Back to Basics: How to Learn and Enjoy Traditional American Skills

 Hands On, Living books, Uncategorized, Unit study resources  5 Responses »
Apr 282010
 

Have you ever read to your children a book that explains an old fashioned way of doing things?

Maybe a book about a family that makes their own maple syrup, goats milk cheese, raises cows or sews quilts?

Have you ever wanted a resource book that will help you learn more about living a simple life?

Maybe you want to grow organic tomatoes or make bread without preservatives?

Back to Basics is a practical book I’ve used over and over again in our unit studies to help my children and I

experience and learn about skills and handicrafts our grand parents practiced.

I used Back to Basics with our February read aloud Miracles on Maple Hill by Virginia Sorensen.

On pages 242 –243 in Back to Basics, we learned about how three maple trees, the Sugar Maple, the Black Maple and the

Norway Maple tree produce the most syrup. We also read about the tools and techniques for tapping and how to turn sap into syrup.

Did you know goats milk makes a mild cheese and can develop an ammonia taste if stored to long?

Or that mozzarella cheese is made from the milk of the water buffalo?

Learn about how to make cream cheese, build a simple cheese press and make cheddar cheese on pp. 236-237.

Reader’s Digest Back to Basics How to Learn and Enjoy Traditional American Skills is

published by The Reader’s Digest Association, Inc., Pleasantville, New York /Montreal.

It’s 450 pages and is divided into six parts.

Part One Land: Buying It- Building on It includes:

  • Buying Country Property
  • Planning Your Home
  • Preparing the Site
  • Converting Trees Into Lumber
  • Building a Log Cabin
  • Building with Adobe
  • Building a Stone House
  • Raising a Barn
  • Developing a Water Supply
  • Saunas and Hot Tubs
  • Sanitation
  • Fireplace Construction and Design
  • Stone Walls and Brick Pavements
  • Fences

Part Two: Energy From Wood, Water, Wind and Sun includes:

  • Making Your House Energy Efficient
  • Wood as a fuel
  • Heating With Wood
  • Water Power
  • Wind Power
  • Solar Energy
  • Other Energy Sources

Part Three: Raising Your Own Vegetables, Fruit, And Livestock includes:

  • The Kitchen Garden
  • Gardening in Limited Space
  • Herb Gardens
  • Fruits and Nuts
  • Pest Control
  • Grains and Grasses
  • Beekeeping
  • Fish Farming
  • Raising Livestock

Part Four: Enjoying Your Harvest The Year Round includes:

  • Preserving Produce
  • Preserving Meat and Fish
  • Making Your Own Dairy Products
  • Maple Sugaring
  • Homemade Beverages
  • Baking Bread
  • Regional Cooking
  • Cooking With Wood

Part Five: Skills and Crafts for House and Homestead includes:

  • Natural Dyes
  • Spinning
  • Weaving
  • Hooked Rugs
  • Braided Rugs
  • Patchwork Quilting
  • Rope and Twine
  • Tanning and Leatherwork
  • Woodworking
  • Broom making
  • Scrimshaw
  • Household Recipes
  • Metalworking
  • Stenciling
  • Flower Drying and Pressed Flowers
  • Gourd Craft
  • Soap making
  • Candle making
  • Basketry

Part Six: Recreation at Home And in the Wild includes:

  • Old-time Good Times
  • Crafting a Mountain Dulcimer
  • Celebrating Holidays
  • Canoeing And Kayaking
  • Wilderness Camping
  • Outdoors in Winter
  • Fishing
  • Living With Nature

Also included is a Appendix that lists organized Assistance: The Extension Services and Other Groups and an Index.

I thought you would enjoy seeing the quilt pages from Back to Basics.

And these are the quilt blocks my nine year old daughter made.

Back to Basics can be purchased from a bookstore or borrowed from the library.

Trail Guide to U. S. Geography by Cindy Wiggers

 Geography, Hands On  5 Responses »
Apr 232010
 

We have been using the “Trail Guide to U.S. Geography” by Cindy Wiggers for our geography studies for over a year now. This resource is wonderful!

For years I had felt guilty because we really weren’t studying geography in a systematic manner. For me, the “Trail Guide to U.S. Geography” is the perfect geography curriculum. Our geography studies are completed together which works really well for my children (7th, 5th, and 3rd grades).

