Experience homeschool encouragement all week long with the Week Long Schoolhouse Expo Event. Dates: August 19-23, 2013
Speakers include:
Wife, Homeschooler, Mom, Gluten Free Cook and Blogger.
Showing posts with label home education. Show all posts
Showing posts with label home education. Show all posts
The Old Schoolhouse EXPO Special Event
Schoolhouse Expo coming soon...
Happy 4th Of July To All My USA Readers
Found this fun activity on the Focus On The Family page, going to work on this once my teenager wakes up...lol...not sure when that will be...
Worried About Socialization In Your Homeschool?
Thinking of homeschooling your only child? Or many you have more than 1 and you worry about socialization, read on....
When we first started home educating 6 years ago (has it REALLY been that long?) I worried and worried about socialization. Now as my dear homeschooling friend Christine says "My kids don't know a stranger!" I would totally agree. Even with our son being an only child, he is chatty, bubbly and full of all sorts of chatter. He is able to converse with toddlers, little kids, elementary & junior high kids, high school & college students, grown adults, the elderly and so many more types of people. His pediatrician and him discuss gardening and their love of sauteed zucchini, garlic and olive oil...lol. Yes, my son and his doctor sit around and discuss the finer things in life during his well checkups. He gets lot of comments on his phone etiquette and how he handles himself in various social situations. I think that comes from him being in many different situations throughout the day.
He does struggle to understand how other kids around him that are in the "school" setting are embarrassed to answer questions, say "I don't know" & "I dunno" all the time, are embarrassed to get up and speak or afraid to speak up about things. So he does see a difference in himself and other kids, but is this really a bad thing? Our son has been interviewed on radio & TV, he has written newspaper articles as well as being interviewed by newspapers. He has given many different types of speeches to a variety of audience ages, he has done piano recitals and played piano at church. Yes he has flopped at times, but has used those as learning experiences. He figures that he is young and learning. What a blessing to not be bummed out, but to think on "How can I do this better next time, what would I change or how can I use this experience to further my learning?"
HipHomeSchoolMoms has a pretty HIP article on socialization and the only child. Check it out before the new school year starts.
Have you socialized your child today?
When we first started home educating 6 years ago (has it REALLY been that long?) I worried and worried about socialization. Now as my dear homeschooling friend Christine says "My kids don't know a stranger!" I would totally agree. Even with our son being an only child, he is chatty, bubbly and full of all sorts of chatter. He is able to converse with toddlers, little kids, elementary & junior high kids, high school & college students, grown adults, the elderly and so many more types of people. His pediatrician and him discuss gardening and their love of sauteed zucchini, garlic and olive oil...lol. Yes, my son and his doctor sit around and discuss the finer things in life during his well checkups. He gets lot of comments on his phone etiquette and how he handles himself in various social situations. I think that comes from him being in many different situations throughout the day.
He does struggle to understand how other kids around him that are in the "school" setting are embarrassed to answer questions, say "I don't know" & "I dunno" all the time, are embarrassed to get up and speak or afraid to speak up about things. So he does see a difference in himself and other kids, but is this really a bad thing? Our son has been interviewed on radio & TV, he has written newspaper articles as well as being interviewed by newspapers. He has given many different types of speeches to a variety of audience ages, he has done piano recitals and played piano at church. Yes he has flopped at times, but has used those as learning experiences. He figures that he is young and learning. What a blessing to not be bummed out, but to think on "How can I do this better next time, what would I change or how can I use this experience to further my learning?"
HipHomeSchoolMoms has a pretty HIP article on socialization and the only child. Check it out before the new school year starts.
Have you socialized your child today?
READY OR NOT, HERE IT COMES!
THE TEEN YEARS ARE ALMOST HERE!
~11 more days until my baby boy turns 13~
~I am not exactly sure how this has transpired, but alas it has.~
~He is starting Freshman year, lol,
he wants to call it 9th grade.
Think back to your growing up years,
you wanted to be a FRESHMAN!! Right?I mean you had waited all those years
to get to high school and now
you had that COOL title.~
~Got to love our homeschooled kids, they don't
need a title, they don't care to keep up with the
Jones' (no offense to my readers or my family
member with the last name of Jones).~
he wants to call it 9th grade.
