Sisters in the Wilderness, an Introduction to Canadian History and Literature

 Elementary, Geography, High School, Highschool, History, Literature, Living books, Middle School  No Responses »
Feb 222012
 

Here’s a wonderful introduction to Canadian history and literature for the whole family:  Sisters in the Wilderness. This DVD portrays the mid-19th century pioneer life of two sisters who sailed from England expecting an easy existence in the Canadian bush.  Incorporating both contemporary artwork and dramatization, this quality film full of beauty, pathos, humanity, and history tells the story of Susannah Moodie and Catharine Parr Traill, both writers.  Their two families settled in the bush close to each other and, after years of hardship, moved to town.  Throughout their lives both Catharine and Susannah  continued to write about their experiences.  The movie Sisters in the Wilderness is based on their books.

Although not designed as a curriculum, Sisters in the Wilderness can be used as the basis for a thorough study of Upper Canada pioneer life.  It shows

  • the English background of many immigrants,
  • the ocean journey,
  • the arrival in Canada,
  • survival and adaptation in winter and summer,
  • hardship and ingenuity,
  • the Rebellion of 1837
  • and so much more.

Each element of this beautifully produced movie highlights a fascinating aspect of the history of Upper Canada in the middle of the 19th century and beyond.

After watching Sisters in the Wilderness and seeing how real pioneer families lived, younger students understand A Pioneer Story much better.

Sisters in the Wilderness gives older students an appealing introduction to the two women’s books as well.

  • Catharine Parr Traill, the optimistic sister, wrote The Backwoods of Canada, focusing on hints for new colonists and on nature.  There is a wealth of practical and everyday history in Catharine’s writing.  This book is part of our Canadian geography curriculum.
  • Susannah Moodie, more gloomy and literary, wrote the famous book Roughing it in the Bush.  This sombre personal history of an upper class British gentlewoman trying to survive in the woods was written as a warning to those ‘back home’ who were considering such a move.  Roughing it in the Bush has become one of the foundational works in Canadian literature, greatly influencing it in modern times.

In summary, Sisters in the Wilderness, available from Northwoods Press, introduces the whole family to Canadian pioneer life in a delightful way and sets teens on the path to studying Canadian literature.

Disclosure: I received a review copy of Sisters in the Wilderness from Northwoods Press.

Written by Annie Kate, a Christian homeschooling mom of five, who reviews and blogs at Tea Time with Annie Kate.  You can read her other Curriculum Choice reviews here.

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Adventures with Atoms and Molecules

 Elementary, Science  No Responses »
Feb 202012
 

Formal science is always a bit iffy around our place.  Sometimes it happens and sometimes it doesn’t.  It’s the experiments that get me–we read lots of science-related books–but science experiments can be troublesome.  There are all of those ingredients to gather; there is all of that mess to clean up.

This year, thanks to Susan Wise Bauer and Jessie Wise and their well-trained minds, I have a solution:  Adventures with Atoms and Molecules by Robert C. Mebane and Thomas R. Rybolt.

We have two volumes of this series.  There are thirty experiments in each, which are titled with a question.

For example, Volume 1 asks . . .

  • Do hot molecules move faster than cold molecules?
  • Are gas molecules farther apart than liquid molecules?
  • Can molecules be broken into smaller molecules?

And Volume 2 asks . . .

  • Do like charges attract or repel?
  • Can salt remove water from the air?
  • Can molecules move through a membrane?

The title question is followed by:

  • a list of materials, most of which are easy to gather in your home (yes, really, they are easy to gather in your home)
  • a procedure to follow
  • questions for observation
  • an explanation, which they call the discussion.
  • There are also variations of the experiment to try for further study.

When we asked the question “Do molecules move?” we used a glass of water and food coloring to reveal that, yes, molecules do move, as evidenced by “the collection of food coloring molecules spread(ing) throughout the glass of water” (7).  We also got to play with food coloring.

When we asked the question “Are rubber molecules less bouncy when cold?” we used two identical rubber balls and the freezer.  It was easy to see that the answer was yes, since the flexible polymers in the rubber “changed from being flexible and stretchy to being stiff and rigid” (38) due to the cold.  We also got to play with bouncy balls.