While the curriculum can be completed in a year, I decided to take a slower pace and complete our study of United States geography over a two year period. The “Trail Guide to U.S. Geography is such a rich resource of ideas, even with two years in which to work through the text, I had to pick and choose which activities we would complete for our homeschool. There are just so many ideas in the text and geography is just one part of our school day. We usually spend about 20  minutes on geography studies each day, although some projects take a bit longer.

Benefits of the Curriculum

  • Multi-level – The curriculum can be used with students between 3rd grade and high school age.  Separate Daily Drill questions are provided for the Primary, Intermediate, and Secondary “trails.”
  • Based on a Notebooking Method of Study so that wonderful notebooks are compiled by each student.
  • Easy to Use, Little Teacher Prep particularly if one purchases the Student Notebook CD Rom
  • Daily Drill questions require higher level thinking for older students.
  • Basic geography knowledge, vocabulary, and map work are all integrated into the study of the individual states.
  • Many suggestions are given to extend the learning.

Components of the Curriculum

While “The Trail Guide to U.S. Geography” by Cindy Wiggers can be used with just the main text, a set of outline maps of the states, and a student atlas,  I highly recommend the following components to easily use the program:

The Trail Guide to U.S. Geography offers many different choices for studying each of the states.   As I mentioned before, there are definitely more ideas and assignments for learning about the United States in the Trail Guide than could possibly be completed.  A six week literature unit study focusing on the Lewis and Clark expedition is even included in this curriculum!  Having said that, there are core components to the program.  The main components of the program are the following:

  • Daily Geography Drills are a few questions regarding the geography of the study state or region designed to be completed in about 5-10 minutes each day.  Separate questions are given for each of three different age levels.
  • Map Work is to be completed for each state following the directions for the age level of the child.

From the many different suggestions, in addition to the main components, I have chosen to complete Illustrated Geography Dictionaries, and weekly State of the Union notebooking pages with my children each week.  Over the course of our study, the children are compiling wonderful United States notebooks!  The Trail Guide to U.S. Geography allows for a flexible, easy, and meaningful way to study the United States that fits easily into a homeschooling day.

Samantha writes about homeschooling and family life at her blog, To Be Busy at Home.

 Posted by at 7:20 am

A Little Classical Teamwork: First Language Lessons and Writing with Ease

 Classical, Elementary, Handwriting, Language Arts, Writing  8 Responses »
Apr 212010
 

After publication of their classically-based homeschooling guide, The Well-Trained Mind, mother and daughter Jessie Wise and Susan Wise Bauer continued their streak of parent-friendly curricula with a variety of texts, including Mrs. Wise’s First Language Lessons and, more recently, Dr. Bauer’s first installment in the series The Complete Writer, which is titled Writing with Ease: Strong Fundamentals.

Both are on the first grade book list at my house.

First Language Lessons is a first and second grade grammar text. The lessons are short, but effective, methodically sharing language terms and ideas for a young audience.  Complete reviews can be found here and here.

Writing with Ease: Strong Fundamentals is a first through fourth grade writing text. It is the first installment of three writing guides.  They are sort of like timelines that provide a detailed, but gentle list of writing skills beginning with entry level narration and copywork.  The program will eventually progress through the middle school and high school years.  A detailed review of the system and the workbooks, which are available for the elementary levels, can be found here.

First grade at our house uses First Language Lessons and Writing with Ease as the base of the language program.  We have elected to use Writing with Ease: Strong Fundamentals without the workbooks that Dr. Bauer has written.  Even without the workbooks, the meshing of the two programs has been simple, as they were meant to complement and complete each other.

The books present the same ideas at the same time. 

For example, First Language Lessons lesson 3 differentiates between common and proper nouns.  Lessons 10, 13, 14, 16, and 18-21 develop the idea of the proper noun as the name of a specific person or place.

Completing three lessons per week most weeks places these lessons of First Language Lessons during weeks 4 through 7 of Writing with Ease, which also deal with proper nouns.  The focus here, however, is not to identify a proper noun, but to write it correctly within the context of a sentence.

First Language Lessons is fully scripted.  Writing with Ease is not, but the book provides a full week’s example each time the difficulty increases for the student.  The example is followed by a schedule that details the copywork and narration for the five to nine weeks until the next increase in difficulty or shift in focus.

At this point, as the teacher, I am charged with finding a sentence in my child’s history, science, or other reading that contains, for example, a proper noun.  This is simple, as I can either use a sentence from the First Language Lessons lesson, choose one in our history reading, or create one using a family member’s name and location.

