Song of My Heart

Why Do I Blog?

2009-11-09T22:49:00.000-05:00

So what is the purpose of blogging?

Some "irl" friends recently asked me this question, and as I was talking to them about it, it dawned on me that I ought to - well, you know - blog about it!

Different people blog for lots of different reasons, but here's my list:

-To keep a record of our family and homeschool adventures - a sort of online scrapbook or journal.

-To share what we're doing with family and friends who live far away. All of our family members live down south, and they just love to see pictures of the kids - can't you tell?!

-To meet, encourage and be encouraged by other homeschool Moms. I've made some wonderful bloggy friends over the last couple of years and have even had the chance to meet a few in person - very fun!

-To share our homeschool plans and resources in hopes that someone will find something here that will keep them from having to reinvent the wheel.

-To sharpen my writing skills - or at least to maintain them! I think that writing somehow exercises my brain in a way that nothing else can, and I enjoy processing things through my fingers on the keyboard.

-To provide myself with some accountability. If I write out plans to do something on my blog then I'm much more likely to do it because I "virtually" committed to it.

-To share how God has blessed me with a wonderful family and the privilege of learning alongside them. May He have the glory for everything in this blog and in my life.

Hope you have a great week!

Free Christmas Resource

2009-11-05T21:28:00.004-05:00

Hope everyone out there in bloggy-land is having a good week.

We're sticking to the 3R's in school this week, as I do some major decluttering and house projects that have been on my to-do list for months.

I just opened up a little something in my inbox that I wanted to share with you. If you receive The Old Schoolhouse's email newsletter, then you've already seen this.

It's a special free digital Christmas edition of The Old Schoolhouse magazine. I just briefly scanned it, and there are some nice goodies in there. I'll especially be using several of the freezer meal recipes they've included.

Click here to enjoy!

Blessings,

ABC Teach: A Review

2009-11-03T21:52:00.008-05:00

If you've ever done a Google search for any type of free printable, then you've probably stumbled upon ABC Teach. It's a website for educators that offers over 5,000 free worksheets and activities.

The membership site provides access to over 35,000 materials, clip art, and the ABC Tools feature. Membership is priced at $40 per year or $70 for two years.

For this review I was given access to the membership site for one month. In searching the members only area, I found several things that we used in our apple unit - a word search, a coloring sheet, and a shape book. My favorite aspect of the membership was the ABC Tools feature, which allows you to create your own printables such as:

-handwriting worksheets (in many different fonts)
-word searches
-shape books
-crossword puzzles
-ABC sorts
-math worksheets
-Bingo games
-Tutorials to help you create your printables

See everything the ABC Tools feature can do here.

Because I am not a huge fan of worksheets, I would probably not get my money's worth from an annual membership, but if you do use worksheets on a regular basis, you might possibly benefit from the members only site. You can learn more about what an ABC Teach membership has to offer here.

Click on the Crew Banner below if you'd like to see more reviews of this product.

Happy Adoption Day!

2009-11-02T21:41:00.006-05:00

Five years ago today your Daddy and I were standing in the Civil Affairs Office in Changsha, Hunan, China. It was 10:20 in the morning. Four other couples were there with us, and all of the wives were wearing pink. We were all becoming parents...again.

The air was electric. Nervous anticipation mingled with joyous excitement. The women sat on wooden benches while the husbands stood. Subdued conversation, the sound of pacing shoes on the wood floor, and the occasional click of a camera were the only sounds in the room. I watched the clock on the wall.

Someone came to the door of the large conference room where we waited and said something in Chinese to our guide. He turned to tell us that you and your friends would be arriving in twenty minutes. I readied our paperwork. Daddy checked the video battery again.

Five minutes passed - an eternity. Fifteen to go. I began to fiddle with our paperwork again when suddenly and quietly there appeared at the doorway a group of five Chinese ladies, each with a bundle in their arms.

For a puzzling split second I tried to figure out why this little group was coming into the room, when it dawned on me that the bundles in the ladies' arms were not bundles at all. For just a moment things seemed to happen in slow motion as everyone realized that you and your friends had arrived - early!

I said something to Daddy. I can't remember exactly what, but it was something like "She's here!" In a flurry of excitement he and I quickly began to scan the faces of the babies looking for you. You and your friends were dressed in many layers of clothes, and our most current photo of you had been taken four months prior, so it took us a moment, but pretty quickly we found you in that little crowd.

Tears filled my eyes. I instinctively stepped towards you, though we had been told ahead of time that we would have to wait until our names were called. Daddy had already started up the video, and I began to take pictures of you.

You were there in your nanny's arms, looking quite serious and taking everything in. You also looked tired, and we found out later you had been up since 5:00 in the morning and had traveled over three hours by bus to make your appearance. Of course, you were worn out.

Moments passed. Other parents were called forward. We waited.

Finally, someone called out your name, and your nanny stepped forward. Our guide held out his hand for our paper work, and I gave it to him. He handed it to someone else. They looked at it and nodded to us. That was my cue. I walked to your nanny. My heart was pounding. Smiling, I slowly, gingerly held out my hands to you. I knew you would be confused and scared, and you were. Your nanny gently placed you in my arms, smiled at you through tears, and then walked back into the little crowd.

You felt so light in my arms. You didn't cry, but the tears were flowing down my cheeks and Daddy's too. We would never be the same, and we were glad.

We talked softly to you and held you close. You were still taking it all in, stoic and brave. Most of the other babies were crying by now, and eventually you did too. I tried giving you a bottle to comfort you, but you weren't hungry. Instead you cried for just a little while and then fell asleep in my arms.

I will never forget that day.

I will never forget riding in the bus back to the hotel, holding you - Daddy and I couldn't take our eyes off of you. Our Chinese guide began to sing, and your Daddy and I joined in, tears streaming down our faces...

You are my sunshine.
My little sunshine.
You make me happy
When skies are gray.
You'll never know dear,
How much I love you.
Oh please don't take
My sunshine away.