Think back to your growing up years,
you wanted to be a FRESHMAN!! Right?I mean you had waited all those years
to get to high school and now
you had that COOL title.~
~Got to love our homeschooled kids, they don't
need a title, they don't care to keep up with the
Jones' (no offense to my readers or my family
member with the last name of Jones).~
~So what is it in your homeschool?9th grade or Freshman?~
~I plan to post some articles talking about homeschooling teens and high schoolers
in the coming days.~
Who is eagerly awaiting the teen years, slightly fearful, a bit unsure, excited, thrilled and a lot of other things...lol. Earnestly praying for my future daughter-in-law, where ever she may be, as well as praying for her parents. I pray that they are raising her in "the fear and admonition of the Lord".
Memoria Press Review
As reviewers for The Old Schoolhouse Magazines Review Crew we were fortunate to receive the Geogoraphy I set set from Memoria Press. My son was very excited when the box arrived, geography is his thing! Here is what we got in our box.
Geography I: Middle East, North Africa, and Europe $14.95
Geography I: Middle East, North Africa, and Europe Student Workbook $11.95
Geography I: Middle East, North Africa, and Europe Teacher Guide $12.95
United States Student Workbook $5.00
United States Teacher Key, Quizzes, and Tests $7.95
You can purchase these as a set for just $48.00.
Here are some sample pages from the Geography I lesson materials that are geared towards 4th-8th grade students.
What this homeschool Momma liked about the Memoria Press Geography I.
1. I like the full size maps to write on for easy labeling of counties, states, capitals, and other areas.
2. Nice thick workbook pages, these are great for boys that have to erase a lot...lol...keeps paper from tearing.
3. Nice sturdy book covers that don't seem to rip easily.
4. Nice large spaces to write information in, boys don't much like to try to write answers on short lines.
5. Material was VERY easy to move through.
6.The teacher answer key was VERY easy to read, no small print and the maps were easy to read too. With homeschool Momma eyes (you tend to get these after your first few years in home education...lol) I like to be able to see just exactly where that dot is on the map for Brussels while making sure that my student is not pointing towards Antwerp or the Scheide River...lol.
7. Love how the student pages remind the student to practice good spelling habits. Sometimes it's hard to get it across to our children that spelling is one of those subjects that needs to be worked on across the entire curriculum and not just in "spelling class."
8. I like how the United States & Capitals Review teaches the states by regions, it makes a lot of sense to teach them this way. I have seen other curriculum teach states in alphabetical order.
What this homeschool Momma did not like about the Memoria Press Geography I.
1. I did not see a daily guide and I like things totally laid out for me, but it does say in the teacher information section that you will do 2-3 countries each week as you study each section for 8 weeks at a time.
2. I also did not see a grading scale for quizzes or tests. I like to know what each is worth for giving grades.
3. The books do not have colored pages in them, I like my textbooks/workbooks to have color and flair. If I had just picked up the Geography I set at a curriculum fair or convention table and just flipped through it, I probably would have put it back since I did not see color in the book. I will note that on the Memoria Press Geography I set webpage there are links to click on that show the color pictures that are in the student textbook. I don't think I would want to rabbit trail over to the computer to find color pictures each day.
What this homeschool student liked about the Memoria Press Geography I.
1. I like how it gave the meanings of the flags for each country.
2. I really like the Fast Facts, history and geography are my two favorite subjects.
3. I liked how you got to color in the flags with the outline instead of drawing them. I don't much care to draw unless it's Star Wars or something ;-)
4. I liked how the states and capitals were a review to go along with the geography.
5. I liked how it reminds me to watch for spelling, it's easy to forget this when you are not in "spelling class."
6. I liked how the activities built on each other such as match the states and capitals, then identifying them.
What this homeschool student did not like about the Memoria Press Geography I.
1. Wished that I did not have to go to the website to see the pictures in color.
This was a fun review to do since it was my students favorite subject. Memoria Press also offers subject matter in the following areas they are not just about geography. They also offer Latin, Classical Studies, Christian Studies, Logic & Rhetoric, Phonics & Early Reading, Penmanship, Literature & Poetry, American & Modern Studies, Writing & English Grammar, Science, Greek, Modern Languages, Educational Resources, eBooks, and Special-Needs links on their website.