The instructions in Writing with Ease are extremely detailed for the teacher, leaving no guesswork. For weeks 5 to 6 the copywork sentences should contain as many proper people names as possible.  Weeks 7 to 8 move on to proper city names; weeks 9 to 10 incorporate the proper names of states.  Narration lengths—here of three short paragraphs—are also provided.

Real Learning at Our House

My daughter completes a short portion of copywork most days.  I have used a variety of sources, from the Bible to science sentences to artist sentences; I have used things I have bought and things I have made up on the spot.  So, it has been very easy to incorporate the sequence of grammatical information outlined in Writing with Ease.  Some of the time, the First Language Lessons lesson even contains appropriate sentences.  When it does not, I can quickly locate or make up a sentence that fits the bill.

For me, choosing copywork is the most time intensive part of using Writing with Ease without the workbook, and it has been simple and easy.

We narrate daily in our home, too, though it is rarely a formal affair.  When Daddy comes home for lunch, the kids tell him about their history lesson.  At dinner, we talk about the science reading or recount the read-aloud chapter.  A couple of times a week, I do ask my first grade daughter to illustrate her reading assignment and to summarize the reading orally.  I have not found it necessary to find extra things for her to narrate, as we have just used what we were already reading.

Because narration is such a natural part of our day and because I have already chosen full length texts as readers, it seemed to me that the workbooks would be repetitive, providing unnecessary and sometimes disconnected additional reading for my daughter.

A quick comparison of the table of contents of both books reveals that the ideas continue to be presented in First Language Lessons, and then fleshed out in Writing with Ease through the second grade year.  I do not have the third or fourth grade levels of First Language Lessons yet, but it would surprise me if they suddenly stop complementing one another.

These two books provide an excellent introduction to grammar and writing.

First Language Lessons has been effective and easy to use.

Writing with Ease: Strong Fundamentals has provided the blue print for beginning writing that is just what I need.

Most days find Susan on the couch reading to her children, in the floor “playing” math, and generally in the middle of a good-sized mess.  A love for the Lord, a love for her little ones, and a love of learning have led Susan and that  wonderful man she married to an educational philosophy that is Well-Trained Mind-inspired classical and Charlotte Mason, with a touch of the traditional.

Science Sleuths

 Hands On, Science, Unit study resources  No Responses »
Apr 202010
 

Have we ever had fun with this Science Sleuths mini-unit!  My children love a good mystery, so I knew this science-related study would be just up their alley.

Written for grades 6-9, Science Sleuths includes three detailed cases for your children to solve based on clues and evidence that slowly trickle in over the course of a few days time.

Using critical thinking, inquiry skills and the scientific method, your child will crack the case by examining such evidence as

  • fingerprints
  • DNA gels (not real, but data provided)
  • suspect charts
  • crime files
  • crime scene sketches
  • interrogation transcripts
  • lab reports
  • data from video surveillance
  • maps of the scene

The reports and other evidence are given to your children over the course of a few days and kept in a crime file.  This allows them to examine the evidence and make conclusions daily based on the current information.  As the investigation comes to a close, they should have gathered and processed all the information thoroughly enough to make final conclusions in the case.

Very good documentation (ie. crime file) and data pages (ie. suspect charts) are included in the book!!  These pages helped my children feel like their crime files were quite realistic.  Charts are also included for fingerprint typing, and reading DNA gels.  There are even three full-color, pull-out posters included that act as the bulletin board of information relating to each case.

Final products from your student will include a suspect chart, crime log, hypothesis about the crime and a re-creation of the crime essay.  A rubric is supplied to help you place a grade on your children’s work if you like.

The book was originally written for use in a classroom, but they suggest cracking the cases either as individuals or in small groups.  This works perfectly for the homeschool setting.  My ten year old son completed the cases along with his 13 year old sister.  But because of the pretty in-depth critical thinking involved and the subject matter, I wouldn’t try to use this with a child younger than about 5th grade.

Just in case your wondering, the topics of each of the three cases are:

  1. The Great Art Heist – Your children must determine who stole several paintings from and art gallery.
  2. Dead and Breakfast – A man dies after and estate auction and your children must determine if there was foul play.
  3. Fatal Error – A man is found strangled by a mouse cord while he is working on a groundbreaking new computer program.

(See, I told you the subject matter is probably not appropriate for younger children.  And some of you may find that it isn’t even appropriate for your older children.  But, I found the cases to be no more grizzly than a good game of Clue.  In fact, it may just spur one of your children into the field of crime fighting!)