I will never forget later on that night when we laid you down next to us, and you slept peacefully through the night.

Your Daddy and I thanked God that day for the miracle He had done in creating you and bringing you to us.

We thank Him today for that same miracle, and for the joy and love and laughter that are you.

We love you, our sweet Giggly Girl.

Yummy Apples

2009-10-31T23:00:00.000-04:00

You can't do a unit on apples without whipping up something in the kitchen.
There are so many possibilities...apple turnovers, apple cider donuts, apple-dapple cake, caramel apples - yum! We settled on apple sauce and a pie, but finishing up our apple study will not prevent us from attempting the other recipes at some point.

We had the most fun with this apple peeler-corer-slicer tool that a friend of mine loaned us. The kids didn't want to stop. This thing is definitely on my Christmas wish list.

Enjoying a looooonnnng peeling

Mmm...can't beat cinnamon and sugar

We had never had homemade applesauce before, and boy was it tasty!

While we enjoyed our snack we read a fun, nonsensical story called Rain Makes Applesauce. It really is a silly read, but what makes it a great book are the wonderfully whimsical illustrations. With every reading you notice something new in the detailed drawings. It's also a Caldecott Honor book.

Later in the week had more fun with the apple peeler, corer, slicer toy - I mean tool - and peeled a bunch of apples for a pie and for our apple taste test. I'm having trouble posting the pie picture tonight - hopefully tomorrow it will work.

One more apple post, and then I'll share about our new unit we're starting this week!

Have a great Monday!

Irons Fruit Farm: A Family Tradition

2009-10-30T21:43:00.009-04:00

For our family it's not really fall until we've made our annual trek to Irons Fruit Farm.
The first time we went was when Superman was about two years old, and we haven't missed a year since.
In fact, most years we go at least once in the summer too. This year we didn't but made up for it by making another trip to Irons with our homeschool group - more about that in another post.

Anyway, we love this farm. It's not nearly as commercialized as some in the area, although its weekend crowd seems to grow larger each year. We enjoy going during the week and taking a picnic or snacking on the farm store's apple cider donuts and cider.

It's such a pretty, peaceful place and holds a lot of fun memories for us. Here are a few from this year...

On the hayride headed to the corn maze. Can you tell it's a sunny day?

The corn maze takes about 45 minutes to go through, and let me tell you it's not easy. Superman did a great job of map-reading with his Dad, and those two got us through without any problem.

O.K., this picture makes me tear up a little bit. I've taken this same photo of the kids on this old cannon carriage thingy since before Sweet Pea was born. They are growing up too fast!

For the girls, feeding the animals is always a highlight. Superman likes to pet them, but does not enjoy getting his hands slobbery. :)

This goat loved Giggly Girl. She must have fed him three or four handfuls of feed.

One of Sweet Pea's favorite animals has always been the pig. Each year we go to Irons she has to go and have a chat with her pig buddies. The same ones have been there each year, I believe, and she's always enchanted with them.

Thanks for letting me share our trip to the farm with you - Happy Fall!

Virginia Soaps and Scents

2009-10-29T22:42:00.007-04:00

A few weeks ago I received a package in the mail that smelled entirely too wonderful to be curriculum. It was a sampler of bath and body products from Virginia Soaps and Scents, a company owned and operated by the Spargurs, a homeschooling family located in Southeastern Virginia. The Spargur's interest in soapmaking began as a homeschool project about colonial soapmaking and soon grew into a passion and entreprenurial adventure.

My sampler package included:

Handcrafted Olive Oil Soaps in three signature scents - Coconut Lemongrass (my favorite), Fresh Orange, and Oatmeal, Milk and Honey

Shampoo Bar

Laundry Soap Kit

These products were an absolute treat. Here are a few things I liked about them:

•All of the products are hand-crafted from all natural ingredients with no added chemicals. The natural aspect of these products is a huge selling point for me since we have recently begun to eliminate as many chemicals as possible from our household.

•Everything in my package smelled lovely and looked so pretty and colorful - I felt quite pampered, and who doesn't enjoy that?

•These soaps are made the old-fashioned way. Each bar is hand-cut, which means no two bars are exactly alike.

•The bar soaps had a nice, rich lather (a result of the generous amount of coconut oil used in each bar) and left my skin feeling soft - not dried out like after using a regular bar soap.

•The Shampoo Bar was a bit difficult to get used to at first, but I like the conditioning effect it had on my hair. Cleaning and conditioning in one fell swoop saves me time and money.

•The Laundry Soap Kit makes two gallons of soap, pricing out at 4 to 7 cents per wash. I know how difficult it is to find all-natural laundry products with no dyes or chemicals, and I've never found any that are this budget-friendly. I will definitely be purchasing more Laundry Soap Kits.

•When you consider that all of these products are beautifully hand-crafted and all-natural, the pricing for all of them is extremely reasonable. (The soaps are 4.5 ounce bars which are priced at $4.50 per bar, 3 bars for $12.00, or 10 bars for $35.00.)

•Finally, I just love the fact that this is a family business. The Spargur's do everything from coming up with new soap recipes to hand-crafting the products to doing their own shipping, accounting and taxes. I think it's wonderful to be able to support that type of home-grown endeavor while receiving a superior product for your money.

Virginia Soaps and Scents has made a new customer out of me. Here are several more of their products that I can't wait to try:

Gourmet Soap

Total Body Bars (including one for kids!)

Lotions, Scrubs, and Powders

Lip Balm

Holiday Fragrances such as Pumpkin Spice, Wild Bayberry, and Peppermint

They also offer many other bath and body products, both scented and unscented. They even make products for pets!

You really must visit Virginia Soaps and Scents and check out these products for yourself. They would also make special gifts for friends and family this Christmas.

To see other reviews of these products, you can visit The Old Schoolhouse Crew Blog.

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How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World

2009-10-28T20:07:00.001-04:00

For the last two weeks we've been learning all about Apples! Our spine book for this unit was an old favorite of ours...

