual, study activity book, audio CD, and a Fun Learning Pack.

The Learning Pack includes letter and word cards, letter and word magnets, games, and stories. There is something to appeal to every type of

learner.

Our Experience

The first thing I did after receiving the Scaredy Cat Reading System was prepare. There is quite a bit of prep work to be done before beginning. Mainly cutting out all of the cards and magnet tiles. When I first saw it all I did sigh a bit, but it didn't take me nearly as long to do as I feared. I just dug in and started cutting until I was finished.

Next I began reading the teacher's manual (TM). At first I was a little overwhelmed. There is a lot in the manual and student book (SB). I wasn't exactly sure how to proceed. So when in doubt, jump in with

Finding All of the Vowels

both feet. And once we did, everything clicked.

I decided to begin by reading the Story of the Letter Master. This mini-book, in a comic format, gives you the thought process behind the story hidden in a cute story. Kayleigh thought this book was hilarious and, while much of it was over her head, we've read it several times. I know that it will make more and more sense to her as we progress through the program.

Next we listened to Lesson 1 on the audio CD. Joyce herself "teaches" the lesson and Kayleigh actually sat and listened to the entire thing. It was easy to follow and the song was super catchy.

From there I just picked and chose activities from the TM and SB that I thought Kayleigh would like. The program is like a buffet where you can pick and choose what appeals to you. Like a buffet, there is a ton to choose from and you don't have to do them all. We spent two weeks on Lesson 1 alone and we still had a ton of activities that we didn't get to. I plan on revisiting some of them as review down the line.

This is pretty much the format that we've been following ever since. Listen to the lesson on the CD and spending a couple of weeks working on different activities in the TM and SB. It is working well for us and Kayleigh looks forward to each lesson.

Sorting the Words by the Vowels "Scared Sounds"

Detective Kayleigh is tracking down the vowels

All in all, we are really enjoying this program. The "box checker" in me wouldn't mind seeing the TM more organized and there were quite a few typos in both the TM and SB. I liked how versatile the program was. I guess the plus to the less organized format is that I didn't really feel to bad that we didn't do every activity in each lesson.

F.Y.I.

Website: http://joyceherzog.com/Joyce_Herzog/Welcome.html

Age Range: Varies depending on child's prior knowledge. Level 2 is appropriate for any child who has already mastered basic letter sounds.

Pricing: $75 for the complete system

Be sure to click the banner at the bottom of the page to see what other Joyce Herzog products my Crew Mates are reviewing.

And the Telephone Rang...

2013-05-14T20:37:00.001-04:00

It really did. And guess who was on the other end?

Guess? Come on take a guess?

Oh never mind, you'll never guess in a million years. I'll spill...

It was Karen Brooks. Who on earth is Karen Brooks, you might ask?

Karen Brooks is the wife of Don Brooks. Come on, you remember Don right? They are the owners of Winter Promise. And as you might know, Winter Promise and I did not part on the best of terms. So imagine my surprise to find Mrs. Brooks on the other end of the line.

So what did Mrs. Brooks want??? She wanted said that she wanted to touch base with me on a couple of things. I'll admit I was a little leery of what she might have to say, being that I have not hid my displeasure with my experience, from them or the world. Possibly she had read my blog?? (Yes. )

So here's the lowdown...

First of all, she wanted to let me know that if you order their e-books, you will not be charged shipping. (I told you she read my blog. ) Long story short, whatever web system they use can not differentiate between physical and e-books. So when you load up your cart it will show shipping charges. At the very end of the check out process, this charge will be removed. Score 1 for WP. That might be something that they want to announce all over their web site though. Loud and proud.

(And as long as I'm offering up opinions, maybe Bill Gates could spend his "brains", money and time creating some kind of affordable system for small businesses that will remedy this type of problem. You know, instead of sticking his hand into the business of educating children. Something that he has know knowledge of or business in. Just sayin', in case Bill happens to be reading too. Stick with your area of expertise buddy.)

Secondly, she apologized to me for the miserable experience that I had with their program. She seemed very sincere. She offered up a lot of reasons why there were so many problems with the 2011 Children Around the World program. I do empathize with how difficult it must have been with many of the titles in the program being discontinued and how they had to scramble to come up with some kind of fix for it, I do. I get that they are a small, family owned company and it's hard. It doesn't make me feel any better about my experience or the money I lost but I appreciate that she owned it for the most part.

Lastly, and most importantly, she thanked me for letting them know about my experience so they could look into the problems I mentioned and take action. She said that she went through my email point by point, and that I played a pivotal role in the complete overhaul of the program. I know, right?

All joking about my awesomeness aside, (I'm not joking), I was beyond thrilled to hear that actually listened and made changes. And totally shocked.

How good are the changes? I don't know. I haven't seen it.

Here's what I do know...

From what I've been told...

The maps have been redrawn. I believe they now include the border of Eastern Europe and Iceland. I'm so happy for Iceland. And maybe even some of those seas over in Europe no longer look like land-locked lakes. I'm taking her word on it.

They have gone through the books and removed quite a few that I thought were complete snooze fests filled with useless information. (Feel free to thank me for sparing you from having to butcher the Mandarin language while reading aloud to your child.) It's true. I checked. Those Find Out About books are outta there.

Mrs. Brooks mentioned that she completely redid the World Travel Diary to include more information to beef it up and help the student complete the assignments. I peeked at the sample, it does look vastly improved from what I saw.

Here's What I Don't Know...

I don't know whether the scheduling of the books is more cohesive. I'm not sure if you'll still be reading about Switzerland while studying Russia or Africa. Or the Caribbean while studying Switzerland. I really don't know. I can't imagine why they wouldn't look into that since I had mentioned it. So a hopeful maybe?

I don't whether or not you'll be able to get your money back if you don't like it. They have altered their return policy a little bit. You now get six weeks to use the program. Unfortunately the six weeks now begins at the time you place your order instead of when it ships. And word on the street is that the company still has difficulty getting the orders out in a timely manner. It took over 5 months for me to get my (in)complete order, the IG being one of the last things we received. We were out a grand due to that return policy. By the time our return policy expired, we had only a few items.

I don't know why they were so surprised by what I said. They have both told me that they've never been told these things before. Like I've previously written, a lot of my complaints were the same ones that I'd found on their very own message boards from years prior. I can only assume that running small business on top of caring for and homeschooling a family doesn't allow for making the reading their boards a priority. But still you'd think at least once in all those years they'd have caught something.

So Now What???

I was really pleased that she called and told me that she took what I said to heart. She seemed really sincere and very passionate about making the changes. I really appreciate that she took the time to let me know. It couldn't have been easy for her. I was pretty ticked at the end and, quite frankly, I'd have been a bit nervous about making the call had I been in her shoes.

I'm really glad that they are trying to make their product better for their customers. While the improvements don't help those who bought the program when I did, or help any of us recoup our losses, it was the right thing to do.

Am I ready to write a glowing endorsement??

Probably not. Part of that is because I'm sticking with what works for my family, so I'll likely never try the new stuff. The other part is more of a once bitten, twice shy kind of thing. But different strokes for different folks, right?

After this conversation, I do believe that Mrs. Brooks sincerely wants to provide a good product. I believe that she's working hard on it. It's probably going to take some time to get it where she wants it. It's a small company and she's had to learn some publishing lessons the hard way. The kinks are still being worked out but she's learning as she goes.

So if a Winter Promise program looks good to you, here are some tips...

You may or may not get an itemized list of what you order. (I didn't.) So make sure that you make a detailed list about what you should be receiving, down to the last item.

I'd order the IG first. In fact, I'd probably call and ask how long it's going to take to ship. That is important because, remember, the six week return policy starts when you place your order. So if you don't receive the product until week seven (or month 5) then you will have lost the option to return it before you ever receive it.

