So Long, Farewell...

We are incapable of keeping our chickens in their yard.  After they got out and scratched in my garden again I had Nathan post an add for free chickens on craigslist.  They will be leaving with their new owner tonight!  I'll miss the fresh eggs and having them beg for weeds while I'm working in the garden, but I won't miss them tearing up my garden beds. 

Don't look at me like you're innocent!

Remind me sternly, if some day, I say, I want to get more chickens that I cannot have them!

You will grow up to wreck havoc in my veggie garden.

I was thinking about trying ducks instead.

But for now I will just enjoy not having to throw a hissy fit every time a chicken digs up my seedlings. 

Wordless Wednesday

TOS Crew Review: Writing Tales

Writing Tales

Writing Tales is a writing curriculum based on the classical method of teaching.  Level One is recommended for third to fourth graders, while Level Two is for fourth to fifth grade students.

At the beginning of each Student Workbook and Teacher's Guide is a scope and sequence which lists the story to be used in each lesson along with the grammatical concepts that will be covered.  Each story is used over two weeks, 10 days for the subject of two lessons.  Level 1 ends with 4 lessons of grammar reviews while Level 2 ends with 2 review lessons.  A resources list is included in the Teacher Guide along with games, and reproducibles for the games.  You can find these printables at the author's website to download and print for free instead of making copies from the book.

Lesson plans are included for both the homeschool and co-op teacher.

Level 1 Student Workbook- 180 pages
Level 1 Teacher Guide- 308 pages

Level 2 Student Workbook- 286 pages
Level 2 Teacher's Guide- 462 pages


Samples from Level One and Level Two.

The stories used in this program were written by Aesop, James Baldwin, Andersen, Horace E. Scudder, Brothers Grimm and others.  The Teacher's guide is easy to use.  Each day's work is explained clearly with examples and even a script on some lessons if you need it.  Each lesson is broken down into five days with each day's work clearly marked in the guide.  The guide has a section with the pages from the student workbook completed so if you are a little rusty on some grammar terms as I am you will not have to figure the answers out yourself or fear you are giving your students the wrong answers.  You are given a few days notice in the guide to have additional resources on hand.  I think these additional books only apply to Level 1 and they are also listed in the appendix.  I didn't use the additional resource as I did not have them on hand.

To use: Each set of two lessons begins with a story.  I'll walk you through the topics covered in lessons 9 and 10 so you can see how you would use this product.  Lesson 9 begins with the story The Princess and the Pea by Hans Christian Anderson.  Before reading the story aloud you can share some background information about he author which is provided for you in the Teacher Guide.  You then read the story and ask a few simple questions and have the child narrate the story back to you.  Then you practice sequencing events using a page from the appendix.

Day 2- Copy work from the workbook.  Introduce the grammar lesson using two pages in the workbook and the provided script.  Play Kaboom game

Day 3- Vocabulary worksheet.

Day 4- Reread grammar lesson and quotation page.

Day 5- Read the story again.  The student writes the rough draft and uses a checklist to edit.

Lesson 10, day 1- Spelling Practice page and Practice with Simple Quotes page.

Day 2- Read a fable from "Squids Will Be Squids" by John Sciesyka.  I will choose a fable from Aesop to use instead.  Discuss the story. Play Kaboom game.

Day 3- The student begins the final draft and uses the checklist to check it.  You look it over and correct any errors.

Day 4- Quotations and Grammar review pages.  Play red-light, green-light to review punctuation rules.

Day 5- The student writes the final version of his story including your corrections. 

My children and I enjoyed this writing program.  The stories were interesting and the workbook pages were not too difficult but challenging enough to be interesting.  I used Level 1 with my 3rd and 5th grade children.  They think writing on paper is bad for them so we did the workbook pages aloud instead.  I do intend to get tougher next year and have them do the program again with actual writing.  I think the concepts were taught well and step-by-step to build up new skills with lots of review.

I love this curriculum.  It is easy to use and writing, grammar, and spelling are taught together in a gentle, logical approach.  The lessons are the right length to keep my students interested without frustrating them with too much work.  I appreciate that the author used real literature as the backbone of this writing program.  One of the main problems I've had teaching writing is my children's inability to choose a writing topic.  Writing Tales solves that problem by having the student rewrite a story.  They get to add their own creative touches to the final draft which my children enjoyed.