What a fun story this is! It's about a young girl who heads to the market to buy the ingredients for an apple pie, and ends up taking a trip around the world instead. We used several of the Five in a Row lessons for this story. There's so much geography and science to be learned from this book, and it's just a great read. :)

We also...

-Did a taste test of several different varieties of apples and used this mini-book from Homeschool Share to record our findings.

-Read Apples, Apples, Apples by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace - this is a great informational book that held even my three year old's attention. Then we guessed the number of seeds in an apple, counted them up, and made this mini-book - also from Homeschool Share.

-Read How Do Apples Grow? by Betsy Maestro and labeled the parts of an apple using this HSS mini-book.

-Drew apples in our nature journals.

-Read and narrated Johnny Appleseed by Stephen Kellogg. We also used some of the mini-books from the free Johnny Appleseed lapbook at Homeschool Share.

You'll find these along with the rest of our apple books in my right-hand sidebar.

Tomorrow I'm telling the Apple Star Story - you can find a copy of it here - and then we'll slice an apple in half to see the star and make apple prints.

We also cooked up some yummy apple treats that I'll post about separately.

Hope you're having a great week!

More Free Apple Resources from Homeschool Share:

The Apple Pie Tree lapbook

Apples to Oregon Unit Study and lapbook/notebook resources

Sue Patrick's Workbox System: A Review

2009-10-26T23:03:00.008-04:00

When I purchased Sue Patrick's Workbox System this past spring, I had no idea that I would have the chance to review it as a member of The Old Schoolhouse Crew. Now that I've been using this system for a few months, I'm happy to report that we are still reaping the benefits of it, which I highlighted in my original workbox post.

The Workbox System schedules your student's school day and organizes your materials at the same time with the use of numbered, clear plastic containers. Each activity, subject, or assignment that your student will be doing in a given day is to be distributed among these plastic boxes - one activity per box. Whether the activity is a worksheet to complete independently, a science experiment to do with the rest of the family, a book to read to Mom, or an educational game to play with a sibling, it goes into one of the boxes. The student completes the activities in the boxes, and when they are all empty, then his school day is finished.

Benefits

•My children can see what needs to be accomplished on a given day. No more of the age-old question, "Are we done with school yet?"

•I have been motivated to pull out all of the fun educational games and materials that we never had time for in the past.

•Excitement! My children enjoy seeing what fun activities are interspersed throughout their day, and it motivates them to perservere through the not-so-fun stuff.

•Using this system has helped me to be more intentional about planning activities specifically for my preschoolers and setting aside special individual and group time with them.

•All of my materials for the day are organized and ready to go. No more running to another room to grab a book or something else we need.

•We get much more accomplished in a lesser amount of time.

•I am motivated to stay on top of filling the boxes before the next day starts because I see how smoothly our day goes when the boxes are in use.

•My children are becoming more independent and responsible for their learning.

Possible Drawbacks

•Because we are a Charlotte Mason family, and also somewhat relaxed, I really want learning to be a lifestyle in our home - not a regimented list of tasks or assignments to be checked off. I have tweaked the boxes to fit our needs and maintain an atmosphere of gentle learning. For example, if we're doing a science experiment together as a family that inspires us to run off on a rabbit trail, causing us to have to leave some boxes undone, that's fine. I do not push to just "make it through" all of each child's boxes everyday. My goal is to ignite and fuel my children's love of learning - not to finish everything in those containers everyday.

•I am naturally a rule follower, a by-the-book sort of girl, so I have had to be careful not to let the workboxes rule me. I don't want to fill them with busy work or anything unmeaningful just for the sake of filling them up. Mrs. Patrick's system suggests using eight to twelve boxes, and I have never needed to fill more than six. I imagine that as my children grow older, if I continue to use this system, I will fill more of the boxes. But for now, six is plenty.

•In her book, Mrs. Patrick mentions her opinion that there is too much talking in some homeschools. This does not fit well with my philosophy of home education. I know that every family's homeschool looks different, but I've always felt that one advantage to having my children at home was to encourage their questions and curiosity. In our home, less learning would take place if we had a quiet, classroom atmosphere. Yes, there is definitely a need for respect and a certain amount of order, which I'd like to think we have in our homeschool. But...I also love to hear my children's chatter, questions, ideas, and conversation as we work and learn together.

I think there are some wonderful idea's in Mrs. Patrick's book that could benefit many home educators. If you are interested in finding out more about her system, I encourage you to visit the Workbox website where you can view sample pages, purchase the e-book that retails for $19.00 or the hard-copy version for $19.95. Either purchase includes access to downloads which will be helpful in setting up your system and getting started.

To see more reviews of this product, visit the Crew Blog.

Sunday Psalm

2009-10-25T23:23:00.006-04:00

Have you ever had a time in your life where everything felt like a struggle?

Well that's where I am right now, dear readers. Nothing too serious...life just feels hard and stressful.

This too shall pass, but in the meantime I felt led to share a Scripture that really spoke to me tonight...

1 How long, O LORD ? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?

2 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
and every day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?

3 Look on me and answer, O LORD my God.
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death;

4 my enemy will say, "I have overcome him,"
and my foes will rejoice when I fall.

5 But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.

6 I will sing to the LORD,
for he has been good to me.

~Psalm 13

When David penned this Psalm, I'm pretty sure he was dealing with a whole lot more than I am, but I am still able to relate to these words. Though he obviously felt that God was taking too long to answer his cries for help, he still placed his trust in God's steadfast love and goodness toward him.

What an encouragement this is to me, and I pray that it will be to you as well.

Praying you have a blessed week,

Menu Plan Monday - A Little Bit Early!

2009-10-24T23:00:00.002-04:00

Wow! It has been sooo long since I participated in Menu Plan Monday, and there is a reason for that...

I haven't had a plan.

Not for many months now. Don't worry, though. We have been eating around here. It's just been sort of fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants in the cooking department.

Well, it won't be this week because I've actually planned out a week's worth of meals, and boy does it feel nice!

