Phonetic Zoo, Excellence in Spelling

This is another great program put forth by the Institute for Excellence in Writing. Phonetic Zoo has been wonderful tool for me as a mother to many to put my time in to the fun subjects, like history and science. Spelling can be mundane and boring for all people involved, but the Phonetic Zoo has made this an independent program for the student for grades 3rd and up. The animal theme concept is better for the younger children, but I hear no complaints from my oldest. When each lesson is mastered, you can choose to give them an animal card to collect or hang proudly on their wall.

The core of this program is the lesson cards. Each card has is a separate lesson with a rule, jingle or hint to help you remember the spelling rule. (I will say that some of these are confusing until you decipher them a little, but that can be a fun puzzle too). There are a list of 15 words, no matter what level you may be on (A, B or C). The levels get more difficult as they go up. The second component to this program are the CD’s. The CD has the voices of two alternate people giving the spelling quiz. This auditory component is priceless.

The first day you explain the rule, go over the words and make note of the part of the rule being explained. Older children do not need your help with this. The remainder of the lesson is completed by them. Then they listen to the CD and write the words down how they believe they are to be spelled. Then the next track on the CD helps them correct it. The next day they quiz themselves again, if they get 100% two days in a row then they move to the next lesson. They continue to take the quiz every day until they master the list 2 times in a row.

What I like about this program is that they give the rule, jingle or hint after every 3 words. This helps them memorize it. I also like that the CD’s are doing the quizzing and checking for me. This virtually makes this an independent program!

Here are the 2 things that I added to this program to make it work for me. For my student that doesn’t click really well with spelling, I have him choose an activity to help him remember his spelling words from a list like this:

Linking it together – wiring words on strips of construction paper and linking them
Colorful spelling – use different colored markers for each letter when spelling the words
Keeping in shape – write the words inside a simple shape, like a tree, over and over again
Ribbon spelling – use a ribbon to outline each spelling word in the air
Bend and shape – use pipe cleaners to make each letter of a word
By the color – write consonants in red and vowels in blue
Spell back – spell the words on a willing persons back
Poof its gone – write the words on a dry erase or chalk boards, then erase them with your fingers as you spell them again
Alphabet stamps – use rubber stamps to spell the words

I have also used the Spelling Power notebooks instead of a regular notebook. These are great in that on the backside of the quiz there is a part where they can write a sentence with the miss-spelled word and a little system to help them memorize the word, by covering it up and spelling it. Also the lines are on the page according to level, so you can get one with fatter lines for younger writers. For more information on the Phonetic Zoo click here.

Written by Brenda

Other related titles:

Greatest Hits

Cactus Hotel (An Owlet Book)

What is dictation?

Dictation is the practice of reading a passage to your child and having them dictate, or write it down. You first read the whole passage, then you break it down into bite size chunks for them. After they complete the passage you next check the spelling, punctuation and possibly correct the handwriting if needed.

How can I work dictation into our homeschool? Do I need a special book?

Here’s a few tips and suggestions for you. Pick a passage from a literature book that you are reading for history or for a family read-aloud. Read it out loud and have your child write what they hear. Then go over necessary spelling and grammatical mistakes. Then talk about the uniqueness of the sentence. There are sure to be some grammar pointers in there somewhere. Often, I get questions about punctuation marks (: or ; for instance) and anything I can’t explain, I simply look these up in a grammar reference.

Pick a poem that you are currently memorizing – or start memorizing one! Or, pick a well-loved poem and have them copy it first, this may take several days. Then one day dictate it and have them write it. Go over the poem as I mentioned above.

How about a hymn? Hymns have wonderful vocabulary. There are sure to be some words that you can look up (or have an older student look up on their own). And of course, Bible verses are great for dictation too. Especially ones that you are trying to commit to memory.

How about science? Is there something really neat that you read about in science that maybe sparked an interest in your child? Something from a living book or a science encyclopedia would work well.