Eggs for Education
Our photo for "Eggs for Education" program. Thought we should start saving for college by selling eggs. Here is one of our pretty girls relaxing in the cool of the afternoon with her leg kicked out. She likes to lay like this...lol. I just love to see her in the sunshine, the gold in her feathers is so pretty, it shines and sparkles. We've got tons of farm fresh brown eggs for sale.
We've got tons of farm fresh brown eggs for sale. Got to laugh, hubby says that he is going to fix up the yard this year, well the chickens are unfixing it up for him by making dust bathing holes.
10 Most Annoying Homechool Questions Ever Asked
This was written by a homeschool mom of 2, named Brenda over at the Homeschool Diaries blog.
10 Most Annoying Homeschool Questions Ever Asked.
I got a few laughs out of it myself :O)
10 Most Annoying Homeschool Questions Ever Asked.
I got a few laughs out of it myself :O)
Memorial Day...This says it all.
 |
Memorial Day...This says it all.What do your kids know about Memorial Day?Is it just another day to have a BBQ? |
Review of Joyce Herzog's Budding Authors & 6 Weeks to Understanding Grammar
Joyce Herzog is an accomplished author and speaker of many resources for homeschoolers. I've seen her speak a number of times at homeschool conventions on a variety of topics. She is a real gem to say the least. We were given copies of the Budding Authors series to review for The Old Schoolhouse Review Crew. Now let me start out by saying that I am so use to using Turn Key Operation homeschooling materials, this left me a bit out there. I like to see Day 1 we do this, Day 2 we do that. We are not in Kansas anymore Toto...lol. But this material was very easy to follow despite my worries and fears...lol. We used this material with our 12 year old 7th grader.
The first book is Step Into Writing Budding Authors in the Budding Authors series and is $10.00. The second book Step On Into Writing Budding Authors in the Budding Authors series is also $10.00. Both stressed the importance of using your best penmanship, punctuation and work spacing. Your students daily work should take around 10 minutes at most. This book is suppose to contain dictionary pages, which I did not find in the book. I really liked the idea of C,P,S, paper. Each page has a section off to the side marked with those letters. Once the child is done writing, they know to check for C=Capitalization, P=Punctuation and S=Spelling. Even though we did not use this book (it was too easy for our 7th grader) I plan to implement the use of the C,P,S, system since it's easy for our son to forget to go back and look over his work.
I really liked the quote in the book "Do not expect your learner to correct and concentrate on all skills at once!" Oh, as homeschool mommas we all need to hear that sometimes, don't we? Many times we expect way too much from our kiddo's in the area of picking up on concepts and them putting them to use.
These first two books are set up with copy work, dictation (love that, helps kids to learn to listen), experience story in which the parent and child discuss the picture that is on the writing page. The child tells you the story and you write it out in their own words in the first book, the second book you do the same thing except the child writes out the story.
We started out with book number three Adventures In Writing Budding Authors in the Budding Authors series which is $10.00. This book concentrates on "Writing short stories in a single paragraph." Again each page has a picture to look at to get an idea and then there are word boxes to help the student write the story. Later on there are blank word boxes for the child to get key word ideas down first before writing the story.
We also got book number four Then and Now Budding Authors in the Budding Authors series which is $12.00. Your student will learn to "Write comparisons in two paragraphs." This book has a note to the reader with a touching story of how the book came into being. This book teaches what a good paragraph is, ordering of ideas, using 3x5 index cards to get ideas down and in order. Your student will learn thinking, organizing and writing skills through the use of this book.
We did not get to the Writing U.S. History Budding Authors in the Budding Authors series yet, but plan to work through it this summer. This book is $15.00 and gives a quick overview of how to take notes on 3x5 index cards and work on researching topics and writing them. There is a letter to the student (I think that this helps the student to feel important and take ownership of the material) giving details of how this book is laid out and what is expected of the student. After glancing through this book I can now see where our former curriculum went wrong! It was not detailed enough and expected way too much from the student too soon.
We are very pleased to be able to use these materials from Joyce Herzog and I totally recommend these to any homeschooler, but especially to those that have struggling writers, they can become budding authors through using Joyce Herzog's materials.
