I'm past due for a family update

I'm not sure how long it's been since I posted a family update, but I know I've posted several reviews in a row without one.  I'm sorry.  I do not want this to be a review-only blog.  It is still my family blog, and will continue to be.

I do know that it's harder to post with a one year old on your lap than with a younger baby.  When Baby G is needing held, I can't type as much.  That limits my time to post personal blog entries.  Right now he's working on his 12 month molars, and he's been very clingy and fussy.  Yesterday he was beyond fussy into screaming, actually.  Just when I started imagining all the internal problems that could be the cause of his 20 minute screaming fit, he quit -- because he saw me filling up a cup with diluted apple juice for him.  Suddenly, he was happy.  I still don't know what was the problem originally.

School is back in swing, and I have one more student this year.  5 yo M is doing Kindergarten work, so I help him work through his math and his phonics each day, plus read to him.  8 yo J is reading now, so he needs me less to walk him through his math lessons, but I am making time to listen to him read several times a day and encourage that practice he needs.  The older 3 girls are in 5th, 7th, and 9th grade.  Other than occasional math help, they're doing well and are mostly independent.  10 yo C has finally reached the point where I can assign her Tapestry of Grace reading to do independently.  I still read lower grammar level books to 8 yo J for Tapestry of Grace.

Last night J read a Step 3 Star Wars I Can Read book to himself!  I was so excited to see that!!  I need to find more books at the library (or store) that he can read and will be interested in reading, to encourage him!  I have lots of girl books in this house and need to build up the boy books now.  I heard him read a simple book to his 3 yo sister last week, and it made me smile ... but not as much as last night's effort. 

And going back to Tapestry of Grace, we just started TOG again this week.  We took several weeks to review Mystery of History volume 3 and All American History vol. 2 instead. The kids all enjoyed those but asked me last week if we could please go back to TOG now.  I guess in our home, MOH and AAH will be reference books we can use as spines with TOG, but they want to get back to doing independent reading of fiction and non-fiction books for the majority of their history lessons.

I just came in from doing a chicken count this morning.  I had to throw a blanket over Baby G and take him out with me since he's the only child awake.  Our dog wanted outside, but we had found a chicken on the back porch when Steve went to work this morning, so I needed to make sure the rest were all in their coop before setting the "chicken-hungry dog" loose.  They were all accounted for, but it's hard to count 23 chickens and 1 guinea when they won't stand still and the sun isn't completely up yet.   I couldn't see the wild turkeys, but I could hear them very close to us ... probably in the trees across the highway and in the pasture behind our tree line.  I heard them from several directions.

Our garden has been bountiful this year ... honestly more than I've had time to deal with.  We've wasted so many green beans.  I've considered opening the rows up to others to come pick.  We need to change our technique.  Instead of going out and picking one LONG row and then having 2 large buckets that everyone dreads dealing with ... we need to pick a smaller bowl or bucket's worth and process them immediately ... into supper or the freezer.  We planted another row of them, too, so there will be more yet to come. 

The zucchini is still producing bountifully.  The spaghetti squash are overflowing and almost ready to harvest.  And we have pumpkins!  I picked one this weekend to set up a Fall display by the driveway.  The kids are eager to pick more, and to invite friends to pick some, as well.   We had the Pastor's family here this weekend, and I meant to send one home with them ... but it got late and then we forgot. 

We have a busy month ahead of us.  Every weekend in October has at least one commitment (besides church, of course).  Then there is homeschool group, book and curriculum reviews, and Dreamy's kittens are due mid-October, too.  We still have two kittens from Melody's litter left to sell, and we'll be starting fresh with new ones soon.  We're kitten-rich and this is unusual for us.  We're used to one litter per year from Sweetie, our oldest Mama cat.

Last week we worked on doing some re-organizing, decluttering, and general house cleaning.  We were expecting company and had been neglecting the house quite a bit.  It looks so much nicer now, and 8 yo J is really taking it personally this month.  He has worked to keep his bedroom clean each day, and he pulled bags of toys out of his closet to store in the basement!  Actually, he did that a couple weeks ago, but it made getting ready for this weekend's company so much easier.  The children had so much fun this weekend, they're begging us to invite families over every weekend, or at least every other weekend.  Maybe we should ... they clean the house so much better when they have an external motivation.

