Faith, Home, & Family
As part of the Schoolhouse Review Crew, I received four online guitar lessons from MacPhail Center for Music.
In addition to the many offerings they have for in-person lessons and activities, MacPhail is now offering online lessons for children in K-12. Lessons are offered on piano, guitar, violin, viola, cello, harp, flute, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, trombone, and percussion.
Yesterday, I shared Our Homeschool Curriculum 2013 for 7th grad and 9th grade. Stop by and check it out!
As I was looking on the SD card for pictures of our week, I found this one. Abby spread out her schoolwork that she does on the computer. And then took a picture. lol I didn’t know she did this until I found it on the card. lol At least she’s organized. lol
She has taken a liking to doing her school work on the floor. I snapped this pic this morning in the living room. As long as they are working, I don’t care where they sit. So they are free to sit wherever is comfortable for them. It also makes for interesting pictures. lol
Zach and his 4th, and final, online guitar lesson this morning with MacPhail Center for Music. Review coming soon! He was concentrating on what his teacher was saying, he wasn’t bored. lol He’s also had a cold this week, so wasn’t feeling the greatest.
He has really been enjoying reading the Left Behind for Kids series of books. We already had about 20 of them when he started reading the books. Now, I’m buying one at a time when he’s ready for them. He gets so impatient. lol Asking numerous times a day when it’s going to get here. lol The collection was getting too big for the shelf I had it on, the top of one of these black shelves in the picture below. I told him to move a few of the books on two of the shelves and move his collection. Some how, he translated that to remove ALL the books from BOTH shelving units. sigh.
His favorite Left Behind books are the black stack by his elbow. He said he was sorting out all the books. Ok, maybe it needed to be done. One shelf at a time would have been better, though! lol
So Zach will be busy putting books back on the shelves. And I’ll be back next week with another Our Homeschool Week in Review!
Edited to add:
I forgot to share that I ordered them homeschool id cards! I get nothing for sharing the link with you. Until September 30, you can get a free id card for up to 5 students. They look like they are going to be great!
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We started homeschooling in 1991 with Kindergarten for my oldest. That means we are starting our 22 year of homeschooling! This year marks a big change for me, for the first time in many, many years, I only have two students.
Here’s what we’re using this year for Zach, 7th grade, and Abby 9th Grade.
7th Grade
Bible:
God’s Great Covenant Old Testament 1 – I reviewed this earlier this year, and now he’s finishing up the book.
Math:
He’s still finishing up Rod & Staff 6th grade book. And I’m ok with that. 🙂
Understanding Mathematics 6 (Mathematics for Christian Living Series)
History:
Notgrass America the Beautiful, which is awesome
Science:
Abeka Observing God’s World
English:
Spelling and Vocabulary
Handwriting:
Logic of English – Rhythm of Handwriting – Cursive – Review coming soon!
PE:
Real life stuff – walks, bike riding, volleyball games, etc.
Music:
He’s been taking online guitar lessons with MacPhail Center for Music – Review coming soon!
Extra:
Time4Learning online – Review coming soon!
9th Grade
Bible:
Doorposts Beauty in the Heart – Review coming soon!
Math:
History:
The American Republic
Science:
Science for High School – Physical Science
English:
A basic English book I already had.
Spanish:
Rosetta Stone Spanish (Latin America) Level 1-5 Set
PE:
Real life stuff- walking, bike riding, volleyball games, as well as playing volleyball on the homeschool volleyball team. This will be her 3rd year, practice starts sometime in September, and games last until around March.
Music:
She’s going to continue learning in the book she left off in for lessons, John Thompson’s Modern Course for the Piano: Second Grade
Anything that we get for The Homeschool Review Crew, will be added to what we have here, or possibly take the place of something listed here.
It’s going to be a great year!
After canning green beans and corn, 75 quarts worth in three days, last weekend, it took me all this week to recover. So nothing much happened in the kitchen except meals. My daughter made cookies, but I didn’t do anything.
I’m mostly recovered now, so it’s time to get back to work. I have some bananas that need to be made into muffins today. I also have some peppers to turn into hot pepper jelly. Then we have to start on the apples. Our apple trees are overflowing!
Now…. to answer the question that I get asked about a hundred times a day……….What’s For Dinner? See my menu below!
I recently learned of a new website, I Am Second. I Am Second features the testimonies of many people, from many different walks of life. All dealing with the typical struggles of everyday life that we all are. Life can be tough on all of us. Yes, Christians have the same problems as everyone else. We are not immune to the problems and hurts of this world.
You’ll be able to watch videos of actors, athletes, musicians, business leaders, drug addicts, your next-door neighbor, people like you. All telling their story in their own words. Their stories give hope to the lonely, and the hurting, help others from destructive lifestyles, and give inspiration to everyone.
I spent quite a bit of time, on a few different days, exploring the website, and watching videos. Some of the categories of videos are Abortion, Abuse, Contentment, Anger, Death, Disabilities, Divorce, and more. My favorite video, out of all the videos I watched, is Bethany Hamilton talking about when she got bit by a shark. She talks about the day it happened, and how she hasn’t let it stop her from living her life. She also talks about staying close to God in the midst of it all, and allowing God to use her.
