Hearts For Homeschooling

For Sale: Dansko 36 Black Leather Knee-High Riding Boots

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs.Hearts) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 18:14:00 +0000

Boot Stats:

Style: Dansko Knee-High Boots
Material: Leather
Color: Black
Size: 36 US 6
Heel Height: 2-1/4"
Condition: Brand new without box, never worn

For sale this week on eBay!

Auction ends Saturday, 02/18/2012, at 2:40 p.m. Pacific time.

Biblioplan Update Schedule

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs.Hearts) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 16:00:00 +0000

If Biblioplan is in your homeschool's future, you'll want to know about the schedule of their upcoming updates! I contacted Rusty at Biblioplan, and this is what I learned:

"Year 2 is being tweaked right now. Year 1 and 4 are completely updated, and Year 3 will not be updated until the fall of 2012."

This is good news all around because the new versions of Biblioplan are much improved! I have had a copy of the older version of Early America and have a new copy of Ancients, and the differences are many. The Companion is now a textbook in itself and contains a wealth of information. There are now Cool History activity sheets and mapping activities for multiple age levels. The changes really reflect a K-12 multi-age history curriculum.

I recommend purchasing the Companion as a hard copy rather than an e-book. Ancients Companion is over 300 pages long, and the material has color-coded paragraphs to show which level of student it is intended for. Plus, the pictures are much more interesting in color. This would be a lot of ink on a color printer, and it is impossible to see the paragraph shading differences on a black printer. The extra bucks are more than worth it, IMO.

All Biblioplan items reviewed in this post were purchased by me. No items were supplied free by any publisher.

Review of Excellence in Spelling: The Phonetic Zoo

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs.Hearts) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 18:17:00 +0000

After completing levels 1 and 2 in All About Spelling, Millie and I realized that the words were way too easy for her. She needs reinforcement of spelling rules but with harder words than All About Spelling provides.

In looking over the Excellence in Writing Website, I found a spelling program that takes over where All About Spelling leaves off. Level A of Phonetic Zoo is recommended for about grade 5. I read all I could about it and liked what I saw, so I decided to give it a try with Millie.

We are on week two, and it is going very well. The words are definitely much harder than All About Spelling and at a level that challenges Millie just right. {Example word list from Lesson 1: brain, played, chained, railway, pail, sailed, train, painful, tray, paint, raisin, trailing, grain, always, contain} There are word cards that show the rule being studied and three different levels of words that follow the rule; list A, B and C. The same cards are used in all three levels, so the only thing needed when buying the next level is the CDs.

This is the procedure recommended by the publisher and which we follow. Millie reads the rule for the lesson and studies the words in the Level A column. The CD then speaks the list to her, giving the word in a sentence, and Millie writes the word. Every few words, the speaker on the CD tells the spelling rule again for extra reinforcement. Then the CD gives her the correct spelling of the words, and she corrects her list. She must get the lesson 100% correct twice, on separate days, before moving to the next lesson. The catch is that she studies the words ahead of time only on day one but not before writing the words again on the second day; they must come from memorization from previous days. She can do the program independently if she wishes, although for now I do sit with her.

We rate this program with 5 stars for an older speller who already has a firm foundation in many spelling words but needs further reinforcement of spelling rules and exceptions, as well as the challenge of harder words.

We still rate All About Spelling with 5 stars for a beginning speller!

Both items mentioned in this post, All About Spelling and The Phonetic Zoo, were purchased by me for our individual use and review and were not provided free by the publishers.

Lined Drawstring Bag

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs.Hearts) — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Today I made this Drawstring Purse, a gift for a special friend. I have made very few bags or purses, and this pattern is a great one to begin with. Now I have some kids asking for one!

Bag Stats:

Fabrics: Honey Child, Essential Dots by Moda, and Pretty Please by Jennifer Paganelli for Free Spirit
Size: 7.5" wide x 10.5" tall
Value: Useful!

You can find the pattern at In Color Order.

Shabby Chic Roses 'N Dots Lap Quilt

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs.Hearts) — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 05:05:00 +0000

... A ... Simply ... Sweet ... Snuggly ... Quilt ...

Quilt Stats:

Size: 40" wide x 56" high
Fabrics: All quilt-shop quality fabrics including Rhapsody in Bloom by Maywood Studio and Grand Revival Dots by Westminster Fibers, among others.
Batting: Warm and Natural 80/20
Binding: Double layer attached by machine for durability.
Quilting: Diagonal straight lines
Value: Priceless

Available for sale at Busy Hands Quilts!

Military Wives Choir

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs.Hearts) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 17:53:00 +0000

This video is taken from a British series where Gareth Malone takes a group of people and turns them into a choir. This time he's taken a group of military wives whose husbands are all away in Afghanistan and turned them into a choir. Gareth looks about 16 years old but is actually in his mid-30s and a Choir master for the London Symphony Orchestra, among other things. They wrote a song based on excerpts from letters written by the couples whilst apart, and this is the beautiful result.