I'm coming out of a funk, to be honest.  I'd become rather negative about our house and didn't want to have anyone over.  Our house is small for a family of 9 -- by American standards.  And it hasn't been repainted since the 50s when the addition was finished.  A pink dining room, peach kitchen, spring green living room, and raspberry hallway are not my color preferences.  Add in 7 kids for 2 years and the walls have gained a layer of dirt and toddler art that won't wash off the flat non-glossy paint. 

Somewhere in the last few months, I became overly focused on its appearance, though.   I was very self-conscious and negative about it.  But, after we got it ready for company and then opened our house up to guests two days in a row ... my attitude is back in its proper place.  My house isn't meant to be a showroom (which it's not) and it's not meant to be just for our family.  We are to be hospitable, and content.  When the house is clean, and our attitude is content and joyful, guests aren't going to be focused on my paint colors. My attitude affects my children's attitudes -- I need to be more careful.

The children and I have allergy sniffles, but 10 yo C has her first real cold.  I need to get vitamin D3 in the house.  I'm hoping that supplementing with that this fall and winter season will prevent some of the illnesses we get swamped with each year.  With a large family, it can take weeks for one thing to work its way through the family ... and too often the next thing is hitting someone right about then.  We often have half the family home from church in the winter months.  No one likes that!

Well, 3 yo L is now awake and chattering at me.  So I'd better get her some breakfast and wake the other children up.  They'd sleep all morning if I let them, at least the oldest two would.

Trusting In Him,
April

A Journey Through Learning Lapbooks

Click the banner to visit A Journey Through Learning

When my girls were very young, 8 years ago, I learned about lapbooks at a homeschooling conference.  I bought a book that taught me how to make the mini-books, and went home to begin making lapbooks with my daughters.  We made 4 lapbooks to go along with our Five In A Row unit studies, and my creativity ran out.  The girls weren't old enough to do any of the work themselves, so I was thinking of the mini-books, creating the mini-books, and filling them in for the girls.  All they did was color them for me. 

Thus ended our lapbooking life until I found a free Christmas lapbook online two years ago, which we created as part of our holiday schooling.  That was my first introduction to prepared lapbooks.  We've since created a few of the prepared lapbooks, and I appreciate that I don't have to come up with all the ideas myself --  I just have to follow the instructions.  Of course, I also appreciate that my kids are now old enough to do more of the work themselves.

Click to view lapbook

We usually rush our way through lapbooks, completing them in a week or two.  We can't do that with the Desert Lapbook we received from A Journey Through Learning.   It is so full of information that we are taking it much more slowly.  I love how it is set up with a page of information, followed by the corresponding booklets, and then another page of information, etc.  It's easy to grab just what you need for that day's lesson.  You can cover 1 page of information, two pages, or more -- depending on your children's abilities, attention span, and interest.  My children prefer to only do 1 or 2 pages at a time.

Paula and Nancy have created lapbooks for a variety of subjects:  history, science, seasonal, Bible, and literature.  There are lapbooks for students in preschool, up through 9th grade.  Most of these come with a study guide, so you don't need to gather additional information unless you want to.  While the Desert Lapbook has all the information we need to study the desert, it is much more enjoyable when paired with colorful, interesting books about the desert  When taken as-is, the lapbook information is somewhat dry. 

My kids have been enjoying their Desert lapbook since we recently visited the desert. The Desert lapbook is designed for grades 2 through 7, and I am using it with my 3rd, 5th, and 7th grade students.   We've chosen to take this one more slowly, completing 1-2 sections per day, about 3 times a week (in addition to their regular science lessons).  Although lapbooks are not our usual method of learning, we occasionally use them for a change of pace.   My children love to review their old lapbooks, as well as share them with others.

We have been using this lapbook as a group, but it could also be given to an older student, with the supplies and a list of corresponding books to read.  My 5th and 7th grader could have completed it on their own.  The instructions are very clear, and we had no problems completing any of the mini-booklets.