There are many questions and many answers to be found in these wonderful little books.

We are studying chemistry in our home school using a method of experimentation and discussion.  It has been a treat to ask a science question, prompted by Mr. Mebane and Mr. Rybolt, and to follow their simple instructions to find the answer.  The ingredients have been easy to find–lots of vinegar and baking soda and fruit–and the clean up has been a breeze.  Best of all, the kids and I have learned about the properties of atoms and molecules!

There are five volumes in the series, each named Adventures with Atoms and Molecules followed by a volume number.  We are using volumes I and II, completing simple home-made experiment pages, reading science-y books, and having fun!

Susan is a homeschooling mom of three—a preschooler, a first grader, and a third grader.  They spend their days reading on the couch, playing with numbers, and making big, fun messes in a Spirit-led, Well-Trained Mind-inspired classical-Charlotte Mason-traditional model of home education.

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Spectrum Writing-8 Review

 Middle School, Writing  1 Response »
Feb 152012
 

Have you ever wondered how to help your young teens progress with their writing skills?  And how to evaluate how they were doing?  

We did, when my daughter was 13 years old or so. We looked through a number of great homeschool writing curricula and then chose one that writes to the student: SPECTRUM WRITING grade 8. We love their writing exercises and how well they describe the steps of the Writing Process, in clear, simple language.  Each chapter includes a section which helped me to evaluate my daughter’s work, right along side her.

SPECTRUM WRITING grade 8 –  offers a variety of essays and fiction activities to chose from.  I followed my daughter’s interests, and had her pick which she would like to do. She decided to try short stories first and later take on essay writing. By the time she was ready to tackle the essay writing, the story writing practice made her writing confidence strong.

As a published writer myself, secondary to being a homeschooler, I recommend  starting with whatever writing is the most comfortable and familiar.  For example, a child who loves science might like to try Chapter 6, as it is the most like science experiment write-ups. The young cook might like Informational Essays, as they are step-by-step similar to recipes.  It’s all a matter of putting pen to the page!

Pick and choose what works  for your young writers. In our homeschool, we started with Chapter 4, then went on to Persuasive Writing much later.

SPECTRUM WRITING grade 8 – Chapters:

  1. Writing Basics
  2. Expressive Writing  (includes personal narrative)
  3. Descriptive Writing (includes sensory)
  4. To entertain (story writing)
  5. Persuasive Writing  (debate kids would love this chapter)
  6. Explanatory Writing (such as science experiment write-ups)
  7. Informational  (includes recipes, how to’s)

After each activity or assignment there is a section called “Revise” which includes questions to help the teacher evaluate the student’s work. Each question guided me as to what to expect from the work.

Benefits of SPECTRUM WRITING grade 8:

  1. Written directly to the student.
  2. Each chapter has sequential writing activities, which are straight forward and easy to follow.
  3. Writing terms, such as “voice” are defined clearly.
  4. Reviews writing basics, and includes fiction writing and a variety of essays .
  5. Includes many clearly written forms which help the student to put her thoughts down on paper.

When my daughter finished, her story writing was ready for essays. Next, we chose persuasive writing. First there was a web form, to help generate ideas. Then to build the essay, another form was used to list each of her points, see photo.

Once the first draft was written, she worked on editing and then publishing her writing in its final form. My daughter enjoyed printing it out from her computer.

We always waited to discuss any grammar, spelling or mechanics issues until after the first draft.  That helped the words find their place on the page! My suggestion is whatever helps the creativity and work to flow out. Whatever the student writes, follow his or her interests, and the writing skills will follow, too.

For more information, please visit www.FrankSchaffer.com

Watch for more SPECTRUM WRITING reviews in the future, from K to 12.

~Written by Betsy, a veteran homeschooler who likes unit studies and offers Homeschool Consulting, as a volunteer, to new and experienced families. She can be reached on her Facebook, at Jane Sproger.