The workbook is consumable.  You can use it without writing in it by having the child write answers on a separate sheet of paper if you don't want to buy one workbook for each student.  I found the Teacher Guide easy to use with very little planning.  My children enjoyed the games as a fun way to practice grammar concepts. 

I think after using Level 1 and 2 with my students they will have a good grasp of grammar and writing skills.  I highly recommend this writing course if you are looking for a way to complement a living books curriculum or even if you just love using great literature as a base for teaching. 

To order visit this page.
Writing Tales Level 1 Student Workbook $19.95
Writing Tales Level 1 Teacher's Guide $24.95
Writing Tales Level 2 Student Workbook $24.95
Writing Tales Level 2 Teacher's Guide $32.95

I received a free copy of Writing Tales Level 1 and  Level 2 from Olsen Books in order to write this review and have shared my honest opinion.  If you would like to read the opinions of other crew members please visit TOS Homeschool Crew blog.

Umm, I Don't Know What to Say About This!

Our egg hunt.  If you scroll all the way to the bottom you will find out what happens when I let my son write for me.
 

Jacob doesn't understand why a rabbit hides eggs.

Yes, he is in counseling.

Shouldn't it be a chicken?

I'm just kidding, he's not.

Caleb and Jacob were the roosters who hid the eggs this year.

He just thinks he's funny.

Rules before the hunt begins.

In a strange way.

And they're off.

 Or maybe he's just a teenager.

David and Isaac finding the easy eggs.

We hope he gets to go back to NMMI for his senior year of high school.

Elijah, Sarah, and Hannah finding eggs in the big kid zone.

Wait, maybe reform school would be better for him.

And now a word from Jacob.

Welcome to our Easter egg hunt. Although in appearance it is as normal as can be, the contents of the eggs are by no means normal. The poor, innocent, unsuspecting little children shown collecting the eggs are no longer in existence. These eggs contain just enough high explosives to send shrapnel flying in all directions, giving you a slim chance of survival. However, when these are collected and put together in large quantities (such as shown above) the chain reactions of the explosions leave a much slimmer chance of survival.

Book Review: The Dopple Ganger Chronicles Book 2

The Secret of Indigo Moon by G.P. Taylor

Eric Ganger, Sadie and Saskia Dopple are off to solve another mystery together.  Eric witnesses two men sneaking into the boarding school he and the twins live in in the middle of the night.  He watches them carry something through the front doors to their car.  When the men come back inside Eric follows them through a secret passage that leads to tunnels underground which link all of the expensive houses in the area.  The next day he enlists the help of the twins Sadie and Saskia to find out what the men were up to and where they were taking the treasures hidden below Isambard Dunstan's School for Wayward Children. 

The Secret of Indigo Moon is a good quality hardcover book written in the graphic novel style.  It is illustrated throughout with black and white drawings.  Interspersed throughout are comic strip pages.  This is a very interesting way to read a book.  I think the frequent change of format will keep the more reluctant reader interested and turning pages.

My children ages 7, 9, and 11 enjoyed this book.  My 9 year old was the first one to get the chance to read it and finished the book in three days.  Whenever he had free time I saw him with the book.  He is a good reader but I have never seen him as interested in a book as he was in this one.

The storyline is fast paced and action packed with a bit of allegory.  One of the twins sees an angel who talks to her about the Companion who is always with us.  The other children doubt the angel's existence but see a few things happen that the angel had foretold and begin to wonder if the girl has really seen her after all.

As a mom I was a little annoyed with some of the behaviour demonstrated by the twins.  They rule the school by being mean enough to get their way with the other girls.  There are a few instances where they threaten people, put slugs in food, or make rude comments about others.  Over all they are brave and do what is right.  I just didn't like their "mean" attitudes and that they were never sorry for being mean to others and even seemed proud of their "tough" behaviour. 

I received a free copy of this book from Tyndale Blog Network and have shared my honest opinion.

How We Raise Healthy Children

Mostly healthy and happy children.

My husband recently took a health class which prompted lots of discussion about our family's state of health.  Many of the people in his class couldn't figure out why their children were overweight.  Ours never have been.  We started wondering what we were doing with our youngsters that was so different from other families.  Here are a few of the things we came up with and that make up our philosophy on raising healthy children.

Getting sunshine, fresh air, and helping mom.

1. Very little sugar and junk food.  Even when I was an 18 year old mother of an infant I knew I didn't want him eating sugar and junk as he grew up.  We have always kept treats to a minimum.  Now we have a one treat a week rule.  We don't buy chips or other empty calories for snacks.  The children eat real food.  If they want chips they will cut up corn tortillas and fry them in coconut oil.