My 7th grader reading sections to younger siblings

5th grader reading more information aloud while 3rd grader colors title page

Searching for desert plants and animals to place on our title page

Still in the process of completing our Desert lapbook

And now, let's talk about the details.  When you purchase a lapbook from A Journey Through Learning, you choose between the instant download, the CD-ROM version, or the printed version.  With the instant download or CD-ROM version, you'll need to print the lapbook components yourself.  We usually just print the entire lapbook onto white paper, and then color in our mini-booklets after they're completed.  It's more time-consuming and costly if you print the booklets onto colored cardstock, but it makes a nicer lapbook.  This requires taking the time to print sets of pages differently. 

Once you have printed your lapbook, or received your printed version, you'll need 3 file folders to place the booklets in.  These will be glued together to create one large lapbook.  You can see an example of a completed lapbook on this page at A Journey Through Learning's website.  You will also need glue, scotch tape, possibly clear packing tape to reinforce your lapbook, stapler with staples, and probably some brass paper fasteners.  This list will vary with each lapbook, but most lapbooks require these basic supplies.

Lapbook prices vary according to the size of the lapbook, and the version you choose.  For instance, the Desert Lapbook is available  in three formats:

• as an instant download for $13.00


• on CD-ROM for $14.00


• in a printed format for $21.00.  

However, the Shakespeare lapbook starts at just $10.00 for the download, and the printed version costs only $17.00.  While it is tempting to purchase the printed lapbooks to save paper and printer ink, then you miss out on the ability to re-use the lapbook at a later time.  With the electronic version, you are able to re-print the lapbook at a later time.  (Pages may be copied or re-printed for other members of your family only.)

Our family gives a to A Journey Through Learning lapbooks.  We're looking forward to completing the Autumn lapbook next.

Click the TOS Homeschool Crew banner at the top to read more reviews on this product by other Homeschool Crew members.

Trusting in Him,
April

Growing Healthy Homes -- Nutrition 101: Choose Life!

Growing Healthy Homes has created an amazing resource in their Nutrition 101:  Choose Life! curriculum.  We received this curriculum in their e-book format, and IT IS HUGE!  This is a 448 page book!!  The first 283 pages are the textbook, which includes recipes and activities.  After that, there is the answer key, and 31 appendices which are a wealth of additional information for the entire family!

Nutrition 101 includes six different units, with four chapters in each unit:

• The Brain and Nervous System


• Digestion and Elimination


• Respiration and Olfactory


• Muscular and Skeletal Systems


• Cardiovascular and Immune Systems


• Endocrine System and Emotions

I set out to use Nutrition 101:  Choose Life!  with all of my children.  As I read aloud, I found myself simplifying information for the younger children, which meant my older daughters were missing out on the depth of this study.  Rather than continue to simplify the material, I chose to assign it to my 9th grade daughter as a nutrition/health course instead.   In a situation like mine, with a wider age-span between children, a mother could teach a simplified version to the younger children and assign the older students to work through it independently. 

My 14 year old daughter, worked through the material in Nutrition 101 on her own.  She enjoyed learning more about the human body, its systems, and how to keep them healthy with good nutrition.  Several times she heard me talking about a health issue or concern and she'd voluntarily share something beneficial she'd learned in her nutrition course.  I intend to continue using this course with her as either her health credit, or as part of a nutrition and cooking elective credit.

What I like best about this book, though, is the appendices.  There is so much information in there:  how to select properly ripe and fresh veggies, kitchen safety rules, fiber-rich foods, protein-rich plant and animal sources, calcium-rich foods, sugar alternatives, and common household toxins.  Those are just a few of the topics covered in the back of this book.  It makes an excellent reference for the Mom as well as a text for our students.  I love the charts that list food sources for different vitamins and minerals!   This is not your typical health textbook!

PROS

• versatile curriculum -- can serve as Jr./Sr. High health class or be adapted to include elementary students


• Christian curriculum


• hands-on activities


• healthy recipes


• science experiments


• re-usable and non-consumable


• colorful, attractive, and well-designed book

CONS

• some people may not agree with the authors' views on health, diet, and safe products
  


• some people may not agree with her Choose Life! food pyramid which differs from the standard FDA food pyramid


• very large book to print for your family's use (although there are ways to make this more manageable)
  

I'm thankful we received this curriculum to review.  It will be a blessing to our family as we bring our children up through high school, and as we teach them about healthy nutrition and lifestyles.

Nutrition 101:  Choose Life!  is available as an e-book on a CD-ROM for $79.95.  The printed book can be bought for $99.95, and the book and CD-ROM can be purchased together for $129.95.