I'm posting this a couple of days early because I just went grocery shopping today for next week, and if I don't post this while it's on my mind I'll forget to do it. :)

Here goes...

Monday - Venison Chili (Courtesy of my dear hubby - he makes the best chili.)

Tuesday - Ranch Chicken with rice and broccoli

Wednesday - Chicken Pie and a salad

Thursday - Crockpot Beef Stew

Friday - Salmon Roll with Peas and Cream of Celery Soup

To see other menus and some recipes too, click on the button at the top of the post.

September Nature Club: Trees

2009-10-22T23:00:00.002-04:00

Over the summer I began thinking how fun it would be to be part of a nature club. I emailed the ladies in our homeschool group and was excited when five of them expressed an interest in starting one. My bloggy friends Melissa and Cindy inspired me with the idea of starting a group, so I asked them for tips on the kinds of things they do at their nature clubs, and they were so helpful. You can find a wealth of nature study information at both of their blogs and at their new company's site, NaturExplorers.

Since we just had our second meeting this week, I figured it was time to actually post pictures from the first one we had back in September. :)

Our focus was trees and leaves, but we also had lots of fun exploring a creek in the nature park where we met.

We started out by going on a nature walk and looking not only for leaves but anything we found interesting.

Then we had everyone find a leaf, making sure they knew which tree it came from. We paired everyone up with a partner, they swapped leaves, and then had to guess which tree their partner's leaf came from. The younger ones needed the adults to help them, but they seemed to enjoy it.

After getting their original leaves back from their partners, the kids made leaf rubbings, measured the circumference of their tree, and did rubbings of their trees' bark. I brought along several field guides that we used to identify our leaves.
We used this notebooking page to record all of the information.

I wasn't able to take many photos of our nature walk and tree activities because I was leading the meeting, but I did manage to snap a few of the kids exploring the creek.

My friend's daughter working on her notebooking page.

Can you see the round, green thing in Sweet Pea's hand? It's a black walnut she found on our nature walk, and she held onto it for nearly the rest of the day. I thought she was going to fall sleep with it that night. :)

After we finished up learning about trees, the kids must have played in the creek for over an hour. It really was the highlight of the day.

My friend Kim, who always seems to be able to find the coolest things in a creek, found this baby crawdad...

...and this little garter snake.

It was so much fun to explore God's creation with other families.
I look forward to telling you about our October meeting soon!

Educaching: TOS Review

2009-10-21T23:45:00.003-04:00

Treasure hunts, technology, and the great outdoors...put them all together, and what do you get? Educaching.

Have you heard of geocaching? It's basically the use of a handheld GPS (Global Positioning System) to search for hidden caches containing a logbook and small trinkets. There are more than 800,000 caches around the world hidden by geocaching enthusiasts. Educaching takes the idea of geocaching a step further by creating scavenger hunts that are centered around a student's learning.

Educaching is a curriculum written by Jason Hubbard, a fifth grade teacher, who came up with the idea of educational, GPS scavenger hunts after going on his first geocaching outing.

The manual contains five sections:

•Teacher Training - familiarizes the teacher with equipment needed, how to hide caches, and provides activities to orient teacher and student with GPS use. *This section was especially helpful to me in becoming even more familiar with our GPS device.

•Lesson Plans - Contains twenty lessons from beginner to advanced levels focusing on math and science while integrating other core subjects.

•Worksheets - Reproducible forms for students to record their information on while out in the field. (Also, a CD is included with the manual that allows you to edit and print these worksheets as needed.)

•Cost-effective ways to acquire a GPS - Grant-writing techniques and other ideas are included.

•Beyond the Basics - Other ways to use GPS devices

The curriculum was designed for 4th through 8th grade but could be adapted to the needs of other ages and grade levels.

A Sample Lesson
Several money riddles are hidden in caches (containers) around your yard (or a large, open space). The students must use the GPS to find the caches. They then read the riddle, solve it, place the correct amount of money inside the container, and return it to the teacher. Once all of the caches are found and all of the riddles are solved, students return to the classroom where they complete extension activities based on the money riddles.

My Thoughts
Please keep in mind that my oldest child is in second grade, so I did not attempt any of the lesson plans with my children; however, I think that these lessons will be great for us a few years down the road, especially since we have dabbled in some geocaching and have really enjoyed it.

The lessons are a bit wordy at times, mainly because they are written with whole classes of students in mind. (Ex. "Remind students of group expectations and appropriate outdoor behavior.") A lot of outdoor preparation (without the student) is involved, which might not always be easy for a homeschooling Mom. (Maybe Dad could be in charge of preparing and hiding the caches?) Also, some of the lessons require a group of students in order to be completed. However, many of these lessons could be adapted for family or individual use, and I think that they provide a unique way to practice math, science, and a myriad of other skills. On top of all that, you're getting outdoors with your kids, and that's always a plus.

The author states in his introductory letter to teachers that his desire is for this curriculum to serve as a springboard to help educators get started in educaching. Even though these particular lessons are too advanced for us right now, Mr. Hubbard has inspired me to come up with some simpler educaching lessons, as we continue to become more adept with our GPS device.

The Educaching manual retails for $32.00 and can be purchased at the Educaching website. (This price includes the CD-ROM of field worksheets.)

To see what other Crew Members thought about this product, visit the Crew Blog.

Sarah Books: TOS Review

2009-10-20T22:44:00.000-04:00

Members of The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew had the opportunity to review Sarah's Wish, one of three books in the Sarah series by Jim Baumgardner.

Sarah's Wish is the fictional story of Sarah, a twelve-year old girl whose mother helps runaway slaves in the years just prior to the Civil War. Sarah is orphaned when her mother dies in an accident. Granny, an elderly friend of Sarah's mother, takes Sarah in and loves and cares for her, as she tries to find a family for the girl. Granny shares Sarah's desire to help slaves who are seeking freedom, and the pair encounter danger and adventure, as they carry out their mission. As much as she loves Granny, Sarah's one wish is to be adopted by loving parents.

