Monday, May 2, 2011

Meet Me on Monday





Questions:

1.  What is your favorite kind of muffin?


mmm I love muffins!  Some people say that they are just cupcakes for breakfast, but I know better since I have actually read the recipes.  But as far as a favorite?  i don't know!  I love them all... blueberry or orange are probably the tops contenders, though.  I like the fruity ones best.  



2.  What was the first car you ever owned?


um, well... I haven't really owned any of my own.  I got married and our first vehicle was a little Toyota pickup.  Something happened to the door (I don't remember what) so we drove around all winter with the heater on high and blankets on us.  It had several stages of colors through the years.  It started out silver, and then my husband painted it camouflage.  Yes, he's a redneck.  Then we had some friends who professionally painted it white.  



3.  Which TV Show were you sad to see end?


We don't have TV... I never had it as a child either.  We had local channels for a year or so when Bop was a baby, but the shows we watched on it are all still airing.  Not that we watch them... 



4.  What is your lucky number?


Don't have one.  I have Jesus.  ;)



5.  Pretzels or Potato Chips?


Pretzels.  I love pretzels but I really don't like potato chips at all.  Too salty and greasy.  Eww. 

Saturday, April 30, 2011

Curriculum Clean Out: Teach your Child to Read in 100 easy lessons

 

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I have a copy of this book in very nice condition.  We never used it, because for some reason, I had two.  Read more here.

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This is not for sale, this is a giveaway.  The winner will be picked form the comments using Random.org.  Make sure that your e-mail is in the comment.  Leave me a comment to let me know you want it.  You can do the following for extra entries: 

Follow me with GFC.

Share on Facebook, Twitter, or your blog.  (One extra entry for each method.)  Good luck!

Friday, April 29, 2011

Greek N Stuff Review

“Why is your 5-year-old learning Greek?”  Greek Level One Student Workbook
I heard this several times during out time with this review.  I was delighted to explain all of the great reasons behind this program, and I was usually met with interested people. 
Greek N Stuff offers many different products, but we reviewed “Hey Andrew, Teach Me Some Greek!” worktext level one.  This program is intended for the earliest Greek learners, up to the middle elementary grades, when they recommend starting with level 2.  It teaches the Greek alphabet and a few words. 
I used this program with Bop, since it is consumable.  The worktest is made up of handwriting exercises and fun activities, with a set of flashcards in the back.  The activities are all designed to teach the Biblical Greek alphabet, and they are well-thought out.  The child has to work on learning the sounds of the letters, their order, the names of the letters, and recognizing the letters in actual Greek words.  The child is introduced to each letter by writing it several times and learning the names.  The next page contains more writing practice, and teaches the sound of the letter as well.  After that there are several practice pages, where the activates are, and these are for both the letter being leraned and the previous letters.  This is great since you will be working toward mastery.  The flashcards in the back are supposed to eb used everyday, so we copied them onto cardstock so they would be tougher.
We also received a CD with pronunciation of the letters and new words, a reading of the Reader, and the Greek alphabet song.  I found this marginally helpful, since I had no trouble understanding the pronunciation of each letter from the worktext.  If you were getting level two and the Reader it would be more helpful, I am sure.  I appreciate receiving, however, because it is always so much easier to review programs when you can see it all!  Pronunciation of the words is more difficult then the single letters, so it is a very nice tool to have for that.  There is a separate CD for the higher levels.
Bop loved “Hey Andrew, Teach Me Some Greek!”.  She really did, and even though we were doing language two days a week, she asked for it every day.  Seh would get a little discouraged at teh lines and lines of handwriting, but I didn’t have her do them all in one day, so that worked out fine.  She would do a couple of lines a day  and the others would be used for review later on.  She had no trouble catching on to the sounds of the letters, and I was just amazed at how easily she picked it up.  I had to check the backs of the flashcards when we drilled, and she always remembered them better then me. 
I loved it, too.  I loved how the few words taught in the back of the book were a Bible verse.  How neat!  Biblical Greek is something that could be so useful later, so I think havign a fun way to intorduce it is really nice.  I was a fraid that we would have trouble with confusion, since a few of the letters look very simular to English letters, but often have different sounds.  I found that by alerting her to the shape of the letter, comparing it to the English letter with the same sounds, and then showing her where she could get confused, we had no trouble.  And of course, most of the letters are not confusing. I also appreciated the addition of the flashcards, which were very helpfyul to Bop.
I would recommend this program to anyone who desires to teach their children Biblical Greek.  It is fun, simple yet very effective.  I do wish that a little more emphasis was placed on the letter sounds, but since the names sound so much like the sounds, that is not a big problem.  I love that this program is centered around Biblical Greek, and I love that the words learned are straight from the Bible.  A goal of reading the Greek Bible might seem too lofty for your children, but with this program it looks much easier and fun, too.  I would think that this might not be the best program for a Dyslexic child, or one that is having trouble with learning the English letters.  In that case it may be best to focus on reading skills, and then after the child is reading well they can start learning the Greek letters.
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You can read more about “Hey Andrew, Teach Me Some Greek!” at the Greek N Stuff website.  They also offer a Reader for the first level which is very tempting.  Check out all of the other TOS reviews for Greek N Stuff (not just this book!) at The Old Schoolhouse Crew blog.

