Homeschool Curriculum Choice 2012-2013

I am linking up to Jill's site, http://www.blessedbeyondadoubt.com/curriculum-choice-2012-2013/
about what curriculum choices we will be using this upcoming year.

This will be our 6th year of homeschooling. We have always been pretty much a textbook style homeschool but last year after 6 years we finally figured out that it wasn't working for us. We totally went Charlotte-Mason style schooling and have never looked back! Most of our curriculum we use comes from Queen Homeschool.

 We love doing unit studies also. We do as many subjects together as possible. We love Amanda Bennett unit studies. We usually use them for our history and science studies. We love our system, it is working.

This year we will also use products we were given to review. I was given the opportunity to review for This Oldschoolhouse and in return, I give my honest opinion and review for the products.  This year our bugs are 14,10,9,5, and 3. Here is our line up for this year.......

BIBLE/CHARACTER

Apologia - Who Is My Neighbor?

Abeka Flash-A-Card Series

Leading Little Ones to God - for the little bugs



Little Ladies Series

Little Leaders Series

LANGUAGE ARTS

Language Lessons

Words of the Week

Learning to Spell Through Copywork

Hewitt Homeschooling - for the 14 year old

Spelling City - for the three oldest bugs

MATH

Math Lessons for A Living Education - for the 9 year old bug

Life of Fred: Elementary  - for the 10 year old bug

Life of Fred - Pre Algebra - for the 14 year old bug

No-Nonsense Algebra - for the 14 year old bug, after Pre-Algebra

Math Made Easy - for the 9 and 10 year olds

HISTORY

A History of Us

Map Trek 6

Amanda Bennett - Passport Geography Series

SCIENCE

Amanda Bennett - DownloadnGo Series

Discovering Nature Series: Our Animal Friends

HANDWRITING AND COPYWORK

Printing with Pictures

Pictures in Cursive

Copywork for Little Boys

Copywork for Girls

ELECTIVE

Christian Keyboarding - for the two oldest bugs

This is what our year will consist of! We are excited about our curriculum choices and are looking forward to starting in September, full-time and having lots of FUN!!!

God Bless! 

Apologia: Who is My Neighbor? Review

http://www.apologia.com/

I had the pleasure to review Apologia: Who is My Neighbor? series. This is the newest book in their What We Believe Series. There are 3 books in the series:

                    'Who Is God?'

                    'Who Am I?'

                    'Who Is My Neighbor?'

Each book in the series is meant to stand on its own. You don't have to use the other books in the series to use Who Is My Neighbor?.

For the purpose of this review I received the student textbook, the notebooking journal and the coloring book for the series. The recommended age for this curriculum is 6 - 14 years old. The series can be used as a multi-grade curriculum which works very well for us. We are big fans of doing as much school together as possible.

              

The books have very nice pictures in them and the text is suitable for all ages, including adults. I am enjoying it as much as the bugs. An older student can read it themselves or to younger ones. The student textbook can be used alone. The notebooking journal and coloring book is not necessary, although we are enjoying all of them.

How we use it:

I have been reading aloud to my bugs and we are really enjoying this series. We are using this as our bible in school right now. Everyone has really been interested in the Chang family as they escape from China and flee to America. This series is about servanthood and how to teach how important it is to help each other.

There is a sample lesson plan in the textbook that is based on a schedule of 3 weeks per lesson, two days per week or a daily lesson plan in the journal. We are using the one in the journal although I have been spreading the reading out a little because I feel it works better to cover a little less material each day. Especially with little ones.

My thoughts:

I love this curriculum! The bugs and I are really enjoying the stories in this book. I really like the fact that I can use the curricula with all of my bugs even though I have a wide range of ages. I feel it is priced accordingly to the material it provides.

The accompanying notebook journal in my opinion is wonderful. It has room to answer questions, to use for copywork for bible verses and prayers and also numerous pages with crossword puzzles and word lists.

The coloring book is very nice and can be used by the younger children to reinforce the lessons. I use coloring sheets with my little bugs while I read aloud to my older ones. The coloring sheets are so nice and detailed in this book even my older ones wanted to color.

How to get the series:

Student Textbook: $39

Notebooking Journal: $24

Coloring Book: $8

Disclaimer: As a TOS crew member, I received Apologia: Who Is My Neighbor? series free of charge in exchange for my honest opinion and review!

Read more reviews at Schoolhouse Review Crew.

