For the Next Month

From my garden to you

Hey peeps!
I will be taking a month off of personal reading(besides the Bible) and most media time.  The only reason I will use the internet will be to write my blog, homeschool, and check my email.  If you leave me a comment I will return it after my month off which ends March 25th.

Antics

I'm looking forward to learning more about how I use my time and will be sharing anything interesting that I learn from this journey here.  So far, I have enjoyed the extra time I now have to work in my garden, keep the house cleaner, and relax.  I've also been able to almost catch up on my Bible in a year reading plan.  

Somewhere in Arizona

I have reviews of children's books, Science DVD's and, of course, TOS Homeschool Crew coming up but you should be seeing more balance between my personal posts and review posts.

This blog comes to you from New Mexico.

As always, if you have any topic suggestions or questions you would like to see answered here about gardening, homeschooling, raising lots of children, or anything else you think I know about please leave me a comment.  I value you as my reader and wish to offer something useful or funny to make your day brighter when you visit here.

The Last of the New Pet Posts

We bought the little boys a goldfish so they wouldn't feel left out as their older siblings got new friends.  I also bought a fancy goldfish for me, a black moor.  Elijah, our 10 year old, bought a fish bowl and two tiny feeder fish.  David, 3, named his fish Iron Man and Isaac, 5, is calling his Superman.  Mine doesn't have a name and neither do Elijah's.

And that is the end of the new pets.  There won't be anymore.  I couldn't bring myself to say "there ain't no more."  But now I did anyway.  It hurts to type that!

Any exciting additions in your household?

Live and Serve With The End In Mind

Lesson 8-  Persevere With The End In Mind is based on 1 Peter 4:7-19.  Here is Sue Edward's introduction to lesson 8.
"Our lives are a breath; eternity forever.  Seeing life this way affects everything, especially when we are saddled with struggles and trials.  In this passage, Peter teaches us more about how to live and think in the midst of tough times."

In this lesson you will learn to look at the big picture as you view the struggles in your life.  You will also learn how to live and serve with the end of your life in mind.

I enjoyed a much needed change of viewpoint in my life.  I am thinking more about what it most important in my life.  How I spend my time really does matter and I will be making some changes.

From the Lips of Homeschooled Children

This week on the TOS Homeschool Crew Blog Cruise we will learn what homeschooled children like best about homeschool.  Here are the answers I heard when I asked my own children the question; What do you like best about homeschool?

Sarah(8) says, "I get to read."

"I get to learn how to read", says Isaac(6).

David(3) says he's gonna learn how to read.  Hmm, we have an interesting theme going on here, or just maybe, I asked the children above what they liked best about homeschool within hearing of each other. 

Nathan(14) likes sleeping in.

Elijah(10) says, "I get to watch my fish while I do my math.  I get to write stories and read in the green chair."

"I like to do math and hold my guinea pig at the same time." ~Hannah(12)  In other words she likes taking her pet to school every day.  I'm jealous, 'cause I would have loved to take my pets to school with me too.

And I know I wasn't asked, but if I had been homeschooled as a child I would have loved having more time to read and pursue my ever changing interests.

Why do your children love to homeschool?

Click here to read what other crew members have to say.

K5 Learning

K5 covers reading, reading comprehension, spelling, math and math facts drill through a fun and interactive web based computer program.  Reading instruction encompasses spelling, phonics, sight words and reading comprehension.  Math includes numbers and operations, geometry, measurement, algebraic thinking and data analysis.  K5 is for grades Kindergarten through grade 5 and is intended to be used as an after school program to help children improve reading and math.

Try a lesson- no download required

My daughter loves to read so she spent a lot of time working on the reading portion of K5.  she enjoyed the stories and answering the comprehension questions.  Here is what she said about her experience with the K5 website.
"I got to play games.  They have a lot of different stories."

Sarah doesn't like math very much but was willing to do some math each day on K5.  Some days she spent her required 30 minutes using the math facts drill portion of the website but most days she enjoyed working on a math lesson.  She enjoyed the math games.

Get your free assessment

It is easy to log in to the parent account and view reports of your child's learning progress.  The reports are easy to understand and rate your student's abilities in different areas of reading and math.  You can go to a list of reading and math lessons by grade and assign specific lessons you would like your child to work on which I thought was a nice feature of this program.  There is a selection of free printable math worksheets for grades 1-6. 

When we signed up for an account I requested a placement test to make sure my daughter was working at the proper level instead of assigning her to the grade work she is in.  She took the test and was placed where she needed to begin.  She has made quite a bit of progress since she began working with K5 a month ago.