I received this product free of charge
as a member of The Old Schoolhouse Review Crew,
for review purposes. I promise to be honest
and fair in my reviews, and I received no
other compensation in exchange for my review.
to read more reviews on this product.




Thursday, April 28, 2011

Read aloud update

Okay, I have to be honest.  I didn’t have a single read-aloud this week.  Nothing!  We read some picture books, of course.  And Bop read from her latest reader.  But as far as actual READ-ALOUDS?  Nothing, nope, nada. 

I am so ashamed.

Owl

 

So, next week, I have some goals.  I want to read 5 picture books in the afternoons, and then we will read part of our chapter book if the kids are wanting more.  (and they will be.)  I think I will read Miss Hickory to them.  Ten I want to read about 5 more chapter books to them before bed.  Can I do it?

Don’t forget to head on over to Footprints in the Butter to read more read-aloud challenges for this week, and add your own!

What are your reading goals for next week? 

Saturday, April 23, 2011

I am joining the Read To Me Picture Book Challenge

I saw this challenge on another homeschool mom’s blog, and I decided it would be a lot of fun.  We read a ton of picture books in this house, and I will love having a way to share about them!  There are several levels  to pick from, and I decided to go with Harvesting, even though we are starting part way through the year.  For some reason, I never hear about these things when they start, so I am always behind.  Oh, well, considering we normally read 5-10 picture books in one sitting, it shouldn’t be hard.  I will be reviewing some of the books that we have read, and I will keep track of how close we are to reaching our 200 books. 

I will be posting our updates on Tuesday, so keep your eyes peeled!  If you want to join in the fun, you can find all the info over at There’s a Book.  These are the Challenge levels:

  • “Planting” – Read 12 picture books with a child during the year.
  • “Watering” – Read 36 picture books with a child during the year.
  • “Feeding” – Read 72 picture books with a child during the year.
  • “Growing” – Read 120 picture books with a child during the year.
  • “Harvesting” – Read 200 picture books with a child during the year.

Read more: http://www.theresabook.com/read-to-me-picture-book-reading-challenge/#ixzz1KBPBaHiJ

