Hey, watermelons!

My husband and I love having a garden in the spring and summer months. Since we moved into our new home, we haven’t gotten around to digging out a proper sized area for the large garden we prefer. Instead, this summer has us utilizing some large raised bed containers. They’re not perfect, but we’re having some success. We’ve got cucumbers, tomatoes, mini eggplant, zucchini, butternut squash, and, watermelon. Honestly, out of all of these, I did not expect much from the watermelon, but my 13 year old had her heart set on trying, so there you are. But, to our delight, we have several that are doing very well. Hopefully we’ll be picking one or more soon. Here are a couple of photos:

Do you have a garden? How’s it progressing?

Do

Apologia - Exploring Creation with General Science 3rd Edition - A Crew Review

Hey fellow homeschooling parents, can you believe that the end of summer is looming? The month of August is bearing down on us, and I find myself scrambling as I plan for the upcoming school year, which for my family, will commence in a few short weeks. As I try to wrangle my figurative ducks, and get them in their proverbial row, I'm happy that I do have one subject already sorted out - science! The past decade, and maybe just a bit longer than that, has seen us try out various science programs. There have been some decent contenders, but we always circle back to our favorite,  which is  Apologia . This summer, this award winning homeschool company provided us with Exploring Creation with General Science, 3rd Edition to use and review.

This General Science set is designed for the middle school grades. The intent is that it is the first science course taken in junior high. This is an updated edition, with increased focus on helping students transition to high school work, including the ACT and SAT tests. As you would expect with a General Science course, this one covers various branches of science including:

- Astronomy

- Meteorology

- Oceanography

- Earth Study

- Geology

- Paleontology

- Environmental Science

We received the hardcover textbook, the spiral bound student notebook, and the softcover Solutions and Test manual that includes one test packet. This course follows a 4 day per week schedule, broken up into 14 modules to be completed in 33 weeks. These are the modules:

Module 1 - The History of Science - Search for the Truth

Module 2 - Scientific Inquiry and the Scientific Method

Module 3 - Documenting and Interpreting Experimental Results

Module 4 - Scientific Analysis and History

Module 5 - Earth Science - Astronomy

Module 6 - Earth Science - Geology and Paleontology

Module 7 - Earth Science - Meteorology and Oceanology

Module 8 - General Chemistry

Module 9 - General Physics

Module 10 - Life Science

Module 11 - General Biology

Module 12 - Marine Science

Module 13 - Environmental Science

Module 14 - Science and Creation

Thorough, yes? Apologia never lets me down. All of this can look a bit overwhelming, but as they always do, Apologia provides detailed information for...everything. The Student Workbook provides an Introduction section with parent notes that talk about the reasons for note taking, and experiments. You'll learn tips in grading experiments and exams that includes a grade recording chart. This is also where the Daily Schedule will be found.

The textbook has over 400 pages, and is written in a conversational tone that students will find appealing. I remember some of the science books from my school days, and they were so dry, technical, and just boring. The writing style here though, is much more engaging. In traditional Apologia style, the book is also filled with colorful photos and illustrations. Each module includes the text of course, but also sidebars with interesting facts, vocabulary words, What to Do sections that give instructions for activities, On Your Own exercises, and Timelines.

Textbook includes instructions for experiments.

Explore More provides additional facts and information relating to the topic.

On Your Own suggests activities to do...on your own.

More experiments.

The Student Notebook is used along side of the text, and is broken down into easy to follow sections.

- Daily Lesson Plan

- Daily Assignment Schedule

- Note taking pages

- On Your Own Questions

- Extra pages for various notes

- Creation Connection Pages - these are to reflect on intellectual, emotional, and spiritual thoughts.

Apologia offers help in grading tests and experiments.

Daily and weekly schedules keep you on track.

Sample work from my 13 year old.

Another sample includes a timeline.

The Solutions and Tests Packet is just that, but even this is provides helpful details in various aspects of the course, as well as administering the tests themselves. The softcover book includes the tests and solutions, and then there is a separate, consumable test packet. In keeping with the intent that this course help middle school students transition to high school, the first two tests in this course are supposed to be open book, in order to allow teens to become familiar with the test format. 

Apologia wants students to succeed. Tests 1 & 2 are open book so they can learn the format.

As students move into high school, they begin to work more independently. The detailed steps provided here make it easy for your teens to do just that. My daughters tend to be self starters in their schoolwork, for most subjects at least, but it sure makes it a breeze for me to stay on top of things when I have everything broken down into bite size pieces. Our lives and schedules have been crazier than usual this year, and it's incredibly helpful to have this part of the planning in place.