Babies love to help when everyone else is working.

2. Lots of sunshine and fresh air.  I make them go outside every day that the weather is nice enough, even in the winter, for at least an hour.  If it's cold I encourage them to go out anyway for as long as they can.  They need to get exercise and fresh air.  If they can't go out I'll think of ways to help them burn off some energy inside.  We don't use sunscreen and try to get enough sun exposure to keep our vitamin d levels up.

Lots of good books at home encourages readers.

3. Not much media time.  They use the computer a little for school.  I try to keep it to a minimum and would prefer not to use it  at all.  They don't watch t.v. or movies every day.  T.v. and movies are used as a treat or reward not as a daily habit.  I encourage them to read a book or play.  I do let them use the wii for up to 30 minutes per day as a chore payment but they are not allowed to sit in the living room and watch as others play. 

I make fermented veggies as an inexpensive way to get probiotics into our diet.

4. Real food diet.  Most of what the children eat does not come from a package.  I try to emphasize good fats, protein, veggies and fruits.  Carby foods are something that rounds out a meal not the main focus.  Here's an example of their menu.

Breakfast: Oats with butter and whole milk, fruit. Or eggs, fruit, bacon.

Lunch: Bean tacos with veggies, fruit and cheese.  Or meat, veggies, fruit.  Or soup, salad, baked potatoes.

Snack: Buttered popcorn, or nuts, or fruit, or hard boiled eggs.

Dinner: Spaghetti with homemade meat sauce and veggies and salad or chicken tacos with veggies.

It is important to get enough fat into their diet.  It keeps them satisfied until the next meal and gives them energy.

My gym.

5. I try to model healthy behavior by limiting my computer time, not watching t.v., reading, getting outside, exercising, and eating a healthy diet.  I also tell them the reasons we don't eat junk food and why they need to include protein and fat in each meal.  I have taught them to cook and they all help out in the kitchen each day. 

Good eggs from our hens.

My children stay pretty healthy with these basics.  They get the usual colds but they get over them quickly and I've never had to take them to the doctor for anything other than stitches and 1 broken bone.  Oh, and out of all 8 children they've only had 2 cavities.  And believe me that is not inherited, my husband and I have mouths full of fillings!  I prefer to use home remedies for colds and flu and only Tylenol for the occasional bad headache.

Read more great articles about health by clicking the button below.

TOS Crew Review: See The Light

See The Light Art Class

"I loved it!" Sarah, age 7.

See The Light DVD Art Classes are a super easy way to provide drawing lessons for your children.  Just pop in the DVD after you have gathered your students and some simple materials and let the learning begin.  The students are invited to join Pat Knepley for drawing club meetings.  The lessons are about 15 minutes long and cover one drawing concept per lesson.  Students are given homework to practice before the next club meeting.  The lessons are recommended for children ages 6-10.

A short Bible verse study is included in each lesson.  In lesson one as Pat is showing the students how to put the toolkit together she explains how the Bible is our toolkit for living.  When she is teaching contour drawing with an apple she talks about Adam and Eve.  Pat is very encouraging and keeps the lessons simple yet effective. 

"It was pretty good." Elijah, age 9.

My children enjoyed doing one lesson from the DVD each week and practicing their drawing each day before the next lesson. I enjoyed taking a break from weekly art lessons.  I appreciated the way Pat worked her faith gently into each lesson.  It seemed like a natural sharing of her faith in God.

My children ages 7, 9, 11, and 13 reviewed this product with me.  The lessons were appropriate for their ages.  I learned a few new things even though I've been teaching my children contour drawing off and on for years. 

"It was pretty cool.  If there are any more discs we should get them." Hannah, age 11.

We received Volume 1: Art Lessons 1-4 from See The Light to review.  Free lessons are available online.  You can also order a Free DVD while supplies last.

Lessons covered in Vol. 1:
1. Tools of the Trade
    tools needed, basic and overhand grip, shading

2. It All Starts With a Line
    contour drawing

3. Contours & Composition

4. Draw What You See

* Bonus Lesson
  Chalk-It-Easy Chalk Art Lesson

The tools needed for the first four lessons are a #2 pencil and paper.  Optional and nice to have are a charcoal pencil, charcoal, magic eraser, kneaded eraser, and sharpie marker.