-Written by Cindy, eclectically Charlotte Mason mom of three.  You can find her blogging at Our Journey Westward and Shining Dawn Books.

Apologia Science: Exploring Creation with General Science

 Organization, Science  13 Responses »
Apr 192010
 

Apologia’s Exploring Creation with General Science has been a perfect fit for our son, Nathanael, who’s in the eighth grade (age 13/14) this year.  It is the first course of the Exploring Creation with… upper level Creation-based science curriculum series written by former University Professor, Dr. Jay Wile, especially for homeschool students. Apologia General Science, 1st EditionHere’s a description of the course from Apologia’s website:

This course is designed to be a student’s first systematic introduction to the sciences. Although it can be used for eighth grade (especially if the student has recently left the public schools), it is typically used best in the seventh grade. The course covers such topics as the scientific method, designing experiments, simple machines, archaeology, geology, paleontology, biology, and human anatomy and physiology. Its scope, therefore, is quite wide. There are many hands-on experiments to do, and they all use household items.

I am glad that we waited to begin this course until eighth grade, for Nathan, and with him working on Physical Science next year, this will still place him in Biology in his 10th grade year, which is where many other curricula schedule it anyways (BJU, Abeka, etc.). I think that Apologia must recommend it for seventh grade, since they’re assuming your child will complete one of their upper level science courses also (Adv. Chemistry or Adv. Physics). This is certainly something to consider if your student is headed towards a science career. However, for our purposes, this course has been just the right speed for Nathan this year, who will still be completing four years of lab sciences in his highschool years. From our experience with Apologia’s General Science this year, the two attributes of this program that have stood out the most in my mind have been:

  1. Principles of Creation Science, Applied & Discussed Throughout. I have especially appreciated how this course has not only presented our son with an abundance of clearly explained fundamental science concepts and terminology, but also how the information is presented, conversationally framed within a Biblically sound creation-based worldview. This has been refreshing, particularly with all of the evolutionary/millenia mantras we’re so often inundated with when enjoying so many otherwise wonderful science/nature books, or watching our favorite nature shows and science documentaries on tv.
  2. Good Study Skills & Habits, Facilitated, Learned & Applied. Our son’s been learning more than just science! This easy-to-use course has offered a timely means by which Nathan has been learning some invaluable study habits! His independence with this course has really instilled a level of self-confidence and sense of accomplishment in him that we’re both enjoying. He likes knowing exactly what’s expected of him, and being able to “knock it out”, while I’m enjoying not having to tell him what to do every day! He has risen to the challenge of memorizing ALL of his Vocabulary words’ definitions for tests, which he also diligently records in his notebook as he’s reading the text, along with his answers to the On Your Own questions spread throughout each module. He’s learning how to reword essay questions within his thoughtful answers, and is actually even enjoying the whole process of seeing his efforts in studying for a test pay off with a good score! So overall, this course has offered our young student a perfectly balanced taste of traditional schooling methods that our Charlotte Mason, relaxed-eclectic homeschool hadn’t yet offered him much of up until now (besides his math).

How We’ve Used this Curriculum: My goal was to set Nathan up with enough organization and direction so as to enable him to be virtually independent in this course, and yet I wanted to be able to oversee his progress and know that he’s getting the most out of this wonderfully informative course. The system that we set up has worked beautifully and provides just the right amount of accountability and structure to keep him on track, while simultaneously allowing me to see where he needs correction or encouragement. The first thing I did was print out a schedule from DonnaYoung.org, where you’ll find lots of wonderful resources and helps for this and other books in the Apologia Science Curriculum line-up (even their Elementary series- which we’ve also used and recommend!). We’ve been using Schedule Two for the First Ed. of General Science (there’s also schedules for the Second Ed.), which spreads the first module out over three weeks (since there’s a LOT of information there in that first module!) and schedules most of the labs separately from reading days. I also set Nathan up with a notebook and directives per LindaFay’s suggestions, as found here: How We Organize Apologia Notebooks. He has the schedule/syllabus (that I printed out from donnayoung.org-see above) in the front of his notebook, which tells him EXACTLY what he has to read or do that day. We look over his list of supplies needed for upcoming labs (mostly household items or something you can easily find at the store if not already in your home) at the beginning of each module and we try to collect the week or two prior to his needing them. So far, so good! Next year I may just buy a lab supplies kit. Setting up this organized notebook system has turned out to be a monumentally beneficial tool in facilitating his independence, and I plan to follow this same organizational method for all of his Apologia courses. It ends up being a nice record of his work too, already bound and organized. There are 16 Modules in the textbook, intended to be completed in one year. They are as follows:

  • Module 1: A Brief History of Science
  • Module 2: Scientific Inquiry
  • Module 3: How to Analyze and Interpret Experiments
  • Module 4: Science, Applied Science and Technology
  • Module 5: The History of Life Archaeology, Geology, and Paleontology
  • Module 6: Foundations of Geology
  • Module 7: The Fossil Record
  • Module 8: Uniformitarianism and Catastrophism
  • Module 9: What is Life? (DNA)
  • Module 10: Classifying Life
  • Module 11: The Human Body: Fearfully and Wonderfully Made
  • Module 12: Energy and Life
  • Module 13: The Human Digestive System
  • Module 14: The Human Respiratory and Circulatory Systems
  • Module 15: The Human Lymphatic, Endocrine, and Urinary Systems
  • Module 16: The Human Nervous System

Nathan usually works on his science five days a week, for about 30-40 minutes at a time. He says that now that he’s gotten used to the routine, he has sincerely enjoyed reading the text, with its conversational tone being quite enjoyable. I’m thoroughly enjoying the spontaneous narrations that he’s giving me as his interest is peaked over various subject matter, along with our ensuing discussions. Honestly, I’ve enjoyed reading this text myself too (on my own time), and we’re both so glad to know that we have found a challenging, yet Biblically-based science text to take us all the way through highschool! As College Preparatory classes, this Exploring Creation with… series of science texts by Apologia will provide kids with the academic foundation they need, both scientifically and apologetically! This course is sold as a set of 2 Volumes: A hardback Student Text, and a soft-cover Test & Solutions Manual. We’ve been using the 1st Edition, since I found it for a song at a used curriculum book sale last spring. However, I do plan on buying the updated 2nd Edition when he proceeds to Exploring Creation with Physical Science next year. So, what are the differences between the First and Second Editions of the Apologia texts you may be wondering? In general (for all of the Apologia texts, as from their website), they are:

  • Dr. Wile has been answering student questions on each of these courses for seven years or more. Those questions have allowed him to realize what sections of the books could be written more clearly. Thus, these editions of our courses are even more understandable than the first editions!
  • The student text has graphic icons that tell the student when there is a related multimedia presentation on the optional companion CD.
  • There are course websites that have links to materials which provide extra help as well as interesting news related to each field.
  • There are cumulative tests in the solutions and tests manual if the parent/teacher wants to give the student quarterly, semester, or final exams.
  • The tests in the solutions and tests manual contain a point system that aids the parent/teacher in grading the tests.
  • Finally, even though the module tests are found in the solutions and tests manual (so that the parent/teacher always has a copy of them), a second set of tests is also provided in a perforated booklet. This will allow the student to be given the tests without referring to the solutions and tests manual.

    • PLEASE NOTE: Because of the differences between the first and second editions, students in a group setting cannot use both. They must all have the same edition. Because of this, the first edition of the course will still be available for those in schools or support groups that use the first edition.

Differences in the Editions of the General Science text specifically, as described by cbd.com, are as follows:

This second edition includes updates on relevant topics as well as stylistic changes. The primary function of the appendix (discovered in 2006) has now been included, as have higher-quality drawings and more colorful illustrations. Online resources for advanced students and a review appendix have also been included in this 2nd edition. This kit contains both the student textbook and answer key.

Thus, the differences weren’t enough to matter much (to me), when I had such a good deal available on an immaculate copy of the First Edition, since the overall text and presentation is pretty much the same. Therefore, I think this review can serve as applicable to both editions. If you get the Second Edition, it will just be even nicer! We’re looking forward to trying out the multi-media CD that goes along with the Second Editions, like this one for General Science. Apologia General Science, Module 1According to our young scientist-student, the “Pros” of the program so far have been:

The first module has been my favorite so far, because I found it interesting reading about all of the different scientists, since I love history. But one thing puzzled me; I didn’t understand why Benjamin Franklin wasn’t included in the list of well-known scientists who set the stepping-stones for modern-day science, and yet Alexander the Great was on the list. Overall, I find the course enjoyable.