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Online Learning with Clever Dragons

 Geography, Mathematics, Middle School, Online  No Responses »
Feb 082012
 

Clever Dragons is a really neat online learning tool geared toward BOYS ages 7 – 12 (but my son is 15 and there were still several places he found that were helpful and fun)! Boys. Dragons. Need I say more? *grin* This online program covers all the main areas of teaching: Language Arts, Math, Geography, History and Science. If your boys are anything like mine, sitting and “doing school” is super boring for them, this program allows them to learn while having fun! Please note: online learning is definitely not my favorite but I do enjoy finding things they like to do that also offers them the opportunity to learn – this program meets that need.

Taken directly from their site:

Clever Dragons is an educational and entertaining website exclusively for boys between the ages of 7 and 12. On Clever Dragons boys can access interactive learning materials, play age-appropriate games, view specifically selected videos and communicate with their friends. By completing the learning materials and videos users can earn Gold Coins – the virtual currency on Clever Dragons. This currency can then be used to play games or access other fun content. Together with www.always-icecream.com, its “sister site” for girls, Clever Dragons is the first website that combines all these aspects of online usage in an educational and safe format.

Here is a general breakdown of what is taught at each level:

  • Beginner (7-8): Basic mulitple choice questions, Basic spelling quizzes, Typing 1 (letters), Instrument Quiz, MiniMe Customization
  • Intermediate (9-10): Advanced Quizzes & Basic Drills, Language Quizzes (Synonyms), Typing II (words), Classical Music, Anatomy & Health Quizzes
  • Advanced (11-12): Advanced Drills & Equation Solver, Lanuages Arts Quizzes, Typing III (passages; coming 2012), Clothing Design (coming 2012) and Science Quiz
  • Applied (7-12): CastleWorld Shop & Money Budgeting, Messaging & Commenting, CastleWorld Desing Studio
Here is a sample of one of the quizzes (this particular one was very easy, obviously):

They also offer parent reports which look like this:

We have watched some of the videos since I took the above snapshot and let me tell you, there are some amazing videos! The site has learning videos along with just fun videos. I think our favorite right now is the Amazing Insects video. It was really cool!

One part of the program we did not participate in was anything to do with friends or online chatting and messaging. We just don’t allow that in our home for our boys at this time.

Overall, we LOVE this program! Clever Dragons has so many learning games for the boys to play. There are around 75 games!

So, if you love what you are reading, but have a girl? Don’t fret! As mentioned above, they have something similar for girls called Always Ice Cream!

Now…the cost:

Monthly: $5.95
Two Months at one time: $11.90
Annual: $47.40
Lifetime: $119.00 but ON SALE for $69.00 if purchased before February 15th!!! 

Have a wonderfully blessed day!

Come visit Dawn over at her blog, Guiding Light Homeschool, on Facebook and on Twitter…friends are ALWAYS welcome!

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Take Five! for Language Arts

 High School, Language Arts, Middle School, Writing  No Responses »
Feb 062012
 

One of hardest subjects for me to teach is writing, especially creative writing. As a long time homeschooling mom, I appreciate that I don’t know everything about everything.  Two of my children are gifted writers and it has always been a challenge to offer them interesting writing programs, stimulating them to tap into their creative juices. Finding a resource that meets my high expectations is like finding a treasure!

I received Take Five! for Language Arts as an electronic download to review. I knew immediately upon opening the file that I was going to be able to use this with my high school age son AND he was going to enjoy the simple but imaginative assignments.

  • The assignments are actually written for practice in critical thinking and just happen to include creative thinking and writing as well. These are not your usual hum-drum writing assignments.  Some of the prompts have you make a list or chart, sometimes you actually do a quick sketch before writing, or some of the prompts build on each other from day to day.
  • Each activity is intended to be done in five minutes so they are easily worked into an otherwise busy high school schedule.
  • The price is a little high at $23.95 but since the target age group for this book is grades 6 – 12. I could have used this as a resource making it a part of a larger language arts program in middle and high school making it a good investment.
  • This book would complement many styles of homeschooling including classical, Charlotte Mason, eclectic, or even unschooling.
  • There is just enough variety to make it interesting, leaving the writer wondering what tomorrow’s assignment will be. Yes, anticipation for the next assignment!