I would recommend this as an easy way to add drawing lessons to your homeschool, especially if you don't think you can teach drawing. 

See The Light 1 Year Set of Art Lessons
9 Volume DVD Set
$99.99

Website subscription
$10.00 a month for four lessons accessed online.  You will have access to all previous lessons as the months pass.

I received a free DVD from See the Light in order to write this review and have shared my honest opinion.  If you would like to read other crew reviews of this product, please visit TOS Crew Homeschool blog.

Pretty Napkins, Happy Mama, Funny Sugar, and Real Air Cooling

Pretty
My mom sent us napkins for Sunday.  She has been sewing us different napkins for each holiday since last Thanksgiving. I enjoy having pretty napkins to use for each occasion.  We will use these daily for the next week or so.  We've been using our Valentine's Day napkins since February.  I need to get to work a make a few sets of everyday napkins with fun fabrics.

Happy
My thirteen year old son, Nathan bought these flowers last weekend with his own cash to plant a little garden out front.  It makes me happy that no matter how much he complains about helping in the garden he still wanted to make his own. 

Funny
Nathan's guinea pig, Sugar, provides us with lots of laughs.  She may look mean with those red eyes but she's as sweet as her name.  Her little friend Ginger is quite spicy and often gets in trouble.  It makes me smile to watch my son "parent" his piggies.

Real
It's getting warm here so my husband put the window unit back in our bedroom.  It doesn't looks very nice but I love being able to sleep in a cool room at night.  We have a swamp cooler but it's not very effective.  I don't know why anyone builds a house out here without air conditioning!

You can join in the fun over at Like Mother, Like Daughter.  Just click on the button below.  If you join up leave me a comment so I can visit you.  If you don't join up and leave me a comment I'll come visit you anyway.  Anytime you comment on my blog I'll return the favor.  I love comments! 

We are taking this week off of school to get caught up on some garden work.  Most of it centers around the dead tree my husband chopped down Sunday. 

The children and I have spent each morning outside working.  We do chores and some extra house work after lunch and then we do something fun together before I head off to my room to take a rest break. We head back out to the yard after dinner and don't come back in 'till bedtime.  It feels good to get so much work done and spend lots of time in the sunshine!

Monday I made homemade roasted salsa and the baking pan shattered in the oven.  I threw the rest of the glass baking pans away.  This is the fourth or fifth one that has shattered in the last year!

I eat the whimp salsa and the rest of the family enjoys hot.  I just spell checked wimp and realized I spelt it wrong on my jar.  I wonder when they will have auto spell check on pens?  I'm a wimp in mind and taste bud.

Monday I planted peppers.

 And tomatoes.  I'm trying out some of the ideas I found in the world record tomatoes book.

There is cement under that pile of gravel.  We'll get around to moving it soon.

We mulched them with compost and hay.  I hope the mulch helps them stay productive during the hot part of our summer.

I'm also trying his pruning recs.  That's why this tomato looks to bare.

My husband pulled the stump out of the ground with the truck.  It was fun to play on before it got chopped up.

 Here's the root.  Everyone was pretty impressed by how big it was.

Mayhem.

Today we got the corn planting area ready, spread compost, and burnt wood.  My husband is outside digging up pipe so he can add some more spigots to make watering easier.  After I finish this I will head back outside and see what I can find to do. 

Our teens are out of school for the rest of the week so we should be able to get a lot more work finished up.  I'm going to love taking a break from all of this labor next week when we go back to school!

Fire and the Story Behind It

Hello.  Here are some fire pics I took Sunday night which I am calling my sweet shots for the week.

I've never been able to take fire photos which actually look good.

I gave my new camera a test and it passed.

These photos were taken with my new lens, a Canon 50mm.  I have kept the new lens on my camera, an EOS Digital Rebel XSI, to learn how to use it and what kind of pictures I can take with it.  I have to move around a lot more to compose my photographs but I think it's making me more creative.

And now for the story behind the fire.  My hubby started taking down the dead tree in our back gardens.  This thing is in the middle of my flower bed right next to my veggie garden.

Here goes the big branch right over the lawn.

 Down, down,

down.

The first branch landed right across my herb garden in the middle of the veggie beds.  Amazingly none of the plants were damaged!

The second one landed in the flower bed, just missing the roses.  Whew, my husband was lucky!

Now, I just need to cross my fingers when he takes down the last two big branches and then the trunk.  One branch is right over the veggie garden so it will be close.

Any excitement at your house this week?