Build a Raised Bed

Since we were building a raised bed I took pictures so I could share the process with you.  My husband built a basic box out of 2X6's.  He used a level to make sure the box was straight and then staked it in place.  We used some of our rocky fill dirt in the bottom of the bed to reduce the amount of compost mix we needed and to fill in the space between the bottom of the box and the ground so the good soil doesn't wash out.

We are building our raised beds 6 feet wide with 3 foot paths in between.  Most recommendations are for beds that are about 4 feet wide.  I would suggest you measure out a mock bed that is the finished width you think you want and see if it will work for you.  I have long arms and have used wider beds so am comfortable with a larger bed.  I wanted to be able to cram more into my beds so I chose a wider width. 

I tried to level the site before he put the box in.  You can see I was a bit off.  He leveled the box and I will have to bring the ground level up to make it even.

My hubby and 10 year old son mixed compost and sandy soil(from our yard) to fill the box.  We left a little room on top so I can add mulch later.

It's a pretty simple and easy process.  On the left is the compost and the pile on the right is our sandy soil.  We will be bringing in a garden mix for the rest of the boxes.

And now it's full and ready to go.  I soaked the soil well in preparation for planting the next evening.

I planted tomatoes, marigold, basil and peppers.  I will add mulch to the top of the bed after the basil seeds sprout.  See my neat gardening seat over there on the left?  My parents brought two of those back from Arkansas for me. 

Building a raised bed is a simple process and will get your garden up and running quickly.  The main advantage for me is that I can just grow right on top of the deep gravel layer instead of digging it out and building up the soil underneath.  You can also build a raised bed on top of a patio or deck to make it possible to garden anywhere.

And now here's a sneak peak at what the rest of the raised bed garden will look like.

Are you using raised beds to garden?

Briana, Garden Columnist for The Christian Home Magazine.

Dave Barnes Stories to Tell CD

Dave Barnes is a Christian artist who produces light uplifting music with positive lyrics.  Here is the list of songs on his latest CD, Stories to Tell:

White Flag
How Long
Mine To Love
Heaven Help Me
Love Will Be Enough For Us
Seventeen
Missing You
Find Your Way Home
Stories To Tell
Warm Heart In A Cold World
One Of Us

Visit his website to hear his music

I listened to this CD for the first time on a day when I was facing a tough situation and it soothed my sould and helped me put my difficulties in an eternal perspective.  The music calmed me down and helped me take a break from my worries.  If you like Christian music head on over to Dave's website and see what you think.  I've found a new artist to listen to.

More about Dave Barnes and the new CD Stories to Tell from Merge PR:

This GRAMMY®-nominated singer and songwriter new studio project, Stories To Tell, just released March 13, and the album is already topping iTunes' Singer/Songwriter page. Stories To Tell has also received shoutouts on Twitter, courtesy of tweets from such popular artists as Blake Shelton, Lady Antebellum, Jon McLaughlin, reaching well over two million people. This is Dave Barnes' 6th studio album (including 2010's Very Merry Christmas), a project inspired by his usual array of music influences ranging from rock, pop and country to blues, soul and R&B.  

His spring 2010 release, What We Want, What We Get, features the GRAMMY-nominated song “God Gave Me You,” which has sold well over half a million individual song downloads (it went to #1 on the Country Charts courtesy of Blake Shelton's version!). But Dave Barnes has also rubbed elbows with other big names, touring with notable acts including John Mayer, Taylor Swift, Lady Antebellum, Bonnie Raitt, and One Republic as well as performing at Bonnaroo. His music has been featured in television shows an films, and his songs have been covered by a bevy of other artists including the aforementioned Blake Shelton, as well as Billy Currington, Marc Broussard, Kelly Clarkson, and Bethany Dillon. 

Purchase Stories To Tell at Amazon

Dive Into Learning

Dive Into Your Imagination was created by Annie Crawley and sponsored by Save Our Seas Foundation to share the wonderful creatures of the ocean with children.  Annie Crawley is an underwater photographer, boat captain, and dive instructor who traveled the world for over 15 years and is sharing her love of the ocean with children and their parents through her DVD's.

