It is Schoolhouse EXPO week and I can't wait!

This week is Schoolhouse Expo week and I can't tell you how excited I am , even my husband is looking forward to the talks. 
I've printed my schedule and circled all the talks I want to listen to, since they are recorded I can listen later if I have to miss one, BONUS!

Today I'm looking forward to  hearing Bob Irvin and Lori Scheele talk about SchoolhouseTeachers.com and getting Organized as well and Barbara Beers talk about Spelling, Grmmar and Latin, and then ending the day with Antony Kolenc and mistakes Homeschoolers make....

Tomorrow is another full day as well!
It isn't too late to purchase a ticket 
I received my ticket to this event in exchange for sharing before and during this event.

IXL helping children excel in Math

With 2 little boys learning math at different levels within their own grade I was so excited to try IXL math. Each child has access to a variety of levels of math. For instance Cameron , my now 4th grader is working on brushing up on 3rd grade skills he struggled with and adding 4th grade skills to the mix. While Nathan my 2nd grader is working on some 2nd grade skills but also stretching and working on a few 3rd grade skills.

There is as ton of flexibility with this program and as the kids work through their various skills they earn virtual awards on their awards page for each of the grades we have worked on.  I really wasn't sure about another math website with "virtual awards" but something struck a cord with both boys and IXL awards are a hit with them. Neither of them mind the different pages for different grades. With the need for a variety of graded assignments IXL is a huge value for us  for a full year program. $79.00 a year for the first child and $20 for the second. I know most of the time it wouldn't seem like I would recommend this as a value, but when my boys are both excited about practicing their math skills even the ones they are struggling with it becomes a value, oh and as the parent I can even practice skills. The parent skills are recorded but still it is good practice especially when you are trying to explain a skill that a child is struggling with.

I am an an analytical person when it comes to figuring out what the boys need to work on so I love the reports the IXL provides the parents. I can see what the boys have been working on as well as where they need improvement and how much time they are spending on the various activities.
Check out IXL on Facebook

Disclaimer: we received a full year membership for both boys at no cost in exchange for our review of the program and as a member of the Schoolhouse Review Crew.

You are welcome to read the rest of the crew's review just click on the banner below.

Pearson Homeschool's Reading Street a new location for learning

I am always looking for reading programs that will help inspire the boys to love reading and help give them a strong foundation in the basics on reading, phonics, and grammer, so when Pearson Homeschool came up as part of the Schoolhouse review Crew I was immediately drawn to the idea of the full year reading curriculum. especially after reading the info From their website: Build the reader in your child through motivating and engaging literature, scientifically research-based instruction and a wealth of reliable instructional tools. The Scott Foresman Reading Street program prioritizes skill instruction at each grade level, so the focus is on the right reading skill, at the right time, for every child.

I will start by mentioning this product is a bundle and includes a DVD-Rom , a CD, a teacher's guide, and 2 student books (volume 1 and volume 2) and will retail for $124.95 during the 2012-2013 school year. While it is a complete program since the worksheets and other teacher resources are a the media discs there will be quite a lot of printing involved in using this product, so that is something to take into consideration when looking at the price. 
We currently use old school McGuffey's readers so this was something totally new for the boys. I decided to let Nathan try the worksheets and some of the reading even though he is only starting 2nd grade. I went ahead and let Cameron read and do many of the worksheets as he just finished 3rd grade but was a late reader.  We were able to read the stories and extras in the textbook and use the various worksheets which included fun activities as well as the traditional dry worksheets.  
I printed up a set of various worksheets for the First Unit weeks 1-5 and we began our journey. I put all the worksheets into a file folder and would pull from that. I also printed the word lists and flashcards only I printed them at 1/2 and 1/4 size so the boys could make collages from the words. 
Overall, the boys didn't mind the program and given that I was able to use the program with both the boys was a nice bonus. I can see using this throughout the rest of the year and even into next year for Nathan as a way to break from the norm a little bit as the stories are fun and engaging for the kids.  I am considering put some of the teacher resources on my laptop (especially the flip charts) so we can use them without printing them. I can also see having the flash cards on the laptop as a way to flip through the flashcards on the screen.  The fun word search worksheets were a hit with Nathan so I will most likely go through and print those first since these are harder and above his grade level.
The program is secular but I didn't find anything in the first volume that would be an issue. My boys are use to me creatively adjusting time lines when it comes to evolution within a text book, it has actually become a silly thing for them. Honestly, I can't say if I would have purchased this program, the price is higher than I would consider reasonable for our budget, but if I look at the life use of the program I could see value there. 


Pearson Homeschool has a variety of curriculum in a variety of grades from elementary through high school and covering Math, reading, science, and social studies.  Their website also has links to state resources if you are unsure where to find your state's guidelines. The site is still under some construction but has a lot of information. I also enjoyed searching other online sources including Teacher's blog to see how others were using the program. Since the edition we reviewed is the newest edition the lesson didn't always line up with what I was finding online, but I was inspired to think outside the box a little and see how fun we could make it.





disclaimer: As a member of the Schoolhouse Review Crew I received the above product bundle for free in exchange for my honest opions, unless mentioned within the post all opinions are my own.