14 Day Free Trial

I would recommend this program for any homeschool mom who is having a hard time getting daily lessons done with her children.  K5 would be excellent to use for those first few difficult months after a new baby is born, in times of poor health, or just when you can't get it together enough for teacher-led school.  It would also make a wonderful after school supplement to regular school.

My only drawbacks to this program were that many of the vocabulary words which were taught to my daughter in the reading section were words that she already knows so I felt the questions were a waste of time.  She also didn't seem to be able to recall specifics of what she learned in the math lessons.  She tested low in the phonics assessment which I thought was odd considering she learned to read with phonics and is one of my best readers.  She seemed annoyed at the phonics portion of the website since she already knew most of what she was being taught. 

To purchase visit K5 Learning
Monthly Subscription
1st Child $25
Additional Children $15

Annual Subscription
1st Child $199
Additional Children $129

As a member of TOS Homeschool Crew I received a free subscription 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.

Getting Ready for Spring

Before cleaning up

This week in the garden I've been working on cleaning up the paths and edges of my raised beds.  I do a little work each day so I don't hurt my back.  I accidentally hurt a worm while I was digging one day as it was close to the surface.  I wonder if that is a sign of an early spring?

After

We took down the chicken fencing a few weeks ago and are working on getting what used to be the chicken yard ready to plant.  We need to put up fencing for the peas. 

I have a lot of work to do back there! 

The spring bulbs have been green since fall, but they are looking more promising now.  We had a crocus flower this week but my little boy picked it so I can't take a pic to show you.  I wish I had planted bulbs last fall.  Maybe this year.  Many of the daffodils I planted three years ago have gone missing and some of them never even flowered last year. 

After we fix the hole, she makes it bigger.  Anyone want a dog?

Our dog dug a hole in the lawn.  Bad dog!  We have been watering the grass about once a month on a warm day.  Hopefully, it will be nice and green soon.

All of my pansies disappeared.  I don't know why.  I'm waiting as patiently as possible for more to be available at the store.

The buds on the trees are swelling.  Every time I think spring will never get here I look out the window at the trees and know that there is hope.  

I think this is Dragon's Breath Sedum.  It adds color all year and is easy to divide and transplant.

How is spring coming along where you live?

Dianthus is cold hardy in our climate.

Reading eggs

Reading Eggs is a web-based program for ages 3-14 which teaches children to read and improve their reading skills.  Reading is taught with a combination of phonics and sight words and will support the learning your child is doing at home or school to improve his reading ability. Children are taught with interactive animation, games and songs.  Each lesson ends with the fun reward of a new pet and book.  Reading Eggs has completed 100 lessons for ages 3-7 and is continuing to build more lessons for older users. Older children will learn reading, writing, spelling and comprehension.

Once children have completed the learn to read portion of the website offered as Reading Eggs they will move on to ABC Reading Eggspress which was created for grades 2-7.  Here children will experience learning on a spinning island.  They will work on lessons, compete against each other and earn rewards as they improve their skills.  Fiction and nonfiction texts are used on this level. 

Sign up for a free trial

I signed my 3 year old up as my guinea pig for this review.  The first lesson went well for him.  He learned the sound for M and played some games to reinforce what he was learning.  One of the games was to click on the letter M.  He had a difficult time working the mouse to click on the right letter.  He became frustrated with the lessons and only completed a few.  I had him try the playroom and he enjoyed it a lot more than the lessons.  I think it is a more appropriate place for the youngest learners to start.  In the playroom the student can read alphabet books, paint, cook in a play kitchen, play with interactive toys, do puzzles, make virtual crafts, play music, learn animal sounds, play dress up, and listen to nursery rhymes.

I let my son use Reading Eggs for about 30 minutes each day as I worked with his older siblings.  Usually my 5 year old would help him on the harder parts of each lesson or if he needed help controlling the mouse.  It was a good way to keep him busy for a little bit.  My favorite part of the program so far were the nursery rhymes.  My little boys learned a few of their favorites by watching them over and over each day.  I think the games are good to help little guys learn how to use the mouse. 

As I was exploring the Reading Eggs website I found worksheets which are available free to download and use with each lesson.  I can view my son's reading progress which tells me his estimated reading age and how many phonics skills and sight words he knows.  It also tells me which lesson he is working on and how many golden eggs(rewards) he has earned.  There is a list of what he has done recently so I can see if he has been working on lessons or just playing games.  We did not use the Reading Eggspress part of the website so I don't have any opinion on that part of the program.

To purchase visit Reading Eggs
12 month subscription $75.00
6 month subscription $49.95
Monthly subscription $9.95
Reading Eggs also has books available for purchase.

