Passport Academy Homeschool

Top 10 Must Have Items for homeschooling

noreply@blogger.com (Karin Katherine) — Thu, 31 May 2012 01:13:00 +0000

Our state homeschool convention just ended. Like many other homeschoolers in Florida I spent the better part of 3 days considering curriculum and purchasing for the upcoming school year. I won't lie, I look forward to the homeschool convention every year. Nothing makes my heart skip a beat more than thumbing through new curriculum and planning for our upcoming year. Don't even get me started on the smell of new books! Seriously, who doesn't love the smell of new books?

Over the next few weeks and months, as homeschool conventions roll out across the country, homeschool bloggers will share their plans for their upcoming school year and wax poetic on what they bought and why. I'm sure I'll do the same. Let's face it, next to the homeschool conventions my 2nd favorite thing is READING about what everyone is using, planning to use and just purchased.

However, I thought I'd take a moment and join my friends from iHomeschool Network and blog about my Top 10 Must-have items for homeschooling.

Click here for more 10 in 10 posts

#1
Computer with internet access
Seriously, how could I homeschool without it? It's where I research curriculum, download printables, create lesson plans, keep up with my favorite homeschool blogs and of course there are the great online resources I can share with my kids.

#2
Laminator
I use a commercial grade laminator from Jackson-Hirsh and it has served me well for 12 years and counting.

#3
Promethean ActivBoard
This was a big ticket item for our homeschool but it was worth every penny and I know I will be teaching on it for a long time. There are wonderful whiteboard activities (that can be done on a computer with a mouse) that you can download for FREE at Promethean Planet.

#4
Playground area
This playground from Rainbow Play systems has served our homeschool well. My kids never seem to tire of it. I can view it from my home office/classroom and the playroom/learning center. Our children range from twin 9 year old boys to an almost 2 year old and they all love it. Even the dog loves it. Recess is a regular part of our homeschooling days and it also helps me when I want to have individual time with each of my children to rotate the others through the playground.

#5
Color Printer
I have the Brother MFC-9840CDW. It is a printer, fax and scanner all in one. The ink cartridges are each separated by color which is actually the best way to go if you print in color a lot. This way you only have to replace the colors you are out out of instead of entire cartridge when one color gets too low.

#6
Library Card
I love the library. So do my kids. Our library has wonderful programs but it's also a great place to just browse for books to read.

#7
PaperBackSwap.com membership
If you are a book lover then you have to try Paperbackswap. You can trade paperbacks with other users using "credits" you earn when you a) upload 10 books to open your account b) ship off your books to other users. Many homeschoolers use the service and there are some great finds. You can even create a wishlist and you'll be automatically notified when your favorite books are listed.

#8
Amazon Prime Membership
I buy quite a bit for our homeschool (and our home) on Amazon. Using the Amazon Prime membership I even get FREE 2-day shipping. It is easy to compare prices on Amazon and I even use their handy app which allows me to scan book codes to compare prices. You can place orders via the app quickly and easily too. Maybe a little too easily if you ask my husband!

#9
Homeschool Tracker
Homeschool Tracker is a software program for homeschool record keeping & lesson planning. I started off with the Basic Version, which is free, and I highly recommend going that route so that you don't become overwhelmed. I now own the Pro, which I also really like. The hardest thing to "get" about Homeschool Tracker is that it has many OPTIONS that you don't have to use. There is no ONE way to use the program and so if you try to use all the features you'll end up getting frustrated.

#10
Microsoft Office
I think everyone that homeschools should have Microsoft Office. I use Publisher (worksheets, printables), Word (documents), Outlook (email, calendar planning, contact management), PowerPoint (lesson plans)and I'm trying my hand at becoming proficient in Excel for spreadsheets. Don't forget as a homeschooler you are able to order software from Academic Superstore with the Student/Educator discount.

Do you agree with my list? What are your top 10 must have items?

Celebrating Dr. Seuss with free printables

noreply@blogger.com (Karin Katherine) — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 12:28:00 +0000

Theodor Seuss Geisel was a poet, writer and cartoonist who is best known and loved by generations of children for his Dr. Seuss books written under the pen name Theo Le Sieg (which is his name backwards).