Things to note:

  1. Sometimes you need more than pencil and paper to complete an activity but never anything you wouldn’t already have in a well-stocked homeschool.
  2. I found that Take Five! for Language Arts was really something I needed to be involved in, reading the narrative, prompt, and extensions together with my son. This way we could adapt the assignment if needed or go a little farther if we found it was a “bell ringer” of a topic.
  3. I do not assign a score or grade with these assignments. The task is always to complete the prompt, share it, and receive feedback. I think this gives my son a little more freedom to write or create in a way that fits him.
  4. There is an index at the back of the book categorizing the prompts by language arts skills involved and I found that to be very helpful. For example, if I was looking for a prompt that used persuasive writing, I could scroll to that section and read down the list of prompts working on that genre of writing.
  5. You can download the Table of Contents and a Sample Activity from the publishers website: Maupin House.

My teenage creative writer and I give this program a big thumbs up!

Written by Barb-Harmony Art Mom.  I blog at Harmony Art Mom and am the creator of  Harmony Fine Arts. I would love for you to join us for the Outdoor Hour Challenges at the Handbook of Nature Study.

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For Instruction in Righteousness, Pam Forster

 Bible, Elementary  No Responses »
Feb 012012
 

From the Publishers:
For Instruction in Righteousness is a valuable tool that will help you, in specific ways, to fulfill each of these duties God has given us. Most chapters include each of the following sections:

    • What the Bible says will, or should, happen to a person who sins in this way, with ideas for discipline that parallel these Biblical consequences.
    • Instructions the Bible gives for repenting of this sin (newly added in this edition!)
    • What the Bible likens a person to when he indulges in this sin, and ideas for practical object lessons using these examples.
    • How God blesses the person who resists temptations to this sort of sin, with parallel ideas for “rewards” and encouragement when children show progress in overcoming this sin.
    • Stories and people in the Bible that illustrate obedience and disobedience in this area.
    • Fully quoted memory verses.

How we use it in our home/what we like about this curriculum:

It was in obedience to my mentor, and not confidence in the results, that first day I opened the shiny spiral bound inch-thick Topical Reference Guide for Biblical Child Training. My boys were ages two and five. So far, I had focused on disciplining their outward behavior, demanding obedience, “Because Mom Said”.  I didn’t realize it at the time but I was raising children to look good to others in public. However, I spent little time training them to think of what God wanted them to be like. They were tiny, they didn’t know, boys would be boys, they were young, they were. . . well, I was filled with a zillion excuses.

The day I opened For Instruction in Righteousness, our parenting was changed forever. I can’t remember that first topic we looked into but I can imagine it might have been Complaining/Ingratitude. What I do remember was the response.

      • As we read Hosea 13:6 and wondered if we were forgetting about God when we complain, or 2 Timothy 3:2 when we talked of being lovers of ourselves which leads to not being thankful.
      • When we read the instruction of Philippians 2:14 and learned that we should do all without murmuring or disputing.
      • I could physically see the eyes shift from rebellion, to receiving instruction, to a change in awareness. The surprising thing, was that the transformation was almost instant – in my two-year-old son.
      • We talked through the “What happens or should happen to the complainer” and came up with a few consequences that would be established in the home to help them remember. We also read through “What Should the Complainer Do?” to give the children ways to overcome. Simple examples, like singing and giving thanks.
      • Throughout the week we read stories of those in the Bible that had dealt with complaining and ingratitude, and we emphasized the “Blessings of Gratefulness”.

I was astounded. I didn’t point fingers, raise my voice, threaten discipline, belittle, or heap on guilt and shame. It was just a wonderfully quiet time in the Word. The two-year-old got it – and I was hooked.

For Instructions in Righteousness is available at Doorposts – Bible-based parenting and character training material.

