I Just Want To Say

7 years ago a neighbor visited during nap time and I didn't pay attention to the noise in the bedroom until it was too late.

That homeschooling and keeping house don't mix(not very well, at least).  I think every homeschool family should receive free housekeeping help.  That is all. 

My current team of trouble makers.

Well, maybe a few hours per day of childcare help also when there are little ones in the mix.  And a cook.  And lets throw in a gardener.  Maybe even a private tutor if you have many students. 

Preparing breakfast for 8.

Don't ask me who or how all of this would be paid for.  I don't think I would want all of those strangers at my house though. 

For now this babysitter will have to do.

So, never mind.  But I would like the general public to understand how much time it takes to homeschool and if our homes are a mess sometimes to cut us some slack.  Did I use enough cliche's? 

Have a happy homeschool week!

TOS Crew Review: Ooka Island

Ooka Island Adventure is a computer game which teaches reading skills to children in grades Pre-K through 2nd.  As the child progresses through the game he unlocks more activities and books.  Ooka Island uses games and activities that teach pre-reading, reading, spelling and writing skills.

The books the child earns are interactive.  The story is read aloud as the words are highlighted on the page and then the child answers questions about the story and plays games that use words from the story.  I think this will increase the child's list of sight words and work on reading comprehension.

I played one game while my son was logged in to see what the program is like for kids.  I rode in an ore cart through a mine until I came to a road block.  When I heard the phonetic sound I was listening for and clicked on the screen the barrier lifted and my cart started rolling again.  I went around turns and up and down hills.  The sound is listened for about 8 times before the cart comes to the end of the road.  At the end the letter that goes along with the sound is lit up and then you play another game while you are still in the mine.  You listen for the beginning sound of a word and look for it with a magnifying glass.  This is great ear training with a fun format.

Ooka Island directs the child from game to game.  He earns free play and then he can spend some time playing any game he chooses.  I think having the child directed from game to game is a nice feature so that he doesn't spend all of his time playing the same game over and over.

"It was funner than going outside and playing.  I like alphabet mountain.  The game taught me to write because it had the alphabet in it."  Isaac, 5 years old

My son enjoyed playing Ooka Island and I think it is making his study of phonics easier.  I had him use the program for 15-30 minutes a day a few times per week.  30 minutes was as long as he wanted to play at one time.  He would probably use the program 2+ times per day if I allowed him to.

I thought the games were purposeful and not just entertaining.  My son practiced his sounds and learned letters and sight words by playing.  I thought the interactive books and the activities that go along with them were well thought out and useful learning tools.  I don't usually like computer learning programs but Ooka Island seems like a worthwhile product and I don't mind my son using it as a fun way to learn reading.

This is a fun and easy way to get some extra phonics practice in each day.  It can also be used as a primary phonics program.

To purchase visit Ooka Island Adventure.
Family Pricing
1 child                 monthly price $12.95, 6 months $59.95, 1 year $99.95
up to 4 children  monthly price $19.95, 6 months $99.95, 1 year $129.95
*school pricing is also available*

I received a free membership to Ooka Island Adventure in order to write this review and have shared my honest opinion.  If you would like to read more reviews please visit TOS Homeschool Crew blog.

Goodbye Summer

I have a headache so if anything I write seems a little strange, you know why.

I went outside to see what I could see and found this little guy helping his dad burn some wood and trash.

We still have bits of the huge dead tree that we cut down this spring left to burn.

And then I decided to investigate how the plants survived the cold morning we had today.  The marigolds are still adding bright color to the gardens.

The peppers didn't pull through.

I'm amazed that the tomatoes have survived this long.  They were frosted on top but the rest of the leaves were fine.

Goodbye flower garden.

Goodbye green beans.

 The last rose.

Sunflowers which will never have a chance to flower.

Goodbye bees.

Hello, fall color.

Maybe next week I will have something a little more inspiring or interesting to share.  This gardener feels like a long winter nap is about to happen. 

*Remember I am giving away a cope of Three Cups.  If you would like to enter just click here to go to the giveaway post.*

Am I Fit? I Don't Know!