Give Change, Make Change– There are many more stories waiting to be told. You can help make more videos available by committing $2 every Tuesday to build film funds. Your contribution will be used to develop, produce and promote new films like those already on I Am Second. Join the Seconds Change project and become an I am Second insider. You can also visit I Am Second on Twitter.
Visit the I Am Second website and watch the films. You’ll discover people who have tried to go it alone and have failed. You can find encouragement, hope, peace, and the same fulfillment they found.
Be Second.
I have lots of pictures to share this week. Enjoy!
The Mandevilla on the front porch is blooming. Beautiful!!
As part of The Schoolhouse Review Crew, I received the America the Beautiful Curriculum Package, the America the Beautiful Student Workbook, and the America the Beautiful Lesson Review from Notgrass Company to review.
America the Beautiful is written for grades 5-8, ages 10-14. The curriculum can be completed in one year, or longer, depending on what works for your family. I am using America the Beautiful with my 13 year old, 7th grade son,
Notgrass Company is a family business that develops Bible-based, easy-to-use homeschool curriculum that helps you teach the heart, soul, and mind of your child. The offer curriculum, unit studies, and other resources for grades K-12.
The America the Beautiful curriculum includes the following books:
America the Beautiful Part 1: contains 75 lessons beginning with life in America before Europeans came and continuing through the first years after the Civil War. Hardcover. Color and black and white illustrations. 452 pages.You can view the Table of Contents and a Sample Unit on the website.
America the Beautiful Part 2: contains 75 lessons beginning with America’s expansion into the lands west of the Mississippi River and continuing to modern times. It also includes an index to the curriculum. Hardcover. Color and black and white illustrations. 572 pages. You can view the Table of Contents, a Sample Unit, and the Index on the website.
We the People: A collection of 150 original journal entries, newspaper articles, advertisements, poems, songs, letters, short stories, speeches, and other historic documents from American history. Hardcover. Black and white illustrations. 220 pages. You can view Sample Pages on the website.
Maps of America the Beautiful: 30 maps drawn especially to accompany this curriculum. Your child will often refer to a map while reading a lesson in America the Beautiful and do activities on the map at the end of the lesson. 61 pages. You can view Sample Maps on the website.
Timeline of America the Beautiful: An illustrated timeline of American history from AD 1000 to the present designed specifically to include facts learned in the lessons. Some facts are already printed on the timeline, others mentioned in the lessons are added by the student. 57 pages. You can view Sample Pages on the website.
America the Beautiful Answer Key: Includes answers for the Timeline, Student Workbook, Lesson Review, and the vocabulary assignments included in the main text. 55 pages. You can view sample pages from the Answer Key on the website.
Also available separately are the:
America the Beautiful Student Workbook: contains crosswords, find-a-words, matching, codes, drawing assignments, and other activities that review and reinforce the daily lessons. Designed for students in 5th and 6th grades, it’s also suitable for older children who enjoy these types of activities. 150 consumable pages. You can view sample pages on the website.
America the Beautiful Lesson Review: contains daily lesson review questions, literature review questions, and weekly quizzes. Designed for students in 7th and 8th grades, it’s also suitable for younger children who prefer this type of review. 110 consumable pages. You can view sample pages on the website.
There is no separate teachers manual. The America the Beautiful book has a section in the front of the book with all the information you need to get started.
When I opened the shipping box and examined the books my first impression was, “Wow! This is awesome!” My opinion has not changed in the weeks we’ve been using America the Beautiful. It IS awesome!
The many pictures in the curriculum are of great quality. My son loves looking at the pictures. And asking questions about them. He really loves America the Beautiful, it is often his first choice to work on every day.
You can be as involved as you want to be with this curriculum. Each lesson starts with a few pages to read. At the end of that days reading, the lesson tells the child what activities to do. My son works through the lessons on his own, asking me for help as needed. If you prefer to read the lesson with or to your child then guide them through the activities, that will work with this curriculum, also.
Depending on how many activities you do, each lesson will take 45 minutes to an hour and a half. I have my son taking two days for each lesson. On the first day, he does all the reading. On the second day, he does all the activities. I am having him do both the Student Workbook and the Lesson Review book. Doing both of these additional books is not necessary, or a requirement. He likes the activities in the Student Workbook, so it is working well for him. At the rate of 2 days per lesson, it will take my son two school years to finish the curriculum.
I have been thoroughly impressed with the America the Beautiful curriculum. I love everything about it. And my son loves it. Homeschooling is so much easier on Mom and son when you find a curriculum you both love. My son will be continue with America the Beautiful for the rest of 7th grade and 8th grade.
The America the Beautiful Curriculum package retails for $99.95 on the website. The Student Workbook sells for $11.95 and the Lesson Review workbook sells for $9.95 at the time of this review.