This video can be found at http://youtu.be/0hR6O7VxKaQ

How to Have a Happier Marriage

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs.Hearts) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:00:00 +0000

"A man approaching retirement called the retirement office to inquire about his pension. Afterward, he was asked if his wife worked.

“She’s worked all her life making me happy”, he replied. “Yes sir, but has she earned money to receive her pension?” “When we got married we agreed on an arrangement”, he said. “I would earn the living, and she would make the living worthwhile”."

A sweet lesson in living to make my spouse's life better.

You can read the rest of the post over at Generation Cedar. It's a very nice read.

Timez Attack For Math Fact Memorization

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs.Hearts) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 20:29:00 +0000

Millie has been playing around with Timez Attack, a computer video-game program for learning multiplication facts. She was wondering about getting more advanced levels, so I did some research on the Big Brainz website. I learned that there are now levels for mastering division, not just multiplication, and addition and subtraction are coming soon!

I really like that they have cheaper rental options rather than purchasing the game since the time in which a child needs math fact reinforcement is relatively short ... and I don't have any others coming up who'd use it {yet ... still praying}!

Eagle Eye really enjoyed this way back when he was learning math facts. It is great to have a fun way to learn math facts other than {boring} flash cards.

This video can be found on You Tube.

Here are a few screen shots:

You can learn more at the official website - Big Brainz Timez Attack!

They Said What? Good Thing They're Homeschooled

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs.Hearts) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:00:00 +0000

If you need some good laughs about what really goes on in homeschooling families, HERE is a great thread on the Well-Trained Mind Forums!! And if you don't homeschool and think this is a bit far-fetched, let me assure you that this stuff really is said in homeschooling families! Learning encompasses all of our living ... and we love it!

Quilted Star Pillow Cover

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs.Hearts) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Here's another item just listed at Busy Hands Quilts - a quilted star pillow cover! This one turned out sew cute that I can hardly bear to sell it!

Cats In A Row Thimbleberries Quilt

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs.Hearts) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Here's a cute cat quilt that I listed at Busy Hands Quilts two days ago.

She's already sold!!

Stop by to see what else I've been up to! There will be some new twin-ish sized quilts coming in the next month or so - Mrs.Singer broke her foot, and I finally found a replacement foot for her, so now that she is rested up and will soon have her foot replaced, she and I will soon be quilting together again! I can't wait!

For Sale: All About Spelling

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs.Hearts) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 20:30:00 +0000

I have for sale All About Spelling Level 2 complete and a set of letter tiles with magnets and divider cards. All About Spelling is a great spelling program for younger grades. We are selling it because the words are too easy for Millie, and she needs review of the spelling rules with more difficult words. This program is best for younger students.

The All About Spelling FAQ page is a good place to start if you want to learn more about the program. Go HERE if you are wondering which level of the program with which to begin.

These items have sold.

All About Spelling Beginning Set, Grs. K-5 -- $20. Nice. All the work is done for you! Letter Tiles all cut out with magnets applied to the back. I cut them with a paper cutter so the edges are straight! This will save you several hours. Divider cards like new also.

All About Spelling Level 2 Set , Grs. K-5 -- $35. Nice. Level 2 Teacher's Manual, like new, no writing; Student Packet, complete, like new, no writing, cards perforated. It all looks brand new but we did use it once so I have listed it as Nice ISBN 9781935197058

~~These prices do not include shipping.~~

FREE Story of the World Notebooking Pages

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs.Hearts) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:00:00 +0000

HERE are free notebooking pages for Volumes 1, 2, 3, and 4 of The Story of the World! I've posted about this site before, but pages for book 4 have recently been added! Notebooking is a great way to solidify knowledge in the brain. It simplifies school time to write about what is being studied in depth rather than picking writing assignments that don't tie in.

Timberdoodle's Free Online Schedule Planner

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs.Hearts) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Timberdoodle has a free homeschool schedule planner online. If you type in the books and total pages or the number of lessons on the Annual plan, it breaks them down for you on the Weekly Plan and provides boxes to check off. I could not get this to work in Google Chrome, but it does work in Internet Explorer. I can see my happy little box-checkers really enjoying a schedule like this!

Here is a Timberdoodle video on their schedule planner.

Many Retailers Offer Teacher Discounts to Homeschooling Moms!

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs.Hearts) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 20:46:00 +0000

Image Credit

As a homeschool teacher, you qualify for discounts at many retailers. Here is a large list of some of them. My favorites include Jo-Ann Fabric {of course!!}, Michaels, and Office Depot. There are even clothing stores on the list - Ann Taylor Loft and J.Crew, to name a few!

Joseph Bruchac - A Favorite Author

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs.Hearts) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 23:30:00 +0000

Eagle Eye has a new favorite author - Joseph Bruchac. This author is listed on the suggested reading list in Trisms History Makers which Eagle Eye is working through this year. He is devouring every book by this author that he can get his hands on! Maybe your boys would like these books, too! Below are a few of his very favorites.

Paris France Eiffel Tower Pillow Covers!