I enjoyed this book. Although my eight-year old son would have attended well to this chapter book, I did not read it to him. I knew that Sarah's losing her only parent at the very beginning of the story would be upsetting to him.

Mr. Baumgardner has woven mystery, adventure, history, and faith into this story. It is exciting at times and heartwarming at others. I did feel that the inclusion of Granny's country dialect slowed the writing down occasionally, but overall I enjoyed the story and look forward to finding out what happens to Sarah next in the follow-up novels, Sarah's Promise, and Sarah's Escape.

This would be a good book to accompany a unit on the Underground Railroad or the Civil War. It would also be a memorable family read-aloud. And if you think you're children aren't quite old enough for some of the themes that I mentioned, it makes for a nice bed-time read for Mom.

Sarah's Wish retails for $10.99, but if you order online you can obtain the special author's price of $9.99 and receive free shipping and handling. You'll also receive an autographed copy if you order online.

Sarah's Wish in audio book form (4 CD's, approx. 4 hours listening) retails for$24.99, but again, if you order online you receive the author's price of $16.99.

To learn more about the Sarah Books along with information about the Underground Railroad and other interesting historical facts, visit the Sarah Books website.

To read more reviews of this book, head over to the TOS Crew Blog.

Disclaimer: This product was received free for purposes of review. No other payment was made. The opinions expressed here are my own.

Rocks and Minerals: Our Favorite Books

2009-10-17T23:00:00.001-04:00

We've finished up our study of rocks and minerals, and I have to say that at the beginning of the unit I never guessed how fun and interesting it would be. Even though we've moved onto Apples and Seeds, we're still having fun collecting, identifying, and even painting rocks. I have a feeling this will be an ongoing interest around here for all of us.

I'm taking our book list down from the sidebar and putting it here for future reference. These were the best of the best culled from a huge stack of books at our local library. I've given summaries of our very favorites, but we really enjoyed reading and re-reading all of them.

Rocks in His Head is the true and inspiring story of the author's father, whose life passion was learning about rocks and minerals. He owned a filling station in the days prior to the Great Depression. He lost everything as a result of the hard economic times, but he continued to provide for his family by taking any jobs he could find. His love of rocks eventually led him to be hired as the janitor at the local science museum, which eventually sent him to college and paved the way for him to fulfill his lifelong dream of "doing something with rocks". We thoroughly enjoyed reading this heartwarming story, and learned a thing or two about rocks along the way. We used some of the great ideas from the Homeschool Share unit for this title as well.

This was another favorite of ours. Thank God for Rocks is the story of a man who spends all of his money to purchase a farm. After moving his family in, he learns that his is the rockiest soil in the county, and a discouraging neighbor tries to convince him that nothing will grow there. This man remains full of hope despite hardships and prays each day thanking God for the rocks on his land. God honors his prayers and attitude of thankfulness, and blesses the farmer and his family in beautiful ways. This was a hope-filled story that demonstrates the joy that comes from being thankful.

Mrs. Frizzle and her Magic School Bus are always a hit no matter what science topic we're learning about. In The Magic School Bus Inside the Earth, "the Frizz" and her class take a field trip to the center of the earth, learning about the different layers and types of rocks along the way. (Note: There are references to the earth being millions of years old.)

Have a great Sunday!

Good News Express from Passkeys Foundation: TOS Review

2009-10-16T21:40:00.003-04:00

The Passkeys Foundation is a non-profit organization founded by Mr. Russell T. Williams. The foundation promotes character education through its many programs and products.

Members of The Old Schoolhouse Crew received titles to review from Passkeys' Good News Express series, which is aimed at preschoolers.

I received Thanks, But No Thanks written by Tony Salerno and illustrated by Tim Davis. This is the story of Finney the bear, who doesn't see the point in saying thank you to others. After a series of unfortunate events, along with the help of a friend, the little bear finally learns the value of showing your thankfulness.

The colorful illustrations of the cute, furry animal characters were appealing to my preschoolers, as were the catchy tunes on the accompanying CD, which includes an audio version of the story and a few songs. The storyline held my children's attention for the most part. The writing contained quite a bit of dialogue between characters, which doesn't always make for a riveting read-aloud for the preschool set. However, I think that this story could serve as a fun reminder for little ones to say thank you to others.

The hardback book and accompanying CD retail for $7.95.

The Passkeys Foundation offers many more character education products, which you can view at their website.

To see more reviews of this product, visit The Old Schoolhouse Crew Blog.

In Search of a Ginkgo

2009-10-13T23:35:00.004-04:00

Life is going to be super busy for the next couple of weeks, so other than some review deadlines I have to meet, I won't be able to blog as much as I'd like.

So...I thought it would be fun to re-run a few of my favorite posts.

The following post was originally written two years ago this November, and since it's "fall-ish" in nature, I figured this would be a nice time of year to share it again...

We did a really fun unit on leaves a few weeks ago, and ever since then, the kids have been noticing and pointing out different kinds of leaves and trees and getting really excited when they see some lingering fall color.

During our unit, I showed them a picture of a ginkgo leaf and tree and told them that it was one of my favorites. So as we looked at all the many oaks and maples in our area, we kept our eyes on the lookout for a ginkgo. After a week or so of looking (and not finding one), we began to wonder if maybe they don't grow in our state. I went online and we found that indeed they do, and that there are some in our downtown area (at least a 30 minute drive from us). It finally got to the point that whenever we were out in the van, the kids would check out nearly every yellow-leafed tree we passed at 40 mph, shouting, "Is that a Ginkgo? I think I see a Ginkgo!" Alas, they were only maples.