In celebration of his March 2nd Birthday I am joining a group of Homeschool Bloggers in sharing fun & educational printables that you can use with your own child(ren) to celebrate Seuss.

With a household of children in grades 3 to preschool I wanted to do something that would be fun for various ages and of course I wanted to share it with you too. If you end up using any of these printables please let me know. I would absolutely love to see and hear if your child enjoyed the projects as much as mine did.

A key component in this project for me is of course READING THE BOOKS with your children. The activity just adds another element to the story, it's not meant to take the place of enjoying the actual book with your child. While I do have some loose instructions, please make it your own.

Circus Printable Project Pack

Download Dr. Seuss inspired Circus Printable Pack and There's a Wocket in my Pocket craft

Download Wocket in my Pocket Craft

If you like the activities you are welcome to share it with friends or on your blog. I just ask that you please provide a link to this post (not just the download). This way everyone benefits by seeing the entire post and the links to the other participants in the Dr. Seuss Birthday Blog Hop.

For more inspiring Dr. Seuss printables & projects please visit:

Ami from Walking by the Way
Amy from Milk and Cookies
Cindy from Our Journey Westward
Jenn from Daze of Adventure
Jimmie from Jimmie's Collage
Kendra from Preschoolers and Peace
Tricia from HodgePodge

Please also visit my Ed Resources Online Blog for more Dr. Seuss resources & ideas.

Remembering your daily moments while homeschooling

noreply@blogger.com (Karin Katherine) — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 15:39:00 +0000

Sometimes it's easy as a homeschool Mom to just focus on the lessons. As my children's mother and teacher I want to balance the hats I'm wearing. Although I love that we have truly created a lifestyle of learning in our home, I don't want to forget the moments that just happen. From the silly moments to the every day ones. They are all important to me.

Bear got 'stached

our arrival at the Lorax Party

Of course it's also important that I be willing to join in on the fun with them and be willing to actually be in some photographs too. After all, when they're all grown up I want them to remember that although we enjoyed learning together, we also enjoyed just being together.

I'm hoping this will carry us through the teen years.

This post is a part of the Moments to Remember Link Up. Visit to link up your own memories or see the memories of other participants.

Reading Reflex: the resource that helped my reluctant reader

noreply@blogger.com (Karin Katherine) — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Pumpkin has had all the skills necessary for reading for the past 1 1/2 years...but she hasn't wanted to learn to read. Knowing that there are no long term advantages to reading before age 7 I decided to not push it. But I will admit it was getting harder and harder to remain nonchalant about her disinterest in learning to read.

Finally, a friend told me about a reading program that she used with her children called Reading Reflex by Carmen McGuinness and Geoffrey McGuinness.

An effective and easy-to-understand approach, Phono-Graphix enables you to teach your child to read in one-tenth the time of phonics with a 100 percent success rate. In just eleven weeks, you can bring your kindergartner to first-grade-level reading...

Using the photo-copied manipulative cards I began to teach Pumpkin SPELLING, since she didn't want to learn how to read. This is not what the book recommended you say, but it worked for us. Other than that I followed the instructions per the book and we began with the lessons in Chapter 3.

Here is a video clip from our very first lesson (filmed on November 9, 2010). As you can see she was blending and reading in 1 lesson!

If you are struggling with a reluctant reader I highly recommend this program. I apologize for not posting this sooner but it has been a year of disruptions for us to say the least.

Better late (sharing a resource) than never!

Hands on Science: Polymer Powder & Water

noreply@blogger.com (Karin Katherine) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 18:41:00 +0000

In this video Pumpkin used the Little Professor Science Kit: Polymers to try the "Perform a cool magic trick" experiment. The kits come with everything you need. You just add the water!

I'm sorry to say we actually completed this experiment last year when we were in the midst of living in temporary housing. So, I apologize for the late posting. Pumpkin looks very young to me in this video!

I will say that this ready made kit made continuing our science studies a lot easier. We bought it at our annual homeschool convention but you can also buy direct online.