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs.Hearts) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Two Paris Eiffel Tower Pillow Covers in Pink

Fabrics:

Eiffel Tower by Michael Miller

Black Moda Solid

You will find lots more Pillow Covers at BusyHandsQuilts!

Scrappy Strips Quilt in Thimbleberries Fabric

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs.Hearts) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 02:37:00 +0000

Quilt Stats:

Fabric: 100% Thimbleberries, quilt-shop quality fabric

Size: 16" square

Batting: Warm and Natural 80/20 cotton/poly

Quilting: Freehand, all-over meandering

Binding: Double fold, attached by machine

Maker: 100% made by me in the USA

I have two of these quilts available at BusyHandsQuilts on Etsy!

Let It Snow, Let Me Sew!

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs.Hearts) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 18:30:00 +0000

Bookworm made this sign for me a year ago. It is freezing cold here at 11 degrees with a wind chill of -7. It could be snowing, but ya' can't tell because of the wind. So I am sewing up a storm inside our cozy house!

Eagle Eye made this sign for me this year for a New Years present. It is made with a wood burner. He saw the wood in Mr.Heart's scrap wood pile and the banner shape made him think of these words from a favorite hymn, "Love Is The Kingdom's Banner".

Love is the Kingdom's banner:
Lift it against the sky,
Over the field of battle,
Where the needy cry.
Even though death assail us,
Let us His banner raise:
Hope of the dying nations,
And our Master's praise.

Love is the Kingdom's banner-
By it shall all men know
Jesus hath come and dwelleth
With His saints below.
Loving as He hath loved us,
Dwelling in unity:
This shall declare His kingdom,
Feeble though we be.

Know that the hosts of evil,
Love's banner shall assail;
But as we love and trust Him,
Jesus will prevail.
Fresh as the dew of heaven,
His graces shall descend:
He who hath loved and given,
Loveth to the end!

Pillow Covers - Pillow Covers - Pillow Covers!!

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs.Hearts) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:19:00 +0000

Busy Hands Quilts

All pillow covers have a coordinating envelope backing that really makes the pillows POP!

This item has sold!

Daisy Pillow Covers

Fabrics:

Lil' Plain Jane by Michael Miller

Dream On by Urban Chiks for Moda

West Indies Pillow Covers

Fabrics:

West Indies Marie by Jennifer Paganelli for Free Spirit
Grand Revival by Tanya Whelan for Free Spirit

Funky Floral Pillow Covers

Fabrics:

Arianna by Jennifer Young for Benartex
American Retro c. 1945 by Windham Fabrics

Asian Pillow Covers

Fabrics:

Dolce by Tanya Whelan for Free Spirit

Dance With Me by Jennifer Paganelli for Free Spirit

Very reasonably priced at $19.99 for two!

Set of Amy Butler Belle Royal Garden Clay Pillow Covers

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs.Hearts) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 00:34:00 +0000

Two 16" pillow covers

Fabric:

Amy Butler Belle Royal Garden Clay

Michael Miller Ta Dot

Available at Busy Hands Quilts!

Very reasonably priced at $19.99 for two!

Two sets available for a total of four covers in this fabric.

No School Today!

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs.Hearts) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 19:55:00 +0000

11:30 in the morning, still snowing!

We don't always take holidays off of school - unless it is snowing! And we woke up to snow, and it's still coming down! Bookworm chose to do school work today, but Eagle Eye and Millie have been outside for hours and probably won't come back inside until they are starving! We get very little snow here, so they eat it up while they can!

Speaking of eating snow, we made some maple syrup candy with snow! Not a good idea to eat with braces or a retainer; it is very sticky and hard to get off your teeth!

{Can you guess what I am doing while they play? Of course you know; I'm sewing! Pillow covers and two small quilts for my Etsy shop!}

Laura Ingalls Wilder Prairie Dress

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs.Hearts) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Front

Back

My first dress completed in 2012 - a Prairie Dress for my niece in celebration of her 6th birthday. She will be so surprised when we give it to her as she asked me for one several months ago, and I'm quite certain she forgot that she asked me to sew her one! The dress, apron, and bonnet are made from this pattern. The dress is made from a white fabric with tiny blue rosebuds, purchased from Marie Madeline Studio, where all fabric is currently 30% off!! The apron and bonnet fabric were purchased at JoAnn Fabric. I purchased the pattern online because my local JoAnn's never had it in stock on at least three occasions when I checked.

Stop Internet Censorship

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs.Hearts) — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 05:05:00 +0000

You'll need to turn off the music at the bottom of the screen.

PROTECT IP / SOPA Breaks The Internet from Fight for the Future on Vimeo.

We were alerted to the House and Senate bills, SOPA and PIPA, by Craigslist. This is a legitimate concern for all of us. Please check it out and do your part in protecting internet freedom.

It's A Hoot Pillow Covers!

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs.Hearts) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 01:25:00 +0000

I've ventured into making pillow covers and have really enjoyed it! This set is made from It's A Hoot fabric by Moda, both the fronts and the coordinating backs. The birds are quilted in an outline fashion using a layer of batting and muslin.

They are for sale in my Etsy shop Busy Hands Quilts!