However, I should mention here that he’s just now working on Module 9, and looking ahead at experiments and material covered as he studies “life”, I’m thinking that he’s going to be enjoying the second half of this book even more than the first! I’m excited anyways, and just so glad to have found such a dynamic science program! and the “Con” (the only one he could think of!):

I’ve liked most of the experiments so far, but some of them can be a little dry.

Again, after gathering the supplies for the experiments in this module we’ve just begun, and looking forward, I’m thinking that Dr. Wile saved the best for last in this book, and Nathan won’t be disappointed (I know that I’m not)!

Christian Book Distributors has the best price that I could find for buying the Apologia curriculum new.

General Science Lab Supplies Kit from Nature’s Workshop Plus! at cbd.com

FAQ at Apologia.com

Apologia Science: Exploring Creation with Biology (Charlotte Mason Style), A Squidoo Lense by HarmonyArtMom which I will certainly be referring to when we get to Apologia’s Biology in a couple of years. You can read more about how Barbara makes Apologia Science texts work for her family over at her blog, Harmony Art Mom.

Written by Beth Brewer, a Charlotte Mason inspired, Spirit-led, relaxed-eclectic homeschooling Mama of 3. She’s also an author at The Homeschool Post and blogs her photos, musings, hopes, fears, faith and falterings as she lives, loves and learns with her family at the brew*crew adventure.

Epi Kardia Curriculum

 Bible, Biblical Principle Approach, Charlotte Mason, Elementary, Hands On, High School, History, Lapbooks, Literature, Living books, Philosophies, Science, Vocabulary, Writing  14 Responses »
Apr 162010
 

I had my eye on the Epi Kardia curriculum from the moment I heard of it. I was caught immediately by their name alone as it conveyed exactly the type of homeschooling theology in our home! Imagine my delight when I was offered a 1st grade set to review!  We couldn’t wait for it to arrive!

Epi Kardia is a “historically structured, literature-based curriculum using Charlotte Mason methods” available for grades Kindergarten through High School.  So why Epi Kardia as the curriculum name?…

(from their website) “The Greek words “Epi Kardia” mean at the heart. At Epi Kardia, we feel the heart of home education is the Christ-centered mentoring and discipleship relationship between parents and their children.”

This completely embodies our goals for our homeschool so I just had to try it out.


The day the box came in we were so excited!  I had to rip the box open and dig right in!

(Epi Kardia right as we ripped in the box)              (Zander is happily showing off a peanut stuck to his nose)

My kids were so excited and I was even more pleased with the packaging: eco-friendly packing peanuts!    I joyfully packaged those up for crafts at a later date! (As frugal homeschooling mom, I never miss a moment to reuse and recycle!)

I enjoy the way that the curriculum is broken down into three books so they were not cumbersome to use and their packaging was really pretty! (LOL)

I received the Epi Kardia 1st grade “Lesson Plans” set. This choice is laid out in a daily lesson plan format that outlines each subject for each day, including hands-on ideas, lapbooking suggestions, arts, crafts and more; so you can really just jump in and go!

Epi Kardia offers two different types of curriculum:

1. Complete Programs — their most cost-effective option, Complete Programs  can be used for three years each following our methodology.  Using unit overviews, history, science and music/fine arts book-lists divided by topic,  along with the suggested projects and activities, you write your own lesson plans.

2. Daily Lesson Plans — Love homeschooling (or want to homeschool) but you know you are not a planner, organized or you have a hard time following through? The Daily Lesson Plans are already-planned-in-advance and are written for specific grade levels.  They include weekly goals and objectives for each subject and daily lessons planned integrating the studies of history, science (K-8), language arts and projects.

Features of Epi Kardia Curriculum

  • Based on Charlotte Mason methodologies include reading whole, living books, short lessons, oral narration, using copy work and dictation to teach grammar and composition, and more!
  • All books listed in the curriculum have been read and evaluated from an evangelical Christian worldview by at least one of the authors
  • Integrates the subjects of history, science, language arts (including reading, grammar, composition, phonics, poetry, literature studies, spelling) and fine arts
  • Activities, books and projects recommended for each learning style
  • Provided in their complete program, components are historical overviews of each time period for teachers/older students, as well as a customizable CD with teaching tools and helpful forms
  • The 100+ page teacher’s manuals include abundant information about teaching covered subjects and as well as curriculum related material
  • The 6th – 12th grade manual includes an extensive section regarding teaching high school writing.