Five DVD's are available from Dive Into Your Imagination; The Camera Coach, Visions of The Sea, What Makes A Fish, A Fish, Who Lives In the Sea? and Dive Into Diversity.  We received Dive Into Diversity to review.  Here is the list of video clips in this 44 minute video for children in grades K-3:
*The Ocean Song
*Crusty Crustaceans
*Night Diving
*Coral Reef Living
*Be A Submarine Pilot
*Swim in a Kelp Forest
*Sea Animals With Backbone
*Diversity
*Invertebrates Of The Sea
 

View a sample of the video here

Dive Into Diversity features beautiful videography combined with the narrator's enthusiastic voice and provides a fun and informative look at the ocean and the many creatures who make it their home.  Each section is made relevant to children by explaining how ocean features are like land features, food ingredients that come from the ocean, diversity of ocean creatures compared to humans and the use of imagination.

Educator Guides are also available for each video in two different levels.  One level is for grades PreK -K and the other is for grades 1-3.  Each guide is made of 8 chapters, one for each section of the corresponding video, and each chapter includes 6-7 activity stations.

My children ages 3, 6, 8 and 10 were instantly captivated with this video.  The music and narrator's voice were pleasant and the video was clear and beautiful.  The narrator used humor here and there and my children laughed at some of the creatures they watched.  I think they learned a lot and definitely enjoyed their visit with creatures under the sea.

This is a beautifully filmed DVD which showcases a pleasant way to learn more about the ocean.  The Educator Guide  is full of lots of worksheets and activities to help you dig as much as you can out of the video.

To purchase visit Dive Into Your Imagination
Dive Into Diversity DVD $19.95
Teacher's Guides
$299.00 printed a set for all of the videos
$69.95 PDF version for one video

*IF you order through Annie Crawley's website you will receive free shipping from now through June.  Also make a note in the comments section that you are a homeschool parent and you will receive a PDF Teacher's Guide free with you DVD order.

Disclaimer: 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 please visit TOS Homeschool Crew blog.

World History by James P. Stobaugh

World History, Observations and Assessments from Creation to Today by James P. Stobaugh

This High School level World History course is 34 chapters long.  Each chapter contains an introduction and 5 lessons.  Each lesson has a writing assignment or question to answer.  Lesson 5 of each week is an exam for the student which you will find in the Teacher's Guide.

The Teacher's Guide contains the introduction for each chapter, the assignments and answers for each lesson, and the exam for each chapter.

I was happy to check out this World History course as I have been looking for course materials for our High School curriculum.  This meets our requirements for an independent course, general overview of World History, Christian perspective and short lessons.  The author, James P. Stobaugh, is a pastor and homeschool father.  Each lesson takes just 20-30 minutes to complete and the assignments can be used as discussion questions or written assignments.  The lessons were easy to read and understand with interesting illustrations or photographs on each page.  I think my son will enjoy working his way through this study next year and I will be pleased to know he has gotten the big picture of World History to add to later.

World History Student Edition - $18.24

World History Teacher Edition - $11.69

Best of Grain Free Meal Plans

Best of Grain Free Meal Plans, Volume 1: A cookbook for those following grain free diets by Cara A. Faus

Recently I put the rest of my family on a grain-free diet due to my daughter's losing battle with eczema so I was excited to get a look at Cara's new cookbook, Best of Grain Free Meal Plans.  I have seen and even tried a few of her recipes on her blog so I knew this book would be full of yummy things to make.

This 78 page cookbook is full of recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, dessert, cultured foods, and staple foods.  She even includes tips on sourcing good foods and recommended equipment.  The cookbook is also indexed to help you find what you are looking for.

We tried a few recipes over a week to test how easy they were to cook, if my family would like them and if we would make them again.  My recipe testers were my children ages 14, 12, and 10 who help with the daily cooking and the whole family acted as taste testers.