I'd personally order as much as I could from another company, like Amazon, and only order WP exclusives from them. You'll get your stuff faster.

Go through the IG and exclusives as soon as you get them. Remember time is ticking. If you find something wrong/missing/whatever, alert WP immediately.

What I've Learned...

First, research before you buy. Had I looked on their forums I might have made a different decision. Sample are great, word of mouth is better.

Secondly, and most importantly, companies can't fix something if they don't know it's broke. I've posted a lot about my experience with this company and I have received a lot of comments from others who've had a similar experience with some of their other programs. Many of whom admitted that they never said anything to the company about the errors and issues that they had.

If this experience taught me nothing else, I've learned that I can make a difference. (Who knew this mouth was good for something?) One person speaking up brought change for others. It didn't recoup my cost, but hopefully it made someone else's experience better.

Most of us homeschoolers are single income families. We need to make those precious dollars count. Most of us cannot afford to lose a thousand dollars.

Knowing this, we should look out for each other. If we find a problem with a curriculum purchase, it's our duty to alert the company. In that way we will be helping our fellow home schoolers from experiencing what we did. We're helping the company provide a better product. We're helping everyone make those hard-earned dollars count.

I urge you to start notifying companies when you have a problem. (And feel free to share what you liked as well.) It can only benefit us all.

My Little Mozart

2013-05-11T10:29:00.002-04:00

It's that time again, time for Mackenzie's annual piano recital. Enjoy The Spanish Guitarist.

Virtual Refrigerator: Monet for Little Kids

2013-05-03T09:33:00.000-04:00

Even the little guys can paint like Monet. All you need is some painter's tape, water colors, and a book with some of Monet's art work in it.

I just taped a bridge shape onto paper and let her loose. Kayleigh had a lot of fun and I love the finished product so much I think I might frame it and hang it in our school room. Easy peasy.

Review: Literacy Soft

2013-05-01T19:55:00.000-04:00

If there's one thing that Kayleigh likes to review, it's an app. So it was a happy day when we got to review Phonics and Reading with McGuffey by Literacy Soft. Kayleigh was happy to be on the iPad and I was happy that she was getting some extra reading practice.

About Phonics and Reading with McGuffey

This app includes 52 easy-to-use lessons that will help your new reader read at a first grade level. With this app you will get: All 52 McGuffey Primer lessons, 44 letter sounds, 400 practice words, 60 letter

sound animations, and a 9000+ word nonsense dictionary.

It's built based on the successful McGuffey Eclectic Primer using synthetic phonics. It uses a multi-sensory approach to appeal to a variety of learning styles.

It is appropriate for learners of any level and age and is also beneficial for students with learning challenges.

Our Experience

The app starts the student off by introducing a handful of letter sounds or blends to work on. At this stage they just click on the letter (or blend) and listen to the sound. Then they are to repeat it. Next they will learn some words made with this sounds. The app will sound out this words as the student clicks on it. Again, the student is expected to repeat this.

Now you move on to a "quiz" section. The app will give the student a list of words or letters and they are to click on the choice that matches what is being "read" aloud to them. Then they get to create their own words using the "Phonics Blender." Kayleigh loved, loved, loved this part. Especially when she could create a nonsense word. It would crack her up.

Following the phonics blender the students would work on reading practice. The app stresses the importance of reading left to right. It also will help the student by sounding out the word for them if they have trouble. It is also self-correcting which is nice. Then student completes another "quiz" and moves on to "Build-a-Word." The student hears a word and then drags the letters needed to build it onto the truck. When the student has the correct spelling, the truck drives away.

Last is the "Train Game." Here the student clicks on the word after they hear it. There is a repeat button for all the games so the if the student needs to refresh themselves on what they heard, it's just a click away.

This app was incredibly easy to use. You can set up accounts for up to ten users and it will track each user's progress separately. The directions throughout the game are so clear and simple that Kayleigh is able to play it on her own without needing me to explain things to her. She found the animation for correct answers to be hysterical and it was encouraging when she needed more help.

It is definitely something that will we continue to use to supplement Kayleigh's reading lessons.

F.Y.I.

Website: http://literacysoft.com/

Age Range: preschool+, great for anyone who needs reading help

Cost: $19.99 for the full app or try the first ten lessons for free on the Lite App

Review: Homeschool in the Woods

2013-04-30T19:36:00.000-04:00

Homeschooling has done more than afford me to teach my children, it's also taught me a lot about myself. One of the more surprising things that I have learned about myself during this homeschool adventure is that I like the arts. I was really surprised when we did our first artist and composer studies to see how much that I enjoyed them. Sure I took art classes during my public school career but paintings, artists, composer studies were not something covered in my public school life.

I was very excited to find out that Homeschool in the Woods was offering us the chance to review some of their activity packs. Seeing as we were currently in-between a composer study I was very excited to be reviewing the Composer Activity Pack.

About Activity Packs

In a nutshell, an activity pack is a unit study in the form of a lap book. The Composer Activity Pack contains six projects that cover various eras from the Middle Ages to Modern times. It includes an introduction to the orchestra, 42 composers, vocabulary, a timeline, and 29 pieces of music in MP3 format.

You get to work on the following projects: Periods of Music, Keyboard Vocabulary, Composer Collection, Composers Timeline, Pieces with a Purpose, Music Appreciation, The Orchestra File Folder Display, and Composer Cards.

It is jam-packed!!!!!

Our Experience

We received the download version of the activity pack. Each page was a separate PDF file that had to be opened. That was a bit of a pain at first. However once I got to print mode, I found that to be a bonus when I had to print things on different types of paper.

This activity pack can be used in a variety of ways. You could use it as is for an overview. You could add music and reading to it and use it as a long term composer study. I was looking for a long term study so that is how I chose to use it.

The activities contain a very limited amount of information about the topics and composers so you will need to take time to find additional resources, mainly books and additional music. While there are 29 MP3s included, there are 42 composers. We are fortunate to have a lot of resources already, particularly music, so it wasn't that much of a hassle for us. But you should know upfront that you will need to do some sort of research whether from books or on the internet.

Since I planned to use this long term, I decided to start off with the activities that were more of an overview of the history of music. We read books about the orchestra and worked on the interactive orchestra portion.

Next we did the Periods of Music activities. We talked about the differences between the periods and listened to some samples of music from each period. Then we worked on the timeline so we could see where the different composers fit into history.

The authors recommend doing all of the activities first and then adding them to the lap book all at once. I decided to add them as we went since we will be using it over the next few months. We are an impatient sort and don't like to wait. ;)

Next on our agenda will be to study each of the composers more in depth. We plan on going more in depth than the information provided in the activity pack. We will be adding in more reading and doing a lot of listening to each composer's music. Mackenzie will be choosing her favorite piece from each composer and filling out the Music Appreciation sheets to keep in her lap book.

We have used Homeschool in the Woods map sets and timeline figures in the past and really enjoyed them. This activity pack was no exception. The graphics were fabulous, the activities fun, and we are learning. We found the instructions for assembly to be clear and easy to follow.

The only thing I think I would change would be the lack of teaching information. We aren't new to composer studies so we had some available but this might hinder others. I would like see at the very least a list of suggested resources or websites included.

If you are looking for a fun way to include a composer study into your homeschool, and don't mind a trip to the library, then I would definitely consider the Composer Activity Pack. You will have a lovely keepsake when you are finished.

F.Y.I.

Website: http://www.homeschoolinthewoods.com

Age Range: third through eighth grade

Pricing: $18.95 for the download version and $19.95 for the CD

You Know You're a T1P (Type 1 Parent) When...

2013-04-18T19:42:00.000-04:00

As you might know, 100% of our offspring have type 1 diabetes. (Excessive, right?) It involves a lot of math, a lot of needles, a lot of tears, a lot of unpredictability, a lot of doctors visits, and a lot trips to the pharmacy.