The first book is Step Into Writing Budding Authors in the Budding Authors series and is $10.00. The second book Step On Into Writing Budding Authors in the Budding Authors series is also $10.00. Both stressed the importance of using your best penmanship, punctuation and work spacing. Your students daily work should take around 10 minutes at most. This book is suppose to contain dictionary pages, which I did not find in the book. I really liked the idea of C,P,S, paper. Each page has a section off to the side marked with those letters. Once the child is done writing, they know to check for C=Capitalization, P=Punctuation and S=Spelling. Even though we did not use this book (it was too easy for our 7th grader) I plan to implement the use of the C,P,S, system since it's easy for our son to forget to go back and look over his work.
I really liked the quote in the book "Do not expect your learner to correct and concentrate on all skills at once!" Oh, as homeschool mommas we all need to hear that sometimes, don't we? Many times we expect way too much from our kiddo's in the area of picking up on concepts and them putting them to use.
These first two books are set up with copy work, dictation (love that, helps kids to learn to listen), experience story in which the parent and child discuss the picture that is on the writing page. The child tells you the story and you write it out in their own words in the first book, the second book you do the same thing except the child writes out the story.
We started out with book number three Adventures In Writing Budding Authors in the Budding Authors series which is $10.00. This book concentrates on "Writing short stories in a single paragraph." Again each page has a picture to look at to get an idea and then there are word boxes to help the student write the story. Later on there are blank word boxes for the child to get key word ideas down first before writing the story.
We also got book number four Then and Now Budding Authors in the Budding Authors series which is $12.00. Your student will learn to "Write comparisons in two paragraphs." This book has a note to the reader with a touching story of how the book came into being. This book teaches what a good paragraph is, ordering of ideas, using 3x5 index cards to get ideas down and in order. Your student will learn thinking, organizing and writing skills through the use of this book.
We did not get to the Writing U.S. History Budding Authors in the Budding Authors series yet, but plan to work through it this summer. This book is $15.00 and gives a quick overview of how to take notes on 3x5 index cards and work on researching topics and writing them. There is a letter to the student (I think that this helps the student to feel important and take ownership of the material) giving details of how this book is laid out and what is expected of the student. After glancing through this book I can now see where our former curriculum went wrong! It was not detailed enough and expected way too much from the student too soon.
We are very pleased to be able to use these materials from Joyce Herzog and I totally recommend these to any homeschooler, but especially to those that have struggling writers, they can become budding authors through using Joyce Herzog's materials.
We were also given a copy of 6 Weeks to Understanding Grammar to review. WOW!!! What a little book this is! It's like a Cliff Notes book for grammar. We loved this! The only thing that I found a problem with was that on page 12 there is a partial sentence and the rest of the paragraph is missing. I think that this little book would be a great study companion for the SAT/ACT testing. It's definitely worth the $12 for your student!
The Joyce Herzog website has a lot of great links and explanations about her books on it. If you even have the chance to hear Joyce Herzog speak do it. I've come away with so much from her talks.
We did not find anything in this review that we did not like. We had fun and our son learned how to write and form well read paragraphs. Thanks TOS Review Crew for another fun learning experience.
COOL NEW Homeschool Resource
more than 175 E-Books or audio books for homeschool support and encouragement from many popular homeschool publishers and TOS, including:
- 2 Study Guides from YWAM
- Draw Write Now Sampler E-Book by Barker Creek
- Heroines of the Past-Victorian unit study from Amy Puetz
- Map Trek: Atlas and Outline Maps of World History from Knowledge Quest
- Teaching Writing E-Book from WriteShop
- 15 audio E-Books from My Audio School in history and literature
- A Glimpse at Carnivorous Plants Lapbook from In the Hands of a Child
- Video from Jessica Hulcy on “Learning as a Family”
- From Frazzled to Focused: 7 Planning Tools for Busy Moms from Mary Jo Tate
- This is the best new homeschool digital library collected for all ages and stages of homeschooling whether you are teaching a preschooler, a high schooler or somewhere in between. With over 25 topics, you’re sure to find what you need for your homeschool adventure:
- Art and Crafts
- Bible
- Economics
- Electives
- Encouragement
- Geography
- Government
- Grammar
- Spelling
- Reading
- Organization (with several planners)
- Nature Study
- Special Needs
- And many more!