Click the TOS Homeschool Crew banner at the top to read more reviews on this product by other Homeschool Crew members.

Trusting in Him,
April

"The Everyday Angel"

I picked up a placque at a yard sale the other day.  It was cute, but what really caught my eye was the quote on it.  I thought of giving it to someone else at first, but then decided I needed this reminder myself. 

      "The Everyday Angel"

For a good everyday household angel, give us the woman who laughs. 

Her pastry may not always be just right, and she may occasionally burn her bread and forget to replace missing buttons, but for solid comfort all day and every day she is an absolute delight. 

Home is not a battlefield, nor life one long, unending fight. 

The trick of always seeing the bright side, of polishing up the dark one, is a very important faculty, one of the things no woman should be without.

We are not all born with brilliant sunshine in our hearts, but we can cultivate a cheerful sense of humor if we only try.

   ~~ From An Old Scrapbook ~~

It's a reminder that I don't have to be perfect ... supper can be a flop, and I may not sew all our clothes.  What really matters is that I make our home a peaceful and joyful haven ... and that begins with my own attitude.  Am I peaceful and joyful instead of anxious and crabby?

Just a reminder to cultivate a cheerful sense of humor amidst the dirty dishes, dirty diapers, dirty clothes, dirty children, and piles of schoolwork.

Trusting In Him,
April

College Prep Genius -- my wake-up call!

College Prep Genius is one of the products I'm currently reviewing with my oldest (14 year old 9th grader) for the TOS Homeschool Crew.  The College Prep Genius course is designed to teach our students strategies to help them improve their SAT scores.  It includes the "Master the SAT Class" DVD set, a workbook, and a textbook.

I admit that I entered into this with the misunderstanding that the SAT was a test of knowledge.  I took the ACT when I was a senior in high school, and I really don't recall much about the PSAT I took my junior year.  I didn't prepare for either, other than to work through the practice book the school gave me when I signed up for the test. 

In reading the College Prep Genius textbook, I was surprised to learn that the SAT tests a student's logic skills, their ability to manage time, and even their writing skills ... not just knowledge.  I fell for one of the 13 SAT Myths!

Jean Burk was a homeschooling Mom living on a single income when she began to prepare her own children for the PSAT and SAT exams.  She designed these strategies and formulas to help her own children test well to earn scholarships to college.  Once she had successfully prepared her own children, she compiled the information into College Prep Genius and began to share it with others.

College Prep Genius teaches a student to pinpoint their weak areas and learn acronyms to help them improve their test-taking abilities.  It helps students overcome their fear and weaknesses -- learning what the test will look like, and how they can manage their time and use logic to score well.   You can read many helpful articles at the College Prep Genius website.

I'm just beginning to look through this with my 9th grader.  I'll admit that I naively wasn't really considering the SAT yet.  It wasn't on my radar screen at all.  In my mind, that was something to worry about in a couple years.  I'm so glad that I am reviewing this ... if for no other reason than to enlighten ME about the test .. and to remind me that my children do need to begin preparing for college entrance exams. 

I'll be posting a full review later, but I did want to mention that the College Prep Genius set is currently on sale for 30% off, $79.99 for the whole set.


Click the TOS Homeschool Crew banner at the top to read more reviews on this product by other Homeschool Crew members.

Trusting in Him,
April

Overheard at Our House

We enjoyed a nice 3-day weekend with Steve home.  We didn't have big plans - we just puttered around the house, working together inside and outside.

1.  I was grating zucchini to freeze on Saturday, because I was back-logged in zucchini.  3 yo L was watching me, giving me a running commentary on the task, and waiting for her chance to take scraps to the chickens. 

When I was finished, she looked into the bowl of shredded zucchini and started talking to it.  "Awww, don't be scared" she said in a soothing tone. 

Um, scared of what?  Being cooked? I'd already shredded them to pieces, I doubt cooking could hurt any more than that.  I did explain to her that vegetables don't have feelings in real life.  Silly girl.

2.  Later that night, we were eating and 5 yo M told me how much he liked taking scraps out to the chickens.  He said he tossed in a piece of cantaloupe and a chicken started running with it, then another chicken chased it.   "It looked like football, Mom.  The cantaloupe was the football." 