  • A Topical Reference Guide for Biblical Child-Training
  • Author: Pam Forster
  • Age: All ages
  • Spiral bound, 3rd edition
  • ISBN: 9781891206290
  • Pages: 376
  • Price: $36.00

You may

In summary: We have used this product for eight years, and continue to find it helpful on a regular basis. Join me, Angie Wright, at Petra School as we discuss how we looked at Laziness in the home using this resource.

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Stack the States App Review

 Apps, Elementary, Geography, High School, History & Geography, Middle School, Preschool  1 Response »
Jan 302012
 

The iPad has become a teaching tool. Educational apps abound, with an amazing variety of subjects available. In the geography category, we have Stack the States by Dan Russell-Pinson.

Stack the States is both fun and educational; a game that uses some of the best mobile features – interaction and manipulation. While learning about the 50 states by answering questions about them, this app requires critical thinking skills as well. Your brainpower is tested in your ability to stack your states successfully.

Continue reading »

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Book Review ~ A Necklace for Jiggsy by Kit Grady

 Elementary, Reading  No Responses »
Jan 272012
 

A Necklace for Jiggsy
Author: Kit Grady
Softback; 18 pages
Suggested Age: 4 – 12
ISBN: 978161630910
Retail: $10.95

I really like this book as it teaches children about honesty and a little about life. It is a quick story with really neat, bright pictures. The story is about a junk yard dog named Jiggsy and a beautiful necklace he finds. He hears that the owner would like it back but he has gained the respect of many others because of his beautiful necklace – therefore he doesn’t want to return it to her. That is, until he looses his very special pillow. He then realizes how much the original owner of the necklace must feel. He promptly returns it to her – and she returns the favor to him. But you’ll have to read the story to find out how. :)

This book is very well written and beautifully illustrated!

About Kit Grady:

Kit Grady is a full time children’s illustrator and author living in the mountains of Asheville, North Carolina with her husband, son and border collie, Panda. Her love for drawing animals, nature and children began very early. She continued her passion studying art at Virginia Commonwealth University and later studied under Caldecott winners Uri Shulevitz and Gale Haley. Kit has produced greeting cards and created a weekly children’s page for the local newspaper. Her clients include The United Methodist Publishing House/Cokesbury, Kaeden Books, Guardian Angel Publishing and Meegenius. She is a member of theSociety of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. When not writing and illustrating, she visits schools and libraries to celebrate the joy of reading. Kit, best known for her bright colors and expressive animals, has several new projects due out this year.

For more information, or to purchase your own copy:
Guardian Angel Publishing
St Louis, Missouri 63128

Click HERE to learn more about Guardian Angel Publishing.

Have a wonderfully blessed day!

Come visit Dawn over at her blog, Guiding Light Homeschool, on Facebook and on Twitter…friends are ALWAYS welcome!

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My First Science Kit

 Elementary, Preschool, Science  No Responses »
Jan 252012
 

My five-year-old son received My 1St Science Kit – The Science of Color from his grandma and grandpa for Christmas.  We were both excited but I had no idea it would be “the” source of motivation for school every single day for a week!

What was so motivating?  The goodies my son found in the box.  Hands down. Giant, plastic test tubes, pipettes, little plastic cups, a mixing tray, a (tiny) magnifying glass, color tints and growing crystals made him feel like a real scientist!

The kit includes enough materials for 10 experiments relating to color.  Most experiments allow your child to observe the effects of mixing primary colors, while a few involve water-absorbing crystals.  All the experiments are very elementary, but we’re talking about using them with children who are under 2nd grade, so they should be elementary.  After so many engaging experiments about color mixing, my son has a very good grasp on primary and secondary colors.

Could I ditch the fun test tubes and do most of the experiments with materials found at home?  Yes.  But, I’m telling you, something about the kit turned my son from a mildly-interested-science-experiment-kid into Eli, Super Scientist Extraordinaire!  Plus, the supplies can be used over and over again as long as you have some extra food coloring on hand.

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Times Alive!

 Elementary, Mathematics  3 Responses »
Jan 202012
 

Until the 2011 school year started both of my boys had been doing five days worth of living math lessons. I loved our time with it. This year, however, I decided to put them into Teaching Textbooks.

