Thursday, April 30, 2009

Ode to Spring

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Nothing says spring like the first dandelion. Just in time for the first of May.

Monday, April 27, 2009

Its a Dog's Life

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I can only assume they are both intently concentrating on a ball..( photo taken by my daughter)

Thursday, April 23, 2009

So Call me A -Type

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I REALLY hate to nag...Well I hate to be nagged and I assume me nagging someone else has the same effect. So I decided to try a new approach to avoid my nightly recitation of routine responsibilities. And who would have known that the kids actually LOVE their list. No more nagging from Mom...so we are ALL happier. And yes...I think I am a little "A"-type.

Monday, April 20, 2009

Language Arts Program

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A teacher I know was asked to review language arts curriculums supplied by several large publishing houses. The school she works for is looking for a new LA program and she asked for a sample of each new program offered by a number of different publishers. After she had looked at them all and decided which curriculum worked best for her school she went to return all the other materials that she had been sent and to her surprise they told her not to bother. The publishers didn't want them back and as it was only one set of books she couldn't really use them herself ....so she offered them to me. Yay...so now I have a complete set of language arts materials for next year for free.

Soda Explosion

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Here's a bit of a riddle for you. What do you get when you combine a group of boys...(when I say boys I mean adult boys as well..), a bottle of soda and some candy mints? Mostly likely you would say...some boys having a snack...but noooooo, not in our family. You get an explosion.

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There was much debate about who would pull the cord...so it was a shared task..(notice the boys holding hands and holding the string)

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Soda Gueyser

Lots of giggling and ..."can we do it again?".

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The "boys" also bought a cannon fuse...we don't have a cannon just so we are clear but they had fun lighting it and watching it burn.

Thursday, April 9, 2009

A Difficult Decision

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Science

So far this is causing the most difficulty for me. I feel like I have reviewed just about every science curriculum on the market at the moment and my head is spinning. But still I am no closer to making a decision on which HS science program to pick for next year.

For Ciara I have narrowed it down to:

Prentice Hall Science Explorer Series:
This was recommended by Ciara's science teacher and is actually the series that they use currently at her school.
Pros: Very thorough and a good prep for AP high school science if she decides to go back to school for high school.
Cons: Not written for a HS setting so have to chase down all the separate lab supplies and therefore I have to be really on top of what she is studying in advance so I can get all the labs prepped.
Apologia
The most popular HS curriculum.
Pros: Written so the student can study it independently. Specifically designed for HSers so you can buy a lab kit with everything in it. Thorough science college prep.
Cons: Written from a creationist viewpoint which I don't agree with.
Bob Jones
Seems to be somewhere between the 2 others above.
Pros: Used in a classroom setting but adaptable to HS. Can buy the complete lab kits. Sequence in line with the more traditional school text like Prentice Hall.
Cons...creationist.
So I think inevitabley I'll just have to pick one and go with it.
For the boys....hmmmm...have to think about that some more and come back to it.

Preparing for Easter

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What a beautiful mess we made dyeing Easter Eggs today.

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Some were tie dyed...

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All were very colorful and artistic.

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Just another sign that Easter is just around the corner.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Schedules & Lists

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I am by nature a list maker. I like to be organized so I can be sure I cover everything without any last minute chaos. Having said that I do see the need to be laid back enough that a schedule doesn't take over my life and stop me from enjoying a spontaneous and fun opportunity.
So with that in mind I am using this post to record a couple of wonderful sites I have come across...mostly prepared by other more seasoned hsers....that have some well prepared and time tested lists.


Core Foundations Blog - Has some really useful schedules for Apologia and Prentice Hall Science and Saxon math. She also has some blank schedules and some great ones for literature and history. This site also has a really neat list of texts that correlate to Story of the World history.


Donna Young's site has a slew of great planning, record keeping and admin forms for hsers


I'm sure I'll stumble on more as time goes on...and probably tailor some to suit our own needs.



Monday, April 6, 2009

Lapbooks

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As part of our the History program we will be doing next year I am hoping to try some lapbooking and notebooking. It is basically just a more visual way to display the information the children are learning.

There is a really great explanation about lapbooking and how to get started here. You can use lapbook for any subject and any grade level...from Apologia science to a a preschool book about Christmas.

There are plenty of lapbooks that are available to purchase including Hands of a Child and Currclick. but the best ones are always the free ones. And you can find some terrific ones at Homeschool Share. They have a wide range available...all for free and they are regularly updating the site with new resources. Ohhhhh...I just love "Free"!