Steve and I laughed, because he's right.  The chicken with the "football" is making a dash for the end zone, dodging all the other chickens trying to stop her.   Now all the kids talk about the "chicken football" going on in the chicken pen.  We had a lot of scraps to toss out to them this weekend, so they had lots of time to play "football".

3.  Steve brought home a used laptop for us on Friday.  He bought it since our second "kids computer" desperately needs to be upgraded.  We'll be reviewing some items in the next few months that really meant we needed a second internet-capable computer, and some of the e-books would be much easier to use on a lap top. 

The children have owned Roller Coaster Tycoon for awhile, but could not play it on their computer.  They eagerly loaded it onto the laptop, and gathered around.  When my kids play computer games, it's a spectator sport.  They all sit and watch the one who's playing and help them out with suggestions and lots of commentary.  Of course, that also means sometimes it dissolves into bickering and they have to turn it off. 

Roller Coaster Tycoon isn't any different.  But it's noisier because the younger children decided to "scream" along with the computer-generated roller coaster riders.  We soon put a stop to that, but it's harder to stop the 3 year old from doing it. 

Steve and I were talking at the table Sunday evening and she was "screaming" with the riders again, but in a quiet scream that was more cute than annoying.  Suddenly, I realized she was also throwing her arms in the air whenever the riders on the screen threw theirs up.  She sat on the arm of the loveseat, watching the screen, standing, throwing her arms up, and screaming along with the game riders. 

She's so cute at times, and so frustrating at others.  Like now, when she has emptied a shelf of DVDs (along with her almost 1 year old brother) and isn't cleaning it up.  I guess I'll go enforce my clean-up instructions now.

Trusting In Him,
April

TOS Crew Review: STUDYPOD book holder

I tried to sneak this latest  TOS Crew review item into the house.  I knew that it would be something the children fought over, and I wanted to try it out first.  I failed.  It arrived as we were heading out of town, so I looked it over and slipped it into my review basket.  Within 5 minutes my oldest daughter had snagged it, looked it over, and set it up in her school area.  She's had it ever since, although the other children keep asking for a chance to try it out.

 

If you're wondering what item held so much appeal to her, it was the STUDYPOD book holder by Genio, LLC.  The STUDYPOD is a plastic book stand that folds up to the size of a book so you can slip it into your tote bag and take it with you.  When you are ready to use it, you turn the back support to the side, open the folded stand, lock it open, flip down the book rests, and adjust the page-holders.  It's really fast and simple to use.

 

 

But the best part is that it works.  It holds your book at a nearly upright angle, making it easier to work.  You aren't hunching over a book, or trying to look at a flat page far away from you.  In our home, we love that it saves table space.  It allows the 3 older girls to have a little more room when working from textbooks around the same table.  I'd love to borrow it and use it in the kitchen with my cookbooks, but I'm not sure I'll be able to get it away from my girls. 

 

Note:  There is a slight learning curve involved in turning pages without tearing them.  But the STUDYPOD comes with instructions on two different methods for turning the pages, as well as instructions on setting up the STUDYPOD.  It just takes a little time to practice and adjust, but I wouldn't recommend using this as a music stand where you'll be turning pages quickly and frequently.

 

The STUDYPOD is sturdily built, compact, and lightweight -- although I wouldn't recommend letting your youngest ones mess with it much.  I'm sure given enough time my 3 year old and 5 year old could find some way to break it.

As a book support and study aid, it works wonderfully.  My 14 year old daughter said, "It's WICKED COOL!  We each need one, Mom! They're only $20!!"  (Actually they're less than that if  you buy more than one at a time.)

The STUDYPOD is available in blue, black, and pink.  The BOOKPOD (same product, different colors) is available in black, gray and beige.  They retail for $19.95 each, although if you buy two or more, there is a discounted price of $16.95 each (you can mix STUDYPODS and BOOKPODS for the discount). 

In addition, the STUDYPOD company is offering a $5.00 discount for a limited time.  To use the $5.00 coupon, you must order from the STUDYPOD website, and enter the code TOSBLOG5 when you check out. 


Click the TOS Homeschool Crew banner at the top to read more reviews on this product by other Homeschool Crew members.

Trusting in Him,
April