FREEBIE For Homeschooling Guide Your Homeschooler Toward Passionate Learning
FREE Delight Directed Learning Homeschooler ebook Guide Your Homeschooler Toward Passionate Learning by Lee Binz.
This looks pretty good, I just downloaded it and plan to relax with a hot cup of tea this evening and read this Ebook.
From Amazon.com site "Delight Directed Learning" - Homeschoolers understand that a solid high school education involves more than just the standard high school courses. Yes, it is true that mastering science, math, and literature is important for homeschoolers - and vitally important if college lies ahead. But equally important are those subjects that the student is passionate about, subjects that they will study for hours on end, "just for the fun of it."
This delight directed learning is the true "secret sauce" of a great homeschool education. It will help your student stand out in a crowd of college applicants. It can launch a career in business, or industry, or the Arts. It can lead to life-changing internships and real world work experience. It can open doors not just to college, but to life!"
Enjoy!
Moe
This looks pretty good, I just downloaded it and plan to relax with a hot cup of tea this evening and read this Ebook.
From Amazon.com site "Delight Directed Learning" - Homeschoolers understand that a solid high school education involves more than just the standard high school courses. Yes, it is true that mastering science, math, and literature is important for homeschoolers - and vitally important if college lies ahead. But equally important are those subjects that the student is passionate about, subjects that they will study for hours on end, "just for the fun of it."
This delight directed learning is the true "secret sauce" of a great homeschool education. It will help your student stand out in a crowd of college applicants. It can launch a career in business, or industry, or the Arts. It can lead to life-changing internships and real world work experience. It can open doors not just to college, but to life!"
Enjoy!
Moe
The Glory of Sanctification In the Homeschool Experience!
http://www.iche.org/blog/3714/04-21-2013/glory-sanctification-homeschool-experience#comment-746
This article was wonderful and such an encouragement. Check it out.
Moe
This article was wonderful and such an encouragement. Check it out.
Moe
Time4Learning review opportunity
I've been invited to try Time4Learning for one month in exchange for a candid
review. My opinion will be entirely my own, so be sure to come back and read
about my experience. Time4Learning can be used as a homeschool curriculum, for afterschool enrichment and for summer skill sharpening. Find out how to write
your own curriculum review for Time4Learning.
We are pretty excited about this opportunity.
Stop by my blog
We are pretty excited about this opportunity.
Stop by my blog
Lone Star Learning Math Review
The Large cards measure 11″ x 8.5″ $34.99
The Small cards measure 5.5″ x 4.25″ $29.99
Grades 1st-8th
We were given the small cards to review. I think at first our 7th grader thought, "Oh, yeah! Flashcards! YIPPEE!" Well by the end of the review he was telling me that
"The Target Vocabulary Pictures Math set 1 flashcards would be great for high school students that needed a math review."
What we liked about the Target Vocabulary Pictures Math Set 1 5.5x4.25 size cards:
PERFECT size for homeschool use (the larger size would be great for classroom teachers)
GREAT for on the go use in the car.
FITS perfectly in purse or bag to use while waiting at appointments.
FUN to play with.
DOES not feel like we are doing school when we use the cards.
HIGH quality flashcards, I don't see these falling apart anytime soon, they are laminated.
GREAT for all ages, recommended for 3rd-8th grade, but could be used with 1st-12th grade.
What could be better about the
Target Vocabulary Pictures Math Set 1:
STORAGE there is no box to store these in. I actually think that I am going to hole punch each card and put it on a ring for easy storage.
PRICE since I have an only child, these were a bit out of my price range, ($29.99 for 57 flashcard) but they are WAY COOL and if I had the extra money in my budget I would buy them for the coolness and fun factor to help with teaching math terms! We both actually learned several new terms using these flashcards.
ANSWER SHEET was on just plain paper, it was not on a flashcard type of paper or laminated and it started looking pretty wrinkled up after just the first week of use. So I laminated it myself and it's holding up well that way.
 |
| Paper Answer Sheet |
"Target Vocabulary Pictures Set 1 consists of math vocabulary presented visually to facilitate recall. Sets are not arranged by grade level. Please view sets to determine the appropriateness for your students."