Recently Mackenzie, our older daughter, got an insulin pump. A rocking green Animas Ping to be specific. A pump is just a another method of insulin delivery. As opposed to multiple daily injections.

So yesterday was her first day using insulin in the pump. Finding the right settings for the pump is a lot of trial and error and requires a lot monitoring. It's a little stressful as you deal with highs and lows while you figure it all out. All the same, she enjoyed her day with no shots and we got her set for bed. The 2 a.m. check rolls around. She was 71.

Not a terrible number for you or I, but a bit on the low side for a diabetic. Especially at night. And she is never that low at night. So we carb her up a bit with some peanut butter crackers and head back to bed.

About 20 minutes later, just when we're back to sleep, we hear this loud beeping over one of the monitors. (We have monitors in both the girls rooms incase they need us.) We jump up and I say, "What is that?" Kevin shouts, "It's her pump!" And we rush to her room.

You Know You're a T1P When...

You hear a loud beeping noise in your house at night and your first thought is that it pertains to your child's medical devices. We rush in to her room and find her cowering and shaking in her bed. But not because her blood sugar was low. Because the smoke detector scared the ever lovin' out of her.

Yes it was the smoke detector. We checked for fire, none, Kevin messes with the detector. It's seems to be fine. We do another quick sugar check (96) and go back to bed. The instant, I mean the instant, our head hit the pillow. It goes off again. Twice.

Actually it was 2 smoke detectors. One in Mackenzie's room and one right outside Kayleigh's door. Low battery. We haven't even lived here long enough to warrant a change. Cheap, builder's grade batteries. I have several new gray hairs.

P.S. Mike and Young Joe (builders) you might want to make sure that you drive by my house with your windows rolled up or you might find yourself pelted with your cheap batteries. Seriously, spring for Energizer next time.

P.P.S. Take a minute to familiarize yourself with the symptoms of type 1 diabetes.

Review: Progeny Press Study Guides

2013-04-16T22:04:00.000-04:00

We are book worms to our very core around here. We love 'em. We'll give any book a try and if it's a good book, we'll read it again and again. Because of this love literature has the starring role in our homeschool. We are literature based all the way. And when we get a review that feeds this love, we are thrilled.

We were totally blessed when we reviewed Progeny Press Study Guides last year. We enjoyed the first one so much that we have used several since then. We about jumped for joy when we were given the opportunity to review another one. Up this time, The Golden Goblet Study Guide.

About Progeny Press

Progeny Press is a family owned company who strives to teach cultural literature from a Christian perspective. They offer over 100 guides for kindergarten through high school. The guides are designed to teach your student understand literature through critical thinking, literary analysis, reading comprehension along with a Christian application.

Our Experience

We received the instant download version of the guide. It comes in an interactive PDF format which means that your student can type on it and includes a separate answer key. My daughter LOVES this feature because she'd rather type than write any day. You, of course, always have the option of printing out the activities and a few, like crossword puzzles, require printing.

The guide starts you off with an overview of the book and information about it's author. You are then given several pre-reading activities. These included things like researching topics pertaining to the book, map work, field trips, and video suggestions.

You were then given a couple of "As You Read" ideas. We found these to be really interesting. One idea was to create a map of the city of Thebes based on details and places from the story. Such a fun way to get the student to pay attention to the details.

Vocabulary and literary terms are a large part of the guide. There are straight forward comprehension question and questions that require the student to infer more. offer opinions, and think more deeply about what they read. And get this? There are sample answers to the more open-ended questions. This mom loved that!!! Then there is the "Dig Deeper" questions that get the student thinking about the story from a Christian world view. At the end of each section there are optional activities to extend the learning. They range from deeper discussion ideas, field trips to further the learning, and more.

Like the previous guides that we have used from Progeny Press, this one was incredibly user friendly and easy to use. All that you need is the book, a good Bible, and the guide. Just open up and go. And not only does it get her digging deeper into what she's reading, it's reinforcing her language arts lessons. The activities talk about imagery, synonyms, metaphors, and a billion other things that she's studied. Only now she's seeing them in context. I love that!

Once again, Progeny Press has exceeded our expectations. The guides are so well done and interesting that Mackenzie enjoys doing them. I have a running list of the guides that they offer that go along with our studies because they are such an easy way to add depth to our read alouds.

F.Y.I.

Website: http://stores.progenypress.com/StoreFront.bok

Age Range: The guide we reviewed was for middle school but they offer a large variety of guides for K-12. Check out the complete listing.

Pricing: (For the Golden Goblet Guide) $16.99 for the CD or instant download and $18.99 for the print version. Prices may vary depending on the guide you choose.

Find Progeny Press on Facebook.

What Not to Say

2013-04-13T10:59:00.000-04:00

Since our girls have been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, we have heard a lot of little "tidbits" from people. One of the most prevalent is "they'll get used to it."

I don't think so...

What I do think is that there is A LOT of misinformation and confusion about type 1 diabetes out there. With that in mind, my husband and I try not to take offense when we hear that phrase, even though those words make us cringe. After all, we didn't know anything about it until we had to. Mackenzie, on the other hand, gets very upset by comments like that.

Does any one really get used to...

Having to count every carb that they put in their mouth before they can eat it? You're often still counting the carbs while everyone else is already eating.

Having to prick your finger with a needle 4-10 times a day, every day, no vacations?

Getting a shot every time you want to eat? Hooray, Halloween candy. Then you remember the shot and it's suddenly not that exciting. At best, if you have a pump, you can exchange the shots for a site change every 2 or 3 days.

Having to take a shot of long acting insulin that stings so badly that you cry almost every night?

Having people stare at you while you get your shot when you eat in public? Or the constant questions regarding your pump? "What is that?" "What is that tube hanging off of you?"

Having to eat candy because they are low not because they'd just enjoy a piece of candy? Or a juice box?

Getting a shot while you're trying to sleep because your blood sugar spiked for some unknown reason?

Getting woken from a deep sleep because your blood sugar is dangerously low and you need to be treated? Funnily enough, when the girls were first diagnosed this was a bit of perk. It seemed exciting to be woken in the middle of the night and get a juice box and a snack.

It's not anymore. They're exhausted and just want to sleep. While they can pretty much drink a juice box in their sleep, it can be a battle if they have to chew anything. Kayleigh, in particular, really gets upset. Take a look.

Wondering if this is the night that you drop low and nobody catches it? That is not a particular worry for my girls right now because we don't talk about that side of diabetes with them. But one day they will be on their own and caring for themselves and that will be a very real fear.

I don't think that my girls will ever really get used to it. Resigned to it, sure. They have no choice because, right now, this is their forever.

So the next time you meet a type one diabetic, maybe you can be the person who says something encouraging them. Something like, "Wow. I know that this disease is really hard. I'm really impressed with how well you manage it." And if you really want to make them feel good, take the time to learn a little big about their condition and share it with them the next time you bump into them. I know that my girls feel so loved whenever somebody really takes the time to understand what they're going through.

And before you leave, I'd LOVE it if you took a moment to learn about the Symptoms of Type 1 Diabetes so that you'll know what to look for in your loved one. And feel free to share the knowledge.

Ultimate Blog Party

2013-04-05T11:31:00.003-04:00

It's time for the annual Ultimate Blog Party Link-Up from 5 Minute Moms. What is the Blog Party? Just an easy way to "meet" other blogger mommies and make new friends.

It's easy to join. Just write a quick post about yourself and your blog and link-up. Easy Peasy!!

Who Am I?

I am Stefanie, wife to Kevin, homeschooling mommy to Mackenzie (12) and Kayleigh (5), daughter of the King. I am also fluent in sarcasm, so read on with caution. ;)

In a previous life I used to love reading, blogging, photography, and digital scrapbooking. Then type 1 diabetes entered my life in a big way when both of my daughters were diagnosed with it within two months of each other. I still love those things but homeschooling, on top of being a full time pancreas for two extra people, is incredibly time consuming so I don't get to do them as often as I'd like.