So last Friday, while my Mother was here for a visit, I decided we would make an impromptu trip downtown to find this elusive tree. I went on Mapquest and printed off some very intricate directions to a park, which I had never heard of, that was supposed to have some ginkgo trees. The kids (and Grandma and I) were so excited about our adventure, and we all piled into the van with me praying that our efforts would be rewarded. As we neared downtown, I got off at the exit and prepared to follow the directions, knowing that we had several miles to go before we reached this off-the-beaten-path park. Well, immediately after getting off the interstate and crossing under a bridge, I looked ahead and on my right was a very tall, very bright yellow tree. I said, "Mama, I think that's a Ginkgo!" We were on a very trafficky road, so I made a quick pass by and glanced over just long enough to see whether or not it had the distinctive fan-shaped leaves. It did! I whipped into a gas station, turned around, and headed back.

The kids were in a tizzy of excitement by now, and thankfully, God had placed this tree right next to a back entrance to a cemetery so that we could easily get off the busy road and see it up close. We all jumped out of the van into the very cold air, and ran up this sloping hill to what was one of the prettiest ginkgo trees I've ever seen. It was as if we'd struck gold! The kids were ahead of my mother and me scooping up handfuls of the bright yellow fans. The leaves were soft and pliable, unlike most of the dry, brittle leaves we have collected this year. Of course, we took some photos and brought home some leaves, which we pressed between sheets of wax paper.

It thrilled my heart to see my children so excited over part of God's creation. I pray that their love of nature continues to grow and deepen.

This was such a fun day, and of course, having Grandma along made it all the more special. I love looking back at these photos and seeing how much the kids have grown.

Thanks for strolling down memory lane with me!

Heaven's Gemstones

2009-10-12T23:00:00.001-04:00

My kids love to ask questions about Heaven and what it will be like.

Since we've been learning about rocks and minerals and looking at Scriptures that refer to rocks, I thought the kids would be fascinated to see pictures of the different gemstones mentioned in the amazing description of Heaven in Revelation 21.

Reading this word picture of Heaven overwhelms my imagination with the glory and beauty that we will experience there. It tells of the streets of gold, the gates made of pearl, and the twelve different gemstones covering the foundation of the city.

God says this about Heaven in Revelation 21:9-27:

One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, "Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb."

And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.

It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.
It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel.

There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south and three on the west.

The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city, its gates and its walls.

The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia in length, and as wide and high as it is long.

He measured its wall and it was 144 cubits thick, by man's measurement, which the angel was using.

The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass.

The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, the fifth sardonyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.

The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of pure gold, like transparent glass.

I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.

The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.

The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it.

On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there.

The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it.

Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life.

My Bible's study notes mention that the identification of some of these stones is uncertain, but it is still amazing to look at pictures of them and imagine what Heaven might look like with all of these different colors shimmering in the light of God's glory.

Jasper
Sapphire
Chalcedony
Emerald
Sardonyx
Carnelian
Chrysolite
Beryl
Topaz - in it's pure form it's colorless.
Chrysoprase
Jacinth
Amethyst

John 14:1-3

“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also." ~Jesus

Feltboard Fun

2009-10-10T23:00:00.007-04:00

One of my most vivid childhood memories is going to Sunday School and listening to my teacher tell Bible stories using a flannegraph board. (Anybody else remember those?) Sometimes she would let us take turns putting felt pieces on the board for her as she told the story. There was just something extra captivating about a story told with those figures.

As it turns out, my children love felt stories just as much as I did.

A few years ago I purchased a set of Bible felts along with a couple of sets to go along with favorite children's books, and whenever I pull them out, everyone gets excited.

Recently I made my very first set to go along with a favorite story of ours, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? I'm not crafty or artistic, so I kept this first set very simple. I really am not sure how long it took me to complete these because I worked on them here and there in the evenings while watching television. Even though they're not fancy, the girls were thrilled when I pulled them out for the first time during our Letter B week. I let them each take turns placing figures on the board as I told the story, and they absolutely loved it!

I used these free patterns from Making Learning Fun to make Brown Bear.

Now that I've made my first set, I'm fired up to make more. I've found several websites that offer free felt story patterns...

Making Learning Fun has lots of cute felt board patterns - and the stories/rhymes that you can print out to go with them.

DLTK's felt board templates - You'll find shapes and story figures - including ones for The Very Hungry Caterpillar, which I hope to make soon.

This DLTK page has a wonderful variety of simple outlines of different shapes and figures that would work nicely as patterns.

A Child's Place Felt Board Sets - This site includes the text for the songs, rhymes, and stories, and photographs showing what each of the finished felt sets look like.

Daycare Resource Connection

Pearson Learning - a few more cute patterns here for songs like Old MacDonald, B-I-N-G-O, and others.

Some good directions for making a felt board at BillyBear4Kids. I've also seen people use a cookie sheet. Cover one side with felt, leave the other side as is and use for magnetic letter/number play!

Felt Board Play - directions for making a felt board and a set of felts to encourage creative play

Travel Felt Board Tutorial - I think I'm going to have to make this. What a fun activity for road trips or for waiting at the doctor's office.

Tips for making felt board pieces as well as a few more story patterns.

You can also do things the old-fashioned way and use pictures from coloring books as patterns.

If you don't have the time or inclination to make your figures from felt, then here's a quick and easy way to put together a flannelgraph board story:

1. Print out the story figures you want to use onto cardstock. (Here are some example figures for The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Scroll down to the bottom of the page. I like to print out the color version, but you could use the black & white ones and color them yourself before laminating.)

2. Laminate the story pieces and cut out.

3. Glue a fairly large piece of felt onto the back of each figure, and you're ready to tell your story!

*I like to store my felt sets in gallon ziploc bags along with a copy of the story. You can punch each bag with a 3-ring hole punch and store in a binder.

Do your children enjoy feltboard stories?
Please leave a comment if you have any other tips about making felt figures.
I'd love to hear your ideas!

A Gem of a Field Trip

2009-10-09T23:55:00.001-04:00

This is part two of Wednesday's field trip post.

After we finished touring the caverns, we did some gem mining. For $4.00 we purchased a bag of "rough", gave each child a tray, turned them loose at the "sluice", and they had a blast.