Awana

noreply@blogger.com (Karin Katherine) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 18:35:00 +0000

Pixie & Posey

Our children recently started the Awana program in our community. Although it was in the middle of the program year they were welcomed with open arms and our entire family is excited about it. This is such a great program and it has obviously been updated since when I was a kid.

We have students in Cubbies, Sparks and T & T (Truth and Training). What I really like about this program (aside from the fact they get to spend time learning about God and having fun with other kids their age) is the home component. I believe training children in God's word is NOT just the responsibility of the church, but it should rather be a partnership between the parents, child/ren and the church. The format of this program allows me to easily spend time in the word with my children. It has really become a fun part of our homeschool day and we all eagerly look forward to it---especially me, because so little "prep" is required of me.

I think my children also enjoy the opportunity to earn "awards" for their accomplishments. What child doesn't enjoy a reward system?

Do your children participate in a Awana Kids' Club or something similar?

Magic Treehouse Mission Game Reward Codes

noreply@blogger.com (Karin Katherine) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 18:00:00 +0000

If your children enjoy the Magic Treehouse Series be sure to check out the website for additional activities such as:

My Passport

Fact Tracker Showdown

Mission Game

Mission Rewards

Mission Reward codes can be found in the back of recently printed Magic Treehouse books and Research Guides. Unfortunately, it took us several tries before we were able to locate a book with a code (we purchased via Amazon.com). Unfortunately, our local library doesn't carry any recently printed copies with the Reward Codes either.

To get you started here are a few codes we've found:

Honest

Italy

Emerald

Wolves

Abe

Richter

Bernard

Slither

Are you a homeschool parent or educator? Be sure to check out the Magic Treehouse Classroom Adventures Program website too!

7 Continents Song

noreply@blogger.com (Karin Katherine) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 19:29:00 +0000

Video recorded 2/12/2010

This is an easy song to teach your young children to learn the 7 continents:

I've got the whole globe, in my hands

I've got the whole globe in my hands.

I've got NORTH and SOUTH AMERICA, in my hands

EUROPE, AFRICA & ASIA, in my hands

AUSTRALIA and ANTARCTICA, in my hands

I've got the whole globe in my hands

Nevada Natural History Museum Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Karin Katherine) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 14:45:00 +0000

In the Egypt Exhibit the girls had a chance to explore what it would be like to use everyday ancient tools for cooking. I don't think Pixie was impressed. I think she is glad that she won't have to do that as a chore!

Nevada Natural History Museum Part 1 of 2

noreply@blogger.com (Karin Katherine) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:45:00 +0000

What a pleasant surprise it was to visit the Nevada Natural History Museum.

Right near the Las Vegas strip it was the perfect kid-friendly escape from casinos and gambling.

One of the exhibits gave the children a chance to experience what it was like to live in ancient times and carry a bucket of water. The boys quickly decided that would NOT be a chore they would regularly volunteer for.

Other interesting exhibits included:

International Wildlife Gallery

Marine Life Gallery

Online Resources:

Educator's Guide

A twist on teaching the 5 senses

noreply@blogger.com (Karin Katherine) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 12:45:00 +0000

This week our Preschool Unit is on the 5 senses and since this is usually a fun unit and review is good throughout a child's education, I've decided to let the older kids join in too.

Recently, I was inspired to take this opportunity to teach the children about famous people in history who overcame the loss of one (or more) of their 5 senses and were still able to lead very full and successful lives.

Ray Charles & Stevie Wonder became world renowned musicians in spite of the fact that they were blind.

Beethoven continued his career as a composer despite going deaf.

Helen Keller, who was both deaf and blind, learned how to communicate through sign language, speech and learning to read and write.

Helen Keller

Helen Keller's Greatest disappointment in life...

Ray Charles performing Georgia on my mind...

Hit the Road Jack

Lesson Plan ideas:

Preschool Toolbox: 5 senses thematic unit

Kids' health in the classroom: 5 senses

Learning Foundations' Curriculum: 5 senses

Online Resources:

Brainpop Jr 5 senses

Worksheets:

Sense Chart graphic organizer

Beginning Science Senses

Have you ever taken a traditional unit and put a twist on it?
Do you have any ideas to add to my senses unit?