The first recipe we tried was Burrito Bowls which you can see below.  It was easy to cook and tasted great.  My family loved this simple dinner in a bowl and we will be adding this to our menu a few times a month from now on.  When you are craving a taco or burrito this should hit the spot without the grains.

Here is our chef of the day rating the recipe and taste.  He gave it two thumbs up because it was easy to make and tasted great.

Next up to test were the Banana Pancakes which we decided to use as dinner instead of breakfast.  My 14 year old was the chef that night and changed the method of making them a little bit but they still came out great.  The children liked them so much that they made them again the next day for breakfast.

I forgot to take pics of the next meal we made.  I decided to use three recipes to make one meal.  Our menu that night was Butternut Squash Soup, Onion Muffins, and Pea Salad.  The muffins were too oniony.  I think we may have used too much onion.  The recipe called for two small onions so maybe we used medium?  The butternut squash soup had a good flavor and the children liked the pea salad.

We also tried two dessert recipes.  One was the Butter Cookies which were a big hit and the other was the Hootenanny Pancakes which we turned into another dinner and everyone loved.  My parents were visiting the night we had the pancakes and were surprised at how filling they were.  They also thought they tasted great.

I have a few more recipes picked out to try in the future.  So far, our experience with this cook book has been mostly positive.  We really only had one recipe flop.  The flavors were good, the recipes creative, and overall it was full of new meal ideas for us to add to our menu.  I highly suggest you check this cookbook out if you are looking for a grain free cookbook.  We have been cooking grain free for years but I still found many new ideas for meals and lots of tricks(such as making pancake syrup) to try.

To purchase visit Amazon.com
Best of Grain Free Meal Plans Volume 1
on sale for $12.96(list price $18.00)

My Garden in May

Wow, it's already been a month since you visited.  I didn't think my garden had changed that much until I looked at the photos from last month.  It is much greener and hopefully more of that green is from flowers and vegetables than from weeds.

Above you see the garden area around the children's play area.  Don't worry they have a lot more room out front for a pool, riding bikes, and general mayhem.

We have started work on the vegetable garden expansion of 2012.  Every year I end up adding to the garden.  Instead of digging all that gravel filled dirt out we are going to build raised beds.  The expansion will go from the fence behind my husband all the way to right in front of where I'm standing to take this pic.  

The children's beds are doing well and are very colorful.  I love walking by here and seeing their budding love of gardening growing.  They have all been pulling weeds, watering and the two older children have even bought their own plants.

And now we are in the side yard.  I have a little sitting area on the patio here next to the lawn.

And here's the lawn being watered.  My husband added compost to the low spots and then more seed to the bare spots.  It's filling in nicely now.  Pretty soon I will get to use the push mower every few days to keep it neat.

This is the sitting area under the grape arbor.  I added five little beds to the perimeter and filled them with impatiens.

Look at all the baby grapes we have!

The two beds in front of the sitting area aren't producing well.  I have some greens and beets growing there along with weeds.

And now you are looking down our property to the back fence.  It's a long garden on the sunny side of our 1/2 acre. 

Here is the official entry to the veggie garden.  The herb garden is in the middle.  I finally remembered to plant the grow bag my mom gave me a few years ago.  I planted it with red, white and blue flowers in honor of my oldest son who is in the Air Force.

I planted 9 tomatoes and 12 peppers in our backyard.  I decided to try growing the tomatoes in the same place as last year after reading it can be beneficial to use the same site for a few years.

Here are a bunch of potatoes which I have already had to cover a few times.

Flowers

The back view of the veggie garden.  It's a mess of weeds right now.

The lettuce which seems to be taking its time growing.

Sage

The strawberry beds.  Only about 1/4 of the bare root plants I planted made it.  I will only buy potted strawberries from now on.  I planted pole beans along the edges this week.  I might add lettuce and greens to the empty beds.

Here is something which surprised me.  One of our pea plants has colored flowers.  They are not scented so I don't think they are sweet peas just a mutation or something.  I'm looking forward to checking out the pea pods to see if they look like the rest of the peas.  I'm not sure we will eat any peas from this plant.  I need to do some research and see if I can figure out why it has colored flowers.