Why Do I Blog?

It started as a way to keep our family in touch with Mackenzie's life when we were stationed in Guam for three years. (Former military family here.) It then evolved into an online scrapbook of our homeschooling adventures for my daughters.

These days I continue to blog about our homeschooling, product reviews for The Old Schoolhouse Review Crew, and, most importantly, a peek into what life with type 1 diabetes is like. It's my goal to make more people aware of the symptoms of type 1 diabetes as well as clear up the misconceptions between type 1 and type 2.

So welcome to my corner of the blogosphere!! I hope you'll stay and check it out.

April Fools

2013-04-03T10:49:00.000-04:00

Mother Nature played an April Fool's trick on us this year. On April Fool's day we had a beautiful day with a balmy 73 degrees. Bee-you-tee-ful!!!! The trick was that the lovely weather was for one day only. Spring is over again. lol

But since it was warm out, and Grandma and Grandpa were in town, we headed out to Williamsburg to enjoy the sunshine. So here's our trip in pictures. We brought Grandmas dog and he wasn't welcome in those buildings any more than he was welcome in our house. lol (He stayed with Uncle Donnie, or Uncle Doggie, as Kayleigh calls him. Now we know why. lol) So walked around and enjoyed the wonderful weather.

Weasley drank puddle water and lived to tell the tale. An April Fool's Miracle!

Authentic Colonial Bamboo Forest????

The highlight of the trip was the 110 year old tree that my kids loved climbing. We spent most of our time there by the tree. lol My girls had the best time. I guess sometimes they can be easy to please.

Another winter promise Fail

2013-03-29T10:34:00.000-04:00

If you don't already know it, I am not a huge fan of the winter promise curriculum. The company itself or the crappy product that they peddle.

Why you might ask? Here's the short list...

winter promise Recap

1) The crappy customer service. It's the worst. It took 5 months to get my (incomplete) order. FIVE MONTHS. Really. And I never received confirmation of what I would be receiving. When it would be shipping. Not even a packing list. I never did get everything. You can read about my thoughts as it happened.

2) The material that I used, children around the world, was a complete pile of junk. The maps were incorrect. All the freaking time. The IG was a complete and utter mess. Page numbers wrong time and time again for starters. The notebooking pages were crap. Several of the books published by them were filled spelling and grammar errors. I could go on and on with specifics. But I'm not going to now because I already did. Click the link and see all the horrible mistakes I found during the five weeks that I used the program. The link will show the posts starting with the most recent so you might want to click to the start of it all.

3) The return policy is a JOKE. Please read this carefully and note the part I highlighted.

Basically, three weeks after I got the stickers and one book, my chance to return this crap was over. You know, since it took another 5 months to get the rest.

4) They know their product is junk and they don't care. I talked with the owner on several occasions. I went into explicit detail about the errors that I found. On one product, the $30 book filled with spelling and grammar errors, he owned up to. Sort of. They knew it was like that but sold it anyway without alerting the customer. The rest he played dumb about.

Which makes him a liar because I researched their message boards and found post after post showing people complaining about the very issues I spoke of. People had been posting about it for years. His responses were less then satisfactory and an embarrassment to his company.

Please be sure to click the links so that you know what you're getting into when you purchase from them. We lost thousands of dollars to this company. We're blessed that it didn't break us, but not every one is in the same financial position as we are.

So Why am I Bringing this up Again?

First and foremost, because I'm very passionate about making sure that other people don't get ripped off by them the way that I was.

Secondly, they're still trying to rip you off. Last year they started venturing in the world of e-books. I thought that was an interesting tactic. I figured at the very list it would be easier for them to correct errors and stop sending people the error riddled physical books. At least with an e-book they could correct the error and send you a new link or something.

My bad for giving them the benefit of the doubt again. I don't know whether or not they would update an error because no way in heck am I giving them a dime of my money again. But here's what I do know.

They will charge you shipping on your e-book!!!!! That's right they are making their customers pay shipping on something that they can email. Holy Creep of the Year Batman!!! Who does that?

In an effort to be fair and not take somebody's word on this fact. I loaded up my cart with an e-book. I'll let my e-cart do the talking.

What losers!

And now you've been warned.

Review: The Art of Poetry

2013-03-21T22:37:00.000-04:00

Three words that always get me excited are Classical Academic Press. I have used and loved their Bible and Logic programs and drooled over their language programs. I love them. I was super excited to see that they had something new on the horizon, poetry!!! And guess what came to my door? Their new Art of Poetry Program.

About The Art of Poetry

The program consists of a student text, teacher's edition, and DVD lessons, available as a bundle or separately. They also offer free MP3 files and weekly schedules. There's even an Art of Poetry Blog written by the author.

The study covers the following units: The Elements of Poetry, including images, metaphor, symbols, etc. The Formal History of Poetry, including movement, verse forms, shaping forms, open verse and more. It also includes a section on applying poetry in your life and biographies of the poets in the book.

The teacher's edition includes a complete copy of the student text as well as detailed explanations of the poems, an answer key to the Anthology exercises, a poetry time line, quizzes with answer keys, and suggestions for teaching poetry. Hallelujah!!!!!!!

The study was written as an introduction to poetry for those of us who might have trouble understanding and enjoying poetry. Hi my name is Stefanie and I'm pretty good at comprehending Shel Silverstein and not much else. Sign me up!!!!!

Our Experience

I am not a poetry buff. I don't really remember studying or reading a lot of poetry in school beyond the "funny poems." I don't even pretend to understand the "deep stuff." It's like a foreign language to me.

Mackenzie has read a lot of poetry. She reads at least one book of poems each year. However, in the seven years we've been homeschooling, all we do is read them. There is no real study or discussing them usually. This program is certainly something that can only benefit us.

We received the complete Art of Poetry bundle. Since I am completely inept when it comes to this topic, I scoured the How to Use This Book, scheduling, and Instructions to the Teacher sections. One of the first things that I read was "Do not let this book overwhelm you." That didn't make me feel better. I was overwhelmed by the size alone.

For the purpose of the review, I decided to use the One-Year Suggested Schedule which covers one lesson in about 2 weeks. This schedule would definitely be too much for us long term, due to my inexperience with this topic. There are also suggested schedules for Half-Year, Four-Year, and Elective/Co-op plans. Something for everyone.

The book also suggested culling the lessons for younger students and to ignore the more difficult material. We stuck to the most basic of activities.

We spent the first week reading the lesson on imagery and the poems that reinforce the lesson. We discussed some of the poems, talked about the vocabulary and did some of the suggested activities that were appropriate for a sixth grader. Our favorites were free write images from one of the four seasons, describe an image that is important to you, or figure out which sense is most important to you. There were several others but they were definitely for older students.

This was a rough week for me. It was an eye opener to see just how lacking my education was in this area. I relied heavily on the teachers notes to provide any insight. There is no way that I would've come up with any of this stuff on my own. I'm not even sure how the author came up with it, I'm that clueless.

Mackenzie faired a little better with being able to find images within the poem. It really showed me how beneficial reading poetry from a young age really is. If she were a little older, she'd probably do better with this program without me. =o)

During the second week of the lesson we got to view the DVD portion. Here is where the heavens opened up and the angels started singing. Oh my oh my, how I love the DVD. In a nutshell, the author teaches the course to four eighth grade students. It was like I was taking the class myself. And I don't even feel bad that those eighth graders are way smarter than me when it comes to poetry. They came up with stuff that we'd never have come up with on our own.

When we finished watching the lessons, we repeated the activities that we had done the week before. It was so much easier for us the second time around. Amazing! We pretty much had the same experience with the second lesson on metaphors. We needed the DVD to get us through.