Museum of Life & Science in North Carolina

noreply@blogger.com (Karin Katherine) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 16:06:00 +0000

On a recent trip to North Carolina, we took the children to the Museum of Life & Science in Durham, North Carolina. Although we went on a holiday, it wasn't terribly crowded and the staff was friendly. The kids had a great time checking out all of the hands-on exhibits.

On of the first exhibits we went through was one about weather and weather formations.
Pixie was particularly captivated by the one on cloud formation.

Other exhibits we enjoyed were:

Contraptions room - the kids didn't want to leave!

Carolina Wildlife - We saw our first woodchuck and he was quite a ham!

Flip it & fold it- a great exhibit for showing how math can be fun and is found in everything!

Many beautiful, unusual and frightening things were seen at the Butterfly house and the insectarium.

We have plans to go back this summer and spend more time visiting the museum and taking in all of the outdoor exhibits. Unfortunately we skipped a lot of the outdoor exhibits because we couldn't handle the cold weather---which for us, is anything below 68 degrees!

Review: Bad Kitty by Nick Bruel

noreply@blogger.com (Karin Katherine) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 04:27:00 +0000

I've recently started to embrace sharing audio books with my children. Although I will always be a fan of reading aloud to children (especially when they can read on their own), sometimes Moms need a break and that is when a good audio book can make a huge difference. Audio books have come in handy for me when I'm cooking dinner or when I need a night off from reading 5 different bedtime stories to my children.

The latest edition to our library is Bad Kitty, by Nick Bruel, and read by Vanessa Williams.

In addition to an entertaining story, what makes a picture book, is of course, the illustrations...and what makes an audio picture book special is a fantastically entertaining reading with appropriate sound effects. Bad Kitty has all of the above!

The book takes the child through the alphabet and back----four times! However this book is not your typical "alphabet" book. My girls learned about new vegetables and added quite a few words to their vocabulary thanks to a "variety of vultures" , "an assortment of anchovies", and a "tormented little mouse".

Disclaimer:

A complimentary review copy of Bad Kitty was provided by the Publisher. As always, all opinions are my own.

Petting a lion cub

noreply@blogger.com (Karin Katherine) — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 14:00:00 +0000

Pumpkin with a real lion cub

It's not every day that you get to pet and play with a REAL lion cub. Especially, on a school day.

Well, unless you're homeschooled that is.

Field Trip: Hoover Dam

noreply@blogger.com (Karin Katherine) — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 13:30:00 +0000

Hoover Dam, once known as one of the 7 wonders of the world, was a government sponsored project that was completed 2 years AHEAD of schedule, came in UNDER budget and paid for itself and then some! Can you imagine the likelihood of that happening again?

If you look behind us you can see where the waterline used to be on the mountains (the white border). Truthfully, the children weren't that impressed with our Hoover Dam visit, but they were happy to know that they've visited a National Landmark and could cross it of their lifetime bucket list!

Artist Study (assorted)

noreply@blogger.com (Karin Katherine) — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 18:00:00 +0000

One of the subjects I feel very comfortable "subbing out" is Art. My children seem to possess a drawing and painting gene that I don't have. Or, maybe they just have a good instructor? At any rate, we would be lost without their Art Teacher who has a wonderful way of teaching art.

Her technique is to:
Review the biography of the artist,
Discuss their famous works
Learn about the technique that made them famous
Reproduce one of their works

Can you guess which artists are portrayed below?

We are in the final 5 weeks of our art study for the year. I will try to do a better job keeping up!

Wisconsin Fast Plants: Life cycle of a plant

noreply@blogger.com (Karin Katherine) — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 17:00:00 +0000

We enjoyed our unit on the life cycle of a Wisconsin Fast plant and I was so impressed with the materials we purchased from Carolina Biological. It is one of my favorite resources for science supplies and lab activities. Their catalog is huge!