Epi Kardia is a living book based curriculum, so books are an integral part of it.  In each set there is an outline of books that will be used for that quarter. Although the books are not offered as part of the curriculum purchase, I have found that most are easily found online for free, at your local library, or available used online.  (They even offer the books via links to amazon on their website, to save you time and energy).

Being the frugal family that we are, I’ve elected to procure the books from our local library and online at the free books sites (as listed in my listing of free curriculum). So far, the books have been fun and fairly easy to get. We love going to the library!

I look forward to finding new books that we may have never been exposed to! Like others in living book style curricula, I fully expect to find some books my kids will adore so much they won’t want to return them.

In my humble opinion, Epi Kardia compares nicely with other, more known curriculum such as Sonlight, My Father’s World, or Tapestry of Grace.  Of course, each of these curriculum offer their own perspective, features and lesson plans, which makes each one unique and tailored to each families personal needs.  However, I think the Sullivan family has joyfully found our core curricula of choice!

Prices for the curriculum varies according to your curriculum style choice and media. You can elect to buy the spiral bound books (like pictured above) or a CD.  Prices start at $75.00 for a full curriculum book or, you can choose to try their lesson plans, you may purchase the first unit (The Ancients–six weeks of plans) for only $25.  Epi Kardia is so sure you are going to love them, they even offer a full credit if you choose to buy the full set after purchasing the trial.

Preschool Activities are as easy as 1, 2, 3

 Hands On, Preschool  1 Response »
Apr 142010
 

Preschool is all about keeping little hands busy and making the most out of little attention spans.  For a small task it isn’t always so easy to accomplish without big plans.  For my preschooler, I would spend quite a bit of time finding just the right projects and lessons to keep her interest.  When given the opportunity to review 123 Preschool Projects, I jumped for joy!  The projects looked perfect for little hands.

My preschooler had fun with three activity packs:

  • Butterflies
  • Bugs
  • Dogs


Each pack includes:

  • three projects
  • materials with interesting colors and textures
  • instructions
  • conversation starters and lesson ideas

These packs are great to add into your curriculum or to use as a jumping off point for your lessons.  The conversation starters and lesson ideas enhance the project and give you plenty of ideas to make a full and fun lesson.

What I loved about this product:

  • high quality materials
  • you only need to add in glue and your project is ready to go straight out of the bag
  • no prep
  • lesson ideas are simple but engaging
  • my child loved it and asked to keep doing them

Each project costs $7.95 and come in a variety of themes.  You can also sign up for subscription so you don’t even have to think about ordering!  Yes, with little ones, the more you can NOT think about the better.

Projects provided by 123 Preschool for the purpose of review.

A Child’s Geography

 Biblical Principle Approach, Charlotte Mason, Geography  8 Responses »
Apr 122010
 

Searching for geography curriculum has been a fruitless pursuit for me, so I dabbled in creating my own. We discussed earth being our home, looked at maps, and located places on the globe from our history and literature studies. That was enough, but I wanted to go more in depth.

When I was introduced to A Child’s Geography, Explore His Earth by Ann Voskamp, I thought, “Maybe this is it!”

A giddy, homeschool mom drooling over curriculum is not new, but I’m still excited after starting the lessons, examining the activities, and skimming the suggested reading lists.

The first lesson echoes the first idea I presented to my children. This amazing earth was created by God as a home for us, but Ann goes deeper to explain the enormity and beauty of our world.

Engaging, conversational chapters expand a child’s understanding of atmosphere and climate, continents and earthquakes, maps and oceans, and more. The Scriptures scattered throughout are an integral part of the text.

Each chapter is followed by a clever review. Postcards are used to record the main ideas of the lesson. (template included) Thorough instructions for hands-on activities further enrich the lessons.

My favorite parts are the Reaching Out segments, because they include tangible ways to minister to our neighbors on this spinning sphere. Geography is God’s handwriting on the earth he created, so it is fitting to intertwine his loving purpose while studying. Ann Voskamp does this eloquently and practically. She gives a portion of the proceeds to World Vision.

The only thing I want to change is the ebook format. I wish I’d gotten a print copy, which are now available at Christianbook.com and Timberdoodle.

Written by Renae Deckard, Biblical Principled mother of 3. Find Renae’s reflections about homeschool and family life at Life Nurturing Education. (Originally published at Heart of the Matter Online.)

