Back to School: So many choices for Curriculum

There are so many choices out there for curriculum just as there are a variety of methods to us. While we don't use a boxed curriculum I have found help from those style companies in their websites. I have printed scope and sequence from almost every currirulum company I have found. Why? because it gives me ideas.  I love pulling things from various sources to put our curriculum together. 

One of my favorite sources is actually my membership on the Schoolhouse Review Crew because I am able to try out so many different products and find things that work and don't work. I use this as teacher training especially, because with 2 boys with different learning styles I have found what works for 1 very rarely works for the other. 

With that in mind here are a few of things we will be using this year: (I will link back to reviews if we have reviewed a product that we will be using.)

Math: Montessori bead bars, stamp game, place value tiles, and a checkerboard game.  Math-u-See Foundations and possibly moving into Intermediate 

Reading: McGuffey's First and Second readers and any other chapter books we find to add to the library. Our main resource has really become McGuffey's because the boys both seem to thrive in these books.

History: The Bible, a variety of books, Story of the World Volume 1, TruthQuest History Ancients, as well as a variety of Hands of a Child Lapbooks and Notepacks

Science: I'm still working on this one. We are considering Magic School Bus kits, but from right now we are doing Chemistry using a free kit we found online as well as some fun activities to help us learn the periodic table of elements.

Bible: weekly scripture verse from our Weekly Lesson. Mommy and Daddy are working through Apologia's I don't have enough Faith to be an Atheist currently and will continue it through the school year. (review coming later this month)

We will also be using MapTrek from Knowledge Quest, Creek Edge Press command cards, and several other wonderful bits and pieces I will be writing about.

SchoolhouseTeachers.com a Website with so much more than you can imagine #hsreviews #homeschool

I love finding resources online. I love it even more when I can hang out on one webpage and find everything I need and then some. That is exactly what I got when I started using Schoolhouseteachers.com I love that I can stop by the website each week and find something new and wonderful to add to our lessons.

Schoolhouseteachers.com has monthly , weekly , and daily lessons in a variety of subjects and ages. I love that we can download units and save them for later or work through a new unit as it comes up.  Last month for example the Literature unit was focused on the Velveteen Rabbit, one of my favorite stories so I decided to pause what we had been doing and do a unit on the Velveteen Rabbit. We read the book as a family taking turns reading aloud and then talked about various aspects of the story. I also printed a fun coloring sheet I found online to add to it. The boys loved the break from our other unit studies and the quiet reading time together even brought Daddy into read with us.

We have also thoroughly  enjoyed the monthly lapbook project from Hands of a Child co-owner Kimm Bellato. In April we went on a virtual field trip of London (actually we did it in July getting ready for the Olympics, but that is the beauty of this program I was able to download and save it for later.) I will be saving this month's lesson on Grey and Red Squirrels for Nathan to work on next month as part of this science unit

Another favorite has been the Figures in History taught by Figures in Motion creator and author Cathy Diez-Luckie. We can print and color or just print and build a variety of people and even animals for history. This month is Betty Ross and although we aren't studying American History Currently we will be touching on it a little during our break away Election unit come October so I am printing and saving some patriotic figures  for that unit.
There are also Daily printables for math, grammar, and writing practice.
It is almost overwhelming but the value is huge! For $5.95 a month you received access to a ton of amazing lessons, the digital archive of the TOS magazine, and one of the best parts of the program, The Schoolhouse Planners! There is a planner for the whole family. Primary grade kids have their own planner which my boys LOVE, Mom gets her own planner, Intermediate and High School planners, as well as a Special Needs planner for families with Special Needs members.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE my planner. I have the calendar saved on the desktop of my husband's computer so I can finish putting all the dates and tentative plans in before I print it for each of our notebooks.

Now for those that aren't sure about the program, you can check out some of the amazing things on the website with these samples
There really is something for every homeschool family on Schoolhouseteachers.com
See what the rest of the crew thinks of the site by clicking the button below


Disclaimer: As a member of the Schoolhouse Review Crew I received a subscription to this program to review.