While this didn't turn out exactly as I expected, I found the Art of Poetry to be a very good curriculum. It offers a lot of flexibility, teacher helps, and easy to read texts. If I were going to change anything about the curriculum, it would be the set up of the teacher's edition. The answer keys and notes were separate from the student pages which meant a lot of flipping back and forth as I read poems and attempted to discuss them.

If you are a totally "poem illiterate person," like moi, it might be hard to use this program without the DVDs. I think they are worth every penny. I also think that sixth is really a little young for this program, unless your student has a real passion and gift for poetry. I found that the program has so much meat that it would be a wonderful thing to use for high school credit.

And I think that is exactly how I plan on using it in the future. Until then I plan on using it to bone up my own poetry knowledge. :o)

F.Y.I.

Website: http://classicalacademicpress.com/

Age Range: sixth through high school

Pricing:

$99.95 for the bundle (student text, teacher's edition, DVD set) as of 4/1, currently $124.95
$24.95 for the student text
$29.95 for the teacher's edition
$69.95 for the DVD set as of 4/1, currently $89.95

Y & Z

2013-03-15T10:31:00.002-04:00

Y is for...

When They Were Young

That was then.

This is now. (Plus a cute little blonde.)

Can you believe the nerve of these kids, growing like that? I feel like punishing them. Just a tad. For all of this growing that they insist on doing. You know how much I hate that. Unacceptable!

Z is for...

Zoo

We paid a visit to the local zoo on Monday because it was the first anniversary of my little buddy's first birthday. (You must know by now that I will not accept his growing either.) We even had beautiful weather!

It's not much of a zoo. You can take in everything in under two hours. But these kids don't know any better. Well Mackenzie does because she's been to Australia and their zoos are in a whole different league then anything we have here. But she was younger then so she doesn't remember it as well as I do.

But the zoo here does have giraffes and I consider them to be the most important of all the zoo animals. I love them. The poor giraffes are abused by the tail-biting ostrich. He's just jealous of their beautiful coat while he has mange and is loosing his feathers.

Peacocks who would not show off their feathers for me. Sigh... I'm going to find a mating call and blare over my phone next time.

A red panda who is in the EXACT SAME SPOT every time we come. Every. Single. Time. I don't mind because it's a great spot for taking pictures. You can even get a good shot of him sticking his tongue out at you.

Some other creatures like elephants monkeys, pig like creatures, an ostrich, and, of course, butt monkeys. You might call them baboons. Kayleigh doesn't. ;)

We took the wildest of all the creatures home with us.

Review: Touch Math

2013-03-11T23:59:00.000-04:00

Math is one of those subjects that we need to be comfortable with, as we will be using it everyday of our lives. It's also one of those subject that can be the most frusterating. Particularly if the program that you're using doesn't mesh with your student's learning style. One of the greatest blessings of homeschooling is the ability to use a program that works best for you child. Sometimes you can go through quite a few math programs to find just the right one. But to be able to do that is HUGE because it's such an important subject. Kayleigh and I were recently given the opportunity to review TouchMath and to start our quest for finding what works for her.

About TouchMath

TouchMath is a multi-sensory math program for grades pre-k through second grade. It is designed to engage all of the learning styles. Their philosophy: Reach and Teach All Learners. They do this by incorporating four of the major senses, touch, hearing, seeing, saying, into the program through the use of manipulatives and work sheets. TouchMath helps students master concepts by seeing it, saying it, hearing it, touching it, and learning it.
The secret to their success are their signature TouchPoints. Each number, 1-9, TouchPoints that correspond to the number's value. So the number 3 has three TouchPoints. These provide students with a tactile experience while counting. And since most math operations are based on counting, these TouchPoints are used throughout the program to help the student achieve mastery.

Our Experience

We received the complete TouchMath Kindergarten Program along with the TouchMath Tutor Kindergarten Software, 3-D Numerals, and TouchShapes. The manipulatives are not necessary for the program but they are certainly beneficial.

My initial impression was positive. I loved how sturdy and well made the manipulatives were, the software was easy to install on our Mac, and I loved how clean and uncluttered the student pages were.

The program itself was divided into four units and further divided into 24 modules, six per unit. Unit A covers counting & adding and subtracting within 5. Unit B covers adding and subtracting within 9. Unit C covers understanding numbers 1-20. And lastly, Unit D covers measurement, data, and geometry.

The implementation guide is very detailed with how to use the program. They recommend spending 2.5 minutes times for every year of the child's developmental age working on math. Each module includes anticipatory sets, pre-activities, guided and independent learning, review, real world connections and more.

During the review period we worked through Module 1 of Unit A with a focus on counting to 100. The pre-activites included things like counting various objects, writing numbers in sand or salt, going on a number walk. Then you moved into the guided activities using the work sheets. This module had the student working on counting ten numbers at a time. One day you'd be working on 21-30, then 31-40, and so on and so forth, until you had mastered counting to 100. It was a lot of writing and tracing which didn't necessarily thrill my "doesn't like to write" daughter so I spiced it up by adding in things like dot paint. It's important to know your student. ;)

Since this module was mainly just counting and tracing the numbers, I decided to breakout the software. The software works with the mouse, keyboard, or touch screens if you have them. The program is bright and colorful with clear directions. It offers praise when the student gets the problem right and just a simple "try again" if they didn't. No stress.

I should mention that Kayleigh IS NOT a big fan of playing on the computer. Very rarely does she ever ask to play anything on it. If fact, she'll often have a fit if I even mention it. So it was to my surprise that she didn't once complain about using the program. The lesson's were short enough to keep from feeling overwhelmed and she loved Uno Bear and the beach theme. So far, all we've done with it is learn the numeral touch points, but boy did she learn them quickly. I'm excited to see what she thinks of the rest of the program.

A few weeks into our review period I decided to start Module 2. We hadn't really gotten into the meat of the program yet, or touched any of the manipulatives either and I wanted to include those in the review. So we alternated lessons between the 2 modules and it worked out well. Module 2 was on representing numbers with manipulatives. Boy did that work out for us. ;)

She got to use the TouchShapes to represent the written numbers as well as learn what a number line was. As we work on each number, I bring out the 3-D Numerals so that she can practice counting the touch points that she learned from the computer software. They're also fun to just play with. ;) And Kayleigh was very pleased to find that this module had a lot less writing involved.

Next up for us will be writing and comparing numbers and we're both excited to see what's in store.

F.Y.I.

Website: http://www.touchmath.com/

Age Range: preschool-second grade

Pricing: $199.95 for the entire program or $59.95 per unit.

Manipulatives are extra. TouchShapes - $30, 3-D Numerals - $79,
TouchMath Tutor Kindergarten Software - $99

Weekly Wrap-Up: The One Where We Stay Home... Mostly

2013-03-10T09:32:00.001-04:00

We didn't do much outside of the house this week, just our weekly co-op for music and art. How nice it is for home schoolers to stay home. That's rare. And I love it. Being a full time pancreas for 2 extra people on top of homeschooling and running a house is exhausting.

Mackenzie

Mackenzie was wrapping up India and moving onto the Arab countries. She was excited because she currently has 2 readers scheduled. The more reading the better. Even with two on the schedule, she still wants to read extra. Good news for her, we have a review item coming up that will require her to add yet another book to her reading list. Lucky girl!

She read the Tale of Aladdin this week and she got annoyed because it wasn't like the movie. lol A lot like Pocahontas, huh Mackenzie?

In other news, we have 6 more weeks left of our core. Woo-hoo!!! If only the same could be said for math and grammar. We're pretty close to being done with science though.

She's happily moved on from the metric system for now and is back to her preferred decimals. Multiplying to be specific.

We are currently studying mollusks in science. I had no idea that a squids or octopus were mollusks. I don't know why, but that blew my mind. lol Maybe it's the sleep deprivation?? I was also fascinated to learn that the holes in all those clam shells we've found at the beach over the years were mostly likely drilled by whelks looking for dinner. They don't look that tough.