Interestingly enough, my 13 year old was actually already working through the 2nd Edition of this very course before this review came along, and did enjoy the material. We were interested to see what changes this new version might include. My girl couldn't wait to begin when our package arrived, and as she made an initial pass through the books, came to the conclusion that the updated Edition was a huge improvement. The modules were a little shorter and concise. We also noted that while the previous version could have several pages in a row with nothing but text, the 3rd Edition is filled with colorful pictures and graphics. My daughter loved that change. 

Thoughts from my 13 year old:

" This new edition is much better. I like that the book is easy to follow, and has more pictures. The layout of the Student Workbook looks almost like a scrapbook, and is fun to look through. I like that the modules are not too long, because the last version had so much information that I felt like I couldn't retain it all. This one is shorter, and more compact. They also mix up the way questions are asked. Instead of all fill in the blank, or essay, there are also multiple choice, and matching. I  love that there are more charts, and illustrations in this new edition. The vocabulary words are now in the workbook, and writing those out helps me remember the definitions better. This is much more enjoyable to use."

I can't say that I'm terribly surprised that this course gets our approval, as we are an Apologia loving family. But, they did manage to take a good program and make it even better. If you haven't settled on a science course yet, this is one that you should consider. You'll be hard pressed to find another program that is as Biblically solid and complete as this one. 

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Sausage and Pepper Foil Packets

Hey everyone,

It's summer, which means yummy meals cooked on the grill! I was feeling like I was in a cooking rut, and started looking for something new to try. I happened to stumble across Delish.com , and wow, they have the recipes! As soon as I saw the one for Sausage and Pepper Foil packets, I knew my husband would be jazzed. It's a very easy meal to prepare too, and sooo good! Maybe you'll want to try it too!

Ingredients:

8 Italian Sausage Links
4 Bell Peppers- Julienned
2 Large Onions- Julienned
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

Directions:

Cook the sausages on the grill for 3 minutes per side. Divide the peppers and onions onto 4 sheets of aluminum foil. Place sausages on top. Drizzle 1 Tblsp. oil over each packet. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Seal foil packets. Grill 13-15 minutes. Eat!

Simply Music - A Crew Review

I had a great childhood, but I do regret not having learned to play an instrument. As an adult college student, I did take a basic music class where our final exam included playing a short piece on a recorder, but that was pretty much the beginning and ending of my music career. My husband on the other hand, comes from a musically rich background. In fact, as a child and young adult, he traveled around the United States and occasionally abroad with his family, who played as a family band. It was and is important to both of us that our daughters have the benefit of music in their life. Our girls both play multiple instruments, including the flute, oboe, bassoon, clarinet, piccolo, and a bit of percussion. What was missing was the piano, and my 15 year old has mentioned a few times that she would like to learn to play that too. Fortunately, we became acquainted with Simply Music and have had the chance to review their Music & Creativity - Foundation Course .

The particular course that we reviewed is free, which is a huge priority for the founder, Neil Moore. He has a heart for sharing music with world, and desires that money should never be a reason not to learn. He has spent 25 years creating his unique learning method. His style is now being taught in 12 other countries, and is the leader in playing based education. What sets this program apart from traditional ones is that as I mentioned, it is playing based, versus reading based. Typically, students are taught to first read music before getting on the piano. Moore believes that for many potential students, this may cause them to lose heart if they cannot grasp the concepts. He believes that everyone is innately musical, and that by immersing ourselves in playing, it will come about naturally.

Getting started is a simple process. All that is required for this particular course is to register an account, and get started. You or your student will be playing from the first lesson. There is a getting started video to watch and get an overview. There are 19 lessons in all, with each comprising of 3 to 5 components. They are taught via video, with durations of anywhere from 5 to 19 minutes. Along with the videos, there is a printable keyboard that will come in handy for practicing finger placement in between lessons. There are also pdf's of a reference book, soundtracks for accompaniment, as well as Neil Moore's book, Music and the Art of Long Term Relationships. That's a pretty sweet deal for the cost of...nothing! 