Zane Education: Video support for every subject #hsreviews #education

During our summer school session I was really looking for something that would cover the subjects and material but in a more relaxed setting. Enter Zane Education; a perfect blend on content , casual, yet  engaging videos, and the material we needed.

We found so much information available to us on Zane that it was almost over-whelming. Hundreds of educational videos at our finger tips. We watched videos on Ancient Egypt, the history of Christianity, botany, Math, and even Art History.

So, at first I thought the annual membership price was too high, but as we started watching and using the program more and more I realized that the value was much greater than the price tag. Lesson plans attached to the videos, quizzes for the various lessons that could be done by both boys, grade level videos, subtitles built in to many of the video that encouraged the boys to read along with the commentator, and colorful interesting videos.  

We received a full year Gold Membership:

from their website: Provides access to ALL 1,500+ curriculum videos for K-12 on the website PLUS all other facilities on the Zane Education website.

A Gold Membership provides:

• Access to ALL of Zane's 1,000+ subtitled curriculum videos for K-12*
• Access to the non-subtitled curriculum Math videos for K-12
• Access to Free Lesson Plans for all 260+ curriculum Topics for K-12
• Access to online Video Study Tools
• Access to all 260 online interactive curriculum quizzes for K12
• Free downloadable copy of Zane's Learning Video Catalogue (worth $49.95)
• Free downloadable copy of Zane's Christian Home Learning Guide (worth $49.95)
• Access to all of the K12 educational resources in the Study Center section including the World Factbook, World Leaders Guide, Historical documents and much more.
• 24-Hour Tech Support

Cost:

$17.99 per month or
$197.89 per year

Either recurring payment of $17.99 per month or single payment of $197.89 per year (saves approximately 10% - you pay for 11 months and get the 12th month free).

Proceed >

Comment: A Gold Membership represents the best value for money providing an 84% discount (Saves $1,225) on buying the use of each video topic separately and a 93% discount (Saves $3552) on buying each CD-ROM separately.

 While this may seem like a lot, no matter if you are a Christian homeschooler or a Secular homeschooler or a parent wanting to supplement to your child's education at home you will find a HUGE variety of subject matter and something that will help you child grow in knowledge. 

Videos are viewed online with links to the quizzes and printable lesson plans. Many of the videos also have dictionary features where you can review various terms from the video.  

While the Gold Membership covers the a ton, there is also a free membership that gives you access to a lot of videos including math videos where Zane has partnered with Khan Academy to share math instruction with viewers. 

We found several of the math videos very helpful in explaining math concepts in a visual way that helped Cameron see someone else doing exactly what I had been trying to show him. (Sometimes they will listen to the same thing from another person but not from Mommy)

With several levels of membership available, families can gain access to so much knowledge and supplement and support their educational goals.

Zane is also an amazing community on Facebook where parents and educators share ideas and links to helpful videos

The Schoolhouse Review Crew reviewed this program together and you can find out what the rest of the crew thought of the program by clicking on the banner below.

Disclaimer: We received a full year membership to Zane Education's website as a member of the Schoolhouse review crew in exchange for our honest review of the program. Opinions in this post are that of the author.