Professor B Math (Schoolhouse Review Crew)

As part of the Schoolhouse Review Crew, I received online access to Professor B Math. It has three different levels:

~~LEVEL I - Pre K through 2nd grade and remediation of older learners. Introduction to Addition/Subtraction Facts - Counting to One Hundred - Lower Addition and Subtraction - Place Value - Fractional Parts and Older - Time - Money

~~LEVEL II - 3rd grade through 5th grade and remediation of older learners. Multiplication/Division Facts and Problem Solving - Introduction to Fractions - Fractional Equivalence - Addition and Subtraction Fractions.

~~LEVEL III - 6th grade through 8th grade and remediation of older learners. Multiplication/Division of Fractions - Decimals - Percents.

I have children of all different ages so we were able to use all three levels. There are 3 grades of math in each level. It will take approximately 10 months to complete each level depending on how long you work everyday. We usually work about 30 minutes a day on a lesson.


Professor B is a teaching program. Professor B has no sound. It tells you what to say, when to say it. The teacher (parent) reads it all out loud. The program is designed for the teacher (parent) to work along side the student. At the beginning of every lesson, you will go to the Table of Contents to get started, select what you want the student to study and go straight to that section. For example, there is no need to start with single digit subtraction if you are working on multiple digit subtraction.

Professor B is an online program. There is nothing to download or install on your computer. Any one level is $20 a month. Two levels at the same time is an additional $15. All three at the same time adds another $10 a month.

WHAT I THINK.......Overall, we enjoyed the program. I think it might be a little pricey for homeschool families to use, especially if you have multiple children. Although it might be a bit pricey, if you have a child or children struggling with something, I would highly recommend it. It is a fun math program and I know from experience, if something is fun, learning is fun!


Please visit the Schoolhouse Review Crew blog to read more reviews on Professor B.


Disclaimer:  As a member of the schoolhouse review crew, I received a free e-learning subscription from Professor B in exchange for my honest opinion and writing this review.

Hewitt Homeschooling Review

Lightning Lit & Comp

American Literature: Early-Mid 19th Century

Recently I was given the opportunity to review this product and was very excited about it. Not only is it my first review, it was a great opportunity to have one full year of literature for my oldest bug.

We received the Lightning Lit & Comp Student Guide - $29.95, and the Lightning Lit & Comp Teacher Guide - $2.95.  There are four books required for this course. They were not  included but can be purchased or found at your local library. It recommends that you use unabridged copies of the following books:

                    * The Autobiography (Benjamin Franklin)

                    * Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass:

                                An American Slave Written by Himself (Frederick Douglass)

                    * The Scarlet Letter by Nathanial Hawthorne

                    * Moby-Dick by Herman Melville

These four books are listed in the order that they are read for the course.

Some of the shorter works included:

                    * "The Angler" by Washington Irving

                    * Poems by William C. Bryant

                    * "The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar A. Poe

                    * Poems by Henry W. Longfellow

These short stories and poems were included in the student guide.

The STUDENT GUIDE is a 178 page softcover book that has eight lessons that are divided into different sections like this:

~~~Introduction

~~~The Selection

~~~While You Read

~~~Comprehension Questions

~~~Literary Lessons

~~~Writing Exercises

~~~Perspectives and Connections

~~~Appendix A, B, & C

The TEACHER GUIDE is 56 pages that are stapled together and have a three hole punch that can be used with a binder (not included). I love using binders! It has a table of contents with : introduction, grading tips, schedules, answers to comprehension questions, writing exercises and discussion questions. It explains each section in full detail.

What I thought about the course:

I really like the weekly lesson plans. We can look at the schedule and know exactly what to expect for that week. We have decided to do the full-year schedule along with our other language curriculum.

I like the fact that there wasn't a lot of prep time required on my part. My oldest bug was able to pretty much do it on her own. I would help her with any questions she might have and was able to correct anything with the teachers guide that she might have missed.

I felt that it covered the topics well. We will continue to use this for the rest of the school year and perhaps re-use it with the four other bugs when they become of age to do so. I would highly recommend this course to any student that loves to read!

To see other reviews, go to schoolhouse review crew.

The entire package can be purchased from Hewitt Homeschool:

Lightning Literature and Composition Pack American: Early to Mid 19th Century

Disclaimer: As a member of the schoolhouse review crew. I received this product, free of charge, in exchange for my honest opinion. All opinions stated are my own and those of my family.

top 10 reasons why homeschooling works for us....

Many people ask me about homeschooling and why we do it. They also ask why we homeschool year round. Well, let me give you 10 reasons why we homeschool and why it works for us.