In just a little under 45 days the children were able to see the plant grow from a seed, pollinated plants using dried bees, and harvested seeds from the seed pods produced after pollination.

making pollination wands from dried bees

pollination wands

Don't ask me what I did with the photo of the seed pods or the seeds...But trust me, we had them!

This hands-on approach coupled with notebooking made this unit not only fun but a learning success!

Do you like teaching science through hands-on labs and experiments? If so, what are your favorite resources?

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

noreply@blogger.com (Karin Katherine) — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 12:45:00 +0000

Cutie Pie is very excited to have her own special school time with Mom and is really enjoying her preschool lessons. Although preparing lessons for 4 children is starting to become a little overwhelming, I must admit that I really enjoy teaching preschool again and revisiting some of our favorite homeschool activities.

One of our favorites is the unit study based upon the book, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, which is quickly becoming a preschool family in our home...4 down and 1 to go!

Resources:
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom prop
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom book and audio set

Printables:
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom lapbook
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom coloring book
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom paper craft
Counting Coconuts booklet

Online Video:
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom video

Grand Canyon Tour on Hualapai Indian Reservation

noreply@blogger.com (Karin Katherine) — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 16:45:00 +0000

We are using American Story I by Winterpromise for our American History studies which we are truly enjoying. So much so that we are savoring every bit by not rushing it. Or at least that is how I choose to look at it. All kidding aside, we do enjoy the study, but life has slowed us down and instead of getting upset about it, we are just plugging along and enjoying the journey.


Western Rim (the sun was bad, can you tell?)

On a recent field trip to Arizona (part of our US States study!) we had an opportunity to visit the Western Rim of the Grand Canyon on the Hualapai Indian Reservation (pronounced Wall-ah-pie) where we were not only able to take in the amazing Grand Canyon (by foot, boat and helicopter) but also walk through models of various Native American shelters. This truly made our study come alive for the children and they loved it!

...and seeing the Grand Canyon was pretty amazing too!

Helicopter over the Colorado River

Western Rim, Grand Canyon

Peaceful views of Grand Canyon on Colorado River

Daddy & Pumpkin on the Pontoon boat

Supplemental Resources:
Sponsored by the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, the following activities were a great supplement to our study on Native American Indians

Tracking the Buffalo

Arizona: Children's Museum of Phoenix

noreply@blogger.com (Karin Katherine) — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 03:03:00 +0000

We had a fantastic time visiting Arizona and sadly I'm just getting around to blogging about our trip...but better late than never, right?

One of our first stops was the Children's Museum of Phoenix. It was the perfect hands-on place for all of our children (ages 1, 3, 6, 8 and 8) and honestly they could have stayed there all day!


Light up sand table


Grocery shopping fun

Making Multiplication Manageable

noreply@blogger.com (Karin Katherine) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 02:23:00 +0000

We recently had to take a little break from our Singapore Math studies to concentrate on memorizing the multiplication tables. I printed out multiplication charts for the boys and gave them flash cards to study.

They continued to struggle with the memorization of their math facts for a few days until I found this note slipped under my bedroom door with a pile of flash cards:

Doesn't that just break your heart? After asking around I was directed to the Times Tales DVD and book. Thankfully it was exactly what we needed to get our multiplication tables drilled in. I was surprised how quickly the boys caught on and how they've been able to memorize their tables simply by learning the picture stories. I highly recommend it for any child that is struggling with learning their multiplication tables.

As a parent teacher one of the biggest challenges for me with teaching is figuring out how to keep my children advancing through their subjects while maintaining a love of learning, especially with Math. I recently discovered the secret to keep them engaged is to mix it up. Math studies now include: workbooks, worksheets, card/board games, whiteboard activities, videos and computer games. By keeping the format varied (even if the subject is the same) they stay positive about their learning and we often spend more time on the subject than if we were just working out of one medium.

Worksheets/Printables:
Multiplication worksheets w/ answer key

Multiplication Times Tables

Multiplication Chart

Skip Counting Chart

Online Games:

Timez Attack (free download)

Resources:

Math Blaster

Times Tales spiral book
Times Tales DVD

Classical Music: Beethoven

noreply@blogger.com (Karin Katherine) — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 15:45:00 +0000

This year I am introducing Classical Music into our studies using the Classical Kids Curriculum.