F is for a Frugal education #atozchallenge

I have often talked about the cost of various products we have reviewed and whether or not I felt there was value in it, well lets take the monetary value of home education to the next level. Frugality is something many people don’t always think about when they think about homeschooling. It costs to keep the kids at home, but it can be done.
I try and keep our homeschool budget to less than $200 a year for curriculum and supplies. I know that seems crazy, but I have found some wonderful sites to download elements from.
1. Homeschool Freebie of the Day : is an amazing site with daily freebies through out the school year. I have saved so many wonderful books and mp3s I have an assortment I can fall back on , or even start at when I am lesson planning.
2. CurrClick is another wonderful place. They offer a weekly freebie from a variety of publishers as well as seasonal specials. I have downloaded a huge variety both freebies and reasonably priced elements including some amazing Montessori Grammar and Language Arts products.
3. Hands of a Child: I was a conference representative for them our second year homeschooling and was able to purchase a lifetime Super Membership that gives me 2 complete units a month as well as a 15% discount on e-books. HOAC also offers a semi-annual freebie to vistors and Facebook deals on occasion.
4. The biggest blessing to our Homeschool has been our Membership on the TOS crew, while this isn’t for everyone, I have found many  vendors offer specials and demos that I never knew. TOS also publishes an annual freebie directory.
5. Project Gutenberg and internet archive are awesome resources for out of print books as well as source documents, audio files, etc.. to help supplement a variety units.
For supplies make sure you have a homeschool i.d.card to save money where educators receive a discount. Also check with your local office supply store (Office Depot, Office Max, and Staples) to see if they offer a teacher rewards card. I stock up on things like composition books, pencils, color crayons, etc… during the back to school season knowing we will use them.  Also check Goodwill or other similar thrift shops for things like binders ,milk crates for storage, books, etc… we don’t have to have new binders every year. Another amazing resource for me has been Craigslist. I have found several lots of books and other resources for free and low low priced  on Craigslist.
Another fun one that keeps costs down, local parks for nature walks and physical activity. A change of scenery also helps both Mom and kids refocus. 

M is for Math

When I asked the boys to help pick the topics for the rest of the A to Z Blogging challenge Nathan said , "M is for Math, silly Mommy" and then he giggled.... so I thought I would share what we do for Math at Unionvale Homeschool.

Last year I was blessed to receive a partial set of Math-U-See Blocks (it wasn't a full basic set but is and was functional). My boys fell in love with the blocks and immediately started building with them...  I bought Math-U-See Classic materials second hand so figured we would do O.K.  We have like so many other elements in our homeschool modified it to meet the boys learning styles and currently are just using the blocks with basic math facts sheets.

I did build the boys a Decimal Street on Poster Board covered with clear contact paper so we could practice place values. When I originally built it Nathan was struggling with writing his numbers so I made a set of number cards 0-9 color coded for each place value. I also used glitter glue to write the numbers on the card so the cards became a tactile learning element as well. The cards now live in the box with the math blocks for a reminder on how to form the numbers.

Currently the boys are practicing math facts using pages I downloaded and printed from Donna Young's website She has a wonderful collection of homeschool and home planning pages to download for free. You can also purchase a CD collection from her website.

We will go back to our books next month to introduce some new concepts and move on, but for now both boys are thriving on the single worksheet / review sheet in their workbox folders.

I is for Independent Learning

I is for Independent Learning or at least that is what I hope for. Right now the boys are young enough that there really isn't a lot of independent learning except for Nathan and his experiments in the kitchen sink (He loves to mix soap, water, and what ever else he can think of to see what will happen, so far it has all ended in a sloppy soapy mess...)  We are currently working on our Civil War unit so there isn't much in the way of independent learning, there is however lots of fun coloring, cut & paste, and copywork/ vocabulary..
I have tried to make math lessons a 1 day thing with an independent review worksheet lasting 2 or 3 days.  We are working on math facts (addition) and fractions (had to explain and practice them to go along with our music lessons).

I am working toward more independent work by using the workbox folders (instead of boxes) so Cameron can see what he needs to do and if he knows how to do it he can simply do it without Mommy and Daddy fussy over him.  He does really well with word search puzzles and math facts worksheets. He is getting better at working on his own with copywork and creative writing.

Nathan is still young enough that it is almost all working with Mommy or Daddy, although he really wants to think and actually insists that he can do it by himself... His little mind is about a grade maybe more ahead of his fine motor skills needed to do school work. However, he has found that if Daddy tells him how to fix something in the shop and maybe shows him once he has it all figured out. He actually helped rebuild the starter on the lawnmower last week just so he could drive it around the backyard.

I just realized I had not post an Ultimate Blog Party post on my blogs yet... bad, bad, bad...  I'm glad you stopped by from Ultimate Blog Party 2011. This is our little corner of the blog-o-sphere. We are a Christian homeschool family of 2 boys. Cameron (8) and Nathan (5). We tend to be a very relaxed homeschool with lots of life learning, some copywork and reading, math, and science, and lots of History. I am having a ton of fun with the blog party , meeting new bloggers, twitter party , etc... You are welcome to follow us on either Google/Blogger or Facebook. If you happen to be a member of any of the groups I've linked along the side of the blog stop by and say hi as well.