Raw foods are good for your liver. 

I lost 2.25 inches and 2/10s of a pound.  This is one of the weeks of the month I usually gain and I was very happy to feel my clothes getting looser instead! 

I'm still sleeping a lot.  I had two nights that were just over 8 hours but the rest were 9-9.5 with last night being almost 10 hours!  The extra sleep is taking some of my quiet evening hours away but I'm getting more done each day.  I have more energy without as much of an afternoon slump each day.  I even feel hyper off and on throughout the day.  I'm tired by 9 pm which is new for me because that is when I usually felt really awake.  I've always wanted to sleep for 8+ hours even though I felt I should grow up already and sleep like an adult.  Now, I'm enjoying lots of sleep without the guilt!  According to the book Lights Out  we should sleep 9.5+ hours per night during the winter which should start in September and last for 7 months.  You should also keep your carbs to under 45 to burn all of your stored fat.  In the summer you can sleep less and eat more carbs.  It does make sense even though it's difficult to implement in our modern times.

I'm still afraid to eat eggs even from our chickens.  I'm taking a nice break from them.

As for my goals I did not walk as I planned to.  I had a bad headache yesterday and had to rest.  I'm still getting at least 5000 steps each day even if I don't walk.  I ate more raw veggies.  I did a little of my tummy exercises.  I still can't do very much without upper ab pain.  I did not even attempt a T-Tapp stretch.  And I haven't done any weight work.  I was trying to wait till evening so hubby could work out with me but then other things had to be done and the weight training didn't happen.  I might have to do them during the day instead.  We will try to workout tonight and Sunday.

Next week's goals:
*Raw food at each meal
*Try sauerkraut
*Walk outside each day
*Weights 2X
*More tummy work
*Try T-Tapp stretch

How did your fit week go?  I'm linking up at Tea Time with Annie Kate. 

Three Cups Review and Giveaway!

Three Cups, A Lesson in Life and Money for Kids story by Tony Townsley Written by Mark St. Germain Illustrated by April Willy

Three cups explains how to give, save, and spend through a simple story that children will understand.  In the story a boy receives three cups for his birthday to use in budgeting his new allowance.  His parents promise him many adventures will come as he uses his three cups and they do.


Sneak Peek

The illustrations are nicely done with many details in each.  The look of the book makes it appealing to many ages.  In the back of the book you will find a Parent's Guide to help you start the three cups system with your children.

I think this book is a nice way to teach children about money management in a simple way they can understand and use even when they are adults.  I think it's important to teach children how to manage their money while they are still young so when they are older they won't make as many mistakes. This is a wonderful book to accompany your child's gift of three cups and an allowance.

I received a free copy of Three Cups in order to write this review and have shared my honest opinion.

Now for the giveaway!  Thomas Nelson publishers has provided a copy of Three Cups for me to give away.  To enter just leave a comment and I will draw a winner next Friday, November 4th. 

TOS Crew Review: Classical Phonics and First Start Reading from Memoria Press

Classical Phonics, a child's guide to word mastery, is Word Mastery by Florence Akin(published in 1913) updated by Cheryl Lowe.  Cheryl updated the pictures and changed the way the book is organized so it will be more user friendly to today's modern students.  I have used Word Mastery and I think Cheryl's updates are nicely done without losing the simplicity from the original book.

The colorful cover and size make this book appealing to my five year old son. We are using it each day at the beginning of our phonics lesson to review the sounds my son has already learned and the words he can read.  It is a book that we will be using daily for at least the first year of his phonics instruction.

First Start Reading by Cheryl Lowe takes Florence Akin's phonics instruction suggestions to an easy to use workbook format.  Daily work includes ear training, phonics instruction, and letter formation.  Most lessons include coloring or drawing a picture.

I think the cover design is sweet and cheerful.

The Teacher's Guide contains clear instructions on using the workbooks.  Each lesson is scripted so you know exactly how to instruct your student and don't forget to include any elements of daily work.

Let's do our Phonics lesson!  First he reads Classical Phonics.