An iris

And that is all.  I'm so happy you came to look through the garden with me.  See you next week for a post on building raised beds.

Briana is your Garden Columnist for The Christian Home Magazine.

Heritage History

We received Young Reader's Classical Curriculum CD to review from Heritage History.  What is the Young Reader's Classical Curriculum?  It is a collection of books which make up the introductory unit of Heritage Classical Curriculum and is for grammar school aged students.  It offers a broad introduction to Western Civilization.  It includes selections from the other Heritage History collections that are shorter and easier to read for younger students.  Included on the CD are 86 illustrated books, timelines, reading recommendations, a Teacher's Guide, short biographies and historical images.  The subjects covered in this collection of books are American, European, and Ancient History, Bible and saint stories, legends and literature.

To learn more and see a list of the included books visit the Young Readers page. 

When I received the CD I popped it into my computer and checked it out.  It opens as a website although you aren't actually connected to the Internet although Heritage History used the same kind of software to make it easy to use.  I selected a few books and opened them.  You can open them in your browser or as a mobi or epub.  I like easy so I checked them out in my browser.  If I want to download them to an ipod I will ask my husband for help.  I will probably print them for further use as I don't like my children to read from electronic screens.  The books have a nice format and look like actual books with all of the older illustrations.  I let a few of my children page through them and they enjoyed the drawings.

You can view a list of the books by subject and genre and the books are also organized by subject with short summaries to help you choose the book you need.  The series books are also listed separately with a description of each one.  I found the way the books were organized to be simple and user friendly.  It should be easy to find exactly what you are looking for on the CD.

Study aids are included on the CD and are comprised of a general timeline, character lists, and images.  You can print the timeline and character lists for students to reference as they study to help them get a proper perspective on History.  There is also a Curriculum User Guide full of advice for keeping students on track, recommended sequence of instruction, guidelines for scheduling reading assignments and suggestions for oral and written review.

The 59 page Teacher's Guide offers sections on how children learn history, how children differ, what parents can do, recommended reading, historical divisions, and accountability forms. 

I think this is a well priced CD to add to your homeschool as a History resource especially if you use Classical, Charlotte Mason, or other real books intensive teaching methods.  I will be choosing and printing selections from this CD to add to our History shelf for my children to read.

To purchase visit Heritage History
Young Reader's Curriculum CD $24.99

Young Reader's Teacher's Guide
Printed Color Study Guide $20.99
Downloadable Study Guide $8.99

Heritage History also sells the printed versions of the books in this collection if you prefer printed material and don't want the hassle of printing books.

Disclaimer: As a member of TOS Homeschool Crew I received a free copy of this CD 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.

Summer Vacation

We have taken the month of May off of school as a quick "Hello Summer Vacation".  I may or may not blog.  I do have some reviews to finish up so you will see those in the next few weeks but that may be it.  I'm doing some thinking about how to simplify my life and our homeschool routine and lots of gardening.  So, see you soon!

CapJaxMathFax

CapJaxMathFax is a math drill program you download and install on your home computer.  Your children will then use it for a few minutes each day to master math facts.  In the beginning the children will have to figure out the problems but as they use the program each day the answers will become automatic.  If the child answers the problem incorrectly he will have two more chances to enter the right answer before the program provides it.  Positive feedback encourages your learners to keep going.  Progress is charted in a colorful graph.  At the end of each session the child will practice the problems he has missed to improve mastery.  Your child will also receive a certificate which he can print to share his achievement with others.

Free evaluation version available

CapJax can be started in first grade.  It progresses from the simplest facts to harder ones as the child learns.  You can set it to quiz on just one math table(addition, subtraction, multiplication or division) or any combination of more than one and even all four.  The child can use it to review an already mastered level or work at his current level of difficulty.  The facts are randomly generated so the child will not memorize a sequence of numbers instead of mastering facts.  Your child will receive a performance report at the end of each work session.