I just had to include all of these photos because I love the looks of excitement on their little faces! I only wish the photos could have captured the squeals of delight that could be heard when each treasure was found.

Some of their finds...adventurine, obsidian, smoky quartz, crystal points, and citrine are a few we're sure of. Rock identification is hard, y'all!
A beautiful day and some sweet memories

We had so much fun, and the kids are still talking about it. This field trip is definitely one we'll do again sometime!

Guardian Angel Publishing

2009-10-08T23:00:00.002-04:00

Guardian Angel Publishing is a company that publishes books for children, schools, and families. Members of The Old Schoolhouse Crew received a variety of Guardian Angel's e-books for review.

Andy and Spirit Go to the Fair by Mary Jean Kelso is the story of Andy, a boy in a wheelchair, who has the opportunity to compete in a 4-H horseback riding competition at the fair. Andy receives great support and encouragement from his mother, trainer, and 4-H friends, but a bully in the audience attempts to ridicule him and his horse as Andy's demonstration begins. Though shaken momentarily, Andy is able to collect himself, put his horse through the proper paces, and pull off a beautiful demonstration, resulting in a grand prize ribbon. The message of perservering through a tough situation is an important one, and I also appreciated the fact that the main character of the story has special needs.

Maybe We Are Flamingos by Safari Sue Thurman is the humorous tale of two baby flamingos who are trying to figure out why they are white rather than pink. As their feathers turn from white to grey they begin to wonder if they are truly flamingos. They consider the possibility that maybe they are ostriches or giraffes, but ultimately learn from their mother that they are indeed flamingos and will eventually turn pink. The author weaves in several facts about flamingos, making this story educational as well as entertaining. This was probably my children's favorite of the five books I reviewed.

Rainbow Sheep, written and illustrated by Kim Chatel, is the story of a little shepherdess named Genevieve who tickles the clouds from the sky and attempts to cheer up a sad rainbow by telling it stories. When she succeeds the rainbow splashes her sheep with pretty colors, and Genevieve and her herd become famous. The storyline is accompanied by unique and colorful fiber art illustrations.

Earthquake, by Susan Berger, is a non-fiction book that explains earthquakes - what causes them, their effects, and much more. It also includes interesting factoids such as the largest earthquake in history. One thing I like about this book is the information about earthquake-preparedness. It is presented in a way that attempts to empower children with knowledge rather than frighten them. A list of important emergency items is also included. This was my favorite of the five titles I reviewed.

The Sum of Our Parts: No Bones About It by Bill Kirk is a non-fiction poem designed to help students memorize the different bones of the human body. The rhymes are clever, and I can see how this could be a helpful tool for learning the names of bones; however, some of the illustrations remind me of a scary cartoon and could be disturbing to young children.

Please understand that my ideas about what defines quality children's literature might be different from yours. I feel that there are many classic, living books that have been written over the years and that it would take an entire childhood (probably longer) to read and truly savor them all. Considering the fact that childhood tends to fly by, and that I want my children to hear as many of these timeless, engaging stories as possible, I tend to only purchase those stories that have the potential to become well-worn and well-loved friends in our home.

That being said, I felt that the quality of the writing and illustrations in these books did not quite live up to my expectations for children's literature. However, some of these and other Guardian Angel books have received awards which you can read about here.

Since it is impossible for me to judge an entire publishing house after reading only five of their books, and since they offer close to one-hundred titles to choose from, you might want to check out the Guardian Angel Bookstore for yourself. They offer some free titles for you to choose from, and they publish books in a variety of formats including e-book, CD, print, and even musical books.

To read more reviews of these products, visit The Old Schoolhouse Crew Blog.

(Disclaimer: I received these products free of charge to review as part of my experience with The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew. I received no other compensation, and my reviews are my opinion only.)

A New Favorite Field Trip

2009-10-07T23:00:00.000-04:00

I wanted to take the kids on some sort of field trip to wrap up our rocks and minerals unit. After a bit of research I found out about Ohio Caverns. The online photos of the underground cave filled with stalactites and stalagmites looked impressive, and we could easily make it a day trip, so last Friday we set out for an adventure that would turn out to be one of the neatest field trips we've taken so far.

I took tons of pictures of all the beautiful mineral formations we saw and of the gem mining we did after our tour, so I'm making this a two-part post. Thanks for bearing with me!

A little bit of history about the caverns. Can you imagine being the farm boy who discovered these over 100 years ago?

Going down, down, down into the cavern! At the deepest point, we were 100 feet underground. The temperature in the caverns remains a constant 54 degrees year round.

Stalactites and stalagmites are formed when water seeps through rock into open areas underground (such as caverns). As the water drips from the rock ceiling of the cave, the water evaporates and leaves behind mineral deposits that form the stalactite. Sometimes, before evaporating, the water from stalactites drips onto the cave floor and builds a column of mineral deposit called a stalagmite.

Sometimes a stalactite and stalagmite will grow to meet and join each other, forming a column.

The formations in these caverns contain three different minerals: iron oxide (reddish/rust color); manganese (dark purple/black); calcite (white).

Our tour guide told us a great way to remember the difference between stalactites and stalagmites. Stalactites "hang tight" to the ceiling. Stalagmites "might" eventually reach the ceiling.

The long, thin stalactites and stalagmites are called "soda straws".

Look at this soda straw that has formed a column.

The kids are standing in front of "Crystal King". This stalactite is over 4 feet long and is the largest stalactite in Ohio. We were impressed!

These iron oxide stalactites and stalagmites have a sort of honeycomb texture.

The folks at Ohio Caverns have nicknamed this one "the town pump". See the likeness? The kids said it looked like a horse kicking its hind legs up in the air.

I love all of the amazing colors and how they blend together here. It almost looks like a painting. If you look carefully at the large, white (calcite) stalactite on the left, you'll notice that it is actually hanging not from the ceiling, but from a rust-colored (iron oxide) stalactite. When you see this up close and see how large the white stalactite is, you wonder how it has kept hanging on to the rust-colored one all these years.