As a member of TOS Homeschool Crew I received a free subscription 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.

Progress or Not

I will not give up on my quest to get stronger and fitter.  I worked on the mobility exercises each day and I'm finding new places to be sore with each stretch.  I feel looser and like everything is working better which is important progress.  No deviation from my diet but I did cut out the treats and extra nuts and carbs.  It's too soon to tell if that will help me drop some weight.  I did lift weights three times and did a few intervals one day.  I'm still taking 10,000 steps each day.  Well, that is my goal anyway, but I have achieved it the last four days.

Inch loss- I lost an inch
Weight-lack of -loss I lost .2 pounds but am still up 1.6 from my lowest

I haven't been getting outside enough so my new goal is to spend at least 15 minutes outside no matter what the weather.  It just improves my mood and makes me happy to go outside.  I'm trying to get the garden in order for spring so if I make it out the door I end up getting some work done which is extra exercise!

I'm linking up with Tea Time With Annie Kate and The 90 Day Weight-loss Challenge

something thoughtful

Hey, guess what?  You can find all of the Compassion bloggers listed on Compassion's website.  Isn't that neat?  Oh, and I received a gift from Compassion in the mail last week.  It was a new photograph of our sponsored child.  It was so wonderful to see how he has grown.  They also included two photos on bookmarks and three wallet sized photos.  The idea is to use the bookmarks to remind you to pray for your sponsored child each day.  I'm keeping one in my Bible!  You can give the wallets away to others and ask them to pray for your child.  What a neat idea.  I'm placing one on our fridge so we can see him everyday and be reminded of all that we have and to keep him in our prayers.

Click here to find more info on sponsoring your own child through Compassion

The last letter I received from Jeff(our sponsored child) was dated in December but it was in our mailbox just a few weeks ago.  Our child lives in Haiti so that is part of the delay.  The letters have to be translated before they are sent to the sponsors.  He asked me if we celebrate Christmas and then mentioned how he celebrates Christmas as a reminder of Christ's death as a gift to him.  It was wonderful to see him mention his faith in a letter.  That was the first time he wrote about Christ and it brought a tear of joy to my eyes.  He is just a month and a half older than my daughter Hannah who is 12.  It is wonderful to see him growing up with God!  Truly, I think the sponsors receive more than the sponsored children. 

I just wanted to share my happy news with you.

Science Resource: The World of Animals

The World of Animals- Fascinating Facts About the World of Animals by Walter's and Johnson My Father's World edition published by Master Books.

In the World of Animals you will learn about Simple Animals, Worms, Snails and Starfish, Insects and Other Arthropods, Fish, Amphibians and Reptiles, Birds, and Mammals.  The book also contains a glossary and Index.

This photograph filled book is over 240 pages full of information on animals for ages 8 and up.  It is from a Christian perspective so you don't have to worry about your children being exposed to the theory of evolution as they read it.  Each two page spread include interesting side-bars which contain a summary of the animal type, labeled diagrams or interesting facts.

This is a large beautiful book full of animal facts.  Each page has photographs and illustrations.  Each chapter starts with a basic overview of the new topic and then specific animals are listed along with interesting facts about them.

My children enjoyed looking at and reading this book and will get many hours of study from it.  It would work as a stand alone text for learning about animals in the homeschool or as an introduction to a more in-depth research project or unit study of a specific animal.

This book will easily become one of the favorites in our home even for the youngest children who are not reading yet.  The photographs will enthrall children of any age and invite them to read more about what they are seeing.

My 10 year old son says, "I think it is pretty interesting.  I like learning about the fish the most."

I received a free copy of this book from New Leaf Publishing in order to write this review and have shared my honest opinion.

All About Reading Level I

Last year we reviewed and enjoyed using All About Reading Level Pre-1 from All About Learning Press.  This year we are using and loving All About Reading Level 1.  I love, love, love this program!  My 5 year old son also loves it.  There now that I got that out of the way I can tell you a little more about how All About Reading works and maybe you will start to see why we love it so much.  I will try to refrain from using love in this review again.  

First up is a picture of the Level 1 Teacher's Manual, Activity Book, Level 1 Readers, Phonogram Cards, Word Cards and the nifty Bookmark Reading Tool which is included in the All About Reading Level 1 Kit.  We received this along with the Deluxe Reading Interactive Kit which I will show you next.

The Deluxe Reading Interactive Kit contains a Reading Review Box(file box for all of your flashcards), Letter Tiles and magnets, a Basic Phonogram CD-ROM, Reading Divider Cards, Reward Stickers, and a Reading Tote Bag to keep everything neat and ready to go.  I keep all of our supplies in the reading tote by my son's school desk.  He brings it to me every morning when we are ready to begin our lesson time.  The tote bag is sturdy canvas and the perfect size for all of the supplies. 
 