We began with the DVD version of Beethoven lives upstairs and then I used the Teacher's Guide for discussion points and activity ideas. Afterwards we listened to more of Beethoven's music on CD and I read aloud from Ludwig Beethoven and the Chiming Bell Towers by Opal Wheeler.

Classical Music was not a part of my formal education and I have to say that I'm enjoying learning alongside the children. Even Cutie Pie (age 3) has been joining us.

The boys are now entering their 2nd year of playing the piano and they were especially excited when they heard Fur Elise as that is one of the pieces they are studying. It is one of my favorites and it brings a smile to my face to have my boys play that piece for me.

My plan is to introduce a new composer every 2-4 weeks and conclude our study of that composer with a notebooking page.

Online Resources:
Beethoven Coloring page
Beethoven word search
Beethoven multiplication dot-to-dot
Notebooking Pages: Famous Composers

Additional Resources:
Classical Kids Classroom collection
Beethoven's Wig CD
The Best of Beethoven CD

Ludwig Beethoven and the Chiming Tower Bells

A day in the life...

noreply@blogger.com (Karin Katherine) — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 01:01:00 +0000

If there is anything that homeschooling has taught me it's that we don't have a typical day.

The flexibility of homeschooling happens whether you embrace it or not because homeschooling is your lifestyle----which is to say that it's a part of your everyday life and that means interruptions from sick children, a husband, household emergencies, chores, neighbors/friends etc.

Don't get me wrong. I like a color-coded schedule. I like a plan. But this year I'm going to embrace the fact that I don't always get to make the plans and that my perfectly color-coded schedule may need to serve more as a guide or a goal as opposed to a rigid timetable of what needs to be accomplished when. Otherwise I might also be missing out on the opportunity to enjoy my child's education alongside them.

Our school day usually begins between 8:30-9AM and from there I go about tackling our studies from my list of subjects I want to cover each day. Four days a week I also drive children to various activities which tends to break up my day. I give myself one day a week that I don't have to be anywhere at a certain time----that is Friday. In an ideal world I would have both Mondays and Fridays open as Mondays are my preferred days for field trips. Unfortunately that didn't work out so well with 5 kids that I try to have one on one time with each week.

We eat lunch at 11:30am.

The children have quiet time from 1-2:30P and during that time the boys generally have assigned reading. Sometimes I read with my 6 year old daughter in her room but mostly I take the time to prep for the afternoon or have a little quiet time myself.

After quiet time I continue teaching or we swim (PE) or do a craft together (art).

We have dinner at 5:30P so I try to finish up our school day by dinner time. Now that we are studying Classical music I've taken to playing some classical music during dinner and we discuss the pieces. But when Daddy is home we try to avoid this and just enjoy having dinner with him.

Since my children have never been to traditional school it's not uncommon for us to fit in some school on a Saturday too! I try to do longer projects on Saturday or tackle those subjects we weren't able to get to during the week.

Our school day averages are:

2 1/2 - 3 hours for Third Grade/8 years old

1 1/2-2 hours hours for 1st grade

1 hour for preschool

What do your homeschool days look like? Share in HOTM’s Not-Back-To-School Hop.

Curriculum Choices & Challenges 2011-2012

noreply@blogger.com (Karin Katherine) — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 17:38:00 +0000

For the first time, since I began homeschooling, I missed our state's annual homeschool convention. During the past year I've learned much about the "flexibility" homeschooling allows as our family faced temporary housing, moving twice in 5 1/2 months, and a construction nightmare. Usually about this time I'm busy planning and prepping for the next school year with curriculum carefully chosen from the vendor hall and fresh enthusiasm and ideas garnered from the lecture hall. While I don't want anyone to host a pity party for me, I am going into this school year from an entirely different direction and perspective.

First of all, our summer break will be about 45 minutes this year. The time we lost, while flexible, still has to be made up. I just know I'm going to laugh about that one day, right?