Rumor has it that her piano teacher will be choosing recital pieces soon. Mackenzie is very excited!!

Mackenzie has also been researching insulin pumps because she is looking to feel more normal. Having to inject insulin in front of the world isn't any more fun then having to inject insulin at all. She has narrowed it down to two and is waffling back and forth between the them. Hopefully, she'll make her choice soon so we can get the ball rolling.

Kayleigh

Kayleigh is Kayleigh. She likes what she likes and doesn't like everything else. This week she liked practicing her sight words with nerf gun, painting her letter craft, and using her Handwriting Without Tears manipulatives. She didn't like coloring her sight words, she did a good job of it.

She also enjoyed having her "finger prints" taken after reading about policemen in The Things People Do. She really, really liked making a puffy painting of a snowman (equal parts glue and shaving cream) after reading a snowman poem in Language Lessons for Little Ones.

She is still a reluctant little cheerleader. And it appears she might be a reluctant little swim student because she's going to be getting some lessons soon and, despite the fact she loves the water, she is gripping about having to take the lessons. Sigh. She is exhausting.

How did your week go?

Linking to Weekly Wrap-Up, Preschool Corner, Photo College Friday, Homeschool Mother's Journal

Brought to you by W & X...

2013-03-05T22:09:00.000-05:00

So I'm a little behind in my blogging through the alphabet posts. So this week and next week you're getting a twofer so I can finish on time. How lucky are you?

W is for...

Ways I Cope With Having 2 Children With Diabetes

Long story short, I use sarcasm and my own personal brand of humor. I liken diabetes to a man and then discuss all the ways I'd like to hurt it. Usually on FB or through texts. It's very cathartic and lots of fun. If you have good friends, they'll join in.

My bestest friends and I might one day compile all of our diabetes insults and create a diabetes slam book. It'll be a great read, I'm sure.

I also enjoy taking photos of the insane amount of prescriptions that we get every time we go to the pharmacy. It's so comical that I just can't stop myself. And I always refer to it all as our "drug paraphernalia." I just can't seem to help myself.

It might all be weird but it works for me. =o)

X is for...

eXcited!!!!

Yes I know that excited doesn't technically start with X I don't care, it sounds like it does and that's good enough for me.

So why am I excited? Because we're planning a vacation. To somewhere fun. Somewhere where we have nobody to please but ourselves. And we're going with our good friends.

So where are we going?

Woo-hoo!!!! I can't wait. Only 9 more months.

First Day, March 2013

2013-03-02T13:19:00.000-05:00

The first day of March started like every other day, with our first, of MANY, blood glucose check of the day. Once the numbers are known we spend a few minutes entering them, and the numbers from the previous night, into our log book.

Next up, breakfast. We have to figure out all of the carbs for everything they eat, so it takes a little longer. Then I figure out how much insulin they need to cover their food. While I make breakfast, Mackenzie gives herself her insulin. Kayleigh gets hers after because she doesn't always eat everything so we don't want her to drop low because of the insulin. Kayleigh was bored today so she "made her own breakfast." Apple and potato soup with a hint of lime.

Finally, they get to eat and Kayleigh gets her shot.

Time for school!!! Kayleigh got a pass on school today because we were going out to lunch and on a field trip with our friends in the afternoon. So Mackenzie and I just worked on her stuff.

Next on the list, and not pictured, naughty children bickering, fighting and generally being unkind and disagreeable. It's starting to become a common occurrence around here so I decided to do something drastic to get my point across. So I cancelled our afternoon outing so they could practice getting along with each other.

So we repeated our blood glucose check and moved onto lunch and insulin at home.

I think they might be starting to get it because they got along wonderfully for most of the afternoon.

While they played, I cleaned since we were having some friends over for pizza and games this evening. My favorite cleaning chore...

Vacuuming with my beloved Kirby. If I would've had time, I'd have fluffed the carpet too. But I also had to do my second to least favorite chore...

The worst part is that the cage only stays clean if you keep the piggies out of it. Filthy piggies!!!

Then the girls were grumbling for snacks. Time for yet another blood glucose check. They girls opted to have zero carb hard boiled eggs for a snack so that they could avoid having to face another needle. How sad is it that they have to eat to live, and they have to get a shot to eat so the food doesn't hurt them?

Our emergency glucagon expired today so I gathered up all of the expired ones and put out new ones in places that we might need them in case of an emergency. The emergency being that their blood sugar drops so low that they pass out or have seizures. It's the scariest part of diabetes in my opinion. And the giant needle is freaking scary too.

Finally is was time for fun with our friends. We ate pizza, the kids did whatever kids do, and the grown-ups played a couple of games. The pizza, of course, involved a few more shots. Our little buddy Connor has type 1 diabetes too. Good times!!

If you're not queasy about needles, you should join us next time!!!

On the 1st of every month, snap some shots of your normal everyday life.

Then link up at Journey To Josie!

Review: Lone Star Learning

2013-03-01T13:54:00.000-05:00

The English language can often be confusing because, well, because it's such a mix of other languages. French, German, Dutch, Greek, Latin. The English language has "borrowed" from them all. A vocabulary test or a science lesson can be confusing for a student.

Enter Lone Star Learning's awesome Get the Picture Vocabulary Cards. We were able to review their Greek and Latin Root cards and they were a wonderful addition to quite a few of our studies. We study Latin and we use a Greek word roots vocabulary study so we were sure to get a lot of use out of these cards.

Greek and Latin Roots

In a nutshell, these cards take common roots and illustrate them to look like their meaning. Simple, yet powerful. Especially for your visual student.

We received Set 1 there are 60 cards in the set, 30 Greek roots and 30 Latin roots. The cards themselves are printed on heavy card stock with beautiful, full-color illustrations. And they are wonderfully sized at 5.5" x 8.5". They were made in the grand old USA (woot!) and they were made to last. I will definitely be able to use these again with my little one when the time comes.

The easiest way for us to use the cards was just review them often like regular flashcards. The first time we used them we had a blast "figuring them out." We also would take two cards and put them together to make another word, like "tele + scop." It was really interesting to see how many words we knew that were made with these roots.

Mackenzie would also refer to the cards when working on several of her school subjects. They came in handy for her vocabulary study, Latin, science, and even some of our read alouds. Vocabulary knows no bounds.

The company suggests many fun ways that you can use these cards. You could play a game of concentration, go on a vocabulary walk, make an interactive word wall, write a song or rap, and lots more. Many of the activities would be great to use in a co-op setting with a group of children.

I definitely found these cards to be a useful, and fun, addition to our home school. Mackenzie loves them and they're helping her retain things that she's studied before and then forgotten. She'll never forgot what a decapod is again. :o) And while marketed for a younger age group, who wouldn't rather use these cards for SAT prep instead of those boring test prep booklets?

These cards aren't limited to just Greek and Latin studies either. They have sets for math, science, and other areas of language arts. If you'd like to see some of the other products offered by Lone Star, be sure to to click the read more button below and check out what my Crew Mates reviewed.

F.Y.I.

Website: http://store.lonestarlearning.com/
Age Range: 3rd-8th
Price: $39.99

Review: College Common Sense

2013-02-25T19:59:00.002-05:00

This year was a milestone year in the Smith house. Our biggest baby entered sixth grade. That's middle school. Gasp! How did it happen so fast? 6 and 1/2 more years and we are looking at college. Noooooooo!!!! But as much as it pains me to admit it, that time is coming. Fast.

Not only does college mean my baby is growing up, it means that we're going to need to open up the purse strings. College isn't cheap. Enter College Common Sense, a program designed to help parents and students navigate through the mystery of paying for college by helping you find "free money."

College Common Sense

Denise Ames, financial aid consultant, is the creator of the Going to College and Paying for It Online Video and workbook program. She designed this program to help parents and students find as much "free money" for college as they can. And as early as you can.