Schoolhouse Rock Helps Learning Stick

 Elementary, Hands On, History, Mathematics, Music, Science, Unit study resources  4 Responses »
Apr 092010
 

Not everything has to become a formal lesson at our house, but I love being able to sneak in some learning with a helping of fun.  I have seen in my own life that songs I have learned as a child I can still remember to this day.  While this has many applications to homeschooling I only want to talk about one today, called Schoolhouse Rock.

Schoolhouse Rock is series of short musical cartoons that aired originally before I was born during the Saturday morning cartoons beginning in 1973.  Topics covered in the original series include songs for multiplication, grammar, science, American history and lawmaking, and computers.  Later offerings from the makers of Schoolhouse Rock include songs about money and taking care of our earth.

In August of 2002 Disney released a 30th Anniversary DVD set of over 40 Schoolhouse Rock songs.  A few years later we bought the set for our family.  I said it was for homeschool and my husband said it was just for fun.  We were both right! Our children enjoy watching different sections of the DVD.  Each has a favorite song or two.  My 8 year old daughter’s current favorites are:

  1. No More Kings – A song about the beginnings of our country and the Revolutionary War.
  2. I’m Just a Bill – A song that boils the legislative process down so that even a child can understand how our countries laws are made.  Here it is on You Tube to watch.  (Like everything else on YouTube, the comments below the video may not be appropriate.  We like to click the handy arrow beside the comment section to close it, or watch the video in full screen.)

I love that my children are easily learning many educational topics without a formal lesson.  The DVDs spark my childrens’ interest in topics like conjunctions, multiplcation facts, money and debt, and the branches of the US Government.  We may watch a few songs while waiting for dinner to finish cooking, or have a sing-along as a family for fun.  There are many ways to use the Schoolhouse Rock DVDs.  I am sure we will just happen to pull it out when a child has trouble learning those pesky times tables for another way to reinforce math facts.

The internet abounds with free resources.  Here are a few related to Schoolhouse Rock:

  • The lyrics to many of the songs.
  • Ideas from educators of lessons that use Schoolhouse Rock songs.
  • Many of the songs are available on YouTube with a simple search.  (Remember to close the comments section or watch the videos on full screen to avoid inappropriate material.)

I would love to hear if you have a favorite Schoolhouse Rock song, or any fun ways you can see incorporating Schoolhouse Rock into homeschooling, so please leave a comment!  If you want to learn about some other things we have used in our homeschool read my other Curriculum Choice reviews HERE or visit my blog.

Written by Tristan, mom to 5, homeschooling through unit studies with a side of lapbooks.  You can visit her at her blog, Our Busy Homeschool.

Legends and Leagues

 Charlotte Mason, Elementary, Geography  7 Responses »
Apr 082010
 

Most of you already know I’m a huge fan of a good book.  Whenever I can use a book to kickstart a lesson, I jump at the chance.  When I saw the book Legends & Leagues had a Workbook to go along with it, I couldn’t pass it up!

Legends & Leagues or, Mr. Tardy Goes from Here to There by Ned Bustard introduces you to two funny little men named Mr. Longitude and Mr. Latitude.  They take forever to help poor Mr. Tardy find his destination as they ramble on and on about maps and their importance.  In the end, Mr. Tardy is very thankful for their explanations.  Surprisingly, he even gets to his destination on time despite the roaming conversation of Mr. Longitude and Mr. Latitude.

The book was cute.  I’m not going to say it’s on the top of my living literature list, but I don’t consider it twaddle either.  The better part for me was the Legends & Leagues Workbook!  It takes concepts from the book and turns them into easy to understand lessons with great map making activities.  My children are hands-on learners who don’t prefer to fill in worksheets if they can help it.  This workbook gave them just the balance needed between worksheets and creating their own maps.

Not only are the activities very creative, but I couldn’t believe how many mapping skills were covered for the early to mid-elementary crowd.  Topics like:

  • Strip maps
  • Map symbols
  • Using a compass
  • Hemispheres
  • Grids
  • Latitude and longitude
  • Continents
  • Geography terms
  • Landmarks
  • Time Zones

In 44 pages, there’s even a little final exam, a glossary and a memory song with piano notes!  The book isn’t absolutely necessary to go along with the workbook, but the book does make a nice addition.  You can purchase both for $19.00.

What are your favorite resources for teaching map skills?

-Written by Cindy, eclectically Charlotte Mason mom of three.  You can find her blogging at Our Journey Westward and Shining Dawn Books.

 Older Entries