The appendix includes helpful charts which can be hung up by the child's work surface to remind him to read from left to right, the vowels, how to hold his pencil, and a picture to help him avoid mixing up "b" and "d".

Now, he's reading his lesson in First Start Phonics Book A.

I love this phonics program!  The pictures are simple and there for a purpose so they do not distract the student from his lesson.  I thought the inclusion of a picture to draw or color was a nice close for each lesson.  My son, Isaac, enjoyed his daily lessons.  They were just the right length, with each new lesson being an easy step up from the day before.

Letter formation

My son is progressing well in his lessons but if he starts to struggle an extra practice session or two with Classical Phonics each day would help him catch up.  Every few days I ask him to bring his book and read to Dad which is a great confidence builder.  He also likes to share the pictures he draws and colors in his workbook.  When he reads Classical Phonics I emphasize to him that he is reading and point out all of the words he already knows.

I recommend this phonics program as a great way to teach reading.  Everything you need besides a pencil and pack of crayons or markers is included!  You don't need any teaching experience to use Classical Phonics or First Start Reading.  The instructions included in both will have you teaching phonics right away and with confidence.

*Each workbook takes 7-10 weeks to complete(there are 3 in the set)
*Consonants, short vowels, 45 common words, and manuscript printing are included in this program

Purchase Classical Phonics for $14.95 from Memoria Press

Purchase First Start Reading with the Teacher Guide for $29.95 from Memoria Press
The student set is $22.00

As a member of TOS Homeschool Crew I received a free copy of Classical Phonics and First Start Reading in order to write this review and have shared my honest opinion.   If you would like to read more reviews please visit TOS Homeschool Crew blog.

Read Aloud Challenge October 27th

We are reading The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis.  I read it many years ago to my older children but I don't remember the story.  Isn't that strange?  Don't tell me it's old age!

I love the way Lewis writes.  His books make for wonderful read-alouds.  As I stop reading at the end of each chapter I hear lots of "Mom, don't stop!"  "Ah, mom.", etc.

What are your favorite books that you read to your children?  Did you do any good reading this week?

I'm linking up with Footprints in the Butter for Debra's Read Aloud Challenge.

TOS Crew Review: Excellence in Literature, Introduction to Literature

Excellence in Literature Reading and Writing Through the Classics, Introduction to Literature is for grades 8+.  It is the first book in the College prep series by Janice Campbell, published by Everyday Education.  Study begins with short stories in the first unit and each additional unit covers full-length works such as, Jane Eyre, Animal Farm, Around the World in 80 Days and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.  The guidebook is written to the student and the student is encouraged to go through the study independently with a parent or teacher acting as a mentor.  One of the goals of this book is to prepare the student for college level writing and study habits.

You will need to provide your student with the books to be studied and writing resources.  The recommended resources are a dictionary, thesaurus and writer's handbook.  Janice instructs the student on how to read a book and use the necessary resources.

When we received the ebook version of Introduction to Literature I printed it and placed it in a binder and then read through the first few chapters and Unit One so I knew what was expected of my student.  I handed the book over to him and explained how it worked and asked him to read the beginning of the book and to begin Unit One.

Nathan, my 13 year old literature student, got right to work and handed me the rough draft of his first paper 2 days before it was due.  He didn't follow the example format in the book carefully enough so I talked him through it and made notes so he could correct his errors.  He fixed his mistakes and handed it in and then my husband and I looked it over.  My husband gave him the final grade.

This course is writing intensive.  I am confident that by the end of this course my son will have an easier time writing a quality paper.  I like the book selections used in the course and many of them were already on the list of books I want my son to read.  I have not used an official literature course with my older students before so it is nice to have everything planned out and ready to go without much work from me.

To purchase Introduction to Literature visit Everyday Education.
Print book(8.5x11, 132 pages) $29 plus $4.95 priority mail shipping
Ebook, available for instant download $27.00

As a member of TOS Homeschool Crew I received a free copy of this book in order to write this review and have shared my honest opinion.  To read more reviews please visit TOS Homeschool Crew blog.