My teen worked through the lessons at a typical pace of 3 days per week. Fortunately for us, my husband likes to play with the keyboard, so we have one handy. We set it up at our dining room table, which doubles as our school work space. As I mentioned, my daughters are musicians, so they do read music, and are familiar with the traditional reading approach, drills, etc.. She would usually work through several parts of the lesson on each learning day. The first thing that my daughter liked about Neil Moore is well, his accent, lol. Seriously though, she appreciated the relatively short length of the videos, bite sized as they are. She did say that she would like it if there was more presented  about the keys, notes, and hand placement. She also felt that scales and drills are still important, even with this method, and that it would be beneficial for new students to have exposure to that information. Since she has that knowledge, she had an easier time with all of those aspects, but she still felt that she was needing more instruction. Now, for those who have an ear for music, and enjoy experimenting at their own pace, this will be right up their alley. When you consider that this is available for free, this is definitely a program worth trying out and sharing with friends and family.

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Summer Sunday

Another Sunday. It's been a pleasantly busy weekend. This week finds us volunteering for Vacation Bible School, and we've been putting together crafts, snacks, and activities. We also spent time this afternoon decorating the church. I almost forgot the pleasure I have in creating children's projects. We enjoyed a great grilled dinner, and watched some tv as an early evening thunderstorm blustered through. Now, I'm getting sleepy, so I'm off to get a little rest before our busy week commences. Have a great evening!

The Heart Changer, by Jarm Del Boccio, Author - A Crew Review

As I sat down to write this review, I was thinking how ironic it was that although we homeschool, and are therefore surrounded by books, I seem to rarely have the opportunity to actually sit down and read something myself, for pleasure anyway. I suppose it's simply a busy season, but whatever the case, I was happy to find a comfy spot on the couch and enjoy this debut from SchoolhouseTeachers.com teacher, Jarm Del Boccio, Author , called The Heart Changer . This historical fiction book is based on the passage from 2 Kings 5. Scripture tells us in the first part of that chapter that Naaman was the commander of the army of the king of Syria. During a raid, his (Naaman's) soldiers had carried off a little girl from Israel, who came to work for Naaman's wife. Naaman had leprosy, and when the young girl heard of this, she told her mistress about the prophet Elisha's ability to heal. Author Del Boccio takes this chapter and creates a story surrounding the details and events of the story.

The back cover offers a teaser, as well as some info about the author.

The book is softcover, with 116 pages divided into 25 chapters, an epilogue, and note from the author. It was written for the middle school audience, but anyone beyond that age would find this an enjoyable read. This fictional account focuses on the young girl turned slave. Miriam (not her real name), is a 12 year old girl who, as we read the first lines in the book, is being urgently ordered by her mother to run and hide, as their town is raided. Unfortunately, Miriam is abducted by a soldier, and carried off. Her fear turns to sadness, which turns to bitterness as she feels abandoned by Jehovah. As it happens, she is specifically chosen to be the personal assistant to the army commander's wife, named Adara. 

I love getting a chance to read for fun!

Miriam discovers that her new mistress is kind, and slowly, she becomes acquainted with her new life. It is a difficult transition of course, and Miriam struggles with anger, confusion, and the fear of what has become of her family. In her worst moments, she remembers her mother's example, as well as her words to never repay evil for evil. She commits herself to trust and follow Jehovah. One day, Naaman is found to have leprosy, and after nothing works to cure it, he tells Adara that there is one more thing to attempt to appeal to their gods. I'll leave you hanging on this one, so as not to spoil that part, but suffice it to say, Miriam is appalled at the idea and tells her mistress of the prophet Elisha, who can heal the afflicted. They decide to find the prophet, and if you are familiar with the account, you know that Naaman is not only physically healed, but he finds life and salvation in the One True God of Israel. 

2 Kings 5

This really was a delightful read. Del Boccio creates a great picture of what could have been the situation for this girl, while staying true to the Biblical account. It is a fantastic option for not only middle schoolers, but teens and adults as well. I read it in its entirety in about an hour and a half. I look forward to future titles from this author. My daughters, ages 13 and 15 years, are now taking their turns reading the book. I knew that my 13 year old would enjoy it, but my 15 year old can be picky. After reading for myself though, I know that there is a great blend of action, suspense, sprinkled with a solid dose of uplifting encouragement. She's going to love it. As a bonus, when you visit The Heart Changer , if you scroll down, you'll find a white square that says The Heart Changer Teacher Guide. This is a pdf that you can use with students and includes discussion questions, a chat with Jarm Del Boccio, and even a few Syrian recipes. It's a great way to enhance the reading experience. Happy reading!



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The Zoo

Do you have a summer bucket list? We have an unofficial, unwritten collection of activities that we would like to do before the next school year begins. Today we enjoyed a perfectly lovely warm, sunny day, and decided that it would be the perfect time to check off one of those items. Our city has a small zoo, and so we headed over to enjoy God's beautiful creation. Here are a few photos.