For younger children, some good ideas are:

Days and months
Address
Short verse
Sentence from a beloved book
Names of family members
A poem (do a little every day)

Get creative! You don’t need a book telling you what to dictate. Make it a more natural fit with what you are already doing. It will enhance your studies and seal a grammar lesson in the mind of your child.

Other related titles:

Greatest Hits

Cactus Hotel (An Owlet Book)

My Favorite Curriculum

by Korey

When I began homeschooling 3 years ago, I was looking for the perfect curriculum for every subject. In my first year I was so full of new ideas and excitement. I wanted to try everything and boy, did I. I had a separate program for Bible, geography, history, art, art history, music, science, math, grammar, spelling and and and………..

world_view_b2 You get the point. I had a lot to cover in one year. It was a perfect recipe for disaster. Did I get it all covered? No way! I had visions of nature studies, studying historical art pieces, reading classic novels and beautifully written pieces of writing but instead I was frustrated that I couldn’t meet up to the standards I had set for myself.

So when the first year of homeschooling was under my belt, I had to rethink my way of homeschooling. As a homeschooling mom, you know what that means. It means hours of looking at catalogs, searching the web, talking to other homeschool moms and even calling many curriculum companies. I was trying to figure a way to get perfect curriculum in all subjects! As I was searching I remembered someone mentioning “My Fathers World”. I had looked at it before but it was one of those pre-package curriculums and that was not what I wanted. I wanted to put together my perfect plan of curriculum on my own BUT I kept going back to “My Fathers World”. After hours and even weeks of deciding, I purchased this pre-package curriculum. Why would I do what I said I wouldn’t. I discovered that My Father’s World was the closest thing I could find to my perfect curriculum all in one package. So let me explain why I love it.

First, I love the philosophy of this program and how they put the heart of child first. That is what drew me to the program first. So let me go through the program and explain how it works. It combines the methods of Charlotte Mason and classical education.

My Father’s World has many one year unit study type programs starting with kindergarten and all way up to the high school years. We started with the Exploring Countries and Cultures program. This program is designed for 2nd-8th graders.

It is a multi-age unit study: The program is designed to be used with more than one child at a time. This is a big time saver! I teach all the subjects together except language arts and math.

Strong international focus: In Exploring Cultures and Countries you visit a country every two weeks. You learn about the country’s geography, ecology, and cultures. You spend time learning about the common religions in each of the countries you study.

Integrated Bible content: In Exploring Countries and Cultures you spend the year reading the book of Matthew and memorizing many verses from Matthew. You read about missionaries from the past and present. You learn what God is doing in other countries and you are shown how you can pray for each country specifically. It teaches a wonderful biblical worldview.

Geography: You do plenty of map work each week and with that you learn plenty of mapskills. Older students can do research projects as they study each of the continents. You play games to learn the names of all the countries, oceans, capitols, and continents. You make a passport and you place a flag sticker in your passport as you “travel” to each country. There are hands on activities such as cooking and flag making. You learn new geography terms every week which the student keeps in a journal.

Science : You spend the year studying habitats from all over the world. You spend time taking nature walks and keeping a nature journal.

Reading: There is plenty of living books provided with this program! My Father’s World does something called a reading basket. Everyday the children read books you have selected from the library or have purchased. The books are all related to what you are currently studying such as rain forests. You may have many subjects to chose from some fiction and non-fiction. There is a read alouds included in the program. The read alouds coincide with the country you are studying. In ECC the read alouds are true stories of missionaries.

Art and Music The program has plenty of art projects based on the countries you are studying. There is also a CD with ethnic music from around the world.

Language Arts, Math and Foreign language : They suggest certain LA and Math programs but you can add whatever you choose.