Talking History

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Planning our history curriculum for next year has been fun. Ciara is finishing up her study of Ancient history this year so it seems logical to me to continue teaching history in chronological order. So next year we will be doing the Middle Ages.....from the fall of the Roman Empire to the beginning of the Renaissance. About a thousand years of history to get through in a year. Phew!

So after looking at all the different programs that are out there I have decided to use a couple...and do a bit of my own thing.

A fantastic starting point for elementary aged kids is Story of the World by Susan Wise Bauer. It tells history in a story format rather than in the manner of a traditional text book. I will be working through Volume 2 which covers the Middle Ages with my 1st and 4th grader. You can buy an Activity book that goes along with it and it has a lot of fun activities to tie in with each historical era covered. The Usborne Encyclopedia of World History is a great summary for younger kids. We bought the internet linked one which is awesome...it has links for every page in the book to a whole lot of child friendly sites with added information and activities.

My 7th grader needs something with a little more "meat" in it. So as a jumping off point for her we are going to start with History Odyssey. The wonderful thing about this is that it uses great works of literature to reveal history . I think we will use the Kingfisher Encyclopedia of World History as well to give her some broad details. It covers the same material as SOTW so all my children will be studying the middle ages but at different levels which is helpful for me.

We will also be using a lot of the free online books that I blogged about in my last post ...and some lapbooks and notebooks that I'll blog about next time.

Saturday, April 4, 2009

Free Books!!!!

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Everyone loves a freebie...and if you love books as much as we do its always nice to find some that are made available to the public for free. Over the last few months I have either stumbled upon on been directed to these great websites for literary lovers!

Heritage History: This is a website established by one of the families I have recently met who are real history buffs. It contains scanned copies of history books published prior to 1923. The copyright has expired on these books and cannot be renewed. This allows them to be made available free without breaching any copyright laws.

Authorama: These are books in the public domain and are free online by arrangement with the author or under the same copyright release.

Google Books also offers some free books that you can preview online

If you and your family are going green here are a couple of ideas for book lovers that are also eco-conscious. At Swaptree and Bookins you can trade your used books with other booklovers for free. All you pay for is postage. Thanks to Dina for sharing her tip about bookins!

Friday, April 3, 2009

Free books

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We spend a lot on money on books...all sorts of books and so I am always surprised and delighted to find books that are available for free. Now I know what you are going to say...."That is what a library is for!"...but I LOVE to own books. To take my time reading them. To come back and reread them. I have my parents to thank for that habit by the way. They were book lovers and in fact one of my brothers has made books a bit of an obsession. He is a collector of rare and first edition books.
Anyway...so there are a couple of websites I have stumbled upon or been directed to which offer free online versions of books. I know there are plenty more out there and I'll post them as I come across them...but here are just a few to start with......
Heritage History: This is a website established by one of the families from my co-op. It contains scanned copies of history books published prior to 1923. The copyright has expired on these books and cannot be renewed. This allows them to be made available free without breaching any copyright laws.

Authorama: These are books in the public domain and are free online

Google Books also offers some free books that you can preview online

If you and your family are going green here are a couple of ideas for book lovers that are also eco-conscious. At Swaptree and Bookins you can trade your used books with other booklovers for free. all you pay for is postage.

Thursday, April 2, 2009

When Will It End???

My creation

As a woman I reserve the right to change my mind.
Now having come from a country where snow is rare I have always delighted in seeing those little flakes floating from the sky...in fact I can say that the very first snow fall of the year makes me giddy with delight...(yes...I'm pretty easy to please) but after months on end of the fluffy stuff I'm ready for a change. This morning we woke up to more snow...now COME ON...this is supposed to be spring break. But no spring in sight here. These pictures were taken this morning on my front lawn. The kids had a ball, out there playing in it...making snow men and snow forts....it doesn't seem to worry them too much. But I'm ready for the sun...SO READY!

Oh, and I thought I'd better mention that my super sophisticated random number drawing system has selected a winner of my giveaway...the lovely Kyla at The Kreative Life . Thanks for all your wonderful comments!

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Learning & Teaching Styles

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I have just finished reading Cathy Duffy's Homeschool Top Picks book. This has to be a must read for the first time HSer. It has been a great leaping off point for me in selecting programs and texts that are best suited to my kids. It talks about the different way kids learn (auditory, visual, kinesthetic) and is helpful in picking curriculum that is going to work best for the different learning styles.
Cathy duffy also has a great website here which has extra reviews and articles on just about any HS subject you can think of.