There is hope for the future of education in this country. #readmissionpossible

My blog is usually focused on homeschooling, but I know some of my readers are also teachers so I try and share educational information that can be valuable to everyone, that is why I am so excited to share this book.
I love reading books that give me ideas to improve my teaching not just in our homeschool but also in our co-op so this book was received with an open mind.
The Title of the book alone says it all for me. "How the Secrets of the Success Academies can work in ANY school"
Mission Possible by Eva Moskowitz and Arin Lavinia takes a hard look at what is wrong with the public school system but instead of beating a dead horse, they show just how stepping out of the box and getting the kids really excited about learning with teachers that are excited about teaching can really help everyone.  I love the idea that things happen at a faster pace and the kids are excited about school.  I remember being excited about school but also being bored often, I know that at home we have to be careful to keep the excitement level alive.
Several sections of the books really drove the Success Academies ideas home. Peer Reviews are done quickly with issues being addressed the same day so they don't become a bad habit. I LOVE the idea that more reading is key, having even the young Kindergartners are reading books.  I love her idea the students "are short but not stupid".
Teacher training is a huge key and as a homeschool Mom I am always reading and learning more to add to our homeschool. We school year round and usually only 4 days a week of formal "classroom" time, however I want to instill a love of learning in my boys and encourage them to "learn" all the time, that can be shop time with Daddy, helping the neighbor with her fruit stand during the summer, exploring the garden or the pond, any number of non-traditional activities. While they are learning outside or playing and creating their own learning activities I try and get some additional learning in myself, things like online conferences, reading blogs, articles, or books on a subject or style of teaching, any numbers of activities to improve our homeschool. I understand the hours are hard, but I see the value in my boys' smile and excitement when we try and succeed at something new, or when we spend that quiet time together reading a wonderful new book and talking about the charters or the theme, or simply enjoying the story being told.
The included DVD is filled with examples in live classroom which I love. I feel like I can actually put some of these things into action even in our 2 student homeschool. I also love the examples and the raising the bar for everyone.
Here is an interview with one of the authors.



Would you like to read this book? You can win your own copy of the book and included DVD by entering the Rafflecopter form below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

disclaimer: This is a sponsored post and giveaway although all opinions of the book are that of the page owner.

Back to School: Maria meet Charlotte merging two methods of homeschooling our boys

This is a the beginning of our 4th year homeschooling the boys. I can't believe we are starting grade 4 with Cameron. So, in four years of homeschooling and reading books and articles related to homeschooling we have finally settled into our own method. This brings me to the first topic of the Back to Homeschool Blog Hop put on by SchoolhouseReviewCrew.  

I had heard about Montessori Schools but really didn't know anything about them until I read The Montessori Method  and was inspired by the hands on activities and the way math was taught in a Montessori Program. I immediately felt like this was something my boys would benefit from and could be adapted to our shoe string budget.  I feverishly began planning and putting together  pieces to have bead bars and math games ready for the boys.  We had been using Math-U-See since the beginning and I was grateful that the colors matched so well. As we began to really look at the Montessori Method I realized there was so much more I liked about the program and could adapt to our classroom including organizational elements.  Not to focus only on Montessori method, I should take a step back.  

When we began homeschooling I started out with unit studies thanks to finding Hands of a Child in my search. I found that the Charlotte Mason style of Nature studies and living books was a huge hit with me and with my boys who loved to be outside and loved being read to. While we didn't use the Scope and Sequence in the Charlotte Mason method per say I love the other all feel and adaptability of her method. also love that so much of this method can be found online for free or at least affordably.

This year we are starting the history cycle over again with Cameron and starting Nathan on the cycle so with a 4th grader and 2nd grader we don't necessarily line up with  either method's scope and sequence but that is part of the beauty of homeschool I can adjust our goals and lessons to match the needs and excitement of the boys.

Nathan loves the hands  on aspects of the Montessori Method including life skills where Cameron loves reading living history lessons in   the Charlotte Mason style. I can adapt each method to our budget and the boys strengths and weaknesses. 

Watch for the next installment in this week's blog hop focusing on curriculum.