Now let me tell you the pros of this program: I love how it combines the methods of Charlotte Mason and classical education. It is a perfect mix of both of these philosophies. I love the journaling and the nature studies. The teacher manual is a huge plus. It so well laid out. Each week is laid out on a grid and then additional informational is given for the planned activities. The TM tells you what needs to be photocopied for the week and what extra supplies are needed. The supplies are easy to find items. The TM gives a list of books you can check out at the library or purchase for your reading basket. The TM is so easy to use, generally this program is an open and go. The bible is my favorite portion of the program. I love the memory verses. Easy to do but challenging. I love how it tells you to pray specifically for each country. You learn what challenges missionaries face in the field. I love how you can combine your kids for so many subjects. It turns learning into a family time together. I love the biblical worldview that is taught throughout the program. The crafts are easy to do and fun. I love how you can chose you own math and LA. The program is designed to be done 5 days a week and Friday is a light day. It can easily be turned into a 4 day week by combining Friday’s plans into other days of the week.

Now let me tell you the cons of this program: I felt the science to be a bit light for my taste. We did add more science to the program. My Father’s World is coming out with an updated version for ECC and it looks like they have added more to the science. You have to be okay with having everything all laid out for you. For me this was a plus since it is done so well. The music was not my favorite, a bit too kiddy for us. In the other programs of MFW the music is done more to my taste with classical music. We felt the read alouds to be a bit dry. We did add some of our own read alouds. If you don’t live near a library with a decent selection of books it would be hard to incorporate the reading basket idea.

My Father’s World is coming out with a new edition of Exploring Countries and Cultures. The science looks improved. There is less photocopying, and there is a nice supplement you can order for 7-8th graders.

We are in our second year of My Father’s World. We are presently using the Rome To Reformation program. We are loving this program just as much! We plan to stay with My Father’s World for the long road maybe even all the way through!

Korey, is our, no twaddle (great books), Charlotte Mason devotee and she homeschools two precious children. Her first-born has already flown the nest, and is away at college. She is also a part-time nurse. She loves science, spending time with her family and the splendor of the Lord.

Other related titles:

Insect Lore Live Butterfly Garden

ViSalus Body By Vi Challenge Shape Kit {60 Meals, 10 Health Mix-Ins}

4 Year Rotation of Science

1.) Life Science – animals, human beings and plants

2.) Earth science and astronomy

3.) Chemistry

4.) Physics

This has taken the guess work out of what our main science focus will be for a particular year. If you are worried about learning how you were taught in school, with small segments of different sciences each year, I want to share with you what I learned. You can not get very in-depth with a particular subject if you are skimming the surface each year. But, to do a thorough study, depending on the age of your child, you are able to dig deeper and understand more. Plus, the child has time to get into what you are studying. Often when you study something for a few weeks, they are just really understanding it when you are done and ready to move on. The tricky year for me is the life science year. So, to be honest with you I have gone into the summer on that year and into a portion of the next year. If you are still worried about them getting bored, or them not learning a wide array of topics for that year, there are plenty of other opportunities to use other fields of science as you are teaching to one specifically. For example while teaching chemistry I have been able to also talk about physics, biology and earth science as we went very thoroughly through the periodic table and learned what each element was found in.

I don’t worry about missing something because I know that after 4 years we would have (theoretically) touched on all the sciences. I have children that took an interest in marine biology and now I send them to a marine biology camp during the summer, another child interested in robotics has a robotics camp to look forward to in the future. I also have one interested in archaeology and they ALL like to dig, so we are going on a local dig soon and on our next family vacation we are stopping to dig at a real site in VA, all day with a scientist. We also have started nature journaling which requires us to be outdoors observing each week and this will be an ongoing life science study for many weeks to come. So there are other times to pursue other science interests if we cannot “get to it” during our school time.

That’s what homeschooling is all about to me. It’s been a lifestyle change. We learn all the time, in everything we do. And while doing it, we enjoy each other’s company. If you are homeschooling for the long haul I would like to encourage you to keep some sort of cycle of the sciences. It lifts the burden of what to teach next and gives you the freedom to be creative within certain parameters.

Side note to moms not sure if you will homeschool next year: If you are not sure that you are able to homeschool for more then a year or two, I would stick with the traditional textbook style curriculum so that your child is not behind when they re-enter. That’s my opinion.

Written by Brenda, classically eclective mother of 5

Other related titles:

Greatest Hits

Cactus Hotel (An Owlet Book)