Goal Planning Monday April 9th

This week's goals should be attainable.
1. Finish 3 crew reviews
2. Get the boys back on track with math and multiplication.
3. Finish lesson planning Bible and Ancient History.
4. Read Pearl Harbor Story and rest of WWII with Cameron.
5. Start emptying my office into boxes and sorting books for classroom.


Last Week's goals status 

1. Catch up on God's Great Covenant lessons  DONE!

2. Get the milk crates from behind the couch out and sorted  only did 1

3. Complete our lessons on subtraction so we can get back to multiplication.  We finished subtraction for now

4. Catch up on emptying Mommy's old office so we can work toward the room switch .moved to this week

H is for History Help from Truth Quest History

Let me start out by saying I love History!
Now, my boys aren't so sure and this year we were doing Modern American History so it wasn't as exciting as they had hoped. It is hard to teach 1900- present to 2 little boys without first over whelming them and second getting the ideas across without scaring them.
I was very excited to get American History for Young Students III from TruthQuest History to review. Cameron and I started reading at WWI since that was were we had paused in our History lessons.
Michelle Miller does an amazing job writing to the children at the level the can understand and explaining ideas in a way that they need to hear.
TruthQuest is Biblically based which I love and explains concepts that even some adults have trouble understanding.  The book is outlined by Events in a chronological format but also ads elements of art, culture, film, and sports to the history timeline.  In each section Mrs. Miller lists books as well as films that may be used to read about various historical events , people, and places.  I appreciate her honesty when writing about books or films that she hasn't read. It is important to read or view films before sharing them with our younger kids.
 As we were reading through the lessons , we came across the story of Balto and Cameron excitedly told me he had seen the movie at Gamma's house. I paused and he then told me about the movie including details that were in what I was about to read him.
When we started reading about the Great Depression , TruthQuest once again was our lifeline. I love the examples she uses and how she brings it to life in the lesson story.  We were able to borrow a friends copy of Mystery of History to use for additional reading along with a book I had already planned on using.  I love how Mrs. Miller explains her book choices when dealing with the various people during the Depression Era and the New Deal programs.  We settled on using the book I had picked out "Clara's Kitchen" about depression era cooking. It worked perfectly for us and  stayed within what the TruthQuest book had been teaching the boys.
We are moving into WWII and again TruthQuest did an amazing job explaining the Allies and the Axis along with the confusing aspects of U.S.S.R (ally or enemy???).  I was able to find a map to show the boys so they could visually see exactly what Mrs. Miller was explaining to them.
I love that the boys and I can sit on the couch, pull out the TruthQuest History book and read a lesson, then the boys want to find a movie or another book to go along with the lesson. It  has inspired both Mom and boys to continue on our History Quest this year. We will be finishing up Modern history with a field trip to our local Air / Space Museum as well as a living history conversation with PaPa about WWII life, Korean War, and everything since in the next couple weeks. I am so thankful for TruthQuest History this year as it has helped put on back on track.
There is a wonderful list of option "spines" that goes along with the book we are using

Now for the other details about the books.

TruthQuest History has a collection of 8 books that travel through History beginning with Old Testament/ Creation/ Ancient Egypt and ending with Modern History for grades 5-12 and a set of 3 books dealing with American History for grades 1-3.  Books are available in print or e-book format  and range in price from $19.95 to $24.95 depending on level and format.
I would highly recommend the print format, the price difference covers the printing and spiral binding. If you are looking for a lesson plan for History that uses living books as well as films with a Biblical foundation, then this is a great program.


Check out TruthQuest History on Facebook you can also find a wonderful Yahoo Group (History Questers) where Mrs. Miller facilitates discussions with other homeschoolers using TruthQuest.



The TOS Homeschool Crew reviewed a variety of the Truth Quest History Guides. Check out the reviews HERE
Disclaimer: We received a copy of 1 Truth Quest History Guide in exchange for our honest opinions, no monetary compensation was received.

G is for Geology with AIMS

Earth Rocks! Well as my boys like to say God Rocks Earth Mom. With that in mind we jumped into a geology unit with AIMS Education Foundation  Earth Rocks book.

The book is set up to integrates Math and Science activities on a 4th or 5th grade level. Since my boys aren't 4th and 5th grade I knew I would be doing some modifications to the units but figured it wouldn't be a problem.
The book came with a CD that has all the handouts in a pdf format which is very helpful. Each lesson has detailed plans and instructions. We did a few of the units but realized a couple of things. First being a secular publication I had to be careful as I read through various sections to keep the evolutionary vocabulary out of the conversation. I have chosen to not teach evolutionary theory to the boys until they are older and can make up their own minds.  We use a young earth, Creation based Biblical view in our history and science lessons.
The other issue I had was adjusting the supplies and materials to 2 students instead of a classroom full.  The activities are a lot of fun and the boys enjoyed the lessons we did do, which told me that I can add more hands on geology and geography activities as we move forward.
The book with the CD retails for $29.95, there is also a .pdf version available from the publisher which also retails for $29.95

So based on the price and the full array of activities I can say there is value in the book if you are OK with evolutionary timeline or if you are willing to adjust the conversation as you go.
AIMS has a variety of books available online as well as a selection of lab kits to complement their programs.  The fun characters also add value to the programs as the characters caught my boys' attention.


The TOS crew reviewed several of the AIMS products, you can find the crew reviews HERE
Disclaimer: We received a copy of Earth Rocks as a member of the TOS homeschool crew in exchange for our honest opinion of the product, no monetary compensation was received.

Scripture Sunday : Easter

This week has been a hard week school wise, but I am very thankful for the verse the boys studied this week. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15: 57 Happy Easter everyone! He is Risen!

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. 

E is for Easter #atozchallenge

With Easter just a couple of days away I thought I would share our Easter traditions with you.
Easter morning the boys have resurrection biscuits for breakfast while they get to search through their baskets for treasures.
Next it is off to church and then over to Auntie's house for egg hunt and fancy dinner. The boys love the egg hunt and love setting up their own egg hunt after the fact to play.
This year funds are really tight so they "baskets" will be simple and full of crafts, school supplies, and healthy snacks along with a couple coupons for future activities (trip to a special park, a night a grandma's, picnic date with Mommy).

 They will also be receiving their own copy of The I like Book for Kids, in which I hope to have family write in it before or at least on Easter.

What are some of your Easter traditions?

Wordless Wednesday April 3

Montessori Stamp Game Board