She has created an entire DVD/online series that explains what exactly is financial aid, the major steps to going to college, how to choose the right college for you, how financial aid works, where to find the "free money," and how you fit into the process. Working as a financial aid officer at a private college for over 10 years, Denise has a lot of knowledge to share.

Denise recommends starting as early as possible, even with your elementary student. You can't start accumulating money for college early enough. She offers lessons for four different levels: parents and students of elementary age, parents and middle schoolers, parents and high schoolers, and parents and students of college age.

With the younger students, Denise suggests working through the program with your student at least once a month. She offers lesson plans and activities tailored toward this younger ages. By starting to learn about this process early, your student will have a greater understanding of how to find as much aid as possible. It's never to early to begin earning scholarships. With the older students, Denise recommends letting them take the reigns and take the lead in their education.

Our Experience

We received the online video and workbook.

The Going to College and Paying for It lessons are made of six 20 minute videos that go along with the workbook. You can also sign up for her free lesson plans to use along with the dvd lessons or on their own. The lesson plans are delivered to your inbox weekly and each plan has a different focus and activity to get your child actively thinking about, and sometimes preparing for, college. And the website itself is chock full of valuable information.

Since I was working with a middle schooler, we went through the videos and lessons together. We began by creating an All About Me notebook and a scholarship binder. The notebook is for the students to write (or draw) about their dreams and interests. It will give them a record of their thoughts and dreams to look back on and those are the very things that are so important to know when choosing a college. Both the binder and the notebook are intended to give the student ownership of their education. We all know that we tend to work harder towards the things that we are personally invested in. College should be one of those things.

In the first lesson, The Big Picture, we learned about the difference between tuition and the cost of attending really are. I think it was an eye opener for Mackenzie. We also learned how to, and how NOT to, choose a college. Denise had great tips on what to do and ask when you visit a campus.

I also really appreciated how she explained that it is the students responsibility to make sure that they know and obey the stipulations for the aid that they've been given. If you were expected to maintain a certain GPA to receive money then it is 100% up to you to make sure that you adhere to this. If you don't, and you lose the money, you have nobody to blame but yourself.

In the next lesson we learned How Financial Aid Works. Mackenzie, 12, started zoning out during this lesson. I, however, found it fascinating. I learned a lot about a topic that I thought I knew quite a bit about, having received my fair share of financial aid all those years ago. She explains the different types and walks you through when and how to apply. She tells you what to expect after you apply for aid. She also provides worksheets that will help you calculate the cost of attending a particular school.

The third lesson is All About the Free Money. The Scholarships and grants. She goes into the different types of scholarships, how to find scholarships, how to decide if you qualify for a particular scholarship. She also reminds the student, again, to pay attention to the obligations that might be attached to the money. I just love how she repeatedly puts the student in the "driver's seat" so that they understand that this is their education and they are responsible for every aspect of it.

The remaining lessons are The System That Works, You in the Process, and Putting it All Together. This is where you get into the nitty gritty of finding and applying for scholarships. She gives very specific, step-by-step directions on how to do this. And she has you create a scholarship binder so that you can keep everything organized in one place.

While Mackenzie wasn't as interested in it as I am, I know that this will be a great resource down the road for her. It gives her step-by-step way to secure financing for her education so that she can "Be the Master of Her Own Future." I think that might be the best part of the program for me, teaching the student how to take charge of their life.

All and all, I found this to be a great asset to anyone planning on attending college or who will be putting children through college. I learned a lot more about securing money for my kids and I will be reviewing this again and again to keep it fresh in my mind. I also definitely plan on having my children become more involved with this program as they hit the high school years. And who knows? Maybe between now and then I'll have secured them a little extra money for college early.

F.Y.I.

Website: http://www.collegecommonsense.com

Age Range: elementary through college

Pricing: $50 for the DVD and workbook or $25 for a 12 month subscription to the online program

V is for...Video

2013-02-22T21:59:00.000-05:00

I am a little behind with my Blogging Through the Alphabet. V was stumping. All I could think of was Valentine. I'm not into Valentines Day. At. All. So I stewed on it for a bit. And then it came to me. Kayleigh got a Hello Kitty Video camera for Christmas. Cha-Ching. I had my V.

So my dear readers, I perused her memory card and have prepared this tasty snack for your viewing pleasure. So take a peek into Kayleigh's mind and see what she thinks is worth videoing. And good luck figuring her out.

Weekly Wrap-Up: The One With Tears

2013-02-17T16:43:00.000-05:00

So there were a few tears this week. For various reasons. I'm schooling girls. They're naturally moody. One is hitting the hormonal years. Both with the diabetes. It's to be expected. There are actually tears several times a week. I just found this weeks tears to be more interesting than normal.

Mackenzie

Mackenzie spent a lot of time this week catching up on her swimming creatures science notebook and ocean box. She's great about taking notes while I read, a bit lazy about the other stuff. And I don't even make her do the busywork pages like the crosswords. So this week she played a bit of catch up. She's still not caught up. lol

She did get a walrus added to her box. But the shark and ray are still missing. As soon as I work up the energy to walk up the stairs, I'm going to get her on those. I don't care if it's not a school day.

We are still studying India. India is fascinating. India is beautiful. India is heart breaking. We've been reading through Teresa of Calcutta and the images of Teresa working with the poorest of the poor led us to Sobfest 2013. We haven't had this good of a cry over a Sonlight book since we read Lincoln, A Photobiography with Core 4. We've had a few tear ups and sniffles, of course but this was a full on cry. Great book!!! Amazing woman. Such an angel. We're going to keep the tissues handy while we finish this one.

Now we're dying to watch Something Beautiful for God, the first documentary of Teresa. The one that brought her to the attention of the world. Except that we can't find it anywhere. You can find the book but not the movie. Gah!!!!!

We are also still loving our read aloud, Shadow Spinner . If my voice could handle it, we'd be done already because we're dying to know what happens. Thankfully Mackenzie's reader, Around the World in 80 Days , is not dependent on the state of voice. I think she might be ahead of schedule but she's not talking.

Kayleigh

Now Kayleigh had tears for a totally different and much more amusing reason. I got out the scissors. Now scissors in and of themselves, do not make her cry. She likes to cut things. Things like her hair or Mackenzie's math. However, when you ask her to cut on a line. Waterworks!!

We read a poem about a bat in Language Lessons for Little Ones so I thought it would be fun to make a bat out of her hand and foot prints. Being that she's five now, I thought maybe she'd enjoy cutting out her foot while I tackled the hands. Nope. Same story, different age. Please note that she is perfectly capable of cutting on a line rather well. She just doesn't like to do it. Too constricting, I guess. She did like drawing the teeth on the bat though. lol

Cutting lines isn't the only thing she doesn't like though. She doesn't care for cheerleading either. For years she's been BEGGING to do cheer like her sister. This year was her year. Do you know what she said after the first practice? "I didn't know this was going to be too much hard work." I about peed my pants from laughing. Cheer is through our local homeschool group. The coach is moi. I was a dancer in my youth but never a cheerleader. Everything I know about cheerleading comes from You Tube. Clapping, stamping, and shouting the cheers are about as tough as it gets, people.

Little Miss just doesn't like to be told what to do. I'm making her stick with it for the season. I need the extra body. This week I bribed her with a lollipop to make it through the game. It worked. Even with the knowledge that a shot of insulin followed the lolli. Next week I'm going to tie one to a stick with a string and wave it in front of her for extra motivation. Plus it will amuse me.

In other news, she's been helping me with some review items. One you can read about by scrolling back a couple of days and the rest you are going to have to wait for because she's not talking. Or cutting. Or cheering.