Here are some of the claims CapJaxMathFax says children will achieve with this drill program:
*Higher scores on standardized tests
*More confidence in the child's ability to learn math
*Forget the calculator.  The child will know his facts and won't need a calculator.
*Better grades
*Faster completion of math work

My children enjoyed this program.  It progresses at a slow and steady pace and they were never overwhelmed with too many new facts.  We used it each day as part of our math lesson.  They figured out how to use the program before I even tried it or explained it to them.  My students who worked on CapJax are 8, 10, and 12.  I think this program is an enjoyable(as much as practicing math facts can be enjoyed) way to master math facts.  It is much easier for me than holding up card after card.  I know they will be getting extra practice on any missed problems which will help them master them quickly.  We will keep using this program as a part of our school day.

To purchase visit CapJaxMathFax.
Download Windows License for $29.95
Have a CD shipped to you for $29.95 plus $5.95 shipping

Disclaimer: As a member of TOS Homeschool Crew I received a free trial version of CapJaxMathFax 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.

Library & Educational Services

Go Science DVD Series with Ben Roy from Library & Educational Services

Library & Educational Services is a wholesale supplier of educational products that uphold Christian values.  You will find products priced at 30% - 70% off retail value.  They have been in business for 35 years and sell products at a discount to schools, churches, libraries and homeschools.  They carry around 100 educational sets with reinforced library binding.  Here are a few things you won't find in the products they carry:
*No coarse language
*No evolution
*US History materials that do not minimize our Christian heritage

We reviewed two DVDs from Library & Educational Services, Go Science Volume 5-Air Flight and Volume 6-Water Space Solar System.  There are 6 titles in this series.
Volume 1-Motion and the Laws of Gravity
Volume 2-Simple Machines, Sound, Weather
Volume 3-Magnetism, Electricity, Engineering, and Design
Volume 4-Chemistry, States of Matter, Life Sciences
Volume 5-Air, Flight
Volume 6-Water, Space, Solar System

"Every time we learn something about Science, we learn something about our Creator God!"  You will hear those words spoken by Ben Roy at the end of each segment.  Ben is enthusiastic as he demonstrates each experiment before a group of children on a flower filled set.  He gives safety warnings as he helps the children do each experiment and explains what they are learning about through the experiment.

 

Each experiment could be used as the base for a science lesson. You can prep ahead to have all of the supplies on hand and then let the children work along as they watch the DVD or do their experiment after watching the video. Some of the experiments you will probably not be able to do at home but you can still study the topic demonstrated after watching. My children were interested in the experiments and watched a few at a time. My daughter even found a few simple supplies around our home to try the experiments out on her own.

To purchase visit Library & Educational Services
Single DVDs are $8.97
Set of 6 DVDs is $47.97

As a member of TOS Homeschool Crew I received two free DVDs 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.

Caleb Got a Promotion

While he was home visiting he worked at his recruiter's office so had to be in ABU's(also known as cami's in this former Marine Corps household) part of the time. 

Our oldest son is now an E-3 also known as an Airman First Class.  He enlisted for 6 years and one of the perks of a longer enlistment is picking up E-3 at the end of Tech School.

This is his official Air Force look.

Cool, huh?  He's my frugal boy and has already saved up a nice bankroll for his future. 

Judah Bible Curriculum

Judah Bible Curriculum

What is The Judah Bible Curriculum?
It is a teacher training course on how to teach the Bible with the Principal Approach for grades K-12.  The Principal Approach is designed to build character into the teacher and students which will then make them capable of sustaining liberty.

"Having a Christian school is not enough; we must have a Christian education.  We need a Biblical philosophy, content, and methodology because we know that our education will be producing character in our students, and we want our efforts to produce specifically Christian character." ~ Bill Burtness, Judah Bible Curriculum K-12 Manual

What do you receive with your purchase?
*Judah Bible Curriculum K-12 Manual
*Elementary Notebooks Ideas booklet
*8 lecture teacher training seminar

Scope and Sequence

How do you use it?
You listen to the lectures, read the manual and use the resources on the website to learn how to use and implement this philosophy to Bible study.  This curriculum uses a notebook approach.  Your student will be building a Bible notebook and should only include his best work.  Emphasis is placed or working neatly with correct spelling and grammar as a step in character training.