1. For one, we know that God gave us our bugs and what better reward than to be able to teach them about HIM and give them the gift of MY attention. I know what my children are being taught and I will not have to "unteach" them anything.


2. My children can develop better relationships with one another since they spend most of their time together. There is nothing better than to have brothers and sisters as best friends. That just makes my heart smile!


3. Bible is #1 on our schedule. We always start with the bible. With bible and prayer at the beginning, everything else just falls into place.


4. My children can develop deeper relationships not only with themselves, but with their father and me. We can take field trips together as a family and develop stronger and better relationships while learning and having fun. They also spend more time with their grandparents. Family is very important to us.


5. We can individualize our curriculum according to each student. I may have one bug that is two grades above level in reading, one grade above level in math and below level in something else and it's not a problem.


6. We are a family BIG on unit studies. We love learning together. That is one reason homeschooling works for us. We are able to study the same topic, regardless of age and everyone can still participate. I might have the oldest two go in depth about the topic (essay, five paragraph report, etc.) while the three younger ones might do a simple worksheet and the baby bug might color a sheet pertaining to the topic.They are still learning about the same thing, just in a different way. It's GREAT!


7. When there is a crisis or celebratory event occur, I know my children will be right there with me. They can help, if needed, or enjoy, depending on the situation. They don't have to worry about make-up work, homeschooling is flexible.


8. When Dad is home, we can take off! That is one of the advantages of homeschooling and schooling year round. We can take off as much as we like in the months when its not 90+ degrees outside and enjoy each other. We like schooling in the summer because most of the time here in SW MS, the summertime is miserably HOT! Why not stay in the cool and do a fun unit study on something fun like "Ice Cream"!


9. As you know, there are those day-to-day events that occur. "Mom might have a headache so we need to keep the bugs quiet for a while" or "lets hurry and  straighten the house because someone might just call and be coming over unexpectedly!" So instead of stressing over the fact that we will not be getting much school done on these kinds of days, we "TRY" to stay calm and take care of the situations that arise. There will be another day for catching up on our studies. Like I said before, homeschooling is FLEXIBLE!!!

10.  My last reason is not really a reason but a decision we made when we started homeschooling. We LOVE our homeschool conference!!! We look forward to going each and every year. It is AWESOME! We love our homeschool family. We have made so many lifetime friends. If you homeschool or thinking of doing so, this is something you do not want to miss. It has been such a blessing to our family each and every year.

Well, that about sums it up. I am sure everyone has different reasons for homeschooling. These are my reasons. If any of you have some different reasons, leave me a comment. I would love to hear yours!

God Bless!

excited.......

I wanted to take a moment and say how excited I am about all of the fantastic homeschool products I am currently using with my bugs over the summer months. I just here recently became a TOS reviewer and I am so excited about it. Our two newest products are Apologia: Who's my Neighbor? and MapTrek 6 which is an ebook set. We are really excited about this one. It looks AMAZING!!!

We are also reviewing an online Math program called:

Everyone is enjoying this! Even the little bugs. Stay tuned for a lot of new reviews in the upcoming weeks.

God Bless!

little things going on around the homestead

Each and every night I think and plan for the next day. What needs to be done! The bugs and I are staying very busy these days. Our summers are always busy. Here are our plans for the week:

~~~Monday night: our boy bug had his Tae Kwon Do testing. He becomes a blue belt Thursday night! We are so proud!
~~~Tuesday: more canning. We have made two batches of Lime Pickles and one batch of Bread & Butter pickles. We will be canning Sweet Pickle relish today.
~~~Wednesday: Music lessons for the two older girls.
~~~Thursday: More canning and boy bugs TKD awards ceremony.
~~~Friday: Music Recital
~~~Saturday: Weeding the garden and more canning!
~~~Sunday: Church and REST!!!

I was also thinking of things that the bugs and I would like to do that doesn't require work. Things that we need to take time for and enjoy together.

*Go to the peach orchard right down the road from us and pick some delicious peaches!
*Go to the creek and enjoy cold water, sandy toes and ice cold lemonade!
*Take a vote on what animal we want to do a unit study on! We REALLY enjoy our unit studies on animals!
*Eat lots of homemade Popsicles and homemade fudge pops!
*Watch the bugs run through the sprinklers while I am in the garden!
*Bake some yummy bread and healthy treats together!
*Take time to always have family worship, singing and giving praise to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

Family is the most important thing! I was reading my good friends blog and was inspired to remember how important it is not to "blink"! You might just miss your babies growing! Thanks, Jennifer

God Bless!