Linking to: Photo Collage Friday, Homeschool Mother's Journal, Weekly Wrap-Up, Preschool Corner

Reviews: God's Great Covenant Old Testament 2

2013-02-16T19:51:00.002-05:00

I am a huge fan of Classical Academic Press products so I was super excited to be given the opportunity to review God's Great Covenant Old Testament 2, A Bible Course for Children. Having been fortunate enough to review another one of their Bible studies, I knew it was going to be good.

About God's Great Covenant Old Testament 2

This study covers the second half of the Old Testament from Samuel to Malachi. You and your student will enjoy a chronological study the rise and fall of God's kingdom, the prophecies of the coming of Christ, and the lives of many prophets.

The book contains 32 chapters divided into five themed units. If you study one chapter per week, the study can be completed in one school year. Activities range from Bible readings, memory work, story time, comprehension questions, puzzles, and maps.

Our Experience

We received the student workbook, teachers edition, and MP3 files. They were everything I expected a Classical Academic Press product to be. Bright, clean, easy-to-read texts. Fun illustrations. Easy-to-understand maps. We loved it. In addition, I purchased the Old Testament Timeline and Map Set to add to our study.

Each chapter starts off with a Memory Work page. This includes the lesson scope, Read To Me bible readings, theme, memory verse, key facts, things to remember, and a "Message from the King." We would work on this page on day 1. A lot of times the bible readings were really, really long. Thankfully there are bible apps that read them to us. There's an app for everything. ;) After the bible reading we would work on the memory verse and discuss the key facts. Mackenzie really liked the Things to Remember section because it quickly sums up the main points. The "Message from the King" section helps you apply the lesson to your life.

Day 2 we would do the Story Time pages. The story is "written by" the "royal chronicler Tobias", a fictional character designed to capture the students attention. The story reinforces the lessons from the previous day's reading but in a format easier for the student to grasp. You can either read the story aloud yourself or use the MP3 files. If you suffer from "Sonlight throat" like I do, those audio files come in handy.

On Day 3 Mackenzie would work on the Review Worksheet pages. These pages review the memory verse, key facts, and story facts using comprehension questions and puzzles. Mackenzie, like last time, was more than happy to work on these pages and looked forward to them.

On Day 4 you move onto the Quiz. The quizzes cover the memory verses, key facts, story facts, the main point using a variety of methods. Fill in the blank, matching, crossword puzzles, true and false, etc.

The student book comes with four black and white maps to refer to while you study the lessons. The maps, as always, are really well done and easy to use. We pulled them out of the book and laminated them so we can refer to them for a long time. Since I had purchased the extra map set, we mainly used those. I found the set to be well worth the money. The maps were large, sturdy, colorful and easy-to-read. The timeline is wonderful too.

The teacher's guide contains the entire student text, answer keys, and tons and tons of notes. Everything from historical and geographical information to cultural and theological ideas. The notes are worth their weight in gold. And there's a place to add in your own notes too.

Once again, we are thoroughly enjoying this study. It's such an easy way to dig into the bible and we are learning together.

F.Y.I.

Website: http://classicalacademicpress.com

Age Range: Third grade - sixth

Pricing: Student Book- $22.95, Teacher Edition- $24.95, Audio Files- $9.95, Bundle- $49.95
Map & Timeline Set- $36.95

Samples are available on the website.

Review: Flowering Baby

2013-02-13T21:21:00.001-05:00

If you are looking for an easy way to include your little ones into your school day then the Flowering Baby preschool curriculum might be just what you are looking for.

It's easy for the little ones to "get lost" in the shuffle of a busy homeschool day. The Flowering Baby program is a simple and easy way to spend some fun and educational time with your littlest students.

About Flowering Baby

Flowering Baby, created by a mother/daughter team, combines Classical, Charlotte Mason and unit study philosophies to create this developmental approach to educating the whole child. The curriculum offers five volumes for every age, from birth to five.

Volumes 1-3 (ages birth through 3) offer activities based on age alone. I perused Volume 2, for ones and twos, and it included daily activities that include music, art, stories, social games, and movement activities. Volumes 4 and 5 (ages 3-5) include a monthly section that covers things like math, language, science as well as a theme section for a unit study type of feel.

Our Experience

We received the downloadable PDF format and it was simple and easy to get right onto my iPad. (My preferred method of online reading.) Kayleigh and I used Volume 5 Monthly Curriculum Guide Four to Five Years Old and Theme Guide Four to Five Years Old.

I decided to start off with the Monthly Guides. It is set up to be really easy to implement. You start off with a list of supplies needed, book suggestions for each "subject", music suggestions, and holidays for that month.

It then moves to daily activities which include: ABCs, stories, math, colors, shapes, science, physical, and Spanish. Some of the activities are very specific, like "Read Three Billy Goats Gruff and use blocks and animals to act out." Or "Read The Old Lady Who Lived in the Shoe and discuss the aging process."

Acting out Three Billy Goats Gruff

Most of the activities are not very specific at all, like "Blue: Read book. Dress in blue for the day. Play I Spy Something Blue. Color a picture using only blue." Or "Ears: Read book. Discuss our ears and that they are one of our five senses. Identify sounds." Their are book suggestions for each unit or you can easily substitute what you already have at home. They also include a lot of life skills like practicing your phone number, reasoning, self identity, and board games.

Next we checked out the themed guide. The curriculum suggests doing two themes per month. You can do the themes in any order that you'd like so you can choose the themes that most interest your child. Some of the themes include Aquarium & Aquatic Life, Bodies of Water, Fish & Frogs, Gardens, Space and many more.

Like the monthly guide, each theme offers book suggestions, supplies needed as well as suggested websites and field trip ideas. There are six days worth of activities for each theme and four to six discussion questions.

I didn't find the theme section to be as organized as the monthly guide. I chose to start with the Fish & Frog theme, focusing on the fish, since my older daughter was studying fish at the time. I thought it would be nice for the girls to have a similar study and maybe do some activities together.

I was a little disappointed to find that there weren't many suggestions for fish books or activities. Most of this theme revolved around frogs.

After a deeper look into the other themes, I found what I was looking for. In the bodies of water theme I found four suggestions for books on fish. In the Arctic theme, I found a fish craft.

I didn't find these activities to be as well thought out as the monthly section either. Some themes were more exciting and other were very minimalist. Read a book, make a collage, draw/paint a picture, etc.

I also thought that the writing activities were not developmentally appropriate. "Write arctic/aquarium words. Arctic, aquarium, whale, ice, Eskimo, penguin, sea, seal, and shark." Most kids at this age are just learning to form their letters so I really didn't see the educational value in it. At our house it was a lesson in frustration for my almost 5 year old.

I was a much bigger fan of the monthly activity guide. The activities seemed to be more age appropriate and had more of a variety. I loved how it wove activities into daily life, such as counting the beans on the child's dinner plate.

All in all, if you're looking a no-frills, easy-to-implement program for your little one, then you should definitely check out the Flowering Baby program. I could easily read the activities, gather up a few supplies, and start teaching in just a few minutes. No stress, no hunt for obscure supplies, basically just open up and go.

F.Y.I.

Website: http://www.FloweringBaby.com/Home_Page.html

Age Range: birth to five

Cost: $30-$38 per volume
Get 10% off by using code "Blog10" at the checkout.

Samples: Birth to One
One to Two
Two to Three
Three to Four
Four to Five

Waaahhhh!!!!! My baby is....

2013-02-11T10:06:00.000-05:00

five today. Like last week wasn't bad enough, with my big baby turning six times two, now the small one went and got older too. I hate that. A lot. Boo!

Five is my least favorite birthday. (I reserve the right to change my mind next year when the big one turns six times two plus one. ) Five means that they're school age. Which, in theory, means that they conceivably could start spending the majority of their time with some stranger. Ack! Okay, I realize that I home school so I don't have to share her with a stranger but I still don't like the idea of it. It's unnatural and sad.

I think I'll spend the rest of the day trying to convince her that she's three.