Upper Level Math for younger kids? Sure with Math Essentials

I loved math when I was in school, well for the most part. With that in mind, I remember I would excel at certain parts of math and then get bored until we moved on to something new. I wanted to solve that problem for my boys. They excel in addition of large numbers and love working with larger numbers, but most of the grade appropriate books don't have a lot of large number problems.
When Mastering Essential Math Skills from Math Essentials came up for review on the crew, I decided to give it a go. I was excited to find a lot of large number addition problems as well as speed drills in the book.
We actually reviewed Middle Grades / High School which was a serious opps on Mom's part, but it still worked out. Since I screwed up when I signed up I thought for sure this would be way over Cameron's head, but he actually grasped more of the concepts than I thought he would. We watched a couple of the lessons on the DVD to see how he liked it, and found he actually didn't mind the DVD lessons, but needed my help sitting still for the lessons more watching the DVD then if we just did a mini lesson together (I watched the DVD then summed it up for him). Since I hope to use this program again in the future with both the boys, I decided to use sheet protectors for the book and write on the protectors with a dry erase pen. This also helped Cameron associate place values (he could write in place value colors if he needed to) and also helped if he needed to correct a problem after the fact.
We were able to also look at decimals and fractions, something we had touched on, but that Cameron was eager to learn more of.
From Math Essentials Website

 FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL GRADES/ HIGH SCHOOL

You can improve essential math skills and scores dramatically in middlegrades/high school in only 20 minutes per day using this powerful, proven program developed by Rick Fisher.

Mastering Essential Math Skills for Middle School Grades/High School is 8 chapters and 125 pages. You'll be provided instruction and practice for:

• whole numbers
• fractions
• decimals
• percentages
• integers
• geometry
• charts and graphs
• problem solving

I was very impressed with the layout of each lesson and the idea of only 20 minutes a day. While we spent about 30 minutes a day on each lesson that we did, I can see the direction was right on. You can download samples including  [Table of Contents]  [Sample Pages]. The book with DVD retails for $33.95 which is a good value for the contents and the program. 


We also received a copy of Geometry from Math Essentials. This book gives students the essentials needed to understand Geometry.  You can download samples of the Geometry book including Table of Contents and Samples Pages. This great little tool retails for $11.95 but if you are considering it for a co-op or class setting they offer a bulk rate for purchases of more than 10 books of $10.95 a book.

The Math Essentials program was designed by Richard Fisher whose goal was to have students Algebra ready in less than a year. I love incorporating algebraic concepts early in math so this program overall is a great fit for our style of teaching.

One other feature in these books that really stood out for me, Speed drills. While this isn't something we focus on, I like the idea of having the boys think faster. Maybe they don't get every answer in the drill right, but the idea of picking up the pace a little is a great idea.

You might also like to see what the rest of the Crew thought of this program. Click the button below to see what they thought.


disclaimer: We received the above mentioned books as members of the Schoolhouse Review Crew in exchange for our honest review of the product.

Play Time gives Mommy so Free Time at Imagine: Play

As a Mom blogger I love finding new things for the kids to do that gives Mom a little free time to blog or create. I recently found a new option locally for the boys. 

Imagine: Play is a new indoor play and party center in McMinnville where I recently took the boys to enjoy a play date with their cousins. The summer pricing is very reasonable at only $5 for kids age over 3 years old.  Even the regular pricing of $6 is a great deal. She also has punch cards (buy 3 get 1 free) or Monthly passes. 

I love the fact that even my 9 1/2 year old had fun playing. He was able to guide some of the activities and helped the little ones stay more on task and move from one area to the next without over lapping toys.
After our first adventure to Imagine Play we decided to go a second time with just my 2 boys. I took my blogging and lesson planning activities and found a picnic table to sit and work at while Cameron and Nathan enjoyed playing. We have decided to go again before the month is up, so since Tuesday is their later hours the boys have asked that we do picnic dinner at Imagine Play. That is the plan.. I'm thinking pizza from one of the local pizzerias and an evening of play is in order for the boys.

Another awesome advantage to Imagine Play is the party feature, from private to semi private parties. They also offer themed parties with amazing costumes for the kids to play dress up (yes even the boys). I am really  considering this for one of the boys' birthday parties this year.
This is the first of several posts about local companies I love to support.
If you are local to Yamhill County, what is your favorite local business that could use a little extra attention? Leave a comment about your favorite business so we can all help out our local favorites.

***This post is not a sponsored post, just me supporting a local business that I really enjoy***