Below is everything together before I set up our new reading program.  The materials are high quality and you can see the care that goes into these products as you unpack your box of goodies.

And now on to the lessons.  There are two types of lessons in Level 1; new sounds and words and review.  I will walk you through each lesson type.

 

In the teaching lessons, new sounds and words are introduced with phonogram and word flashcards.  The teacher can review the proper formation of the new sounds with the Basic Phonogram CD-ROM.  The Teacher's Manual also explains each sound if you have taught phonics before but need a quick reminder.  Before the new teaching the child reviews the phonograms and words he has not yet mastered from previous lessons using flashcards.  Below my son is practicing his new sounds with the flashcards.

After the new phonograms have been introduced and practiced you move on to blending practice using the letter tiles.  It is convenient but not required to magnetize the letters and use them on a magnetic white board.  Here we are using a small lap sized board but later we will use our large whiteboard so we can spread out all of the Letter Tiles.  The tiles are used to form a word and then to change the word to a new one by swapping out the first or last tiles.  Ex., rat becomes mat which then becomes man.

After using the word tiles the child gets to do an activity sheet from the Student Activity Book.  The activities are usually a game or cut and paste type craft.  Your student can also color the pages if he desires.  My son enjoys playing the games again in his free time.  His older siblings also enjoy playing the games with him for even more practice.  So far his favorite game has been feeding words to the monster.

After a fun activity break the child receives new word cards to read.  You file any words he still needs practice on in the review section of the file box and any he has read easily in the mastered section.  I find the file box to be a wonderful tool to keep everything sorted out and ready for the next lesson.  The phonogram cards are filed the same way in their own sections.

Most lessons also include a fluency sheet for further reading practice.  Each fluency page has a section of new words, review words and simple sentences for the student to read.  We like to use our reading tool with the fluency pages.

After the lesson is complete the child gets to put a reward sticker on his chart.  There are 49 lessons in level 1.  We spend 15 minutes each morning on our reading lesson and usually finish 4-5 lessons a week.  In the afternoon I have my son read for 5-10 more minutes from his fluency sheet for extra practice.  My son enjoys his lessons and is easily learning to read but if he was a reluctant reader or needed extra practice I would move a little slower and require 3 shorter reading sessions a day.  The last part of the lesson is 20 minutes of read aloud time.  I count any reading my son is present for as read aloud time so I didn't have to add it into our already busy homeschool schedule. 

The second type of reading lesson includes a quick review of the phonogram and word cards and then the student reads two stories from one of the Level 1 readers.

The readers are beautifully illustrated, hardcover books with interesting stories, many of which my son found hilarious.

The Teacher's Manual is laid out lesson by lesson.  You don't have to flip from section to section to read details.  Everything you need for the day is written together in clear language with illustrations to help you see at a glance what to do.  Questions are given to ask your student before he begins reading each story from the reader which should help build comprehension and thinking skills as he learns to read.  Appendixes include a Scope and Sequence, Phonograms taught, Full Blending Procedure, Solving B-D Reversal Problems, A list of words taught in Level 1, and a few pages to include your own notes.

Here is a note I wrote in my journal about my experience using All About Reading with my son.  "I'm very impressed with the progress Isaac has made through the first 10 lessons of AAR.  We work for about 15 minutes each morning and then 5-10 minutes each afternoon.  He usually needs the afternoon time to read the second story in his reader or work on his fluency page.  If I remember I also have him read to his father in the evening for a little more practice.  The change in activities during each lesson keeps him interested and working longer than if he were only reading a book or using a workbook.  Lots of practice is included in each lesson with the word flashcards, phonogram cards and whiteboard activities.  With a short lesson it is easy to keep a positive attitude and encourage my student.  If the morning session is not going well I will shorten it and hope he does better in the afternoon, which he usually does.  If I feel he is struggling I will just have him read the fluency sheet for our lesson time and wait to go on to the next lesson.  This program is very easy to customize to the slower learner or the student who needs more practice before learning the next set of phonograms."

And now a word from my son.  "It's fun, it's awesome.  I learn how to read and it's really, really fun."  He gives All About Reading Level 1 a big thumbs up and a smile.

To purchase All About Reading Level 1 please visit All About Learning Press.

Level 1 Kit $99.95
Deluxe Reading Interactive Kit $48.95
Basic Reading Interactive Kit $28.95 
Kit components are also sold separately 

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