All five of us were just in awe at the beauty and variety of God's creation under the ground we walk on everyday! The kids are still talking about our visit to the caverns and are asking to go back. I guess that's the sign of a meaningful field trip.

If you can find any caverns with stalactites and stalagmites in your state, or while you're on a vacation, I encourage you to take the time to visit. You and your children won't soon forget it!

More tomorrow on the second part of our adventure!

ABC/123: Letter B

2009-10-05T21:58:00.005-04:00

Here's a quick rundown of our Letter B books and activities:

-Traveled down the Alphabet Path with Mrs. Appleby, met the Bugle Flower Fairy and listened to his song.

-Used our Handwriting Without Tears capital letter pieces and letter B Card to practice letter formation.

-Glued beans to the letter B template.

-Read
My Blue Boat, built boats from aluminum foil, and floated them in the bathtub.

-Read Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey and ate blueberries from tin buckets. (Of course we had to drop them into the buckets and listen for the "kerplink".)

-Read Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See by Bill Martin Jr., and retold it using our felt story set.

-Our puppet friend, Buddy Bear, read a few more letter B stories to us, including:

Some more letter B ideas for the future...
B is for:

bugs

bumblebees

bubbles

baking

books

bells

butterflies

birds

barns

banana boats - We didn't have time to make these last week, but we make them occasionally just because we enjoy them so much. Slit a banana lengthwise through the peel, making sure not to cut all the way through to the other side. Stuff the bananas with mini-marshmallows and chocolate chips. Wrap each banana in aluminum foil and cook over a fire, on the grill, or in a 300 degree oven for 5 minutes, or until chocolate is melted. Eat with a spoon. These are yummy, and my kids love 'em!

Blessings,

Nature Friend Magazine: TOS Review

2009-10-04T22:24:00.004-04:00

We are a family of nature lovers, so I was excited to find our first issue of Nature Friend magazine in the mailbox several weeks ago.

Nature Friend is a monthly, creation-based magazine that gives its readers an amazing look at the many wonders of God's marvelous handiwork. Each issue is brimming with interesting information, gorgeous photographs, and fun, meaningful activities covering a wide variety of nature topics - animals, insects, flowers, weather, space, and more. It is written for the entire family to enjoy, as it contains something for readers of all ages.

Before I go any further I have to tell you that everyone in our family was wowed by the magazine's beautiful photography. There are countless pictures showcased in each issue, including everything from stunning sunsets to animals going about their day to brilliant closeups of flowers. You'll also see rare and unusual shots of things like an owl swooping down as it actually catches its prey, a black-throated green warbler eating a walkingstick insect, and a cicada emerging from its shell.

As a lover of living literature, I appreciated the engaging stories, articles, poems, and beautiful illustrations. I was also pleased to find many references to family togetherness sprinkled throughout each issue. What makes this magazine's content even more special is that portions of it are submitted by readers both young and old. In fact, one issue each year is dedicated entirely to material contributed by readers.

You'll also find a nice variety of interactive features such as word searches, a science experiment, a "You Can Draw" feature, and other nature-related activities that children (and adults) will enjoy. One of my favorite features is called "Invisibles". It is a lovely illustration of a scene from nature that has several objects hidden within the picture for younger readers to find. I also like the fact that you can try your hand at the "You Can Draw" instructions - a different nature subject is featured each month - and then submit your drawing for possible publication in a future issue. It's really interesting to see the different drawings from children ranging in age from kindergarten to high school.

Above all else, my favorite thing about this magazine is that it is uniquely designed to honor God as the creator of our world and the entire universe. You can't read this magazine without marveling at the creativity God poured into each miracle of His creation.

A one-year subscription (twelve issues) to Nature Friend is $36.00, and I think it's well worth the cost.
You can save a bit with a two-year subscription priced at $68.00.

Nature Friend also publishes a Study Guide to accompany each issue that contains additional activities such as crossword puzzles, quizzes, and additional research ideas to reinforce the material covered in each issue. Each study guide also contains nature-related lessons in writing and photography. Twelve issues of the Study Guide are priced at $24.00.

To see sample issues and a sample study guide, and for more information, visit the Nature Friend website.

To see more reviews from the TOS Homeschool Crew, visit the Crew Blog.

Growing Crystals

2009-10-02T23:00:00.000-04:00

After reading a bit about crystals, we decided to grow our own!
I chose this experiment for salt crystals because it was the easiest and fastest- growing one I could find at the time. I admit it - I'm impatient.

I'm hoping that next week we can try our hand at making sugar crystals (a.k.a. rock candy!), but there's a bit more involved with that - hopefully we'll have time for it.

For these salt crystals you'll need:

-Equal parts table salt, vinegar, and hot water (The recipe says you can also add an equal part of laundry bluing - whatever that is - but it's not necessary.)
-Paper plate
-Toilet paper tube cut with fringes at top (see photo below).

Mix together salt, vinegar, and hot water in the plate.

Set toilet paper tube on plate.

Depending on your humidity, you should have some crystals within 24 hours.

Here is how ours looked after two days:

We were excited to find that we did indeed have a lot of crystals before the first 24 hours was over, but there wasn't enough of a build up for my camera to do it justice.

And after 7 days...

Notice how some of the crystals are turning a yellowish color. From what we've learned about crystals, we're thinking it's because all of the liquid has evaporated, and there is no moisture left to "feed" the them. They're sort of drying up now. They were much prettier and more sparkly after about Day 4, which was probably when they were at their peak.

This Squidoo lens has an assortment of different "recipes" for growing all kinds of crystals. If you scroll down the page to the "YouTube Video of Salt Crystals", you can watch that to see a time-lapse version of the experiment we did. We were pleased with how ours turned out, but the one in the video is really neat - especially with the way they time-lapsed it. I showed it to our kids before actually doing the experiment, and they wanted to know if ours would grow that quickly. :)

This was a very worthwhile project - one that the kids really got into and looked forward to observing and touching everyday.