You will be studying through the Bible each year with a slightly different emphasis each time.  You are not reading every single word in the Bible but just going through the highlights.  You will spend one week(or more if you desire) on each passage and get all you can out of it.

This curriculum is not designed as a teacher's manual which you can open and teach from.  Nor are there workbooks or student texts.  The Bible is the text book.  You have to learn the method and make up your own lesson plans, assignments and student materials.

I found this method a little overwhelming at first.  After 2 weeks of listening to lectures, reading the manual and thinking about how to use it I came up with a lesson plan for our first week of study.  I'm still not 100% sure I'm using this correctly but I think over time as long as I stick to the principals emphasized in the manual it will work out.

After explaining this curriculum to my husband we decided to use it together in the evening as a family Bible study time. We are studying with 6 of our children ages 3-14.  To keep the little guys busy I printed coloring pages for them, notebooking pages for the 8, 10, and 12 year old and key sheets for the 14 year old, hubby and I. 

The theme for week 1 is Creation and uses Genesis 1:1-25 as the core text.  I came up with this format after reading the notes for lesson 1 on the Judah Bible Curriculum website.  Hubby and I studied Sunday night and listened to the relevant audio lecture section to prepare for the week.  I wrote down the 4 main concepts found in the manual to make sure we are keeping the proper focus as we study.

Day 1- Hubby read the creation passage from the Bible.  We all talked about it and listed what was created on each day.  Younger students also drew a picture of their favorite thing that God created.  We helped 14 year old fill out the key events sheet.

Day 2- I read about creation in the Judah curriculum appendix.  We listed what creation tells us about God.  I read the definition of creation from our children's Bible encyclopedia.  More discussion together.

Day 3- We wrote down significant things that we learned about creation and what it means to us personally.  Then we talked about the wonder of creation and how it touches every part of our lives.  Sort of the hand of God on us through creation.

Day 4- We will apply creation to our own lives.  We will answer the question of what it means in reference to our relationship with God.  How it helps us govern ourselves under God.  It is a reason for praise, repentance, commitment, prayer. 

We have really enjoyed this study.  I have never seen my children write so much and enjoy their work like they have this week.  The little boys(3 & 6) have colored their pages quietly and even added a bit to our discussion.  Hubby and I got so much more out of the Creation story then we ever have before.  We even got into a discussion on Sunday while we were prepping of why God even created earth and us.  It has turned out to be so much more than I thought it would be!

I'm not sure if I will continue to use this curriculum exactly as we have been.  I think we will just begin our study together as a family instead of my husband and I doing the prep work the night before.  I won't find notebook or coloring pages but will just have the children write something on a notebook paper as we study.  I will keep using the key sheets for the teens and adults as I have found them useful to our studies.  I may just assign something for my younger children to write about during school the day after our study.  I need to keep things simple without a lot of preparation or I will quit.  I think we can still do an in-depth study without all of the prep work.

I would not recommend this program to those who have a hard time coming up with plans on their own.  You will receive a loose guideline which you will then have to fill in for yourself.  There is a bit of a learning curve to get this up and going.

To purchase visit Judah Bible Curriculum 
There are two packages available.  One is completely downloadable and the other is comprised of hard copies which will be sent to you.  We received the downloadable version.

Judah Bible Curriculum delivered online $44.00, includes:
-Judah Bible Curriculum K-12 Manual, ebook
-Elementary Notebooks Ideas booklet, ebook
-8 lecture teacher training seminar, listen online or download

Judah Bible Curriculum Pack Hard Copy $69.00 plus $5.00 shipping and handling, includes:
-Judah Bible Curriculum K-12 Manual, print version
-Elementary Notebooks Ideas booklet, print version
-8 lecture teacher training seminar CDs

Disclaimer: As a member of TOS Homeschool Crew I received a free copy of this curriculum 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.