Friday, April 22, 2011

See the Light Art Class Review

See The Light is an art program for children in grades 1-6th,   emphasizing drawing skills.  I have always enjoyed drawing, so I was very interested to see what this DVD series had to offer.  We received the first DVD in the Art Class series, which is a 9 DVD set, perfect for one year’s worth of lessons.  The whole set can be purchased for $99..99, or there is an online option which is $10 a month.  You can get a free sample DVD for yourself on the See The Light website.  These drawing lessons are taught by master artist Pat Knepley. 
Bop was very excited to start the lessons, so I settled her in with a pencil and some paper.  Pat started the first lesson with some introductory information about materials, and then they moved right in to practicing basic pencil holds and strokes.  Bop listened intently, and today she told me that “a #2 pencil is just your regular, everyday pencil”.  She practiced drawing lines and stroked with Pat, and she wanted to go right on to the next lesson.  She really enjoyed the lessons and I think that she would get a lot out of using the whole series.  CJ and Baby Girl listened in while they played, and while they didn’t really follow along, they seemed interested.  Bop has done all of the lessons twice, and she wants more.
So what did the resident artist think?  I enjoyed listening to these DVDs.  Pat has a wonderful voice, and she is an excellent teacher.  She explains things very simply, but she never talks down to the children.  As an artist I initially thought that the first lesson was painfully elementary, and that the concepts were easily understood and didn’t need explanation.  However, as we moved on past the basics and then watched more lessons I could see how well she was building on the foundation of the first lesson.  I also came to appreciate the way Pat introduced the basic concepts (how to hold your pencil, etc.) in such a matter-of-fact way, and then moved on. 
I was afraid that I would not find anything in this set that I couldn’t do myself, but I was wrong.  This is a well-thought out curriculum that teaches drawing in a very complete way.  I only wish that I could have previewed the whole set to get the whole picture of this program.  However, from what I have seem I would not hesitate to buy this series for my children, even though I thought that I could do it all myself.  There are just so many things taught that I would not have thought of, and they build upon each other very well. 
Throughout the lessons Pat gives meaning to the work of artists and depth to the practice the children are doing, by adding in Bible stories and Christian concepts.  This is not done in a contrived manner, but as a beautiful expression of her own faith.  It really feels like she is sitting in the room with you, sharing about her life.  She obviously loves what she does, loves her Lord, and shares that love with the children she is teaching.  I absolutely consider her natural talent for teaching and sharing her love for God and art to be the shining points of this curriculum.  You can get art instruction from a number of places, but this is the only one I have seen that also feels like you have a sister and friend in your living room. 
See the Light also produces a Christmas video called The Gift of Love, and an Easter video, The Cross Maker.  These videos combine stories from the Bible with art lessons and beautiful chalk drawings. 
 
Magento Commerce
 

 Visit The Old Schoolhouse Blog for more reviews of this product.  

      I received this product free of charge
as a member of The Old Schoolhouse Review Crew,
for review purposes. I promise to be honest
and fair in my reviews, and I received no
other compensation in exchange for my review.
You can visit The Old Schoolhouse Crew blog
to read more reviews on this product.


Thursday, April 21, 2011

Read-Aloud Challenge: Seven Sisters and Two Brothers

We have been doing a lot of reading aloud lately, so I have been wanting to join in the fun happening over at Footprints in the Butter.  She has been having a weekly Read-Aloud Challenge, and I can always use a good challenge. 
Our school year is almost over, so I have decided that we will just be doing the basics and our final Crew reviews for these last few weeks.   We have been using our regular math, science programs from the Crew, and our history, geography, and everything else has been coming from reading aloud.  I am hoping to start using a lot more of a Charlotte Mason-type learning method, and this is a great transition.  So what have we been reading this week?
The Seven Little Sisters Who Live on the Round Ball That Floats in the Air, Illustrated Edition (Yesterday's Classics)
The Seven Little Sisters who live on the Round Ball that Floats in the Air
We have been reading this on our Sony for geography.  The children love it!  We have been reading one chapter a day, and they are always asking for more.  We will definitely be coming back to this one later, to read more slowly and savor it.  It is the stories of seven little girls, found all over the world.  It tells about their culture and their families, and what they do for fun and work.  I cannot recommend this book highly enough as an early elementary read aloud. 
I have just found out that Jane Andrews also wrote a history book, “Ten Boys who lived on the Road from Long Ago to Now”. 
The Wright Brothers (Landmark Books)The Wright Brothers (Landmark Books)
We have enjoyed this book, and it has convinced me that I need to try and collect all of the Landmark Books.  Do you think that will ever happen?  We started this book after reading about the Wright brothers’ interest in kites in one of are last Download N Go units, Kite Capers.  Caiden was especially interested in learning how the brothers used kites to develop the first real airplane, so I dug out this book.  I was very pleasantly surprised to see how much he enjoys it.  He has sometimes has trouble following longer read alouds, even though he always sits still and listens.  I frequently get the feeling that he isn’t really getting much of it.  But he loves this book, understands it, and always asks for more.  We have been reading one chapter a day. 




Here are a few more of the books that we have been enjoying:

The kids have been listening to this on CD from Librivox.
The kids have been listening to this on CD from Librivox. 

Baby's Mother Goose
We have been reading a few of these each day. 

First Thousand Words in Spanish: With Internet-Linked Pronunciation Guide
The little ones enjoy reading through this book and learning new Spanish words.

A House Is a House for Me
We all love this rhyming, silly story about houses. 

The Complete Book of Farmyard Tales (Usbourne Farmyard Tales)
They have listened to this during quiet time several days this week.

Visit Footprints in the Butter to add your own read-aloud challenges this week!

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