Secondly, there was no vendor hall to inspect curriculum. No lines to wait in while chatting with other homeschooling moms (I learn so much in those lines). No 3 day getaway planning session in a hotel by myself. This year I had to do my research entirely by catalog and online forums. My husband was so sweet. He pointed out that even if I purchased a few duds it was still less than gas, hotel, hotel food, and babysitters would have been if I'd gone away for 4 days. While he wasn't in any way begrudging the annual homeschool convention trip, he was trying to let me see that I shouldn't feel intimidated about making a purchase for fear I wouldn't like it when it arrived.

There is one annual homeschooling tradition I am excited that I didn't get to miss: The Not Back to School Blog Hop hosted by Heart of the Matter Online. I just love seeing what others are using in their homeschooling. If I see a favorite blogger is using a curriculum we are using I like to connect with them via email or add their blog to my reader. It can be a great way to share ideas or ask questions from someone who has used the curriculum before. So, if you had a year like mine, or even if all your years seem like they've been like mine, I hope this might be a good alternative and encouragement for you in making your own curriculum choices this year.

3rd Grade

Language Arts:
Writing with Ease Level 1
Handwriting withoutTears Can do Cursive
Handwriting without Tears Cursive Success
Explode the Code 8
Wordly Wise 3
Spelling Power
First Language Lessons 1-2
Easy Grammar 3

I am so excited to begin teaching cursive using the Handwriting without Tears curriculum. I have used this curriculum since the beginning with our children (and attended the teacher 2-day workshops) and I just LOVE this handwriting curriculum!

We are revisiting First Language Lessons as I must confess, it became easier for us to dive into Easy Grammar, which we are continuing to use as I do believe it is a solid program and my "safety net". My children do this every day (7 days per week) because it doesn't take much time to do each exercise. I do think that Easy Grammar will prove to be a good supplement to First Language Lessons and I am looking forward to spending more time with my older children on this curriculum instead of just checking their workbooks at the end of each day.

I must confess Spelling Power didn't get opened at all last year. Instead we used Spelling Workout Level A. Although the boys didn't mind doing it, I didn't feel their spelling was progressing. Perhaps I should have had a spelling test on our own after each lesson? I certainly could have. However I think I want to move forward with Spelling Power as I really like the philosophy behind that program. Now that the dust has settled, we're back in our home and we've adjusted to our new addition (#5!) I cannot wait to begin this program. Do not let the price shock you. It is the ONLY spelling program you will need through high school for all of your children.

I am a huge fan of the Explode the Code series. So much so, that even though the boys have probably outgrown the need for this series, I am going to have them complete Explode the Code 8 before they officially say good-bye to the series. I really feel this series helped strengthen their reading skills (and writing).

Math:
Singapore Math Primary Math 3A, 3B
Singapore Math 70-must know Word Problems (level 3)
Singapore Mental Math Grade 3

Science:
R.E.A.L Science Odyssey Life
R.E.A.L Science Odyssey Earth & Space
Young Naturalists Guide study (see our other blog and join in)

Science is my favorite subject to teach. As such I like to write my own curriculum and incorporate quite a bit of hands-on learning labs. So its difficult for me to pin down our science as I create quite a bit of our curriculum or piece together parts from various resources which I will blog about our science and share resources on each individual study/lab as we go. With that said, I absolutely am excited about using the R.E.A.L science series. I love the student notebooking pages and the opportunity to really expand on the program yourself and incorporate a lot of hands-on learning (in addition to the great ones listed in the book). There are even kits for each study that you can preorder to help ensure all your materials are in one place!

Geography/History

American Story I from Winterpromise
Daily Geography 2 and Daily Geography 3

We started American Story I and were unable to finish it due to all the moving we endured. Our plan is to continue using this study and then move into our next study regardless of how it falls within the school terms. I am currently trying to decide between Story of the World: Volume 1: Ancient Times or Mystery of History I. Feed-back and suggestions are appreciated.

We are using Daily Geography for the first time this year. I'm not sure which level is the best for the boys, so I bought them both and plan on deciding if I will start with level 2 or skim level 2 and move on to level 3.