One of the things I used during our lovely Living Math Lessons was a programme called Times Alive! I found it rather by mistake while doing my daily blog hopping. Before I knew it I’d stumbled upon the City Creek Press website and was in total awe of their multiplication programme.

I confess, that despite my child being officially in third grade at the time and having an amazing grasp on a variety of math subjects from simple to complex I hadn’t branched out with multiplication yet. No, rather I’d been teaching him “groups of” with a fun game we’d been playing. After a quick chat with my husband about what funds were left in our homeschool budget I purchased Times Alive! and never looked back.

Times Alive! is not entirely unique as I know there’s another song and story programme out there for children to learn their multiplication facts.

How I use it:

  • We chose the download instead of the cd version of this progamme {remember we live overseas so downloads often win out for us!}. Each day I’d load up the programme. My son would happily listen to the story and song and then do a quick and simple application test proving he understood and fully grasped what he’d learned.

  • The programme starts with 2’s and skips 1’s and 0’s. Not a huge deal for us because I’d all ready taught him his 0’s, 1’s, 2’s, 10’s, 11’s, and we were working on our 5’s.
  • There aren’t stories for the 2 family. Rather there’s a teddy bear who comes on and shows that by counting by 2’s you can easily find the answer to any problem you need. Simple.
  • There are stories for all your 3 facts, 4 facts, 6 facts, and 8 facts. For the 9 facts there are clues on how to get the answer quickly. These clues are as great as the stories. I can always hear my kids working out 9 facts if they’d forgotten the answer! Again, none for the 5’s, 10’s, or 11’s. Wasn’t an issue for us, and I really believe that it shouldn’t be an issue for anyone.
  • We loved some of the stories and were constantly amazed at the ability of the author to come up with some great little rhymes that permitted the children to remember exactly what the stories were. If my son now says, “Mom, I forgot what 8×8 is..” I’ll shout out, “STICKS FOR free!”

The story for this particular math problem is that two snowman {shaped like 8’s} go walking on a cold winter night. They get really cold when they stumble upon a sign that tells them they can have all the sticks in the pile for free. Super simple.

After my son learned all the fact families I discovered City Creek Press also sells a learning pack to compliment Times Alive! Included are flash cards with picture clues, posters to color in and a few other simple goodies. It was offered inexpensively as a download. We all worked together coloring in the posters for my son’s math notebook. I laminated all the flash cards and we go through them {little brother too} each morning before we get going with any of our other school stuff.

What I love:

  • My son asked to do this programme! If a day passed and he didn’t get a turn with it he’d complain! Yep, and if his little brother was set up with another task at the time and missed out on the video or song there were tears and I’d have to replay it!
  • The stories were, for the most part, catchy.
  • For my visual learner, the color programme and the add-ons {mentioned below} allowed him to add more color and hands on learning.
  • I could play it on my Mac!

  • There are posters and flashcards with the picture clues on them that can be downloaded from the website!  This allows us to practice what we learned in an easy to remember way! Not only that, there were some heated discussions over who was going to color which posters. I’m only slightly ashamed to admit I was part of those chats with my boys.

What I don’t like:

  • I confess there were a couple of stories that left me scratching my head. My son disagrees with me on this and since the programme was for him that’s what matters most, right?
  • You have a limited time to download your programme. That always scares me when companies do that but I think if you go in knowing that you’ll have no issues!

Bottom Line:

My kids love this programme and have learned their multiplication facts with ease. I feel eternally grateful to the people over at City Creek Press for that! I wish their addition programme was also in video/song format.

Extra: 
 You can check out more of the songs, picture to color in, and test over at City Creek Press if you’re interested in knowing/seeing a little more.
Save $24.48 off the regular price on Times Alive

You can use the coupon code SOTxhalf to take $24.48 off the regular price of $48.95.  Just add Times Alive to your cart and enter the coupon code and press apply.  Bingo-you save $24.48.  Be sure to enter the code, it doesn’t happen automatically. Order your product today because this offer expires on January 31, 2012. You can order from 1-100 for half price!   To order now:  CLICK HERE
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