Sick!

Well I can’t say this weekend has been much fun. My oldest and I came down with a brutal cold that had taken us down. Today was spent on the couch drinking copious amounts of hot tea and water. So, it will be a day or two before my previously planned post is published. For now I’m off to try and get some sleep. Hope everyone out there is healthy!

Home School in the Woods - Time Travelers WWII - A Crew Review

Do you remember the old song that has the line, "Don't know much about history..." ? Well, stay with me here for a bit, and I'll introduce you to a fantastic resource that our family has really enjoyed over the last few years. There are plenty of programs available, but so many feature the standard textbook. Forgive me, but... "YAWN". I'm having a flashback to my school days, when I sat at my desk while the teacher wrote out copious amounts of history facts that covered the entire blackboard. We students had the pleasure of copying down all those notes to memorize in order to spit them back for the test. Most of us then promptly forgot everything we had learned. It was boring, and there was little retention. One of the great aspects of homeschooling is that we can pick and choose curriculum and activities that can make a subject come alive. History is no exception. Home School in the Woods provided our family with the digital download from one of their Time Travelers U.S History Studies . We opted for the study Time Travelers - World War II . 

Starting with the basics, the Time Travelers series are digital, hands on studies designed for grades 3-8. While there is text to read, the textbook itself has been laid aside in favor of various learning activities. Your student will create a timeline of events that includes all of the prominent events in this time in history, and likely a few that you weren't aware of. Break out the colored pencils, crayons, markers, and any other writing implement you wish, because there are penmanship pages, notebooking activities, and creative writing exercises. You'll be creating a lapbook with 3 dimensional paper projects, file folder games, and if you are a particularly crafty personality, you might even embroider your own pillow.

Parents and teachers, you'll be thrilled and wowed with the amount of content included in this resource. There are the text pages for the readings, as well as masters for every activity. Project pages provide photos and directions for the projects, and there are a good 50 of them. There are also helps for teachers, resource lists, and a lesson plan schedule, which you'll want to keep on the bulletin board or fridge. This one sheet alone has helped me tremendously, providing an at a glance look at what's coming up in the weeks ahead. You will also be putting together notebooks for this study, so there are printable covers too, in both black and white, and color. Also, there are a few different sizes of the strip that will be displayed on the spine of the notebook, so different sizes can be accommodated. The only things that are not included in this study, are the supplies, and as they are fairly basic, you may already have them in your home, like file folders, double sided tape, and binders. And really, if you purchase this digital project now, the amazing sales available for basically every school supply imaginable will keep your out of pocket cost low. 

Now, as far as the lesson content, there are 25 days of material . These are the main subjects that will be covered:

- Ante Bellum

- Adolf Hitler

- War before War

- Blitzkrieg-Dunkirk

- The Battle of Britain

- The Turn East

- Pearl Harbor

- War in Africa

- War in the Pacific

- Hitler's Fortress

- Market Garden

- The Bulge

- Into Germany

- Kristallnacht and the Camps

- VE Day

- Iwo Jima and the Atomic Bomb

- Back Home

- And What Happened After?

Those subjects don't equal 25 days, but they don't include project days, which are on Fridays, or the days to put together the lapbook, and the end of the unit Victory Day Celebration. But you can see that there is plenty to work with here. We've been on a relaxed summer schedule, but we aimed for working on this for 3 days a week, on average. My 13 year old daughter particularly enjoyed the penmanship and coloring pages. She is a big history fan, as well as a craft loving girl, so combining the two meant a pretty content kid. I know that the recommended age is grades 3-8, and I suppose that as students get into the high school years, they may prefer a more, I don't know, serious study, if that's the right way to put it. But I know that there are plenty of craft liking, hands on preferring students who would still enjoy these activities even if they fall outside the range. That being said, you know your kids, and this can still work for students a bit younger and older than what is suggested. One definite thing that I cans say, is that this is a great study, and I hope you'll check it out.

Before I go, did you know that Home School in the Woods has a blog? Check out a couple of these great posts! Just click on the links.

Adding Interest to History with Recipes

Using Time Travelers to Teach American History

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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!