Procrastination

Monday I brought my camera into the schoolroom to take some review photos.  I started taking some pics of my students as I procrastinated.  I didn't want to get to work.  Good thing the children are in the habit of getting to work each day no matter what I'm doing.

Elijah likes to work out his math problems on the white board.

Sarah has her own style of reading.

Hannah was procrastinating at too.  See all of the unauthorized items on her desk?

Caleb has graduated but he insisted I take his picture.  I was trying to get a halo effect with the light behind him.  He works nights so he usually makes an appearance(disruption?) in our school days.

He's the firstborn and thinks he's the apple of my eye.

See what I mean?  I'm just happy that I finally have a fellow bookworm in the family.

Caleb is our math guy and can't resist any math problem.  He used to be my math teacher until he got a job.  I think he would be a natural as a teacher if he ever pursued a career in the math field.

And then I made myself put the camera away and get to work. 

A Look At My Simple One Page Lesson Plan Method for Six Students

You must know a little about me to understand my planning.  I have six students to keep track of and I have to use the KISS system to make things work for me.  Below is a pic of what I use for planning.  One simple page per week.  Three of my students are in the same History and Science program so I can share those categories for them.  Nathan, my 9th grade student, works independently but I list daily reminders on my plan for both of us.  Isaac and David, my kindergarten and preschool students each have a row of squares to help me stay on track with their work.  I hope you can tell what I'm talking about from the photo.  On the left hand is the list of subjects.  I, D, and N stand for Isaac, David and Nathan.

I also list our goals for the month at the top of my page and highlight any notes to myself(like remember Bible memorization) at the bottom. 

Each Friday I pull out all of my teacher guides and list what needs to be done on the next week's page.

I keep my guides to the right of my desk.  In the morning I make a huge pile on my desk and then get to slowly clear it off again.

As we finish the work each day I mark it off with a highlighter so I'm not constantly rereading things we have already finished.  I like to use the highlighter because some of the items will go on the next week's list and it is easy to see what they were when I do my planning.  Oh, one more section I include is a row for prep work.  I list what needs to be printed for the next day so I don't have to do a bunch of printing and prepping on the weekend.  I think I spend about 15 minutes a week planning out the next week.  I only plan one week at a time in case someone gets sick or something comes up and we can't complete all of our lessons that week.  If I planned further ahead I would have to redo the planning pages.

I list the subject in the margin instead of the first square so I can save the last square for extra notes, if needed.

So that is my simple one planner page for six students method.  I hope you found it helpful or at least I gave you an idea or two.

TOS Crew Review: Marshall Publishing George Washington Caver His Life and His Work DVD

George Washington Carver His Life and His Work DVD from Marshall Publishing

This 30 minute video is a quick overview of the life and accomplishments of George Washington Carver.  Many of the places he lived and studied are shown which was a nice way to get a better idea of what his life was like and of the time period he lived in.  Video footage of his lab at Tuskagee was shown along with a few short film clips of him.  One video clip that was included is of him speaking which I found fascinating.  I didn't realize that he had been filmed in his later years and was pleasantly surprised to see him walking, working and talking.  

Free Study Guide to go with the DVD

I didn't find an age range listed for this video but it held the attention of my younger students with my 9+ students enjoying and learning from the DVD.  My younger students enjoyed the nature footage and sat still long enough to watch it.  I tried it out on my children ages 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, and 13.  I think adding the study guide before the video would make it more understandable for those who have not read much about George W. Carver.  I have read a biographey of Mr. Carver so I was able to explain a few things as we watched the video together.  I also think a brief description of the living conditions during Carver's lifetime would help younger students understand a little more about the video. 

Marshall Publishing offers many DVD's for all ages.

This video would be a nice compliment to U.S. History study for High School students or for anyone wanting to learn more about George Washington Caver.  It may also inspire further study of George W. Carver who was a fascinating and inspiring person and accomplished many great things despite the hardships he faced in his life.

To purchase George Washington Carver His Life and His Work DVD visit Marshall Publishing
On sale now for $19.95

As a member of TOS Homeschool Crew I received a free DVD in order to write this review and have shared my honest opinion.  To read more reviews visit TOS Homeschool Crew blog.