FREE Homeschooling EBook for Kindle
In celebration of Lee Binz's birthday, her newest book "Planning High School
Courses" will be FREE for the next 4 days. Click HERE for the free Ebook
February 23rd (HER BIRTHDAY) through February 26th.
http://www.thehomescholar.com/
"In this book, you will learn the high school courses which are essential prior to graduation, that is, the courses your student needs to master before moving on to college or career.
This is the first book in my new Coffee Break Book Series, which I will "officially" announce in my March 1st Newsletter. But I wanted you to have a nice gift on my SPECIAL day!
You
can give this gift to your friends too! I want to give away as many downloads as
possible to make this a really special celebration."
Christmas & Only Children part 3
In the coming days before Christmas you will see some posts on things that our family does to help in raising our only child to be a caring individual and ward off the evil selfish behavior that is so prevalent in our world today. This would fall under Character Training and is taught on a daily basis in our homeschool.
What are the hardest things to teach an only child?
*How not to be selfish
*How to be giving
*How to be thoughtful
What can you do to teach the above things?
*Teach them to think of others first
*Give them opportunities to serve others
*Teach them about taking care of others
How does our family teach these things?
*Make placemats for Meals On Wheels done
*Play the piano & sing Christmas carols at a nursing home
*Buy Christmas gifts for needy children done
Our son went shopping on Black Friday to pick out the following gifts for a needy boy and girl in our community.
What are the hardest things to teach an only child?
*How not to be selfish
*How to be giving
*How to be thoughtful
What can you do to teach the above things?
*Teach them to think of others first
*Give them opportunities to serve others
*Teach them about taking care of others
How does our family teach these things?
*Play the piano & sing Christmas carols at a nursing home
*
Our son went shopping on Black Friday to pick out the following gifts for a needy boy and girl in our community.
 |
| He thought the Lego watch would be a big hit for a wide age range of boys. |
 |
| He was thrilled to find this on sale (yes my son is frugal!) and he said "Every little girl needs a doll & stroller to play with."
We delivered these to the Mission in town and they will distribute the gifts before Christmas.
How can your only child (those with more than one are welcome to chime in too :O) bless others this Christmas season?
Moe
|
Thanksgiving & Christmas FREEBIE
Use the following code to get FREE notebooking pages from currclick. freehomeschooldeals4thanks at checkout
Currclick is one of our favorite homeschooling websites. We take classes from them and also get some really great lapbooking and notebooking projects there too.
What are you planning on doing for Thanksgiving in your homeschool?
Moe
Currclick is one of our favorite homeschooling websites. We take classes from them and also get some really great lapbooking and notebooking projects there too.
What are you planning on doing for Thanksgiving in your homeschool?
Moe
Come see what I made during my mental health day!
I was wanting to spruce up our school room and with the recent discussions about Workboxes, I thought I would start there. So I decided to get out my Cricut machine and goof around a bit on my mental health day. LOL.......here is what I made.
I used the Locker Talk Cricut Cartridge and laminated the items that I made. These were very easy to make. Here are a few close up shots.
Moe
I used the Locker Talk Cricut Cartridge and laminated the items that I made. These were very easy to make. Here are a few close up shots.
Here is our pencil, ink pen/marker and Post-It Note bins.
The infamous Post-It Note drawer......lol. My guys won't let me live this one down!
Our reading & language bin, DS says we need to change this to Literature this year since he is in Junior High now.....we shall see about that ;O)
As I read through the Too Much Stuff book from author Kathryn Porter I have come to realize that I have some clutter issues, one that I found was POST-IT Notes, I have about 15,000 sheets of Post-It Notes. I got them on sale one time and thought, I would use them. So lets just say I have a drawer full. I will post a picture with my book review next week. Back to the Workboxes, I had a lot of fun making these and the mental health days was good for me. I spent the afternoon listening to homeschool convention tapes (yes cassette tapes, I borrowed from a friend, but the information was still very relevant.)
Hubby was pretty impressed with these new Workbox labels, he says it makes me a better mom when I take some time for me on occasion.
Take some time for you and have some fun this weekend!
Moe
Teacher FREEBIE!!
While supplies last. Since we are home educators we are considered teachers. You will need a school name to request this freebie, so come up with one if you have not already.
Let me know if you get your game in the mail. A thank you to our blog ready Cathy for this FREEBIE!!
Moe
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