Electives:

Piano- with private instructor

Art- with Private instructor
Martial Arts- TBD
Golf- private instructor

Additionally the boys are learning Chess using the following resources:

No Stress Chess

Learn to Play Chess with Fritz and Chester

Chess for Children

Chess for Kids

Winterpromise Chess kit

Bible:

We use so many different resources. I will have to share them as we go and see what we are lead to using. Bible Study Guide for All Ages is ready to go as a core study though. We keep holding onto it waiting for the right moment. Perhaps this is the year? We shall see. Daddy wants to do this study with us and his travel makes it a little bit tougher to commit.

1st Grade

Math

Singapore Math Primary Math 1A 1B

Essential Math

I have used Singapore Math since Kindergarten with our older boys (after a failed attempt at Saxon Math) and we continue to be amazed at the amazing quality and strength of this curriculum. I cannot say enough great things about it. I highly recommend this program. There are many videos and articles about it and recently I learned that workshops on the program are even being offered. I hope to attend one this year.

Social Studies:

History for little Pilgrims

American Story 1

Pumpkin enjoys having some of her lessons with "her boys" so she has been joining us for parts of American Story 1 and will continue to do so. We only made it through half of History for little Pilgrims last year so we are going to finish it this year.

Language Arts

Language lessons for little ones

Handwriting without Tears My printing book

Wordly Wise K-1

Explode the Code A, B,C

Bob Books 1, 2, 3

Phonics Pathways

Reading Reflex

When Pumpkin began reading was she was scared for some reason. So, I couldn't use the methods or resources that I found success with when I taught our twin boys to read. A friend told me about Reading Reflex and I decided to give it a try. For some reason, while Pumpkin didn't want to learn to read, she did want to learn how to spell. Although that is not what Reading Reflex promotes the lessons seemed more like spelling and a game to her. Now that she is comfortably progressing we are going to continue mixing resources (so she doesn't get bored) and incorporate Phonics Pathways (which I've used and loved before) along with Bob Books and Explode the code.

New to her this year will be Language Lessons for Little ones which is so gentle and colorful that I'm sure she will love it, as well as the time we will get together.

Electives:

Piano (private instruction)

Gymnastics (group instruction)
Art (private instruction)

Preschool
Preschool is such a fun time that I don't really use a curriculum as much as I use resources. I have so many resources swimming around. I will post about our preschool selections at another time.

Are you using any of the curriculum, studies or resources I am? If so, I'd love to connect with you throughout the year! Please leave a comment or email me.

Field Trip: The Bailey-Matthew Shell Museum

noreply@blogger.com (Karin Katherine) — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 21:16:00 +0000

The Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum is located in Sanibel Island, Florida. It is a very child-friendly museum and a wonderful fieldtrip if you are interested in learning about shells and seeing some amazing shells you may not easily find on your own.

The Great Hall of Shells includes more than 30-exhibits telling the story of mollusks from around the world. The exhibits are devoted to shells in art and history, shell habitats, rare specimens, fossil shells, and common Southwest Florida shells.

When we entered the museum the children were immediately welcomed with a big smile and sent off on a scavenger hunt through the exhibit! At the end they were given some very neat prizes (its a surprise) and allowed to select a special shell from a basket.

The shells were incredible. One child selected a fossil shell and Cutie Pie (age 3) immediately grabbed a shell and said, "Look Mommy! A moon shell!" and of course, she was right. Further proving how much more is learned and retained on a field trip through hands-on learning.

The Children's Learning lab was also popular with my 3 and under crowd. There were a lot of things to look at and touch.

One of our favorite exhibits was seeing the Sailor's Valentines on display.

When visiting don't forget to ask for your FREE Seashells of SouthWest Florida handout. If you laminate it, it would be a great resource to take to the beach with you on your next shell adventure!

Online Resources:

Online guide to SW Florida Shells

Teaching Resources:

Please request the School Shell Collection Kit ($20) and optional Shell-related videos ($49.95). Make checks payable to The Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum. Requests must be made in writing: Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum: PO Box 1580, Sanibel, Florida 33957